Episode 42: Cocodona Day One: The Desert, the Dark, and Why It Still Feels Like a Different Race

Day one of Cocodona 250 covered 75 miles — through the Sonoran desert, up into the Bradshaws, through the first night, and into Whiskey Row in Prescott. And honestly? It still feels like it happened in a completely different race. Maybe that's what 27 hours on your feet alone does to your brain.

In this episode, I'm taking you from packet pickup and a pre-race cry-and-puke in the van all the way to Greg's face on Whiskey Row. We cover the Cottonwood Creek gauntlet, the Senator Highway ridgeline at night, the first sunset of the race, running through black bear country in the dark, puking somewhere after Arrastra Creek, a volunteer who tucked me in with three blankets, a dirt nap that ended when my brain said "bear," and finally — legs throbbing too much to sleep in a real bed but still moving forward.

In this episode:

• Pre-race logistics, packet pickup, and the crew/pacer spreadsheet that was already doomed
• Greg as crew chief — what that actually looks like from mile zero
• The Cottonwood Creek mandatory water carry and why that first section is the hardest terrain on the course
• Early pacing discipline and why it matters more in a 250 than anywhere else
• Poles, gels, chews, bananas, and the electrolyte mistake I didn't know I was making yet
• The Senator Highway ridgeline...first sunset, first night, first solo dark miles
• Melissa...the training run stranger turned puking-and-rallying partner through the Bradshaws
• Camp Wamatochick, the volunteer with three blankets, and 30 minutes in an anti-gravity chair
• Hitting Prescott pavement, a stranger with Tums, and locals handing out candy bars and Hot Hands at sunrise
• Changing into the H1s and what shoe rotation actually looks like in a multi-day race
• And the moment I realized: I'm still here. I'm still moving. That's enough.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey y'all, welcome back to Dirt Nap Diaries. I'm your host, Brittany Olson, Trailrunner, Women's Trail Running Coach, Hype Woman, and Professional Overpacker of the Midrun Snacks. This show is for the everyday trailrunner, the ones training on real life legs and real life time. You've got work, relationships, laundry, pets, a group text that never shuts up, and maybe a big goal sitting quietly in the back of your head that you're not totally sure you're allowed to want. You're not out here chasing podium spots, you're chasing finish lines, sunrises, and maybe a little sanity. This podcast is about trail running, but it's also about navigating life. The hard seasons, the joyful ones, and the ones where everything feels like too much. So let's get into it. Alright, y'all. This will be episode one of uh Coca-Dona recap. Um I do not know how long each episode is going to go. I worked uh hard on getting into my brain for these, but um, I'm still processing and some things might just come out of my mouth that aren't even written down or aren't even out there. Some things might hit me as I as I'm talking. So, and as you know, I have tangents. So uh there's no episode link time really, uh, but there are probably going to be three with how I broke it up, um, just because of how it all how it all played out. But um personally, right now, uh sleep is getting better, which is great when you first finish something like that. Even like when you're finishing your first ultra, like you can have a night or two of really like interrupted sleep. Um, so times that by a little bit more for a longer race, and it has taken a little bit to get back. Um, the past couple nights have been a lot better, but definitely still needing a bit more sleep. Eating is starting to get back to normal. Um, I ate just a variety of things for the past week uh without really thinking too much. It's kind of gave my body what it was what it was craving. Um, and eventually it did crave some vegetables. It was like eat a damn vegetable, so I did that. Uh so yeah, but things are definitely coming back around. I did my first run yesterday. Today I'm actually going to release this on the on the day that I'm doing it. So today is Tuesday, May 19th, which is when this will be released. Yesterday I did my first walk run 35 minutes. Um, it felt like a newborn like calf or deer or whatever. Like the legs felt like I had never done that before. Um, not painful, just like a weird feeling. Uh, and then as I started going, it started feeling better and better, and then like I would walk and then I'd run. So a couple little niggles here and there, which is expected, but like no, no pain, nothing um like that. I will say I ran less than three miles in that 35-ish minutes. Um, and my body was like so hungry within 30 minutes. So definitely some things still going on in there, but uh it was nice to get out there and move. Um, all of my runs still this week are optional, and why am I telling you this? Because there were so many people who do big things who want to get back to running very soon. It takes our bodies a long time to recover, y'all. Not just from a 200-mile error, but from like any race distance you're doing, there's some recovery time associated with it. So um remember, like, hey, let your body recover, do the things you need for you. If it's an optional run on your calendar, it definitely means it's truly optional. So if you're not feeling it, don't do it. Uh, I do always encourage walking or biking or whatever you can, you know, afterwards just to keep the muscles moving, but also make sure you're getting the rest you need. So outside of all the running, uh, Greg and I did go to uh Father John Misty in Vegas on Saturday. So we've had some busy, some busy weeks. We had a little bit of recovery the week, but then we did a 24-hour trip to Vegas to go see to go see him. So that definitely messed with sleep just a little bit, but I think we're both getting back on a good schedule. So that said, uh let's get into the race recap. And I uh I don't know, I guess I I can I can set the stage here a little bit to let you know what it's all about, but we're gonna start with the first 75-ish miles from the start to Whiskey Row and Prescott. Um, because for me right now, the day one feels very uh disassociated from the rest of the race. And I don't know if it's because like I slept so well actually the night before a race and like I was fresh and it day one felt like just a normal race day, you know, like and when I say normal I mean something that takes, you know, say 36 hours or less, you know. So like it just felt like okay, like this is it. And for some reason it's disassociated for me from the rest of the race. Um even though I remember it, it just feels there's just like disconnect. Like I feel like I did that first like day and a half, I don't even know how many hours it was, but like it was over, it was a little over 24, about 27 hours, I think. Feel very different from like the other piece. So it feels like I did that the first 27 hours like five weeks ago, and it feels like I did the rest of the race like two weeks ago. It's just something going on in my brain. So again, processing as I talk, so you know, just bear with me. But we'll start with just actually like you know, packet pickup went well. We