Eagle Up Ultra 2019

Ultra rule #1: Never trust the mile you’re in.

I knew that rule in my mind.

This year’s Eagle Up Ultra drove the point home.

My goals for this year’s Eagle Up were simply to beat last year’s time and then force myself to run for the full 24 hours in preparation for the upcoming Burning River 100.

30 miles into the race I wasn’t sure I’d even make it the full 100.

Though I’d trained well and felt ready at the start, and though the first 20 miles I was able to meet my pace goals, I felt like I was working harder than I should have been at that point. The heat of the day was affecting me a little, but looking back I think it was the humidity that secretly zapped me.

The course is a flat, crushed limestone towpath that forms a perfect 5 mile loop. There are manned aide stations every 2.5 miles and every mile has an unmanned water-only station. While running in loops for 24 hours sounds mind-numbing, I actually enjoy this course. With every pass through, the look and feel is different, and getting to see fellow racers multiple times helped us all get that sense that no matter our goals and abilities, we were all in this together.

This was the 4th year of Eagle Up Ultra. 650 runners were on hand for the start!

But this day, the beauty of the course alone wasn’t enough to power me through.

Typically I can stomach PBJ squares every 10 miles through the first 50, but my mouth was too dry to chew them after mile 20. The chocolates I can usually count on to give me that quick burst of energy mid run wouldn’t go down either. All I could eat were the slices of watermelon I’d brought with me. I kept drinking my Skratch/Tailwind combination, but I dilute them both so much that there was no way that alone could provide enough calories for a 100 mile effort. As a result my pace suffered, my internal dialogue turned negative, and I felt certain I’d never make it to the finish let alone hit any of my goals.

But a long time ago I’d asked one of the best people I know to crew me here, and at mile 50 I remembered why I was so giddy when she said “Yes” to my request. Sherry pounced into action. Without missing a beat she rubbed my legs and massaged my feet. She threw on her shoes and ran two laps with me and shared her exuberance not only with me, but with all the other runners out there. Suddenly I was having fun again! We talked strategy and made a plan, then put it in action.

Having fun again!

We dropped the “run 24 hours” goal. She convinced me to just focus on doing the 100 as well as I possibly could and that decision alone lifted a weight off my shoulders. Then she made me start doing intervals. We ran hard for 4 minutes, then walked one. Not only did this help me pick up the speed a little, it distracted me from everything else—I was too busy watching the clock to make sure I didn’t miss a walk break!

By mile 65 I felt renewed. Though I was only able to stomach popsicles at that point, they were working well enough. My pace had picked up, the Finish was in sight, and even my original goals for the 100 were back in reach.

Yeah for Sherry!

My daughter hopped on her bike and escorted me through a loop. She regaled me with stories of her adventures through the day and while my pace dropped slightly, her energy and enthusiasm and constant “You’re doing SOO awesome, Mama!!” comments gave me a huge mental boost.

Seeing CrewMom Debbie out there definitely perked me up. Despite her own hurdles to overcome, she was full of enthusiasm and inspiration for everyone. Yeah Debbie!

At mile 75 I heard that the first place female was only 45 minutes ahead of me. Without even trying, I’d put myself back in contention for a podium finish. Suddenly there was a new goal that was possibly in my reach—if I had it in me to dig deep and push harder than I ever had before. Considering I was now fueling my run on Coca-Cola and water alone, that seemed dubious, but possibly worth the effort. I wasn’t ready for a chase, though. There were still too many miles and too much could happen before getting to the Finish. But since I do have a *slightly* competitive side to me, I didn’t want to rule it out altogether. My pacer, Brian, very subtly pushed my run portion of my intervals and wouldn’t let me take longer than a few seconds at each water stop. My overall minute per mile dropped significantly.

At mile 80 I heard that I was now only 25 minutes behind the first place female. Again Brian nudged me along so that this loop was even faster than the previous one. He talked numbers and told me where I needed to be on the next two loops if I wanted to gain and then hold the lead. He gave me strategies and a game plan, then handed me off to Sherry again.

Sherry rode her bike alongside me and continued to keep my spirits and my pace up. At mile 89 I caught up to the lead female.

Sherry dropped off to get everything ready for me at the Finish Line and I picked up my friend and pacer from last year, Ashley. She made me find a whole new gear. Now that I was in first place, she wasn’t going to let me lose it without giving it 100% effort. The running pace picked up even more, and the water stop visits were mere blinks of an eye. She helped me dig deeper than I ever had before.

