I went to run my first 60K (37ish miles) down in Grand Rivers, Kentucky on Saturday (3/8). It was a fun road trip down with new friends Jill and Beth. I was so excited to get to go to a new place I had not been to before and see a new trail. I had heard much about this race and the pretty course. They weren't kidding! The first thing I saw when we got there was the beautiful lake and all the pretty sailboats docked there. There were even a couple out on the lake. It was nice weather too.
I went to get my packet with Jill and Beth and then we headed out to find the condo I was sharing with some new friends for the next two nights. I was wound up the night before. I have some definite traditions the night before a big event. I got to the condo and started right away unpacking all my gear, pinning my bib on, packing my drop bag and making shoe choices. It took me awhile but then I had nothing to worry about on race morning because it would all be done already. I got not as much sleep as I would have liked but still woke up nice and early at 4am, had my oatmeal with chia seeds, a bit of coffee, got my stuff together and caught a 5 am trolly the race had provided to take people to the community center where the race headquarters were.
I am glad I got there early. By the time I had gotten all my gear organized, my hydration belt packed, made some last-minute nutrition/wardrobe decisions it was almost time to head to the start line. I got to see my friend Benny picking up his packet. That was nice! I also met some other bloomington people. It was actually kind of funny. I complimented this nice lady on her gators (very nice!) and when she asked where I was from she said "I am from Bloomington too!" Then her husband walked in and I had remembered him a little from other trail runs. That was fun!
I left to go jog to the starting line and ran into my friend Toni who was running the race as well. It is always fun to see Toni. She is a very funny, positive person and it is nice to see her smiling face. As we ran to the starting line we passed a boat that said "Painkiller" on the side. Funny! Mark and Chris (who was running her very first race!) and Toni all hung out together at first. The line started to move and we started down the long road to the start of the trail. I had worn my old flannels and sweatpants at the beginning and about halfway down the bridge I peeled off to the side, stripped off the flannels and sweats, and started running in just my shorts, t-shirt and arm sleeves. Right away I was excited because I got to have that wonderful experience of being PERFECTLY dressed for the weather. That is a tricky thing to do especially when the seasons are changing and I generally overdress and feel hot and bogged down. This time I had picked the perfect race wear.
Here I am in my flannel pre-race. I was joking I was channeling my "inner Anton Krupicka" in my old flannel. (For those of you who haven't seen the movie Unbreakable, runner or not, you need to see it! A great movie featuring some of the best of the best ultrarunners. Anton wears flannel shirts at times during his runs.) To the left was the first cameraman catching me BEFORE I got muddy.
One of the first things that struck me was the beautiful water of the lake. The sun came out and lit the waves up like diamonds and the sound of the waves lapping the shore was so soothing and peaceful it made me feel very relaxed and happy. The fact that I was running in warm sunshine for the first time in a long time really gave me a high. I think the sunshine carried me most of the way. I was waving to people, talking to everyone. I even called out to some guys fishing "Hey you guys catching anything?" They yelled back "only one so far!" and I wished them luck fishing.
I could have stood here by this view for a long time but, oh yeah, I had a race to run...and miles to go before I sleep. So I put the camera away and kept moving. On the first lap it was all snow but the snow was so soft and gentle on my feet it was actually heavenly. It was tamped down enough it was not icy or slippery. It felt really good! And the sunshine was warming up everything so I was feeling fine in my shorts and t-shirt which felt like I had lost 10 pounds just not having to have a bunch of gear on me. It gave me wings!
Another dazzling view of the lake. WOW! What a great place to spend the day!!
There were some nice little prairie parts too. At one point I stopped to take a quick video because there were these parts where I swear I couldn't figure out what kind of animal was making this loud chirping sound. It sounded like something in between frogs, crickets and an alien spacecraft taking off.
I stopped at one point to take yet another photo and this other runner asked if I was alright. I said YES just taking photos! I made some new friends on the trail too. I met some guy who was also doing the 60K and we got to talking as we ran and it turned out he grew up around Overland Park, Kansas which was very near where I lived for a long time in my childhood. In fact his sister had attended another high school in the same school district that I went to school in! Small world out there folks. Tim and I kept leapfrogging each other for much of the race. I would pass him as we exchanged brief check-ins and then I would stop at an aid station or something and he and his friend would pull ahead...on and on like that. Another guy was running the marathon and we also were leapfrogging a bit. That was how it happened with a lot of the little spread out group I was in the midst of. It was friendly. No one was upset when we were passed and everyone was encouraging and pleasant while passing. Everyone was out there to have a good time and no one was a stranger. We were all friends! I have rarely met a snarky trail runner. We spend too much time out in lovely surroundings to have a lot of stress.
I came up on the aid station at mile 19 where my drop bag was and I saw my new friends Jill and Beth! They were yelling "Go Heather!" and took some pictures of me. It was so nice to see them! I stopped long enough to change shoes, have a packet of baby food (yes baby food--it's good and filled with vitamins), and go from t-shirt to my singlet as the sun was really warming things up. YAY SUN!! After changing and everything I said goodbye to Jill and Beth and headed back out for the end of the second loop.
Everyone at the aid stations were fantastic. They immediately came to me asking "What can we get you? You need your bottles refilled? You are doing great!" A great aid station can be a huge pick-me-up on a long run. It can make a big difference when you are getting a little tired to run into a happy, well-stocked aid station and have some basic needs, both physical and emotional, taken care of. Here is a photo of me at the aid station in which we were given hot egg sandwiches which were like heaven to me because I was really getting hungry and needed some protein and carbs so that was the perfect little meal.
I was feeling good and kept going on as the snow gave way to slush which gave way to muck and mud. Hey if you don't want to get muddy and dirty you might as well pack up your trail shoes and head home!
Some VERY muddy legs and some of the mashed up, muddy trail on the third loop.I was proud of my well-earned dirt!
At one point I was running along and heard this HUGE loud "brooooooommmm" sound to my left. It made me jump nearly out of my skin! I looked over and there was a big barge with a substantial payload going by. I yelled to this guy stationed up ahead "That scared me to death!" He laughed and said "I bet it did! They were just saluting you!" I had to stop and take a picture because, HEY, how often do you get to see a big barge go by?
I got my nice belt buckle and we went out for mexican food and margaritas that night. And, yes, that is me sitting on a horse in the middle of the mexican restaurant. Girls gone wild!
So that is it! My second ultra, my first 60K and I did it an hour quicker than I did my 50K! Not bad.
