High Desert 50k

ok, so I am sick. and broken. but race day is race day so never mind that.

Mike drove the kids up to Tehachapi to see his dad on Thursday. I stayed behind to work and hit the road mid-day Friday. I had taken the camera battery out to recharge it and then, you guessed, I forgot it.

FIL~Jim, turned 75 on Saturday. We celebrated with pizza on Friday night after I arrived. Doug (Mike's brother) was there with Finn(5)and Catie(3), and the kids had a great time. Saturday we visited Doug's ranch and the kids got to play with the dogs, the cats, the goat (Henry) and the horses. It was a short visit. Evidently they cleaned before we got there, ahem, and still there was no clean place to sit down.

Mike and I left for Ridgecrest at about 3. It was a beautiful drive through Red Rock Canyon...we want to take the kids there someday to camp. We checked into the hotel and headed out to find the start line of the race and then over to pick up the race packets and meet other ultra-runners at the pre-race pasta dinner. It was yummy. I wanted to chuckle at the crowd. Very...mixed. Lots and lots of older folks who just do their thing. Ultra after ultra after ultra. Mellow, easy going people.

I slept horribly, again. My head just aches at night...my ears hurt and my sinuses were so painful. ugh. That and my calf just would.not.stop.hurting. Mike kept giving me sideway glances but didn't dare suggest I don't run. I spent a good 2 hours coughing but that was ok since I fell asleep at 7am and was ready to get up by 4.

Two red bulls, a bag of funyuns, and all my race gear together, I headed for the hotel breakfast. Settled on a piece of toast and good conversation with a few other runners. I wasn't nervous...I was more just dreading the day and wanting it to be over.

We arrived at the college and made our way inside the gym to make potty stops and acclimate to the cold. I slowly stripped off my warm ups, vest, and ear wrap and took them back to the car. Mike and I headed for the start. Ha. They said a prayer and most people were quiet and after it ended, "in the name of Jesus Christ we pray" everyone cheered AMEN! That was a nice way to start. oh, well... someone said GO! and away we went.

Around the parking lot and onto the road. Every step hurt and it was really hard for me to breathe, was already winded by mile 1. It was crowded and the road was mostly deep soft sand which is a fine how-do-you-do to my achilles and calf. I dropped my chapstick and Mike ran back to get it. How was I going to make it without him? It was pretty much up hill for the first 12 miles. Ok, so some would say a gradual ascent but I call it uphill. I lost Mike at the first aide station...grabbed some chips and proceeded to cough on them for half a mile before I gave up and threw them down. Mike split with the 30k'ers at the 5 mile mark.

I fell in step with some guy with a thick spanish accent. Every once in a while, if I really focused my brain on what he was saying, I could understand him. I don't know what he was doing with his nose but every few seconds he sorta blasted or snorted or something. He was nice enough but I was glad to leave him and his snortling behind. It started getting steeper and I began to walk the ups and fall behind people. Then I'd catch up. Then I'd walk the ups and fall behind. Then I'd catch up. Didn't these people understand Ultra 101. ? WALK THE UPS!!! I eventually left those I was with behind, and moved up in the crowd.

The scenery was gorgeous. Someone said it wasn't a very scenic course but I enjoyed it. The trail was rough, rocky, sandy, tedious but wide. And uphill. Did I mention this yet? Fortunately I gained lost time on the downhills. I was trying not to favor my right side in hopes my left wouldn't follow suit. The aide stations were ok. I mostly just grabbed gatorade and either chips, pretzels or an orange slice and kept moving.

By mile 15 my hands were hotdogs. I was thinking Mike was almost done and I was jealous. I waited until mile 19 to call him on my cell phone and congratulate him. He sounded great and he finished in 2:48 which was really great too! I was getting more and more frustrated with the constant uphill and the fact that I'd pass people and then they'd pass me all over again while they RAN the uphill. I was thinking maybe *I* was the one with the wrong strategy. Finally at mile 24 I pushed ahead and passed 8 to 10 people I'd been leap frogging and took off.

Mile 25 was no mans land. I was lonely. Tired. Pouting. and a little freaked out at how alone I was. I couldn't see anyone and started looking around for mountain lions. So I called Marion. We chatted. I needed to bend someone's ear. It started raining and it was getting colder. I thought about the gloves I had shed and stuck in my hydration pack but I was too tired to try to retrieve them so I just hunkered down.

About mile 28 I started singing. I dunno. whatever. I was moaning too. I guess I was doing more moaning than singing. When what do I see before me? way ahead, like a tease? The college! I was coming up on a turn and could see a photographer in his truck and Mike was there! I started to cry and frantically wave my hands. I was never so happy to see him. He fell in step beside me and the only person to catch me, passed us by as I started pouting and walking up ANOTHER UP. There was a turn onto the road and a photographer coming up and Mike and I held hands and smiled. He walked from there and I ran the final bit down and around the parking lot.

I had my finish all planned out. Stop with dignity. Well, I actually planned to run across the finish and walk away with dignity when someone blocked my path and started tugging on my race bib. Dignity lost, I was swaying and crumbling.

It was cold. windy. cold. windy. I was never so glad to be done. I grabbed something and kept walking. Everything in my body hurt which was an odd comfort that no one part of my body hurt more than the other.

Pizza. coke. a change into warm clothes and we were on the road. We met Mike's dad at 1:44 and I walked into our home at 5:10. The longest drive ever.

Mission accomplished: I reached Marathon Maniac status.

I'll post pictures later this week.