San Diego 100, June 9 – 10, Laguna, CA
Many of you have seen the move
about the Leadville 100 bike race “Race Across the Sky.” During the pre-race briefing, the advice of
the race director to the racers is “One word:
dig deep.” That was helpful last
weekend and was expanded to include dig deeper, dig deeper than that, scrape
the bottom and keep digging. The race
was humbling, challenging, inspiring, amazing, difficult, epic, breathtaking,
exhilarating, and 100 other adjectives.
I chose SD100 because I wanted
something epic, but not too epic, i.e. not Leadville. I also didn’t want to run loops (Umstead) or
run something in my backyard (Pinhotti).
This was at a good time of the year, near one of my best friends, and
the terrain sounded challenging, but not demoralizing. The elevation gain was around 16,000ft. Temps would be warm, but it’s a dry
heat. The chatter on the interwebs about
the RD, Scott Mills, was incredibly positive.
I ran a qualifying 50 miler in December and signed up for SD100 in
February. At least 6 months of training
had gone into this race – I knew I would finish, but also thought a sub-24hr
time was within reach. I reminded myself
numerous times over the months and during the race that the journey is more
important than the destination – I had no idea how true that would be.
I arrived in San Diego on Thursday
and picked up my pacer, David, at the airport.
David and I have been friends for years and when I sent out an email
asking (begging) for friends to crew and/or pace, David said “yes” almost
immediately and booked a flight from SLC, UT.
He’s a fast runner over a variety of distances and this would be his first
unofficial ultra (distance over 26.2mi) and exposure to trail racing. He assured me repeatedly he’d do whatever he
could to help me finish and was super-excited to be part of this experience. I tried to give him as much information as I
could about what the race was going to be like, what I would need, but I think
it completely exceeded his expectations and even restored his faith in
humanity.
Friday we had a leisurely morning
drinking coffee and chatting with Siri, who was moving to Hawaii in a
week. Perfect timing! After an easy run to work out any cobwebs, I
started packing my drop bags and planning out what I anticipated that I would
need / want along the way, including Infinit (powdered drinks), gels, pop tarts
and Bonk Breaker bars. It was starting to
seem real and my nerves were getting to me.
It was also about that time that I realized the race was going to be at
elevation (relatively speaking – David lives in SLC so it felt normal) starting
at 5600 feet, going up to 6,000ft.
The drive east towards Julian, CA
and Cuyamaca State Park was gorgeous – big mountains, wide vistas, few
trees. The high desert looks nothing
like GA! We checked in at the Eaglenest
B&B, our home for the next 3 days.
Jim and Julie truly made us feel special. We met their awesome golden retrievers and
noticed slices of apple pie (that Julian is famous for!) in our rooms –
delicious bed time snacks. J The race site at Al Bahr lodge was 25mins
away along more gorgeous roads. I picked
up my race packet and waited for the pre-race meeting to start. Loved the sign that read “moderation has its
place – it ain’t here!” The sense of
possibility and positive energy was awesome!
At that moment (and the next morning) everyone was going to have a great
race – no one could anticipate the various struggles we’d encounter on the
trail. The pre-race briefing helped to
calm my nerves and confirmed that Scott was an exceptional RD. The only question David and I still had was
how he was going to meet me along the trail.
There were 15 aid stations, 5 to 8 miles apart, some accessible by
crews. I could pick up my pacer after
mile 50.3 – but I thought we’d try to meet at mile 59 or 64. We only had the 1 rental car so his job on
Saturday was to be chatty and hopefully arrange a ride. After the traditional pre-race pasta meal, we
went back to the B&B for final preparations. The race vortex was winding down.
The 4am alarm wasn’t too painful –
I was still on Atlanta time and had slept well, thankfully. David knocked on the door with coffee and we
grabbed the awesome breakfast to-go from our hosts. I ate as much as I could knowing how
important it was to start well-fueled.
Once at Al Bahr, it was time to hurry up and wait – but I wasn’t
nervous, just calm, excited and looking forward to the adventure. 196 people lined up at the start – I met
Gerri, a fellow runner who had paced an acquaintance last year so was excited
to meet her. She would go on to have an
awesome race!
And then at 7am, we were off! I did my best to start conservatively. Scott had warned us that this course can
easily fool runners due to the relatively easy terrain and gentle elevation
change in the first 30 miles. The first
25 miles passed easily – we ran through meadows and I was well-within my time
goals, eating and drinking regularly.
The field spread out, but I got to chat with runners as we ran the same
pace or passed each other, including Gerri.
Most were from CA, many first timers and many experienced 100 mile
runners too. I took pictures and ran
with a smile on my face. We started a
long, gradual downhill into Aid station 4 – the last 2 miles very pretty
technical and rocky, not too different than GA trails. It took lots of concentration not to fall.