actually got there a little later than most people because you know people are very excited, and for us, it just with Greg working, it worked out getting there. So there was no line to pick up my packet. I got to see some friends there. I got to see James and Kristen and Kat and James sister Sue. Um, and if I forget people, I already apologize. But uh it was just nice to see people and be excited. I saw Heidi and Chad there too. Um uh Heidi picked up some paster shirts for me because they were selling out very quickly, which was awesome. So, like, but just like you know, it was just a normal, there's there's more tents and stuff there, but pretty normal packet pickup. Um, what I would love, and I can give this feedback, and this is just because it's me, because of like how short I am and and my and you know, being a woman, but like would love to have more race merch. And I don't normally say that because I do not like to spend money that much. Uh so like um, but like there was a lot of like unisex shirts and everything like that. This is not this not a complaint. Like, I did the race, it didn't matter if there's merch or not, I was doing it, but like, you know, like I am tiny and it helps to have a shirt that fits to be able to celebrate this. So um, but little but literally like went there, it did actually felt like less merch than like most Air Viper races. Um just I'm just giving painting the picture of what it looks like there. So then there's like tents for like tailwind and precision nutrition. Um Ultra had had something there, uh Squirrels Nut Butter, which is the anti-chafe that I use. So like there's just all this stuff that just set up super, super freaking dusty. Um, we all had the Coco Cough, whether you were a volunteer, a runner, a pacer crew, we all had what we called the Coco Cough because it started dusty on um packet pickup day, and then it just was dusty throughout the entire race. So uh the cough is finally gone, but it was definitely something that all of us were struggling with. Um so did packet pickup, Greg and I grabbed some dinner, um, and then we just chilled in the van and I actually fell asleep and slept really, really well um after Greg and I talked a little bit about like logistics and just like, you know, here's what the spreadsheet says, it might not happen, so we're just gonna have to, you know, figure it out. So um so like I said, slept really well in the van, um, got up, got dressed. I actually had a nice uh pre-race cry and puke, which was unexpected. Um, not necessarily the puking, because I knew I was gonna be anxious for the start, and that was my first bit of anxiety. Um, even like a few days before I was feeling really good. Uh, and then the crying, I think it was just the like just the magnitude of what I was doing really hit me in the training block that I had done and like all of that. And I knew the tears were coming actually before, and I was in the van. I just kind of sat there, uh, leaned on Greg and cried for a little bit because it was just all there, and then I went to brush my teeth and I puked. So uh that was the morning before the gun went off. Um and like it was just kind of like okay, let's go, like, let's get this started. But I also but I uh I also had to pick up like my tracker, my tracking, so anybody who live tracked me, we pick up our tracker that day. Um ran to Vent Vents and Aurora from France, where I've been um in the States for a couple months, and they came out to the start line to uh wish me well and say hi. So that was just a fantastic like energy that I that I really appreciated. It was really nice to see people before before the race started, and I saw people throughout the race too, but it just showed like I had a lot of support and love out there, which was which was awesome. Um, and then so had all that, and then really just kiss gray goodbye, and I get in the middle of the pack, which is where I typically start, and you know, it's dark, we're all in headlamps. If you see the beginning, you just see like a trail of headlamps at the start whenever we actually, you know, get moving, and it's really, really cool. But you could just feel the excitement, the nervousness, like all of it. It was a little bit different feeling than a normal race. I feel like there's always some nervousness, but um, this just felt different. And I'm sure again, it's just the magnitude of what the 250 plus miles um was gonna was gonna feel like. Um, and I had all these feelings where I'm like, okay, my feet are really gonna hurt. I know that. My shoulders are probably eventually gonna hurt because I'm carrying a pack and it gets heavy, heavier at times than others. Um, there's gonna be this that probably happens and and all this stuff. So just like being realistic about how I'm gonna feel because when you're on your feet for that long, there's gonna be some pains, there's gonna be some soreness. Like it's very normal, but mentally prepping for that was like definitely forefront on before I started. But then like once we did start, they did the countdown and we started right at five. And once we started, like all of those melted away, like in the beginning for sure, because like again, that first day felt like a felt like a completely different day than all the other ones, completely separated. Um, and maybe eventually they'll merge, but right now I haven't got to that point yet. So we started a deep canyon ranch and uh and we jump on to the uh Black Canyon Trail eventually. Uh you're not on it right away, but uh you just you come up, you you're actually climbing at first. It is easy to get caught in a Congo line. So when I had a moment, I would try to just slip in front of people, not pushing my pace at all, but just I don't like getting caught in those lines. And with 400 something people in a mass start, it's pretty easy to. Um, but I was able to like get around some people and finally get into just a groove because that is, in my opinion, that first 10 miles is the most runnable part of the course. Um, not based on train and like how technical it is, but just based on how you're feeling it's the first 10 miles. But I also know to take it easy because after that first 10, 10 and a half miles, it gets nuts. Um, it gets real, real nutty, especially from mile like 10 and a half to 32 and a half, like until you get to uh Lane Mountain Aid station. So um, but yeah, so finally I got into a little bit of a groove there. Uh it was really cool, like the sun was was coming up, so we got to see like the stars fade, and like you got to see like the light start hitting like the swirls, the acateyos, um, the prickly pears. Like you just got to see it. It was a really cool experience, and the weather was so nice. We had perfect weather the whole week, y'all. I mean, it got hot because it gets exposed here in Arizona, but like we had the best weather, I think, of any Coca-Dona that has happened. Um, so super, super grateful for that. Um, but again, so we started the first day station was about seven and a half miles away, so I think it's 7.4 to be exact, called Cottonwood Creek. So got on the Black Canyon Trail, um, or we're on part of the part of the Black Canyon Trail. We also have this like, it's called this Lake Creek drainage. It's