“cambia tu mundo” has been the mantra in my head the past few weeks. The more I learn, the more I realize I have the ability to change the world around me and the way I perceive it.
This summer was one of the more intense times in my life, it was as if the entire world was challenging me to make the decision to break or to stand strong. Matthias and Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua were the two things that kept me moving forward as I tried to recover from pain and injury (both physical and mental).
I ran the Cactus Rose 100 miler this past weekend. Or that is, I ran 80 miles of the Cactus Rose 100 miler this weekend. This run was one of the best runs I have ever experienced!! I went into the 5:00am start with the calmest and most peaceful marriage of body and soul I have ever felt. My running felt fluid and natural and the mental drive to accomplish my goals was almost scary.
It took me a few days to bring myself to writing this report, it is much better to reflect on things like this before writing about them. I did not want it to be a pity party or a personal bashing session. Yes, I did not accomplish my goal of a sub-21 hour finish, but I gave it a good try and learned a lot about myself and running. In retrospect, I wish I would have crawled the last 20 miles on my knees. Although my mind was strong, my feet were blisters and my quads were frozen to where I could barely walk downhill.
On my running style and strategy:
Do I think I started too fast? No, that is my method and I intend to stick to it. I only need to build my conditioning to where I run faster and maintain even longer. My quads were shot out toward the end, but this is only because I did not take Perpetuem or protein for my muscles until mile 65. I now use my nutrition plan from the very start of the run instead of waiting a few hours until the “freshness” wears off. It is much better for me to maintain a solid base of energy, whereas I used to wait until I was exhausted to eat or drink anything.
I ran with two bottles, one of Accelerade and one of water. I took two S-Caps on the hour and one Power gel on the half hour. I ate solids every two hours. Usually my solids were either Odwalla SuperGreen food bars or 1/4 chicken Subway sandwiches from the Team Traverse food stash at Equestrian Aid Station.
There are several things I told myself after this race:
-I am competitive, there is no way around it. I have to continue to develop my competitiveness into a positive thing that motivates me and all others around me to run the best race possible.
-No more pacers, I have to run my own race. I loved my pacer, he was incredible and motivating, but I realize I don’t do well with a pacer.
-Never change shoes when the ones you are wearing are working
-Be assertive about what I want and do not want from crew, aid station volunteers etc.. help is excellent, but ultimately I am the only person who can tell me exactly what will keep me going (fuel, clothing, injuries, etc..)
-Never change into new shoes you have only worn on a 7-mile run since buying them new
-Pearl Izumi Peak XC’s are badass shoes and I worship them
-Perpetuem is the shit and I will drink it every two hours on all races 50 miles and up
-I will go even faster at the Bandera 100k, I intend to break 9:45 for this race and I see it as entirely possible.
Thank you to everyone involved in making this race happen.
Joe, you continue to bring sick, demented ultras to the Texas Hill Country, please don’t stop. Thanks for continuing to coach my unhinged running habits.
Thank you Paula, Gabi and Abigail for crewing me, coddling me, cuddling me and cheering me on, I am definitely spoiled beyond belief.
Team Asha, you guys are amazing.
Joyce, thank you for understanding how I felt at mile 80, your words helped me very much. Jason, I think you should be volunteer/massage therapist of the century!
Team Traverse, you are a group of intensely talented and remarkable runners. I am honored to be part of the Team!
congratulations to all of those who did finish the Cactus Rose, you held fast and overcame pain, fear, absolutely trashed muscles, delusional delirium, fainting spells, manic laughter and more to run or crawl up to that final beep of the mat.
Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua 2008:
We are still taking entrants!!
Click for a list of the adventurous souls running this year’s 50k/100k races on beautiful Isla de Ometepe.
The race is ready to go! I leave for Nicaragua on Dec 1st, hopefully I will skip before the nasty weather hits Texas.
See you down there.
