Cactus Rose 100

  Where do I began??? Many terrible life decisions got me to the point of running as a way to find who I am.  Many more wonderful people stepped in and inspired me to live a better and fuller life. My friend Janet got me off my butt in January and got me to run again. Nikki Davis and all the Dallas Dirt Runners group helped me along and still do. The trip to Jemez I bonded with Steven Monte and he has been my sounding board for months.  Jennifer Kimble took me on as a student and her coaching has pushed me further than I've ever dreamed. My move to Odessa was tough on my training but good for my soul. I still got my miles in and have met even more great friends.
 
My friend, Pam from Midland agreed to go to the race with me as support as well as my baby brother Max. I wanted 2 people to help me when it got tough.  The race began and as usual I went to the back and kinda just felt myself out and got lost in my thoughts. The race set up was 4 25 mile loops but changing directions each time. I knew the last 10 was dang tough and I immediately had to do it again on loop 2. My goal of 7:30 per loop was fine and I conserved as much as possible. I had my calories and hydration spot on but I knew it was going to get hot later. My 1st loop was 7:10 and I was okay with that but decided to power hike throughout the hottest part of the day.  That worked fine til mile 40. I had a minor foot pain so I decided to change shoes to a new pair of Hoka Tarmac and get through the easier part of the course.  That was fine for 15 miles til I felt a large blister burst and then the balls of my feet started throbbing.  I finished loop 2 in 9hrs and knew I was going to have to push things on loop 3 without a pacer. When I got to the start line there was a man waiting to pace me-Sean Broadbent. He was there to pace someone else and when she got hurt he graciously stepped in and helped out. Him and John Sharp got my blisters taken care of. We started loop 3 and I was ok for awhile but the further we went the less I could walk, much less run. We picked up my friend Ben at mile 54 who Id been with all day and the 3 of us trudged on. At 60 Ben was done but he gave me a Coke and that got me a couple of miles and we were chasing the clock on the cut off for loop 4. At mile 65 I had 2.5 hrs to get through the 10 toughest miles that Cactus Rose had to offer and then Id hafta do it again.  I knew I was done and after apologizing to Sean I called it for me.  Pam and Max were instrumental in getting me that far. My legs and heart were fine but the balls of my feet couldn't hold up to the pounding of the rocks. I got to the 100k distance in time to make the cutoff if it was Bandera 100k so I walk away happy. My mind, heart and legs were ready but the rocks kicked the bottom of my feet pretty hard. I loved the course and i think it'll be a must do in 2015. Reflecting now on it, I'm taking away that I just had one hellacious training run. Everyone says that a mile walking or running is the same distance. It is but this was pretty brutal. I see a easier 100 miler in my VERY near future......