Sun Mountain 100k

I’d be jumping up and down in excitement right now if I could. But my legs are wrecked, so I’ll stick to the couch.

Short recap: I had so much fun this weekend. When I chatted with Ely the night before the race (morning for him, since he was in Stockholm), his advice was “just go out there and have fun.” So that’s what I did. I honestly believe that if you’re loving what you’re doing, you’re going to do it better, you’re going to enjoy it more, and you’re probably going to surprise yourself.

Sun Mountain 100k was supposed to be our first 100k. But, well, spring happened and things changed. Ely had a last minute international trip for work, and two weeks before the race, I was left contemplating if I should start. I really wanted to run it, but I was just worried about pushing my body too much and I really wanted to make sure my legs/mind felt recovered after a busy work- and race-packed spring.

After Gorge 100k (waitlist surprise-entry) and Yakima 50k, I took two weeks almost entirely off of running (with the exception of a few easy commute+podcast runs), and then realized I needed to make a decision about the race. I came up with a plan: run a high-mileage training week, and if I felt okay, then transition to a taper and head to Sun Mountain. If I didn’t feel okay, then I’d transition back to being a blerch (which for me isn’t so different from a taper) and just not race. Easy enough. Needless to say, the training week went well, and I started scrambling to get together lodging and carpool plans since I knew I’d be going into the race without my partner-in-crime, Ely.

Thankfully, my friend Colton (don’t you know him? If you don’t, find me at the next race and I’ll introduce you 😉 was ahead of the game and offered me a place to stay and connected me with another runner/volunteer McKendree who was looking for a carpool buddy. McKendree and I met at Oregon Coast 50k last October, and it was awesome to reconnect during a long drive over the North Cascades. Then there was the cabin: this is another story in itself, but Colton’s planned accommodations TOTALLY exceeded our expectations. Heck, we brought along full camping gear because it was unclear if there was even space in this stranger’s supposed cabin for everyone he invited along! Turns out, the cabin-owners Justin and Bill were the nicest guys ever (so awesome meeting you guys!), their “cabin” is nicer than most family homes, and their neighbors offered to let us migrate over into their cabin since they weren’t in town that weekend. So we all got a bedroom to ourselves! Amazing! Thank you guys!!!!

Is there space for one more? I think so.

After some drop-bag packing Friday night I snuggled up in my cozy bed, set my alarm for 3am (yikes!) and tried to get some sleep. I didn’t sleep much. No Ely + barking dog + unfamiliar space = minimal sleep, but somehow I still woke up feeling energized. I was excited. I made some coffee, gathered my gear, and started the 30-min drive over to Chickadee Trailhead for a 4:30am check-in. This was the first time I’ve ever done the pre-race morning routine entirely solo. It’s hard. It made me realize that having the emotional support of someone else (whether they’re also running or not) takes such a weight off of you pre-race, and it’s definitely a bit more stressful going into it alone. Example: I almost locked the keys in the car at the TH. Oops!

Pre-race contemplation – dazed and confused without Ely at the start

It was raining at the start, but wasn’t too bad. James gave his pre-race spiel, and off we went! Those first few miles I had a hard time getting in a groove – it was a slight incline on a wide trail/forest road, and my legs weren’t awake yet. At some point in those first few miles I linked up with a badass woman runner Stacey – we were going a similar pace, so we ran together for a few miles. She asked me if I had a time goal. Hmm…did I? I guess I secretly wanted to beat my Gorge time, which was 12:10. I thought that as long as my legs didn’t surprise me with a “hey, what are you doing, you promised me more recovery!” then it was a realistic goal. However, I would have been happy to finish after my time goal if it meant I was having fun. I wanted to push myself and see what I was capable of, but I wanted to be smiling. Because suffering without smiling sucks.

I eventually found my groove, and the first third of the race flew by. I took it easy on the winding downhill section of mountain bike trails, knowing that I could look forward to opening up when I came back around on my second lap. At the first out-and-back up to Sun Mountain Lodge (mile 20ish), I synced up with Douglas, who was out to claim revenge on his #RainshadowCurse. We ended up leapfrogging throughout the rest of the race, and it was always great to see a familiar face. At that point, I could also see that the next few ladies were all looking strong and were not that far behind me. I figured they’d catch me soon, especially Stacey. By the way, she was the most fun person to see on the trails! We cheered for each other and shouted encouragement every time we passed by each other at a turnaround, and her badassery + enthusiasm helped me a lot. Thank you Stacey!

After the climb up Patterson, I had my first Glenn sighting (race photographer, 7Hills, all-around happy fantastic guy). Thankfully, Glenn is usually wearing a bright jacket so you can see him from far away :). He was stationed midway down the Paterson downhill stretch, which I was thoroughly enjoying because (a) I love downhills and (b) because I was done with the last climb of loop 1!

Happy to see Glenn! And happy for the downhill!!

