It's hard to believe, but 5 years ago I ran the Jemez 50k as my first ultra marathon! It was fun to look back at my race report today, four days after finishing the 50 miler. My time this year was slow, a PW (but to be fair also the hardest and longest 50 miler I've done at 53 miles and 11,300 feet of climbing), yet the small improvements I've made are so obvious to me. 

I wouldn't say I'm a newbie, but I'm also not terribly experienced at ultra trail running, as these past 5 years I've rotated between trail running, road marathoning, and 5k training- I love it all! This was my third 50 miler and the second hardest race I've done (behind The Bear), yet I went into it with almost no nerves, no expectations... and without fear comes a little lack of planning! Luckily for me though, Stephanie and Chris would be there too, and they knew where to camp the night before. Chris also took down my tent in the a.m. AND he crewed for both of us in the race! 

The race starts at 5am, so alarm clocks were set pretty early- not early enough apparently, as Stephanie and I scrambled a little bit to get to the start on time. We saw Nick and wished him luck, Stephanie headed to the front, and I to the back (ha!) and we were off! It was pretty dark and my headlamp had died overnight (planning blunder #485) so I had to pull out my phone and use the flashlight function for at least a few miles. When the sun came up it was obvious that it was going to be a GORGEOUS, hot day.

The first and second aid stations were cowbells galore, and lots of smiles. It was great to see Chris too, I hadn't known anybody in the last few races I'd done! I didn't stop at either, but I did grab a piece of watermelon at Camp May Road, which would become my #1 food choice at every aid station. 

 I can't gush enough about the AWESOME aid station volunteers. Coming into the ski lodge at mile 18 it was impossible not to smile! Cow bells like crazy, people cheering and yelling encouragement. There was a man with a walkie talkie a few tenths from the aid station giving the other volunteers our numbers so when we arrived our drop bags were waiting, and the people there knew your name. I felt pretty good at this point, and didn't spend too much time there. Chris and a volunteer made sure I had sunblock, which I did in my pack and had already applied a couple times (I applied 5 times during the race, but got lazy in the last 10 miles and I'm pretty sure that's when the back of my arms and legs got fried. Blunder #694). I also guzzled half a bottle of cold Skratch Labs, which was the best thing EVER (major planning WIN).

It was only 2.7 miles to Pipeline, and then I finally got to experience The Cliff. 50k runners head right up a nice little incline, and 50 milers go left, to rock climb down a steep hill if you're like Stephanie and I and don't realize until halfway down that it's much easier on the far right. lol Maybe next time I'll remember that (next time?!). 

I think I only almost died twice slipping on rocks. My upper ankles have been pretty sore and I'm sure it's from this section!

The next four miles were easy and I felt pretty good and was able to get some lost time back. It was also a little dull though, as suddenly there were no runners around me anymore! When I got to the mile 25 aid station, they told me I was halfway there but I knew it was a long course, thankfully (read: that they were LYING! ;) ). The next half marathon was probably the worst part of the race for me. I began to get an unrelenting headache that made my motivation to run drop pretty low. I was also trying to deal with girl stuff, which was difficult on exposed trails. I'm one who is a little more shy about dropping her pants in the middle of a race where there aren't many trees to duck behind. I probably lost 5-10 minutes throughout the race dealing with that, but I'll have to deal with it during Hardrock, so this was good practice. Harumph. 

With my headache, lack of company around and drying up like a raisin in the sun, I was so ready to be done at the 30 mile mark. That said, I am super pumped I signed up for the 50 miler. 50 miles is such a different beast from 50k, and while I didn't do a 50 miler before The Bear, I think it is definitely necessary for Hardrock training. Struggling mentally and physically for another 23 miles was really great training! I still don't know if my headache was elevation-related or heat/electrolyte-related, but I definitely learned that I need to drink more Skratch Labs next time. It was hard to get out of my aching head that Hardrock would have 6k more feet of climbing at a much higher altitude for EACH half... I really can't even fathom it. How in the heck am I going to do this? 

