MOTHERHOOD,NUTRITION/FOOD FUEL,RUNNING/FITNESS Badger Mt. Challenge 50K

Badger Mt. Challenge 50K

April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 admin 0 Comments 3:01 am
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 If you follow my Instgram you may wonder, “Did I miss her Ultra Marathon training?” Well, NO you indeed did not! Truthfully, I didn’t really train.  I’ve had this race or rather challenge on my mind for months. It’s local and I felt comfortable with the course. During my marathon training last winter, I ran Badger Mountain every week. The route I did was nearly 8 miles with 1,550ft. elevation gain. Each time it got easier and each time I felt stronger. I “thought” this would give me a good feel for the 50K. (joke was on me…the easiest part was the only section I ran) There’s just something about pushing yourself to conquer a new challenge. lol! Anyways, I then realized it was the day before Easter. I seriously thought about doing the 15k(I’ve ran it twice; once 23wks pregnant). The main reason: I didn’t want to be completely “trashed” and ruin our Easter celebration(which I did). Two weeks before the BadgerMountainChallenge 50k I signed up. Here we go!

Packet pick-up was on Friday afternoon at the best running shoe store RUNNERS SOUL . It was super quick and then I was home to get ready for my first ultra! I finished drinking my water for the day(6L)and ate my traditional pre-race chicken pasta. I really had no idea what to pack in my drop bag for the half way point? They did tell us an extra pair of socks & wipes because the trails were dusty. In my drop bag- frozen homemade rolls w/rotisserie chicken, homemade chocolate chip cookies, honeystinger gels & protein bar, fig bars, 1st Aid stuff & phone charger(most of it I did use). Plus in my Nathan hydration vest 2L of water, 2 honeystinger gels, protein bar, fig bar, nuun hydration tablets, phone, ibuprofen, and I always carry pepper spray  and a few 1st Aid items. I just have to say, my hydration vest is amazing with so many pockets! As it turned out my gels and protein bars did not sound good on the run. I enjoyed fig bars, cookies, flat coke and pretzels. Interesting enough I had no GI issues(sorry, TMI!). I went with “whatever looked good and whatever I was craving” for my fuel. After all if you’re going to run an ultra marathon you deserve to eat whatever you want!

Race Day: Alarm set for 0500. Caffeinated beverage & oatmeal for breakfast. While I ate, I read my Bible to help calm my nervous. A verse I had underlined w/notes jumped out at me. Psalm 71:16a “I will go in the strength of the Lord” Ok, God..I got this!
Check-in was at 6:15am. It was still dark and cold. This is when I realized, I was WAY out of my league!! I looked around seeing all these other elite-ultra runners. PANIC!  I checked-in and went back to my car to wait for another 30mins. I enjoyed watching everyone else “suite up”. I really began to question my sanity?? The time passed quickly; I used the bathroom, ran around to warm up. We all gathered for the finial instructions. And with a quick count down…about 70 crazy runners were off!
I didn’t go out fast..but at a comfortable pace. Ran 3/4 the way up the first hill. Started running beside the another #motherrunner. I loved talking and hearing her running story. First 5miles flew by and were easy. This was the part of the course I was very familiar with. I ate a fig bar on my way up the next hill “Candy Mt“. It felt like forever to the top but it wasn’t steep. Now, down the backside was STEEP! No running down on this rocky trail!! We went through a culvert which freaked me out. Thank goodness I had guy in front of me. About 3 miles of flatish roads along a vineyard until Aid station 10. I took a Justin’s almond butter & honey packet. That hit the spot!  Along that part I passed several 100milers on their way to finish. Talk about the ‘Walking DEAD’. These people looked awful!!
 
Miles 10-13 called the “endless vineyard”. Easy but rather boring minus the guy who decided to pee in front of me. 😉 Miles 13-17 the ‘jeep trails(see picture). CRAZY steep hills with lots of dust & rocks. Some parts were so steep I went down sideways and climbed up nearly on all fours. It was so slow going up my Garmin watch kept “pausing”. I told a guy, “And we paid to do this”. Finally….after 17 miles I was never so happy to make it to the half way point. Changed my socks, had watermelon, roll w/chicken & flat coke. Refilled my water pack and used the bathroom. I took longer then I should’ve but enjoyed the break. I was back on the trail at 12:00pm. 4 hours after I started. Geez, I’d better pick up the paced.
 Back through the awful jeep trails; quick check-in at mile 20 aid station. Sip of flat coke & a few pretzels. I watched a couple fit, athletic men drop out do to various things. This left me on the trail for miles by myself. I began to question if I was strong enough to finish? A couple times going over hills, I saw a group of runners a good distance ahead. I was determined to catch up with them.  Once I did, I realized they were going too slow to make our 8.5hr cut off.  So back to running by myself. On the way back I did enjoy the “endless vineyard”. This was good time for me just to think and pray. I treasure these quite moments in my life.
  Mile 25 aid station- more flat coke, pretzels and bathroom stop.  The course was marked by pink ribbons & flags. There was only a few times I wondered if I missed a turn? They really did a good job marking it, especially with so many turns. Going up “Candy Mt.”  was long & hard. It look me forever to carefully pick my way up. I had a #honeystinger gel w/caffeine so that helped with energy. I tried to fly down but I could feel blisters on my feet.
 Mile 30 aid station- more flat coke, pretzels(oh, and I had my cookies along the way too), refilled my water pack again. I was tired and the next 2 miles were climbing up, Up & UP. So, at mile 30 in went the earbuds with music turned up! Slow climb up “Badger Mt.” but I was SO close to finishing. My feet were really staring to hurt! Now on the final descent to the finish line. My watch buzzed at 34 miles…CRAP! I knew I still had a 1/2 mile down. I was getting dangerously close to that 8.5hrs. I began to cry.. trying to pick up speed but every step was painful.  I had taken my time and enjoyed the course but now I was done! FINALLY..I heard the crowd cheering.  I have never been so happy to cross that finish line! Completely exhausted I nearly fell over. The volunteers helped me to a chair and brought me food.  I sat there unsure I could get back to my car. But that feeling… I just ran the most miles every and completed the hardest thing in my life! Thankful for God’s protection and the opportunity to do what I love. But for now, I think I’ll stick to half and full marathons.
  34.63miles   5,743ft elevation gain  8:21hrs   rank 65.29%    3,597calories burned
ULTRA MARATHON MOM
 
Check out this cool drone video of the race! see if you can spot me 🙂
Also, check out the course. It will make more sense for my race recap!
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