Dirty Girls

This wasn't really a A race, or a B race, or even a C race. It was just kinda a date on the calendar. I did no specific ingraining, I guess I tapered a bit, but really that does not matter in ultra running.

So why do the race... cause why not??

My brother from another mother, Matt  had decided he wanted to do 24hours this summer, so of course he didn't train and we both show up ready for a beating.

The plan was that we camp Friday night, Saturday night. I run all day Saturday and then sleep the night so somebody safe can drive home on Sunday morning.

Surprisingly we were one of the last to arrive Friday night around 8ish, surprisingly I slept well, and unfortunately as predicted the weather as predicted was not favorable to runners, it was hot, hot, hot even at 6:30 in the morning when we woke up.

One of the closest bed to start line situations ever. Lined up near the back and off we went. Bottle necked in the beginning. No point in going out fast but kinda a pain to get suck right at the beginning behind people in a conga line. I am inpatient and clasutiphic, long established.  Recall little about doing what each lap, just random thoughts...

• Had to change a sock on the second lap so lubed feet. Only one blister as a result
• Ate samosa, V8 juice, and red berry things. Salt tabs every lap, a few magnesium pills, x1 Fruit3, x1 endurance tap. H2o, 500mls ish every 4k. A few potatoes. Some fruit mixed in.
• Carried a plastic baggy, the same one and at every aid station filled it. People thought it was amazing. Had my own bottle at the aid stations and just filled it every lap. I am to weak to carry a bottle and I thought my backpack would be to hot.
• There is alot of dust and dirt at dirty girls. There are no showers. Apparently there was a creak somewhere but my car was trapped behind the start line. Also there was a cold hose. I would have paid at least $20 for a shower when I was done, waited until the next morning when I got home to wash. I was a dirty girl all night.
• I really liked it when I had new people to chat with, i like meeting new people. Matt tried running with me but he was to fast (WTF)and i would make him go ahead but then he would wait for me at aid stations, eventually  learned he just had to go.
• It is a 8k course, I liked the kilometers between 4-6k the best. There is a really big hill that most people just walk but I have learned that i am a really slow walker and I waste so much time walking, thus I mostly just walk the short steep stuff and run the longer gradual hills.
• I have a serious problem with chafing, as in I now have permanent scars. Thus, as an experiment I bought a cheap but somewhat supportive/ tight sports bra from Walmart. I figured I have tried everything else, why not this... no chafing.
• Started out with road asics, my feet started hurting so changed to my road hokas.Feet stopped hurting.
• Coming into the race i did have a A goal of 70k. When I heard the weather report of the insane heat, I figured, whatever, because really what did it matter. I was watching my garmin for the first 20ish km then i stopped looking at the total km and started looking at the time. People would ask what lap I was on, or I would try to figure it out and really I had no clue. At one point I told matt I only had two more laps left in me. Then I did those laps and I had tons of time left so I went out for a last one. Actually ended up doing the last one faster then expected, and when I got to the finish line I had 69.84km so I sprinted a bit more just so I would have 70k on the watch and felt perfectly happy being done. According to the results it is 72k. Looking at the results I would have had to run another loop and more to catch the next person in my age catagoy and that was not happening so I am all good with 3/ 9 female, 5/19 overall.