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| All the competitors ready for an awesome race! |
I have been so negligent in writing a blog post lately, but things have been insane! A trip to Iceland including racing a marathon and exploring the country for a week, another training marathon, a concert weekend, and all the last minute planning/organizing for the event we hosted: Not Just a Walk in the Park - a 100 mile Centurion race. I'll probably write a blog later on Iceland, but for right now I want to share my excitement about the race last weekend!
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| Starting off nice and strong with Katie doing her workout. |
For those of you who don't know what a Centurion race is, let me explain. You have 24 hours to walk 100 miles. If you accomplish this feat you are put on the US Centurion list (assuming you do it in the US of course, otherwise there are other countries that keep lists that you can get on) and get a number. This becomes your Centurion number forever and for always. Before the race only 80 people had ever finished 100 miles in under 24 hours on US soil, so we were hoping to put on a top-notch event so we could grow that number.
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| Thank goodness for the sponge station! |
We've been working with the Town of Owego and local businesses. We've been planning, organizing and working on this event for almost two years. Last week was full of stress, last minute things, and many trips to pick up supplies. But finally it was race day!
Dave played full time race director so I could race. Not only was it our 100 mile Centurion race but also the Eastern Regional and Niagara association 100K championships. I was entered in that, so I had to race walk the first 100K as it was judged under USATF rules. The athletes entered in only the 100 mile were only subject to the lifting rule, not the knee rule.
The weather started off perfect, in the mid 60s. It did get a little sunny for a while, so the sponge station got used. Everyone started off great and solid, but when you're racing for 24 hours the beginning better feel easy! Katie Smith and her hubby had come the week before the race and Katie did her long workout with me, so I had company for the first 30K which was wonderful. I was on a solid pace and feeling good.
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| Still smiling! |
I was doing well with eating and drinking (which I did not do my first 100 mile attempt) and staying hydrated. I was hoping to make it past 100K before taking a potty break, but alas I had to stop at 81K for a tinkle. After going for almost 10 hours, I stopped pretty sudden and almost fell over. Lesson learned! Decelerate before stopping!
Having to keep my legs straight for 100K was pretty hard. The last 10K was not very fun, and boy, oh boy, once I hit 100K was I super happy to bend my knees and walk however I wanted! My 100K time was slower than I did in the Isle of Man, but I had wanted to pace myself better, so I think I accomplished that. Also, on the Isle of Man I didn't take the potty breaks that I did this time, so that ate up some time. All in all I'm happy with how my 100K went. There was one section I picked up the pace a little, about 10-15 seconds per K, probably shouldn't have done that, so that's another lesson learned for next time.
A week ago in Owego it was a high of almost 86 and humid. We were so lucky that the weather broke, but unfortunately it got really cold at night, down to almost freezing. I packed clothes to layer in, but not enough. Thankfully Dave brought some extra clothes and I ended up wearing almost all of them. I had five thick layers on my top at one point and was still shivering. I wasn't moving fast enough to produce much body heat of my own, and if I had to stop for whatever reason I would start to shiver even more. Then it would take me a few laps to warm up again.
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| Foggy morning after a cold night. |
The night hours between about 2 AM and 6 AM were pretty rough. I was so tired and just wanted a rest. A few times I think I fell asleep a little while on my feet, but I stayed upright and didn't wander off the course, so that's pretty good. Every so often I would match up with some competitors and walk with them for a while, so that was nice. I told myself before the race to just keep heading towards the light.... Wait til dawn and you'll get re-energized. It was absolutely true! Once the sun came up I got a burst of energy and was able to wake up a bit and pick up the pace. The other downside of the night hours was that I sort of forgot to push myself to eat. Definitely another area I can improve for next time!
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| Still bundled up and trying to keep warm. |
With 20K to go, and about 3 hours of walking left, I started getting some blisters on the pads of my feet, deep under the skin. We popped one of them but not the other. They both were a bit painful, but really nothing too bad. But as I was trying to do math after about 19 hours of walking I all of a sudden freaked out that I wasn't going to make the time and I took off, dropping about 2 minutes per K off my pace. I was in second place for the women. I knew I couldn't catch Caroline, she's just too amazing, and I thought I had a pretty decent cushion in front of third, so I did some thinking about recovery, other goals I have, training, and made the decision to just make sure I got it done. So the last 8K or so I just enjoyed the walk. Some of my friends came and walked with me to the end (totally legal in a Centurion race). They helped keep me entertained and my mind off my poor, sore body.
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| Holy cow! I did it! Centurion #85! |
So after 23 hours 31 minutes and 05 seconds I became Centurion 85!!!! The 11th woman to be on the US Centurion list! I still think it hasn't entirely hit me. Three days later the blisters have basically healed and I have just a bit of soreness left in my legs. I haven't slept well the last few nights, so I'm still pretty tired, but for having walked 100 miles I'm really happy with how my body held up.
Of course I would be totally remiss if I didn't mention April and Vince Terbrack. They came to help their dad, Paul, who just missed making Centurion. They agreed to help me out too and they were absolute champs, getting me what I needed whenever I needed it. I don't know what I would've done had they not been there to help me!!!!! A good aid station person is so important in a race that long.
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| Thanks to USATF Niagara for their help and support! |
I definitely have room for improvement for the next time (and yes, there will be a next time! I want to be on the other Centurion lists!) and think it's possible for me to break 22 hours. I didn't do a great job of eating during the dead of night, so I'm sure I lost some energy there that affected me the last hours of the race. Also since it got so cold making sure I stay even warmer and drank some warm liquids so I don't use so much energy just staying warm. And of course not having to purely race walk for the first 100k and take some breaks from race walking I think really would've helped.
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| The newly crowned US Centurions! |
Yesterday I went for a nice easy stroll with Dave up the road and for kicks I thought I'd see if I could race walk. I only went for about 30 meters, but I actually had a decent amount of pep in my step. I'm not going to start training, of course, but I might jump on the elliptical soon. Tomorrow I'll start stretching.
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| Everyone who made Centurion. |
So now that I can cross that goal off my list it's time to get back to 50K business! I'll be looking for when there's another Centurion event that fits into my training/racing schedule. It may take a while but I'm determined to get on all the Centurion lists!
So I'm off to rest and refuel. Happy training!
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