Run for the Ranch 6 hour: Laps 9-13

The short version is here, and laps 1-8 are described in detail here.

Lap 9 - After a little dip during lap 8, I was doing okay again. I felt like I needed to back off the effort some in order to make it 5 more laps, and running solo probably helped me at that point because I could go with my own ebb and flow. I knew I'd be at 29.5 when I finished lap 9, so even though I'd been having some doubts I knew I was going to keep going because I was sure not willing to run "only" 29.5 at 50 seconds/mile slower than my 50k pace. I was probably feeling my lack of an actual training cycle for this event - remember, I did 20 miles 3 weeks out and 30 miles 2 weeks out, but I hadn't done a whole slew of 20+ milers since my Twin Cities training cycle, or back-to-back long runs since early 2022 (plus I was doing track workouts during the 5 weeks leading up to this race, lol!). Julie was out running the course, and found me walking up the little hill about a mile out from the finish area and ran back with me. I asked her about Eric, and unfortunately he'd called it for the day due to stomach issues. From mile 29 on, my miles were all 8:37-9:25 and averaged about 9:00; I wasn't moving quickly but I never stopped plugging away.

Funny fact: driving to race I heard the song Save Your Tears on the radio, and while many songs cycled through my head when I was running solo, the lyric I sang to myself most often was "Save your tears for another day..." Not an encouraging one, but I never really felt discouraged. I didn't ever feel like I was knocking it out of the park, but I did always feel like I was doing it.

Just keep runnin'!

Lap 10 - Throughout lap 10 I was excited because I knew when I finished it I'd have a new mileage PR. The course marshals at the corner where Missy and Rebecca were cheering started getting into the race and saying something to me each lap, such as asking what the farthest I'd run before then was. My friends cheering was also amazing, and it was so kind of them to come out for a couple of hours in the brutal weather. I was so pumped up by my new PR when I came through lap 10, I thought that 9.9 more miles seemed completely reasonable. I had points in the race where I thought "Geez, I hope I make 32", "36 would be fine", and "39.3 is a marathon plus a half, that would be really good!", but I was always in a good place when I passed the finish area so never truly considered stopping. I was monitoring the course clock at each lap, and I still had about 1:36:20 left when I finished lap 10, so I knew even if I averaged 10 minute pace for the last 3 laps I'd get them in.

We ran through this and could see the elapsed
time at the end of each lap

Lap 11 - The course was really thinning out by this point, with most of the marathoners finished. I was doing well considering. I think laps 9-10 were my most difficult, then 11-13 were a little slower but felt better. I walked up the little hill during laps 9 and 10, but never needed to after that. I started thinking about how I felt better at that point than I did with 10 miles to go in Boston, so that was comforting since I knew I'd gritted through worse. The wind was extremely annoying but expected each lap. The aid station volunteers and course marshals felt like old friends at that point. I found humor in the teenagers chasing each other, the other kids who didn't know what gels were, the amazing volunteer at the 180* turn with two puffs on her hat, and the aid station that was scraping ice off their table with a windshield ice scraper. When I passed the clock I had well over an hour left, so I knew I was going to make my 13 lap goal.

Lap 12 - On this lap I mostly kept thinking "I'm doing it!!!" I felt confident about completing 6 more miles, then 5, then 4. I was very insistent that I was not stopping at 39.3. I knew I would not have time for 3 more laps, so I didn't push because it was going to be 42.6 miles either way. I mostly felt like I was in the final 10k of a marathon that I was bonking - and I've had plenty of practice with that over the years! It's a feeling I'm familiar with; I can't run fast, but I can keep running.

Lap 13 - I knew I was going to do it, so this was kind of a victory lap. I also knew I had plenty of time to complete the last lap so didn't strain. I passed each volunteer and aid station for the final time. I thanked each of them profusely, and remarked that it was a really, really long time to stand outside. I updated the OMRR members who asked my distance. I lapped another woman who was in the 6 hour, and she said, "You are absolutely remarkable". I called back, "You are remarkable; you are running for 6 hours!" (she went on to be the second female finisher). About halfway through the lap, I suddenly had to pee pretty badly. I hadn't gone since lap 4. I went back and forth about whether or not to stop, and decided to hit the porta potty at the final aid station that was just a step off the road. I knew I had enough time cushion, and also that there was no way I'd have time for a 14th lap, so I went ahead and stopped to go. I was worried that I'd pee myself when I stopped running if I didn't!

Not actually the finish because the
photograph didn't stay all 6 hours

The finish - In my head this was a huge deal, but in reality it was anticlimactic. Well, I did see two marathoners heading into the finish ahead of me and decided I was going to outkick them, which I did - even though it counted for nothing except feeding my competitive spirit. Colin was waiting along with his friend Amy, and he was the only one around who knew how far I'd run. He ran the same distance, but faster - not fast enough to have time for a 14th lap either though. He and I won overall male and female, but no one really knew that either. The spectators had pretty much all gone home and even the timing guy was inside his trailer. I was bursting with endorphins but also started getting cold in the bitter wind real quick.

Colin and I grabbed our aid station supplies and headed to the indoor area. What I wanted most was to take off my shoes! I did so, and also went to the bathroom to take off my sweaty sports bra and inner layer shirt. I raced in last years rabbitELITE jacket because it's the warmest rabbit top I have, with this years thin tech short sleeve under it. I had ZERO chaffing anywhere from my clothing, which seems like a major accomplishment. I scrubbed my hands that were sticky from gels and milky from UCAN. I put on a sweatshirt, but then thought I needed my rabbit uniform on for photos, so I put my rabbit thin long sleeve on over the sweatshirt. It looked kind of ridiculous.

After I changed I wasn't sure what came next. What do people do after running for 6 hours?? Colin was also standing around aimlessly, and we both said we weren't sure what to do. I tried some leg swings halfheartedly, and drank some chicken broth with a few noodles in it. Once we got our awards, I made Colin take photos with me, which continued to feed my excitement. I couldn't really believe we'd done it - we'd run 42.6 miles! This wasn't a goal I even had until about a month ago, but it sure felt good to accomplish it, though it's kind of still sinking in. I'm starting to understand why this ultra thing is addicting!

This is how it started

The progression

He humored me

This one is my favorite!

The story continues here.