Sulphur Springs 100 Mile Race Report

I've done the Sulphur Springs 100 mile for the past 5 years and this year was the first time that I was a bit nervous before the race. Since the cancellation of Irontrail 201 last July I haven't done any races and this was the first race in a year - a true test how well the tear in my meniscus has healed since December and a status quo about the level of shape I'm in for this year's Badwater Ultramarathon race in July.

The temperatures for race weekend were much cooler than I prefer. Like every year we camped the night before at the start/finish line. Wow, it was a very chilly night and I got so cold that I woke up at 1:30am and could not get back to sleep. I was freezing and my feet were completely numb when I put on my Hoka running shoes in the morning. 

Race start at 6:00pm

On the first two loops I was just trying to warm up. My feet were still feeling numb. I even sat down twice to take off my left shoe and sock because it felt like I had some small stones in my shoe. Wearing my colourful Dirty Girl gaiters I knew it was almost impossible but I didn't want to take any chances this early in the race.

Running through the Start/Finish area

After the second loop I started to get cramps in both my calves. Wow, this was way too early to get any kind of problems! I tried to figure out what could have caused the cramping when I caught up to my friend Monica. She suggested that I probably didn't take enough salt pills. Since I didn't sweat I've only taken a couple salt pills since the start. 

After taking a little more salt and getting a couple calf massages by my husband Jeff using his secret "poison" at the end of loop 3 and 4 my legs felt finally ok. 

Worked wonders for my leg cramps

Flying downhill in my Hokas

Usually I'm using liquid fuel (Peronin http://www.peronin.net/seen/peronin-high-tech-food/ and Perpetuem http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.pp.html) as long as possible in long races because it is easier on my stomach. But since the temperatures were much cooler this year I found it very difficult to get enough calories in from liquids only and I started using solid food after my second loop. I'm not a fan of Mac & Cheese but as "ultra food" it worked great for me.

Chef Boyartdee's ultrarunner food

Wish it would be a lot warmer

Before heading out for the 5. loop I changed into some warmer clothes. All in all I felt pretty good and I tried to keep an even pace. The good thing about running on home turf is that I know the course inside and out and didn't have to worry about getting lost. I can just enjoy the run and relax. On the 6th loop it got dark. It was beautiful when the moon came out. I love running in the dark. It's very peaceful. 

Thinking of Badwater heat!

The 7. loop I always find the least enjoyable one and I was very happy my friend and amazing Badwater crew member Adam came out to pace me for one loop. We had a great time out there on the trails and Adam somehow always can make me run a little bit faster. We were just flying down on the downhill section in the lollipop loop when we suddenly stepped on a branch in the middle of the trail. The branch somehow got stuck between our legs and bam - I went down like someone tripped me with a hockey stick. Luckily I didn't hurt myself. Adam helped me to get up but it took me a while to get back into the running rhythm.

On the 8. loop the adrenaline kicked in and I even could pick up the pace a bit more. I didn't want to waste any time at the aid stations and went in and out as quick as possible. Walking up the last steep uphill on Martins Road I felt pretty good. I crossed the finish line very happy in a time of 20:35, more than one hour faster than last year, 4. woman and 15. overall. 
 
Since this race was a training run for Badwater, my plan was to run each of the 8 loops in less than 3 hours. It worked out great. My splits were pretty even:
Loop 1 - 2:15
Loop 2 - 2:28
Loop 3 - 2:32
Loop 4 - 2:32
Loop 5 - 2:42
Loop 6 - 2:47
Loop 7 - 2:40
Loop 8 - 2:36

Mission accomplished! Sulphur buckle #6 in the books

I want to thank my husband Jeff for crewing for me during the whole race. Thanks so much Adam for driving all the way from Thornhill to pace me for a loop. Thanks to all my friends and fans who cheered me on every time I came into the start/finish area. I heard from some of them that I would have won for cutest outfit :)

And a big thanks to my sponsors Hoka One One http://hokaoneone-na.com/ and Drymax socks http://www.drymaxsports.com/. Knowing that I won't have any problems with my feet gives me huge confidence going into every race and on all my runs.