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Sensory Strides podcast


Oct 1, 2019

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."   - Robert Frost

Welcome to the Sensory Strides podcast.  Observations of the world through activity, reading, listening, and everything else.

Saturday was race day!  The day started clear and cool.  As the day went on, the sun came out.  It was a great day to be on the trails.  I felt God’s love shining done.

Those trails were muddy though!  There were places where when you stepped in the mud your foot just sunk, but most of the mud was the kind where you step, and your foot just slides sideways.  That kind of mud really tests your balance.  I was very glad I had been training with hiking poles and had them with me.  I’m not sure how some of the others made it up the hills especially without poles.  Those hills are steep enough without mud – with the mud it takes your whole body to climb.  All the slip and sliding really added a whole new element.  It hadn’t been that muddy all summer while I had been training.

Talking about climbing – there was 8,871 feet of climb. Since we start and end at the same place, that means we had that much downhill too.  However, there was one section where we dropped about 900 ft in just over a tenth of a mile.  It was towards the later part of the race and my feet were not happy holding the rest of my body back at that point.

I was so appreciative to have an amazing crew following me.  My daughter, husband, mom, and dad followed me all day long.  They allowed me to drop my poles on the road segments and meant that I only had to carry my water bladder on the longer trail segments.  Not having to worry about having that backpack the whole time allowed me to relax my shoulders and back, use my arms to gain some speed on the road sections, and just created a much more enjoyable experience.  Plus, I didn’t have to carry food or refill my water myself.  Yeah team!

My A goal was 9 hours – the time the race director stated was the cutoff, my B goal was to finish.  Before the race, the director said that because of the mud the cutoff time would be extended.  In some ways I wish I hadn’t known that so that I would have pushed myself harder.

When I was about 4 miles in, a racer came up behind me, super-fast.  He was a marathon runner that had started a half hour after me.  Soon enough the rest of the marathoners passed me.  When I was about 8 miles in, he passed me again on his way back.  THAT made me feel really slow!  I didn’t see any of the other runners on their way back in.  However, about mile 18 another runner came up behind me.  He was doing the 50k but had taken a wrong turn and added about 4 ½ miles to his course.  At about mile 23, where there was a fuel station, I saw him sitting there.  He decided not to finish.  I encouraged him to continue, but he was out of his fuel and was going to take the SAG wagon back to the finish. My family ended up taking him back instead and had a really nice conversation with him.

The first 2/3rd’s of the race I was just about perfect with the times – just behind the 6-hour mark.  However, the mud in the last quarter of the race kicked my butt and the steep downhills sealed the deal.  During the last two miles I just kept talking to myself to get myself through it.  I climbed what I thought was the final hill (where I could see the finish line).  However, there were three more down and up and more mud.  By the last mile or so I decided to throw the time goals away and just focus on finishing.  My toes were done.  Every step that had the slightest downhill was so painful.  My legs and the rest of my body felt fine, but you really need your toes for balance.  My entire being was focused on the finish.  The property we were on was beautiful.  I was gingerly trekking along and realized the trail had just ended at a rock outcropping.  It was gorgeous with a slight trickle waterfall, but I was very confused – had I missed a turn.  I stopped and looked around and couldn’t figure out how I missed the flags directing me along the trail.  They were right there about two feet from me.

I continued up and down the hills on the lovely trail wondering where the finish line was.  Finally, I came down a hill and could see the mowed trail on the other side of the creek headed back to the finish line.  I continued walking along the bank of the creek when the trail completely stopped.  I froze.  This creek was about ten feet across and two and a half feet deep.  I didn’t see anyway around it.  Was I going to come this far and not make it to the end?  My feet hurt so bad I couldn’t even consider taking my shoes off because there was no way I would get them back on.  I had been there about thirty seconds, trying to figure out what to do and if I was really supposed to wade across the creek when a young girl came down the trail on the other side.  I asked her if I was really supposed to cross the creek here.  She happily and with lots of energy said yep!

I sat down on a log and slowly pulled off my shoes and socks.  I then hobbled over to the edge of the creek and realized there wasn’t any way I could cross the creek with my shoes in my hands and holding on to my hiking poles.  I knew I needed the poles to get across the creek because there was no way I could balance that well on my sore feet.  I looked at the girl and asked her if she would mind carrying my shoes across the creek for me.  She gladly plunged right into the water and came over and got my shoes for me.  I got across the creek and realized I really wasn’t going to get my shoes back on and asked her if she would mind carrying them for me.  At this point, I knew the finish was less than a quarter mile away.  She happily said sure and ran ahead announcing to everyone – that is my family, the race director, and a few of the other people that had put on the race – that a runner was coming.

I continued down the mowed path until I was about 500 feet from the finish.  At that point, I dropped the poles and ran the rest of the way to the finish.  In bare feet with my pants rolled up to my knees.

I had done it.  9 hours and 55 minutes, but I finished and except for the blisters on my feet, felt really good, not sore at all.

Two days later as I record this, I have gone for a four-mile walk, probably the last nice day we will have this year.  Everything feels good except for my baby toe on my right foot. 

Thanks for joining me.  Be sure to check our show notes for links to inspiration items and …  don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

50k Race website: https://www.cheyennecreekcamp.net/

Park where race is held: http://kickapoovalley.wi.gov/Home

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