Transitions - Welcome to 2025

 Hey y'all.  

Its been so long since I sat down to write here, I'm honestly not sure where to start with any of it.

There have been so many times in the last 5 months I started to think of a post, and then backed away.  It was all so muddled, I knew I could never get it all out on paper.

And the longer you wait to do that, the further away it gets from you.

So I figured, as this is at heart, a multisport blog, the right time to pen a post was the day before the first race of the year.

20 years ago, I started out as a newbie triathlete, who couldn't swim a stroke, bike without falling, or run a ten minute mile.

Some of those things have changed.  And some....well, you all know how I swim LOL

Its been such a wild ride, especially the last six years.  22 year old me wouldnt believe any of this was possible.  27 year old me, newly married, would have told you it was all about the company.  32 year old me, fresh with two babies, would tell you I was FINALLY a mom in motion.  37 year old me who finally learned how to ride aero, not be scared of my bike (SMH) and how to actually race....would have told you I finally arrived.  40 year old me, agog with a Kona Qualifier, was riding high on a dream. One that never came to fruition, but like most stories....the end is unwritten.

And now theres 42 year old me.  Who has learned, without a doubt, that the journey is full of so many twists and turns and it really is all about how you handle with life throws at you.

Over the years, there have been so many highs and so many lows.  The highs have been so so sweet and the lows remind me that failure.....is part of the process. Even if it sucks.

Last year was a such a tough year for so many reasons.  For those of you that know me personally, youre aware of it - the ending of my marriage, the adjustment to a new way of living, and in that, stepping back from multisport and using my love of running as a tool to stay active, breathe, and somehow still do what I love every day.  Multisport was still a thing, as always, but much different from the 2022-2023 crazy Ironman high I was riding.  It was - and still is - really fucking hard. And its been such an important transition time. I dont have all the answers.  But Im lucky enough to be surrounded by people that have shown me over and over again how much they love all of me - even the messy, unhealed parts.  

2025 marks more of that journey - there are new goals, a new outlook, and taking the much needed time to take a full breath and say - what do the next 20 years look like??

I still dont know the answers, but I do know they involve running, triathlon and multisport - just as much, if not more, for the comraderie than anything.  I have met so many amazing people in the process and I am both humbled and grateful for the lifelong friendships that have happened.  I cant even do it justice here.

Tomorrow is the Keuka Lake Tri.  Here in NY, the spring has been slow to arrive, and with the water temps uncertain, Ive opted for the duathlon - which is wild, because right now out of the 3 sports, swimming is probably my best (shhh, dont tell).

It hasnt been a good year for running.  Or biking.  Or doing anything zoomie at all.  And in talking with my favorite lifeguard this past week (HAH!  Bernie, here ya go!) we got into a discussion about what we are excelling at lately.

And for me - its all about the transitions, baby. The past year has thrown so much my way from every facet in life, that if Im good at anything right now, its learning how to move on.  

So tomorrow, watch me rock the shit out of those.  The rest?  Well, years ago I always said that I would love this sport even when I wasnt fast (which, I most definitely was not at the time). And that hasnt changed.  A 6 minute mile or a 9 minute mile is just as fun, and you can bet Ill be somewhere in there with the biggest damned smile on my face, playing tri....errr...duathlon with my favorite people.

Its multisport family reunion time, baby.  LFG!! :)

2024 "Racing" Season: Blame it on the Dave's

 Oh I amuse myself so much.  As I sit down to recap the year, it feels like there are two parts to this story - the "racing life" and the "life life" posts.  While one flows into the other, both brought so many lessons that will carry into 2025 and sometimes, you can't untangle them.  Is there a part 2?  I don't know yet.

But since the race season is over (I swear - no ultras planned for tonight!) we  can attend to the racing first.

It's worth mentioning that I never blogged about the Harrisburg Marathon last month - why?  Well, because it flowed right in with the bullshit of 2024.  In sum, I signed up for a marathon less than two weeks before the race (thanks Dave!), did one 16 miler to prep, made a lot of jokes on the internet, found out how to fuel - YAS!- and how not to carb load -WHOOPS - and had a really fun day, bonking at mile 14, a shot of fireball at mile 22, ending with a 3:38 time, which flows nicely into summing up 2024.

It was the year of running - and no racing -  tris.

It was the year of base building and finding out no matter what I did, my body knows two things - how to run an 8:30 pace during training, and how to run a 3:36-3:38 marathon.

It was the year of fuck it.

It was the year for friends, laughing, and jumping in with both feet.

And - it was the year of the Dave's.

Yep. 2024 racing can be summed up with one phrase - "Blame it on the Dave's".  Because while I had so many plans for 2023 - and we know how that went - 2024 started - continued - and ended - with Dave.

