Where: Cypress Creek Preserve, Land O Lakes, Florida
When: January 18-19, 2020
What: Long Haul 100
Finish Time: 29:17:16
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/3026543743/overview
It has now been a little over a week since Long Haul 100 and I think I’m finally ready to put my scrambled thoughts into words. It seems surreal that I completed it, but also the race did not go how I was expecting so it has really thrown me for a loop as far as processing the experience so maybe sorting my thoughts out into a race report will help me figure it out in my own head.
Training:
Training went fairly well. Last year I had it in my mind that I would probably want to do Long Haul and after my 50mi in Wisconsin went well, I was seriously considering signing up. Rather than just jump into 100mi training, I gave myself a test of doing Gate2Jacks; if I survived that and still wanted to run afterwards, I would sign up for Long Haul. The Monday after those races I felt pretty good, so I signed up!
For the training itself, I used the Relentless Forward Progress 50 mile peak plan and the 70 mile peak plan. Someone else suggested combining them so you do a minimum of the 50mpw plan with a maximum of the 70mpw plan so it allowed some flexibility when real life came calling. I mostly hit all of the 70mpw mileage until the TUDC 50mi where the pounding on the road did a number on my ankle and I had to essentially take a full week and some change off of running. In all, there were only two weeks of the entire plan where I did not meet or exceed the mileage, so it was pretty solid training.
About the Race:
The course is made up of ten 10 mile “loops.” They call it a loop, but in reality it is made up of a set of out and back spurs. Spur 1 is 1.5ish miles out, Spur 2 is 2.5ish out, and Spur 3 was 1ish out. It also started with a 1 mile run on pavement from the parking area to the main hub as a way to spread everyone out so the first spur wasn’t too congested.
I added the “ish” to the mileage because the course was long. Spur 3 was eliminated from the last loop about 10 hours into the race (announced via a whiteboard near the timing mat at the start/finish). The timing crew put on their tracking site that the race was 102 miles, I had a final total of 103.79 miles, and I heard others had up to 105 miles, but someone going off trail to visit their tent during the race or going off trail to use the bathroom or even choosing the least efficient line on the course would account for that extra bit.
The cut off for the race is 32 hours, but this year it became qualifier for Western States for 2021 and in order to qualify a person would have to finish under 30 hours. The biggest benefit of the race for me was that I would never be more than 2.5 miles away from my crew and my stuff. Spur 1 turnaround had a hydration and “shot” aid station, Spur 2 turnaround had a full aid station, and Spur 3 had a timing mat at the turnaround.
Weather:
The weather this year ended up being absolute perfection. Last year there was horrible rain in the night and made everything muddy and miserable (so miserable that the RDs changed the race from 12.5 mi loops to cut out areas that were still flooded/super mucked). The weather was in the mid-sixties at the start and only got to about 82 with a heat index of around 86 or so, low humidity, and at night it didn’t get below 60. I changed into a long sleeve when it got dark and then during the coldest part of the night I put on a sweater. I didn’t need the gloves or the heavier sweater that I brought. For people who do not live in the south, it was very hot for them during the day, but it was great for me. Though if the night had been cold, I would have suffered a lot while I’m sure they would have thrived.
Prep & Crew:
For this race, I was going to eat whatever I wanted to and force stuff down even if I didn’t want to. I listened to so many podcasts and kept remembering Scotty Kummer saying something along the lines of, “No one ever complains about eating too much during a 100 miler.” So the goal was to take advantage of the aid stations if the food they had appealed to me and also use what I brought (tailwind, huma gels, GUs, pringles, cookies, and body armor).
My crew consisted of my dad, my fiancé Tom, and later my sister Laci. Laci would pace me from 60-80 and Tom would pace me from 80-100. Tom and dad had a tent and chairs they would set up at the main hub after the race started. In my head, we were Team Keep Fucking Going. Before my mom died, she said to my dad, “Keep fucking going,” and we have held that in our hearts as our family motto. Kyle was able to use my mom’s many notebooks to make her writing into a font and he created the text. Dad has it tattooed on his arm. I made myself a tech shirt and regular cotton shirts for my crew. The shirts were a pretty big hit with other runners even without knowing the emotional significance of it. It was for us, but I’m very glad it helped other people, too!
