Canal Corridor 100 - First 100 Miler
As I'm writing this blog (3 days after the race), I still cannot believe that I ran 100 miles this past weekend. Everything was like a dream (a good one) and I am still processing what happened this weekend.
After the first 50 miler (Double marathon at Run with Scissors), I was kinda of lost and was not sure what my next goal was going to be. I proved myself that I could run 50 miles (in a bad weather condition). What else should I do? As a typical goal-oriented, Type A person, I needed another goal to motivate me to run and be active. However, I did not "dare" to think about the 100 miler. The distance sounds too scary and I felt like it was only for seasoned ultramarathon runners or really strong people. I am not a type of person who would immediately jump into something without thoroughly calculating the success rate and my own ability. During a run with R., he suggested that I should consider the Canal Corridor 100. It is flat and well-supported (of course, I am also on the race committee. So, I will know almost everyone in the race). I was reluctant and said I needed some time to think about it. After giving some thoughts and looking up the training plan, I found that the Canal Corridor 100 would be doable. Because of my work and family commitments, it would be hard to follow most 100-mile training plans as they have you run about 70-80 miles per week. However, I found a training plan in "Relentless Forward Progress" book by Bryon Powell that has you run no more than 50 miles a week, which was doable for me.
One week leading up to the race day, I tried to rest up my bad ankle as much as possible. I only went for one short, easy run where I timed the pace for my run/walk method. This year the CC100 course had to be changed due to the under-construction bridge at Szalay's. The new course was to run south to Canal Fulton twice (80 miles) and then run north to Ira rd. The race committee did their best to accommodate all volunteers and runners. We also had last minute changes and issues that we had to deal with but everything went smoothly and many people stepped up to help. That's the nice thing about ultra community. I was super anxious and started to question my ability and training. R. said the hay is in the barn and that I had to trust my training.
I went to pick up the race packet on Friday afternoon and chatted with other people. It was nice to be on the race committee because I knew many people at the race. After the packet pickup, I went to see my physical therapist for the last time before the race. From the picture, you can see how anxious I was.
Race morning - The race started at 5am. I woke up at 3:30am to get ready. I asked my hubby to drop me off at the start line so I did not have to drive. Then, we took off. I used the run/walk method for the first 60 miles, which worked out perfectly. I was a little bit ahead of my calculated time. I started out with E., who also ran her first 100. Around Mile 5, another runner from NC (another E.) joined us. They called me the "pacer" because I set up my watch to run intervals and everyone kinda followed my watch. We ended up running intervals for 60 miles.
My crew (T.) met me at Mile 20 (St Helena aid station) and it was nice to see her face. I was in and out of the aid station fast. The nice thing about the new course was that it broke down into 20s. Our interval group sticked together until we came back to Lock 3 aid station (Mile 40). It started to get warm so I asked T. to put a lot of ice in my bladder. T. is a professional crew. She met me at EVERY aid station after St Helena. She knew what to ask, offer, say to lift up my spirit.
Running into Lock 3 aid station felt to me like running into a big backyard party. It's a big aid station with a lot of familiar faces. Everyone yelled my name, asked me what I wanted, and helped me get in and out of the aid station fast. At that point, in my mind, I told myself I only had to run 20 more miles until I picked up the first pacer (D.). I sticked with E. (from NC) from Mile 40-60. We were still doing our intervals. It got really hot between 3-5pm and we struggled. However, E. was one of the most positive, uplifting, funny runners I met and we helped each other through the tough time. Below is the picture of me at Mile 40. Still smiling and doing a silly pose.
I got to St Helena (Mile 60) around 7ish. I changed my shirt, socks, and shoes. I also ate a cheeseburger that I asked T. to buy. I picked up D. and we left the aid station together. At that point, I knew I could slow down and walk fast. D. pushed me through Mile 60 to 80 with her lovely voice and stories. She is a very fast walker and I had to slowly jog to keep up with her. About Mile 65, I started to notice blisters in my toes. So, we stopped at Mile 70 aid station (Wolf creek) to take care of them. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces at Wolf creek at that time of the race (midnight). Everyone gathered around my chair and helped me deal with the blisters. Around Mile 75 was when I started to have stomach issue. I had to stop to poop every couple of miles. We were still doing our fast walk. We got to Lock 3 again (Mile 80) around 2am and I picked up my 2nd pacer (A.). She was there waiting patiently for me. Lock 3 aid station at that time was still full of friends and familiar faces. Everyone came to see me and asked how I was doing. At that point, I was physically really tired but mentally I was still fresh. I could still calculate my pace and finish time, and knew exactly what I needed to do. I told A. my plan, which was a slower walk at a 20 min/mile pace and I would run when I felt like it.
