TEAM COOK RACING 100. I asked my father and sister if they would like to crew me at Javelina Jundred and before I knew it, I received team shirts and hats in the mail. My father and sister had not yet experienced an ultra race and they proved we have it in our blood. They both had ultra energy. We don’t like to sit around. We need to keep busy or sleep. No in between. I was told to get to race headquarters early in order to get a good camping spot. Since dad and sister were arriving (dad from Delaware & sister from Charlotte, NC) Thursday evening I thought I’d pitch a tent Thursday afternoon. Turns out to be no camping until Friday. I didn’t read the Race Manual very well because it does state this. In between flights, my sister called the hotel to see if I could check-in and found out they had no such registration and no availability either (booked thru priceline). She hustled up another hotel in Scottsdale about 30 miles away. The travel experience continued to be bumpy. We got lost numerous times. Dad said we were “sightseeing.”

I was on the fence about a costume just because I know what a sensitive soul I am (introverted) and also am all about efficiency. So, I played off the t-shirts dad had already made up and put together a Race Car Driver running outfit. “I may run slow, but I drive fast.” This was also for my dad as he is a NASCAR fan. I grew up with a dad that is an artist and all about cars. My father was the custom paint guy back in the day. He restores classic cars for fun. I drew logos of all my gear on my skirt, got me some checkered flag accessories and voila...race car runner gurl (I did try on those sexy race car driver costumes but this gurl just doesn’t have the equipment to pull it off). I’ve also developed a reputation for being the chick that draws a tattoo on back of her calf for race day. This time I didn’t have to strain my neck and had my father draw flames and moon eyes on my legs. I had no idea that Phoenix was host of one of the biggest NASCAR events the same weekend. Everywhere we went people thought we were real race car drivers!

The Javelina Jundred start/finish is pretty sweet. Makes you feel secure like you have everything you need. Friday, we pitched the tent and had the pre race dinner. I slept in the tent while Team Cook Crew slept at hotel. I liked how around 8 p.m. the camp site went silent. Just enough time to sleep before volunteers and race staff started loading aid station gear at 3 a.m.

I had not secured any pacers. My only secured person was my sister and I planned to use her for at least one loop towards the end. I know having pacers is the smart thing but I wanted to be a big gurl and test myself sans pacers. Well, the universe saw fit for something else. My new Canadian friend, Dave Carver, decided not to complete the distance after one loop due to painful hamstring injury but he knew I was out there so he took a long break and rallied to run a loop with me. Dave is the Pope of Canada. He says hello, high-fives, and talks to every single runner. So opposite of me. I was happy he picked up the slack as I am not very chatty out there. I only met Dave this year as we were on same crew at Badwater. He was so helpful with tips. He even offered up his pacer that flew in from Florida just to pace him, Caleb Wilson.

I ran first 3 laps at a pretty good clip for me. Spent an average of 8 minutes at base camp. My buddy George said not to run the 1st loop under 4 hours and he also said “but you will.” He was right. I was running each of 3 loops under 4 hours. I felt very strong. Now, I also had digestive issues starting after 1st loop. I switched my calorie drink from Perpetuem to Ensure. Cut the Gatorade with water. Salt pill every half hour. I did eat at every aid station - chips, potatoes, cookies, and soup a few times. I also unloaded at every aid station for 4 loops! I felt awake and alert. My feet were sore on 4th loop and I kept thinking it was blisters but I only have one little blister on pinky toe. The Invo8 RocLites I love for the big toe box but may need a little more cushion for running rocky trails. Caleb Wilson is zen-like with his pacing. Such a great disposition. Caleb kept me on the clock with hydration and fuel intake with an angelic manner. My sister even picked up on his vibe just by talking to him at base camp. I had never met Caleb until this day and a main topic of our conversation was how I was about ready to poop my pants. This is the nature of the ultra beast. Caleb guided me around that 4th loop with grace even though I was moaning and groaning about the BM’s and my sore feet. The digestive issues and sore feet were manageable in my opinion.

Pit stop after 4th loop, I cut holes in my shoes thinking discomfort might be onset of blisters. My sister was taking me out on 5th loop and just as we stood up to go, Jimmy Dean Freeman stopped by again and informed us the rain is expected to come at midnight instead of the early morning hours we thought/hoped. This is where I made  rookie mistakes. My water proof jacket was in the tent. I took the jacket (not water proof) offered to me by Caleb. I also did not have a poncho in my hydration pack. I left the ponchos in tent. I also did not prep a water proof drop bag. All bad moves.  Pretty sad when you have the gear but don’t take it with you on the course! We left outta the pit about 10 p.m. and the rain started about 10:30 p.m. I was already moving slower due to sore feet on the rocky portion. The next 8 miles were the hardest and longest 8 miles I’ve ever done at 3+ hours. I was angry, disappointed, sad, giddy, tired, and sore. My pep flattened. Got soaked to the bone. By the time we got to Jackass aid station I couldn’t seem to stop shivering and my eyes felt soooo heavy I thought I would pass out. We thought the extreme sleepiness was a fuel problem so we pumped me up with a bunch of soup. Shortly thereafter the soup was coming back up. About a half dozen of us were huddled around heat lamps on one end of aid station tent. Some of us wrapped in sleeping bags by the ever so patient volunteers. Some runners curled up in corners on cardboard to nap. About 45 minutes of this, I put on a trash bag and headed back out. Didn’t get far. My right leg froze up. I bent over trying to hug my legs as they felt so cold. I turned around and went back to the aid station. We waited along with a dozen other runners that were down for the count. It was all I could do to stay awake and not pass out in the puddles. One of the volunteers offered to give us a ride back to headquarters. The trick was we had to sit in back of wet bed of open pick up truck and ride off road for at least a half hour in the rain. Nine of us said yes, let’s go. Some of us had limited mobility so we all intertwined like a salty pretzels. With all my might I was trying to not hurl on the other runners. I will forever have this truck ride memory burned in my brain. There was one fellow that brought light to the worst conditions by having us all share where we were from. We were forever bonded at that moment. Ultra family.

I slid out of the truck, we hobbled over to our tent and I saw something that confirmed I made a right decision to drop at 70 miles. My dad was sitting under the leaking canopy, with his head down, bundled in wet blankets. His head popped up, he sprung to his feet and they loaded the truck and sprinted me outta there back to hotel NASCAR style. My head hit the pillow around 4 a.m. We were up at 8 a.m. to head back to race headquarters for tear down and goodbyes. I’m extra disappointed in my rookie mistakes because I am walking around as if I didn’t even run this weekend. I wonder what would have happened if I pushed thru the stiff leg, cold, and wet heading back out into the rain. I’ll not know this until next time I reach those conditions only this time I will have a gosh darn poncho on board and not let it get that far out of hand.

I’m so pissed at not reaching 100 miles I wanna go run 100 miles this weekend. I’m entertaining a 100k this Saturday but today I’ve got the runny nose/sore throat thing going on so not sure I wish to beat myself down and be sick over Thanksgiving. I’d rather get some nice long runs in over the holiday. Here I am again towards the end of the blog and have so much more to say. The Javelina Jundred staff is top notch. The course is beautiful. I loved seeing all the ultra family I’ve met over the years and meeting new ones. I say this every time but I repeat – Ultra Runners are the thee nicest people!

Funny thing: My sister’s first exposure to an ultra race was three hours of 8 miles in the rain in the dark on a rocky trail with a me breaking down then 2 hours of me really breaking down, more rain and she says the next day, “I would like to come back and run the 100k next year.” Think we hooked another one!