Pigtails Challenge 150
May 24, 2013
Oh My Gosh!
First of all, thank you to all the fun people that came out and ran for a lap or two with me. It was fun and you really did help me to the finish of this "thing." During the last lap, Brenda helped me realize how eccentric, stubborn (because I won't quit) and able to endure long periods of pain....I guess that is what it takes to do this kind of "thing." I am calling it a thing because I really can't call it a race....it is definitely a thing or .......
It has been a tough week of recovery. On Tuesday I tried to go to work because I had to be at some important meetings. I made it in three different times for three different meetings. In between I had to go home and sleep. During one meeting I could not really get my brain to work, it was kind of odd. Lack of sleep and being up for over 60 hours might have had something to do with that. Finally I feel well enough and have time sit down and reflect on this wonderful experience....did I just type that........reflect on this thing we did.
Lap one was fun with the gals, we chatted and everyone was in good spirits. Lap two, I started with Susie and then she took off and I decided I didn't want to run that fast, you go girl. The next four laps were great. I was running well and had my music. My little toes were already having blisters. So Reed and Sue helped me retape and bandaids also went on my back. My back felt great for the rest of the race and no problems in the shower after so whatever Sue did worked like magic. Lisa would put bandaids on my front and even though it looked bad there were no problems with the "girls", thanks Lisa. Early on in this race Lake Youngs is a beautiful course. Later it gets ugly. For laps 7 and 8 my sister in law ran and walked them with me. We were laughing and having fun and I was still feeling great. Maybe it was that rice ball that Sue and Reed gave me, it hit the spot. Chris and Aurora came out and I missed them at the start/finish but they surprised me at the mid loop aid station, pizza was just what I needed. Then my daughter paced me up and over the hill while Daddy drove the car to pick her up. This was a nice family dinner out in the woods.
So after 75 miles I decided I needed a nap. I went into the lovely Trooper where my husband had put an air mattress. This worked great. I slept for 45 minutes and felt like a new woman. I felt so good at 2 AM that I went out and did a lap on my own. I was determined not to see those oppossums from last year, and I did fine all by myself. I was having trouble eating enough and the second half of my loops were difficult because I would run out of energy. But daylight came and my running friend Katy came. My toes were feeling horrible, in fact there was a blister where the tape was and instead of retaping, i just stuck the safety pin through the tape and squeezed lots of liquid out. Katy and I walked most and ran a little. I was whiny and didn't want to finish. She heledp me though these tough loops of self doubt. This also got me to 100 miles and for some reason that made a big difference.
Surprise, Marilou was ready for a loop, it was time to change to my bigger shoes and I started running again. I am sure I wasn't fast but for me it felt like I was a running fool. It also might have been the afternoon and the sun was out and I was awake and just kept moving. Marilou did the trick,......whatever that was. Still I was losing energy, not feeling great at the end of each loop. And I hated the snacks at the mid loop aid station. I was too loopy to take real food with me until the last loop. If I had done that earlier I might have fueled myself better. Live and learn.
My brother Keith came for a lap and I waited a little extra in the aid station so when we got started we took off. I was running and moving well on the walk. My head started to get hot and my body was cold. It was a weird sensation. Keith kept telling me it was a hot flash but it didn't feel like it. When I got to the mid way aid station, Van was there and I asked her expertise what was going on and she said I was overexerting myself....gee....ya think. I slowed down a abit and by the end of the loop my head cooled back down, she was right. So I guess i felt pretty good through 13 laps, still running and walking well.
Poor Vivian, she had to be with me when I was the most pathetic. When I got back to the aid station I was expecting another runner but Vivian was ready to go with me so we went. The first lap in the dark was okay. I did start to see things. The little embedded rocks in the trail looked like mice and there was always something in the woods so I would turn my head to look at what was rustling, it was probably my rain coat because it was starting to rain....i think. Vivian would tell me that there was nothing there and we would keep moving. She was an excellent pacer, she stayed right with me and kept me moving forward. At the end of each of these loops I needed sleep so I would go the Trooper and lay down and try to sleep. During one of these times I got another 20 min nap, this felt good. Sometimes I would not be able to sleep but laying down felt good. Vivian took me out for another lap, lap 15. She is one tough pacer. She looked like she didn't want to go and could use some more sleep but she went with me anyway. By now, my energy level was pathetic. She made me eat. She wouldn't leave the mid point aid station until I ate. I hating eating at this point. But I followed directions. During this lap I now know what it is like to fall asleep while walking. I was having a hard time keeping awake and I began talking to myself, staggering a bit and trying to keep verticle, weird feeling.
We got back and my last pacer Brenda was there, I told her I had to lay down or sleep for a bit before we could go out. I was almost asleep and some runner who had just finished was having a party next to my car. I knocked on my window to get her attention to quiet but it didn't help, I couldn't sleep. So i hauled my ass out of that comfortable Trooper and got a move on. I was still having a difficult time staying awake so I asked Van or Jess what they could help me with, they gave me a double shot something, boy did that wake me up. Also, Van cooked my breakfast, so nice, i needed the food and she was there to help.
So this whole last loop is when I started swearing, crying, telling Brenda I would never do this again. It was horrible, I felt horrible. Then we see Janice Moyer on the side of the trail laying down and I get a little scared and think that could be me, so I offer some help but move on. Lisa, with her trusty cell phone in hand had it under control. We see two other maniac runners out for a Sunday morning run and we tell them to go help Janice so the other runners in the 100 can finish their loop. I think they do, we hear Janice is okay. I felt bad that I could not help more, but if I had stopped I could have easily sat down and cried and be done with this "thing." Too stubborn though. So that double shot whatever thing got things moving in all sorts of ways. All during Saturday I was peeing a lot, thinking that something was off, but apparently I was well hydrated. This morning other things were moving out of me and it was difficult to squat after so many miles......oh well, shit happens.
About two miles from the finish, we see Van in her car driving by. She asks, are you going to finish? I say what, of course, i have two miles to go. I think that is an odd question and my brain wasn't working at the time. I think what she meant to ask was this my last loop and would I finish after this loop. All I could think....well I really couldn't think. When I got to the finish we agreed that we both did not have enough sleep and could not figure out what she was asking. My husband, Aurora and Katy were there at the finish, Jess gave me that damn buckle and all was good.
My legs feel good, haven't run or exercised all week. Plan to run this morning. I still fell like my headlamp is on my head, and sometimes I reach for my hat to adjust my head lamp, weird. My feet were quite swollen and I did some epsom salt foot soaks, that worked well. My blisters are healed from my little toes, other than that I survived. I will lose three toenails, not bad for 150. I ate a lot for 3-4 days afterward and never felt full. I am sleeping well and never seem to have slept enough. It was a good experience. And I will volunteer to pace for next year at Pigtails, if there is a next year. I will not run that beautiful, ugly course again. Thank you again for your support. Happy running!