Elephant Mountain 50K (Race Recap)

Cave Creek, AZ

Saturday, February 5

Ultra Marathon #38

Weather - Chilly at the start, sunny and warm

With my scary 2022 racing season looming, I was on the hunt for a "short" race to ease into all the trail running. I landed on Arizona after checking out possibilities in Texas and a few other "warmer" states. After the cold snap we had recently had in Denver we were both looking forward to dry trails - recognizing that this would be good prep for our upcoming events.

Race Day

I had not slept well the night before. With all the hotel drama we hadn't picked up anything for breakfast. We were staying in a resort type place that didn't have anything for us. We got out the door as planned, but we still needed to get breakfast somewhere. I was NOT optimistic as we were driving to the start as we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. "Luckily" there was a Starbucks that was open and we got some breakfast sandwiches and coffee. 

Thankfully, we found the start without any issues. I'm always a bit worried when there is no physical address for a start. Since we were using a tiny car, we were able to squeeze into a spot in the main lot. We used the extra time to cycle through the bathroom line, pick up our bib, and get everything ready to go for the 7 am start.

Announcements started with a few minutes to go. We were reminded about the flagging and signage we needed to look for, and we lined up to go. We started right on time, with Ben going out with a front group and me taking my place in the back where I am comfortable. After taking a full week off from running because of my foot pain, I was pretty anxious with how this was going to go. 

The first mile went ok. It was a gradual uphill and not overly technical. I ran some of the less steep grades and hiked the rest. My hands were pretty cold in that first mile and I was mildly regretting that I had left my gloves in the back of my back. They warmed up pretty quick, so it ended up not being a problem. 

We headed up some switchbacks to the top and then we had some really nice rolling hills. However, my foot was acting up. It was definitely more painful than I would have hoped and I spent a LOT of the early miles wondering how stupid it was of me to be out there.

I passed some people in this section, until we got to a weird intersection where I had to look at the map because it was confusing. First aid station I just grabbed some fruit snacks and headed right out. We had to cross a dried out river bed a few times and then we had a short section of pavement before running on some pretty tame single track. I actually really liked this section, except this is about the time that the faster 35K people started to catch up and it was/is kind of annoying moving out of the way of people. Hit the next aid station and grabbed a cup of Mountain Dew and a pickle. Found out it was 5 miles to the next aid station. Foot hurts.

Kept going, a decent amount of hiking in this section. It was really pretty rocky here and between trying to not land weird on my foot and trying to not roll my ankle (which I have been doing a LOT of lately), things were slow-going and not a lot of fun. I saw Ben earlier (?) than I thought I would and let him know that if things didn't improve that I would have to entertain dropping. He talked me into taking some ibuprofen. I got to the aid station, grabbed more Mountain Dew and a small piece of potato, but nothing else sounded good. Headed back out for a lonely 5 miles. I put in one ear bud when I was about 3 hours in. That helped take my mind off things for a bit. 

Photo Cred: Let's Wander Photography

Considering how much my foot was hurting I was actually moving pretty well. I managed to keep my arm sleeves on through the next aid station - definitely longer than I thought I would. It was getting hot out and I was not looking forward to being out on the course. Even though this whole part was an out and back I didn't remember a lot of it. I actually passed a couple people in this section before the next aid station - the second to last one. I got there and there wasn't a ton of food options, but I had expected that. I filled up my bottles and begrudgingly head out for the approximately 5 miles back to the start/finish - but not to actually finish! We would have to use the finish line as an aid station and then head out after that for a 7 mile loop. 

For some reason I thought that I had already done most of the climbing, so in my mind, I thought it was going to just be a lot of downhill to the finish. Sadly, I was wrong. Once I turned onto the Go John Trail it seemed like it went up and up and up. It was still pretty rocky, and fairly steep in some areas. Being later in the day there were also lots of people out - both on bikes and hiking in groups. FINALLY, there was a fairly non-technical downhill for maybe the last few miles. It was going to be nice to actually have a downhill finish. I was not happy having to come through the finish line and not be done. At least Ben hadn't lapped me.

Filled up my bottles and grabbed a (disgusting) peanut butter & jelly since that was the only "real" food left. I only managed a few bites before I just couldn't eat more. I really really really wish aid stations would find something else to feed runners besides pb&j. At least for the last part of the route I knew what I had coming up - and that was a big climb to the top, some runnable parts, the big climb after the aid station (that we would not be hitting, since it wasn't on the loop) and then downhill to the finish.

While my foot was actually feeling ok by this point, now the bottoms of my feet and my big toes were in excruciating pain any time I tried to run. So that was really frustrating since my legs actually were ok, and my foot finally didn't hurt. It was HOT by this point, and there were a LOT of people on the trail - including a group doing trail work? I was pretty frustrating that it was more gain than I had expected, and it seemed like I was not going to be able to hit my goal of a sub 8 race. 

