Part II: Hanna and her storm

 

(This part was written Saturday morning during breakfast at the hotel)

It feels difficult to put my feelings into words right now. I’m so disappointed. Mixed in with feelings of a supreme letdown. Feelings of deflation. Last night/yesterday, I think I was in a bit of shock.

The difficulty in naming how I feel might be tied in to the pure fact that I have been working toward this goal for so long…months of training, days of training, so much mental and physical effort has taken place. So much preparation…

 

What has been the consolation? Talking to others at the event last night was some consolation. Hearing how others are affected is helpful. A small group made efforts to gather this morning at an area along the race route to run. There were make-shift awesome “aid stations” put down by 2 guys. The signage at these spots said “renegade 50k/50mile aid station”. Very cool.

 

I arrived at what I believed to be the run location this morning just after 7am. I didn’t see anyone there, but I did see the aid stuff, so I figured I had gotten there a little late and missed the others. It was very quiet out and pretty grey. Rain was just beginning to trickle down. I headed out on a trail and it was quite an adventure. This particular trail ran alongside a creek and was full of small, but growing, puddles, and fallen tree limbs, but overall, not difficult at all. There were 2 creek crossings; the 1st one had huge rocks in a line to serve as “stepping stones” to get across and the 2nd crossing had wooden stumps to get across. I was wondering how long it would take before the water rose and covered those “bridge” areas. My shoes, socks and feet were already well drenched and ankles/lower legs were muddied. I got a little lost twice, but at about 40 minutes into the run, I came across the next “aid station”. I figured this is where people were turning around so after grabbing more water, I headed back the opposite direction. Also, at this time I did not have a hat on and the rain was falling harder. With my glasses on and getting soaked, I could not see a thing….adding an element of danger cause there were plenty of places to trip or slip and fall. I was glad to be heading back to my car so I could clean my glasses and put my cap on. I was enjoying running in the rain; it was cool temperatures and very refreshing.

 

When I got back to my rental car, there were 2 folks who had taken the initiative to be “support people”. Turns out the guy who was there, he and his wife and her friend traveled from California. They came out to help support her efforts to run the “renegade 50miles” or however long she would make it. Awesome, good family/friends. They also had a bunch of food in their vehicle to offer us other runners. It was amazing, really. It was pouring rain now. The group I had been looking for showed up. They had started in a different location and now where headed out to where I had just come from. I wanted to run with them, so our group of 5 guys and 1 other woman took off.  We ran the same route I had just finished. Puddles were deeper and I noticed we were all sinking further into the mud! It was actually pretty fun. I also noticed my left ankle was beginning to bother me…no doubt from all the side stepping and adjusting I had done earlier to try and avoid the puddles. Visibility was again getting pretty bad for me, and I tripped and fell amongst a bunch of rocks. I had been gripping my water bottle as I landed and so a bunch of water came spouting out. I have no idea how I landed safely…no bruise, no scrapes, no nothing. I just let out a big “whoa” when I went down. Pretty funny.

Soon enough I was back at the parking area and called it a day. 12 miles +/-  Since my ankle was bothering me pretty good by this time, I figured hey, I’m not gonna risk anything right now cause I gotta find a new race to do. I hung out for a few minutes and talked to those folks from California. 3 other guys then showed up who had just finished their running. They started at 4:30 am and did about 25 miles. All very friendly. Completely soaked and smiling, I got back in my rental car and headed back to the hotel.