Aid station 4 to 5 (mile 31 – 36)
was a lollipop loop that was tougher than I was expecting – about 3 miles
uphill and 2 miles down, all on exposed trails (no more shade like the
morning!). I power-walked the climbs and
kept enjoying myself. Before I left, the
amazing volunteers loaded me up with ice in my camel back, sports bra and in my
hat – that saved me!
Aid station 5 to 6 (mile 36 – 44)
was going to be brutal – Scott warned us that this section is the hardest for
most people. It was an 8mi climb, 2mi on
pavement with some steep pitches, almost no shade. And the temps were well in the 80s at this
point! I love sections like this and
Scott was right – it was tough. He also
said we’d have a surprise waiting for us – part way up, we were blessed by a
trail angel handing out POPSICLES.
Aid station 6 was the first time I
got to see David. I was still looking
and feeling good and it was so helpful to see a friendly face. He met some awesome people, Doris and Rick,
who were going to help him out with a ride later in the day. He said he was having a great time. Eventhough I had written out what was in my
drop bags and when I’d get them, I got confused – I was thrown off when my bag
wasn’t there and improvised with water and gu.
David assured me everything would be OK.
More ice and I was off! The run
to section 7 was WINDY – tail winds (loved that!), head winds and cross winds.
Aid station 7 to 8 (miles 51.3 –
58) was at sunset. I saw David again at
mile 51 and knew I’d see him again at 59 and at 64 we’d start running
together. The sunset was gorgeous! I was struggling the last few miles up a
gravel road and caught up with a fellow runner, Ali from OR. He was awesome – told me about his previous
100mile run and had lots of positive energy.
We really helped each other get to the next aid station in good spirits!
I started to slow down from aid
station 8 to 9 (mile 59 to 64). The sun
had set and I needed my headlamp – but very quickly, the batteries were failing. The temps were dropping to the 40s too. There was a bit of a climb, which I walked,
but then ended up walking the downhill too – I just couldn’t see and wasn’t
confident in my footing. The trail at
this point was large boulders and kind of sandy. I really was not keen on falling! Better to be safe and slow, I thought, even
if I was getting passed by many others.
Aid station 9 at Paso Picacho was
where I would meet David and have company for the rest of this journey. I was still feeling good, but really looking
forward to having someone to tell stories, make jokes and pass the time. I
switched to new shoes and finally figured out where all my drop bags were – so
easy to get confused! We put on the layers we had and left, mostly
walking. David put in new batteries in
my headlamp – that made a huge difference!
By Aid station 10 (mile 72) I was
not in good shape. I couldn’t run due to
what I thought was tendonitis at the top of my quad / hip. I was in pain. We just crossed a stream and
my feet, socks and shoes were wet. And
it was really getting cold – someone said it was 36. I was prepared for 40s, but I didn’t have
gloves and neither David nor I had a wind breaker. The volunteers were busy helping a runner who
was violently shivering under blankets – I did not want to end up like
him! But I did not want to DNF
either. A crew member who’d earlier DNFd
offered a ride if I wanted to stop – she didn’t encourage quitting, but was
concerned. But I’m stubborn so
reluctantly left the warmth of the heaters.
The next section was 8 miles – the car was there. If I could just get to the car, we’d be
OK. Think warm thoughts!
Aid station 10 to 11 was the most
difficult section of the race. My first
few steps were agonizing – I realized I couldn’t run, but I was worried we
wouldn’t be able to walk fast enough to stay warm. We prayed for uphills. 8 miles…the mind plays with you – on the
road, that should take 1hr10min or less, earlier in this race, 2 hours or less. We were looking at 3 hours, and it would be
cold, dark and windy. The temps kept
dropping and we were shivering. We kept
checking on each other, doing our best to keep moving and stay warm. My quad/hip was killing me. With about 2 miles before the next aid
station, we were walking through a warmer pocket of air. That saved us! Although, with a mile to go, my walking had
slowed to a crawl – it probably took us 25 minutes or more.
Aid station 11 was both the lowest
and the highest point of the race. I
walked in and held out my wrist so they could cut off my bracelet. I didn’t think I could finish. I was crying and in pain. What did I do wrong? Why did this hurt so much? How could I disappoint all of my
friends? How could I let myself
down? The volunteers are experienced at
seeing runners in this mental and physical state and staged an intervention. Thankfully, they did not cut my bracelet off,
but helped me over to the medical tent and another trail angel, Anna. Anna is an experienced trail runner and was
convinced that my race was not over. I
lay down, warmed up, she massaged my quad some, gave me advil, helped me
stretch and most importantly, gave me a pep talk. She was the California Kena!! It never occurred to me that I would DNF –
looking back, I’m disappointed that I considered it, but I also remember how
much pain I was in. The mind is
powerful. One of the many lessons I
learned is how much of ultrarunning is mental.
