It’s been two days now since the race, and it’s time to sit down and collect my thoughts about a truly epic experience. The race is held in Palo Duro Canyon State Park and it is truly one of my favorite places. The canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. To picture it you really need to envision the Old West. I love the harsh beauty of the landscape and when the sun comes up and brightens up the red rock cliffs. I love the fact that you could see a rattlesnake at any turn on the trail. I love the big mule dear and wild turkeys. I saw them all in my stay at the canyon.
The race had been directed for nearly 25 years by trail running legend and Amarillo local, Red Spicer. Red created many of the trails inside the state park. A few months ago, Red lost his battle with cancer and passed away. I’d only met Red one time – when he offered me a slug of homemade moonshine after finishing the Grasslands 50 earlier this year. I politely declined.
To get a clearer picture of what Red was all about here is a quote attributed to him – and something I thought of often while running this race.
“Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, “Bring it on, darlin’, and don’t be stingy with the jalapenos.”
Red has a giant boulder on the trail named after him. I made sure to touch it on every loop.
I was not sure what to expect from myself at Palo Duro. I had not run much the previous three weeks. Not from lack of desire, but because my recovery from the “Run From the Ducks” was taking a lot longer than normal. My hamstrings were tight and both of my knees were sore for two weeks after the Ducks. The week before Palo Duro, I did a little “sharpening” by running shorter distances but at a faster pace. A couple of days before the race I felt pretty good.
The race started at a very civilized 7am. It was dark the first hour and a flashlight was necessary. As usual during most trail races, we started out slowly with everyone bunched up together. I love hearing the early morning runner chatter. Everyone is so upbeat this early in the race. After we hit the 3 ½ mile mark, the 50K racers went one direction and the 50 mile racers went the opposite direction so we were not bunched up any longer.
The race consists of four 12 ½ mile loops. I ran the first loop well. I loved watching the sun peak out above the canyon walls. It was semi-dark one minute and then – wow – the reds, browns, and green colors just exploded when the sun shown on them. It was truly a special moment. After awhile I realized I was on the same trail where I had taken a family hike almost two years ago. I had some terrific memories of watching my two children climb up the side of the canyon walls from this trail. And also a hike to the Lighthouse formation with Virginia that we did while my wonderful mother watched the kids for a few hours. I thought back on that family vacation often while running this race. I did not have my family with me physically at this race, but they were always with me.
I started the second loop strong, but around the 15 mile mark I started to slow down a bit. And 15 miles into an ultra is way too soon for this to happen, so the panic button went off a bit in my head. My knees were really barking at me and my hamstrings felt tight. I started wondering if I would be able to finish in the 12 hour time limit. And once self doubt comes creeping in, other things start to creep in as well. Instead of working through the problem that I was currently having, I started to think about the 50K race I have coming up in 4 weeks. In my head I went from running the 50K in four weeks, to dropping down to the 15K, to just volunteering at the race, to not doing anything at all and going fishing that weekend instead.
After a few miles of this, I snapped out of it and decided to do something about the cause of all this self doubt – my knees. I’m not a huge fan of taking ibuprofen during a race, but I had two tablets with me just in case. And the time was right to take them. They kicked in after 20 minutes or so and the self doubt never came back.
So with that problem taken care of I was able to pick up my pace. The third loop was my best loop. Even though it was pretty hot by now and with no shade in the canyon, I was feeling great. I had the ipod on and was locked in. The best moment of this loop was when I had Ice Cube’s “Today was a Good Day” blasting while roller coastering the up and downs through the main part of the canyon. I was loving it! That song was kind of the theme for me for this race.
Towards the end of the third loop I took a swig of my energy drink – Perpetuem. Due to the heat of the day and the fact that I had not put any ice in it in awhile, it was pretty dang warm. A couple of seconds later, I projectile vomited most of my stomach contents. I had not puked that violently since college. It was actually kind of comical and I got a big laugh out of it. I did not even stop running. It shot about 3 feet out in front of me and I felt better right away. But to be sure that this was not going to become a pattern, I took some ginger and Tums before starting the 4th loop.
The 4th loop for me was all about hanging on. I ran uphill sections that I had hiked on previous loops and started passing runners that were not finishing as strongly. That is always my goal at the end of a race. I want to have enough left in me to be able to finish strong. I saw Matt and his family at the last aid station before the finish and he asked me how I was feeling. I replied – “pretty wobbly.” Matt’s 3 year old son came up to me and gave my leg a big hug. It reminded me of my kids and helped me to charge on towards the finish.
I finished the race strong at 10 hours 41 minutes and with a big smile on my face. I was very pleased with my effort and I was happy that I got over the low spot I had early in the race.
I was lucky to have many trail running friends with me at the race. I camped with Matt and Buddy and their families along with Barbara and George. Matt and George ran the 50K because they are running a 100 miler in two weeks. Buddy and Barbara ran the 50 miler. Barbara was third overall female – she is incredible! The comradary at ultra races is amazing. Everyone is so supportive of each other. It’s not all about hammering each other into the ground. The distance of these events is enough. Finishing is to win. I love hanging out before and after the races. It is fun to tell and hear stories from the trail.
One other note: A week and a half before the race, I had shock therapy done to my right IT Band at the suggestion of my podiatrist. My IT Band condition had not completely healed and it’s been almost a year since it started. My podiatrist had not tried this type of therapy on the IT Band before, but he thought it would help me. I am happy to report that I had no IT Band issues at all during the race!
Next up -- the Rockledge Rumble 50K in 4 weeks! And no - I am not going fishing instead!
