First and foremost, I regret nothing, a life with regrets is a life not lived to the fullest, which we strive to do every day of our lives, not just for us, but for our children. The lesson that had to be learned the hard way for Kevin especially is to live life to the fullest. When his beautiful son, Benjamin, who died at 3 1/2 years old of brain cancer, his motto in his life was, we can do that. Please say his name out loud when you think of us or talk to us. We do this for his memory and so our children know, they can do that too. Life is too short to let it pass you by thinking, man I sure wish I did that...
However, I regret some of my inattention to the details which have caused 9 out of the 10 toes I have on my feet to be at risk of losing their little shells. Also known as their toe nails. 9 out 10, in most betting odds, those are good odds, not for your toes though. The 9th toe, hasn't gotten off scott free, it has a giant blister. I also have blisters on the outside of both heels, under and above the calluses formed there. In addition, I have growths on the outside of my big toes too. The only place that seems to have survived is the bottom of my feet and the top. That is good. I think.
How did this all begin again? This is our third year to run this race. I use the word run with ease, as in we run and hike and walk and crawl. Last year we did so well, that we improved by almost an hour and we were hopeful for beating the clock again this year and finishing under 10 hours. For the record, I think we could have if we had our sticks....but, someone, I won't point fingers, Kevin, said, no sticks we need to train for Oracle. Fine.
Prior to the race, we have been focusing on more high intensity hill repeat training vs long runs as Oracle tried to kill us last year and we want to finish that race this year and not have a DNF, again. We have spent a lot of quality time on Wasson Peak and in the heat. We did a marathon in September in Kauai, we did a night run in Phoenix, we did a tough run in Chiricahua mountains, near Wilcox, a couple weeks ago. But, nothing of really long runs. We haven't even been running on the course since last year. However, we felt we would be okay. We always think we will be okay.
The week of the race came and I was pushing for us to really crank up our hydration with water and some electrolytes to prime our systems for the warmer weather present on race day. It was going to be 10 degrees warmer. I am thankful for that decision because, I think it saved us.
In our training and random running my shoes were done. We went to Summit Hut to get a pair to replace the ones I had and they didn't have them. Crap. I decided on another company and pair and thought I would wear them the whole week with work and feel them out. They felt great. I really like them a lot. They felt good to be honest for the run. I am very well aware of nothing new on race day, I was pretty desperate and thought it would be just fine. I must have been running downhill with that stupid decision. However, I will get to my great error soon.
We decided to get a hotel for the night before and after the race as it is a pretty significant drive from our house to go there. We have stayed at his dad's house in the past but that wasn't going to work out this year, which was okay. The next day after the race we would be supporting a race with volunteering and support so the hotel would be closer to both venues. It was close to a lot of eating options too which is always a bonus.
During the week we got the packs ready, the drop bag stuff, the nutrition and snacks etc. We got all packed up and made lists and we would be set. We are old hands at this so no real errors to be had. Except, we are getting old. I had a full day of work on Friday and just planned to drive to the hotel after work and meet Cecilia and Kevin there. They got the car packed up and checked into the room. I made some additions to the list, titled "things to remember to pack". Spoons (for the oatmeal for the morning), chairs for us to sit on, big Flag to run in due to Veterans Day, Poles-just in case.
As I was driving from my last patients house to the hotel I got a call from Kevin. He forgot the drop bag. But, it would be okay. We have a snack bag that has Mickey Mouse on it and we could use that. It would stand out as ours that is for sure.
He said the hotel also had a full size freezer so we could freeze everything and it would last longer. Perfect.
We had all the other important items, I was wearing my shoes, we had our packs loaded and our clothes, we would be fine.
Got into the hotel room and Kevin had previously gone to packet pick up and got our stuff, our shirts etc and had everything laid out with a flag. A little wee one.
It seems the list of things to get was forgotten. Dang old age. The packs were the most important and cue sheet....however..... The spoons made it.
Kevin had put everything away in the room, clothes and what not and we were discussing dinner plans. He said, since this is our anniversary we could walk to Olive Garden. Okay, that sounds good. So we made the trek to Olive Garden and discovered, so did everyone else. We put our name on a wait list and it would be 35-40 minutes. So we opted for take away instead, which would be shorter, only about 25-30 minutes. We went to the bar area to have a drink while we waited and saw that could have sat in the bar, but decided to stick with the original plan, well plan B. We had a drink no sooner were we done that our stuff was ready. Perfect off to the room we go. We had a yummy meal which was a little too much and I was worried about GI tract issues the next day.
