I am an Ultra-Marathoner!
I AM AN ULTRA MARATHONER!
The race started flat, and the unified beat of each runner’s footsteps calmed me immediately. It had been 2 years since my last race and I forgot what that sound was like.
The first 10k were rough. During difficult climbs I usually force myself to push through the pain until I reach the top. My heart was pounding and my legs were burning, and I had to pause. I started to feel dizzy, so I sat down for a few minutes. Thoughts crept into my mind — am I in way over my head? I got back up and I persevered.
At the first aid station, I was so happy to see familiar faces! My traveling cheerleaders Alex and Max. I chatted with them briefly, and felt reassured when Max told me the hardest climb was done. I can do this.
Being unfamiliar with aid stations, I carried all my own food (with some extras packed in my drop bag). As a result, I spent very little time in the aid stations — refills of water and Gatorade, and I was off. Slow and steady, never really stopping.
My strategy was to walk the ascents and run the descents, and I stuck to that pretty well. Hip pain started to creep in around 35km. I worried that it would prevent me from running, but found that if I checked my form and took it slow that it was okay. I would say to myself “don’t be a hero, Heather” and reminded myself that the heroic thing was going to be to cross the finish line.
My only real goal was to finish the race before the sun went down, and I snuck across the finish line with minutes to spare. I’ve never felt so at ease during a race, completely free of any feelings of needing to be fast or meet certain expectations.
A huge shout out to my @prerunsquad friends for being the best cheer squad I could have asked for. To my husband Alex for believing in me and for being my rock when my head was spinning leading up to race day. To my family for supporting me during my toughest weeks of training. And for my coach Lecia for being by my side through it all — we took a year to build up to this, and I’m so proud of how flawlessly executed that race was.
Congrats to all runners! You showed up and gave your all, and I am proud of you.
