For several days before Waldo, I was able to picture the course as I thought about the different sections. I was so looking forward to the race – being back home, seeing good friends, and having the chance to lose myself in the woods for several hours. Rather than my normal pre-race nerves, the day before I felt mildly excited, but mostly just happy. My “A” goal was to run 13 hours 30 minutes, “B” was under 16 hours (to get a hat, and qualify for Western States), and “C” was to finish before getting pulled. However, I’ll admit that when I realized that I’m now a masters (i.e. over 40 years old) runner, I got into the idea that I could possibly place as a masters if not as a regular top 3 finisher.
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| I'm just left of center, 2nd row back in the white shirt and greenish skirt. |
After a few hours of sleep in the car in the parking lot and
a smooth pre-race morning routine, I was once again heading up the first climb
to the top of one of the ski runs. I tried to pace myself, but I also didn’t
want to get behind too many people – the road was super dry and each footstep
sent a cloud of dust in the air. My asthma had flared up a few weeks prior to
the race, and I wanted to minimize triggers as much as I could.
The reward for the steep, dusty climb was the next several
miles of single track into the Gold Lake aid station. The trail was magical - easy
running on soft earth as the sky slowly grew lighter and the sun approached the
horizon. I was carrying electrolytes in my Camelback bladder (50 oz) and water
in a small hand-held bottle I kept in one of the chest pockets. I’ve never done
this before, but it was probably the smartest decision I made the entire race.
I was able to wash my gels down with the plain water and douse my head and neck
during the warmer parts of the day. I started off with Gu gels; at the Gold
Lake aid station, I grabbed a few of the Cliff shot gels they had, refilled my
water bottle, and visited the bathroom. I figured several women had passed me,
but I wasn’t worried about it – it was a long day, with a lot of miles to go.
I felt good climbing up Mt. Fuji. I ran what I could, and power
walked the steeper sections. I focused on using my glutes and hamstrings as I
knew my quads would take a beating running the downhills. I caught Kelsie after
the Fuji aid station, and we hiked most of the climb together. About ¾ of the
way up, I got my first glance at Diamond Peak gleaming in the distance. So
pretty! I let out of woop of joy, and finished my climb up. At the top I got a
hug from Meghan who told me I was in 2nd place. ummm….. what? In
contrast to a few years ago, I hadn’t been getting updates from the aid
stations on where I was placed, so this was definitely a surprise. I wasn’t
trying to be up this high. She told me to just keep doing what I was doing.
Okay, I could do that. So with another joyful woop, I started the fun run back
down the mountain.
I was on my own most of the trail to the Mt Ray aid station
– and I’ll admit that I started to feel a bit lonely; but I still enjoyed the
soft trail that curved through forests and meadows. Kelsie caught me about a
mile before the aid station and we ran in together. She left just before I did, and I didn’t see her the rest
of the day. She ended up placing 2nd – super happy for her. Pretty
soon I caught up to Ken Sinclair, from Bend. Between Mt. Ray and Twins I, Ken
and I alternated passing each other and running together. It was nice to have a
bit of company.
For the last two years, thinking back to the section between the Twins and Charlton Lake aid station has brought back calming and joyful memories. I remembered it as being a delightful, easy run down a gently sloping trail. I’d forgotten that there was about a mile uphill before getting to the downhill part, and it felt much harder than I thought it should. Then, starting the downhill, I had a hard time getting into a rhythm. I kept trying to quiet my monkey mind . “Of course my legs hurt a bit and I’m a bit nauseous; I’ve been running hard for almost 30 miles; I’ve run through worse for longer, I’ll be okay.” “I’m in 3rd place now, and I’m pretty sure I’m 1st masters – could I hold my place this time?” "Do I really care if I place high this time?”. …and so on… Unfortunately, the distraction in my head was enough to keep me from paying appropriate attention to the trail. I don’t even know how I tripped, but something caught me as I was going pretty fast down hill, and I landed hard, with my head getting the worst of it. I’m not sure what I landed on, but after my calves stopped their painful cramping and I was able to turn over and into a sitting position, I reached up to wipe the moisture from my forehead, and realized that not only did I have a big goose egg on my left temple, but I was also bleeding a bit. I was grateful to Liz for stopping to check on me. I eventually pushed myself up and started slowly trotting down the trail.
