PART 5 (Day 3)
On Wednesdays, we wear pink (and spend the whole day running on Powerline Road, experiencing ups and downs - literally and emotionally).
I woke up in the Jeep after a few hours of “the best sleep of my life” (clearly, I was delusional 48-hours into the race) and enjoyed bacon, pancakes, and clementines. I got dressed in all pink, because that was our theme, and Lauren and I headed off into the dark morning. We enjoyed the first half of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour setlist and closed out our last mile perfectly timed to the 10-minute version of All Too Well. Magic.
The sunrise over this remote powerline stretch was gorgeous and I was in a remarkably cheerful mood for having run almost 180 miles. Again, delusional, but it was working for us. Lindsey, Emily, and Lauren endured me saying: “Running is so fun” and “we’re doing it” far too many times. Another bit of sage advice from delirious me: “10/10 would recommend going on an adventure with really fun people.” Fully rested now, I do stand by all those statements.
My trekking poles (a late packing addition that I’m extremely grateful for) were incredibly helpful as the terrain was rocky and hilly. Somewhere between mile 178 and 180, we passed another solo runner, which meant that only Cole was in front of me (and he was running the 340-mile route). It was an exciting moment but, with over 100-miles left, I knew a lot could happen between now and the finish so I kept on running.
The remainder of the section that we tackled during the day was sunny but not too hot (luckily). I ate a TON of pickles, lots of bacon, and pancakes (sometimes all three at once). Somehow, every time I ran with Emily, the sections were entirely uphill. She joked that her new hobby was hiking uphill, but only with me. A few times, we entirely ignored the switchbacks and just hiked straight up or ran straight down. Worth it to save the steps.
At mile 200, my crew had a special surprise: a video of Tank (of Tank & the Bangas) wishing me good luck and SINGING to me. It was awesome.
At this point, we were still ahead of schedule and above pace; I was running for four minutes and then walking for one minute and felt good about this strategy.
14-hours after we started this section, we finally reached our RV and the rest of our crew! Maria, Ashley, Alyssa, and Halle had slept, gone to Baker, run into Cole on his 340-mile journey, and prepped for our arrival; this included a very special surprise pickle soda with a novelty cup to go with it.
It was 2:15 pm, and we had decided to cut the afternoon nap because it had gone so poorly for me yesterday. Instead, I took an hour to relax, eat a burger and fries from the Mad Greek, and get myself mentally prepared for the next 45-mile section.
Going into this break, I was hungry, tired, drained from the sun, and didn’t really feel like talking (not surprising after 205+ miles of running). Leaving the break, I felt pretty much the same. This was definitely a tough moment, especially in the face of 3,000 ft of climbing over the next 17-miles. I thought about getting to see Maggie and Denali that night and got a ton of encouragement from my crew - which helped me push through.
My totally fresh crew (Alyssa, Ashley, and Halle) did an incredible job of moving me along despite the challenging circumstances. I found myself tearing up every time I thought of Maggie arriving. Alyssa, Ashley, and Halle did exactly what I needed in those moments; they blasted music and pushed me to do the 4:1 run:walk strategy even throughout the climb. We got to enjoy an incredibly beautiful sunset and they presented me with a pink miner’s helmet to go with my outfit; Halle even pranced around in a light-up cowboy hat. This section was literally all up[hill] but figuratively and emotionally, had lots of ups and downs. Luckily, running is a team sport, and I’ve got the best team.
I also ate an entire footlong Subway sandwich and did not feel nauseous at all (BIG WIN!). While I was eating, I got a video of Malcolm cheering for me from one of his pacers (while he’s literally running). I sent him one back while I ate my sandwich. I’ve never experienced a race with this level of comradery between runners. It’s truly special.
Eventually, the weather turned from good to bad; it started dumping rain and Ashley and I were soaked. We pulled on cheap, yet effective, ‘gas station’ ponchos and kept pushing. She pointed out that I could pretend that I was at a rainy Jazz Fest (which is my favorite) which made me laugh but eventually I decided to call it for the night. I had hoped to run until Maggie and Denali arrived but instead got warm and dry in the Jeep and took a 2.5 hr nap, expecting that they would arrive while I was asleep.
Turns out, Powerline Road had other plans for them and their car got stuck in the sand about 1-mile from where I slept for the night (~220 miles into the race). Good news: I would get to start the 4th and final day with a run with my wife!
