My first 100

Well, I did my first 100mile race Saturday. The pumpkin Holler Hunnerd. A hilly country dirt road race. Thanks to Eric, number 1 I finished and number 2, I came in first place female! I am so grateful for the expertise and guidance. It was nice to "just run" and not have to worry whether or not I was ready or capable. I was able to run and trust my body, listening to cues my body gave me about fuel, salt, and water. It is a weird/wonderful feeling to be that tuned in and in-tune with myself for such an extended period. I will try to upload some pics. One of which is when I was starting the last 30 mile loop and I had just caught the lead female. It's definitely a "deer in the headlights" look! I've never won a race in my life, I was in track in high school. Never placed, never made varsity. The few 5k races I've done I might have won 3rd place in my age group a few times (if the weather was bad and there were few participants). I can't believe I just won the longest hardest race of my life.

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Permalink Reply by john hudak on October 19, 2011 at 3:41pm

Congratulation Lori! That is such an incredible accomplishment! Have you been working with Eric one on one, or with one of his online training programs? Please do tell about fueling and night running. Again, congratulations!

Best,

John

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Permalink Reply by Lori Enlow on October 19, 2011 at 5:56pm

Yes, I have worked one on one with eric since about April using an on-line program, e-mail, and phone calls. I fueled mainly with CR333, a simple carbohydrate/long-chain amino acid/electrolyte mix and water. I drank about 20oz or 300cal per hour and drank during the day (85-90 degree temp) an additional 10-20 oz of water. At night I only drank the 20oz/300cal per hour. I only took a salt cap about every 4-6 or more hours (I don't typically sweat a lot and at night the temp dropped to around 50 degrees although it felt like about 20!). I tried to eat a little at the aid stations, but after trying a little banana or pb&J I was sick feeling for the next 2-3 miles. After the first 20 miles I never ate again and felt well fueled and well hydrated the rest of the way. The last 5 miles were excruciating. I developed a sharp pain in my R knee with every step and soon after sharp pain in the flexor tendons of my feet. I literally limped the last 5 miles crying (with no tears, which really pissed me off!). Thank God for my pacer! She just kept telling me I could do it. She also kept lying to me about how far we had left to go ;). Initially I didn't think I wanted a pacer, but I can honestly say i would have quit without her. I didn't layer up at the last aid station because i was moving fast and was not cold. I paid for that those last 5 miles limping in. I got a little hypothermic and dehydrated because all i could think about was how much I hurt. I should have been drinking more. I did distract myself with singing The Rolling Stones, "She's So Cold". I had passed the lead female at the 80 mile mark and just knew she was going to pass me in those last long slow 5 miles. I kept looking for her headlamp, but she never caught me. As I write I am in tears....humbled, thrilled, tired, anxious to run again soon!

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Permalink Reply by Eric Orton on October 19, 2011 at 5:17pm

She nailed it. Shows you what hard work and attention to all the details can do. Way to go Lori!

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Permalink Reply by Lori Enlow on October 19, 2011 at 7:08pm

Thanks!!

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Permalink Reply by Bobby on October 19, 2011 at 9:08pm

Wow! Congrats! That is a race you're children will tell their children. : )

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Gunnoe on October 19, 2011 at 10:41pm

In Oklahoma? I had some friends doing the 50K.

WOW!!! You give me hope! I would love to do a 100. Congratulations!!

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Clement on April 20, 2012 at 8:25am

Wow, awesome! Congratulations! What would you say is your big breakthrough with your training... because that's a long way... sorry, I'm new here.

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Permalink Reply by Lori Enlow on April 20, 2012 at 12:06pm

My breakthrough was and is something that I now have to "break through" again. It is as Eric put it, "embracing the hard". It's been a while since I ran that 100 and I see by the way I spoke of it that I got it then, but am in a funny place right now and need to regain that ability. By the time I got to that 100 race, I was so in tune with my body's cues and was willing to listen, accept and adapt without fear. I need to regain the ability embrace fear, hard, difficulty...those things that we try to avoid and push past or hope will just go away, that is my focus now. I am getting ready for my first marathon and have some serious performance anxiety going now. Having a hard time embracing those fears and feelings and visualizing my success. It's a work in progress.

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Permalink Reply by Aaron Clement on April 21, 2012 at 8:58am

I can relate to that, actually. I've ran a few marathons already... but 100km seems unreachable... i know what you mean with body sensing... the only way I can do that is through a lot of training. But you have my vote, because what you've achieved is incredible. I guess for me I'd like to be in the same place one day... for me I tend to get injured right before success... Maybe I should take a closer look at Eric's training... Is it expensive to have him as a coach? Does he train for all distances or only ultras?