Last year, I ran Javelina solely because I needed a
qualifier for Western States. I already had my qualifier this year - Waldo. So
why come back to Javelina? After running this race last year, I realized that
there is a lot that happens to my body between 62 miles and 100 miles that I
don't experience in the shorter races, and I wanted to keep working on adapting
to that - but I could do that in any 100 miler. So, again, why Javelina - a
loop course in the desert? I think the biggest reason was that last year, I was
injured most of the summer before Javelina and hadn't trained as well as I had
this year - I wanted to see what I could really do on the course
Last year, I actually didn't mind that I didn't have a crew
for the race. This year, I was so happy to have amazing crew supporting me
through the weekend. My friend, Tracey, and husband, Ross, flew out from
Colorado and were with me the entire time, and our friends Jen, from Peoria,
and Abe, from Tucson, helped out for much of Saturday. I'll admit that having a
crew made me feel a bit (though just a bit) more pressured to
"perform", especially since Tracey and Ross had taken time off work and
flown out, but it was nice to have the company - and during the race, the
support. At the end off it all, I'm confident I wouldn't have done as well
without their support, especially given the challenges the day brought.
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With Tracey and Jen the night before the race. |
Race morning went smoothly. I had just enough time to get
everything (well, almost everything) done without feeling rushed, but also
without any extra time to get anxious. The one thing I forgot was to
preemptively tape my knees in case I fell (I have come to accept the fact that
I am very trip-prone). I remembered when there were only about 2 minutes left
before we started, so I called out to Tracey and Ross to remind me when I came
back through after the first lap. Then, without too much fanfare, we were off.
It was awesome to see how many people were cheering us on as
we ran the horseshoe through Jeadquarters. This ended up being my favorite part
about how they changed the course this year; we ran through the tent city at
Jeadquarters every time we finished/started a loop and it felt like we had more
interaction with the spectators; of course, it’s possible I was oblivious to it
all last year.
The pack's slow jog out of Jeadquarters slowed further to a
walk as over 500 runners attempted to organize themselves onto the single track
Shalmo trail that connected Jeadquarters with the Pemberton Trail. While most
people were in good spirits a few folks were clearly upset by the sudden slow
pace, pushing their way around whenever possible. Seriously? We still have 99
miles to go....
The sunrise was beautiful, casting pinks and lavenders
across the desert sky and ground, then finally making the fuzzy chollas
(pronounced "choy-ya") glow as the bright orb finally rose above the
horizon. Unfortunately, that also meant that we were soon to see just how hot
the day would be. The temperature was forecast to be in the mid-90s the day of
the race, and I had decided to wear a white cotton t-shirt instead of the usual
polyester tech fabric. Cotton breathes better and stays wet longer - dangerous
if you're worried about being cold, but perfect if you're worried about being
hot. I was already dunking my shirt in the bucket of ice water at the first aid
station, just 4 miles into the race. ....and I repeated this at every aid
station until the sun finally became horizontal with the horizon again many
hours later.
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| Not from the race, but shows how chollas can seem to glow. |
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| Really, Jen? You're going to take a photo now?!? |
I don't remember much about the 2nd loop other than this is
where the heat of the day really hit us. When we started at 6am, it was already
70F; in the heat of the day, it got to 102F. I focused on trying to take in
calories every 30 minutes (which got hard pretty quickly as the temps rose),
staying hydrated, and staying wet. Ice went in my pack, my small bottle filled
with water, a bandanna around my neck, under my hat, and in my sports bra. I
occasionally sang little songs to myself and made up little stories about the
saguaros - like the two saguaros that looked like they were in a boxing match.
I changed shoes between loops 2 and 3. I had bought a pair of men's shoes a size larger than what I normally wear. Unfortunately, they were of the brand/style that I used to wear, not my current shoe, and when I slid my foot in (covered by a clean pair of Injijis), the shoe didn't actually feel much bigger - likely due to the fact that they were more pointed than my actual foot shape. Since they seemed to be at least marginally better than switching back to the New Balance Leadvillles I started in, I kept them on, but by the end of the day, my big toes still ended up pretty blistered and painful.
After sitting in a chair for probably a few minutes longer
than really necessary (long enough for the shirt that Abe had soaked for me to
get dry enough to need a re-soaking), I start off on my third loop. I arrived
at the first aid station on the loop just after they had run out of ice. People
looked and sounded pretty desperate. Luckily, I still had some ice in my
bandanna and under my hat. I soaked my shirt again, loaded up my water bottles,
and headed back down the trail. A few miles before the Jackass Aid Station,
halfway through the loop, the sun finally got low enough in the sky that the
larger rocks and small hills started casting some real shade on the trail. It
felt so nice to run through those short segments and have at least a brief
respite from the oppressive sun.
As the sun continued it's slide, the sky became highlighted
in lavenders and pinks, and briefly turned the most vibrant, clearest blue - a
color I'd previously only really seen in the depth of clear, deep pools of
water. I finally gave in, and turned on my headlamp. The light turn on red, so
I pressed the button a few more times. Still red. I held it down several
seconds. Still red. Crap. I was planning on switching to my wait-light at
Jeadquarters, but still had nearly 6 miles to go - and while the red light was better
than nothing, it didn't illuminate the trail nearly enough to run comfortably.
