Red Dirt 50k Race Recap

 

Last Saturday was the Red Dirt Ultra, and the first year in the race's 7 year history that I arrived as a participant and not the race director.  After last year's race, it was time for me to hand it off to someone who would care about the legacy of the race, but who would also take the time to grow it and make it an even better event.  That person is Fawn Hernandez.  Fawn is a very experienced trail and ultra runner, and she has a love of the sport that I believe is necessary to have an event that is pure to the spirit of trail running.

Friday evening, Randy and I hung out at packet pickup for a bit, visiting with old friends and making new ones, then for the first time in the history of this race, we went to our hotel room (not a tent or box trailer) to sleep and get ready for the race.  I wanted to see all of my 100 mile friends, so we got to the race site early Saturday morning before the 100 mile and 100k started.  

Ten minutes before the 50k started, Fawn did her trail briefing, giving specific info on the trail and what to expect for the day. She also mentioned the passing of the RD torch and said a few sweet words to acknowledge the handover, and before you know it, the countdown was started and we were on our way.  

The first few miles of this race have a fair amount of climbing and loose sand, so I knew I would take it easy until I hit a runnable section.  Sarah LeBlanc and I ran / hiked together for much of the first 12 miles on the course.  Since my piriformis flared up earlier in the week, causing me to have to take a few days off of running, while taking anti-inflammatories and spending time with the percussion massager, I knew there was a chance that I may not be able to finish the race.  After all, this was just a training run for the Badger 100 coming up in July, and I didn't want to push a minor injury into a major one that may cause me to lose training time.

In the last couple of miles before we hit the MudnGuts aid station at mile 12, I started to notice a sharp pain in my left knee when we were climbing.  I was pretty sure it was just a result of a tight and angry piriformis, but I began to resign myself that I would stop at mile 12 to avoid potential damage.

When I arrived at MudnGuts, Randy was there with my nutrition (Skratch Super Fuel - 400 calories per bottle, 200 - 250 calories per hour), and the aid station was ready to help me and get me on my way.  If you haven't done one of my races, the MudnGuts aid stations are always a highlight of the race. This aid station is filled with experienced trail and ultra runners and they are as loving as they are tough.  They have saved many people's races when they thought they could no longer continue.  Great people.

So, I stopped my watch.  I told Randy about the knee pain and that I didn't want to take any chances.... then I started thinking about getting to see Shipley Cafe (the last aid station on the trail, and another truly phenomenal one - coffee or espresso to order, delicious burritos and more!) or the new section of the trail run on the Caroline Dorman trail that I had not seen yet, not to mention that this was the first year of Fawn being RD, and it was important to both of us that she would be able to put a medal around my neck. 

So I stretched, took a couple of ibuprofen (Not recommending this!  Do this at your own risk!  I take very small doses just to take the edge off when I am hurting.), restarted my watch, and headed back onto the trail. I asked Randy to try to meet me at the next aid station as well, just in case the pain got worse.  Yes, it was a no crew access station, but I claim Founder's Privilege on this one.

I started run / walking again, and no knee pain!  But in a few miles, my lower back started tightening up - what I am sure is all still related to my whole left side being tight from the piriformis flare up.  I ran when I could, walked when I needed to navigate around mud, or just needed a break, and made it to the next aid station where Randy was waiting. I knew if I made it there, I would make it to the end. After this is was just 5 or so miles to Shipley Cafe and 6 or so to the finish line.  Stupid mental games you play with yourself in an ultra.

Between the third aid station and Shipley Cafe laid the new section of trail that I was looking forward to.  Most of Red Dirt Ultra is run on the Sandstone trail which is also an ATV trail from May - December, so it is a wide, not very technical trail.  The main thing you have to navigate are ruts from the ATV tires now and then and a few rocky sections.  