We started the final loop not knowing exactly how much of a lead I had. With only 5 miles until the Finish there was no reason to hold anything back. We ran harder and faster than I thought possible at this stage of an ultra! Walk breaks became infrequent and lasted only a handful of seconds. My breathing was labored. My legs burned. I was too exhausted to speak. But we ran as hard and as fast as my under-fueled body could possibly go, not knowing if second place was seconds or minutes behind me.

With a quarter of a mile to go we didn’t see anyone behind us and were fairly confident I’d hold the lead to the end. Still, nothing is for certain until you actually hit that Finish Line, so we didn’t relent until I actually charged across that Finish Line and earned the First Place position officially.

First Place Female.

First Place Overall!

Getting my buckle and Finisher’s hug from Eric meant everything to me. The words he whispered to me as I doubled over on my knees in exhaustion will stay in my memory forever.

Race Director Eric Whittington offering words of congratulations while my daughter and friend Stephen S. look on. Photo By Crewmom Debbie

Winning a race is amazing.

Winning a race put on by one of my biggest cheerleaders, AND the man who helped get me so addicted to ultras in the first place, is unforgettable.

I’m so thankful that the very first time I won a race overall, it was at his.

I warned Sherry long ago that when I crossed the Line I’d be a complete mess. Mentally and physically I would be utterly spent and would rely on her completely to get me through the initial recovery process. Little did I know how extreme that would be. I could hardly stand. I recognized faces but couldn’t put names to them. I was exhausted and elated and desperate to sleep all at the same time!

Once again, I chose my crew wisely Sherry was on top of it all, and totally unphased by the bad shape I was in. Later we calculated that I might have consumed 1500 calories through the course of the entire race.

My Garmin said I burned 10,000 calories.

It was no surprise I was such a blob at the finish!

I don’t really remember any of it. I know at one point I started getting chilled and shaking uncontrollably. Someone brought me to the chair and wrapped me up in towels and blankets. My teeth chattered so hard and for so long that my jaw was sore the next day. I remember my friend and CrewMom extraordinaire, Debbie, spoon feeding me broth while Sherry tended to my feet. And I distinctly remembered when Debbie switched and gave me a sip of Miso soup.

Note: I don’t like Miso soup.

At all.

Now I know.

Now everyone who was there knows.

I do remember hugging (collapsing into??) Ashley at the end and being forever grateful to her and Brian for the way they helped me find so much more within me than I knew was there. Not only did Ashley push me to the Finish, she did so just one little week after her own 100 mile race AND on her birthday!! Talk about an inspiration. I certainly wasn’t going to complain (too much!!) about my aches and pains when she spent her birthday running 15 miles with me a mere week after her own ultra!

My favorite race picture. Ashley’s smile is what a perfect pacer looks like at a finish. My look is of one who left absolutely everything out on the course.

Eventually the warm, the food, and the rest caught up to me and my brain reconnected with the rest of my body. I saw the second place female cross the line. I cheered her on and wanted to shake her hand or share a sweaty hug, but she kept moving and I didn’t see her again after that.

There were so many amazing moments out on the trail during this race that it will take a long time to truly process it all. What sticks out the most, though, is the way everyone genuinely wanted other runners to succeed—no matter what that looked like for them. Everyone cheered for one another, there were high fives given to people who were complete strangers at the Start, and athletes and crew hung out long after they finished so they could watch their new friends finish their race.

At 5:00a I slowly pried myself out of our tent and shuffled back to the Finish Line. I hung out there for a while and watched the final runners make their way across it. I helped take pictures, handed out a few hugs, and watched their exuberance as they completed the challenge they set for themselves. The smiles, the excitement, the exhaustion—it was all inspiring and amazing to witness. Knowing how I felt after 18 hours of running, I can only imagine the grit and determination these athletes had to have to push through for 24 hours of effort. They all amaze and inspire me, and I’ll draw on the looks on their faces when times get tough in future races

Now it’s time to recover, make up for this calorie deficit, and reconsider the gameplan for Burning River 100 next month (Ultra #7 of the year!).

 

As I have with every race this year, I carried SSG Michael George as part of 22 Too Many’s project to help raise awareness about the shockingly high rate of veteran suicides, and to honor those who battled demons most of us will never understand.

 

To follow along as I train and make mistakes on my way to 12 Ultras in 12 months, please join me on Facebook.