Let me explain.

That's Dave on the left

I had big plans for Boston, and life stepped in and said - hold my beer- in March.  It shook up my
world, my Boston, and my life will never, ever be the same.  My friend Dave intervened - he helped me BQ, held me when I cried, and made way too many poop jokes along the way.  He and his friend Eric threw me in Eric's pick up and kidnapped me for a road trip to run the Boston Marathon - which featured a hot race, some unexpected kisses from a college girl, a beer mid race, and a finish time I did not plan for or aspire to.

It was so much fun.  Nothing I expected - and I'll never forget it.  

Boston oddly enough, introduced the second Dave - we can also call him Todd for...reasons.  This crazy red flag entered my life in April, and even though he is a walking problem, has made 2024 both insane and so much fun.

Run around in circles for 24 hours?  You bet - and we can just win the race and set course records - knocking the whole run 100 miles bucket list item off the charts - finishing that in 22 hours and winning the woman's race.  

Another Dave...on the Right

From there we took the road show to Seattle, where he ran a sub 3 hour race and I found out why Tacos are a terrible idea (that took me about 2 years too long to learn, and while I still am not sure I fully grasp the lesson, I had fun learning it - albeit mid race).

I then capped off the year with the above mentioned Harrisburg Marathon where one year out from the worst moments of my life - November 2023 - my Dumpster Fire friends reminded me.....that they are always there for me.  Laura, my bestie, and of course....the guy that kicked off 2024....Dave.

It was not a year for tris - as I ran four times the amount of miles I biked...whoops. I swam three times a week, but that was way more about the hot tub, sauna, super heroes, and tattoos than anything else (IYKYK).

I lived.

I set no PR's - but I did win a duathlon, an Ultramarathon, and podiumed a few tris.

I'm ready for 2025. 2024 racing taught me....the beauty of racing.  That Dave's = dumb decisions.  That while life sometimes feel like I'm running in circles - that I'm an idiot enough to do that 103 times in a day and call it victory.  It taught me resilience, and that at the lowest of lows - there are my people.  Whether its 5am at the pool with a bear hug, a super hero, a silent right hook, or some...sauna time....I have my people.  If its a 3am wake up to run 40 miles and giant pancakes, or a road trip to run a marathon in Harrisburg...I have my people.  A cross country flight to run a marathon 18 hours later in the most gorgeous PNW scenery, followed by eating our way through Seattle, the *best* views, a lost phone, and a hug from my kindergarten friend...I have my people.  

And while it wasnt the year for tris - at the finish line of each and every one....was my best adventure partner.  Do I know where that adventure takes me?

Absolutely not.  

Again....it's Dave (on the left...LOL)

Does it matter?  Nope.  It was a year to jump in with both feet and just throw caution to the wind with my whole body and heart and somehow - -you all caught me.

Thank you.

I love you.

But seriously....DAMMIT DAVE!

To 2025.  I can't wait to embrace all your beauty :)

Cascade Marathon: I lived

 It appears I'm at least 2 months behind on this shit - is it even relevant anymore?  I have no idea.  But in the land of 2024, escpecially racing - anything goes, so this is the whole, I came, I saw, I sort of conquered race report for Cascade!

It's brief - and follows a theme.  This was genuinely the year of "Eff it" decisions.  I wanted no structure, a break from long multisport, and that quickly transitioned to a "that sounds dumb, I'm in" mindset.  Not many people would equate four tris, a duathlon, two marathons and a 24 hour race to date as "off" but hey, its me.  You get it.

This adventure was brought on by the quest of the "2024 red flag candidate of the year" runner dude to break 3 hours for the marathon, and I was along for the ride.  I signed up a month in advance (foreshadowing - this would not be the dumbest thing I've done this year), threw together a few long runs, and booked a flight into Seattle arriving Friday, for a Saturday marathon and flying home Sunday night.  What could possibly go wrong??

The course was lauded as gorgeous, a net 1500 ft descend (you read that right) and the weather a balmy 70 degrees.  I flew out without incident (my first plane ride since 2019 - WHAT) and we hit up the hotel and Mexican for dinner (idiot).  

Race morning dawned at 4am, but really 7am, so it was all good.  I put almost zero planning into this race, drank a maragartia the night before with my tacos (idiot) and danced around the room like a moron singing and loading up my gels.  Some people have a fuck ton of patience for me, and even if they are giant walking red flags, I'm grateful for them :-P

We drove to the start, where my running partner made quick work of warming up and doing other serious runner type things, while I took selfies and entered a giveaway for $1,000 or a new porta potty (true story) and befriended a guy wearing a snoopy bathroobe from florida. (Hi Will!)