Kevin came up with a great plan to label the drop bag which was in line with Veteran's Day, it was great.
We got everything all laid out and numbers put on our stuff etc. We folded the numbers small, because all the fast people do that, so we thought we would be faster that way. All we had to do in the morning was get up load up the drop bag and our packs and off we would go. He made lists for that so we wouldn't forget anything.
We slept off and on like you do the night before a race in a hotel. Better then we thought. I was getting more and more nervous about the day ahead. We will be fine, one foot in front of the other. Be in the mile you are in and all of that stuff. I knew it was going to be warmer and normally we freeze our behinds off at the start. It was nice out, scary, that meant it would be a hot day. We pulled up to the parking area and we needed to go up the hill to the upper parking area. Yikes, this hill may be rough on us coming off of the race. As we were walking down it was a little dicey as it was still dark and Kevin said, maybe I can sprain an ankle and you can go without me. He said previously that he is going to divorce me and marry me when there are no races so we can just do normal Anniversary stuff. Ha ha Kevin.
We decide to use the porta potty first and then head up to check in. It is always interesting using a porta potty in the dark.
We walk up the other hill to check in and Matt sees us and lights up and says Hello Trapps. I said, yes we are back again. Didn't learn our lesson. He asked if we want the early start and we say yes of course. We put our cute disney bag down with all the not so disney drop bags. Ross, the race director loved it.
We meander around and I say hello to other runners I know. Susan J who I got to run with and hang out with for the Peppersauce Roundup. We were about the same pace so I was looking forward to the day with her and Kevin. She was there with her training partner Amy and her husband.
I said hello to Susan A who I met on a bus ride for the Vail half trail marathon, she loaned me some suncreen and is just such a nice and down to earth gal. Plus she is seeing one of our other good running friends Bob and they are just adorable together. I said hello to Noah, this was his first ultra and he has been running like crazy, he is a new dad to a baby boy too. Then Chris J came up and between Noah and I, we talked him into doing this. Noah and him are similar pace and would be sticking together which is a good thing. Chris has struggled with nutrition in the past and with two people it is easier to stay on top of. I was so excited for their first ultra! Then our friend Bruce showed up and he hasn't been in the ultra scene for a little while and this was a come back race for him. The vibe was exciting and we were all going to have a fantastic day.
Matt calls everyone over to the starting area and I realized I didn't lube up my undercarriage yet. Shoot. I scooped some stuff from our bag and ran behind a tree and did what had to be done.
I met Kevin over at the start area and we listened to the rules and listened to the anthem and then it was go time. Oh crap. Kevin and I decided when we take off we should run straight to the porta potty one last time. We had been visiting and didn't go pee.
We snapped a couple pics.
We sprinted to the toilet and were in and out in a flash. We set out on the trail, ran about 40 feet and started to walk (hike). Only 34 miles to go. We got this.
So I am in constant GI stress when I run, meaning, I get the runs. I packed in a ziplock with 2 Imodium and I was frantically searching for them so I could take one before things go south. I was in a panic, can't find them. I forgot to take one in the morning at the hotel too. Finally, Kevin is like what is wrong and he helps me out. Crisis averted. Keep climbing, the first couple of miles is a pretty good climb. We passed a couple people, they passed us, we passed them. The usual leap frog game. One girl she was going to be turning around for an unofficial marathon. Weird. There was a couple, about our age and she was behind him and he seemed annoyed to be waiting on her. I made a joke about the story of our lives of our husbands waiting on us. Keeping things light and fluffy. He eventually dropped her and then dropped from the race. No more light and fluffy for them.
We get to the saddle and it will start to go downhill which is glorious after the climb. We always see the sun hitting the horizon and the course ahead, it is beautiful and daunting as you know this day has begun. You always, always, always (written three times, as three times we have been the fool) forget this nice downhill you have to climb up coming back. You seem to not pay any attention to the surroundings and just go bounding down like a goat on crack, or in my case, like a stumbling elephant.
We were feeling pretty good for the most part. My shoes felt great. I was thinking we were going to be okay. All good things especially when running downhill. Our pace was great. Weather was good so far. Greatness all round. All except one thing. My back was so tight. Seemed to be sucking the energy and power from my hips down. Weird. It will let up.
Oh god. I am going to puke. So I did, a mouthful and it was over with. What in the blazes??? Why is my back so sore? We are going to die. We won't make it. Oh god. It is only mile 4.
