Recap of 50mile Cloudland Canyon

Going into the race I was super nervous. I had raced my first 50k trail race about a month prior and that did not go as planned. I fell during that race at mile 23 and ended up walking about 4 miles at the end.

With a race like that it gets into your head a bit. Did I walk because I was really hurt or could I have gone harder? Am I really built to do this? What happens if I am not tough enough to get through this race? Am I too weak? All the negative thoughts....

So Friday I packed up everything and drove the 5 1/2 hours to the cabin we rented with some friends. It was only about 8 minutes from the race start so that was awesome. I waited for my friend Natalie (who is a super experienced Ultra runner and so strong) to get in. Once she arrived we headed to packet pick up and grabbed our numbers and stuff. We grabbed some food after and the place we went to had the BEST pie so we both got some of that.

Once we got back to the cabin that is when I really started thinking about the race. I needed to pack 2 drop bags (bags that would be waiting at the aid stations for me). This was hard because it was my first and also because I had no clue what I would actually feel like I needed once on the course. So because Natalie was there I picked her brain A LOT!! After I felt like I had everything ready, Natalie and I stayed up a bit and talked which was a huge help. The #1 thing that helped at this race was that I had friends there doing it as well.

Saturday I got up early and went through my morning routine. After I got dressed and packed up I headed out at 5:40am....race started at 6 and yes that was cutting it close LOL. I arrived and threw on my pack, took my drop bags to the area they needed to be and then proceeded to look for my friends. It took about 2 seconds before I heard my friend Apryl's voice. If you know her you know what I am talking about. She is one of those people who light up a room with her energy and I made a beeline to her voice. Apryl and I had decided we were going to run together for as long as we could. We hung out for a bit (race start was pushed back about 10 minutes).

We all lined up, everyone was getting their watches ready and then we were starting. Because we started so early it was dark for about the first hour. This was actually the first time I wore a headlight and the first time I ran with said headlight. The first part of the trail was a bit more technical esp with it being dark but it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

We went through the first creek crossing in the dark. I picked the wrong route and ended up about thigh deep in water. Apryl was a lot smarter. After that I have to say I was cold and wet for a bit but it did not take long to warm up. The running after that was nice. Good long winding trails. The woods were beautiful at night and it was actually and amazing experience running through them in the dark.

By the time we hit the creek again it was light and I followed Apryl's line and only was about calf deep this time. We reached the first aid station. This one was pretty quick as we grabbed a few things and I dropped off my gloves and we headed back out.

The next part of the course is where we had to go down into the canyon and back out. This was an out and back which besides the 1000 stairs we had to go down and climb back up it was nice because we got to see some of our friends. Natalie was in 3rd place overall female at this point and the boys were going strong.

By the time I crawled up out of the canyon we were 18 mile in and I was having some serious doubts. My strength is not climbing and I was pretty trashed after it. One of the volunteers there also noticed that my hands were a little puffy. They stayed that way for the whole race. Not sure why as I felt like my electrolyte intake was good. I was also peeing a ton. It was also at this point where I felt like my legs hurt and I settled into the thought that this was about as bad as it was going to get so just manage the rest of the race. The volunteers here were amazing and helped a ton and we were able to get back out pretty quick. At this point I packed my jacket up and we headed back out. Apryl was looking strong at this point and I was getting tired. She told me something here that helped a ton. She said "The middle miles are the hardest. You are not excited because it's not the start and not the end either." This and a few other words of encouragement from her was the small flame I needed to keep going.

At mile 26 we came to an aid station. It was at this point I decided to switch my fuel plan. I was trying to eat mostly real food but here I ditched it for gels. I also needed some type of sugar in me because I was getting tired. So I took a cup of coke and a gel and felt a ton better.

This whole portion was a long long out and back. We had to run up to Lookout Mtn. for the turnaround. At this point it felt like we were on the fire road up the mountain forever!! Coming down however we almost missed the turn because it was a lot faster coming down however my quads took a beating.

Once we got back to the aid station at mile 32 I was feeling good that we were heading back home to the finish. I downed another cup of coke and continued to fuel with gels. At this point though I was a little worried that I did not pack enough gels for the run back.

At the last aid station which was mile 40 we were both worked over. However this was the last one before the finish so we both reloaded our packs. Apryl took her Red Bull and I took some Pre Workout and we were off. Again the aid station workers were amazing and they always made you feel like you were looking better than you felt.

It was during this section I thought a lot about Z and the kids and how much I really wanted them to be at the finish. I knew we were going to finish and that was a great feeling however I just really did not realize how much I would want them at the finish. I kept thinking about what I was going to say when I called them after crossing the finish. At the last road crossing we had, about 500 yards in Apryl turned to me to say something and said "hey that looks like my van!" Sure enough she got a text from her husband which said they left and were on their way to the finish line.

Shortly after that it started getting dark. We put our lights on and I have to say it was not as magical this time LOL. At one point I did trip about 3 times and thankfully Apryl said "let's walk a little as I think you are getting tired." I'm pretty sure if she had not been there I would have fallen because I just wanted to get to the finish.

We finally saw and heard the finish line and man were we so excited and happy. She took off and I was running behind her trying to keep up. We crossed the finish together with me slightly behind her. That was an absolutely amazing feeling!! We had some of our friends there which made it so much more special! Natalie ended up finishing 2nd place overall female and 10th place overall. Apryl finished 9th place overall female and I was 10th place overall female.

I called Z right after I was done and then my friend Rebecca was so awesome and drove me back to the cabin. Both she and Leyla were doing the 50K the next day so it was fun talking to them about the course.

Things I learned:

1- Fueling will change a lot and during the race you will NOT feel like eating and yet you still need to.

2 -When your tired sugar is good!

3 - At some point you hit your max pain and then it's just managing that pain.

4- Running with friends is THE BEST!

5 - Need to figure out my puffy hands and I think Hydration.

6- Aid station people who are runners are the best volunteers ever.

7- Z needs to be at the next race I do (yes there will be another one, already looking).

8- When you surround yourself with people who do Epic things and push the limits you find yourself wanting to do the same. Here is a list of my friends who finished the race this weekend:

Natalie - 50 mile 2nd place overall female

Apryl - 50 mile 9th place overall female (her first 50 mile)

Leyla - 50K 6th place overall female (her first 50k)

Rebecca - 50K 7th place overall female (her first 50k)

Amber - 50k 24th place overall female

Courtney - 50k 37th place overall female

9- When in doubt surround yourself with people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself. All the ladies who ran with me and encouraged me during our runs. Special thanks to Debby, Paula, and Missy who knew what to say to me exactly when I needed it.

10- You can do anything all you need is the mindset that you can.

See you on the trails

Kim

The video below is about the mental part of the run.