login
 Run
Comments: I don't want to discredit the difficultly of this course and do admit that the difficulty did somewhat "catch-up with me", especially during all of the rock climbing in the Guacamole loop, but I feel like I was able to really put the course into perspective while I was out there. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the challenge, which is pretty funny when you consider that all but one of my long runs (and it was one flat gravel) were on the treadmill this winter/spring. I was kind of surprised at that too since my race confidence took a pretty big hit when I DNFd BOTH of my important races last year (missed time cut-off at Bear 100 around mile 67 in September and the time cut-off to run the last 8 miles at the Vineman ironman race in July). Apparently I'm way too wordy for this template. Read more on my blog at http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.... What would you do differently?: There's not anything I would do differently. I feel like I basically nailed this. My clothing choices were perfect. My hydration choices worked out perfectly. Even though I did get behind on nutrition a few times, I was able to catch back up and finish energized. I really enjoyed that I was able to run the first 30 miles with friends and I think that was key to my success since it started me out at a good pace, not too slow, but not too fast. I maybe could’ve run a bit faster, but probably would’ve ended up wiping out totally defeating the purpose. The fact that I only slid to a sit once and didn’t actually trip and fall at all is a huge improvement for me over any other ultra, but I was super careful and hyper-vigilant basically the whole time.  Post race
Warm down: Jenn was at the finish, but was at Holly's van talking to her so missed my grand entrance. She took care of me though taking off my shoes and finding me a Diet Coke. I felt ok at first, but it wasn't long before I needed to lie down for a bit which worked out fine since we had to wait for some drop bags anyway. We had some awesome ice cream on the way back to the hotel. What limited your ability to perform faster: Treadmill training set at 5.0 mph is not a recipe for a speedy trail run. Event comments: This was a "do once" race. I made it out ok, but the fact that they really weren't keeping track of runners (only taking numbers while aid stations were open, then closing the stations and leaving people stranded) is scary considering the terrain. There should've been some accountability for sweeping the course and being sure everyone made it out ok. Profile Album Last updated: 2013-12-01 12:00 AM
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
View profile
Add to friends
Go to training log
Go to race log
Send a message
View album
CONNECT WITH FACEBOOK
United States
Zion 100 Trail Run
55F / 13C
Overcast
Overall Rank = 109/115
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
I drove to Ogden (6 hours) after work Wednesday, got a good night's sleep and drove the rest of the way (5 hours) Thursday. I arrived in Hurricane around 2pm and spent some time with Jenn (Jungle Jenn) organizing race stuff in our room at Super 8. We met with her friend Holly, Holly's husband Bill and her pacer Karen. We had a little time before packet pick-up so drove just a bit into Zion National Park. We were hoping to get to bed early since we had to be up at 2:30am for the 4am early start, but that didn't exactly happen. I got a glimpse of all the pretty buckles at packet pick-up, but knew the selection would be limited by the time I finished. The race offered free individual pizzas, but there were at least 50 people in front of us so we decided it would be much faster to just eat out at the same restaurant "The Flying Monkey". We got back to the hotel and to bed around 8:30pm. This was probably the worst I have ever slept before a race. I didn't feel nervous or overly excited, just couldn't fall asleep. Apparently I did though, because at 12:21am I woke up suddenly and bolted out of bed, assuming a fighting stance. A man had opened our hotel door and the chain stop caught. Jenn says he mumbled "Oh sorry", but I think my adrenaline was pumping too hard to hear. He pulled the door shut and left. We found out from Holly's husband who was working late in the hotel lobby that the hotel had actually re-rented our room to him. Apparently he was pretty upset about it too. I didn't sleep so well after that. I didn’t exactly feel unsafe, just unsettled.
I got up at 2:30am and barely had enough time to get dressed, tape my feet and shins and eat a bagel with honey and banana. The timing worked out great though since we arrived to the start with plenty of time to check in, potty and not have too much time to contemplate the 100 miles before us.