I ate my bagel, banana and applesauce and headed to the start...it was already muggy as shit but who cared - the PNW is so damned goreous and I was loving every second of it.  Without much fanfare - we were off! 

I had little in the way of goals for this race - I havent trained with any speed in mind since Texas in 2023, so a 3:45 seemed more than alright to me.  With that being said, I was encouraged to start out at BQ marathon pace, which was 7:55-8:00 minute miles.  This was actually - no problem.  The first 5 miles were a gentle downgrade out and upgrade back - the only bummer was it was all on a rail trail with rocks (and - that was the whole course.  Ooops).  I smiled, enjoyed the scenery, and made quick friends with a dude from Texas named Josh who was running with the 3:30 pacer and singing and calling out all encouraging things.  YASSS, I found my running buddy!  We chatted and ran alongside each other, and at mile 6 - entered the tunnel!

Coolest part about this race - 2.5 miles was in a tunnel.  You needed a headlamp for it, and it was PITCH black.  As I started this segment, I was dumbfounded by how dark it was - then realized...I was still wearing my sunglasses.  Fail.  LOL.  After I laughed at my own expense (I'm good at that) I smiled like a little kid running through the tunnel and yelled out TUNNEL! before exiting into the sunshine at mile 9.

The mid portion of the race was pretty uneventful, I ran with Josh and his friend Ashely, who we kept trying to find a date for, yelling out every mile and in general being super goofy. I was AMAZED how fast the miles ticked by and was having the best time.  Despite this, I kept it right between 7:50-8:00 without any problem until mile 17 and I foolishly had a PR in mind when....the ish hit the fan.

Literally.  Theres a reason you dont eat Tacos the night before a race, and here we were.  I will spare the details, but there were bushes and some swear words involved, and the last 8-9 miles were a little...interesting.  My stomach cramped and the GU's were no longer helpful (I think this is actually a thing I need to look at after Candlelight - different nutrition) and so that pipe dream of a 3:28 was in fact, a two hour dream.  Easy come easy go. Despite my mad body, I still fell in love with the scenery of the course - the mountains were amazing, and the whole idea of being able to just do what I love for the weekend was something that I'll never forget to enjoy.  I crossed the finish in 3:36, good enough for a 2025 and 2026 BQ (at the time of the race LOL), and a dumbass grin on my face. All in all, it was a great race - the terrain was not my fave (mild trail, no consistent footing ever, but still, downhill soooo cant complain!)

Post race, I caught up with Mister Red Flag, who got his sub 3 (handily, I might add) and Josh and crew, who gave me a huge hug and invited me to Texas anytime I wanted. More race besties for life.

A race for a PR?  Nope.  Would I change it?  Also, nope.  The rest of the weekend was spent eating our way through Pike place, the space needle, and every other thing Seattle could offer and more.  Amazing.

So what's next?  Tricky question, my friends.  Since this race in September, I did a formula one du, where I learned that actually riding your bike more than a dozen times in a year is helpful, as well as knowing how to mount it (whoops).... and then figured I'd round out the year by hobby jogging a 5k this weekend at Grocery run, where I was apparently cool enough to get a free entry by coming in second last year.

But the truth is, what I figure doesn't usually happen, especially in 2024 - and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

So post Grocery, Ill be doing a 7 day taper (does it count as taper if you don't train?)  then heading to Harris burg PA for November 9-10.  What's in Harrisburg?  Two of my best friends, a dumpster fire, and a marathon.  Like an idiot (again, a theme)I signed up two days ago.  I've done exactly two long runs since September 7th.  What could possibly go wrong?  Stay tuned....

The ROC tri 2024:I don't know about you.....but I'm feelin 22

Two tris in a week? Maybe I need to re-assess this whole "2024 is not the tri year" stance!

Nah, I don't.  I've played this game the last three years - back to back P man and the Roc tri.  Its for a few reasons - both races are so much fun and basically a party to attend, I've been fortunate enough to secure a comp entry, and add in a dash of "why the hell not" and you get your easy answer :)

Last weekend was the Roc tri, a great event put on by the RATS (Rochester Area triathletes) and one I've raced in at least half a dozen times.  I've won it twice (last year a CRAZY 2 second dead on sprint to the finish) and while i knew that wasn't in the cards this year, I love these events so much and any excuse to go play with my friends on the beach (Thanks Jordan!) is a good one to me.

Six days out from P man and with um, another race on my calendar upcoming (spoiler alert), the goal for the Roc was just to spin out my wheels (pun intended) and have fun!

