My Big Fat Virtual Summer (1 of 3)
So with all of the race cancellations and everything that has gone along with this crazy global pandemic, I did a LOT more stuff than I thought I would. I did three different 24hr challenges, an “Untrained Ultra”, a marathon, a 50k, a 50m, and a 69m (where I got my first virtual DNF that I chased away with a virtual finish!), a DNF that I’m still processing, and a fun month-long scavenger hunt. I’m going to go in chronological order and discuss all the dumb stuff I did!
Aravaipa Strong 50k
Date: Friday, April 17th
Finish Time: 6:23:07
Compared to many of these challenges, this one was one of the easiest. It was still relatively early into the ‘rona, barely into the hot season, so it was a pleasure cruise compared to some of the later challenges. This was one of my first really long runs where I would be leaving from home and being self-supported the whole time. There was also sidewalk pretty much the whole way except for about a mile of it. I used gas stations to support myself and had a nice time. Nothing super interesting to report. I had a pretty good finish time considering not being very efficient when I stopped to restock at various gas stations.
Yeti 24hr Challenge
Distance: 30 miles
Date: Thursday-Friday, April 23rd-24th
This challenge was an interesting one, but the thing I was most interested in was the super cool shirt design and the fact that it was providing work to The Opportunity Center. So I signed up and decided to keep it to my normal neighborhood routes and a couple runs on the treadmill if the weather was bad.
This was a LOT of fun. I started after work on Thursday and no run lasted more than an hour, there was plenty of time between each run, so it wasn’t like I felt pressure on the time and I could rest. I also realized that it really doesn’t take much time to get ready for a run. The first few times I was standing on the corner of the block just waiting for the time to tick over to the top of the hour, but by the end I knew that it really only took me one minute to get my things together and another minute to walk to the end of the street to begin. It was like I was just going out for a short run each time and I never felt the cumulative effect of all of the miles. I would 100% recommend this challenge to anyone and everyone.
Sugar Badger 50 mile
Finish Time: 11:07:06
Date: Friday, May 1st
I had grand plans for this and well, they didn’t pan out. My original plan going into it was going to be to “Put the sugar in Sugar Badger” by stopping at several dessert places along the way as my method of fueling. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and I was basically miserable for 35 miles of the run, but hold up, I’ll get there.
I first stopped at an Ocala classic – Tas-T-O Donuts for a glazed cake doughnut and had a very weird encounter. I bought my doughnut and I wanted to take a picture in front of the iconic sign. After I took my picture a guy who was ordering at the window said something along the lines of, “Oh that’s original, taking a picture of the fat man buying doughnuts.” I didn’t hear him at first and asked him to repeat it, so he did, and I was just flabbergasted. How is this dude so self-involved and self-conscious about his own behaviors that he would call out a total stranger for taking a picture of their food and a sign with a phone that clearly wasn’t even pointed at him (it was pointed UP at the SIGN and the ordering window wasn’t visible because I was holding up a doughnut). I waited until he left, got a new pic, and then went off down the sidewalk.
My next stop was about 4ish miles away at another doughnut shop. It was a place I had never tried before, so I asked the person working there what their recommendation was and I ended up with an amazing cheesecake doughnut. It was about a mile later that I realized I wasn’t feeling so hot. I wasn’t sure if it was the doughnuts (I do not eat doughnuts on the regular) or what, but I kept on going. My next stop wasn’t for another 10 or so miles, so I thought I’d be better by then.
By the time I got to the Wawa about 2 miles from the next stop (mile 25ish), I knew I wouldn’t be getting a dessert at the next stop. Instead I got some gingerale and kept going towards the place and turned around instead of going in (because I had planned my route very efficiently and I didn’t want to have to add mileage at the end).
My next stop was a racetrack where I got some water and a blue slushie. I very briefly considered calling someone to come and get me, but by that point I was about 30 miles in, realized my pain and nausea was due to my uterus, and figured I may as well keep going and get it done. I had already been majorly suffering for 15 miles, so what was another 20 miles?
I headed to downtown Ocala to stop by Stella’s where I got a baklava and another gingerale. I sat on a park bench in the shade just off the square to eat my treat and drink the gingerale. I was in the final 15 miles of the run and decided to skip the last planned dessert stop. It was going to either be a place that made fancy cake or an ice cream shop, but I was so nauseous that neither option sounded appealing.
By the time I got to about the 40 mile mark, I was over it. I wanted to be home, I felt like crap, it was hot, and I was just done. I was drinking my water like crazy at this point and I ran out of water with about 5 miles to go and there were no convenience stores or anything else like that between there and home unless I backtracked a couple miles and I didn’t want to do that. Luckily, my husband was home from work by then so I called him and he met me about 3 miles from the house to do a full refill on my water.
Finishing the run where I started it over 11 hours before was a great feeling. I’d had a bad day, but I made the best of it and still think I had a pretty fun time, even though a lot of it sucked. But the Sugar Badger swag was worth it! I love that medal and shirt design!
