First 100 Miler - Short Recap
I was sitting there. Belt buckle in one hand. A beer in the other. The glass holding my beer was brand new. I received it, right after I crossed the finish line.
Finally I pulled the trigger and I signed up for my first 100 miler. Not only I signed up, but I trained for it, I toed the start line and 32 hours, 35 minutes and 29 seconds later those same toes crossed the finish line as well.
I should have written “spoiler alert” at the top, but I didn’t. Oooops!
I watched so many shorter and longer films about running, then about ultra running specifically. I also watched movies about other feats where human endurance was a huge contributor to success. I wanted to do it for quite a while, yet I always found an excuse why not. Why next year will be the year. Only that the next year I felt the next year will be really the right time for whatever reason. Then COVID hit and all of a sudden there was no “next year”.
All organized events got cancelled. Nothing was happening. So when a new normal emerged and events started happening again, I didn’t hesitate and signed up. Of course I could have gone out on my own and run 100 miles. That is still a possibility, but I already had my eyes on the event for a while. Run Rabbit Run 100 (RRR100) in Steamboat Springs, CO.
According to Strava, the total distance was 108.38 miles with total elevation gain of 16,141 feet. Lowest elevation at 6,723 feet while the highest point being at around 10,585. 3 major climbs and one smaller, but still fairly significant one. And plenty of up and downs. Then steep descents.
In short, the day went as well as one could expect when tackling 100 miles of mountainous terrain at high elevation. It certainly went almost exactly as I hoped it would. Which is awesome.
Though there was a chance fairly early on that I might not even make it to the Finish line or won’t even last out there until the evening.
On the first major descent down to Fish Creek Falls, about 16-17 miles in, my left calf muscle seized up. I already felt some twitching through the previous coupe miles, which I thought was unusual. Then on one longer step, it seized up. I was spot on with my nutrition plan until that point. That plan has been fine tuned through years and on training runs it worked pretty well. Not on this day, not here.
After a temporary fix (stretching) got me going again, a pretty significant adjustment to my fluid intake and general nutrition plan kept me on track the rest of the way. Going through plenty of downhill sections later confirmed that I was able to right the ship. Never a single twitch the rest of the way. That was a relief.
The weather was perfect. The night wasn’t too cold, during the day it wasn’t too hot. Hard to complain there.
No stomach issues. No blackened toe nails, not even a single blister on my feet! Not sure what else to wish for in a 100 miler.
However my finisher time was slower than what I was hoping for. I didn’t risk pushing anything, but I thought I had everything I needed to finish under 30 hours. Except for the middle third, I was right on track on every section. Yet somehow that long descent down to Steamboat Springs before nightfall took seemingly forever. Lost tons of time. And despite sunrise found me with about 25 miles from the finish line, somehow I failed to muster the effort to cover 25 miles in 8 hours. Or 10 at most. Which doesn’t sound like an outrageous ask. Instead it took me about 12 and half hours.
It also means that as happy as I was making it to the Finish line, ever since I keep thinking about “whatifs” and “whatcouldhavebeens”.
- Was this the best I could do despite all stars aligning in my favor?
- How quickly could I cover this distance if I really give my best, maximum effort?
- Or approaching differently: how far could I actually go with the same level of effort? Is it 120 miles? 150? 200? More?
Others might take some time to think about what’s next. As I was sitting there watching others runners to arrive, I already knew I want to be back. I want to put in an effort going for sub 30 hours. I want to go for it.
Now that I typed it out like that (“I want to go for it”), if I had any doubt even in the back of my mind if I want to do another 100 miler, doubt no more. The answer is very clear. I want to do another one. And want to do it at the next RRR100.
I also realized that this post might sound like I am not happy after this run. That is not the case at all. I am extremely happy and proud of the fact that I finished. I am very happy that it went without any major issues. I am thankful for all the volunteers, family and friends who followed along and supported. Reaching the finish line would not have been possible without them. This run, which was really only a conclusion of a journey gave me so much! And for that: I am thankful.
From a run like this there is so much to process. The event was in the middle of September. Yet two months later I am still thinking about it. It might have been better to type up some detailed notes shortly afer the event, while the experience was raw, fresh in my mind. But there is also something about capturing details that really stayed with me weeks and months after the event. The series of notes I plan to write, will take care of the latter.
As for writing about the fresh, raw experience? I guess now I have one more reason for going back and trying it again…