When I rolled into Chickadee Aid Station (mile 31), I glanced at my watch and did a double take. “4:55. Seriously? Well, I feel ok. I don’t feel like I have been pushing too hard. Let’s see if I can keep this up (doubtful, but maybe).” I found my drop bag, ditched my trash, re-stocked with Gu, and rolled out as fast as I could. I also decided to try music – a first for me on trails. I had been running solo for most of the first loop, and I figured it’d help give me some mental distractions when the second half got lonely.

It turns out: flowy downhills + blooming wildflowers + Sylvan Esso = magic. It was awesome. I don’t think I’ll use music on trails often, but now I know it can be a good boost late in a race. As expected, opening up and flying care-free on the winding mtn bike downhills was a blast.

When I rolled into Homestead Aid Station (run by Seven Hills Running Shop), I was so happy to see familiar faces! Michael “MCM” Miller came over to help me right away, filling my empty hydration bladder and giving me some level-headed encouragement. “You’ve got two hands, put an orange slice in each and keep moving.” I was skeptical of swapping oranges for my usual trail magic, aka watermelon, but those oranges were probably the best decision I made all day. I also heard Kay’s shouts of encouragement as I left running with an orange-juice-covered grin. 🙂

At this point, I had two out-and-backs (and therefore two climbs) between me and the finish and I was running a great pace and feeling strong. I wanted to hold onto that!

With three different race distances on overlapping trails, I started to catch up to a lot of 50k runners. This was good and bad. It broke up my rhythm, since I needed to slow down/jump aside every minute or two to pass, and it made it hard to find a groove. But it was also good, because I was finally seeing people on the trails, and because I love cheering. Not everyone loves being told ‘nice job ladies!’ or ‘good work!’, but it’s who I am as a runner, and it’s why I love this community. On the bright side, because of the out-and-backs, I ended up seeing a lot of the same runners more than once throughout the rest of the race and they returned the encouragement, which helped :).

After the Sun Mountain Lodge turnaround (mile 51ish) I was grateful for the downhills (thanks, Yakima for the confidence-boost!) and I let loose, flying down and getting Caramel Gu all over my hands in the process. By the time I got to the final climb of the day up Paterson (for the second time), I was feeling tired but positive, and I knew I just needed to crank out one final climb before I could let loose again on the descent. Touching the turn-around sign on top of Paterson was surreal. I knew that I could finish my 100k, and I knew that I was going to blow all of my time expectations out of the water.

I turned around, chugged some water, and let my legs set the pace on the final descent. Another 100k runner told me “nice work! see you at the finish” and I knew it was close. One of my favorite moments of the race was when a fellow runner (whom I’d seen earlier) called me a Mountain Goat as I flew downhill. (#LifeGoalsComplete! also #mountaingoating). I passed Glenn in the same spot with a grin again, happy to see a familiar face, and feeling proud that I was still strong enough to hoot and holler after 55 miles. Still having fun? Check.

Paterson descent
A few miles later, I saw the sign for Chickadee trail and said aloud to myself “Chickadee, okay I can do this!” My GPS watch had died on Paterson, but by Timex told me I was somewhere near the 10-hour mark. In my tired/delirious state I didn’t really believe it was true, but I knew that I had made a PR. I could hear the finish line as I got closer, kept pushing, and ran into the finish smiling. Holy crap, what just happened?!?

I didn’t realize I had snuck in under 10 hours until I went back to check the official finish time later on. I could not be more excited. First of all, I had no idea I had that in me. Run two 5-hr 50ks back to back? That’s my 50k PR. No way!

And keep an even split for 62 miles? Ridiculous. I’m stoked to have finished first female, but honestly I’m more excited about giving it my all and seeing the training and the rest all come together for a strong personal best. And possibly more than that, I’m excited that I stayed positive, kept smiling, and (hopefully) radiated some positive energy while out on the trails.

As I said at the beginning, I’d be jumping up and down in excitement right now if my wrecked legs would allow me to do so. For now, it’s celebratory beer, the couch, and lots of snacks.

Thanks to the entire Rainshadow crew for putting on another amazing race, for Seven Hills Running shop for their encouragement and amazing community, to every volunteer who stood out in the rain while we ran around aimlessly, and to every single runner who smiled, cheered, or high-fived me along the course. Congrats to everyone out there!! I got some good advice the other day: take the time to celebrate your accomplishment 🙂

Race Kit (head to toe):

• North Face trucker hat
• Ultimate Direction Jenny Vest
• Osprey hydration bladder (used this in the vest instead of the bottles)
• Gu Energy Gels (tastefully nude 😉 + salted caramel + peanut butter)
• S!Caps
• Seven Hills custom Pearl Izumi tank
• North Face sports bra
• Patagonia Strider shorts
• Smartwool PhD run socks
• Pearl Izumi Trail N2 shoes
• Garmin Forerunner 220 + Timex women’s ironman (t5k7399j model i believe?) Watches

Growler, celebratory beer, and a mention by iRunFar!