I did it! I'm an Ultrarunner!

Woo hoo! I called my dad yesterday afternoon our conversation went something like this: "Dad, guess what?" "What?" "I'm not a marathon runner anymore." "You're not?" "No. I'm an ULTRAmarathon runner!" "Oh! Well, I'm glad you found something you like!"

Yesterday, I crossed over into the ultrarunning world as I ran in the inaugural Unknown ?K--a 50K/31mile run through San Mateo, down off Ortega highway. Aside from the fact that this is my longest distance I've ever run, it was one of my favorite runs I've ever done. Charlie organized a supported group run (not an official race or event) for the OCTR. We had a group of about 25 people from the club running yesterday. Half of us started at 6:00 (the slow people!) and half started at 7:30 (fast!). I, of course, started with the 6:00 crew, with my new pink headlamp, 'cuz it's still dark at that time. As fun as it is to run in the dark, I am never let down when the sun rises while I'm on the trails. If you're running on dirt (as opposed to cement-ouch!), you are going to have some beautiful views. And San Mateo did not let us down. We were running through wildflowers, crossing over streams, patches of green grass, running up hills, down hills. . .

Lisa, Pete V., Kirk, and EKP

I managed to keep up with Pete and Lisa for most of the run. Around mile 10, I was running when I saw and felt a small branch hit me in the eye. It actually didn't poke me, but I felt a soft flower bud or something drag across my eye and it pulled my contact lens out!!! How does that happen!?!? I called out, "Hey guys! I just lost my contact lens!!" Lisa came over and found it immediately! "Oh, here it is!" She picked it up, rinsed it off with her water bottle, and then I took it and put it in my eye! The funny thing is, as I was packing my new hydration vest the night before, the thought of bringing an extra set of contacts crossed my mind. Then I thought, naw--why would I do that? I've never carried a spare set of contact lenses! I feel kind of old school talking about contact lenses. I heard there is this new surgery that will fix your vision. . .
The second aid station was at mile 17. I was still feeling good and strong. I had Charlie's map with me and it said that after the second aid station there was a stream crossing that there was no way around without getting wet. You had to take your shoes off and walk through. When we get there, me and Lisa sat down to take off our shoes. Suddenly, we hear some loud splashing. We looked up to see Pete just charging through it--shoes and all. Without a word, he just took off! He's probably thinking--silly girls! Then Lisa and I start walking through and, I have to say, the cold water felt sooooo good and refreshing on our feet! I even brought a clean pair of socks! As we were sitting down to put our shoes back on, we hear Charlie's voice coming down from the aid station. He was showing a group of casual day hikers how to get around the stream without getting wet (just a few feet to the left!) And then he saw me and Lisa putting our shoes and socks back on and starts making fun of us! Apparently the water level had gone back down after he made his map. That was pretty funny! But I liked having clean feet and socks!
My smile was soon gone because the next 8 miles were the longest 8 miles in my life! It was mostly climbing (which means a lot of walking for me). Lisa, Pete, and I kind of got spread out. The 7:30-ers started passing me on this stretch. I started feeling really low on energy. I kept looking at my Garmin, wishing the miles would go by faster, but it was like waiting for a pot of water to boil. The miles seemed to go on forever. At least the scenery was nice!
I finally made it to the last aid station at mile 26. At this point, it was starting to get really cold and windy. My friend Leon was waiting there with a big smile on his face. He told me I only had 5 miles to the finish. I told him I was low on energy, so he put a mixture of Monster Energy drink and Gatorade in my water bottle while I ate some little peanut butter and honey sandwiches and chocolate candy. It's amazing how quickly the human body can turn food into fuel because before I could even drink the Monster/Gatorade mixture, I was already feeling a million times better. I didn't even stay at the aid station very long because it was so cold! It was 47 degrees! And I was ready to finish the race, so I took off.

The last 5 miles of that race was probably the best race ending of any race I've done. It was beautiful, winding single track, with mostly downhill. I was suddenly in the best mood! I turned up the music on my iPod, and actually started singing out loud--Poison, Travis Tritt, Relient K, Nelson ('memba them?), Def Leppard, and Kid Rock. No one heard me, I think, but I didn't even care if they did!

Me at the finish line of the Unknown ?K

So I crossed the finish line where everyone was having their post-run meal. And, I have to say, it felt so good to do that with so many of my friends from the OCTR there. Running an ultra has long been a dream of mine, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do it without these people who have inspired me. There are also many OCTR members who did not run in the Unknown, but who have also inspired me. I'm so lucky to be around such cool people!

Of course, this is only the beginning of my life as an ultra runner. . . :)
Next race: April 12, Old Goats 50K