And what a passage it was.
Washington will always hold a special place in my heart because actually, around this time 3 years ago, I completed my 50 mile ultra over at the White River 50 race up and down the Mt Rainier!
I haven’t really been on top of my training game this year due to a severe case of planters fasciitis I acquired back in January, but that didn’t stop me from taking on this adventure; against my better judgement, I decided to pick the legs that had the longest distances between them which were Legs 5 & 11 (4.7+6.8+8.2+10.25+8.0+3.8 = 41.75 miles total); my team did the ultra team, which means each runner racks up about a marathon+ distance in miles.
So as stated above, I was the 5th leg of the team, so I had some time before it was actually my turn to run. Finally, when my time had come to go and I blasted off! I was so excited to run that I forgot to put my bib on! It was so fun to just let go and finally RUN.
The weather in Washington was GORGEOUS. It was a dry heat, but there was also a light breeze, so it was amazing weather to run in. I actually facetimed my girlfriend on the way in from my first leg because she swore I would do no such thing. But what’s funny is the fact that one of teammates lost his knee brace (left it on top of the car) before it was my turn to run, so on the way to the exchange point before my run I told the team to drive back, grab the brace, and to come and meet me at the end of my run at the next exchange point. I ended up finishing so fast that they were still making their way to the exchange point when I finished my run!!! LMAO.
Made me feel good about my speed doeeeeeeee!!!
And then there was leg two.
I make it a point to stay on top of my blood sugars and to constantly eat and hydrate during my runs; but apparently I miscalculated the food I took in. It was about a 7 mile run, straight heat, but nothing that I wasn’t used to running in Miami all the time. I knew something was wrong around the middle of the run (even though I wasn’t tired yet) I started to slow down. My pace dropped to about an 11-12 min/mile pace, my vision started to blur and every time either of my feet struck the ground my legs buckled and wobbled; I couldn’t even run straight. By the grace of God I made it back to the exchange point where I proceeded to test myself because my teammates even noticed that I didn’t look right, my blood sugars had dropped to 35!!! If you’re a diabetic you know that’s dangerous territory. I spent the next hour eating and stabilizing my blood sugars.
Coming back from a low like that takes its toll on the body. Even with the time between my legs, it took me a full two legs (after leg four, the Ragnarly leg, which was also the roughest leg in the race) before I started to feel better and able to run at my normal pace again.
Leg three was another rough leg because it was the one right after my low. So I was still feeling bleh and not feeling the run at all and just tried chugging along till I finished. I made it to the next exchange point feeling extremely sluggish, but not letting it get the best of me because I know what my body was going through.
Leg four (the Ragnarly leg) was rough, but totally worth it. It was still night when I started my leg, and I was running at about 75%. I was running through a cow farm and they were literally ten feet away from me which was really cool, but the smell I could have done without. LMAO. But I got to run over Deception Pass as the sun was rising, and THAT gave me the energy to continue to push on and finish my leg. It was probably one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen.
Leg five I did/felt a lot better It was a little rough having had run all I did prior to this leg, but my God the scenery was gorgeous! All the miles I did during this Ragnar more than made up for with the scenery I was enveloped with. I was running by the water the whole way, the sun was out and it just put me in a fantastic mood!
And finally leg six I KILLED! I came in on a 3.8 mile run at 31:20!!! I mean, I had to do well, it was my last leg and it was my speedo run after all!!! And I felt I needed to make up for how the rest of the race went. I am really hard on myself when it comes to running and how much I push myself/how well I do. But I came in fast and I finished strong!
After doing some of the maths (I know how I spelled it) I averaged a 10:20 pace, which I am perfectly okay with especially with the fact that I super slowed down during my low blood sugars.
I loved my team and I have to say I’m SUPER SUPER PROUD OF MY TEAMMATE JADE GARCIA WHO RAN HER FIRST EVER ULTRA DISTANCE!!!!!!!
Loved my team, loved this race, loved Washington, loved the adventure, loved the memories we’ve created.
Till the next one, happy trails my friends!
P.S.:
I ran in my Brooks Cascadia 8s the whole way through, I used my Zensah compression socks and I had my cambak (filled with Nuun Tablets & Tailwind powder). I ran in compression shorts and Hylete run shorts most of the way through, and I ALWAYS ate an apple sauce packet, Nature Valley Oats n’ Honey bars, Shanti bars, a bag of KRAVE jerky and some trail mix after every run. Some Relentless Roasters coffee in between my runs and during my runs, if I felt I needed it, I ate some Gu chewables.
Samurai Piggy 