Sugar Badger 50 mile.

 

50 miler: ✔️

Finished in 7:49

2nd female 

3rd overall 

 

What a day. I was so sick of bagels and carbs going to bed on Friday night. But I woke up Saturday morning and stuffed another down and then headed to the race briefing which was to start at 5:45am. It didn’t start at 5:45, it started closer to 5:55 and then all of the sudden basically mid-sentence the race director looked at the clock and said it’s 6am! Go! I hadn’t even started my watch to get the gps signal and ended up running about a tenth of a mile before pressing start 😝 ultras are just so different than road races. There is absolutely no urgency— it’s wild. 

I started running with a gal named Emily about a 1/2 mile in and we stayed together through mile 32.  My goal was 8 hours which were 9:36 splits, her plan was 8:30’s so that she could spend a couple minutes at each aid station and that worked well for us. We stayed on pace through the 1/2 way point and beyond and then she started having stomach issues and needed to walk and I was at the point where if I walked I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to start again. The time with her flew by! I barely looked at my watch, didn’t have to use any mental energy and she kept the pace really well. Reminding us to slow down when we got to fast and take drinks and eat our food. 

Miles 33-40 felt a bit torturous. I knew once I hit single digits I’d be good to go, but those middle miles felt like they draggggged. I had no music, no people around me and although the trail was beautiful there was no change in scenery. I did have the birds and an occasional rabbit 🐇. I got to see Sten at mile 40 which was the best and then there was a hill at mile 45 and I attacked it, feeling so grateful for the change in elevation to use different muscles, I got a big boost after that and knew I’d finish strong. 

I passed what I thought were 3rd and 4th place runners at the final Aid station and never looked back. Knowing I could potentially finish top 3 was a huge motivator for me. 

Running through the shoot I felt intense appreciation for my body which carried me for nearly 8 hours. And for Sten who gave up soooo much of himself to chase the goal with me. I felt every prayer, every well wish and every cheer. 

Not sure if ultra running is for me, but it sure is a highlight of my “running career” 😂.

Mary gave me this bracelet on Friday and it felt like a giant hug each time I checked my watch. Also: 84,000 steps in one day 😵‍💫

Pretty dang proud of this one. I worked hard and it paid off. 

xo.edc

To celebrate and because we were only 15 minutes away we went to New Glarus Brewery! I was not looking my finest, but I felt so thankful that sten was by my side nothing could get me down. We enjoyed seeing this “Wisconsin Staple” and realized as we were walking into the brewery that we have been Wisconsin residents for 12 years… WHAT?!?!? Didn’t we just move here?