it's not quite a scramble, but it's not a trail exactly. There's some trail in it, but you literally look like you're just going into this little kind of wash area, but it's actually a drainage area, and it's marked. You go through that. There's there's and there's little sticker bushes. There's I'm short and my wear short short, so I feel like my legs always get scratched up pretty easy or early, and they did. Uh, but you just go through this little it's probably about a mile long. Um, and it's kind of just a little cute adventure. Like I always like I went through it a couple times because I did the training runs, and it's a just a cool little spot where you just where you just kind of go through, you do have to scramble up a couple little walls, um, and then you get on on the trail again, and you actually get some some downhill and then some uphill and some roly, which is really, really nice. Um, but I will say there had to be some early pacing discipline um on my part and other runners' parts too, because like I said, you it is very flowy in the beginning, and you can find yourself moving a little bit too fast for what you have coming ahead. Um, and that's where like having a coach or having a plan ahead or being able to have those talks with yourself before you even start is important. So like I knew like I wasn't gonna be pushing my effort. I also knew I was gonna finish that first section under 11 hours in training. I was just over 11 hours, and I knew being out there on race day like things were gonna be moving a little bit faster, but I also knew I needed to keep my effort level low because there it's a long week, y'all. It was a long week, and also because after mile 10 and a half, it gets hard. Like that is it is the hardest part on the course. And it may not always feel like the hardest part of the course because, you know, when you're four days in, your body's like, hey, we've been moving for a while, but it is in terms of terrain, um, descents, climbs, all of that. It is super, super hard out there. Uh, so kept it easy. Uh, and then, you know, just kind of I talked at that point, right? Everybody's still in the race. There's actually a lot of people to talk to. Um, some guy along the way, he's like, I like giving trail names. He's like, and I'm giving you the trail name legs, which anybody knows me. I like being noticed for my strength uh training and my strong legs. So I was very stoked to be called legs. So he actually found me at the finish. I do not even know his name now, but I hit somebody was yelling, legs, legs, legs, and I totally took me a minute. Finally, I turned around and he had finished sometime before I did, but like he remembered me, and it was just cool to have that connection from seeing him at the beginning of the race and seeing him at the finish. So um, that was just kind of a fun, fun experience um out there. So, but anyway, like definitely like got to Cottonwood Creek and it's about 7.4 miles in. We had to leave Cottonwood Creek with four full liters of water. So for my pack, what that what that means is I had um two bottles in the front with electrolytes, uh a two-liter uh bladder in the back of my pack, and then I had two more full flask that also had electrolytes in it um that were sitting in the zipper in my back. So four liters, um, and it had to be at least four liters. I was confident with four liters because there are two other water drops before we get to the next actual aid station. So there's no actual aid aid, and when I mean aid station, it means it has food and everything with it from 7.4, and I believe it's to about 32 and a half, which is where Lane Mountain is. That is like the distance between those those two aid stations. But at mile 10 and a half and at mile 24, there were water drops where we were we could get one liter max at those. So, but every time we left, we needed to leave with four liters, was is is the is the rule. Um, but it's also needed. So luckily when I did those training runs, we only had one water drop per per or one water drop period, so no other aid station, nothing but a water drop. Um, so like at that point, I was carrying five and a half to six liters, so I was used to carrying more water than what I actually had to have on me. Um and what's crazy, guys, is for the entire race, my back and shoulders, nothing ever hurt um my upper body, which I was surprised at because there was even some times when I was training where I would get a little bit of ache in my shoulders from having the poles, having a heavy pack, and and that, and I didn't have that in here. So that was a really huge advantage for me. I do attribute that to my weightlifting that I've been doing for 20 years, and the weightlifting like that I focused on um during the race or during the training block for the race, and then also um to my PT uh Dr. Megan Slavin, um, who had worked on my shoulder a little bit because I have a I have a weird wonky shoulder that I hurt several years ago. Um so we worked on that too. So lots of good stuff for that upper body um for it not to hurt. So um, but so then left Cottonwood Creek aid station, knowing that, okay, at 10, I have till 10 and a half before the climb really starts. And at that 10 and a half mile mark, uh, there is gonna be a water drop. So I'll get a little bit of uh, we'll call it a rest again, but it really wasn't like those first couple aid stations, there was, it was just like in and out, in and out, because there's no reason to stop for a long period of time in those times. Like you have energy, like keep that energy going. Um, so just jogged, talk to people again as we're getting in there, uh, get there, make sure I've got my four liters on me. Um, and then I get out my poles for the first time. Um, for the first 10 and a half, I didn't feel like I needed my poles. Some people like to start with poles because they don't want to deal with getting them out, or some people like having poles because it actually keeps them from moving too fast in the beginning, like just knowing they have the poles out. So, uh but I chose to not pull mine out until that 10 and a half because after that is when a lot of climbing starts. Think loose rock, mining roads, ball bearing gravel, like relentless sun. We had beautiful weather, y'all, so like it really wasn't terrible compared to what it could have been, but you still have that sun hitting you just constantly um with very, very, very, very little shade. Um, and all this time I'm still eating every 30 minutes. Um I had so many gels and shoes. And I started with shoes because I knew eventually I would not be able to, I would not want to chew that much. It just gets harder. You get that mouth fatigue. And eventually you can get flavor fatigue too. Um, but like I was eating every 30 minutes. I was making sure I was doing that. Um, I realized early is banana early bananas were gonna be my jam at the aid station probably. Um, but then lots of ramen later, but we'll get to that. So um, yeah, so just moving along, eating. Um, and when you finally start seeing those climbs, and I have done this section three times, once last year in a training run and twice this year during training runs. Um so mentally, um I was already like telling myself, like, I've