The approach to the Caroline Dorman trail was a dirt road for about .8 miles which seemed longer as it was midday and the temps got up to 80.  Once on the trail, you went from running on packed sand to running on grass, and since this section is not heavily used, the trail was not always obvious.  After a few stops to look for trail markings, I made it to Bayou Kisatchie, where the trail skirted alongside for the last mile or so before Shipley Cafe. Here are a few pics from that section:

My feet were wet most of the day due to water crossings.  Between that and the sand, it wrecked havoc on runners feet.

The water on this trail is cold and clear.  Feels great on tired feet that are already wet from the trail.

Kisatchie Bayou

A washout on the trail. One of the many reasons I was happy I wouldn't have to run this section at night.

Once you finished this section, you found yourself on a cement sidewalk that led straight to Shipley Cafe, where I was happy to get a big hug from Jeff Shipley, the Aid Station Captain and an old friend.  Jeff is an aid station genius. His station was about 25 miles into a very hot loop, and the first thing he offered was a popsicle.  Perfect.  The next thing I wanted was a cold beer.  During a long race like this, about half of a cold beer if perfect - carbs for a quick pick me up, cold, and bubbly to refresh your mouth from the sugary sweet stuff you've been eating at the aid stations.  If you know Randy, you know that where he is, there is usually beer, so I met him at the car, drank my beer, refilled my pack and headed up the road.

This was by far my least favorite part of the race.  It was midday and hot, and this was 1.5 miles of dirt road until we could reenter the trail.  I told Randy at Shipley Cafe that I had decided to walk it in from this point.  I was 25 miles into a race that I was seriously undertrained for (longest run prior was 9 miles), and I really just wanted to enjoy the rest of the race.  

Once I entered the trail again, I played leap frog for a while with Scott - an active duty Air Force member, who was walk/running ahead of me.  He would jog a bit, then stop and walk and I would keep catching up with him.  Eventually, he decided just to walk it in as well and we walked the rest of the race together and visited the whole way.  

One of the beauties of these races is watching people who would never meet otherwise, or who may have nothing in common, become friends.  The trail is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter what you do, what your political beliefs are, or how much money you have in the bank.  On the trail, everyone is equal.

To wrap up a too long post, I finished at 8:40, I think. Nowhere near a pr, but that wasn't the goal, and this is a tough course - about 2300 feet of gain in 30 miles.  I got my medal and hug from Fawn, Georgie, an angel on earth cleaned and worked on my feet, I drank a couple of beers with friends, ate some of Darrins delicious gumbo, and headed back to the hotel to shower and rest so I could clear 9 miles of trails for Fawn the next day.

All in all a great weekend! 

Happy Running, y'all! 

Edie

You never know what to expect.....

Sorry it's been so long since my last post.  Things blew up for a bit, and are just getting 

back to what I consider normal now. The last trail run was very well attended (as you can see).

18 runners, including a few first timers, joined us on the trails.  Three made the

whole loop (20 - 22 miles, depending on who you ask, and how much you suffer), and the rest

of us did out and backs for anywhere from 8 to 16 miles.

What was different about this loop?  Well - let's start by going over the expected during the run:

There were trees down.

There were lots of smiles.

There was quite a bit of sweat.

And there were lots of laughs.

What we didn't expect - the freshly killed bunny on the trail.  Definitely no pictures of that one.  I just wanted to get away before whatever killed it came back for its snack.  Besides, that would just be gross.

On the return leg of the 16 mile out and back, the group broke up a bit, and I was able to run by myself for a while.  As much as I love running with my buddies, I treasure these moments when I am sort of alone on the trail.  I say sort of because there is no one as far as I can see or hear, but I know that there are people both ahead of and behind me, which is comforting should something go wrong.  Being alone in the middle of the woods is the purest form of meditation for me.  This is always where I feel the closest to God, when I am surrounded by so much of the beauty he created.  I am always humbled by the enormity of all of it, as well as the attention put into the smallest details.

