Race Report: Javelina Jundred 100 miles
Event date: Saturday 10/31/2015
I went from zero to 100 in a fairly short span of time. I committed to running seriously in 2014 after finishing for the Worth-The-Hurt 52.4 mile road race for animal rights. It tickles me that after a five month break due to injury, my first run in 2015 was a painful and measly two miler back in February. But look Ma! I’ve come so far since then.
Last year, my wonderful double marathon coach, Karen P., had asked me to run some East Bay trails. That's where I briefly met a woman named Pen Perez who was training for her first 100 mile race at the Marin Headlands, a beautiful but notoriously brutal course that many Bay Area elites use as their training grounds. What? At the time, I thought 100 milers were for super athletes like Dean Karnazes and Scott Jurek. Seeing this "normal" woman training for something so outlandish sparked my interest. I had to witness this for myself. I asked Pacific Coast Trail Runs if I could volunteer at the finish line to see Pen cross it with my own eyes.
While waiting for her early that Sunday morning, I watched other 100 mile finishers come through. Some looked pretty fresh, others looked wrecked. I was inspired by all of them. I befriended some of these runners and also spoke to crew and pacers. I was literally surrounded by people who had just finished 100 miles or who had finished the Tahoe 200 mile race the weekend before. What?? The 200 milers were buzzing about their epic journey and looked completely happy and recovered.
I struck up a conversation with Sam Hsu who had paced Pen for 25 miles that morning. I had never met Sam before. From talking with him, I got the feeling that he's been running a long time and that he runs really long distances. I said something like "Wow, I never thought I'd want to run a 200 mile race." Sam replied "I'll pace you if you'd like. But you have to finish." I was floored! My grin must've gone from East to West. But first, I needed to run a 100 miler, preferably, a Western States qualifier. Sam recommended the Javelina Jundred in Arizona because it's entirely possible to run it without a crew or pacers. It's a loop course with lots of foot traffic and each aid station is well stocked. Done deal. I registered as soon as I could.
Then I started telling folks about it. Charles surprised me by asking if I would like him to crew. Hell yes! Then, Charles introduced me to his friend Ed who would be coming with us to Ragnar. After that Ragnar weekend, Ed checked out the Javelina video from last year and asked if I needed a pacer. Hell yes again! The team was complete.
What did I put my body through this year?
June 20 - San Francisco Summer Solstice (flat course 39 miles in 12 hours) By the 10th hour, I was shuffling forward like a rusty tin woman.
July 26 - San Francisco Marathon (26.2 miles road race) I averaged a 12 minute mile, my fastest marathon ever, but certainly not pain free.
August 8 - My first trail race (50k - 31.1 miles) My knees and quads were pounded into submission and my left foot blistered.
Sept 12 - My first real night race (50 miles) My legs and feet swelled up and my recovery was terrible.
Sept 26 - My 1st heat race (50k - 31.1 miles) The heat scrambled my brain and made me want to quit.
All those races with gnarly elevation paid off in spades for Javelina. Plus, what made this year's training super fun was that Charles is also running his own 100 mile race the weekend after mine, so he and I were able to train together for the season.
When I was reading the website, this seemed to be an "easy" 100 mile race. As if there are any easy 100 mile races! But seriously, the elevation is a gentle 600 foot gain/descent per loop. Each loop is run washing machine style, which means the runner goes back out the way they came in. This keeps the trail full of traffic and everyone sees each other and can give out high fives or yell encouragement. The physical challenges were sandy sections, rocks, brutal heat and exposure. The main mental challenge was to overcome the siren song of stopping after each loop, especially the infamous Loop 4. It's seductive to know that after 4 loops, or 61.2 miles, runners will still get a beautiful 100k buckle, which makes it easy to stop there.
It was lucky that I was able to speak to Tony Nguyen, aka Endorphin Dude, about Javelina when I ran with him at the Skyline 50k. He shared that he stopped at Loop 4 because nothing adequately described the draining power of the heat nor the difficulty of staying upright on the loose rocks. Also, the aid stations were so fun and comfortable that it was easy to spend too much time cooling off and eating great food or listening to the funny DJs. In some other races, runners could lie down on the ground to rest. He advised against that at Javelina where snakes and tarantulas roam free. I kept all this in mind.
