camping friday night was awesome. the weather was relatively cool. the skies were clear. i rolled out my sleeping pad on the concrete slab at the campsite and curled up in my sleeping bag on top of it. no tent. no bugs (at least in my opinion). it was great.
saturday morning, the race went well. it was cool at the start, and fortunately, it was light enough that we didn't have to use headlamps. less than 3 miles into the race i was third female overall, which was kind of cool, until i reminded myself that there were still 28+ miles to go. the course was fairly flat. there was a lot of jeep road, sandy trails and a couple boardwalks through swamp area.
about 5 miles into the race, i tripped on a root and face planted. i had been running along thinking how great it was to be running on trails and out in nature, when all of a sudden i was on the ground giving the earth a big ol' hug. the fall re-opened the scar on my right knee from when i took a bad spill back in november, but the ground was really soft, so it felt more like falling on a firm mattress.
the course was 2 laps. i finished the first lap in about 2:23 or so, took a quick pit stop and headed back out. by this point it was starting to warm up a bit, and i decided to do something i hadn't done in a very long time and never done while racing. i decided to run in just my sports bra. all the other girls in front of me had done it, so why not (peer pressure in its oddest form, right?). while this may seem rather silly, putting on weight in college made me ridiculously self-conscious, so i just always run with something on and usually the something is not form fitting on top. the temperature difference without the extra layer was awesome (look at that smile!) and eventually i just stopped being self-conscious (the shirt went back on immediately after finishing).
there was a long out and back in the first 5 miles of the course, and on my second loop, i was able to see how far behind the other women (and men for that matter) i was. it can be really tough mentally running on out and backs, especially when there's so much sand, but it was nice to see people. we were cheering for each other, which is an aspect of ultrarunning i really like--you support your competitors. that's just what you do. that's what everyone does.
about 6 miles into the second loop, i passed the second place female. and then i just seemed to pick up the pace. i started passing guys. when i got to the last aid station, someone told me they thought i was in 6th place overall (men and women). i thought that was kind of cool, and i knew there was another guy not too far in front of me, so i hurried through the aid station and went on my way.
i crossed the finish line in about 4:48. the guy who finished not too far in front of me was about my age. he congratulated me and then said he ran the last couple miles scared because he'd seen the look on my face when i came into the last aid station and knew i was coming after him. i found that amusing, as i hadn't thought i'd be able to catch him, but i did think that seeing a cute boy with nice legs in front me would distract me and make the last couple miles go faster.
the official results still have yet to be posted. they should be up later this week. physically i think it was a good race. the splits for the two laps are more or less dead on. i felt strong. mentally, i think it was a great race, which was really what i was going for. nothing seemed to bother me. falling, tight quads, rolling ankles, drinking too much (which makes the ol' stomach very unhappy) was just par for the course. it all goes away. you take what happens, good or bad, and just keep moving. positive thinking is a very powerful thing...as are massages immediately following race completion.
ben got into town yesterday and rory gets into town today. i'm a little bummed i won't get to race with them this weekend, but it'll be great to see them!
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