The G Running Diary

AC100: Unfinished: 10/7/03

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I woke up feeling better than I expected. In fact, I felt like I'd had a full night's sleep. Only after doing some math in my head did I realize it couldn't have been more than 3 hours. I stood up to test my beaten up legs. They were fine. I was happy I could walk normally and really, nothing hurt. A few other people were up sorting out the equipment and looking for orange juice. Slowly, the whole group woke up and the guys started cracking jokes. Some crazy coffee was made. I stuck with the orange juice. After a while, everything was packed up. The drive out was on a long dirt road, so I got to have a long conversation with "Fast Eddie."

Suddenly we were at the finish area. There was a lot of food and plenty to drink. I had pancakes and sausage with coffee. I felt fine just hanging out there. People kept asking me where Don was, and I said that he was still out there. I was sure he would finish at about 32:30. But then someone got an update for me that he dropped at Idle Hour, 83 miles. They said that was a tough aid station to get out of, just like where I had dropped, so I wouldn't see him for a while. But, when I walked over to the bathroom, there he was. Wendell and Sarah were there too, resting in their tent. Don went to take a shower. I thought that was a good idea (so did the people who were sitting near me). I thought the shower setup was neat. Two stalls, outdoors, with hot water! I felt better after that, and returned to the finish area for lunch food. Somehow I thought I shouldn't eat so much, since I didn't complete 100 miles.

We all hung out for a while to listen to the awards ceremony and eat more. We were proud of Wendell who had run a good race and finished well. At least one out of the three of us finished. I think Don would have finished if he hadn't been waiting for me at aid stations. He missed the cutoff at Idle Hour. I would have finished if I weren't so slow and tired. But that is what thirteen days of running will do for you. At the time I was thinking, "Ugh, what a hard trail, I don't like this." Now I'm planning my return next year. It is not an impossible course, it just requires the right preparation. Overall, I like the race a lot. The views were amazing, Wrightwood is a nice little town, the aid station workers were great, especially the medics, and the finish area was well done.

The drive home seemed fast, but that's probably because I slept most of the way. We had our dose of fast food early in the trip home. McDonalds for me and Aaron, Taco Bell for Wendell and Don, and soft serve ice cream for everyone. Oh yeah, those legs of mine that I thought were so great when I woke up didn't last the trip. Every time I got out of the van they got worse. I was like an old woman. The next day, I was in such pain, and I had to go into work. I pretty much could not stand up or sit down. Maybe going so slowly on the downhills had fried my quads more than if I had just gone for it. Still, it was worth it.