Michealene has generously allowed me to share the email she sent me about her race experience. She put together a strong mental and physical race in the incredibly muddy conditions this year’s race presented. I thought it would be fun for others to get to experience the race through her eyes. So, without further ado….
Finished 111 overall (out of 164 that finished) 48 DNF, 25 DNS
36th female
28th OA in age group
7th female in my age group
Finish time 8:14:16
The good: It did not rain, extremely beautiful course, mostly uninjured, I had the best cheering squad and I finished!
The bad: The trail conditions were kind of sucky but really, what does one expect on a February race in Washington?
Rick, the dog and I set out in our Westfalia early Friday morning. Our ferry reservation was for about 11 am and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to get there. The crossing to Orcas Island was uneventful. The bonus of traveling in a mini home on wheels is I got to just sit back and relax with the dog and read. After disembarking the ferry we stopped in East Sound for a quick bite to eat before checking into our home for the weekend.
Our lodging was a yurt at Doe Bay resort. Tucked away, up in a hill it was heated and cozy. We had to use the community kitchen for our meals. That was a bit inconvenient as it was a little ways from our yurt and I wanted to have easy access to all my food and drinks. I will remember that for next time.
The forecast called for rain...lots of it and it did not disappoint. It absolutely poured all night long. I made a deal with mother nature that it could pour rain all night long (get it out of her system) but then had to stop in time for the race. She, thankfully(?), obliged. I'm a bit of a weather witch in case you didn't know.
The morning of the race went smoothly. Ate my usual large breakfast and had a little coffee. It was hard getting the hubby motivated though. As a result we got to the bib pick up later than I wanted. I still managed a 15 minute warm up.
Soon it was time for the pre-race meeting and we were off. I ended up starting almost at the very back due to our tardiness and the hubby's desire to take my picture. Which, by the way, ended up blurry. :) I was a little frustrated to be starting so far back because I knew I would have to pass some people and wait on people at some sections. Lesson learned...start the day earlier then I think I should. :)
I knew this was going to be a tough race and so I was exercising patience at the start. The leg to the first aid station was uphill. And, like I said in the training log, I tried running it with an "easy" effort but then decided to alternate between speed hiking and running. The road just kept going up. I didn't have my timer set on my watch so I picked physical markers to run to or hike to. The road was wide enough that I was able to gain some ground after starting in the back.
PC: Glenn Tachiyama
After the first AS it is a pretty steep descent and was fairly technical. The water on the trails certainly didn't help matters either. So, a lot of the gain I made on the way up was lost as people passed me going down (*note to self: work on those descents and build confidence). Then it was sort of a rolling trek through many streams and standing water. At one point we had to cross through a 10 foot section that was above our knees. My feet were completely numb by the time we got out of there. That water was cold!
AS #2 was at Mt. Picket. The descent into there was tough because my feet were so numb and I had a hard time with foot placement. I just really didn't want to roll an ankle or something. The steep climb out of that AS warmed me back up but brought on the leg cramping. I was surprised to feel that so early in the race. I am not sure if it is due to all the climbing, the conditions (read: cold ass legs and feet), wearing shorts, or too much effort at the start. I don't think it was too much effort though. I really tried to keep your advice in mind and stay patient.
Anyway, the trek to AS #3 was brutal. Even though it was a "net loss" in elevation there was some climbing and I had hit the proverbial wall. This is the point when I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish. And there was just so...much...water on the trails. It was unbelievable. When I began the climb to the North Arch AS I could hear and see my cheering squad. It made me so happy! My sister, brother-in-law and nephew made the trek out to cheer me on along with my hubby and the dog. I had a drop bag at this station so I sat down and changed my socks and ate some food and kind of assessed what was going on. My nephew told me I was faster than a panther and was doing great. Also, he was going to get a bearded dragon. :) He also let me know my legs were super muddy. It was so awesome to have them there and encouraging me. I really needed it. I also had my inner dialog with myself and my body. I was like "okay, everybody, I know this has been tough but we've only got one more section to go. A big climb and then cruise control it down. We can do it!" I'm dead serious about this. Before I set off for the next section I had my nephew give me a fist bump and I was on my way.
My fresh socks were wet within minutes. LOL! After taking a sip of whiskey from a guy dressed as the grim reaper I began the climb up Power Line (I'm not sure if you want to know that but there you go. ha!). Good lord that is a climb. But I just chanted my mantra that I use for all the hills "it has to stop eventually, it can't go on forever". Also, "what goes up, must come down." I said this out loud to some fellow runners and they appreciated it. There are two big climbs before the final AS. The section between the climbs is a real joy to run. I was sooooo happy at this section. The trail was in good shape for the most part and it was just sort of a gradual rolling descent. I just stretched my legs and ran. It felt really good. This is where the random songs popped into my head. I had Monty Python and the Holy Grail songs make an appearance, but then a mountain biker passed by singing Lizzo so then I had that stuck in my head. My watch also died in this section. That was a bummer. The second climb to the summit of Mt. Constitution was tough. It has switchbacks though so I could make myself little goals. "Just get to the next switchback". My cheering squad was at this AS too! I couldn't believe it. Evidently my nephew was worried I got lost. LOL! I ate some more food, assessed how I was feeling, got some encouragement from my squad and a picture and then headed out.
PC: Glenn Tachiyama
The final leg was pretty awesome. I would say that only about 1/4 of it was technical. So the rest of it I was able to kick it into gear and haul ass down. There was still quite a bit of water crossings and mud. I found myself saying "Seriously?" many times. I didn't have my watch so had no idea how far I had to go or a timer for eating/drinking. So I just ate as soon as I started to feel like I needed to. That seemed to work out pretty well. FINALLY, I saw some cars and thought I was getting pretty close. Nope, you get to the main road and then turn back into the woods for some more fun. They threw in another steep climb for good measure and my foot sunk into some mud up to the shin right toward the end too. That is when I swore at the mud. The last little bit was up a gravel road and then down into the muddy finish line. I made it!
My cheering squad was there too. They were congratulating me and all I could keep saying is "That was hard". Ha! I was totally beat and cold and muddy. The biggest feeling though was disbelief that I had finished that race. I had been training so hard for it and then it was here and now it is over. Crazy.
Post race consisted of a delicious dinner in town and then a soak in the soaking tubs at Doe Bay. And a good nights sleep.
Sorry if my text had you worried. I was pretty tired and had limited service so was keeping it short and sweet. I was also still a little bit in shock too. That was quite the challenge and I can't believe I did it. Thanks for all your training, advice and encouragement. You are like a little bird on my shoulder guiding me through things while I'm running.