Alright, alright, alright. February has come and gone in the blink of an eye and I haven't even updated y'all on my January race!
On January 16th 2021, I met about 200 other runners at the White River State Park in Indianapolis for a FOUR hour "group" run called the 4-Hour Freeze. I was so shocked when the race directors announced this race simply because Indianapolis is a hot spot for COVID infections and the city is basically still on lock down. It has been too long since I've ran a race that wasn't virtual, so it was a no brainer for me to sign up.
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| Peep the drink and rolling stick. My pre-race traditions. |
The morning of the race was cold. But I had been running in the cold all winter so it wasn't too shocking. The start of the race was a corral type start and promptly at 10 am, we began! This race was unique in the fact that it was a two mile loop around the White River State Park. There was a shoot out that could give you three miles also. The name of the game was how many miles can you get in four hours. It was completely up to you how many loops you did, of which distance. I know for a fact that in four hours, I can walk a half marathon. And that was my goal. Well, not to walk, but to get those 13.1 miles in total. This distance would require 5 short loops and 1 big loop.
The first lap was basically a sight lap. Get to know the course and warm up. My first time around the sag stop was to shed some layers and have a drink. I probably started out too fast and was a little dry by the time I came around. But that is typical for the first mile of any race.
The next short loop clicked off a little too easily. I was surprisingly shocked at how well I felt at the four mile mark. That sag included a salt tab and a chomp block. It was at this moment that the realization of possibly SIXTEEN miles hit me. I had ran the first four in decent time, around 56 minutes. If I stuck to that pace and kept my sags minimal, I could actually hit sixteen miles in the four hours.
The cool thing about this race is that the fast guys and gals keep running by. And everyone was so nice and encouraging! You start to make friends out there when you are running the same loop over and over. It was also very socially distant. The length of the loop and the amount of runners really allowed everyone to keep a safe distance. There were plenty of times when I was alone for a while. Just me and my running demons.
Mile six was a quick stop to vaseline my feet. As you know if you follow my running journey, I struggle with blisters. I started to eat real food at this point also. Bacon mostly. I was still on pace for more miles than I had ever ran and was feeling unbelievably well. Mile eight was my fastest mile of the day!
I think the wheels started to fall off around Mile ten. My nutrition was on point. I was hydrating and even had to make a pit stop. My mood was great and my legs were just fine. Until they weren't. And really, it was IT band that eventually took me down. The blisters were pretty awful and forced a sock and shoe change at Mile ten. My pace was still rocking though so I kept chugging along. Jenny (aka: the best crew ever) gave me a good pep talk at Mile twelve that went something like this:
Me- I dont think I can do this anymore. I might just get fourteen.
Jenny- How about you start this loop and when you get to the shoot out for the long mile loop, make decision then. If you are feeling ok, take the extra bit to get to fifteen. If not, take the short loop for fourteen.
Me- Ugh. Fine. I'll text you when I am at that point to let you know.
And so that was the plan. I started Mile twelve. Hit Mile thirteen (almost a half marathon PR, by the way) and was on my way to Mile fourteen. I had started chatting with another lady who was on the same exact mile count as me, in the same predicament as me. Together, we decided to go for the long loop. To be honest, we were just walking at this time. The running was no longer. We were in survival mode. We hurt and the weather had turned on us. That was the longest three miles of my life, I think.
But we finally did it. Fifteen. Point. One. Miles. Of course, I ran it in!
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| So happy to be done! |
The longest distance up to this point, that I've ran, was a half marathon. I went two extra miles! The weather was nasty, my legs were dead, feet blistered, but I did it!
I ran one big loop and six short loops.
Now what? I currently have 3 half marathons, a 6 hour, an 8 hour and a 50k on my plate for 2021. I obviously have a weird obsession with these timed endurance races. It's going to be a huge running year. One of the half marathons has already postponed because of COVID and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the rest of them will stay just as they are. Getting so close to my half PR during this race has me seeing stars and I am motivated to hit that PR this year. I honestly haven't felt this good in so many years.
2021 is going to be MY year of running. I'm in it to win it.
Shoes: New Balance 1080v10- Best shoe I have ever put my foot in.
Buff: Kea Peak- Women owned and operated out of Reno. Original top knot nation trucker visors.
Vest: Menards- The one piece of gear that I absolutely will not run without. In the winter. Best $19 ever.
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| Garmin activity of the day. |