We left Lock 3 and headed north to Second Sole aid station. That's when things started to get tough. I was sleepy and incredibly tired. I also had to stop every 2-3 mile to poop. A. was really patient and understanding. We got to Second Sole (Mile 86) and I hit the lowest point. I did not want to eat any food and was struggling to stay awake. Right after we left Second Sole aid station, I saw R. and he asked me how I was doing. I think that was the last straw. I broke into tears but was too tired to speak. In my head, I blamed him for making me sign up for this madness. The distance from Second Sole to Ira aid station was only 4 miles but it felt like a marathon to me. I still had to stop every couple of miles to poop. A. suggested that we should ask if the aid station had anything to help deal with my issue. Luckily, one person at the aid station (S.) had imodium. That gave me hope. We arrived at Ira when the sun started to come up.
Ira aid station (Mile 90) was full of friends and people that I wanted to see but at that point in the race, everything was like a dream for me. I used the restroom at Ira aid station, took imodium, but refused to eat anything because I was afraid that it would make me poop again. I relied on jelly beans for energy. We headed back to Lock 3 and I knew I only had 4 miles to Second Sole, then 3 miles to Memorial parkway, then 3 miles to the finish line. At that point, the sun already came up and I started to feel better again. I knew I was going to finish the race. I had plenty of time before the cut off.
We made it back to Second Sole (Mile 94) and everyone was clapping and cheering on me. I only wanted to keep going. R. walked with me for a bit and we talked about how I felt. I told him I was fine and felt that I was going to finish the race. He smiled and said "see you at the finish line".
After Second Sole, we made a detour to BP gas station because I had to poop again before we hit the Towpath trail. We walked 3 miles to Memorial parkway where I used the bathroom again. Then, we were on the final stretch toward the finish line. About one mile away from the finish line, I started to picture myself crossing the finish line, how much effort I and everyone had to put in to get me to that point, how much everyone in the race wanted me to finish, and how much I had dreamed about finishing a 100 mile race. Then, the stream of emotional tears just kept pouring down my face. They were, of course, happy tears. I could see A. was also crying with me. We laughed and kept moving forward.
Once we got to the stairs that we had to walk down to the finish line, I started to hear people yelling my name. They were clapping and laughing. A. asked if I wanted to start running and I did. We slow jogged to the finish line where B. (the race director) gave me a hug. I was crying the whole time. B. took a video of my finish where I said "100 fucking miles" and "it was fucking hard" LOL ( I did not remember saying that at all).
I am very lucky (and forever grateful) to have so much support from my running friends (which happen to be on the race committee and volunteers). I could not imagine running the first 100 mile race without a crew or pacers. I knew some people did it but I admit that I am not that strong. T. (my crew) was the brain when I came into aid stations and my pacers (D. and A.) were my brain during the race. The race committee and volunteers were beyond amazing. Everyone was involved in the Canal Corridor 100 because their love in the sport. The CC100 is an old school 100 miler and it does not offer other distances. I was taught to "respect the distance" and I did.
and yes, I now belong to the 100 miler club :D
Will see what is next...
Sydney
After the first 50 miler (Double marathon at Run with Scissors), I was kinda of lost and was not sure what my next goal was going to be. I proved myself that I could run 50 miles (in a bad weather condition). What else should I do? As a typical goal-oriented, Type A person, I needed another goal to motivate me to run and be active. However, I did not "dare" to think about the 100 miler. The distance sounds too scary and I felt like it was only for seasoned ultramarathon runners or really strong people. I am not a type of person who would immediately jump into something without thoroughly calculating the success rate and my own ability. During a run with R., he suggested that I should consider the Canal Corridor 100. It is flat and well-supported (of course, I am also on the race committee. So, I will know almost everyone in the race). I was reluctant and said I needed some time to think about it. After giving some thoughts and looking up the training plan, I found that the Canal Corridor 100 would be doable. Because of my work and family commitments, it would be hard to follow most 100-mile training plans as they have you run about 70-80 miles per week. However, I found a training plan in "Relentless Forward Progress" book by Bryon Powell that has you run no more than 50 miles a week, which was doable for me.
<<Fast forward 6 months, two 50Ks and one 50 miler later>>
One week leading up to the race day, I tried to rest up my bad ankle as much as possible. I only went for one short, easy run where I timed the pace for my run/walk method. This year the CC100 course had to be changed due to the under-construction bridge at Szalay's. The new course was to run south to Canal Fulton twice (80 miles) and then run north to Ira rd. The race committee did their best to accommodate all volunteers and runners. We also had last minute changes and issues that we had to deal with but everything went smoothly and many people stepped up to help. That's the nice thing about ultra community. I was super anxious and started to question my ability and training. R. said the hay is in the barn and that I had to trust my training.
I went to pick up the race packet on Friday afternoon and chatted with other people. It was nice to be on the race committee because I knew many people at the race. After the packet pickup, I went to see my physical therapist for the last time before the race. From the picture, you can see how anxious I was.
Race morning - The race started at 5am. I woke up at 3:30am to get ready. I asked my hubby to drop me off at the start line so I did not have to drive. Then, we took off. I used the run/walk method for the first 60 miles, which worked out perfectly. I was a little bit ahead of my calculated time. I started out with E., who also ran her first 100. Around Mile 5, another runner from NC (another E.) joined us. They called me the "pacer" because I set up my watch to run intervals and everyone kinda followed my watch. We ended up running intervals for 60 miles.
