Tale Of A DNF: Not 40 At The TARC Summer Classic 2021 Race Report

There is a dearth of summer racing here in New England, and for good reason. The weather is often hot and humid, and spring and fall races are just so much more popular. But with No Business 100 on October 1, and not having "raced" since the TARC Frozen Yeti in February 2020 and prior to that, Western States (!!),  it seemed like a good idea to find a summer "tune up" race to get a chance to practice fueling and being in a race situation. Hence, the TARC Summer Classic. It is the one TARC race that we had not yet done and timing seemed to be about right. So I signed up for the 40 mile option. 

Friday, I spent the morning getting things done around the house and getting organized for the race. Then to get in a bit of movement, Sam and I headed out before lunch for a short walk on the powerlines. It was rather toasty out there. Definitely felt like summer! (1.8 miles walked)

We dropped off Sam at Mom and Dad's around 2:00 and headed south. Man, traffic in Massachusetts just plain sucks. It was slow going. We finally arrived at the hotel, just outside of Foxborough, around 5:15, ordered pizza from a place nearby and turned on the TV to watch the Olympic women's marathon. It was a great race, and I totally had tears in my eyes when Molly Seidel crossed the line as the bronze medal winner, roaring with happiness. So cool!

The alarm was set bright and early for Saturday morning to get over to Noon Hill Reservation in Medfield for the race. Luckily, it was only a 15 minute drive. 

Billy and Jasmine were running too and it was great fun to see them there and stand on the start line with them! After a few instructions, avoidance of the abundant poison ivy and lots of slapping away the mosquitos, we were off. 

The race consists of 10 mile loops, with one aid station that runners pass around 4 and 7 miles. It seemed reasonable in theory. Of course, it was incredibly humid and it became apparent that the terrain was a bit more technical that I would have anticipated. The Yeti also sent all the 40-milers on the one-mile loop the 50k runners were supposed to run instead of the opposite, so there I was, within the first mile or so, having gotten into a bit of a groove after everyone settled in and spread out a bit, following the ribbons and markers, and I see this mass of humanity coming back towards me with the RD Michael in the lead saying "this is my worst nightmare!" Poor guy. So back into the conga line, up the hill and onto the main loop it was, with all of us jostling about in a big group trying to once again get back in that groove and get going. I wasn't too worried about it, as goodness knows, races are never exactly the distance they say they are, and what's another mile and a half of bonus miles, but it did throw us all a bit 😂😁 Ah well, such is racing! 

I got sweaty pretty quick, but that's par for the course for me, and felt pretty decent on the first lap. The trails were rocky and rooty but there were some nice stretches where things evened out a bit and were a bit more mellow. We wound through the woods to a road crossing and the first aid station. I didn't stop, just thanked the volunteers as I ran by. Now in another preserve, we did two separate loops, the forest filled with ferns and some good old PUDs. I could tell that that section was going to be a pain later in the race. It was twisty and loop #2 seemed a bit contrived with a few slick bridges, wet roots and then a lot of winding around rocky outcroppings. There were a few two-way traffic sections but everything was well marked. Then it was back to the aid station and onto the final stretch of the course, which frankly even early on seemed to go on forever. There was the climb to Noon Hill, which might have had a lovely view except for the haze, and then another clearly contrived hill loop to add on mileage. Then finally it was back to the section along the lake where we had been sent in the first mile and to the start/finish area. 

I finished my bottle of Roctane and had two gels in the first lap. Pretty much as I anticipated, although Ryan said I hadn't drank a lot of water. My watch read 11.6 miles and 2:14. Although at the time my pace, which was just below 12:00 min/mile, seemed reasonable overall, it was perhapsa bit too quick. And I should have accepted the ice bandana from Ryan before I headed out for lap 2. Yes, it was humid but I felt good. I didn't think I needed it. However, of course, it just got a lot warmer as the morning went on and I should have iced up to avoid the inevitable overheating that came later in the lap. 

I stopped to pick up a new bottle and get more water in my pack. Had a few grapes and a few sips of Vitamin Water, wiped my face and then continued on pretty quickly. The bottle of Roctane was Summit Tea this time around and it had been in the cooler. It was cold and tasted good. I ended up finishing it before I got to aid station #1. Oops. That was supposed to last a while longer! Stopped and got a cup of coke, and a few chips, although they turned out to be salt and vinegar so they were dumped shortly thereafter. It was getting toasty and there was no air movement. The heat was just sitting there in the dense forest. There was more walking but I was still OK. Back to the aid station and two cups of coke this time. 

