Mission accomplished

Today, finally, I can call myself an Ultra Marathoner!

The day started out as it usually does before a run, I had my normal pre-race tea with banana. I decided that today I needed a little more inspiration so I put on one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump, and jumped to the scene where he is sitting on his porch and contemplating life. Just then he gets up and starts running. That part of the movie, to me, sums up my life and sometimes I wish I could just run forever.

I headed over to the race at 6:30 and was greeted by many of my trail friends, all of whom knew that I was doing my first 50 Mile race. They all offered support and encouragement.

At 7:00 AM we started running and I knew right away that this was going to be a very special day. I purposely didn't listen to music for the first lap (26 K) as I wanted to save my music for when I really needed it. I ran a little faster than I had wanted to, but I felt really good so I just went with it. I decided not to take any scheduled walk breaks and instead just walked the hills and ran the flat parts. The Seaton Trail has 6 climbs so it worked out perfectly for the first lap anyway.

Two amazing friends were volunteering at the race and when I saw them for the first time it gave me so much energy. I really can't thank them enough for being there because it made me look forward to seeing them and that kept me going. When I got to the turnaround point of the first loop, I realized that I would be coming back there two more times. I realized that I better start to slow down a little which is what I did.

Along the way back from the first loop I ran into a good friend and she asked me if I wanted her to run with me for my final lap. It didn't take me long to say, "YES!"
Knowing that she would be there for the final lap again made me look forward to something very special. Diane is an amazing trail runner and I was able to spend some time with her and Henri, her boyfriend, who I call the "Ultra Power Couple." They both are tremendous runners and I've learned so much from both of them.

I finished my first loop in just over 3 hours which was faster than I was planning on going. I knew that if I wanted to finish strong, I better slow it down. I put my music on for the first time and that seemed to energize me quite a bit. At the same time, I was also trying to remember to go slower. I knew that at some point I was going to hit that wall of pain but I just didn't know when.

The 2nd loop actually went pretty well and I managed to stay pretty strong throughout. One of the things that really helped me was salted potatoes. I had one of these towards at the halfway point of the 2nd loop and that really gave me plenty of energy. At this point I was getting tired of taking my gels and the thought of another one would have made me sick. I decided not to take anymore after I had that potato. Unfortunately they were the only aid station that had those potatoes so each time I stopped and looked for them, I couldn't find them. I used bananas, chips and watermelon for the rest of the race.

I reached the end of the 2nd loop at 6 hours and 40 minutes. Diane was waiting there for me and after refilling my water and electrolyte drink we were off. I felt very tired for the last loop and ended up walking quite a bit at the start. Eventually I would start to feel a little better and was able to run a little more. I had to stop to go to the bathroom about 4 times and during the river crossing I took a faceplant into the water. My legs were very rubbery at that time but the cool water seemed to help.

Diane asked me if this was now the longest run either in terms of distance or time that I've ever done and it made me realize that yes this was. By this time I was 8 hours into the race and had run close to 65K's. Running on the roads is one thing, but running in the trails adds another dimension. My longest training run was 5 hours and my longest race was a 50K trail race in Haliburton, so this was all uncharted waters for me. Although I had to walk quite a bit, it never entered my mind that I wasn't going to finish. Diane and I talked about everything in our lives and this really helped while we were running.

We reached the final turnaround point with plenty of time to spare. I needed to be at this point within 10 hours or I would be disqualified. I was just over 8 hours so I knew that no matter what, I was going to finish this race. I felt stronger on the way back home and was able to run a little more than at the start of this loop. I'm sure knowing that I would be done soon helped.

Diane asked me what my goals were and I told her that finishing was the first goal, under 11 hours was the 2nd goal and my dream goal was 10 hours. I knew that I was going to hit my first goal so it was just a matter of what other goal I was going to achieve. As I hit the 10 hour mark I still had another 5 K's left to go. Unfortunately my garmin watch died as I realized that the battery life is only good for 10 hours. My dream goal was not going to be reached but finishing under 11 hours was still there for the taking. I was able to find enough strength, even after running for so long, to pick up my speed a little bit.

There was a runner who was ahead of me for most of the race. Everytime I got closer to him he started to pick it up a little which was demoralizing. At this point in the race I needed something to motivate me and he was it. Eventually I was able to pass him and that gave me a huge boost of confidence.

I crossed the finish line at 10:54 and I was greeted by applause by the runners who were still there. I gave Diane a huge hug and the moment hit me that I had just run my first 50 mile race on one of the toughest courses in the series. So many people congratulated me and it was very overwhelming.

All those runs in the winter really paid off and I am very proud of what I have accomplished. Without missing a beat I was asked by so many people what my next goal is going to be. I told them that I want to run another 50 mile race. I was encouraged by many to run a 100 mile race. I may just do that........

A special thanks go out to Diane, Karen, Christy, Alleth and Janell. You women made this day extremely special to me and I'll never forget that.