Race morning was perfect - a glass calm lake, easy transition pick up, and just a minor bike mechanical that was easily fixed by the Towpath guys (Thanks Rob!) I headed into transition, set my shit up, then hung out with the best sherpa and all the best friends a girl could ask for. Bear, my boo, marked my calf as a joke, which took me far too long to catch on to #not22 #feelin22 #morelike42  We danced, laughed, caught up, and had so much fun I almost missed the call to the race start.  Whoops.  #soseriousrae

Swim: 14:43 (1:54yd)

The swim for the sprint was an easy out and back with a short turn around - basically you could touch sand the whole time.  I set no records (duh) and expended zero energy on the swim, save for a few minutes in the beginning just getting used to the water because I didn't warm up (totally on me).  I exited the water with a smile on my face (I KNOW) and ran up the hill and toward my bike!

Bike: 36:02 (20.0 mph)

I really do love this bike course - I helped craft it in 2022.  Its totally closed to cars, a 6 mile loop that has enough rollers and one hill to keep you honest, but enough downhill to be fun and carry you through.  The course is super spectator friendly, so my support got to see me four times (and during the mount line for way the fuck too luong because apparently, I'm even cooler when people are watching me #mountlinefail).  Aside from taking way too long to clip in (the mount line was really short and narrow with gravel sides, and I even saw some "pros" look a little wobbly) the bike was pretty awesome.  I never felt like I had any serious speed, but I was able to push it in spots and enjoy the free speed downhill. 

 It was awesome to see my course support all over the damned place, and aside from some bar tape that managed to unravel like an 8 year olds streamer on a bike, the ride was awesome (that has to count for at least 1 mph right??  LOL)

Run: 23:06 (7:28/mi)

Zooming into T2, I wasn't sure how far back I was from the leaders, but I knew at least one woman was in front of me - again, a swimmer I always run out of road for (do we sense a theme, Rae? LOL).  I just grabbed my shit and RAN!  

This run course is probably hands down my favorite local tri run, and it has zero to do with the layout and everything to do with the fact that is SUCH a damned party.  On my way out, I saw the super fast guys, including Jordan, Scott, Marcus and Ryan, who were hauling ass and making it look good!!  I didn't see another woman until I saw Sue about 2 minutes ahead, which I expected - she swims way faster than me and also is a stronger cyclist this year and as always, my run legs cant catch that - at least not this year! :-P

I high fived, danced, and had a great time while hitting a nice tempo speed, which is about all my legs gave me, considering I had run 16 miles just two days before (why, Rae?  That's a great question and we can talk about that shortly LOL).  Heading into the last quarter mile I saw the sherpa and got a "hey, try running why don't ya " and for the second time in two years, flipped the bird as I laughed into the finish line.

Post race, we hung around and caught up, and waited for awards - I snagged 3rd overall female (the womans winner started a few minutes back, which is the one bummer of a rolling start). I was pleased with the race - tall 3 disciplines were executed well given the fitness I had, and I honestly got what I deserved.  My overall time of 1:17 is 3 minutes off my PR, and for a year of little tri training, I will take it.

2025.  Ill be back.

So wjhats next?  A 5k on September 1 at my alma mater, SUNY Geneseo, which is purely for kicks and to help out Road Kill, and then....well...

A marathon.  Next weekend.  In Seattle.  Because why would I do smart things??  Stay tuned!!

Peasantman 2024: I get by (with a little help from my friends)

And, welcome back to the official tri blog.  Oh shit, that was actually the point of this once upon a time, wasn't it??  Oops.  Well, suffice to say, its been pretty obvious that 2024 was not the year for tris.  And I made peace with that awhile ago.  It's really twofold - I hit the gas so hard from 2021-2023 to qualify for all the things that 2024....needed a step back.  And with the way life has turned out this year, its so much easier to throw on running shoes and go for pavement therapy than line up a long ride or swim to give a shit.  And thats okay. Balance?

Despite my reluctance to actually train for multisport, I still LOVE racing it - mostly because the people are just amazing and what could be better than playing with friends?  There are two races that are always on my August calendar - Peasantman and the ROC tri.  Last year I was fortunate enough to sweep a win for both, which gave me free entry for 2024.  And while I wasn't expecting a three-peat win, I was game to go see what kind of fast I could pull off with my bullshit swimming and less rides for the year than I could count on two hands.  What could possibly go wrong? (Uh Rae - you say that way too much to be considered healthy). 

Peasantman was up first!  Since my ultra, I really hadn't been doing much - bullshit runs and a few rides and some swims.  I honestly had a hard time recovering from Candlelight - I think the mix of the miles, stress, heat and lack of food was an issue.  I got sick for a week or two post race, and really haven't felt the best since, so I accepted it and just did what my body let me do.  So I had zero expectation for P man but FUN.