Miles 1-12ish
Nothing too much during these miles. Just having fun and trying to slow down in the beginning. I worked out a system with my crew that I would have one handheld water bottle and each time I came in from a loop, they would switch it out for a fresh one. They were putting tailwind and water in them and changing out the gels in the front pockets. Also, their placement at the hub was PERFECT and a huge benefit to me. Most of the people who sent up tents at the hub set them up off of the paved section of Spur 2 which required a walk up and down about 5’ of hill/berm. My crew set up along Spur 1 so I never had to go up or down any hill no matter how small and if I needed something I would tell them before I did Spur 1 so they could have it ready by the time I completed it and headed to Spur 2.
Miles 12ish-40ish
Around mile 12ish I started running with a woman named Tammy. She was freaking fantastic! She has done a lot of great races and we talked about everything under the sun. The miles simply flew by and I discovered that during my prep for this race I had read her race report that she did for Long Haul almost a decade ago! Small world!! A woman named Brandy also ran with us for a bit and it was fun cheering each other on. I also got to meet Susan Donnelley and chatted with her a couple times during the race. She is amazing! Around 40 something Tammy and I broke off from each other because her dad had arrived with cake and I wanted to keep going and doing my thing. I felt bad since it was really nice to run with her, but I know you have to run your own race.
Miles 40ish-60ish
I got my waist light from the crew since night would soon be falling. I figured I’d use my waist light for a loop or two and then when it got super dark, I would also use my headlamp.
Sometime around mile 44(?) I realized I may have had an issue brewing. I thought I had something stuck in my shoe, like dirt or sand. Sections of the trail were very dirty/dusty and there was sugar sand in a few spots. I made the grave error of not even thinking to bring or wear my gaiters. This is essentially what took my race from a good fun time to physical torture. In checking my shoe, I didn’t see or feel anything inside of the shoe and realized it was most likely a blister forming on the pad of my foot. Poop.
When I came into my crew after 5th completed loop I was ready for some type of audio distraction. I knew I had an episode of Ten Junk Miles to listen to and funnily enough, Tom already had my headphones out and was turning on my phone because apparently he just *knew* that I needed a distraction. I had one more loop before Laci would be joining me and I was already in distance PR territory, so that felt cool.
During that loop a blister grew, hurt, and popped. The emptying of that blister was such a relief and the pain there was instantly gone. If only that could have happened to my other blisters on both of my foot pads. I think during my 5th or 6th loop I started taking advantage of the libations offered at the “shots” aid station as a sort of pain killer or, as I called it, “Go go juice.” In all, I did do four shots throughout the race and they were very mentally helpful. I also brought beer just in case I had a thirst for one mid-race, but I never did.
Miles 60ish-80ish
I picked up Laci and switched to caffeinated gels. We talked and she got me through the miles. She did exactly what I asked of her (not letting me take breaks I didn’t need to and asking me if I could try running a little bit). I did do some running until the pain from the blisters on my feet really started wrecking me.
Around mile 70 is when the pain hit its stride and I knew there would be zero running from that point on. At mile 75 I took off my shoes and socks, wiped my feet down with baby wipes, then Tom tried to do some taping to hold the skin from my wrecked feet in place, and I changed my socks and went back out. It didn’t help; too little too late. At the aid station on spur 2, the volunteers offered cup noodle and I accepted. They had a kettle and stove there to make hot foods, so I took the cup of soup and went along. We picked up another runner who was also having similar feet problems that I was having and whose headlamp battery was dying. We kept him with us until we got to the main hub. I think I had a quesadilla after that loop or maybe the previous one? Those were my only two hot food items of the whole race.
Miles 80ish-98ish
I drank a cotton candy Bang energy drink once I got back to the crew area and Tom went out with me. He took the rest of the Bang since I wasn’t able to drink the whole thing and we went out at a snail’s pace. My feet were wrecked. Every single step I took was painful. I know people drop out due to pain like this, but (forgive the cliché saying) – I didn’t go that far to only go that far. I was finishing this race and I didn’t care if the last 20 miles took me a billion years.
Many times I begged Tom to let me have a quick little lie down on the trail and he said no. He DID let me take a couple of sitting breaks. During Spur 2 when it gets to the .5 of pavement before the hub, he let me set there for exactly 60 seconds and I am fairly certain I cried with gratitude. I started envisioning finishing the race and as soon as I did I was planning on collapsing on the grass and not moving until someone dragged me away and that was a comforting thought.
As it started to become dawn and we were hitting the 24 hour mark, I was about 89 miles in, so I knew I had about 13ish more miles to go. I told myself I was going to call the Ten Junk Miles bonk line and I pretty much told them they lied about how 100 milers are fun and that I hated them and also loved them? I think? I’m not 100% sure what all I said.