I came into the aid station and asked pleadingly if anyone
could help me with my light. Another runner reached over and quickly switched
it over to the white light. Apparently I wasn't holding the button for the
exactly correct amount of time. So grateful. My chance to return the favor came
almost immediately - as I was about to leave the aid station, I overheard
another runner tell the aid station volunteers that he hadn't planned well and
didn't have his headlamp. I told him he was welcome to run with me, and after
waiting for him to dump some rocks out of this shoes, found myself running the
next 5 miles with Cortland from Florida. I wasn't in much of a mood to talk, but
was happy to have him talking to me. At one point, Cortland asked if I was one
of the top 10 women - I told him I wasn't sure, and to be honest didn't care
that much. He seemed a bit surprised, but it was the truth. Given the day's
conditions, I was just happy that I was still on track to finish under 24
hours.
Back at Jeadquarters, I said goodbye to my cotton t-shirt
that had served me so well during the heat of the day and put on a clean tech
t-shirt, grabbed my new waist-light, and tried to get a few more calories in me
(a full can of San Peligrino soda, which I drank every time I came into
Jeadquarters, and soup, which they had started serving at dusk). Tracey jogged
out with me - then I was out on the 4th loop. This was my hardest loop, and
liek the 2nd, I don't remember much about it. We ran the 4th loop counter-clockwise,
which feels harder to me than clockwise - the most technical part of the trail
is on the downhill half; not so big of an issue on fresh legs, but on tired
legs in the dark, it just plain felt hard. I frequently turned on my music to
give me a bit of a distraction and boost.
It was so great to come into Jeadquarters again knowing that
I only had one more loop to go until I was done. The 5th loop mentally felt a
bit easier. I occasionally listened to music; at other times just enjoyed the
quiet of the night. ...and I frequently checked my watch to check my pace. At
times it seemed like I could power walk faster than I could run, but I was able
to run at a decent pace most of the time. And, of course, my ability to
actually do any decent calculations was greatly diminished, so I vacillated between
thinking I had plenty of time and thinking that I was cutting it extremely
close if my goal was still to come in under 24 hours. (I had given up on my
"A" goal of finishing close to 22 hours when it became clear how hot
it was going to be). Finally, I came to the last aid station before the finish.
I tried to eat a bit more soup and drink a few cups of soda, then sent Ross and
Tracey a text telling them I'd be there in about 45 minutes
I crossed the finish line in 23 hours, 11 minutes, and 49
seconds. It was only 32 minutes faster than last year, but considering the conditions
of the day, I think I ran a lot better than I did the previous year. For
context, out of 574 starters, only 285 finished, and of those, only 93 (16%) of
us finished under 24 hours (in contrast, 24.6% of starters finished under 24
hours last year). Of women, 169 women started, 85 finished, but only 15
finished under 24 hours. ...I managed to finish as the 6th (6th!!!!) woman,
69th runner over-all.
I loved having my crew this year. Jen and Abe's
enthusiasm and willingness to dive in. Tracey's awesome positivity - I
had my own personal cheerleader. Ross was quiet, steady support, and it felt so
good to be surrounded by his hug at the end of the race. It was also their first
100 miler - and it was fun to hear them talk about the experience from their
point of view later in the day as we waited for the flight home.
In reviewing my splits from the official race timing vs. my
watch, it's clear that I spent a log of time at the Jeadquarters aid station.
Though it's something I want to try to improve, given how hot it was, I think
it was good that I focused so much on trying to get cool and hydrated.
So..... was it better than last year? Most definitely -
over-all, I had a better race and my body recovered much better. Last year I
could wear shoes for several days my feet were so swollen (I actually wore
Ross's shoes to take Ollie for a walk); my legs were swollen, too. This year,
neither of those were an issue. Unfortunately, I did get food poisoning the day
after the race this year. My guess is that my body's defenses were pretty much
non-existent given the strain I put it under, so some bacteria that I normally
would have been able to fight off resulted in me puking several times the night
after the race. Needless to say, that meant that catching back up on calories
was a bit delayed.
In the weeks after the race, I've been asked more than once
"why?" Why would I bother running a 100? Gosh.... so many reasons,
many of which I still can't really articulate. Some of it is the excuse to run
in beautiful places. Some of it is that I actually really do love to run. Then
there's the ultra- and trail-running communities - they're pretty awesome folk.
There's challenging myself - seeing what I can do. ...and then there's the
unknown. It's related to the challenge part - but I think of it as being so
much more mental, emotional, and philosophical. I've learned so much about
myself and my capacity while running - and those are lessons that have stuck
with me outside of race day. ...and I feel lucky that I have people who care
about me who are willing to support me in these endeavors
In addition to my fabulous crew, definite thanks to my
awesome coach and friend, Meghan Arbogast, who definitely succeeded in getting my "Optimally
undertrained" for this race. and Squirrel's Nut Butter once again proved
itself to be the best anti-chafe product out there - remarkable considering how
sensitive my skin is and the conditions that my skin wasn't torn up
Stats:
Loop 1 (22.3 miles) - 3:58:17
Loop 2 (19.5 miles for the loop, 41.8 miles total): 4:20:29 for loop; 8:18:46 elapsed
Loop 2 (19.5 miles for the loop, 41.8 miles total): 4:20:29 for loop; 8:18:46 elapsed
Loop 3 (19.5 miles for the loop, 61.2 miles total): 4:40:49 for loop; 12:59:35 elapsed
Loop 4 (19.5 miles for the loop, 80.6 miles total): 5:10:38 for loop; 18:10:33 elapsed
Loop 5 (19.5 miles for the loop, 100ish miles total): 5:01:16 for loop; finish time: 23:11:49
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