I also read Laura Bello's blog from her Javelina race in 2014. She described that she felt good after the first three loops (she's a much stronger runner than I am) but then things became hard after Loop 4. She had been able to run through the rock gardens until she became so fatigued that she had to walk through them after that. She slowed down considerably after she couldn't eat, but after going through the dark patch, she was able to recover and finish strong.
I was nervous about Javelina already, and then two weeks before the race, I read that the Did Not Finish (DNF) rate always hovered around 50%. WHAT? Why wasn't this on the website? Holy crap! Had I known this statistic in advance, I would not have registered. Gulp!
Charles, Ed and I booked on Southwest a few months before. This was a massive stroke of luck because at the time, I hadn't thought through the race logistics yet. It turns out that "bags fly free" meaning, we could bring our camping gear with us on the plane.
We landed in Phoenix Friday morning and went straight to Jeadquarters to survey the land. Most of the team was already there and Belinda's canopy was all set up for us. The air was dry as a bone and the desert glare was atrocious. We greeted everyone, set down our gear and checked in to the host hotel and picked up my bib. We were tired but amped. That evening, we had appetizers with the larger team of a dozen people, then we had dinner with Jonathan Gunderson and his Uncle Andy. Jon has already run Javelina several times so this was a training run to help him prepare for next year's Badwater, a much harder and hotter race. He also gave us some good tips for this race and future ones.
I couldn't sleep that night. I lay in bed and closed my eyes, but even before my alarm went off at 2am, I was up and putting on my running clothes. After cold oatmeal for breakfast, Ed and I picked up Mamalisa from her hotel. Charles stayed behind to get some rest since he would be up most of the 30 hours crewing for me. I felt more calm than usual at the start line. Was I drawing strength from my team and the love from my friends and family? I’m sure of it.
Side story. One of the prizes given to a finisher was a Best Ass trophy. So although it was still dark at the start line, we saw a runner (Brian Tinder?) wearing nothing but a string covering his privates. I was incredulous. Was he going to wear that for the whole 100 miles? Turns out he changed into shorts every once in a while, but still ... wearing that Borat bright yellow thong at all was pretty impressive. He used Squirrel Nut Butter to prevent chafing. I'm not sure if he won that Best Ass trophy but a lot of folks were rooting for him.
Belinda and I made our way to the back of the pack and joined Pen and Brian. The sun was just starting to come up. Then … WOOOOOO HOOOO! After months of anticipation, we were finally running this thing!
LOOP 1
The desert scenery was harsh and beautiful with the endless blue skies, granite slab mountains, diverse pointy plant life and red dirt. Although Belinda and I started at 6am in cooler weather, it was still a challenging loop, especially towards the end at 10am when it became very warm. If we stayed on the running path, all we dealt with was the hard packed earth, sand and ankle-twisting rocks. If we veered off course, we would've easily been punctured by several species of cactus or have possibly met a friendly snake or arachnid. I was either oblivious or lucky, I was never stuck nor bitten by anything. It may have been this loop or a later one, but Belinda cracked me up by telling me that she had considered asking Gordy Ainsleigh to pace her. If that’s not a creative ask, nothing is.
I finished Loop 1 in four hours which was my best pace scenario. I saw my brilliant crew chief, Charles, ready for me at Jeadquarters. He told me to cross the finish line first and then come back around. That first go-round was really confusing. The arrows went this way and that way and after crossing the timing mat, I didn't understand how to get back to Charles. I probably wasted a couple of minutes being lost in the crowd, but I eventually found my way. Charles gave me his super nice sunglasses to wear against the glare. Those sunglasses helped so much. Then he expertly switched out my hydration pack, gave me an iced bandana and filled my cap with ice. I was loaded in two minutes and took off for Loop 2.
For the first three loops, Charles fussed over me like a NASCAR change station professional. I left Jeadquarters feeling exactly like that little brother kid from "A Christmas Story." The mom was so concerned for her youngest child playing in the elements that she overdressed him in snow gear leaving him to hobble after his buddies with each arm sticking straight out because he had three jackets on. Each time Charles re-loaded me with ice and cold fluids, I felt like I was running with 20 pounds of weight. I would initially groan and giggle about it, then of course I felt great 30 minutes later with the sun beating on me.
