Pacific Rim Run-Race Report

Leaving The House

On My Way

I woke up this morning very happy that I finally got a few hours of quality sleep in last night. That hardly happens before a race day. I think it helped that this was a new race and there was no pressure of a finish time. I had a whole 24 hours stretched out before me. Since it was just me heading down to Longview I tried to take a few self portraits. The drive down was great. I love watching the sun come up. Once I got to Longview I had enough time to stop at Safeway to grab a blueberry bagel and some chocolate milk. I also got to Target right at 8am to follow a group of girls in to buy New Moon. I hopped back into my car and headed over to Lake Sacajawea.






I quickly found where all the action was, found a decent parking spot close to the course, and finished off my breakfast. I took a couple pics and then headed over to check in and get my race bib. Besides the timing station, they had a camper set up where all the food, water, gatorade, etc. would be. This was all set up together so they would time your mile and you could just grab some food on the way through. There were a lot of runners who had family/friends as support teams there. They had tables, tents, chairs, and their own mini food/aid stations. I have to admit I was feeling very alone and overwhelmed at first. It was just me and my little Ford Focus with all my shoes, socks, and supplies jammed into it. I hit the restroom several times in preparation. I have some major nervous bladder issues before every race I do. After one of these trips I met a couple women who were very nice and were very excited when they found out that this was my first endurance/ultra event. I hung out with them before the race began.

Right before the start, one of the race directors explained the course and how it worked when you would come across the 1 mile mark and through the tent where someone would be recording your times. Very quickly the race began and I was off. It seemed crowded at first but everyone quickly spread out over the 1 mile loop. The trail was compact dirt/gravel except for two small bridges you had to cross where one was metal and the other a concrete/pavement sidewalk. My knees and feet loved the trails.

The White Line Is The Official Mile Mark. Everyone To The Right Helped To Keep Track Of All The Runners.

Food Table

Mile 4 - After going through the checkpoint I grabbed some Gatorade and headed to my car. You had to leave and enter the course at the same point. It was nice to have my car but also a pain to have to run all the way over to where it was parked. I stripped off my light running jacket, updated my Facebook stats, and headed back out. The weather at this point was perfect.

Mile 13 - I was very excited to reach the half marathon point. I had made a few other friends on the course by now. A guy named Ben was very positive every time he passed. He always made a point to acknowledge me and say something encouraging. Eric & Steve were two other guys who were very nice and supportive. It was people like that who always kept a smile on my face. There were so many upbeat and fun people there. This is why I quickly overcame the feeling of being alone. I really wasn't alone, I had my running family to experience it with :)

Eric & Steve

Ben

Mile 16 - They had tons of food out for the runners. Lots of different fluid options. Since it was getting to be lunch time they started to put out sandwiches too. I grabbed one of those and something to drink and headed to my car again. I needed to take off my shoes so I could get the gravel out. Many of the runners had running gators on. Now I know why. I'll probably pick up a pair if I do another run like this. Gravel in the shoes is no fun. It was also very warm. I had put on sunscreen before I left the house but I thought I was starting to look a little red so I figured it would be a good time to spray some more on. After fixing my shoes and realizing how dirty I was I didn't take much time to spray with care. I figured the most important thing was that I was covered and not how nice it was applied. I went to work and finished it off with trying to get my face protected without blinding myself. I tossed everything back in the car, grabbed my sunglasses again, and headed back out.

Looking "Hot" At Mile 16

Mile 20 - Only a 10K left until I reached a marathon. I was enjoying myself and the experience. The weather was beautiful, the runners were great, and having so much time stretched out in front of me took all the pressure off. My knees didn't hurt but I could tell they were working. My hips felt a little tight at this point too. I was "running" most of the time still except for the quick breaks through the aid/food area. I was watching all of the different game plans of the other runners. Some just walked from the start and others were flying by. Many were just there to reach their goal of a 50K or 100K and then there were those trying to see how far they could make it in 24 hours.

