No Luck Involved...

 

The ominous sky blazed with bright flashes of lightening as the clouds threatened imminent downpours.  On a course notorious for eating its young, I wondered what it would do to even the experienced on a day like this. Without time for second thoughts, the 50k runners huddle together for the last bits of wisdom before the walk to the start line.  A deep voice comes blasting out of the dark, "This is going to be Epic"!
My first Flat Rock 50k had officially started.  Reina and I were just tooling along and I was keeping an eye on Melissa as well.  Right before we jumped of the road and down to the trail, I noticed that Melissa had dropped back a bit.  I knew today was about her running her race, so I just kept moving along and knew I'd see her again later in the day.

I try to break longer races into manageable pieces, so for today, it was about going from aid station to aid station.  The first part of the trail is pretty technical, but with enough rocks, at least you weren't sliding around in mud.  The rain pelted down steadily, but the miles were rolling by.  Made it through the first aid station, then it's about the same distance to the next one.  Again, conditions weren't too bad, so overall I was happy with how we were moving.  The 25k turnaround came in roughly where I had hoped based on the conditions (and the promises from last year that the second half of the course was easier with many more 'runnable' sections of trail) and at that point, I was still hoping to have a good showing overall.  The next section from the 25k turnaround to Dana's Aid Station, proved to be much tougher than expected.  By this point, the mud was getting thicker and the rain was still coming down.  I walked much more than planned and didn't make it Dana's near as fast as I had hoped.  I still thought maybe, just maybe, the race could be salvaged.
Leaving Dana's, there's roughly 5.5 miles until the turnaround and it should be more runnable sections of trail.  But, the rain had done its work and instead of nice trail, runners were facing 3+ inches of watery mud to slop through.  There was no going around it; the best option was just going straight through.  Going through this section, I was amazed at all the positive comments coming from runners on their way back.  We met the second overall runner (Ron Lapoint) and he even made a comment about how hard it was to run in these conditions.  Not long after, I saw Zach and I will say he was  looking very good!  I knew the race was going well for him.  I also saw Candi and could tell she was not having the day she had hoped for, but she was still pushing herself to the limit.  One of the most interesting parts of the day was the warning of a Copperhead snake just off the trail, several runners warned us to stay to the left, wait, maybe the other left? I just prayed to not see it!  There's also a section where there's a metal ladder to cross over a barbed wire fence and I remember Reina saying "Really, they expect me to climb a ladder".  I just laughed.  About this point, I saw Justin and while he wasn't as far ahead as I expected him to be, he seemed to be in great spirits and not injured, both good things with a 100 mile race coming in just two short weeks.

Finally, we had reached the turnaround and Tony's Aid Station. Surprisingly enough, he didn't want a hug from this wet, muddy gal!  I asked him how Justin was and he said he was doing just fine, not complaining of any injuries and in good spirits.  We gathered up a few snacks and headed back out.  The first section of the trail back actually seemed to go by pretty quickly, so I had high hopes for the time back to Dana's to pass quickly.  Sadly enough, that was not the case.  This section really sucked at my soul.  It was slick, it was hard to even walk, it seemed like I was making no progress at all.  It's times like these that the mind will start to mess with you.  I was questioning the sanity of what I was doing.  Why am I out here?  Why do I do this to myself?  Then I remind myself…because this is fun!  I love running, I love trail running, I love the people I've met and become friends with through trail running and I love being that role model for my three girls.

Finally, back to Dana's and I don’t think I've ever been happier to see someone's face as I was to see hers!  I also learned a new tip for nutrition at this point.  I knew I needed to eat more, I think because of the rain through the first 6ish hours, I hadn't really focused on eating or even drinking that much and knew to make it to the finish, I had to do better.  At this point, nothing sounded very appetizing, so no PB&J or Nutella for me.  Another runner asked for a plain tortilla and I thought, that does sound good. But, then he did this amazing thing, he put Pringles in his tortilla, folded it up and started crunching away at it!  I had to try this!  I think I have a new favorite Ultra food now!  I took mine with
me as we started back down the trail.  Just a short section back to the 25K turnaround and then we're ¾ the way done!

At this point, I hit what Reina later called a very 'bad' place for me.  I don't deal well with being down during a race because it rarely happens. I'm not saying I always have good races, just that usually, I can roll with the punches and just keep plugging along, but I was having a hard time.  We had moved along with 3 other runners for a good stretch, but then stopped for a call of nature break and to get a little more fuel; I was in need of some motivation.  About this point, Adam and Jason happened across us.  Following Adam as he was trying to maintain a decent pace and listening to Jason telling stories and just making us laugh worked magic on me.  We even ran into Ken (the 8th Knight in the Hall of Pain) and trekked with him for awhile.  All of this combined made the trek to the last aid station much more bearable.

Finally, the last aid station and a little shot of whiskey and back to it for those last four miles to the finish line.  I think the sugar from my gels kicked in, because I found a bit of a second gear.  Then, I saw Rick Mayo and knew I was reaching the point to go through the rocks and then the final downhill to be back to the road and the finish line.  At this point, it's such a relief because I know we've done it!

My first Flat Rock 50k was a mental challenge beyond any I have ever done. To all the runners out there, from the first finishers at just under 5 hours to the last finishers, crossing the finish line with seconds to spare
to beat that 11 hour cutoff, we all won on this day!  Big thanks to Eric and all of the Epic Ultra Brigade for all the long hours you put in.  The smiling faces and kind words mean the world to each of us.  And to all the
other runners out there, the words of encouragement on the trail and the celebration for others at the finish line show what the trail running community means to each of you!  BE EPIC!