So when my phone rang about 5 miles from the exit to the trail, it startled me because I was in such a peaceful place in my mind. (Even though my ring tone is a nature sound - ducks quacking. :) No, I don't hunt, it just cracks me up every time it rings.  I stopped and took my phone out of my Camelbak and saw that it 

was my 13 year old son calling.  I had my answer to his question planned before I even answered - "Yes, Jeffrey can come over tonight."

Well, that wasn't what the call was about at all.  Instead, it was Josh telling me that I need to call my sister right away - there's an emergency.  My dad is 92, and ever since we lost my mom last year, all he has wanted was to join her, so I had a pretty good idea what I would hear when I made that call. Sure enough, my sister told me that Dad had eaten his breakfast, pushed his tray away, and stopped breathing.  The paramedics were at his house doing chest compressions at that time.

I told her to keep me posted, I hung up the phone, and I started to RUN.  I knew the odds were against me making it in time to tell him goodbye, but I had to try.  I ran for 10 minutes, all out.  During this time I jumped over two snakes, one of which I came REAL close to stepping on.  Talk about adrenaline.  With the hurdling of the second snake, I am surprised I didn't need chest compressions.

When I hit the 10 minute mark, I had a very strong feeling that there was no reason to hurry anymore.  I slowed to a walk, and called my sister back.  They had just declared Dad dead.  Of course, all of the expected emotions were there.  I was very much a daddy's girl.  My brothers and sisters were all much older than me, so I was pretty much raised as an only child.  I spent most of my childhood working with my dad and following him around.  If he stopped too suddenly, I would run right into him.  He was an amazing man, and an EXCELLENT role model.  Dad didn't talk about it, he just did it.

The note we found in his desk the day after he died.

In fact, I credit him heavily for my ultra running.  He instilled in me an adventurous spirit.  When I was afraid to try something, he would always say, "What's the worst that can happen?"  It's amazing how far those words have gotten me.

So, I stopped running and I listened.  It was so incredibly peaceful.  All I heard was the rustling of the leaves off of the side of the trail (which I walked away from quickly - better safe than sorry), and the birds.  It really was the perfect place to receive such news.  The peace I feel every time I run through the woods is the peace Dad feels all the time now.  I can't think of a better way to feel close to him than to return to the spot where I was when his soul was taken home.  Just when I thought I couldn't love Chicot more.

So, I walked and Emma caught up with me.  I told her what had happened and she was crying before I was.  We walked the rest of the way, talking about my dad and her bubbling stomach.  Then, as if I needed more comic relief, when we get off of the trail, Randy is holding ice on his face.  He was ambushed by wasps - not on the trail but afterwards when he was checking out the trail map.  I understand he put on quite the show when he was stung.  Just thinking about it makes me laugh. :)  Sorry Randy.

So, this last week was spent burying my Dad and taking care of final arrangements.  I only ran once -  Sunday for 11 miles.  But, it was a run with friends on a never run on before route.  All good.

And, once again this season, I find myself knocked off of my schedule a bit.  I am really not too torn up about it.  I will pick up where I left off as if last week never happened.  I never try to make up mileage.  If it is missed, it is deleted.   Move forward, don't look back.  

I started this blog to bring you along with me on my training journey, so that you could see that I am just a regular person who happens to run long races.  I get derailed, and I have to improvise.  Nothing in my life is set in stone, I just do my best to roll with the punches.  I really think my ability to adapt is a HUGE part of the reason that I am able to complete ultra distance races.  

I am adding a few more pics from the trail run on the 12th.  My next blog post will include an update on the business part, as well as a review of next Sunday's loop - a bunch of folks will be making the whole loop for the first time!! Can't wait to share it with them (and Dad!).

Have a great week, and Happy Running!!

Edie

Renee's first trail run!!  So happy she joined us!

Ahhh - the bridges!!

Running into the sunrise.

Colin learned that long legs are not an asset on the trails.

Smiles and more smiles!!

No, Keith, we are not making fun of your backpack.

Lonny leading the way.

Shane - a trail veteran now, and he just signed up for his
first trail race!!  Yay Shane!!