Mile 26 - My goal was to reach this point so I could run to my car and shake out my shoes and change socks. When I got there I checked my phone and saw that my friend, Emilio, had called and he was running out on the course. I called him back quick to let him know to look for me at my car. I quickly changed socks, tried part of a new GU flavor, and was tying my shoes back when E showed up. I was so excited that someone I knew was there because that meant I would have someone to share my first 50K with :) We headed back out onto the loop. At this point any "hill" I fast walked and tried to run the rest. Also, the weather was starting to change at this point and it was really windy. This changed my running pattern a bit. If I was running into it I just fast walked since I really wasn't going much faster anyway. I felt extremely slow. I wanted to go faster since Emilio was there but I also didn't want to hurt myself. It was nice to have someone to chat with and Emilio said he was fine with whatever pace I ran so I just tried to enjoy it.

Emilio & I Very Small In The Distance Climbing Mt. Sacajawea :)

Way Back There

Mile 28 - Jason showed up to check to see if I was alive. I told Emilio that I bet he would try to get me to stop once we ran up to him. The first thing Jason told Emilio was he'd buy him Papa Pete's Pizza if he could get me to stop :) Funny, huh? Not many people get why I run at all, let alone something like this. I told him I'd think about it. I knew I was going to run my 50K/31 miles no matter what. I asked Jason if he'd take a couple pics of Emilio and I after we officially made it. Jason headed to the spot and Emilio and I kept going.

Mile 31/50K - As I crossed over the official 31 mile mark at the checkpoint everyone under the tent was excited knowing that I only had a small distance to go to reach my 50K. I was so happy :) It was so awesome that Emilio ran it with me and that Jason showed up in time to witness it. Jason took a couple pics of us but I wanted to keep going. I already told Jason I would stop soon. The weather was quickly changing at this point. The sun was gone and the temperature had dropped a lot. I was starting to get a little chilly even while I was running. I figured it would be better for me not to damage my body so I could run another day. I had a lot of family freaking out about me staying the whole time anyway. As much as I wanted to stay I knew it was probably best if I stopped.

Very Happy After Crossing the 50K Mark

Mile 33 - My final mile. I have to admit that when I stopped at the table at the checkpoint to let them know I was finished I felt disappointed in myself. I was totally prepared to stay up and go the full 24 hours. After reaching the 50K mark I had planned on fast walking and just taking my time. Anything past the 31 mile mark was going to be a bonus. The officials were very nice and said they hoped to see me and some friends back next year. I walked over to the food camper to pick up my sweatshirt. It's a red hooded one. I still need to take a pic. Jason and I hung out with Emilio for a few minutes. After that we headed to my car. It was starting to sprinkle a little. I had brought lots of spare clothes and I had an umbrella but the thought of being soaked and walking all night made me a little glad that I decided to stop. I was starting to get cold but before I put on my sweatshirt I wanted to wipe off my arms, neck, and face. The sunscreen that I had sprayed all over myself before had turned a nice shade of yellow. Jason was convinced that I had puked on myself somehow and had missed it. Luckily I had a few baby wipes in the car to get some of the dirt, sweat, and yellow bile off of me. I don't think Jason wanted to go to pizza with me looking like that. I threw on my sweatshirt and jumped in the car. I was happy that I didn't seem to have any issues with driving. Between my knee, running that far, and driving a manual I thought I might have problems but I felt great :)

Checking Out & Getting Final Stats

Heading To Get My Sweatshirt

I got a few looks at Papa Pete's. I'm sure I looked wild. We stopped at my Dad's on the way home to pick up the girls and to prove that I was alive. I took advantage of their shower to rinse off my legs and change shoes. I was just a little dirty :) My feet didn't look much better. They were just dirty though. I had two very small blisters that were from rocks inside my shoes. If it weren't for those from the rocks I couldn't even tell that I'd ran 33 miles. Not a sore spot or a blister from the actual running. Have I ever mentioned how much I love my ASICS?



We eventually made it home so I could get my shower and relax. I was just so excited still. I'm so happy that I committed to participatig in this event. It was an amazing experience. I can only imagine how well I could have done if I would have had more training time. I am already looking forward to next year. I hope to do it again and if I'm lucky I can add to my miles and maybe even stay for the full 24 hours. Even though I'm not fast, I'm so thankful to be a runner. After dealing with my knees I am going to appreciate every run that I can do. Someday I might not be able to so until then I'm going to enjoy every step.

I'M OFFICIALLY AN ULTRA RUNNER!!!!!

33 MILES - 8:11:21