Third Time Was the Charm

Ok as you all know by now I have tried and failed this race twice called WASATCH !!
I decided to give it one more try you know for the hell of it. I assembled a crew plane tickets rental car hotels (kind of) and all the GU’s one even Russ could eat!!

We all landed and got our rental car and away we went. I like to stay in a nice Hotel rather than in a tent as other’s like to do, nice cushy beds pools and all!! My crew was very detail orientated, so prior to the race we went to the start of this awful dirty dusty hilly rocky race to make sure we knew how to get there at 4 in the morning!!  While walking around the start made me sick almost. The race briefing is generally brief with not a lot of hoopla. There were drop bags for aid stations ready to go, but with my crew (Andrew and Jay at my beckoned service I needed no drop bags.

We eat well both nights before the race and drove around Salt Lake for a bit. Finally it was time to get serious and get ready to run, you know stuff like put on the race # which makes things real!! We set MANY alarms and had incoming calls ready to make sure we weren’t late.3 am rolled around and I was up had coffee made a bagel tried not to forget too much and we were off!! With 1 more potty break at the start I was ready to go!! Although I would rather go back to the Hotel.

So off the trail we go with excited runners exchanging stories and worries, our headlights bounced up the trail ahead and behind in the dark of the early a.m. Finally we hit the first of many big climbs and the heart and sweat start to flow. I had this nagging hot spot on my right heal (way too early for this), and at the first aid station I stopped to examine wow a blister had popped already!! A nice guy stopped and applied some tape which stayed all race and saved my race. This part of the race may be the nicest to look at of the whole course and it has decent footing too so I tried my best to make good time. I did not ever feel strong not even in the beginning which did worry me for sure. But I took in all the beautiful mountain views in a 360% views all around me!! Finally at mile 18 the first aid station which also no crew there this year I eat and drank and even took a goodie bag along with. The next many miles are basically on different mountain tops going one to another. Eventually mile 40 the first aid station where you can see your crew and I was looking forward to it for sure!! I was there slower than years in the past and I was worried about that, but got weighed (down 3 lbs) not bad, and proceeded to be pampered by my crew!!! I ate drank and got my feet cleaned with new socks to go too.

From here Jay ran with me, I don’t think I was in the mood to run at this point but we did our best and away we went. Off to the next aid station is all you can do, aid station to aid station until there are all gone. I just didn’t ever feel like I was attacking the run but rather holding on was more like it!! I tried to pretend Jerry was behind me for on our spring loop run it seemed to work well, but I knew he wasn’t there so it didn’t really work. I came into the next big aid station much slower and in the dark, which even when i dnf’d twice I was there just before dark so I was at bit alarmed. But I wanted and got pizza there which I asked for but I just couldn’t eat much of it, but I did like the cucumbers they had they went down easy. I bundled up some and took off with Andrew this time for the next 7 miles. It is a mile or two on asphalt road uphill then it turns into more uphill in the woods. Andrew talked and with his light would warn me of all obstacles I may stumble over. With my energy low I walked this best I could and in a few more miles we hit road again and continued uphill to the nest aid station. My runners would switch there again back to Jay and it was much more cold so I had some spaghetti there and changed with Andrews help into warm pants a jacket and gloves and away we went again!! The next many miles weren’t great the were even kind of bad, I was probably getting sleepy and started to doubt that I could finish the dammed run ever!!! Negative stuff filled my head more and more I walked almost all the time now onward. Somewhere in the next many miles a few different things happened. I spoke out loud of not being able to finish (I even prepared a speech to all the people who I would see when I got back) also I had Jay call Denise back home to talk, I just didn’t want to get close to a finish but NOT make it was in my head!! I don’t know if it was a hot cup of coffee I had or what but I some how started to run a.k.a.shuffle somewhat here and tried to continue it for awhile on and off on and off. After a bit we hit the road with the Brighton aid station just ahead of us woohooo.I didn’t not feel good but was glad to be closing in with the sun coming up too is a very good thing, so into to the station I stumble get weighed eat drink and I now know I need to not stop long anywhere and keep moving and I “may” be able to finish this f **n race. I leave my pacer and take off up again many more mountains and I do mean Mountain’s. There really are some beautiful views here which I do see but not for long as I need to work hard to make it. They say the last 25 are some of the hardest and I would disagree. From here I didn’t have a watch so about every 10 minutes I asked Jay for either time of day or what pace do we need to make it. That’s really all I know in the last 25 miles, run when I can and I certainly tried where I could a.k.a.shuffle I did get a nice section where I ran a lot of I think anyway. I only stayed 2 minutes in many of the last aid stations even leaving Jay who was munching on pancakes and all of the goodies he can get. He also reminded me to eat and drink which I did do when he said so for I was like a zombie and only focused on the finish. I power hiked ok up many more climbs until finally we came to the last mother loving aid station (you know the place where I dnf’d my first try just 7 little miles from the finish line)!! I hoped for downhill but once again more uphill with some water crossings which I drank out of and dipped my hat into to cool off. It was a long 7 with more very hard to run on loose rock crap but finally something nice but I know I had 2 hours to make so my fear has left me about not finishing for the first time!! I walked to road into the finish but of course shuffled in for the video camera would be running there. I said never again as I hit the line AMEN for real!!!

 

The “never again” was for that race, I will do another one soon, I may look for an Easy 100”

Having a crew here made this possible for I was losing it fast but they just kept me moving until things changes!!

 

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