done this a couple times. I have never like got to Crown King and then started running right after again once, you know, I refueled and all that. But like I was like, I've done this. This is the toughest part of the course. Let's get this like, let's let's get this out, let's get this, you know, behind you. And not because I didn't want to enjoy the experience, but because I knew I could do it and I wanted to do my best out there. So this section, I do not think I took one picture, maybe one, I don't remember, but I have done this so much that like I always take pictures when I'm training. Um, so I was like, I didn't take one picture of anything out there. I just like talked to people, looked around. Um, there are people that did the training run uh out there that I had done too. So like we recognized each other and chatted a little bit. So if you if you get the theme here, especially in the beginning, because there's so many people, we're feeling good, we're we're talking a lot more, um, where you hear a little bit more laughter. It's not that we don't laugh throughout the whole race, but there's definitely more energy at that time. Um, because it's just the beginning, it's day one. Uh, but it was really cool, especially to see people who I had actually ran with before, even though like I couldn't remember everybody's name. It's just like, oh my gosh, yeah, you were at the training one, or you were at the training run and and all this, and we're finally here doing this, and it feels so so surreal. Um, so but again, this is lots of of climb, it's tons and tons of climbing, by the way. I think it's like around 11,000 feet of climbing in those, in that, in that time frame. Um, but then the descent, you think you're gonna be able to descend really, like, it's gonna be fun, we're gonna descend, and we can like get some some leg turnover, and it is super chunky and gross on the way down, too. So it is a lot of hiking miles through this. Some like a little bitty, what I I'll do little bitty steps to go down to get a little bit faster, but it is a lot of just like power hiking and and that intentional hiking and getting through. So, but you just keep moving, you just keep moving forward. I did not stop and and on a rock or anything and rest. The only thing I stopped for outside of the water drops in the aid station um was to take out bottles from that back zipper and replace them with the empty bottles that I that I had drained. So there wasn't like and that was the plan all along. I felt very confident in this section, even though I knew it was hard. So um when you're doing this though, it's it's really interesting. You're super, super exposed, and then you actually get to this one little part, and I'll call it the maze part before you get to the forest service row that leads to Lane Mountain aid station. Um, but it's it's it's like a little maze. You you're directed one way, and you get into these, like, I think they're manzanitas. Um, I don't always know my plant life, but you're just kind of weaving and they're kind of like hitting your legs. Like I said, short legs, short shorts, like they I always get scratched up. And you just kind of keep like weaving through, but I know because I've done it so many times that shade's coming up. Like if I can keep weaving through this and keep moving, like I'm gonna get some shade. Um, more so than what it had. So that kept me moving and uh hit the shade, and oh my gosh, like even though the weather was like so it was great, being in those pines, it was just it was a different kind of emotional shift. Like, I was like, okay, whew, we're feeling good, like just keep moving. You've got just a little bit, we almost all the climbing's done, you've got just a little bit left. Um, and on the way, I actually there was a Congo line of like four to five dudes, and I was sitting there and I'm like, at first I was just kind of behind him, and I was like, I gotta get moving. Like, I feel too good to stick back here, like with this group. So I was like, guys, I'm coming around. And I remember um I saw Alicia Judy at Lane Mountain when I was done. Yes, I'm skipping around, but I was like, dude, just past like five guys and I'm feeling good. She goes, Oh, they just got chicked. So just it's fun, it's fun to have those things. I am not taking away anything, those dudes who are moving slower. Like, I hope they all four or five, how many of you were there finished for sure? It was just more I was feeling good and I needed to move. I love climbing. So normally as I get closer to the end of the climb, I actually get faster and faster on my hiking. So it's just one of those things that I know about myself, and I'm like, don't stay behind the conga line. If you can get around, get around. Um, but it felt so good to like just be in the that shade and be moving like I was moving. As soon as you come out of those, out of that like uh that trail right there, you hit a forest service road and it's it's downhill. There's a slight uphill in there, but most of it's downhill to the Lane Mountain Aid Station, which is at about 32 and a half. Um, it was great. Um, I saw uh, like I said, I saw Alicia there, I saw Karen there, um, a couple other people there. Uh they made sure like my bottles were filled, and this aid station, just so you know, is only about four miles away from Crown King, which is where I will see Greg, who was my crew chief for this. Um so, but like I didn't spend a ton of time. Oh, Paul Bonnet was there too, because I always get a Paul Bonnet hug. Yay, Paul. Uh, but got some hugs, got my um my water, or not my water, but my my flask refilled with tailwind, uh, and then just uh kept uh moving and I and I had a really good like run because it's downhill into Crown King. I had a really good run. There's a couple little uphills that I did hike, but for the most part downhill, and got to like turn over the legs a little bit and get to Crown King so I could uh empty my pack of or empty my naked belt. I actually wore a naked belt around my waist for all my empty gels, and there were so many in there. Uh, we actually had to wash it out a couple times just because it was getting so sticky. But you know, get to get to uh Lane Mountain or uh Crown King aid uh and then like just got everything refilled. Um, and this is kind of where I started making just a little mistake. I don't think it was why I started puking later, but I do think it's where my electrolytes got a little bit off and like I was peeing a lot, which is for a later story too, but I was starting to take in more tailwind than scratch. And I need to look at the sodium content, but it seems like I when I train I only do one scratch, one tailwind, and I needed more electrolytes than what I was getting. So it gave me a little imbalance later, but um I figured it out really quickly, and it was just able once I started doing that. I just started drinking way more scratch than tailwind. So more to come on that, uh, probably in a different episode. But when you start peeing a lot and it's clear and you're doing a hard effort, um figure out kind of what it is for me is definitely so a lot of times it's a sodium imbalance. Um, so it's something good to figure out early uh because you know that way you can get