I ran what I could, actually passed a few more people, and finally finished. 

I have NEVER been in such pain after crossing a finish line. I barely hobbled over to the table to fill up one of my bottles since I had run out, and then sat down at a picnic table. My feet were THROBBING. If you know me at all, you know that I am basically dead inside, and this pain actually had me in tears. I could not believe how bad my feet hurt! Ben went to the car and got my flip flops while I took my shoes off. I seriously expected my feet to be bloody stumps based on the pain and was shocked to see that I had zero black toenails and not a single blister. I think it was just all the loose rocks on the trail that messed me up. Had a beer in the shade before getting a picture on our way out.

Official Time - 8:06:39

Overall Place - 60/74

Gender Place - 18/25

Garmin Time - 8:06:25

Garmin Distance - 31.78 miles

Garmin Pace - 15:18

Elevation Gain - 4,305'

Miles 1-5 - 15:11, 13:10, 13:16, 14:00, 15:18

Miles 6-10 - 14:14, 16:00, 14:58, 13:11, 14:56

Miles 11-15 - 15:39, 15:44, 13:53, 15:46, 16:47

Miles 16-20 - 14:17, 17:04, 13:28, 14:01, 19:50

Miles 21-25 - 17:42, 14:26, 13:08, 14:06, 18:42

Miles 26-30 - 17:27, 13:26, 18:25, 17:35, 15:52

Miles 31-31.78 - 13:30, 14:43

Thoughts:

• Very convenient to Phoenix if you fly in. We stayed in Scottsdale the night before and it was about 25 minutes to the start line. Nothing really close to the race start - be sure you get food/water prior to heading out as the race starts very early and the only food we were able to get on the drive was Starbucks.
• This was a pretty decent course. I didn't love having the last 7 miles be without water. I'd prefer to do the loop FIRST, then do the out and back so as not to have longest aid station gap be at the end, personally.
• Volunteers were great, but aid stations were pretty unimpressive. Outside of pb&j, the only "food" was bean roll-ups - fancy wording for refried beans on a tortilla. I survived since I was only doing 50k, but there was also a 50 miler, and that would NOT have been enough for me. Lots of snack stuff that doesn't really have any calories or substance. 
• Shirt is cute - gender specific and RED - which is my favorite color.
• Same medal no matter the distance, which I do not like - I mean there was a 5k there, and they got the same thing as the 50k?? Maybe the 50 miler was different, but I didn't see what they looked like.
• Saw multiple photographers on the course, yet AGAIN there was only one small sequence of pics of me on course and not at the section where there were cacti - which is pretty much the prettiest part of the course. Pics were $9, which is competitive, but again, only fast people seemed to get really good ones. I complain about this a lot.
• I wouldn't run this again, but it was a good experience to learn what Arizona trails are like in training for Cocodona.

Across the Years (Race Recap)

Glendale, AZ
Wednesday, December 30-January 1
Ultra Marathon #15
Weather - Sunny. Cold at night, pleasant during the day

For the last four years I have gone to Allen, Texas to run the New Years Double. I asked A a few months ago if she wanted to do the double 5k's again and she said no. So then when I started pricing everything out and it was going to cost me close to $1,000 to run... I decided to skip it.

Fast forward to October/November. Heather and I had plans to run CIM again in December. Due to lack of training, Heather decided to defer. Since I had already booked airfare, I started to think that maybe I could use my Southwest bucks for a different race. I wanted to do a race over New Years again and had heard good things about Across the Years.

So of COURSE I decided to sign up. Even though I have been running fairly regularly, my distance running has not been on point. I figured I would give it my best shot. My one and only goal was to see if I could get to 100 miles...

Monday - Tuesday

Of course I waited until the last minute to pack. I like to live on the edge. I did manage to fit all these items (plus a sleeping bag and pillow) in my backpack. I did end up using about 80% of the stuff I brought with me.

TSA was warning of increasingly long lines at security, so I headed to the airport a bit early. The lines weren't too bad, I think I only waited about a half hour. After getting near the gate I stopped at Rock Bottom and got a beer. I hate buying beer at the airport.

The flight was on time and is very short, maybe 90 minutes. I immediately headed for the shuttle to pick up my rental car. There was no line there either and I was on the road to the race pretty quickly. I did want to pick up a few last minute items and stopped at CVS for some water and wipes to clean my face. I also found an In N Out burger, which meant I had a nice, tasty "last supper."