LOOP 2
This was hard. It was hot and I was running without Belinda because she has a faster pace. For this loop, I went back the same direction where I came from (washing machine style) and struggled. People say that for 100 miles, the race starts at the 100k (62.1 mile) mark. My race started at the 15.3 mile mark. I was hurting. My drop bag at Jackass Junction, sort of the halfway point from Jeadquarters, contained one fat Magnesium pill. OK, I'm going to admit something here. Most runners know that you're not supposed to try anything new on race day. No new clothes, no new foods, only race with what you’ve trained with. After some online reading, it seems that Magnesium helps with muscle contractions and healthy hydration during workouts. One 500mg tablet is the daily dose. I brought three. The side effects of taking too much Magnesium is diarrhea. Well, knock on wood, maybe that wouldn’t happen.
I was experiencing that familiar feeling of all my muscles stiffening. This happens to me at all my races. I decided to take that Magnesium pill. It worked! Sort of. The effect was just like taking a Gu gel. I flew like a bird nearly all the way to the last aid station before Jeadquarters. It was awesome to feel so strong and pass so many people. One woman even decided to draft me. She ran when I ran, she walked when I walked. I understand that we probably had the same strategy. We would fly down the descents and walk up the ascents, but did she need to be as close as my shadow? Finally, I just stopped cold for a few seconds and let her pass. That's when I realized that perhaps the Magnesium's effects were wearing off. I couldn't catch up to that woman and I eventually did more of a walk-run all the way back to Jeadquarters. I think the Magnesium's power might have lasted 45 minutes, but it left me feeling depleted, so I decided not to use it anymore. I finished Loop 2 after four hours and 15 minutes. I was still on track.
LOOP 3
The most memorable loop. It was around 2:15pm when I headed out. But before I left, Charles gave me words of encouragement from my lovely friends and family from his Facebook ask of support. I truly loved hearing those words. They buoyed me for each loop that I finished. It’s an amazing feeling knowing that people so far away physically were right by my side emotionally and spiritually as I was reduced to struggle and breath. Thank you for doing that Charles. What a beautiful surprise.
I focused on moving and tried not to worry about bonking. One thing about this race that's different from my other races is that the heat made each mile feel like 10 miles. That meant that each aid station felt much further away than they really were. I didn't want to carry a charger for my watch, so I knew that my watch would die. The challenge was to keep running even though I was tired and had no effing clue when the next station was going to show itself.
I saw Belinda at Jackass Junction. It was great to be running with her again for many reasons. This is her 3rd 100 miler so she was experienced. We were discussing something and I said something strange so she told me I seemed out of it. I told her about my overall body stiffness and how I'm afraid that this was the beginning of the end because I was starting to move like a frozen marionette and my pace was starting to slow significantly. We talked about my experience with the Magnesium pill. She asked if I had been taking salt caps and I said no. She told me I'm supposed to take salt caps every hour, especially in this heat. The only other time I had taken salt caps was during the Berkeley Trail Adventure 50k and they made me really thirsty, but she also said they help with cramps. I didn’t realize I was experiencing cramps. That was a valuable learning. From then on, I took 2 salt caps at each aid station and I believe they (coupled with Tailwind) helped significantly with making my muscles feel better.
Still on Loop 3 (which was just endless), night started to fall and the temperature started to drop. We were all warned that many runners are treated for hypothermia during this part of the race, but luckily, the temps were cool but never really cold as long as you kept moving. Belinda and I pulled out our flashlights. We were still two miles away from Jeadquarters when we saw a young Asian guy walking without any lights. True to Belinda’s connective style, she started asking questions. What was his name? Was this his first hundred? Where did he live? I asked him why he was walking without a light. I forgot his name, but this was his first hundred which he had planned to finish in under 24 hours, but he had dropped his keys and backtracked to find them. He already called the race director, but seemed pretty demoralized at the thought of losing his keys. I offered that he could run with us because we were still on track to finish in 30 hours and his keys might still turn up in the meantime. He thanked us but declined. But Belinda is a problem solver. She started asking people on the way back out to help look for his keys. "Could you please look out for keys?" "We dropped keys, can you please keep an eye out for them?" She must've asked 20 people in a row. 19 of them said yes, they'd keep an eye out. One guy was in his own head and looked confused. She let him go. The keyless runner must've been as surprised as I was about the energy Belinda was focusing to help him find his keys. I'm sure he was as grateful as I would've been for her kindness.