After leaving the Ski Lodge at mile 38 (where Chris told me Stephanie was killing it and Nick won), I ran with a girl who also did Cactus to Cloud and is training up for Tahoe Rim until mile 43. Once we hit some gentle downhill I was beyond ready to be done, and "booked" it to the last aid station at mile 50.6. Booked it as in mile splits of 14:12, 14:23, 13:08, 11:48, 12:10, 12:13 and then WHAM. I tripped on a rock and slid face first in about an inch of dirt. No blood, just bruises from the rocks. It took a second to get up, and then I just had to laugh because I looked like Pig Pen. Absolutely filthy. At least there were only 3 miles left!
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​I remembered the Last Chance Saloon being far from where you expect it to be, but it really seemed like I would never get there. But wait- as I started running down the switchbacks, they saw me first and started going crazy! I was so surprised at their level of energy for how late it was. They must have been out there all stink' day, yet there was still bacon, heavenly watermelon and smiles. The RD in me is loving a Facebook post where someone asked what healthier foods runners would like to see at aid stations, and the responses vary from avocados and veggies to Swedish fish and Slim Jim's. One thing is for sure, everybody loved the Last Chance Saloon with their beer and bacon. 

At the finish line I came in at 14:01 and found out Stephanie was 2nd female behind only Darcy Piceu! Amazing! She, Chris and I hung out a little, I got my finishers piece of pottery and a burrito I wouldn't eat until the next day, and headed home. Big, big thanks to Chris and the volunteers/race directors, and huge congrats to Stephanie and Nick! :) 

I don't know what's going to happen at Hardrock, but whether I finish or not, I've had a great time racing for training and won't regret getting back on the trails. Knowing my work/life schedule coming up in June, this will likely be my last super long training run. Would I like to get another 50 miler in with tons of climbing in at high altitude? Yes, but it's not going to happen, so no reason to brood about it. I am just going to be happy I got THIS run in and do the best I can with the time I'll have!

My first weekend in Santa Fe was kind of a disaster, training-wise. I tried so hard to find a nice, long, difficult run to do and kept getting foiled, ending up with 2 separate runs totaling 11 miles and 2500 feet of climbing. Thumbs down. To make matters worse, my runner's knee was not improving, so my first week of work I took off running completely- 5 days with no running! Eek! I also wasn't able to move into my apartment yet and was renting out a room on airbnb. So many strange things!

Friday after work though, I drive down to a place called Cloudcroft in southern New Mexico, 4 hours away. It ended up being this adorable mountain town, sitting at 8600 feet of elevation. The race would bus us down to Oliver Lee State Park at 4300 feet (cactus) and we would run up to Cloudcroft (cloud), 32.5 miles and 8500 feet later (website says almost 10,000 feet of climbing?). 

Once again, I had Hardrock on my mind, and after 5 days off I was very nervous about my knee, but totally determined to not only finish this race but get 18 miles in the next day as well. Time for my first 50 mile weekend!

The shuttle ride down I was completely wiped out from my first week of work and lack of sleep, but everybody in our van was fun and we had some great conversation. It was so dark though that I wouldn't know any of them if I saw them again! 

Before the race began, the guy who sat next to me in the van got up and sang the most amazing national anthem! He totally killed it! I asked him after the race if he was a professional, and why yes, yes he was. Soon after, we were off, immediately climbing a long hill.

The race went about as I expected. I didn't try to pass anyone on the climbs, and just kept it fairly easy always with "18 miles tomorrow" playing in my head. I chatted with some people I ran with, but I also spent a lot of time alone on the trail with my thoughts. 

At some of the aid stations, I would take out a baggie I brought and just fill it up with salty snacks, and eat while I continued to hike. It was nice not to have to stuff my face and hurry off! 

The altitude got to me right at the half way mark, and I had a very unpleasant headache for 16 miles. It definitely sapped any desire to run from my mind and I got a little down thinking about Hardrock. "How in the heck am I going to survive Hardrock if I get a raging headache just from being at 9,500 feet?" Talking to Tori last week she helped me remember that I was probably not used to the elevation yet, but I also know Hardrock is going to hurt in many ways, and I'll just have to suck it up, Buttercup. 

As I tend to do lately, I picked it up in the last 5 miles. I was ready to be done, drink some lemonade and get my 4 hour drive home done so I could sleep on the floor in my new place and get up for another run! After crossing the finish in 8:50:32, 7th female, 3rd a/g and talking to some nice ladies at the finish I did just that.

For some reason, my SI pain that I've dealt with in the past was pretty bad after the race. I don't think sleeping on the floor or all the driving helped either. I could barely walk around without limping (and oh my god the STAIRS!), but I woke up early, drove out to the trails, and got my 18 miles in, through sun, snow, and a grapple storm! I was just as slow as during the 50k, but so happy I stuck it out and got it DONE!

I may not be getting the training I want in for Hardrock, but at least I'll have this one 30/20 weekend! Next up is Jemez 50 miler!