Arrived at the start area at Camelback Ranch and wandered around until I found someone that could point me in the direction of where I could get the tent I had reserved. They were already all set up for us, which was great. I unpacked my gear, and then went to sit in the car and charge my phone. Around 9-9:30 I went to lie down.

Unfortunately, I did not account for it being FREEZING cold. I could not sleep because it was so cold. I was wearing everything I owned and it was not enough. Sad. Thank GOODNESS I had gotten  the rental car because I spent a LOT of time in there running the heater. So much for a restful night...

Wednesday

I woke up around sunrise. It was still chilly. I don't know if you can tell that there is FROST on my tent??

I headed over to the main aid station, where I got some breakfast and coffee. I sat in the warming tent until about an hour before the race start. Then I changed clothes and headed out. I was feeling woefully unprepared for this.

The course is a 1.05 mile loop on mostly dirt/gravel path, with a handful of paved areas. Apparently I should have read more closely and brought gaiters, as this proved to be an issue for a large portion of the race.

Anyway, we all lined up, I started towards the back, and we were off. We initially started out running counter clockwise. (Every four hours we would switch and run the opposite direction). There was a timing mat on the opposite side of the course.

What to say about the course... it wasn't super scenic, but there was this cute little pond on one side.

Early on, I met this little girl, Jane. She is 8 years old, wore this adorable little pack the entire time and had a goal to run 27 miles. (I saw her the next morning, and she beat her goal, running 29).

I had started typing up "status" updates on Facebook. Turned out to be a pretty fun way to journal all the crap I ate, if nothing else. You all know how I feel about grilled cheese, so this made me extra happy.

I was getting lapped and lapped and lapped... if you know  me at all by now, you know that I'm pretty slow and steady. So I didn't care. I was having a pretty good time - as is evidenced by this selfie I took about 5 hours in. (Only 43 to go?)

I took this when I hit the marathon distance

There were a lot of runners out during the day. In addition to the 48 hour division that I was running, there was also 24 hour, 72 hour and SIX DAY runners. (It totally helps justify my sanity when there are people who are out for SIX DAYS).

I hit the 50k around 7 hours. Not bad, since I've only run double digits a handful of times in the last two months. I changed into my "night" clothes around 4:00 because I knew how cold it would get as soon as the sun set and I didn't want to mess with it in the dark. Fellow runner took this for me after he caught me trying to take a selfie :D

I was still doing pretty well. Definitely had slowed down a bit, but nothing catastrophic yet. I was SO HAPPY to see that the water station had picked up some beer! I asked for a cup of beer and he offered me the bottle. So, I walked and drank it. I managed to finish the bottle in less than a loop (I was thirsty!)

And then I had a few really great miles. Like miles where I ran faster than I had at the start of the race. With pretty much zero training, I managed to hit the 50 mile mark at under 12 hours. (Imagine what I could do if I trained?)

Within a few miles, I began to get cold and my watch was already beeping low batter at me. I was tired, and since I had not slept the night before I decided to sit in the car, charge my phone and watch, and try to warm up a bit. I may have dozed off a few minutes here and there, and around 2 am I headed back out. I stayed out for about 4 hours, walking almost all of it, only getting in 13 miles. So by now I'm only at 66 or so miles and I am miserable. Still tired, and cold. So I decided to take another break, hoping that if I headed out closer to sunrise I'd feel better.

I maybe nodded off a bit, but nothing too spectacular. I got up around 6, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out. FINALLY, the sun was coming up. YAY!!

The first two hours were slow going and I walked most of it. I did stop into the first aid tent to have some blisters taken care of. Grrr with these stupid little rocks!! I had some decent miles after the sun came up. I took this selfie right around the 24 hour mark.

Walk, jog, run. I spent a few minutes chatting with some of the other runners, but a lot of the time was spent listening to my iPod. Early afternoon, maybe around 2:00, I pretty much... stopped. I was at about 91 miles and I was overcome with exhaustion. It wasn't even so much physical exhaustion, I was just so tired after having been up for SO LONG. It was warm outside so I decided to lie down in my tent for 45 minutes. I was out immediately and woke up feeling like a new person. Totally good decision to stop for a few!

I put on my warm weather clothes and then headed back out. I wanted to get in as many miles as I could before the sun set.

After not craving sweets the entire race, they put out chocolate chip cookies with nutella. That might have been the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. That, and the pepperoni pizza. I walked and ate and then I hit my 100 miles. I decided to go for an extra few miles so that I would have gone farther than everyone who stopped at 100. I stopped around 7:00. I spent some time in the warming tent, then went to CVS to buy some celebratory beer (it WAS New Years Eve after all). I had a few beers and then fell asleep in the rental car. I really had no intention of getting up and running more.

