Oh man, where do I start? This was a tough one for me. I wasn't quite trained for this race but since my parents were coming out to run it with me I HAD to do it :) I knew I would be able to finish it, just didn't quite know how fast it would be! Mom and I decided to stick together since we ran the 50k together at this race last year. We loved it before, it's a 16 mi loop- rolling hills, single track, gravel roads, meadows... it has everything! And this year it had MUD! Lots of MUD. Shoe sucking mud. The first lap was good, felt strong, then we hit the second loop and my stomach started screaming. Nothing sounded appetizing, so I (stupidly!!!!) thought I would just hold off on eating until something sounded good. BAD IDEA! Stomach didn't settle down for the rest of the race. I couldn't stomach anything, any time I tried eating, it felt like it would come back up... no fun. Which meant, I ran the last ~25 miles without eating anything- stupid, so stupid. I started dragging, slowed WAY down. Mom stayed with me the whole time pushing me on and keeping me going. I was so ready to see the finish line. Hard day for me- both physically and mentally- it definitely showed me how much training I had/have to do before The Bear 100! Was great having the parents running as well, love our ultra family :)
Pre-race selfie :)
Mom running through one of the cow fields/meadows
Moooo
So much mud!
Favorite spot on the course
thinking... I don't want to go any further...
DONE!!!!!!
Finishers award! Chair and pint glass!
Post race- I was looking forward to laying down the last 20 miles. So sick :(
Luckily there was a pond to wash off all the mud
Mt Dew and pickles make everything better