I've raced the Olympic tri for this event for the past two years - this year I dropped down to the sprint for a few reasons - kiddo logistics and quite frankly, I wasn't really trained enough on the bike to drop a 30 mile ride that I felt good about.  I'd never done the sprint, but heard great things about it.  I'm lucky enough to race for First Knight, and Peasantman is really the best this sport has to offer - four distances, a day of fun, low key but organized well, and an RD that just gets it.  You cant go wrong (spoiler alert - 2025 is gonna be BIG for this race - stay tuned!!)

Race morning brought rain and iffy conditions, much like Keuka.  Ryan and I travelled together in the a.m. - he was doing the Oly and looking for some redemption and me, I was just along to dance.  I felt a lack of race nerves and that was fine - again, its about acceptance of where you're at.  The rain let up shortly after we got into transition and I did what I always do - I hung out, joked, laughed, caught up with my athletes and in general just enjoyed the atmosphere.  I love running but tris just have this awesome family vibe that keeps it enjoyable.  Before I knew it, we were off to the swim start!

Swim - 12:58 (1:54/100)

The water was absolutely fantastic!  Just before we started, I met a fellow RAT (Rochester Area Triathlete) named Rachael I had heard a lot about - which was funny, because she said the same thing to me (not true, I swear, whatever it was!) I knew she would be my main "competition", whatever that meant, and was a sick swimmer.  Game on.  This race features a "mass start" for each distance, whichw as awesome in terms of knowing where you were in the race!  I swam my consistent, easy swim for the (roughly) 700 yards, exiting the water with a goofy smile on my face (so serious) and off to the bike!)

Bike - 44:02 (19.7 mph)

The bike course on the sprint is a simple out and back, with rollers each way and a nice descent before the turnaround where you can assess where you stand in the race.  The way out was pretty head-windy,  but not too bad - I have little basis for where my bike power is this year, so I went off feel and tucked into aero as best I could. As de rigeur since the ultra, my legs felt fine but I had little cardio stamina and oushed to my best.  Really, it was obvious again that I have not been training speed or the bike, and I got what I deserved here.  I saw Rachael, the speedy swimmer, about 4 minutes ahead as I hit the turnaround and knew I had been ridiculously outswam (not a shocker).  Happily, I saw no other women so we were gunning for second place, which was good for me!  The way back into T2 was full of some nice tailwind and speed! And I zoomed back, waving at the friends on their way out and smiling the whole way. 

Run - 23:09 (7:28)

As always, this is my fave.  As I hit T2, I saw Greg heading out for the run - he also did the sprint, and had a great swim and bike.  As we have always done, one of us is the rabbit, and we still playfully see if there is enough road for me to catch him.  I saw my awesome support cheering me on as I hit the run and smiled so big  - I am so lucky :) and it set the tone for my run.  A few weeks back, I had set my watch to KM splits as a joke in Canada, and never bothered to switch it back, so I hit KM 1 in 4:34 whatever the hell that means, and did some mental math as I ticked off the distance (I know - I'm a moron).  I caught Greg right before the turn around, and high fived him - he looked great and put together a strong race.  I knew Rachael was still about 3 minutes up and 3rd place was about 5 minutes back, so I focused on my cadence and just enjoyed the second half, high fiving everyone and dancing like I always do!  I hit the last hot corner and blew my buddy Joe, the RD, a smooch, and then hit the gas and ran it in for a time of 1:22:07, good enough for 2nd female and 4th overall including dudes!

Post race I was able to hang for a bit and cheer in my athletes - Greg finished strong about two minutes back, Laura ZOOMED into the finish in an epic battle with a woman from PA, Lani added some extra bike miles (that over acheiver) and Nina set a 4 minute PR!  I love these people so damned much and they are amazing!!!  I got knighted, celebrated with the First Knight crew, and just enjoyed, as always, every second.

While I'm bummed I lost my winning streak (I'll admit it!) I honestly am happy with the race.  I got seriously outswam and it cost me - something I need to work on if I want to compete at short distance.  But with the work I put in, and the way I've felt the last month, I'm pleased with the result.  The times will come and go, but the races are SO MUCH FUN and that's really what I'm after!

Six days later - the Roc tri was on!!.  Same distance, six days.....what happened? With a mischief (a group of RATs) anything could happen.....  Stay tuned :) 

My First 100 Miler: Lessons Learned

 Hey hey hey!  Here we are, two weeks post Ultra, and I finally have my shit together (well, relatively) to talk a little bit about lessons learned from Candlelight.  This post is a little different, hopefully helpful for those debating anything beyond 26.2.

