Indiana Trail 100

The IT100 was an amazing race for me. I had been training for it for months and was nervous about it for a month before it. In my heart I thought for sure I could do it but in my head was worried I had not trained hard enough or done enough to finish. I arrived there early in the afternoon on Friday to set up camp and get my packet. Packet pickup was great because I got to see and spend time with some very good friends some of whom were running the race and some of whom were either pacing or volunteering their time to help us achieve our goals. 

   Mike and the others working on the race had worked very hard and the course did a wonderful job of prepping the trails for us. The roots were painted pink for us to see them better, there was hay on the ground in some of the more slippery places and pink flags everywhere so we could always see where we were going. Very well maintained and well marked.

    I had my little tent all set up and was feeling like it was pretty cozy. My friend had loaned me some things like sleeping bags and camp stove which I didn't end up using and I had all my things including my foam roller ready to go. 

   That morning I got up at dawn. It was hard to get up because the sleeping bag was so warm and toasty but finally I got up, got my gear and clothes ready and started out towards the starting line. As usual I was up to the last minute going to the bathroom and things and got to the starting line right as it started. A few race announcements from Mike and we were off on our day and night adventure.

  

   It wasn't raining when we started off. I had my headlamp on and we were hoping it would hold off for awhile. It started in around 8 or 9 I would say although I didn't have a watch with me (my garmin had already died the night before).
  I had brought my big orange rain poncho with me and stuffed it into the back of my hydration pack. It really came in handy! During the day I kept pulling it out to wear and then stuffing it back into my pack when the rain let up for awhile.
  The morning was chilly and I had woken up feeling a huge chill in the air so I put on everything basically I had to keep warm. A mile in I knew I had overdressed which is a bummer on a long trail run because then you need to tie your clothes around your waist or give up some clothing so you can run. I had to leave some clothing behind at an aid station.         

I ran the first loop pretty fast. I was taking run/walking breaks but when I walked it was speed walking. I was trying to save what I could for the later laps. I finished my first loop in 4:13 which was crazy fast for me. My second loop it has been 8:30 hours I had been running. I wasted probably too much time at some of the aid stations changing clothes, putting on my blister cream and such. I was actually told at one "Don't mean to kick you out but you have a time limit." I hurried and finished putting on my dry socks and then was off again. I had some gels and a little bit of food with me. I took in the gels for awhile but by the third lap they were making me feel nauseous.