back on track. So just a little pro tip there. Um, but definitely like when I cruised into Crown King, and I don't know if you guys know it has the oldest uh continuously operating saloon in Arizona, just so you know. Um, but uh that's where they actually set up the aid station. There was pulled pork, which I only ate like half the sandwich. I should have sat and drank more water um and some maybe even some scratch then and ate because it was really hard to chew already, which I did not like, but that is what it is. And I was like, as I was chewing, I was like, ugh, I'm nauseous. Um, but it didn't really impact me too much. It was still the beginning of the day, it was still daylight. So uh Greg, you know, he made sure uh like we checked in on my feet. We didn't take out my shoes at this time. I didn't want to change shoes. At least I don't think I changed shoes here. No, I didn't change shoes here. Uh, and uh there was no sock change or anything, everything felt fine, no hot spots. We did get out my uh cold weather gear um because it was gonna get colder. It was probably at this time, um I want to say around four o'clock. Uh so and we are up higher in elevation and we were gonna stay up higher. So um we have to have cold weather gear, which is uh that's mandatory. So uh they do check that to make sure you have like uh a puff and uh an insulated like under layer. For me, it was just a rabbit long sleeve, a beanie, gloves, those types of things to make sure, and headlamps. I always had three headlamps on me. Uh so there was also there's also something known as the fame, I don't know if it's famous with the crown ging beer and shot you can have there. I did not partake in that. I cannot do the alcohol and run. It's just not something I've ever done. Um, maybe one day I will, but I did not did not do that. So just if any of you were wondering who know about that, I did not. Um but then that's whenever uh so once you leave Crown King, you start uh uh heading toward the next aid, which is uh I think it's a little over 14 miles away. Uh, but I also knew that was really like the uh it was when I was gonna hit the nighttime and it was gonna be like the night in the Bradshaws. And the Bradshaws are gorgeous, by the way, but they are tough. Um, so leaving Crown King, Greg, you know, took me as far like you know to where I had to like check in with my required gear. Um he saw me off and I was like, okay, I guess I'm gonna see him the next morning sometime, you know. And uh so everything, again, I was feeling okay outside of not eating enough of that barbecue sandwich. I was like, you know what, it's gonna be fine. Um, so leaving Crown King, it's it was like I said, night number one. Uh we get on the Senator Highway Ridgeline. It's funny if you look at the actual description and anything notes. Senator Highway is not really a highway out there. It is it, but it's called a highway. It's just a it's a dirt deep road. It's funny. Um, but uh temperature did drop. I don't even know how much it dropped. I never felt super cold at all until I stopped at an aid station. But like it was very quiet. This is where people started getting more and more spread out. Um, so there was a lot of times where like I would just be, and this is one of the most this is a really runnable section too, where I actually did a lot of running. But I'm also like, oh, there's black bears and mountain lions out here. So it still hits you. I didn't, it didn't scare me to the point of stopping. But every once I was like, there could be a black bear that just pops out. There could be a mountain lion. Um, but like none of that happened. I did not see a black bear or a mountain lion. I barely saw any wildlife actually the entire time um I was out there, which to me was crazy. I'm surprised. But also there was, you know, people moving a lot, so that can deter wildlife. But uh it was just kind of nice and and actually quiet. And I used to get super nervous at this time, but like for some reason being out there, I wasn't like scared of the dark. It just like, okay, like this is what I'm doing. Um, but in this section, there was some leapfrogging of people going back and forth. Um, and it was also the f the the best sunset we had of the entire time. Like, I don't even remember all the sunsets, it's probably because I got tired, but the sunset that night was just absolutely like gorgeous. Different, it changed like from purple to like pink and orange. It was just awesome. There were some clouds. Um, I did take out my phone. Now that may have been the first pictures I took of the race, was that um, because it was super, super just like beautiful, and I want to remember that. So, but then that sunset, and it was like, oh, it got dark real quick. So put on the headlamp. Um, and again, it didn't like mess with my mind that first night at all going to the dark by myself. I knew there'd be solo dark time. Um, and then eventually, like before I even got um, I think it's Aristotreek. Aristot Creek. I can't remember how to say it now, but um, it is not a cruise spot. I didn't have a cruise spot till Whiskey Roll and Prescott, so like the next couple aid stations are not cruise spots. Uh, there were drop bags allowed. I do not like to do drop bags if I have a crew, so I just kind of pack as much as I can in my pack. So got there. Um, I by that time, right before we got there, I'd linked up um with Melissa is her name, and I actually met her on the training run um prior to that. So like it was cool that we met up again, like just when we were out there running. And um because I was right behind her for a bit and I could see her, and then like I'd kind of pass her and she'd pass me back. Then we just started chatting and we're like, oh yeah, like yeah, we saw each other at the training run, and like we we just talked, and then so we sat at that age just for a bit. I think I had some ramen there, or maybe even some broth and some stuff. Um, but both of us were kind of feeling a little sick to our stomachs. Uh, so but we still we kept moving. We left that aid station, and uh, I still don't remember who puked first. I think it was me. We had a um an EMT like paramedic, some kind of jeep like coming at us, and I was already feeling kind of nauseous, and then like dust got in my throat and I started coughing, and that was like the first time I puked. Um, and again, I was already feeling nauseous, so I don't think it was just the coughing that caused it, but there was definitely like it definitely when it hit my throat and I started coughing, I was like, I can't keep this in. So that's when the vomiting started. Um I wasn't scared and I wasn't like, oh my gosh, I need to quit now. And my stomach reset pretty good. I started eating pretty quickly, but there were still some thoughts of like I can't puke the entire race. Like I have to figure this out. I have to figure there's no way to run 250-something miles and be puking the entire time. Um, and and feel good and like not do some kind of permanent damage to your body because you don't have enough fuel. Um, so Melissa also puked. Uh, so we traded puke and rallies for the next like section um up through to to get to Camp Kippah, uh, which by the way is miles 67.4. So these are some pretty big