Embracing the Suck

It’s been a month since the AR50 and I think I am finally, just now, almost fully recovered.  It’s been a terrific month, full of very easy-paced (though I would argue, not easy) running and some lovely trail time with UltraIronHubs.  Just this week, on one of my runs, my legs felt wonderful and fresh – the first time I’ve felt like that in what seems like a very long time.  It’s official:  I’m old and recovery just ain’t what it used to be!

My next race includes some hurdling.

While I don’t feel particularly spry and energetic, I do feel as ready as I’m capable of being for my next race, the Gold Rush 100K, which is coming up this Saturday, May 10th.  *gulp!*

So that means it’s time to talk about what happened last year.  I signed up for the inaugural Gold Rush pretty much as soon as I heard about it.  It was perfect timing on my schedule and I was totally amped about running another ultra.  Training went really well.  I won’t say that I was completely prepared, though, because I really didn’t pre-scout the course much, but I was doing plenty of mileage and I felt great.  The only things I worried about were the time cutoff and the weather.  The time cutoff was aggressive, which meant that I was going to have to run my absolute best or miss it, and the weather was predicted to be an unusually blistering 95+ degrees.  You know I don’t do well in the heat.  It’s my own fault, of course, since I rarely make myself train in the heat, but still.  As is my usual MO, I fretted endlessly and I gotta admit, my confidence was not at an all-time high race morning.

It ended up being the perfect storm of sucking:  the weather was brutal, my nerves were stretched too thin, and I went out too fast to try and catch that cutoff.  I was crying, dehydrated, puking, and more than just a little delirious from heat exhaustion when I missed the time cutoff at Mile 44.  DNF.

So why the hell did I sign up again this year?  In a word, redemption.  I want this finish.  I deserve this finish.  And here’s how I’m going to get it:

• I recruited UIH to run with me.  Company is good when the trail gets lonely, and UIH is the best company ever!
• I trained waaaaaaaay more miles.  (Was that even a complete sentence?  The grammar is atrocious.)  My recovery/cutback/I’m-feeling-lazy base mileage recently is what my super peak training used to be last year.  My legs have a whole lot of miles on them and they can totally handle this.
• I… wait for it…  actually trained in the heat.  I know you’re shocked.  Believe me, so am I.  In fact, I didn’t even set out to do heat training, it just sort of happened.  Which is why it’s been so successful, because you know I wouldn’t make myself do that shit if I didn’t have to.  My schedule is so freakin’ crazy lately with lots of clients – this is NOT a complaint!  I love being busy! – and I’ve found myself squeezing in my own training later and later in the day.  Plus I have a running client who can only meet in the afternoons and evenings, so I’ve even been running some doubles.  Suddenly, I find myself running comfortably in temperatures above 75 degrees.  Who knew that was even possible?
• I trained on the actual course.  Nothing beats knowing what’s coming on race day.  I’ve seen every single mile of this course, and none of it made me cry.  So I got that going for me!
• The Gold Rush RD gave me an extra hour to finish this year.  Okay, they actually gave everybody an extra hour.  I suspect they were a little disappointed with the 81 finishers out of 250+ starters last year.  Ya think?

So far, the weatherman is predicting a high of 85 on Saturday, which means that I am predicting my fifth ultramarathon finish.  Woo hoo!