Fynd A Way

HABANERO HUNDRED – 100 MILES OF EMBRACE THE SUCK

HABANERO HUNDRED – 100 MILES OF EMBRACE THE SUCK.

 

I have never done this race, so how can I say Embrace the Suck before I run it? Because I have been forwarned! I have been given the heads up by plenty of runners who have competed in the race before. There are blogs online that I have read… all with the same reviews. The race is going to be hell! Awesome, my kind of event!

 

 

So how did I decide on this particular ultramarathon. To be honest, I had never heard of Habanero Hundred before.

When I started training in April, I decided I needed to keep myself motivated by working toward a race. I can never just run for the fun of it. I have to have a goal. So I started looking online at different events. At first I was thinking of a 50km. Then I moved on to look at 50 miles, and pretty soon I had talked myself into looking up 100 mile events. I had pretty specific criteria.

  1. I wanted the race to be hot, because I have always done well in heat. The Habanero Hundred is held in the Texas heat and humidity. Temperatures can climb to over 100 degrees and the feels like factor is worse. Check!
  2. To register for a run in heat, I had to aim for the end of the summer to give me time to train. The Habanero Hundred is held in mid-August which gave me 4 months to train. Check!
  3. I wanted the ultra to be at low elevation, because I am training at 8000 .feet. Training at high altitude and racing at low is an advantage for me. The elevation at this event is 196 feet. Check!
  4. I like to run in sand, and I wanted there to be a fairly even surface. This race website guarantees sand as one of the hardships. Runners have cursed it. Check!

 

 

They say be careful what you wish for, right?! Oh, and there is one more thing that attracted me to Habanero Hundred. It is a loop course. The 100 mile distance is a 16 loop course. Each loop is about 6 miles. Being 61… having only trained for 4 months…after 8 years off from running…I felt this could be a safe bet. If anything God forbid should happen…it would be easy for medics to come get me, treat me, or haul me off to the hospital! But don’t worry, that won’t happen!

 

This race has other distances available as well. There are relay teams for the 100 mile ultra and for the 100 km distance. There is 50km, 40km, 30km, 20km, and 10km. So lots of people, lots of action, lots to keep the mind busy while I put in those mind numbing loops.

The race is in about two weeks, and I am leaving in just over a week from now. I live in Colorado, so I want to give myself a couple of days to get to Texas. It will also be nice to have a couple of rest days and maybe squeeze in a massage after the travel!

So right now it is just pulling all the loose ends together to get ready to leave. After the race I was planning on putting out lists of my gear, tent set up, etc. But for now I can tell you that as far as training goes it is just kind of winding down. Don’t get me wrong. I am still putting in miles, but the hard work is done.

 

 

I am in the middle of my heat training. Here is Westcliffe, Colorado, we are averaging about 85 degrees for daytime highs. In Texas I need to be prepared for it to be a lot hotter. So I am hanging out in a sauna. The sauna is usually about 160 degrees. I go in there for 30 minute sessions. I am not able to bring in a stationary bike, so I just stretch and do light weights. This is a 3 week process, 4 to 5 days a week.

 

 

Now this is where it gets interesting. About a month ago I was attacked by two dogs. I live in a rural setting, and my runs take me all over the place on back country roads. Miles from my home there is a little, charming community called Rosita. I had done numerous runs in the area, checking out all the sights to keep my mind occupied.

I approached a house that I have passed on numerous occasions. There are 4 dogs that are fenced in at the back of the house which looks out onto the road. As I ran by, two dogs came hurtling toward me. They had been loose in the front yard. It was mere seconds and they were on me. One was a shepherd cross, and the other looked like a pit bull. I was petrified. They were circling me and lunging, baring their fangs. The hair was standing up on the shepherds shoulders and ass. Not good. The owner came running out and was yelling at them and they backed off. I had been frozen in position, afraid to move in case that provoked them to bite. Once they backed off, I kept moving forward. The owner was hiding behind a trailer in the front yard with the dogs. There was no apology, nothing.

 

 

Well, that kind of ruined my run. I kept heading down the road, pretty shaken up. I didn’t have any cell phone reception, so I had to keep going for awhile until I could get through to my husband. He drove out to where I was and picked me up.

So after that, I decided to avoid the area. I didn’t report the incident. But I had to change my route because I did not want to chance that ever happening again. So there is an eight mile loop around my house that I decided to stick to.

I decided to take a bad situation and turn it into a positive. The race is all about 6 mile loops. I could train on 8 mile loops and train my mind to deal with the monotony. I set up a little aid station in my front yard with a cooler and a chair. Perfect! I just threw down miles on that loop.

Then, a week ago, I was run off the road by a truck. Yup. And you think rural running is nothing but peace and quiet! I was on my 8 mile loop. I usually run facing traffic, but this section of the road, traffic was at my back. I can always hear a vehicle coming up behind me, and can always hear and see them coming toward me. I wear Shokz for music, but my ears arent covered.

 

 

I did not hear this truck, which means he was very slowly coming up behind me. He cut right by my side, forcing me to jump off into the ditch. At the same time he steered to the right in front of where I had been, to stop me from going forward. Then, he hit the gas and spit rocks and dirt at me from his back tires. I was in absolute shock. My mind couldn’t keep up with it, and it all happened so fast. There was a curve in the road and he was gone before I could get my camera out to get a picture.

I have neighbors that lived just past the curve in the road, so I ran up to their house. I was thinking that maybe we could jump into their vehicle and go after the truck. But they weren’t home. So I just sat there and started to shake. Wow. That was scary. I now carry mace in my hand to ward off dogs, but how do you ward off a truck?

I just could not get out of my mind how that whole situation could have become much worse if that guy had jumped out of the truck to come after me. There are predators out there, and these men prey on women and children. I was afraid to go on. Once again, I had to call my husband to come and get me. I was afraid the guy could have been waiting further down the road.

So, now what? I cannot believe these two incidents occurred within a month of each other. It has really made me pretty paranoid. Along with visualizing about the race, I am now teaching myself to be mindful on these roads.

Right outside my house there is a fairly well travelled road that has cell service. I am now going half a mile down the road, and half a mile back. No surprises. As each vehicle goes by I am now coaching myself to remember the color, how many doors it has, and the make. All I remember about the truck that forced me into the ditch is that it was blue. I was so freaked out, I was just trying to get my camera out to get a picture.

 

 

But again, I am using this to help me in my training. My eight mile loop was super hilly, not very many flats. So in the final days of training I am really working on consistent pacing, and mind-numbing out and backs.

So there you go, take lemons and make lemonade. Because I am going to Texas, I have been loading up my song lists with lots of country music. I have one song by Johnny Cash, where he has sings a line that life can be rough, so you have to be tough. Oh, I am getting tough all right! But when you have a dream, when you have a goal, there ain’t nothing that’s going to stop me.

I am just looking forward to getting on the road. I need a good road trip, and a great race to tire me out for awhile! I have mentioned this before on Facebook, and in other blogs, but Habanero Hundred is important to me.

  1. I had a rough 8 years away from running, life was tough for awhile. I need this race.
  2. This is going to be my 100th race of marathon distance or longer. I have competed in 62 marathons and 37 ultramarathons.
  3. I will be the only woman over 60 to have ever registered for this event.

 

So bring it on Habanero Hundred. I will Embrace the Suck. This better be tough, because I don’t want anything less!

Share this

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

Latest Posts