Boulder 100 2007

Boulder 100

This was a 100 mile foot race held at the Boulder Reservoir.  The course was supposed to be a 7.14 mile lap so I assumed it was a loop.  It was an out and back so that meant we were running the same 3.5 miles or so over and over.  The elevation gain for the race was only 100 ft so it was a flat course.  This is the easiest 100 miler in the country.  The only problem is that stopping by the car so often makes it easier to quit the race.  The race started at 9 am and we had 30 hours to complete the race. This really was why I chose this race since I just needed to complete one to get into Badwater.  Badwater is a 135 mile race that takes place in Death Valley.  It is the race I am shooting for.

I was not sure going into this race that I would actually finish it but I was determined to give it a try.  The Monday before the race I got some blood results that tested positive for mono.  I should not have even considered the race but I had done all the training with the mono so I was certain that I could complete it then rest.  My dad was my crew and my driver.  We left Lubbock, Tx on Thursday after work and got half of the drive done.  On Friday we got up and had some nasty pancakes then drove the rest of the way to the host hotel.  We went to dinner with a fellow race across America rider named Bubba Jeff and caught up on RAAM stories over some nasty pasta.  I was really nervous about the race considering I knew nothing about ultra running.  I got to bed around 11:00 pm and woke up at 6 am staring at the clock wishing I had slept better.  I had the alarm set for 7 am but decided to just go ahead and get up.  I did not shower but I did tape my feet up with some mole skin where I typically get blisters.  I did not want to shower and have moist skin so the mole skin would not stick.  This is something I learned about last year from another ultra runner and I do think it works.  My dad and I left the hotel around and were at the race site around 8 am.  I was not sure where to park but I wanted my van to be right on the course.  We pulled up next to some guys that were putting tarp up and looked like they knew what they were doing.  I got out and introduced myself and blurted out  “ this is my first run!” The guys were really nice and introduced themselves.  Vince, Ron, and Mike were their names and we instantly hit it off.  I was really glad to have met them right off the bat.

The race started at 9 am and we were all running a slow pace.  Usually when I go to a running race I am at the back but it appeared that everyone was pacing themselves.  We got to a small climb about 2 tenths of a mile into it and practically everyone was walking it. I did to since I figured they knew what they were doing.  I pretty much wound up running with Mike.  This was his first 100 too but he had done several 50’s and seemed to know a lot about running ultra’s.  I decided to stick with him.  We worked great as a team!  He knew would slow me down to some walks and I would get him going again with running.  We were really trucking along at a nice pace for 5 laps.  After about 5 laps I think that Mike was having a little trouble with nutrition and wanted to walk longer at times.  He told me he was going to let me go but I would not go without him.  He was kidding once and called me a “bitch” one time.  It was very funny.  He only had a few moments where he was trying to dump me but he got through them.  I had all kinds of food in my car and he finally started to use some of it.  We had 14 loops to do and we got through 7 of them in 9:50 minutes.  This was a PR on a 50 for Mike and he was all smiles.  He said he had never run so much in his life and I felt really good knowing that he was so happy.  His goal was to do the run in 28 hours and even if we walked he was going to do that. We just had to keep going.  Most of the day we had thunderstorms around us and we did get some of them throughout the day.  I hated this part of it but with Mike there it was not so bad and we did not think about the weather. We only hoped it would get better.  The weather only got worse!

We took of on our 8th loop and I was feeling really good in the legs.  Sure I had some knee pain but that was just the arthritis.  I had that when we started.  We only got a mile into the run and I got a sharp pain in my abdominal area.  I read up about mono before I left home and it mentioned that 10% of athletes get a ruptured spleen while exercising with mono. This was the one thing I was not going to ignore and I was the one that told Mike we needed to walk.  I had this pain for another 2 loops.  Mike and I were walking into the transition and we were greeted by Rich and Bubba some other RAAM riders and we took a break to talk to them.  I also changed clothes to get warm.  It was still raining.  This was a nice break and I think that just sitting down a minute took the pain away.  We had been walking fast for 15 miles and it was really getting cold so I wanted to run again.  Mike and I decided to get going. My legs were really tight and so were Mikes.  We only ran for a little bit and then we were walking again in the cold rain and our shoes were getting stuck in mud.  The race was beginning to get really miserable with all the rain.  The wind was also blowing and I know the wind chill was in the 30’s.  It was night time and the course became a ghost town.  Where was everyone? I had two girls ahead of me but I had not seen them for hours.  I was hoping that people were just taking a break but they weren’t.  Mike and I got a system down.  We began to take longer breaks at the car to warm up and change. I took 5 rain jackets and they were all getting wet from all the rain.  Our loops got really slow but we were still going.  We would stop at the toilet, sit in the warm van, eat , change and then we were off again for another cold loop of walking.  I bought a head lamp before I went and it did not put much light off. The flashlight I had ran out of batteries and Mike became the prince of darkness.  He was pulling me along now with his brisk walk.  I was trying to dodge puddles but he was just plowing through them. That boy had some tough feet!  The trail was covered in water and it was almost like a river.  I chose to try to walk on the sides of it and found myself tripping on bushes and rocks. I wanted the sun to come up again so I could see where I was going. I was thankful that we were doing such an easy course in the dark.  I would have fallen a million times on a technical course.  We were moving slowly but we were getting in the miles.  Mike gave me the silent treatment on lap 11 and it drove me nuts.  Once we got back to the car and he got some food in him he was back talking again.

             We started to count how many people were left when the sun came up.  We even started to ask them how far along they were.  We found out that we were the leaders.  This got Mike really pumped up that he was going to place in his first 100.  I was also excited about the idea that I was going to get to say “I won.”  We then saw one other guy and found out he was ahead.  We started our 12 lap and what was hurting me the most was my feet.  They felt like they had been stretched to death and were tired of bending.  I was trying to walk with my toes curled up in my shoes for some relief.  I was ready to stop and so was Mike.  We were on the last loop and then Mike hurt is ankle and wanted to stop and wait a minute.  I was a “bitch” again and kept him going. It was so cold and rainy that stopping was the last thing we needed to do.  Every time we stopped we would get tight again and it would take is a while to warm up.  We had to walk around the parking lot to cross the finish line.  Most people would run it in but we just walked nice and slow and cross the line together.  We tied for second overall.

              Our time was 26:41 I think.  We did not get the 24 hours we wanted in but our goal was simply to finish.  We probably spent 3-4 hours in the warm car changing clothing and eating.  Taking long breaks is not a good idea but in this case it is what kept us in the race.  This is where I think the ultra cycling paid off.  If a long race like Race Across America if you have something wrong you stop and take care of it.  I am not sure why the others quit but I only assume that it is because they got to cold and did not take the breaks.  There were times that Mike and I talked about skipping one of the breaks but I do think it is how we stayed warm.  I usually was the one that needed to change some clothes.  Mike was handling the cold much better then I.  The breaks certainly paid off in the end.  This race was damn hard and I have been on a high since I have finished it.  I made another good friend and accomplished my goal with great odds against me.  I don’t think I will be back to this race but I did… in a sick way… have a good time.  I can’t wait to tackle Badwater!