I was so amazed by all the attentiveness of the aid station volunteers. Every time I came into one they were saying "what can I get you? Do you need your pack refilled? Want some of this or that?" And wow did they have some good food! Perogies and soup, jelly beans and pretzels. At one they gave me some pickle juice to drink. That may seem weird but the sodium in it is really helpful. I had been taking my Endurolytes so was not too bad on sodium but every little thing counts when you are going a long distance.
   I ran into so many nice people also on the trail. I ran with Charles Momon for awhile which was nice. I met people and heard their stories as we ran along. I hopscotched people as you do and so got to visit the same faces and check in with them regularly.
   The Indiana Trail Runner tent was wonderful! They had a fire, some delicious potato soup and my friends Erin and Chris who were so attentive to me when I came in from my loops. They just said "Tell us what you need and we will do it for you. We are here to take care of you."  That made me feel so good!
  I was not able to eat for awhile but then tried the magic of Gin Gins at one of the aid stations courtesy of my friend Alicia. She said it would calm my stomach and I could eat for awhile. She also told me to change clothes next time I came around the start/finish line. I did as I was told and felt much warmer. I hadn't realized even with the poncho I was still getting very wet and it would soon be getting later and colder. The mud was really hard to deal with. At times it was the shoe sucking mud which made it hard to get through and then there were sections which were really slippery and you had to be on the top of your game to keep from sliding right down the gully next to you or just sliding down into the mud. I couldn't believe i only fell one time during the entire race! But Mike and the volunteers had very nicely put hay down on some of the more slippery parts which was a much needed, and welcome, addition.
   The night fell. I grabbed my first pacer Keith and we were off for the fourth loop. By now I had finished my first 50 miles. The wet and mud were really bad and I had taught myself the art of "Mud Skiing" which was sliding down the muddy slopes as though I was skiing through snow. It helped me with a little speed and also was easier than trying to inch my way down. Kieth and I had some great conversations and it was nice to make a new friend. He helped me a lot. Also before we left the ITR tent my friend Erin had given me some jelly beans to eat. My favorite!
   I put on my headlamp and then on the fifth loop I picked up my second pacer Alicia. She was great! She got me moving and kept me moving even when I was hurting and would probably have slowed down more on my own.She went ahead of me so I had someone to follow and would say to me "Can you do a little surge and catch up to me?". And lo and behold I was able to do that! When I was getting tired and forgetful she would remind me I needed to eat or drink something. She kept me busy with conversation and made me laugh so hard at some of her comments. I learned some great pacer strategies in case i ever want to try to pace someone myself.
   When I came up to meet Alicia I was happily surprised to find my friend Ashley waiting for me to cheer me on and give me a big hug. It was so great of her to come out in the middle of the night (!!!) to see me. The aid stations were now getting some amazingly good food and I tried to eat more than at that point I wanted to so I could keep up with my calorie use and making sure to drink enough so I could remain hydrated.
   The night wore on and I was starting to have the fabled hallucinations people had spoken of on some of the facebook groups. At one point I was sure I was either seeing the space station up in the sky or a UFO. I also thought at one point the grass on either side of the trail looked like snow because it looked so white to me in my headlamp. Besides that I thought I was keeping my wits about me pretty well. I felt focused most of the time....only getting quiet or spacing out a little when I got too tired to think of anything to say.
   I finished the loop and the morning came. I had been having some problems on the fifth loop with my right shin and my right knee. For some reason everything on my right side was having problems. It was probably because I was using that leg to be my pushing leg and it got a lot more work. The morning was beautiful. I was so tired by that time though I was just trying to get through that last loop. I felt in pain a lot and felt I was going so slowly. It seemed to take forever to get through certain spots and I was certainly tired of mud!
   As I came into one of the spots on the trail leading up to the schoolhouse for the last time the course sweeper, Jerry, found me and stayed with me. He reminded me, as Alicia had, to keep moving. I wanted that buckle so kept going not stopping much at aid stations, pushing myself to run even though I was hurting. My right knee was feeling it especially on the downhills but I found something in myself to hit 12-14 minute miles in the last couple of miles to try to reach the finish in time. Jerry would say "Good form, nice arm motion, good breathing, you can do this. Push a little harder. You want that buckle!" I did push myself and we came around the corner leading to the beach.
  At this point a wonderful lady came bursting out of nowhere to rush me on to the finish. She told me to breathe, concentrate and led me all the way up to the start/finish. Once again....I was awed by how great the people were I came in contact with! I ran up the finish line with my buddy Mory there to run the last bit with me. As I passed the finish line I collapsed in her arms and wept.It had been such an emotional race for me and the last lap trying to beat my time had been the most emotional part. I was feeling so tired but grateful for all the help during the race and towards the end and was happy it was time I could actually sit down soon! I was overcome by emotion. I met several people who were teary about my finish and told me how I was an inspiration to them. Terry and Debi gave me a nice ITR shirt for a reward for sticking with it. I got to talk to Mike and he told me it didn't matter if I had a buckle or not I had done it!
  

Here I am running down the home stretch to the finish line with Mory. I was still trying to beat that clock but by now knew I was just a minute late. Though in some ways that made me a little frustrated with myself (saying to myself if I hadn't spent so much time here or there or had pushed myself a little harder I could have....." but realized that I had run 100 miles and it was a crazy wonderful accomplishment for someone who just a few years ago couldn't run around the block!

 Just ONE pair of shoes from the race. Look at all that mud! I had to change shoes once because of mud and soon after these started to look exactly the same.

So I finished my 100 miler! I was proud of myself. I thought then though I would not want to try a 100 mile race again. Today, though, I am looking at races. (Isn't that always the way?)