Old Goat's 50 Mile

At 6:30 AM on March 26th I met with about 123 other runners at Blue Jay Campground praying for good weather. Average temperature was 40 degrees with black clouds. At the blow of the whistle we began to run in a uniformed line into the Cleveland National Forest. The run started off with a single road track with rolling hills. The only problem was that it was single track so the road became backed up pretty quickly. I could see a line of runners in front of me anxiously waiting till the road became wide enough to pass other runners. About 10 miles into the race we came to halt due to a river passing. I could see runners using a piece of rope carefully walking across the running stream in knee deep water. Hmmm... I'm not usually the kind of runner that likes to run in wet socks but there was no other choice. I quickly walked across the river and suddenly felt a little worried once I could feel the weight on my feet from the water (and now mud stuck to my shoes). I snapped out of any negative thoughts...cranked up the music and continued my adventure. The trail was absolutely stunning. Pine trees, rivers, forest, and the cold weather felt refreshing. At mile 11 there was a turn around point and I shuddered the thought of having to cross the river again. Once I got there I some how convinced a crew member to give me a piggy back ride across the river.. lol. It was definitely a funny experience and very thankful for the man that helped me out. Fist big hill of the day was a 900 foot climb around mile 17. This one was tough and left me feeling pretty exhausted. I was feeling a bit discouraged because I felt a little undertrained (I trained for a 50k but missed it due to the flue so I signed up for this one instead..not sure if that was very smart). The clouds were turning black and the crew were beginning to hand out ponchos at the aid stations. At mile 27 the true nightmare began... a 3,000 foot elevation gain/ 5 mile climb. Average temperature was 40 degrees and my fuel was running out. I looked ahead and was almost laughing once I saw the snow! What?! I was not prepared for this! I was wearing arm warmers, tank top and spandex...oh and wet socks. With 1.5 miles to go I was literally running in the snow. I had to stop at some points and really try to put together what was going on. I was freezing! I suddenly pulled out my ponchos and wrapped it around me. I felt a little better and suddenly pushed through (I wanted to get the heck out of there!) Once I reached the top I was so tired and cold that all I could do was help myself to some hot coco at the aid station as well as a PB&J sandwich (I always stick to Gu's). I immediately felt revived and got my second wind. With my poncho wrapped around me I began to descend that beast of a hill. My legs felt so strong and I was so happy to be out of that winter mess. At mile 39 I was warm enough to throw away the poncho (wasn't the best decision) and was running at a great speed. Besides the 35 degree weather for the remaining 11 miles I was enjoying the scenery around me (wish I kept that poncho!). I bumped into a couple fellow runners and chatted here and there but I wanted to get into my warm car asap! I looked at my GPS watch and was pretty concerned with my time. I picked up the pace and was so relieved to see the last aid station. I was so cold but managed hauled ass for the remaining 3 miles. 20 minutes later I began to see the camp ground and began to sprint. I suddenly saw my fellow runner friends cheering & supporting me and was elated to finally cross the finish line. RD Steve Harvey handed me my completion medal and I was thrilled to complete. I was thinking the worst for this race and came strong through the end. After a 13,423' elevation gain, falling 7 times, running through rivers & snow, and completing in 11 hours!... I finished 7th Female overall. That was a great race and I truly am soooo excited for the next one!