Love seeing moose in the mountains- although the mother and babe had me a bit concerned as they wouldn’t leave the trail and momma was a bit protective.
I finally went off trail into bushes and they eventually moved on
San Diego 100 in the books!
As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. I began this race with a plan: lots of gels, regular calorie intake, start slow and steady. My A+ goal was to finish sub-24 hours.
I rolled into the 29-mile aid station AHEAD of my goal time! Was feeling pretty good, and had even been keeping track of my calorie intake, which was more than usual thanks to the energy gels.
However, around mile 40 my legs started cramping. I have run a LOT of ultra races. Not once have I experienced cramping. This was new and different, and it absolutely caused my pace to slow. Even worse, it caused my mind to question if this was "doable". Again, one of my strengths in these ultra events is my steadfast knowledge that I WILL get to the finish line. Even when I've been down, hurting, puking, I have not doubted that I would eventually cross the finish line. I've found many things I am grateful for and will spend hard miles listing all the things I have gratitude for. This race was the hardest mentally I've done, because for a while I couldn't see the forest through the trees. I spiraled in my head for miles, thinking of how much was left and allowing self-doubt to make me worry. I love running at night and this race took place during the full moon on May 1-2! How incredibly lucky! And yet, for a long while, it was hard for me to acknowledge and find gratitude in this. It was hard for me to feel grateful for being there, for what my body is capable of.
This is the first ultra I've almost quit. I cried multiple times - again, unusual for me. While part of me is ashamed of this, I wanted to share as it is the reality of doing hard things. Sometimes it's really, really tough.
I finished in 29 hours and 19 minutes.
This year 67% of starters finished the race. Tough!
What I gained from this experience is perspective. I thought I had hit the lowest lows already during other 100 mile races, but I learned there is lower. But I was still able to finish! I am excited to take this new knowledge and experience and be stronger for it on the next one!
HUGE shoutout to the RDs, BJ and Rich, for a very well organized race! An equally HUGE shoutout to the hundreds of volunteers who ran truly kick ass aid stations. You are all amazing and this race couldn't happen without you.
San Diego 100 in the books!
This race had all the feels- happy, excited, strong, tired, sad, doubt, pain, frustration, nausea, and ultimately the joy of crossing the finish line.
As Mike Tyson famously said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. I began this race with a plan: lots of gels, regular calorie intake, start slow and steady. My A+ goal was to finish sub-24 hours.
When I began, I had no idea I would be feeling doubt in my capacity to get to the finish line before I even reached the halfway point. But 6 miles in, a blister started forming and this began the first crumbling of my plan.
Blisters don't stop me, and don't even cause me to run much slower. It quickly became not that big of a deal and I rolled into the 29-mile aid station AHEAD of my goal time! Was feeling pretty good, and had even been keeping track of my calorie intake, which was more than usual thanks to the energy gels.
However, around mile 40 my legs started cramping. I have run a LOT of ultra races. Not once have I experienced cramping. This was new and different, and it absolutely caused my pace to slow. Even worse, it caused my mind to question if this was "doable". Again, one of my strengths in these ultra events is my steadfast knowledge that I WILL get to the finish line. Even when I've been down, hurting, puking, I have not doubted that I would eventually cross the finish line. I've found many things I am grateful for and will spend hard miles listing all the things I have gratitude for. This race was the hardest mentally I've done, because for a while I couldn't see the forest through the trees. I spiraled in my head for miles, thinking of how much was left and allowing self-doubt to make me worry. I love running at night and this race took place during the full moon on May 1-2! How incredibly lucky! And yet, for a long while, it was hard for me to acknowledge and find gratitude in this. It was hard for me to feel grateful for being there, for what my body is capable of.
This is the first ultra I've almost quit. I cried multiple times - again, unusual for me. While part of me is ashamed of this, I wanted to share as it is the reality of doing hard things. Sometimes it's really, really tough. Brent was my crew, and he knew more than I did what I was capable of. Even deeper, he knew how I would feel if I did quit. He pushed me when I needed it, ushered me back out to the trail even when every fiber in my body wanted to stay in the van.
I finished in 29 hours and 19 minutes.
This year 67% of starters finished the race, the most ever since the new course (which I think was in 2024).
What I gained from this experience is perspective. I thought I had hit the lowest lows already during other 100 mile races, but I learned there is lower. But I was still able to finish! I am excited to take this new knowledge and experience and be stronger for it on the next one!
HUGE shoutout to the RDs, BJ and Rich, for a very well organized race! An equally HUGE shoutout to the hundreds of volunteers who ran truly kick ass aid stations. You are all amazing and this race couldn't happen without you.