When I signed up to race this 24 hour event, 6 weeks pre race (OMG) I had a few things going for me - coming out of Boston, I had a solid base from marathon training (roughly 60 miles per week), and had some experience with ultras (Mind the Ducks 12 hour in 2014, 2016, 2018).  However, it had been a hot minute since I had run anything beyond 26.2 (ish) and even though Ironman is a 11-14 hour event, it doesn't really compare.  So I needed to work on a few key things - my run distance fitness, my nutrition, my outfit/gear selection, and mental headspace.

Run Fitness:  I did pretty well with this one overall, and I honestly am not sure if I got lucky or the prep was sound.   To find a plan, I fired up the ole googler and found a plan that seemed to fit my life, then I trashed it and made my own plan based on what I knew of my body and what seemed reasonable.  For those trying out an ultra for the first time, I'm not sure I recommend the former, but I knew I needed three things - a decent weekly mileage, back to back longish runs, and a few "key days".  With the six weeks I had, I opted to do a two week build, recovery, build two more weeks, then taper down.  I added a bunch of back to back to back 12 milers, and two long runs of 22 and 40.  With hindsight, I probably would have done the first long run a bit slower, but the 40 miler gave me confidence for nutrition and time on feet - the run portion took 6.5 hours and just over 7 hours accounting for stops for food and bathroom. 

I flexed the plan a lot, and shook out with 6 days of running a week.  I added speed one day (mile repeats) and the rest was all sexy (slow) pace.  One thing I did not do well - I rarely ran goal pace (13-14 minute miles) and that might have helped me find my rhythm on race day - but honestly - with the weather the day of the race, I don't know that it would have mattered.  I was grateful to bank the miles early at the race and when my body shut down due to nutrition, I believe it was mostly due to the heat.  I also swam 3 days a week on this plan, which was clutch - it gave some good recovery and allowed me to work some other muscles.  I parked my bike in a corner for a month and this was also wise - I did not need to add more leg stress (though I'm not sure what to do with it now that I'm doing two tris in August LOL)

Nutrition - This, along with clothing, is a piece I need to work on.  I experimented a lot on my 22 and 40 miler, and felt good about my nutrition.  It included roughly 300 calories an hour, in the form of skratch superfuel, gels, clif minis, and then the "real food" - dried cherries, beef jerky, peanut butter sandwiches, and even a burger delivery plan for 7pm.  

I ditched most of that race day - with the heat as it was, the only thing I could stomach was gu and gu sports drink, and after 13 hours of that, my stomach rebelled.  I tried the burger and the pizza that was offered, and some ramen at 1am, but honestly, the last 11 hours of my race were all fueled by ginger ale and coke.  I threw up four times, and that's why I knew  by 1am my "running" was over.  

If I did this again, I would experiment more in race conditions to what my stomach could handle, and experiment more with two or three a day runs on this fuel.  

Clothing/shoes - This was a stumper.  What the hell do you wear for this long and for weather flux?  Darned if I knew.  My biggest problem was my best run shorts were just casual Coeur shorts - great for a marathon but probably chafe city for more.  My best tights fixed that, but who wears capris when its 90 degrees?  Top?  Sports bra, but what about the sun??  And shoes - I train and race in Saucony - Rides and pros.  They work for four hours but are not designed for trails OR ultras. And about those socks...

So, you go with what you know.  I wore a sports bra and shorts, which worked well for about 8 hours, then the amount of ice I dumped in my bra got so ridiculous no amount of friction defense would fix my crotch (sorry for the TMI, but it was straight up painful to pee, and no one on the course that was a male would lend me a...well, you know #girlprobs).  I changed into my capris at 9pm and that saved me, though it was HOT!  I did well with sunscreen and did not burn, and ended up wearing my old endorphin pro 3s that had way too many miles on them but a nice big toe box and were comfy - though they are shot now and I found a big rock in them post race that I ran in for who knows how many miles!!  And for the zillion dollar question - no, I did not race in socks.  I fixed a hot spot once, and ended the day with two blisters on my big toes, which was hella impressive in my book with how wet my feet got from ice!

Mental outlook - This is, hands down, in my opinion, the defining piece of my race and the one I am most proud of.  I'll say it until I am blue in the face - the longer the race, the more you need to deeply believe in your "why".  Even though I only had 6 weeks to prep and I admittedly signed up due to the

bad influence of another running friend, (are we shocked) 100 miles is something that I've always wanted to do, and in a year of who TF knows what I want, I figured why the hell not. 