like spaces between aid stations. So like from Crown King to Arestro Creek, it was about 14, a little over 14 from the creek to Camp Kippah. Um, it actually wasn't those were that wasn't too. I think I'm gonna say that was like seven or eight miles, and then to Camp W is another like eight or nine miles. I can't exactly remember that. Sorry, like it takes my brain, it's not quite remembering all the math right now. But um you start like when you leave that, you're you're like, you know, there's a climb coming. Like if you looked at the elevation profile, if you looked at the course description, like there's definitely a climb. So Melissa and I are puking and rallying, and we're climbing, and some people passed us, and it was like, don't pass us, but it really wasn't that bad. It was just more like, uh, but I chose, like, I was continuing to eat, and then every once a while I'd have to puke. Um, Melissa was not able to eat and still kind of puking, so it was just kind of like, okay, let's just keep moving together. Um, so we were climbing toward uh Mount Union, which eventually leads into Camp Kippa. And I actually have that note, Camp Pippa is 60.8 miles away, so it was about 9.8 miles from the last aid station of this aid station. Again, you could have drawbacks there. I did not. There was no crew access. Um, and then Melissa actually had a friend who was volunteering there, so it was awesome. So like she actually um helped like get some stuff together. The volunteers were amazing there, like they they refilled um my flask again with Tailwind, which is where some of my electrolyte imbalance came from. Um, again, more to come on that. But like they they filled everything up and I ran into of all people, it was funny, and her name is Kate. I do not know her last name, but she was at Moog when I DNF'd, and she DNF'd due to some knee issues, and I ended up DNFing like um an aid station later. But uh it was funny because she's like, I know you! She's like, we were on Moog and I DNF'd at that one aid station because my knee, I was like, oh my gosh. So it's funny how it just comes back to like comes back around, you know, like I had met this person before. Um, now it's the middle of the night. I have been puking like I was doing at Moog and all of that. And that's when it actually hit me that, like, oh my gosh, I'm puking at about the same time as what I did when I was at Moog. And like, so now part of my problem solving, because yes, I am signed up for Mogue this year, guys, because I want to finish that sucker, um, is figuring out that like, is it like I get fatigued and physically my my reaction is puking? Do I get tired, but then mentally I start to get anxious about that tiredness, and then that leads to the puking. So it feels like there's some kind of connection, and I don't know what that is. Like for people, when they get fatigued, different things happen. And I do, I felt nauseous when I'm not even doing something physical, whenever I'm like super tired and super fatigued, and I haven't slept very well. So it could be a physical reaction, but what can I do to make sure I get that food down? Like, is it drinking more water? Is it having more electrolytes in me? Um, like what does is it more liquid nutrition to figure that part out whenever I hit that time of of night? Um, so I don't know. I still don't know, but it's something that I've got to figure out because obviously there's some puking there. Um, but uh it was it was still okay, like still made it. And oh, and before we got to Camp Kippah, I did we did not take a dirt nap, but that was like the first time I'd actually just laid down and like stopped for like I think we stopped for like five to seven minutes. I don't think it was very long. Um, but Melissa and I both just stopped and some people passed us while we were there, which is fine. Like, but then we but it helped us like keep going getting to Camp Kippah. Um, so got there, got fueled at Camp Kippah as much as we possibly could with having some upset stomachs, and then we left there um together. Um I am glad I was with her for like a few reasons, but like um a big a big reason, just like she was such a mental boost, she was such a light out there, especially like when you're like, oh my gosh, I'm puking this early in a race, what's gonna happen? So um definitely it was just it was it was great to have her there. Um so we had handed towards um camp W, which is at 67.4 miles, so a lot closer, um six like six point six miles away. Um, and I uh I I that's when I started getting really, really tired. Um eventually, like I had to tell Melissa that I was like, I gotta stop, I gotta go to the bathroom, which I did, I really did. Um she's like, Do you mind if I go ahead? And I'm like, no, I don't, because when we're out there, it is fantastic to link up with people, but it's also our own races. So you have connections. Um a lot of times you don't end up sticking with people like that, especially when you're that early in the race. And because sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don't feel good. People need to sleep at different, you know, different spots. Um we get tired at different spots. So that was actually the last I saw of her um for the entire race. Uh we have communicated now through Instagram, which is great. We've been leaving voice messages. If anybody has got a voice message from me, you know how I like to ramble. Um, but like we've been connecting, it's been super, super awesome. But she she got me that far, and then um I was like, okay, like I definitely have to go to the bathroom. Went to the bathroom, um, and like I'm just kind of trudging along. And this this was not a super technical spot. Like to get to Camp Kippa was a bunch of bullshit climbing, and it was hard, and like it was technical, and you felt like you were never gonna get to this aid station, and then when you get to this aid station, you actually have to drop down. And to leave the aid station, you have to go back the way you came, so you have to go up. So just a bunch of bullshit climbing. And I love climbing. You gotta just like Jesus Christ, how much climbing can I do today? Uh so then from there, when we when I head towards Camp W, it is a lot more of um of that uh sorry, my brain. This is my brain, it's a lot more downhill, it's more runnable, you can move more on it. So there was some running and jogging out there, but I also was still puking some, so I didn't feel the best. But at one point I was like, I just need to lay down and sleep. So I went to lay down, and as soon as I dozed, I could feel I'd dozed off, I heard something, and my brain went, fuck, bear. And I just got up and got moving. Like it was like my after that, like, I really needed a dirt nap. But like I I literally once I heard that, my my brain and my my my heart first of all, there was adrenaline, my heart was just pounding. My brain could not um could not just like connect the dots. So that was fine though. That was totally freaking fine. Um, because like I just kept moving and I didn't that adrenaline got me going. Uh, but then like we went, we actually hit Groom Creek Trail for a little bit too. Like, I can't even I need to look at a map and really like reorient how I was out there because it