My crew (T.) met me at Mile 20 (St Helena aid station) and it was nice to see her face. I was in and out of the aid station fast. The nice thing about the new course was that it broke down into 20s. Our interval group sticked together until we came back to Lock 3 aid station (Mile 40). It started to get warm so I asked T. to put a lot of ice in my bladder. T. is a professional crew. She met me at EVERY aid station after St Helena. She knew what to ask, offer, say to lift up my spirit.
Running into Lock 3 aid station felt to me like running into a big backyard party. It's a big aid station with a lot of familiar faces. Everyone yelled my name, asked me what I wanted, and helped me get in and out of the aid station fast. At that point, in my mind, I told myself I only had to run 20 more miles until I picked up the first pacer (D.). I sticked with E. (from NC) from Mile 40-60. We were still doing our intervals. It got really hot between 3-5pm and we struggled. However, E. was one of the most positive, uplifting, funny runners I met and we helped each other through the tough time. Below is the picture of me at Mile 40. Still smiling and doing a silly pose.
I got to St Helena (Mile 60) around 7ish. I changed my shirt, socks, and shoes. I also ate a cheeseburger that I asked T. to buy. I picked up D. and we left the aid station together. At that point, I knew I could slow down and walk fast. D. pushed me through Mile 60 to 80 with her lovely voice and stories. She is a very fast walker and I had to slowly jog to keep up with her. About Mile 65, I started to notice blisters in my toes. So, we stopped at Mile 70 aid station (Wolf creek) to take care of them. It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces at Wolf creek at that time of the race (midnight). Everyone gathered around my chair and helped me deal with the blisters. Around Mile 75 was when I started to have stomach issue. I had to stop to poop every couple of miles. We were still doing our fast walk. We got to Lock 3 again (Mile 80) around 2am and I picked up my 2nd pacer (A.). She was there waiting patiently for me. Lock 3 aid station at that time was still full of friends and familiar faces. Everyone came to see me and asked how I was doing. At that point, I was physically really tired but mentally I was still fresh. I could still calculate my pace and finish time, and knew exactly what I needed to do. I told A. my plan, which was a slower walk at a 20 min/mile pace and I would run when I felt like it.
We left Lock 3 and headed north to Second Sole aid station. That's when things started to get tough. I was sleepy and incredibly tired. I also had to stop every 2-3 mile to poop. A. was really patient and understanding. We got to Second Sole (Mile 86) and I hit the lowest point. I did not want to eat any food and was struggling to stay awake. Right after we left Second Sole aid station, I saw R. and he asked me how I was doing. I think that was the last straw. I broke into tears but was too tired to speak. In my head, I blamed him for making me sign up for this madness. The distance from Second Sole to Ira aid station was only 4 miles but it felt like a marathon to me. I still had to stop every couple of miles to poop. A. suggested that we should ask if the aid station had anything to help deal with my issue. Luckily, one person at the aid station (S.) had imodium. That gave me hope. We arrived at Ira when the sun started to come up.
Ira aid station (Mile 90) was full of friends and people that I wanted to see but at that point in the race, everything was like a dream for me. I used the restroom at Ira aid station, took imodium, but refused to eat anything because I was afraid that it would make me poop again. I relied on jelly beans for energy. We headed back to Lock 3 and I knew I only had 4 miles to Second Sole, then 3 miles to Memorial parkway, then 3 miles to the finish line. At that point, the sun already came up and I started to feel better again. I knew I was going to finish the race. I had plenty of time before the cut off.
We made it back to Second Sole (Mile 94) and everyone was clapping and cheering on me. I only wanted to keep going. R. walked with me for a bit and we talked about how I felt. I told him I was fine and felt that I was going to finish the race. He smiled and said "see you at the finish line".
After Second Sole, we made a detour to BP gas station because I had to poop again before we hit the Towpath trail. We walked 3 miles to Memorial parkway where I used the bathroom again. Then, we were on the final stretch toward the finish line. About one mile away from the finish line, I started to picture myself crossing the finish line, how much effort I and everyone had to put in to get me to that point, how much everyone in the race wanted me to finish, and how much I had dreamed about finishing a 100 mile race. Then, the stream of emotional tears just kept pouring down my face. They were, of course, happy tears. I could see A. was also crying with me. We laughed and kept moving forward.
Once we got to the stairs that we had to walk down to the finish line, I started to hear people yelling my name. They were clapping and laughing. A. asked if I wanted to start running and I did. We slow jogged to the finish line where B. (the race director) gave me a hug. I was crying the whole time. B. took a video of my finish where I said "100 fucking miles" and "it was fucking hard" LOL ( I did not remember saying that at all).
and yes, I now belong to the 100 miler club :D
Will see what is next...
Sydney
I love this!! Was amazing watching you finish!! WTG, girl!! <3
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gale!
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