Somewhere in those final 3 or 4 miles of the lap, I started to fall apart a bit. I felt woozy and my ears were popping. I was soaked, of course, but there was nothing to do about that. My legs started to cramp. I had a gel and then a bit later, some BCAAs and salt tabs. My water ran out with about a mile to go. I just wanted to get back to the start/finish and stop. I truly horrible. I kept going over in my mind, let's just stop; no, you drove all the way down here, not for 20 miles, that sucks; no, this sucks. I tripped going up the final contrived hill loop and my calves seized up. Ugh. Seriously, why do I do this to myself? There was a photographer at the final turn down to the lake. I couldn't even fake a good smile 😉😆😁

Came in with my watch reading 21.9 miles and 4:42. I told Ryan I felt terrible, and he was like, of course you do. I plopped myself in the chair, and starting telling him what was going on. Ryan put ice in my hat and the ice bandana around my neck, telling me I was just overheating and I needed to relax and it would be OK. Of course, I was not feeling relaxed, frankly, I was feeling sorry for myself, which is never how you want to feel in the middle of a long race, but it is what it is. I sat there for a long time. 25 minutes! I really wanted to stop and I may have cried a bit and whined a bit and been a total disaster - sorry, Ryan! - but eventually, after drinking the rest of the Vitamin Water and having some grapes and finally cooling down due to the ice, I rallied and agreed with Ryan that I should go out for lap #3 and at least get an ultra distance done. After all, I did come down here for a full day in the woods and as training for No Business. And so it was that I was loaded up with ice and crunching on a few Fritos and walking up the hill out of the start/finish for another loop.

I won't say it was pretty but I did feel better after having stopped and cooled down, and although loop #3 was slower, I felt stronger and while there was definitely a lot of walking, I was still able to run a fair amount. I drank down the Roctane by the first aid station again, and this time stopped and got more ice in my hat and had them fill my bottle with Coke. That lasted until I got back to the aid station at which time I needed more water in my bladder, got more ice and another refill of Coke. I did not want to fall apart again in the final miles if I could help it! I did end up taking more BCAAs and salt tabs, as my legs were definitely on the verge of seizing up several times, but I kept it together - just barely! - to come through the start/finish running, where I let the timing crew know quite emphatically that I was DONE! Ha! 32.3 miles and 7:34 on the clock (Strava said 6:50 moving time). 

Yes, this was technically a DNF but I am only about 10% disappointed that I stopped when I did, and am proud of myself for rallying and getting in that 3rd lap on a tough day when I REALLY REALLY did not want to. 

Ryan said he looked at the weather when I headed out for lap #3 and the real feel was 98 degrees, so it really WAS hot. No wonder I felt so terrible 😂😂😖😖 I most certainly COULD have gone on for lap #4, but the intent of the day was not to totally wreak myself. It was to get in a full day on my feet out on the trails as a training run, so I pretty much got what I came for, just 8 miles less and a whole lot more painful that I had hoped 😉😂 I didn't want to be down and out for a few weeks recovering from this race. So, truly, I got what I wanted out of this race and was glad to call it when I did. 

Incredibly grateful to Ryan for being stellar crew and for putting up with me, as always. Not to mention for doing all the driving, putting up with the horrible bugs and sitting in a dirt parking lot all day while I slowly ran through the woods! I am one lucky lady.

And seriously, Billy and Jasmine are complete badasses and went on to complete all four loops, weather be damned. You guys are incredible! Way to go!

The TARC crew was great and I really appreciated the chance to get out and race safely in the midst of a pandemic. And extra kudos to them for making sure there was a lot of ice available on a really hot day for the runners too! Thank you volunteers! 

Lessons Learned:

1. I am out of practice in regards to racing. See #2 and #3.

2. Start slow. I know this, but I have to relearn it over and over and over again...

3. If it's even slightly hot and/or humid, take the damn ice! Again, I should know this by now...

4. It helps if you have a great support person. Thank you, Ryan!❤️ 

5. I can come back from a really low spot and rally. All is not lost if you have to sit for 25 minutes in a chair being a disaster. Recover and then get up and keep going. It never always get worse.

6. I still need to work on my fueling. Sigh. This is a constant battle. I do think having the Roctane drink option saved them though as I could not stomach gels after lap #1, so that is positive but I need to figure out how to find a decent balance of not drinking too much of the drink too quickly.

7. At least I seem to have the chafing/blister thing dialed. I was soaked for pretty much 7:20 of the 7:34 I was out there and my shoes were squishing for about the last 5 hours. I did not have any blisters, did not have to change socks or shoes and was totally comfortable. Go Darn Tough and Nike Pegasus Trail 36! And I had no chafing. Finally found the solution - Squirrel Nut Butter. It works wonders for me.

8. This was a reminder to me that I signed myself up for this shit willingly and voluntarily, so I need to embrace the suffering and remember that it is part of the game. I think my friend Val would call it HTFU! 😂

While we were out sweating and fighting bugs in the woods of Massachusetts, Sam was having fun on the beach at Reid State Park with Mom and Dad and eating ice cream. I think she might be the smart one in the family! 😂😉😍 Many thanks to Mom and Dad for hanging out with her for the weekend!

Ryan battled the traffic on the way home, we stopped and got Wendy's for dinner and I collapsed into bed exhausted but of course did not sleep. Sam stayed at Mom and Dad's overnight. Ryan was up early to get over to Bradbury on Sunday for the Breaker, and I got out for a short walk around the block before going to pick up Sam later in the morning. Legs felt OK, but overall just plain tired. (2.0 miles walked)

Sam and Elise had a great time during the race, and it was fun to catch up with friends and cheer on the runners while manning the finish line food table. Another very humid, hot day and I was more than happy not to be running! 😉