Nine hours of solid sleep and two cups of coffee...I feel alive again. Woke up expecting to see two swollen feet, like the last two 100 milers, but no evidence of the run except the blister on my left pinkie toe and moving a little slower this morning. My left hamstring only ached a little while during the first 25K, until my focus was directed to the blister forming because I decided to tape the fourth toe as a preventative measure but caused some friction instead. As hard as it was - nothing can prepare a Washingtonian/Alaskan for 100+ temps - I am grateful I was able to finish. I remember the first loop thinking how fun it was, seeing all of the people, friends, costumes, and beautiful scenery. By the second loop, the temps had risen quickly and runners started to spread out. The third loop was when the temps had peaked and we were warned at an aid station that one station had run out of water and it was 6.5 miles to the next available one. That was the toughest 6.5 miles of the entire run. People were laying down in any shade they could find and I conserved my water by only taking sips. We were so glad to see the tent when we came around the corner and spent some time there trying to rehydrate. Darkness came pretty quickly in the fourth loop. It was when I saw my first rattler and I knew I needed to be more alert. My two fears were to fall into cactus and getting bit by a rattlesnake, especially in the middle of the night when Ive been so drowsy, Ive somewhat sleepwalked in my precious runs. I counted three trips over rocks - the rocky section we had to run seven times SUCKED - and once on a log but I never actually fell, which is amazing for me. The temps at night were very pleasant and I only needed arm warmers for a brief period around 0400. I managed to get through the whole 100 miles without a single energy gel, fueled instead entirely by Gatorade, Coke, Ginger Ale, many bite-sized pieces of pumpkin pie, lots of watermelon, cantaloupe, 1/4 veggie burger, two cups of ramen broth, one cup of coffee, one cup of hot cocoa, two Zip Fizzes, and one Mojo bar. Seems like a lot of food now but it was a struggle to find something I could get down and the Coke, watermelon, and pumpkin pie were easiest to take in. As we approached the finish of the fifth loop, I wondered if we were going to make the cut off time because we were moving slower than I expected. We were happy to find out that the cut off for finishing the sixth loop was 0930 - we came in at around 0815, giving us three hours and 45 minutes to finish the final 9.3 miles. Somehow we managed to run/walk the last loop, finishing at 28:57:45. I crossed the finish line and went to the aid station and had them fill my water bottle with ice and Coke. It was wonderful. Im happy that I was able to complete the Javelina Jundred...and NEVER need to run it again!
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 16:21:41 +0000
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