It was a wet morning, but the sky dried out after a few hours. I brought a big cooler with more shoes, clothes, and food. The cooler helped keep everything dry. At around mile 20, I changed into a fresh pair of shoes. I hadn't realized how wet my feet were until I put on dry socks and shoes. It made me feel brand new again. Although I had a bagel with cream cheese and ham in the cooler along with some roasted potatoes, it was the food that the race provided that kept me going. They served yummy pancakes (some with bacon and cheese, some with chocolate chips) and warm roasted potatoes. They also served pies (I had pecan pie) and the regular race fare such as pretzels and gummy bears and Gu. All afternoon, they served pizza!
The race organizers, Matt Hagen and Betsy Rogers, did an amazing job. They put on a perfect race despite forgetting to order port-a-potties, and they arrived after the race started (there were so many restrooms on the course that it didn't matter to me).
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| This is the aid station that I took advantage of at the end of each lap. (photo courtesy of Christy Hammond's husband) |
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| Here is a good example of the dirt path around the lake. There was only about 0.1 miles of pavement on this route. |
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| Me and Sarah after 9 and 10 laps, respectively. |
Tami and Baxter joined me later in the morning for a lap. I'm so happy that Tami is finally running injury free. She is slowly and methodically building up her mileage. Mad at myself for forgetting to take a selfie with them.
Around mid-day, my friend Mimi and her daughter joined me for a lap. I had been walking when she found me, but I was able to pick up the pace and run with them.
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| My friend's daughter. She was rewarded with a piece of pizza after taking a lap with me on her bike. |
Sometime in the afternoon, my family arrive to cheer me on. They took about one-half of a lap with me. It was nice to feel the love!
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| (photo courtesy of Christy Hammond's husband) |
It was a social day. I also talked to other runners along the way and picked up a few new ultra running tips. I wish I would have written them down because I don't remember all of them now. What I do remember is that eating ginger can settle an upset stomach. I also remember changing clothes periodically on a multiday race to avoid chaffing. And don't lay down for too long or your muscles will go into recovery mode--take a cat nap.
Late in the afternoon, I looked for a letterbox and found it! For more information on letterboxing, look here.
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| This is my letterbox log book with the stamps I found. |
My last lap around the lake was a leisure one. I took pictures of the scenery.
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| Greenlake. Not looking so lovely this time of the year. |
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| Cherry blossom trees were blooming everywhere. I think they are quite early this year due to our mild winter. |
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| The daffodils were also beautiful. |
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| I saw someone taking wedding photos! |
I found this quote on Multidays.com, an ultrarunning website.
“Perhaps the genius of ultra running is its supreme lack of
utility. It makes no sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to
run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no
fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets,
apostles and philosophers have insisted from the dawn of time, there
is more to life than logic and common sense. The ultra runners know this
instinctively. And they know something else that is lost on the
sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to
the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long
and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their
being, a call that asks who they are …”
David Blaikie
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