 Throughout the whole race, I never wavered on what I wanted.  And that's the key.  Because the longer the race is, it becomes not a matter of "if" anything is gonna go wrong - its "when".  And plenty went wrong.  My stomach.  My crotch.  The heat. I got tired.  But I KNEW I had to get my hundred, and at 2am when my miles slowed to 18 minutes I just....kept moving.  Toward the goal that I would not let myself fail at unless my body gave out.  And I got lucky - it did not.  But the most important muscle I own - my brain - would not let it.

It's also the stupidest muscle I own, hence my continued bad decisions.  LOL.  But I dont regret this one - it was a lot of fun, I learned so much, and got to meet some amazing people!  Hopefully this post helped a few of you that are debating an ultra - I am always here if you have questions :)

So what's next?  A few local tris with the best people, and maybe a few more fuck it races for 2024. But my big goals are now set on 2025.  Stay tuned :)

Candlelight 24 Hour: You've Got me Running in Circles

Holy. Effing. Crazy. Batman!

If you know me outside of this venue, you at least know I am still alive.  For the rest of you, hey - its me - I didn't die at the 24 hour last week! (well- mostly LOL).

What an experience.  What a completely crazy day.  And since I want to run the fine line between sharing ALL the things (No, I will not re write Moby Dick) and sharing enough that's entertaining and helpful - we will break this in to two parts - 1.  The story - the race report, the thrills, the gross, and the fun. 2. The lessons learned - and there were a ton of them - if you are ever debating this insanity, I have some stuff to share of what to do and what for the love of god NOT to do.

But now, its time for the story!  When we last left off, I gave you the scoop - all the fuckery that led to this choice to see if I could run 100 miles in 24 hours.  Oof.  Race week was predictable - tired, caffeine deprived, watching the temp prediction rise up to the upper 80s for race day.  What could possibly go wrong??  Early o dark thirty, my friend Dave (another bad decision encourager named Dave - yay) and I loaded up his RV and headed out to Rush to set up shop.  We found a clutch spot at Tent city for our own personal aid station and lined up pretty much everything but the kitchen sink.  It was hot as balls out already and I knew I was gonna be in for a decent amount of outfit changes to stay dry.  I selected my first "I am serious runner" outfit (cupcake bra, watermelon shorts, tiara I promised to run one loop in - who TF is this woman??) and we headed to the start line! Amidst jokes about not getting lost and going nowhere fast, the RD announced GO! and Dave and I led the pack, kidding around that we at least were winning for two minutes.

The first hour was pretty uneventful - Since my overall goal pace was a 14:00ish to hit 100 miles, I knew I had to front load it slightly but not kill myself.  The problem is - in the beginning of a race, you feel fantastic!  It was already warm out and muggy as shit, so I made the decision to run steady as long as I could without blowing my load (that's what she said).  For the first ten miles or so, I ran in a group of 4 - Dave, myself, and two new friends - Mike and Jason.  It was all of our first 24 hour races and the goals varied - Mike, Dave and I all wanted 100 plus and Jason was going for 100k.  We clocked 9:30s for the first ten miles - fast, but also doable, with no walk breaks.  Two miles in, Dave spotted a potato on the course, which led to a ridiculous amount of jokes #iykiyk.  As irony goes, each loop, the potato got a little more smashed and 20 miles in, it was completely obliterated (#itwasntme).  

Aside from mashed potatoes, the first 3 hours were pretty uneventful - I had some awesome cheer squad people show up - Bill, who brought fireball (YAS) and Craig, who brought popsicles and kiddos.  I hit the marathon at 4:22, which, again, was fast, but with the heat already in the mid 80s, I knew I was doing alright.  I pit stopped for an outfit change (ice made everything soggy) and my friend Amanda showed up to cheer AND crew, and saved our butts for the next few hours with popsicles, gel, and even an icee, She is my angel.

  The RD started snapping pics at this point and I flashed him a thumbs up and he goes - you're in second!  I thought that was pretty cool, even though I'd never seen first woman and he informed me I was....second overall.  Woah.  what??  Still - a lot of race left!

About 6 hours in I changed shoes - no blisters yet (#teamnosocks) and hit up another sports bra.  I had been doing GU and skratch to this point, and my stomach was getting a little messy with the heat.  We had a pretty steady stream of awesome support - Brittany, Gary, Carolyn, Matt, Amanda, Billy, Kelly - you guys all rock!  I was still feeling good and dancing around as I always do - running at times with Mike and Jason, and now getting lapped by Dave (expected).  

