Spoiler alert, I did not actually win this race, but it was a huge personal win for me in several ways.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that the last month has been rough—really, really, exceptionally rough. After picking up an extra shift and working 5 of 6 days, my brain was struggling. Beyond feeling terrible, it was emotionally quite challenging to be back to the significant limitations I dealt with years ago. I had hoped that three days of racing would help, and I am grateful to say it did.

The drive out to Moab went fairly smoothly, minus the rockslide in Glenwood Canyon that happened right in front of us. It is lucky that no one was injured, and we were happy to sneak past all the rocks before the highway patrol came and closed the canyon. I spent the drive with my eye covers, ear filters, and noise-canceling headphones on, trying unsuccessfully to sleep, but at least I managed not to get overstimulated. I sat in the car as Josh went in to packet pick up, and then we settled into the hotel and got organized for the first day of Moab Run the Rocks.

STAGE ONE – Navajo Rocks – 12.5 miles & 1,300′ gain

Josh drove us to the start in silence as I kept my eyes closed. It was chilly, and there was a lot of excitement in the start corral. I was a bit unsure of how to pace this stage. Sure, it was only 12.5 miles, but it was the first of 3 stages, and I didn’t want to burn all my matches the first day. I also never race anything this short, and typically when I start a race, there is a lot of telling myself to take it easy and settle into a comfortable pace. Racing 12.5 miles isn’t comfortable. You can sustain a much higher effort for that distance than you can for 50+ miles. I also realized that my nutrition plan needed to be adjusted from my standard routine because I couldn’t eat solid foods at that level of effort. Thankfully, I had Maurten 320 drink mix and Maurten Gel 1oo and still managed 80G carbs/hour. My goal was 2:15, but as this race started I wondered if that was too fast and if I would pay for it the next two days. After the first 3 miles, I cautiously opened things up a bit and decided to find out.

The terrain was tough, and with the sand and slickrock, it was hard to maintain a high pace, which meant I tried to push a bit harder where the trail was more defined. The race volunteers were dressed up, and all the costumes were hilarious. It was definitely a party atmosphere. Crossing the line in 2:16, I was happy to be so close to my goal time, given how much more challenging the course was than I expected. I finished 34 out of 101 in the under-50 Women category. With all the music and people crowding around the finish area, and the migraine coming on, I had to leave immediately. I took an Imitrex, laid down in the car and wondered if this weekend was a bad idea. Shout out to Jenny Primm for being my hero with the Coke you brought me.

STAGE TWO – Gemini Bridges – 24.5 miles & 2,200′ gain

Josh drove us to the start in silence, but I was actually able to open my eyes as he drove. I wasn’t really sure how long this stage would take me. Given that I had run San Tan 50k in January at a very comfortable 6:35 (12:17 avg pace), I told Josh it would probably take around 5:15. This race would be less vertical gain, but also higher altitude than Phoenix, and the slickrock made it much more technical, which isn’t my strength. The stage started with a dirt road climb and then a fun descent to the first aid station. This whole section was fast, and I realized I was feeling pretty strong.

The second climb was a mix of slickrock and then dirt road, and was very runnable. When I hit the single track at the top, the views of the snowy La Sal mountains were spectacular. Running along the edge of the canyon with the amazing views, I was feeling great. I popped in my Airpods and turned on my favorite running playlist. The singletrack changed to slickrock, and I was thankful to meet up with Nicole, a runner from Calgary for the entire descent. She led the way, which saved me from having to navigate and I could focus just on running. I offered to lead for a bit, but she was fine in front and was happy to have the company to keep pushing the pace. When we hit the last aid station, Nicole was cracked and I was feeling strong. I realized if I kept it up, I would finish under 5 hours, and that gave me extra motivation.

The last climb went on forever, but when the top finally came and I could see the finish line below, I didn’t let off the gas and finished in 4:43, which put me at 24th in the women under 50 category. My nutrition had been solid, still maintaining 80G carbs/hour with Maurten 320 drink mix, Maurten Gel100, Spring Energy Awesomesauce, Honey Stinger Chews and Black Cherry Clif Bloks. I was so proud of my effort, and surprised that I managed to not only hold that pace, but feel good doing it. We sat at the finish line, just outside the main crowds, enjoying the music, and cheering for folks as they came in. I gave Nicole a high five when she came in, and thanked her for getting me through that slickrock section so much faster than I would have done on my own.

STAGE 3 – Bar M – 13.7 miles & 1,400′ gain

Josh drove us to the start with music playing, I was singing and dancing, getting pumped up for the day. People took off from the start corral fast, and I thought the pace was ridiculous. My legs were tired, and I wasn’t sure how much I had left in the tank for this last day. It took several miles for my body to come around and decide to join the party. Once it did, it was game on. I felt amazing. I was passing people and realizing how the aggressive fueling strategy the last two days meant I had a lot left in my legs. For this last day, I ate 1 package of Black Cherry Clif Bloks (with caffeine), and had two bottles of Maurten 320, which maintained my 80G carbs/hour strategy.

As I climbed the slickrock on the back half of the course I ran into Nicole again and encouraged her to keep pushing. She couldn’t hold the pace, but as the course switchbacked, I yelled down to her to keep her motivated. I had a blast pushing those last few miles with a smile on my face, so happy to feel all the training paying off and be feeling strong. Crossing the line in 2:30, I finished 13th in the women under-50 category for the day. When Nicole came in, she gave me a big hug and thanked me for helping her through her low point on that climb. I was happy to pay it forward.

Josh finished the three days like a rockstar. His cumulative time put him in sixth place among under-50 men, and he was pretty happy about that. I teased him that he shouldn’t waste all this fitness and should sign up for another ultra.

Overall, I finished the 3 days thrilled with how the changes to my training plan and nutrition strategy are working. I’ve built a great base and am ready to start adding in a lot more climbing to get ready for High Lonesome 100 in July. Even more than that, I am happy to say that running continues to be the thing that helps my brain more than anything else. I hope that this weekend of really pushing myself was a “factory reset” for my brain, and not just a temporary boost. But whatever it is, it is a pretty dramatic difference and I’ll take it for now.

The past month has been a wake-up call, though, and it is a reminder that I will probably never be normal. Although I do well in the lifestyle I have created for myself, I am apparently one extra shift away from completely unraveling. A couple weeks ago my neurologist told me, “don’t try to increase your work hours, just stick with the three days, you were doing so well”. I suppose I could just stay with the status quo, but that just isn’t me. I’m still going to try working 4 days a week (I won’t do 3 in a row again), but I’ve pushed that back a couple of months to make sure I’m fully recovered before I try.

Now it is time for a little rest, and then the next build phase starts. I’ll be increasing my strength training to three days a week, and gradually building up my climbing legs. I have two months until Quad Rock 50 miler, which will be the next big test.

18 weeks until the next TBI to 100