When we arrived back at Jeadquarters, I asked Charles for another Magnesium pill, which I put in my pocket just in case I needed it again. Belinda, being the thinker as my brain and feet were on auto-pilot, had suggested that we stay together for Loop 4 and asked if she could run with Ed and I for Loop 5. Was she kidding? I would LOVE to run with her for this dark loop. I've learned from Headlands that the best way to stay out of my head was to run with someone. And just like at Headlands, I was incredibly blessed to have unplanned company. So, I switched out my running cap for the Buff headband and Petzle NAO headlamp with a scorching 575 lumens. The idea of having such a powerful light was that I could navigate the loose rocks much faster.
LOOP 4
Belinda and I took off around 7:15pm. She exclaimed how beautiful the night sky was. I had been focusing on my feet so it was a nice reminder to look up. My weakness has always been hills. Any incline, no matter how gentle, always leaves me feeling winded. It was no surprise, that for every 2-3 walking steps that Belinda took, I had to run to catch up. Although we are peers in age, it made me feel like I was the little sister trying to catch up to big sister. Surprisingly, my headlamp gave out two hours later. I couldn't believe it! It was fully charged and was supposed to last at least four hours. Luckily, Belinda lent me some light while I switched out the battery. I used the lower 275 lumen setting for the rest of the night. Belinda kindly lent me her spare headlamp from her dropbag.
It was another brutal slog back to Jackass Junction, but the party was going on. There was lots of lights, a dance floor, an MC and DJ. Belinda was enjoying the pumpkin pie while I pretended not to have vegan envy. Oh man ... pumpkin pie! She told me it tasted awful. Then why was she eating so much of it?
Although I didn't want to stress, I was stressing. I needed to get to Ed by 11:15pm and my body was worked. How could I give Ed 30 more miles? It didn't seem possible. It was already 9pm and we still hadn't left the aid station. We basically had to cover 9 miles in 2 hours at a heroic 15 minute mile pace. Belinda asked me what would happen if we were late. Nothing really, but it meant that we'd have to run harder chasing the cutoffs. She nodded her head. That's when I remembered the Magnesium pill in my pocket. It was somewhat crushed, but a good chunk of it was still there, so I popped it and we moved. Actually, we flew. Luckily, this part of the course was mainly the descent. I simply tried to keep up with Belinda. Because she knew what was at stake, she was keeping us on a 13 minute mile clip. Oh my god ... we were going to make it to Jeadquarters in time! I believe Belinda and I rolled in at 11pm. Early.
LOOP 5
Ed was ready and waiting for us. I was so happy to see him. Charles gave me my hot lentil soup and it was delicious. Mamalisa was telling us to get out, get out onto the course! So Belinda, Ed and I started out on Loop 5 at 11:15pm. We were doing great and my spirits were high.
Belinda, being the strong walker had gone ahead. Ed stayed with me as I struggled with that incline back out to Jackass Junction. And then, about half a mile before the aid station, I needed to go to the bathroom. I mean, I REALLY needed to go to the bathroom. The question was, was I going to make it? The answer, unfortunately, was no. As soon as I opened the porta potty door, I had a little accident. Ruh roh! I had to spend extra time cleaning up as best as I could before we could start again. Initially, I blamed it on the combination of Tailwind and coffee. Belinda reminded me much later that I told her too much Magnesium would give me diarrhea. Yep. That's what trying something new during your A race gives you. Diarrhea.
Crud! I didn't want health implications (infections) down the road, so I thought of the time I'd be taking changing out of my shoes, gaiters and pants. With my old-style gaiters, changing out is equivalent to taking off and putting on a wetsuit. It's a lot of effort. So Ed and I rolled into Jeadquarters and I told my team what happened. No one blinked an eye. In the ultra world, gross and disgusting is all part of the fun. Mamalisa took one look at my pants and said "I don't see any stains, I think you can still run in those pants." Pause. I asked if she thought I might get an infection, but she said this happened to her before too and nothing bad came out of it. So I just quickly changed my shirt, someone gave me Immodium to pop, and off we went.
LOOP 6
Not even a mile away from Jeadquarters, I needed to run and squat in the dark. Poor Ed. He came here to run 30 miles with me and here he was on bathroom duty. We kept slogging and slogging and slogging and slogging. I was exhausted and weaving-running from lack of sleep. I was imagining soft billowy beds everywhere on the ground. Ed suggested that I lie down for five minutes at Jackass Junction. That sounded nice but I'm not sure how much sleep I was going to get with the dance party in full force. Once we finally got there, I beelined for the medical tent and fixed up a cot. The Asian guy who had lost his keys was sitting next to the heat lamps. I sleepily asked him if he found his keys. He said yes. I wonder if Belinda had something to do with that? I asked him if he was going to continue with the race. He said his legs stopped working so he was going to drop. I hoped that things would work out for him at another race and then I closed my eyes. I was dizzy and couldn't sleep. My eyes had been open for nearly 24 hours fighting the sun's glare and then straining at night. Giving my eyes some relief gave me a little, teeny bit of rest. After four minutes, I got up and was ready to go.