Some of the pain was most certainly from being cold and having
tendonitis, but also from being scared – I’d never run/walked 80 miles before,
doubt was manifesting itself pretty severely in that tendon. In addition to Anna, 2 other “miracles”
happened that gave me the strength to leave – coffee and sunrise. David and I thanked Anna profusely. I was still hurting, but determined to get to
the next aid station and then re-evaluate.
David gets choked up explaining how Anna brought me back from death
(that’s an exaggeration, Mom!!), but I wasn’t her only miracle of the night. Just before we left, a guy looking extremely
fresh thanked Anna and started moving.
He had walked in 2.5hrs earlier, incoherent and unable to eat – after
sleeping he woke a new person, ate and finished. Anna said many other runners before me had
chosen to DNF and weren’t able or willing to work through their issues. I owe my finish to Anna, her positive energy,
and her belief in me that I could finish when I was doubting myself.
Aid station 11 to 12 was 7miles,
with some climbing. If I could get to
aid station 12, then there were only 3 more aid stations and the finish. One aid station at a time. And there was still plenty of time if I kept
moving so I wouldn’t get time cut.
Gradually, the pain was a bit less, I was walking faster and before we
knew it, it was hot again. It was great
for David to see some of the amazing views that I had enjoyed the day before.
By Aid station 12 (mile 87), I knew
I was going to live and finish. I was
even able to run for the first time in over 25 miles. Run might be an exaggeration – maybe shuffle? And at first, only for 10 seconds at a
time. But gradually it was 30 seconds, a
minute – run to the next rock, the next ribbon, the next bend. Run with the rolling terrain, use that to my
advantage. David was constantly
encouraging and telling me how awesome I was doing. I said he was a good liar! But I was incredibly thankful for his
company. I owe my finish to his support
too.
Aid stations 12 to 15 are sort of a
blur. Someone actually said “it’s mostly
downhill from here.” I wish people wouldn’t say that! We still had 2 or 3 power walking climbs that
seemed to take forever. We caught up to
other runners and got passed – some were looking rough, but everyone offered
encouragement and we knew we would all finish.
I started doing math – could I finish in sub-28? Sub-29?
Sub-30? Just keep moving and
don’t worry about that was David’s response.
At the last aid station (Badger Hole), we saw Doris again – great to see
a friendly face and another trail angel.
We loaded up on ice and cookies so we could make it to the finish.
5 miles – FIVE MILES. Longest 5 miles ever. And then the terrain looked familiar, running
through meadows. And there were people
cheering runners in. Someone said we had
less than a mile to go – I started running.
I was determined to run the entire last mile. The 11mn/mi pace felt like we were
sprinting! And then there was the bridge
and cars and the finishing banner and clock – sub-29! I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe I had finished. And that I was alive. I congratulated fellow runners who had just
finished and they shared the same sentiments.
It was an indescribable feeling of accomplishment. Who knew I would be so excited about a belt
buckle? And a hoodie and coffee
mug! Over 50 people DNFd during the race
– I was so close to being one of them and so incredibly thankful my friend and strangers
for pulling me through.
Some answers to common questions…yes,
I have all of my toenails – it’s a miracle.
Yes, I would do this again – it didn’t go so badly or so well that I don’t
want to do this again. I definitely
think I can improve – it’s tempting to do this course again, but I know it will
be a different experience and a different (even better?) race. I drank most of my calories – I brought
Infinit with me and left it in drop bags.
I love my customized formulas and wouldn’t have finished without it. Probably half of runners coming through aid
stations were having stomach problems and I thankfully never had any issues. I did supplement with grilled cheese,
quesadillas and chicken soup at night. J I wasn’t tired (or sleepy!) but did
temporarily lose wakefulness for 5 minutes at aid station 11 while Anna was
helping get warm. And no, I don’t know
what’s next – not a 200 mile race or badwater for sure! Probably some other fall ultras (50k,
40miler, 50miler) and lots more mountain biking this summer / fall. I will continue enjoying the journey –
running new trails, getting faster, being outside and meeting incredible people
– instead of focusing solely on one race.
The SD100 was an amazing experience, but it’s not the end point, just a
stop along the way.
A week out from the race, the whole
experience seems surreal. Thanks
everyone for your emails and words of encouragement – you’ve all been
incredibly patient over the months asking questions during training and
checking in during and after the race. I
truly could not have completed the race without you and felt your positive
energy on the trails.