I didn’t get overly tired too much like I expected I would and I definitely did not have hallucinations of any sort. I did get *extremely* emotional though and cried quite a bit. Not full on tears, but just maybe 10-30 seconds of pouting. Tom also told me that during the last 10 miles he would make a face and once I laughed at it, another time I cried at it, and another time I did both. Many times I did say I wanted to quit, but Tom knew I wasn’t serious and I knew I wasn’t serious. There would be no quitting, even if I had to finish on my hands and knees (which, umm, probably not the greatest attitude to have? But I have a desk job so I wasn’t putting my livelihood at stake at all, just my comfort).
98ish-Finish (102 or something like it)
Since we didn’t have to do Spur 3 on the last loop, I came in from Spur 1 and Tom had decided to ask my dad if he wanted to join us for the last 5 miles. My dad has had hip and back pain, so I wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to walk the 5 miles with us, but since I was going at a glacially slow pace, it seemed very do-able for him. It was a long, hard slog and I felt like I was barely moving, but at the same time each step hurt so dang bad that I hesitated every foot placement on the trail. After what seemed like a thousand years we hit the turnaround aid station…and there were no volunteers there. They did leave behind all of the food and water and supplies and another runner had told us to check off our bib# on the sheet to verify we had come through the aid station. Tom and dad let me have a little break here, so I sat in a chair to be sad for a few minutes contemplating if I was going to make it the last 2.5 miles to the finish.
We got up and started our very slow journey to the end. After a thousand years, we reached the road section which was .5 miles from the finish line and it started to sprinkle a bit. Tom asked me if I wanted to try running and I took a couple very painful quick steps and said no, so we plodded along. Laci joined up with us at the juncture of the spurs about 0.1mi from the finish line and with the actual finish line in sight, I was able to run (I felt like I was flying, but I’m sure I wasn’t, lol). Dad handed me the small travel urn of mom’s ashes that he keeps with him and I crossed the finish line with several of the most important people in my life: Tom, Dad, Laci, and Mom.
The aftermath:
My feet were (are?) so, so wrecked. They were still draining blister fluid over two days later and now I am slowly clipping off the super thick dead skin. They were very, very deep blisters. Both of my pinkie toes also blistered fully. I know other people have a problem with this and I’m still unsure of the solution. It’s because my little toe tucks in too much to my foot. It does it when I’m barefoot, so it might just be a thing that happens to me all the time. Most of the time toe socks help it, but maybe it won’t for this distance.
I had ZERO chafing. I used SNB on some parts that usually chafe and reapplied to a couple spots twice, but I think good quality clothing and lack of high temperatures and humidity is what kept me in the clear. The only unknown in the clothing department was my purple shirt I made two days before the run. I bought it on amazon for like $7. I had never, ever run in it before and it worked out great! Other than that, I wore XO Skin socks for the first 75 miles, injinjis for the last 25, HOKA Clifton 1 shoes, a Brooks Juno bra, new balance lasercut underoos, and my absolute favorite Skirtsport Lioness Skirt Capris.
I had Monday off for the MLK Jr holiday and took Tuesday off of work as well. I didn’t run on those days, but Wednesday I ran slowly on the treadmill for about a mile and a half and Friday I did a nice chill 5 miles on the trail. I think I’m mostly back to normal now and have several weeks of rest/no structure until I start training for the Badger 100 in August.
Emotional aftermath:
Going into this race, I had very much expected to find “my highest highs and lowest lows” based on so many stories from other runners. That’s what I was seeking and well...that’s not what happened. I think the main reason I’ve been having trouble processing the whole race is because I thought it would be emotionally and physically different. There was some mild emotional roller coaster bits in the last 30 miles, but not as much as I expected. All of the pain I felt physically from my poor blistered feet still pales in comparison to depths of the pain I’ve felt from my worst flares of endometriosis (pain so severe I could barely even walk or get out of bed). No emotional turmoil during those 100 miles were ever as strong as the depression I’ve experienced throughout my life and the grief over my mom’s death. Basically, I’ve endured worse. I feel mild regret that I didn't push myself harder to run more in those last 30 miles, but it seemed impossible at the time. Maybe that's a bit of the mental game I'm missing, putting the pain out of my mind more than I did.
I’m already signed up for the Badger 100 in August and the experience will be different. Just by the nature of the course, conditions, and tidbits of wisdom I have hopefully gained it will be a whole new experience and I really hope to find something a bit *more* inside of myself.
Some photos courtesy of A1 Ultra Events, some from my dad, and the one of Tammy and me from Susan Donnelly.
Also, I did take some photos of my feet the day after and yesterday (a week and a half later). Small thumbnails so you can avoid them if you like.