In about a mile, I came to Charlton Lake and I was so
grateful to see some friends from Corvallis, starting with Mel who ran me into
the aid station. Like all the other aid stations, I felt like I was in a Formula
One pit stop – my pack was taken off my shoulders and whisked away to be
refilled; a girl suddenly showed up in front of me holding my drop bag open for
me to grab what I wanted. I told her thanks, but I didn’t’ need anything, which
was a definite mistake. I should have grabbed the gels I had stashed in there. (The
Cliff shots are a lot thicker, and I was having an increasingly hard time
swallowing them. At the time I thought I’d have a problem swallowing any gels, but
several miles later when I tried a Gu I’d stuffed down my pack, I realized I
could still get those down reasonably well.) Most importantly, my friend,
Dennis was at Charlton – he asked me how I was, and when I said okay, except
that everyone kept asking me how I was doing (while choking back a few tears), Dennis made me sit down, then
brought over water so I could wash off the dirt and grime. The medic came over,
and with no symptoms of a concussion, Dennis’s statement that the following
section wasn’t hard, just warm, and my assurance that if I started feeling
nauseous or dizzy, I’d walk to the aid station and stop, I was allowed to
continue on to 4290.
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| View from the top of Maiden Peak - taken in 2010. |
Between Charlton and 4290 was where my head really became an
issue. Not because of hitting it, but because I was no longer in my happy
running place. All I could think about was being tired, sore, and nauseous, and
worrying about the huge lump on my head. Heading up to twins 2, I obsessed
about not being able to run more of the climb. I hadn’t been able to eat much,
so I worried about how getting behind in calories would affect me.
Thankfully, Twin 2 had popsicles. After a couple cups of
Sprite and Pringles, I started back down the trail, running as fast as a could
while eating my push-pop. Sooooo good, and definitely a bit of a boost for the
mood. I actually felt pretty good heading up to the Maiden Peak aid station,
which also had popsicles. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much that could make the
climb to the summit of Maiden Peak any easier. So steep.
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| Done! |
I was happy to see another familiar face on the summit – and
thankful for a hug from Hannah. I stopped to take in the view – so pretty! I
somewhat reluctantly headed back down the trail. After cautiously negotiating
the steep and rocky Leap of Faith trail, I made it to the Maiden Lake aid
station. The hot pierogi actually tasted pretty good, so after eating one of
those and downing a few cups of soda, I left the aid station, reminding myself
that I only had 7 miles left to go. However, instead of feeling happy, I
started crying. I let myself walk and cry a bit, then reminded myself that the faster
I ran, the quicker I’d be done. Not speedy, but I had some decent sections of
running. …and 14 hours and 25 minutes after I started, I got my hug and new
beanie from Meghan as I crossed the finish line.
While I’d moved back to 9th woman, I actually
still managed to “podium” – coming in as the 2nd Masters woman.
First time I’ve won something in an ultra!
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| Getting my award from the Queen! (the beanie hid my head-lump) |
Huge thanks to the race organizers (Meghan and Craig) and
all of the volunteers. I was so well taken care of all day – best aid stations
of any race I’ve ever done, for sure. I’m also grateful for the care I received
from the race medics – both at Charlton and at the end, where I had an asthma
attack. They were professional and caring, but also not overly conservative in
their approach. I’m once again grateful to Meghan for her thoughtful coaching
and support, my parents for letting me borrow their car and feeding me well
over the weekend, and everyone who has continued to support and encourage me in
this crazy running thing.
Stats:
34th of 121 starters; 9th of 21 women who finished.
2nd place masters (over 40) woman
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