is crazy. Um like I'm like, oh wait, I've been on Groom Creek before. This doesn't feel like Groom Creek, but it's different when you hit it from a different direction and you're sleep deprived and all of that. So um, but I just kept moving. Um, and then I got to uh Camp W, which was amazing. Again, amazing volunteers. This is another uh volunteer who I sat in one of those, they're kind of like those anti-gravity chairs. I don't know if that's what this was particular, but I definitely struggled to get it to lean back in my tired state. Uh, but I didn't want to go into um, they actually have like uh some heated bunk rooms there. I didn't want to do that because I wasn't ready to just like sleep, but I knew I needed to get my stomach settled. I need to eat so I could get to Prescott, whiskey row where Greg was. Um, so struggle in this chair, uh, volunteering's up, and I wish I knew her name, but she came and helped me like lean back, and uh I already had some broth in my hand, like I was I was drinking that, and then my whole entire body, and this was like the theme of when I stopped, my whole entire body just started like shaking, um, which is normal during a hard effort. It just sucked that it was within like less than 24 hours of starting, but like I was just shaking, and she came back and she had two or three blankets and tucked them around me just to get me warm. Um, and she's she's like, How much time do you want? And I had said 30 minutes. So she gave me 30 minutes and came and checked on me, and then I took a little bit more time too. But she was like, She was watching the time, she was helping me out, she didn't have to do that extra thing as a volunteer, and she did. And this woman, I she was actually at the finish line on Saturday. Like I was sitting down and she's like, Hey, you did it! And I was like, Oh my gosh, you kept me warm! Like, so it was just cool, like the connections out there, and I know I feel like I'm jumping around, but like the experience out there is something very, very different um than anything I've ever like been a part of. Um, and even though I paced a lot last year, this was so, so different for me um to be out there as a runner myself, as a racer myself. But like eventually I got up, went pee, like, got some more tailwind. Again, like I should have had scratch on me for that, because that's what I normally do one tailwind, one scratch, but filled up. And then I was like, okay, it's time to just like get moving. So from Camp W to Whiskey Row, it's about not quite eight and a half miles or so. Um, so just left on a single track. I believe it's called Goldwater Lake, uh, is what my brain is is somewhere in there. There was some single track called that. And then so you're on this, this section, and then you eventually hit uh Prescott, like the actual like you actually hit sidewalk concrete pavement, whatever you want to call it. And you get about two and a half miles of that pavement. So this was a pretty slow section. Um I kept, you know, I kept moving. I I didn't stop, I just kept going and knew I was like, okay, when I get to Greg, I can take a minute. We're gonna take off my shoes because I'm switching shoes to my uh Mount Coast H1s, which are hybrid shoes. Um, so I knew like I had time. I still puked another time, but it just happens. Um, but hit the pavement. It was really cool. As soon as we hit the pavement, there was actually a guy there, um, a a local guy who had bottles of water and which was super sweet. And he uh there is a rule, so you can't take outside aid unless you're at a crew un well, obviously cruise spot or an aid like at an aid station, but like so outside aid is anything outside of that. But they encourage you, like, if there are locals who set something up to like use it. Like sometimes locals that like but like the lemonade stand. So they do allow that kind of stuff because it's not specific to like a single person, like a single athlete out there who's running. It's just somebody in the community who who is being doing something super awesome. Um, so anyway, I did I didn't need the water because I had it on me, but I took a sip and just talked to him just a bit, maybe for like two or three minutes, because it's nice that somebody came out and did that. And then just right down the street, there was another lady who had candy bars, hot hands, and water. And I just took hot hands because I was like, I'm gonna need these later. But uh, and the candy sounded awful. But again, just super cool to see like locals out there supporting runners and being excited and cheering for people because at this point it was, I don't know, the sun was just coming up, so it was still pretty early in the morning. So it was just a really cool, cool experience um with that. So hit the pavement though, um, ran into some people, uh, somebody, and I want to say his name was Ron, and I don't remember exactly now, but my stomach was just so sour, and he he had some Tums and he gave me a Tums or two, and that actually did help for a bit. Uh so we weren't even that far away from from like Whiskey Row, but it was like, okay, like I need I my stomach just needs to settle. Uh so then uh before we get to the actual aid station, which is Grand Highland Hotel Courtyard, uh Greg had parked the van. So like I saw him first and like went to the van and I didn't I I did actually lay down for a bit, and that's where we found out that I could not lay down and sleep very well, even though I wanted to. Like my legs ached so bad whenever I would lay down on a bed. Laying down in the dirt, I was okay with. Um, but trying to lay down the bed hurt. We even tried like elevating my legs, we tried icing, um, just like some stuff, and I just cannot, I could not lay down on the bed. And even though this bed is very comfortable, it was like my body was so aware of like I still have a race to do, I still have this. You've been on your feet for this long, and you still need to be on your feet for this much longer. Um, but like he was there, it was great, like as soon as I'm walking, like he sees me like right away and he's he's cheering and yelling and like all of that. So that was just like it's just nice. There's a relief of seeing your crew and also like the encouragement of having that kind of support out there. Um, so that was just like awesome. But again, like tried to sleep, didn't work, ended up, you know, just like getting washed up some. Like we had body wipes and face wipes and washcloth. Like we had every like you do have to keep yourself clean. Um, my lady bits definitely need to stay clean. Like, you can get real itchy down there. You don't want to be itchy. You don't want to be itchy for that race. So, like, it's it's keeping things as clean as possible while doing something really, really hard, having clothing changes, having shoe changes. Um, at that point, my ankle had not blown up. We will get to that in the next episode, but like my ankle did blow up eventually and not from an injury. Um, so that was kind of weird. But um, yeah, so uh got there. I don't even remember. I know I ate something and I don't remember what it was, but it wasn't enough. I can tell you that. Like I remember I was like, I should have eaten more, and I just did not, not because