Then, for some reason, I woke up, completely alert, around 5 am. I figured, well, let me look at the standings and see how everyone did over the last 10 hours that I haven't been on the course. I got some coffee and thought, what the heck, maybe I'll walk a few loops. I put on my grey sweats and grey hoodie (warmest stuff I had) and headed out. I hesitatingly jogged a few steps. Then a few more. Then a few more.

I was "running." Like for real "running." There were hardly any folks out, but the ones that were, were walking (with the exception of a handful of 24 hour people). Every time I got close to the start, I would almost stop, and then I'd think, what the heck, one more. I kept going until I didn't have time for any more. I did another 13.7 miles, which brought my grand total to 115.48.

These are NOT speedy times, by any means,  but these were my miles 102-115, and I'm damn proud of them

I grabbed coffee and a breakfast burrito and sat in the warming tent until 9:00, and then watched the next set of runners head out. While I was packing up my gear, I took this selfie:

I think I look pretty "human" after all this...

The awards ceremony was at 10:00 in the stadium across the parking lot. A little strange, since people were still going to be running for a few more days.

I collected my beer mug, and my FIRST BUCKLE.

I chatted with Cory for a few minutes (MY HERO! He ran 150 miles!), and then I was in my car and headed to In N Out for lunch before heading to the airport.

Part 1

Miles 1-5 - 11:33, 11:42, 11:43, 12:12, 11:50
Miles 6-10 - 14:24, 13:19, 12:59, 12:25, 11:56
Miles 11-15 - 12:22, 11:49, 13:38, 13:41, 13:30
Miles 16-20 - 16:21, 12:50, 13:34, 13:26, 13:06
Miles 21-25 - 18:39, 13:13, 15:00, 13:22, 14:25
Miles 26-30 - 14:04, 14:45, 15:22, 15:31, 13:40
Miles 31-35 - 14:36, 15:08, 19:11, 17:31, 15:48
Miles 36-40 - 16:04, 14:19, 18:01, 15:42, 15:18
Miles 41-45 - 14:39, 15:31, 17:06, 13:36, 13:18
Miles 46-50 - 16:58, 14:50, 13:51, 14:34, 14:06
Miles 5-53.25 - 15:29, 21:59, 28:37

Part 2

Miles 53-66ish - 18:30, 17:28, 16:08, 17:41, 16:00, 18:00, 20:38, 18:42, 27:55, 18:21, 18:15, 28:46, 14:17

Part 3

Miles 66-91 - 20:47, 19:08, 21:40, 19:29, 26:16, 19:32, 27:52, 12:41, 14:13, 13:08 12:57, 12:35, 16:26, 15:09, 18:08, 16:51, 16:21, 20:29, 16:15, 27:15, 18:37, 23:28, 29:10, 16:08, 16:24, 16:49

Part 4

Miles 91-102 - 21:32, 21:19, 21:22, 19:29, 19:43, 24:52, 26:10, 22:24, 21:11, 31:12, 20:28, 15:58

Part 5

Miles 102-115 - 16:27, 15:08, 15:50, 13:56, 15:53, 13:35, 13:03, 12:59, 12:58, 13:31, 13:43, 14:16, 13:56, 12:45

Thoughts

• What an incredibly well-organized event!! I loved that there was a tv at the start/finish where I could see exactly where I stood in the rankings, how long my last loop had taken me, and how many miles I had run. Especially since I get super squirrely, it was nice to know that I didn't really have to keep count. This was great for my mental sanity.
• They put out lights on the course at night so I didn't have to use a headlamp. I loved that.
• The warming tent was fantastic. It was great to sit in there and warm up for a few minutes, or to just sit and eat. There was also a charging station that I used a handful of times.
• Aid station = TEN STARS. There were all the typical aid station foods, pre-measured out in little cups so you could take them on the go. Candy, chips, pickles, potatoes. There was soda and coffee. And almost at any time of day there were fresh "hot" foods. There was pizza, chili, sandwiches... I did not go hungry!
• There were tons of pictures taken (sadly, none in my "Rocky" outfit), and pretty inexpensive at $5 for a digital copy. I did buy just one, from the first day:

Final Thoughts / Confession

OK - I hesitate to even type this. I am not looking for anything here, this is just an  honest representation of how I feel.

I'm embarrassed that I only was able to do 115.48 miles.

Yes, I know that I didn't really train.
Yes, I know that it is the farthest I have ever run.
Yes, I am PROUD of my accomplishment.

If this was just a 115.48 "run" - I would be OVER THE MOON... once you tack on the 48 hours I had to accomplish this, well, I'm sad to say that I wish I could have done more.

HOWEVER

I am so pleased that I got back out the final morning and ran until time ran out.. I have NO regrets. I really did leave it all out on the course.

Maybe next year, I'll go back. Maybe.