Well I am actually getting off my butt and writing this race report early, and that is primarily because my leg is so swollen I cannot get off my butt! But here we go - let's see if I can describe the splendor and pain of running for 24 hours in a few paragraphs.
This was my second year running Ghost Train, but my first attempt at 100 miles. As Saturdayapproached I got more nervous about what I was attempting but I knew I was prepared. I had done all of the training and I reminded myself of what Will my coach always says -"there are only three things you can control on race day - nutrition, pace and attitude."
The race began on a clear cold morning in Brookline New Hampshire at 9:10am. This is so opposite the precision and hype of an Ironman. We wandered to the start with a few minutes to go and there was no cannon or national anthem, just someone yelling go! And off we went - there were a total of 250 participants in the event, and 100 attempting the 100 miler. This race is set up to be as many loops of 15 miles as you can do in 30 hours. What is nice about this is you do not get a DNF, rather the miles you complete are recorded. However, if you are going for a distance beyond the 15 mile increments - such as 50 miles or 100k which is 62, they only record the 15 mile multiples. This matters later in the story....
The first 43 miles were pretty benign. It was a beautiful, cool day and I was running with my friend Charlie Z, who I met last year. Charlie is 62, completed his first 100 last year and is the most positive, talkative person I have ever met. We managed to talk and run for 12 hours - we managed to solve all of the world's problems except for Obama Care! I had a goal pace of 4 hours per loop - it was slow but I knew if I stuck with 3:30 to 4 hours per loop I could maintain that pace for 100 miles. The tough part at the beginning of these races is sticking with your pace commitment. Charlie and I were going almost too fast at the beginning, so we slowed down to hit a 3:40 pace for the first two loops. This also allowed us the opportunity for longer transitions. Transitions at these ultras are also a world of difference from an Ironman. At the aid stations they give out pizza, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, burgers....all we needed were some stools and it would have been like the Agawam Diner! And let me tell you a slice of Hawaiian pizza after 45 miles of running is absolute heaven!
At this point it is also important to paint the picture of the start and turnarounds. Unlike an Ironman, you can take a nap during an ultra - it is accepted and even encouraged in certain circumstances! So along the start are people's transition areas often with tents, chairs, coolers. I had an area with a chair and all of my gear and I was parked near the start and had a little nest with a sleeping bag, etc set up in the back. (Consider this foreshadowing....)
As I said, all was going well, plugging along on the trail at a slow but regular pace until the end of the third loop. My IT bands were tightening and I was slowing my pace but not yet walking. We were about two miles from the start when I made the fatal mistake of having to pee in the woods. When I stood back up pain just shot down my leg and tears began to run down my cheeks. I had to take a few steps, bend over, breath, and move again. It was like this for a few hundred yards and then I got used to the pain so could pick up the pace slightly. I was still with Charlie and at this point it was really dark (yes we had headlamps! The first two loops were 3:40 each and this loop was going to be over 5 hours! But we would still have plenty of time to finish the 100. With that in our heads we continued toward the start line. This was also the only point in the race where I wondered what the ******I was doing out here and questioned how much I wanted to do this. I know from years of Ironman that discouragement is part of it and I allowed the thoughts to move through my head and not get stuck. I was trying to do the same with the pain. We got to the start transition area around 10:10 and I saw many familiar faces from the GAC. Paula, Ed, Cheryl, Gilly, Martha, Darlene and Dave. It was awesome to see so many people late at night - it helped keep me motivated. Charlie and I took about 15 minutes and loaded up on pizza, etc. I was so craving salt the whole race - I really could have used a dirty martini - I think it would have solved both the pain and the salt issues!
We were off at 10:25 and this is where the unexpected happened. I got a cramp in my groin. Not pretty but it really hurt. I had been feeling sore in the piriformis and psoas and now it was radiating to the left groin. Each time I stepped I cried - that could have been an interesting way to race. I went about 1/4 of a mile like this when both Charlie and I made the same decision...I need to take a break and work out this cramp. He said if we get too far I cannot carry you back and he was correct. Sooooo I hobbled back to the turnaround, not defeated because I had 30 hours, but just really in pain. I found Gilly and he told me to drink salted water. I already had 100 ounces of salted water throughout the day but I was craving salt so badly I listened. And then I hobbled to my car to crawl into the back and reassess. Charlie and I agreed he would come back after his fourth loop and I would go out with him then. So I had about 4 hours to nap, stretch and reconnoiter. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that I would be perfectly happy with a 100k finish and that I had to do that. Last year I attempted the 100k but got food poisoning at mile 30 and ran 15 miles vomitting. So I had to at least redeem myself by completing the 4th loop. If I was able to do more, fine, but I had to at least get in a 100k. And I felt good reaching that conclusion. I did not think I would nap 4 hours but I did and at 2:45am, I got up, put my headlamp back on and went out to meet Charlie.
At the aid station was another veteran ultra runner, Craig Wilson, a bearded Grizzly Adams type of fellow, who has completed over 100 ultras and is a spry 64 years old. He said Charlie had dropped back because his vertigo had kicked in. So I headed out with Craig. In the dark of3am we headed out for his 5th and my 4th loop. My cramp had subsided and the IT pain on the left side of the knee was gone, but now there was a dull ache behind the knee. This ache would become my constant companion for 6 hours.
I loved running the loop in the dark. There was such calm in the silence and seeing the occasional headlamp coming toward me. There was a fellowship and comraderie in knowing it was a fellow runner who was experiencing the same bliss and pain. It was truly beautiful. When we approached the midpoint aid station at the three mile mark, the people running the station (which was like a gourmet restaurant) informed us that coffee would be ready in an hour. Just in time for dawn and the return trip! This alone motivated me. The loop was long and painful, but not lonely. This is the point in the race where most people were walking and we were waiting for the light of dawn. Although this was my longest loop it was also my favorite. I loved the dark! I loved being out there with others in the night with a shared goal and shared pain, I loved knowing dawn was approaching, I loved hearing the roosters in the distance let me know that dawn was coming, and I loved the French Press coffee at the aid station in the middle. I walked/ran with the cup of coffee knowing I was only 10k form 100k and my revised goal. It is also important to note that the organizers had so much fun decorating the trail. There were jackolanterns and ghost all over the trail which added to the fun.
The pain in my knee was getting more severe and although I had entertained a 5th loop at the beginning of this loop I knew that wasn't possible. I just needed to get to the turnaround and then add two more miles. I was going to have an official 100k damnit and I would not stop 2 miles short! I got back to the turnaround and told the race director I was going back out for 2 more and I wanted it recorded! So I dumped my light and headed back out for a grueling, painful two miles at a 16 minute pace. In addition to the official finish I had another incentive. Darlene and Davey from the GAC had made a big sign hanging on a tree that said GO BRENDA! I had to collect my sign. As I came back in and completed my first 100k I was greeted by my pacer Charlie Z and my boyfriend Steve. I was very happy to be done and satisfied with how I managed the past 24 hours. The recorded time for the 100k was 24 hours, but that included a 5 hour nap : ) And I am glad I am done.
So - some reflections - a very different animal than Ironman. This is a long slow torture. There are things I like better and things I don't. I have learned to never to say never, but it will be a while before I do this again. I really hurt and have gotten a lot slower. It is time to return to my first love - Ironman. And oh my leg .... it is bruising from the inside out and my calf is completely purple and three times it's normal size. This never happens to me in Ironman. So - it is time for a rest. Yoga, meditation and maybe a margarita or two. But I have accomplished running further than I ever have....and it was a beautiful experience overall.
Be well.
Brenda
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