I was trying to be like not do it. It's just it's very hard whenever you've been puking and you're still a little bit nauseous and you're still trying to troubleshoot all that stuff. But um went uh finally, like, once we changed all that stuff, like we went by, like went into the aid station. I think I was bananas, I think is what we found out. That's where I started eating more bananas. Um, we grabbed some bananas, we put some more, like I had was carrying one with me as I went. I probably eaten three bananas there. Eaten, eaten, eaten. Wow, I can't talk. But had the bananas, um, and then just kept just kept moving. Like just like Greg walked me for just a little bit. I this is where you could pick up a pacer, by the way, but I didn't have a pacer set up until the top of Mingus. So, and I was cool with that. Like, that was just logistics, getting people there, asking people to take off work, all of that. It is a big deal. Like, these people who showed up for me, and we're gonna get into that more as we get into like further episodes, by the way, down the road, because like I had so much support and love out there, so much had to change, and everybody was coordinating that outside of me. And if anybody knows me, I am a coach, I'm a coordinator, I'm type A. Like, that's my kind of control mechanism. And I had let all that go, and like everything was seamless for me. It wasn't for them because they were trying to figure out where people needed to be. Some people have kids that they need to get back to. You know, there were things happening because my time was far off from what I had uh wanted to do. Uh, so like things had to change, and these and and Greg and the pacers, um, especially I know especially Kat was very communicative about like what we needed. I ended up having one pacer who couldn't be there just because of my timing, which I knew if I didn't hit that, it I couldn't have that pacer. But um they were able to find me another one to replace that pacer and then two more to go like in different spots too. So it was a whole coordinated effort. Why am I mentioning that now? Because it has been on my brain a lot about how supported I was out there, how I probably could have got a pacer earlier had I asked more people, but I also am just like, this is like this is a very hard ask to ask people, hey, hey, use vacation time for me, please. Like, hey, do this, do that. But then, like, as I was out there, I also realized just with all that I saw, like how much people do want to be out there, like how much their vacation time is like, they will use it for that because they want to be there for you. So it was just a cool, very cool thing. Um, but again, a little bit later you'll you'll get more pacer and for information, more stuff that Greg had to deal with uh as a crew person, but was mainly making sure I say mainly, it's making sure I was eating some food, that's for sure. Like that was a big double. He was taking care of my feet and all of that stuff too. And just like as a crew person, especially, you do not sleep very much. So he was lacking sleep, um, too, which is very, very hard when you're trying to focus on on somebody else, too. But um, anyway, so like left uh whiskey row and uh headed towards uh Watson Lake was really the next next spot, which that is where I am going to pause. But this was a new aid station before there was more mileage in between. But again, this is where I switched to my H1 shoes because there was road miles. There was very gravelly miles. So like not a lot of technical. My T1s, which are Mount to Coast T1s, they are way more um, they're for more technical terrain. They have more grip on them. The hybrids, the H1s, are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. I'm not, and I don't get paid by Mount to Coast. I'm not sponsored by them. But just so you know, like they came in, they came in clutch. Um, especially whenever my ankle got so big that like things just my shoe, my my we didn't have to tie my shoe after a while. Like it literally just stayed on my foot. Uh so but um H1s were the way to go for that, and it really gave me some relief. Like changing shoes throughout, it does help. First, like you get the shoes off for a minute and you like rub, get the bottom of your feet, rub the top of them just to like break up that fashion stuff. But then like just having your feet out of shoes even for a couple minutes, it's just this huge relief knowing that they're not gonna be on your feet the whole time. So um, I have so much more to talk about, but we are at 45 minutes already, so we are gonna cap this one here. I have not decided how I'm gonna release these episodes. You might get some bonus ones before next Tuesday, um, because this is all fresh in my mind and I really want to work through it as I can, but I also have a normal life with a job and coaching and everything else. So I do appreciate you listening, but listening to this. But um to close this out, like day one of Kogadona, you know, about 75-ish miles. Um it was through the desert, it's up in the mountains. I got through the first night, into the second morning, no pacers. It was really just like me and the course and whatever that course brought me, whether it was Melissa out there, um, whether it was some moments of just silence out there, whether it was hearing a bear that got me moving, and it probably wasn't even a bear, but that's what I'm envisioning. Um, and like, you know, see being able to see at least Greg at Crown King was like a super like big bump for me too. Um, and somewhere in those like 27-ish hours, too, like I started puking, my legs wouldn't let me sleep, and I was running alone in the dark on a mountain, and I and I did think like this is only day one. Um, but again, this day feels so disassociated from the rest of the race. So, but I also had that same thought of like, I'm still here, I'm still moving, that's enough. So, whatever day one looks like for you, whatever hard thing you just survived that nobody else saw, that still counts. Like, you're still here, so keep moving. Alright, y'all, like I said, there are going to be more episodes. Um, the other one might be longer, it might be shorter. I am trying to make this so you do not have to listen to me for like five hours because I could talk and talk about this because this was one of the best weeks of my life, one of the most amazing things um that I have got to do and to be the have the support and love. It's very hard not to just like ooze with like Coca-Doness all the time. But uh thank you so much for like being here listening. Super grateful for all of you who've been who just started listening, who have been listening since the very beginning of this podcast. Um, but remember if you love this episode, like make sure you download it, follow the show, leave a review or rating, share it with a friend. It really does help uh this podcast reach more everyday runners, um, just like you. And not even just everyday runners, everyday normie people. I love my normie people. I consider myself abnormal for what I do, but seriously, uh now go move your body, drink some water, stretch your calves, and if you're listening while running, loosen your shoulders. You're welcome. Good effort, positive attitude.