I was told that recovery gets easier with each hundred but wow. From the moment I crossed the finish line, everything was different compared to last time. At Hennepin, we hung out for a while cheering people in as they finished, went shopping for gear and took team pictures at the finish line. I got a ride up the hill to the car but it was for convenience and fun not because I literally could not walk. I did start to fall asleep in the car but I did not have any waves of pain like last time. (Figured out that at Yeti, I had disassociated from most of the pain so the pains in the car was my body/brain letting it in. This year, I felt ALL the pain the entire time.)
I was able to slowly walk myself into the VRBO just fine. Lisa did help me with getting into the shower but it was a lot easier this time. Also, not a single hallucination this year. I find this one a little disappointing to be honest.
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| Crew at the brewery next door while I slept. |
I did pass out for a few hours again. After four hours of hard sleep I woke up and it felt like those movie scenes where the person is underwater and bursts through the surface gasping for air. I was in such a deep sleep that coming back to consciousness was intense. While I was asleep, my crew was walking around the little town for food and drinks. They returned and brought me ice cream from this little place I had discovered on Thursday. It's the type of ice cream place where they make everything from scratch and have classic and creative flavors. It was AMAZING! Plus, it turned out to be their last day before closing for winter so they gave them extra bags of waffle cone. They were the best waffle cones I have ever had. This place was seriously amazing. Then we had a campfire outside. I was able to walk out on my own! Kirsten had leftover ribs from her lunch while I was asleep. So, she added it to my left over mac & cheese. It was AMAZING!!!! Seriously, I am day dreaming of that dinner now. We shared a
bottle of wine and had a great night talking by the
fire looking over the Mississippi river.
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| Campfire Fun! |
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| Oh my YUM!!!!! |
Going to sleep, I remember saying that I wish I could blink myself through the morning. The first morning is always the hardest. I woke up with stiff legs and my left leg was especially problematic. My calves are always tight. They are the primary problem with my Achilles issues. Well this time the left one got so tight that it was pulling on the back of the knee. Every time I rested my legs for an extended period, they needed shaking out again to get moving without pain or stiffness. I was able to help with some of the packing and even carried luggage to the car! (I was not a useless lump on the couch this time!)
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| Airport Celebration! |
We arrived at the airport extra early because my plan for this time was to walk on my own at the small airport. Upon check in we arranged a wheelchair for DIA because we were flying on a tiny hopper plane and the gate for these planes at DIA are in an area so far removed that I did not know existed! So we checked in and started our slow walk to security. A really sweet man running the cart offered us a ride. I didn't want to say no so I got a ride through the security area. We had him drop us off on the other side so I could walk the legs and we could go get a beer.
The direct flight to Denver was uneventful which is really the best. Plus it was only 90 minutes! The gate for our small plane was in an extension off of Terminal B. We used a ramp to exit the plane and then walked outside and up some ramps to the indoor terminal. I was shuffling along with all the other passengers passing me. Then a slower passenger passed me and said, "Hennepin?" I laughed and said yes. He then advised, "use a roller bag next time- it works like a cane!" and sure enough he was shuffling along using the roller bag but at a much faster pace. Genius! I will use that tip next time as I think it would totally make a huge difference.
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| Walking with Tonks, The Wondermutt |
Kirsten headed south to Colorado Springs while my mom picked me up at the airport...with the absolute best passenger with her. Tonks, the Wondermutt, was in the car all wiggles. I was slow moving but moving just fine. In fact, by the next day I was taking Tonks on walks and climbing the stairs normally which is less than half the time it took me back in 2020. I decided to keep to the rule of thumb anyway: a day off of running for every ten miles run. I did mobility and rode the bike. It felt really good that first day getting sweaty. In keeping to comparing to the Yeti100 in 2020, I was emotional again but not nearly as much. My appetite was consistently strong through the first full week. I wonder if this had to do with my lack of appetite during the race itself.
Now it's been almost a month since race weekend. Again, I have thought a lot about how the race unfolded. Like last time, I think this experience and all its joys and imperfections was exactly the learning experience that I did not know I needed. Next time when I am faced with a marathon distance still to go and every step hurts, I can draw off this experience to acknowledge the pain but keep running. During the miles I did not think I had more running to give so I mainly walked but now looking back I know there was more there in the tank. The miles would have been excruciating but temporary. I am almost desperate to jump back in for another go at 100 miles. I can do it better. I know I can. However, I question whether another 100 miler in the next 12 months is a smart move. Maybe a 100k, a distance that I have never done, would be a great challenge for 2023? Maybe a 100k in Colorado with more elevation gain would be a fun challenge and then a 100 miler closer to home in 2024?
As of this moment, I do not have a new goal race yet on the calendar, not even a 50k, and it's driving me a bit crazy. I would love to find one sometime Jan-Feb but there are not many choices nearby and I need it to work with my school schedule. I LOVE LOVE LOVE winter running so I neeeeeeeeeed to get something on the books. Yes, I am having a full blown tantrum right now. I can not deny it. I am a race day junkie looking for a fun time!
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| Legit Accurate |
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| Beautiful Buckle Beers |
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