I am terrible about keeping up with this blog thing. Seems I can’t come up with anything creative, or anything that I think anyone will want to read, or I simply run out of time to sit down and write something up. But this past weekend, I took part in an adventure I never thought I’d have the guts to get through, with an amazing bunch of people who are some of the toughest cookies I know, and I think it’s worthy of a little re-cap.
Last year, I wanted to do the Black Canyon Ultra 60K, but due to a scheduling conflict, I elected to do another event and ultimately ended up with my first DNF. Boo. I decided that I would make 2017 my year for BCT. I have been in love with this trail since the first time I ran it, and was so looking forward to sweeping views, amazing single track, another great adventure with my bestie, and a new challenge with my longest ultra. Oh, and finishing at the Rock Springs cafe meant pie and beer as my reward!!
Enter Mother Nature. Either she or the ultra gods must be trying to tell me something. Epic rainfall forecasted for the night before and on race day, over the entire route, meant a last minute course change would have us running out to Bumble Bee (19.5 miles) and back to the start at Mayer High School, in order to avoid dangerous crossings of the Agua Fria River. Well, when life gives you lemons, you make... Mud pies??
By race start at 8:00am, we had a steady downpour, wind, and a chilly 43 degrees. We started with about 2.5 miles of road through the town of Mayer, and at first I was happy to see a volunteer directing us to the start of the trail. Then I saw the condition of the trail. OMG. Slop. Just absolute gross. Mud so deep and slippery, that the best and easiest route was to traverse through the places where the water was actually running. Anywhere else was just so tough to get through. Try going off the trail where it looked drier, and the mud was too tacky. Try getting out of the water, and it was a slip & slide. This continued for several miles, until we reached the first aid station at Antelope Mesa, about 7.5 miles in. After that, it was still wet, with some sloppy spots, but as we went farther along, we got into some more single track trail, which had better drainage and was a little easier to navigate. However, the rain just kept coming. And it was cold. In spite of having my BFF Cindy there for moral support and knowing everyone was going through the same thing, the cold and rain started to wear on me mentally. By the time we pulled into the next aid station at Hidden Treasure Mine (12.5 mi in), I was ready to quit. I got under the tent there and didn’t want to leave. Thanks to some amazing volunteers and a little encouragement from Cindy, we rolled on. By the time we got down to the turnaround at Bumble Bee (about 12:15pm) the weather had lightened up a bit on us, and spirits were higher. It was great to see so many people we knew coming back up on the return, and to see the support and encouragement everyone had for one another. Again, INCREDIBLE volunteers at the aid station helped to keep spirits high, and the goodies they had were serving me well from a nutrition standpoint :). By this time, I was starting to feel a second wind, but I also knew I had to pretty much CLIMB back up to where we started, and I was expecting it to take WAY longer than the trek down. Once we got back on our way and made the initial climb out of Bumble Bee, I started to feel quite a bit stronger. The food I had taken in to this point (my own almond butter & jelly on GF tortillas, bacon, Mama Chia squeeze, as well as pickles, potatoes, watermelon from aid stations, plus Tailwind the whole way), seemed to be working, and I felt ready to forge ahead and run some more. Cindy encouraged me to do so, and I pulled ahead. The climbs didn’t feel as tough as I thought they would, I was back on the nice single track, and I was starting to really enjoy the trail. Once I got back to Hidden Treasure, I changed shoes and socks, took in more nutrition, and literally wanted to kiss Daria for being the biggest SAINT of a volunteer and helping me the way she did. Cindy rolled in a few short minutes later, so I checked in with her and headed on out again. Once I came out of that aid station, I felt like a new person. Amazing what some dry feet in lighter weight shoes can do (both pairs of shoes were Altra, and I am in love)! From here, I recall saying out loud at one point (I talk to myself on runs all the time, hello?), “I’ve only got 12 miles left and I feel GOOD!” I started passing a lot of people, which was a big confidence booster. I was also able to share some miles with other friends, as well as meet and chat with runners I didn’t know, making the miles seem to fly by. I was grateful to be having such a nice segment here, because I knew what lay ahead once I got back to Antelope Mesa. Only once I got there, it was worse than before. The continued rain for most of the day made for even sloppier conditions on the return. At one point, a gentleman that I ran with for a while actually slid down into a wash BACKWARDS. How he managed to stay upright, I’ll never know. With about 3 or 4 miles to go, my legs were really starting to protest, and I was getting hungry. In addition, the rain had started to come down heavier again, the wind was picking up, and the temps were dropping. Eventually, I came out of the mud again and back onto the road in Mayer that would lead me to the finish. By now, I was pretty much dragging the left leg along with me, as it simply hurt EVERYWHERE. I adopted a run/walk strategy and just made myself KEEP MOVING. Once I came around the corner into the parking lot of the high school, I saw my friend Lynlie and her kids there waiting for me. Her boys (one of who does cross country) started running with me and spurred me to go faster! I had heard that we had to run a lap around the track before we finished, but luckily that was NOT true, and I pulled in at about 8:40, to the waiting arms of my hubby, who basically held me upright as I shivered and sobbed. The volunteers handed me a GLASS finisher’s mug, that I quickly had to give to someone else because my hands were shaking too hard to hold it! Ran into the HS gym to quickly grab some long sleeves and a dry poncho, then back out to see Cindy cross the line shortly after. A little hypothermia (legit with blue lips and all!) caused the muscles to lock up a bit, but I managed to get back in the school to a very welcome cup of hot cocoa and a hot shower.
Quite a day, my biggest challenge to date, but a memory and accomplishment I am super proud of. Although it wasn’t the race I was hoping for, and my goal was 8 hours, I honestly believe that simply getting to the finish line that day was a major victory. Cindy and I adopted a conservative HR strategy for the first half of the race and stuck to that, even with the adverse conditions. It made for slower finish times, but it’s also what allowed us to finish as well as we did ~ or even finish AT ALL!! I have zero doubt that we ran the smartest and best race we possibly could have. I am also so in awe of all of those who ran the 100K distance that day, as many of those folks were out in rapidly worsening conditions, with dropping temps, rain, and hail in the dark. As tough as we had it, they went through so much more. Kudos to everyone who even toed the line ~ It takes a special kind of GRIT to do what we do!
Endless thanks to Aravaipa for pulling off a great event in the face of extreme adversity and managing chaotic logistics to make sure everyone’s safety came first. Top notch organization, hands down. And oh my, the volunteers. You are all unbelievable and were absolutely instrumental in EVERYONE’s day. Impossible without you, no question.
I always said I would never do a mud run. Little did I know, I’d get one with my longest ultra. Thanks for reading!
#runhappy #altrarunning #aravaiparunning #BCT60K #tailwind