As the afternoon carried into early evening, I checked my halfway split - 62 miles in 12 hours.  Holy nuts!  I made a joke with Gil, the RD, about expecting my lunchbox cooler - a prize awarded at Mind the Ducks for hitting 100k in 12 hours.  I had tried to hit that mark 3 times and failed, with my PR in the 12 hours being 56 miles.  This was either very good or very bad.  At this point, the kids showed up and gave me the high fives I needed, as my stomach was starting to get a little weird and food was a struggle.  I switched to a power walk and connected with my friend Clem, who has done two 100 milers and very diplomatically advised me I was going way TF too fast and to slow it down.  At this point I was in 3rd place overall and still first woman, with #2 being 9 laps behind me.  Good advice, but I was also aware that if I stopped - I would not start again.  So we power walked for an hour and drank ginger ale (THANK YOU DIANE!) while I tried to get my GI issues under control).

15 hours in, I was at 75 miles and knew an outfit change was needed.  I was so chafed from all the ice and sweating, and my legs and um, delicate region, was so destroyed it wasn't even funny (yes I used friction defense a LOT.  No, it wasn't enough).  It hurt to go to the bathroom, which was a BIG issue.  I switched to my safety tights (bright orange capris) and back to my green shoes (Endorphin pros) which had a bigger toe box, as I had one hot spot I taped up.  This helped a TON and I was able to rattle off a bunch of 11 to 12 minute miles with my fresh duds and the sun finally down.

Nighttime got really eerie.  I had heard about this during an ultra and had no idea what to expect.  It was pitch black and stull humid as hell, but the headlamps and quiet on the course were soothing and aside from watching football on the trail section of the course, it was pretty cool to be part of.  Around midnight I hooked up with Mike again, and we had good conversation about the um...weather...and other things that shall remain unsaid (what happens in an Ultra, stays in an ultra - but damn, you get to know a person fast!)  He had some hot spots so I advised a shoe change with all the savvy of a newbie, which he took me up on and he felt a lot better!  Salty fries arrived at 1am and I tried gamely to get them down, then promptly threw up 3 times.  Hell.  At this point, my legs felt ok but my stomach was so off again - Mike was a lap behind me but game to do my power walk, so we pressed on, averaging 15-16 minute miles.  Ill take it.  I started to do some mental math and knew my 100 mile goal was in the bag if I kept moving, with a stretch goal of 105 - 4 marathons (I cannot fathom).  I was in 4th place overall, still 1st female. Oddly enough, I never got tired and did not nap - which I know a lot of people asked.  

Clem showed up again and cooked me ramen, bless him.  some of the broth stayed down but we were now just into coke and ginger ale.  Fine.  I stopped to sit for 3 minutes, as advised and knew immediately that could not happen again.  I added a new shirt and got back up - some people can rest during an Ultra, but I knew if I did it again, my body would not allow me to get back up.

Pre dawn, my miles averaged 18-20 and we were just at - forward progress.  I had already snagged the women's record of 80 miles hours ago (Thank you Kelly for your support!) and knew that forward progress would net my 100 miler.  No ego.  Mike and I connected again at mile 98 - he was feeling a LOT better than me with the new shoe change but he stayed with me and we hit our 100 mile goal together hand in hand at 22:39. Holy crap.  So, what now?

Well, we had another hour to work with! So while Mike zoomed ahead, I kept on with my miles and ticked off 1, 2 3 more for a finish of 103.3 miles in 23:42, 13:05 pace moving time, 49 minutes total non moving (bathroom and outfit changes)!

No, I did not have one more mile in me.  I tried.  No, I could not have hit 4 marathons (105 miles).  LOL  Now that that's out of the way, I crossed the finish and immediately found a seat and began sobbing as the RD handed me my coveted belt buckle.  One, for the pure emotion of all of it.  Two, because my body gave all it had and I was 100% done.  Mike and Dave crossed not long after me - Dave with 116 miles and Mike with 104 - and we finished first, second and third respectively, with me taking the woman's win by 16 miles and beating the women's course record by a crazy 23 miles!

The award ceremony took place shortly after, complete with me retching behind a sign and standing only long enough to get my cool candlestick and sweet winners perk of a race refund fee.  I'll take it! 

Post race....well, we dont talk about that.  LOL.  

I'll leave that for the reflections post, but the short of it is - I was a ridiculous "need to be carried to the bathroom" mess for all of Sunday, rallied Monday to be a human being, and finally was able to eat Tuesday.  We are a week out and I'm swimming, biking and have done one short run.  All in all, after the first 24 hours it was perfect.  And I regret absolutely none of it.

What's next?  Well, stay tuned.....I'll drop some "What to consider and what TF NOT to do during an ultra" that I learned during this process - but overall, I am elated with the result and so incredibly happy with this race!  Gil put on a fine event, and despite my um...hesitation on the course, I enjoyed it all and will NOT be back for more, but that's just because I have some other goals to chase :)  Cheers!!