The sun was just coming up. This was good and bad. Good that the sunlight would help wake up my brain. Bad that I didn't have any dousing bottles so I had no way to cool my body down. I kept asking Ed for the time. The latest that I wanted to leave Jeadquarters for my final loop with Charles was 9am. I really wanted to get there much earlier than that to guarantee that Charles and I weren't going to miss the 30 hour cutoff. But I had stopped eating and I was slowing down. Again, luckily, this was the downhill portion of the course, so I was able to run in fits and starts. I don't know how he did it, but Ed got us back to Jeadquarters by 8:15am. Oh my goodness!
LOOP 7
Finally, finally, finally. After months of training and 2nd guessing, I could relax into the knowledge that I would finish my first 100 mile race. Charles and I were elated to know that we had a huge time cushion. If I had to, I could walk these last 9.1 miles and still get that buckle. But Charles would have none of it. He indulged me by letting me walk our first five miles as fast as I could go, which was essentially a ~22 minute mile pace. Again, each mile felt like 10 miles so it took FOREVER to get to the last aid station of the day. Then he somehow convinced me to do a 1-1 run-walk. 1 minute walking and 1 minute running. With this strategy, we passed at least 15 other runners. Each time we finished a run, Charles would give me a strong hug and tell me how awesome I was doing. Mamalisa met us a few hundred yards from the finish line and she started bawling with joy. Then, there it was ... the finish line with my team waiting on the other side.
At 11:30am on Sunday, Nov 1st, I became a 100 mile finisher and Western States qualifier.
*********************************************
Thanks to Jamil Coury for putting on a great race with Aravaipa Running and for the wonderful aid station volunteers who did their damndest to get us all to the finish line.
1) Great coach, great training and great team
2) Ed made my protein shake which I consumed immediately after the celebratory hugs and cheers. This detail made a big difference in my recovery.
3) I had two little hotspots but no blisters from my Altra Olympus shoes
4) I wore a long-sleeve shirt and long pants the whole day. As long as I had my dousing bottles, I was able to keep my sleeves and the tops of my pants wet. This was like running with portable air conditioning. I was actually warmer at night because I didn’t carry the dousing bottles so my sleeves trapped more heat.
WHAT I WOULD DO NEXT TIME
1) Wear lighter colored pants (not black)
2) Although it worked out this time, a 3rd pacer to start running with me at Loop 4
3) Much more body glide under my sports bra
1) The weather is normally hotter, I think it was in the low 80′s for my race
2) I twisted my left ankle several times on the loose rocks but thankfully I kept running normally
3) No knee problems (because there were no gnarly descents) and because my partner is the best chiropractor in the galaxy, he taped up my knees prior to my flight. Thanks honey! We did it!
ADDITIONAL FAVORITE PARTS
1) High fiving Jonathan Gunderson and Mirna Valerio aka “Fat Girl Running”
2) Seeing Mamalisa ringing her cowbell throughout the afternoon and encouraging everyone on the course
3) Still running when I thought I had nothing left
4) Seeing Laura Bello and the UFBI/TNT teams plus friends cheering me on at each loop. Jenn D, Susan O, Katrina, Alison, James, Rebecca, her husband, Ken, Brian, Belinda, Kate, Mamalisa, Charles
5) Seeing some well known runners out on the course: Ann Trason, Miguel Lara, Gordy Ainsleigh, Catra Corbett
6) While my eyes were half closed, I asked this really superfast runner, probably Devon Yanko, the distance the next aid station. Doh!
-Eat kindly. Run lightly.
RECOVERY
1) Because I wasn’t running fast and this course didn’t have much elevation to it, the soreness in my body didn’t feel that much worse than my gnarly 50 miler seven weeks prior
2) Thank goodness for unemployment. I could undergo sleep therapy for 12-14 hours at a time and stretch out during Bikram yoga.
3) I was able to run 2 short miles just five days later
