The Hawkins Family: October 2019

I had not intended to run TWO 100 milers this year... although that is exactly what happened. I had entered the lottery for the Yeti 100 just in case I wasn't successful at Umstead. I needed a backup plan of redemption. So I registered for the lottery and just like that my card was charge and I was in! Oh crap. So now I am registered for TWO hundo's. What the heck was I thinking? I guess I wasn't. So in January I began training and didn't stop. You can follow all that happened leading up to the Umstead 100 here: Umstead
After Umstead I was busted for over a month. The tendon injury I sustained from that race had me riding the bench for over 4 weeks. It sucked. After time I was able to get back out there though and start running again. I had worried about the Yeti 100. I did NOT want what happened to my foot at Umstead to happen at Yeti. I had already decided that if it got that bad during the race I would just drop.
A major difference between the two races was the training. I trained so hard for Umstead. I did everything just right because I wanted so badly to be successful. And I was, sort of. I mean, I finished the damn thing! But for Yeti I just didn't really train. I had 2 long runs- a 50 mile mountain run and a timed track 100K. I threw in a few 50k's and called it a day! My weekly mileage was 25 miles, on a good week. So basically I went in under-trained.
As time ticked closer I got more and more nervous about the race. I am right in the middle of nursing school, and at the time of registration I THOUGHT I would not be in school AT ALL in September, but as God would have it... I am. Which is really a great thing how it all worked out, but it was definitely not a good thing for this race. The race always starts on a Friday at 7 am. I knew I had lab all day, until 4 pm on Thursday and that Damascus is about a 7 hour drive. So I decided to cash in a few sky-miles and just fly. I had reserved a rental and my sweet friends let me sleep on the couch of their Air bnb rental. Things looked like they may work out. Then, the weekend before the race I got a call that my brother-in-law was killed in a car accident. Now don't get me wrong, I love all my brother-in-laws (and I have way more than most people because of my husband being a foster kid), but this particular brother-in-law had my heart. He was my favorite. It was very difficult for me to grieve the loss of my wonderful Ryan. I had so much going on.. I never sleep, never get a free moment to breath, much less a free moment to think of anything other than being a mom/wife and nursing student. I was even more unsure about attending the race. The funeral services were up in the air and I didn't want to leave my family.
When memorial service plans were finalized, I made the decision to carry on with the race. I had already spent the money and skymiles and had things arranged so... I left school in scrubs and drove straight to the airport to catch a 7 pm flight. I made it to Damascus about 9:30 pm and managed to get in bed by 10:30 pm. We had to be up at 4:30 am so I didn't get a whole of sleep, but I did rest some.
Morning of, we drove to the finish line to board shuttles to the start, over 30 miles away. 30 curvy, twisty, car sick miles away. By the time we got to Whitetop to the top of the Creeper Trail I wanted to puke. I started the race with my fellow southside peeps. Barbra, CJ and I ran the first 10 to 15 miles together. I had a terrible start to the race. I felt awful. Everything on my body hurt from mile 10 on. I had diarrhea for the first 60 miles of the race. I had to take Advil 25 miles in. I sat down on a rock at mile 20 and wanted to quit. I text my pacer and told her she probably shouldn't come. My foot hurt, my body hurt, I had pooped 50 times, I was tired, I was in a terrible mood... I just wanted to quit. I knew I was in a bad mental space before I even started the race. These physical ailments are no worse than the ailments I had dealt with a million times before running, but when your head game is off.. it is damn near impossible to run an ultra. Ultra running is 50% training and 50% mental.. maybe even 25% training and 75% mental. I had messaged my oh so wise running buddy David the night before and asked him for some prayers because I knew my head wasn't right.
I felt those prayers about 25 miles in. I was forced to move from the rock I had sat down and had my mental breakdown on... mainly because it was in the middle of no where and I had to at least get back to a road. I met a trail buddy about this time who had attempted Yeti the year before and DNF'd at mile 50. He was back for revenge. He helped take my mind off of the task at hand and pulled me out of the funk I was in. I cleared my head and refocused my mental game and by the time I came back through Damascus at mile 50... it was game on. I knew I had my Arabelle waiting for me at mile 56, with a big ole' cheeseburger too 😀
When I picked up my pacer, Arabelle things just got better and better. We had some 12 and 13 min miles through the night, ran UP most of the way to Whitetop and of course had some awesome conversations. Luckily we happened to catch up with my friend Elaine who saved my stomach and had some Imodium to END the poop nightmare I was in. I had a crazy attack of hives at some point around 2 am and had to fight through, without benadryl. I knew if I took my benadryl I would be curled up in a ball on the side of the trail. So I resisted the urge to scratch and just kept running.
I usually don't have any issues running at night, but this race just continued to break the mold... I was so sleepy. I had a very hard time fighting the sleepy feeling. Multiple times I would close my eyes mid stride. I just had to keep fighting the urge. At 6:30 am we had also decided the sun had disappeared forever and was never coming up. I didn't realize that sunrise in Damascus in September is at 7:20. Longest. Night. Of. My. Life.
But.. the sun did come up, and my legs continued to move and things were good. We stayed on a steady run 2 walk 1 all the way to the finish. Had I not had my pacer and favorite running chick with me those last 44 miles I would of been toast.
So.. the aftermath? Well, I feel really good. My toes are pretty banged up, but other than that.. not much to complain about. I had such a horrible time last 100 with the aftermath I was concerned about it this time. But, when my foot starting hurting 20 miles in, I realized that the gators and compression sleeves were the culprit. I fully believe that this would of made a big difference in Umstead. I ripped those suckers off and didn't have another issue the rest of the race! I am very thankful I was able to push through this time and get the finish. There is nothing any better than a big Jason Green hug at the finish line and a huge shiny buckle!
I don't know when I will attempt another 100, with schooling and life right now, I may have to wait a couple of years... but then again, if I get the itch.. I may just jump on in.