"Hey Trapps" It was Susan J and she snapped a pic of us. Scared me, I peed a little. We caught up to her and asked how she was doing. She had gotten sick during the week and had slammed her baby toe into a door early in the week. She said, I am okay, but my foot is sore. She was moving good.
We got into Gabe Zimmerman aide station and we grabbed a few gummy bears and topped off the water. We took off and I chewed on two gummy bears, I asked if Kevin wanted mine and he said no, he threw his out then I threw the rest of the handful out. Then we carried on. I said my back is still really tight. Maybe we can try to reset my SI joint on the side of the trail. It is a movement that realigns your hips if they are offset which was what they felt like. So there on the side of the trail, we reset my SI joint and bingo I was way better. I could run again. I am sure it looked crazy. I was lying on the ground and Kevin is manipulating my legs. Susan J ran by and asked if there was anything she could do. Nope just doing some stuff.
We eventually caught back up with her and stayed with her for a bit, but I wanted to stretch out the legs on a particular open section to see if my back was okay, it was way better. We carried on until we made it to the I-10 tunnel which was a fun picture to take with Susan J. We were having a fun day so far, pace was going good and we were going to be okay.
Somewhere along the way we pulled away from Susan but chances are in an ultra you see each other again. We saw Chris and Noah and snapped some pics of them too.
We got into Sahuarita Aide station and they had a Hawaiian theme which was a lot of fun, our friend Michelle was there and Steve, the race director for Oracle was there too. It is like family. We love it. We topped off the packs and traded out our nutrition from the drop bag. I grabbed some snacks for us to eat, which as usual we didn't, I held onto them with my usual death grip and Kevin said how about you put those in the pack. So I did and we carried on.
We had lost Susan. She has done the race before so she knows what is coming with the climb and journey to the turn around point.
We were still feeling pretty good. My feet were hurting, but it felt like normal hurt, I can deal with that. My back was not bothering me at all. My tummy was good. It was getting warm and I was getting tired, but still okay.
We got to the crappy hill and pushed through. I didn't cry this time, so that was a win. We took pictures of everyone along the way and just made the best of every step and the mile you are in. We got through it and made our way to the aide station and turn around. I told Kevin I would need to go to the bathroom there, thought I felt a rumbling. We had ran into a girl earlier who said they have the best watermelon and ice there. Fantastic, those are my favorite things. These two guys heard me and said, they are out of watermelon and all the ice melted. They were joking of course. We saw Noah, Chris and Susan A. coming back.
We got into the aide station, they were out of watermelon and low on ice.....dang it. They had pineapple though. Gross. We asked the time checker guy if they knew if Susan had checked in at Sahuarita road or not. They said that they had 108 drop, I said I don't know her number. They looked up her name and it was 109, they thought maybe it was a mistake. Dang it. I hope she is okay. We had asked a couple other runners if they had seen her too. I was getting worried about her.
I packed up a ziplock bag of oranges, drank coke, mountain dew and some ginger ale. I ate 2 boiled potatoes with salt too. There were a ton of bees. Feel bad for the aide station people. They are all so nice and helpful though. All the volunteers are experienced runners and know how to help out people and recognize when people need help. We had a few bees go with us when we left, following the oranges.
We were 25 minutes ahead of schedule which was great, we need that buffer for us to make it to the end. We headed back out and what do you know, we ran into Susan and Bruce!! Holy cow, she was okay. We thought we missed Bruce and thought he was ahead of us. He had a bad fall and hurt his knee and hip and was struggling. Susan wasn't looking too good either and I was worried about her. They were headed towards the aide station and would be getting some help and what they needed so we carried on.
That stretch back to the Sahuarita aide station is kind of rough. You do a climb out and then some nice downhills. We were a bit too leisurely through there, which happens. But, we lost a 15 minutes buffer!! I could feel the tension from Kevin we were falling behind. We didn't say much and just one step in front of the other. We had to keep the pace below 18 to stay in the game. At this point, my feet didn't just kind of hurt anymore, there was a PROBLEM. I said, I am getting blisters on the sides of my heels and we need to deal with them. They are killing me to run. So I sat on a rock and tried to stab it and couldn't. Kevin started to stab it and nothing. It was a callus type of blister, deep down. I said, well we poked a shit ton of holes in it so eventually it will find a way out. Like a freaky sort of demon.
There is always a mile before the aide station that seems to just drain me, we never seem to be close to the aide station. You can hear the road, you know it is out there, you know it is coming, but, it never seems to get close. Kevin reminded me to stay focused and although I couldn't run, the pain in my feet and toes was extraordinary; I power hiked through.
We got into the aide station and I checked our note card and we were holding the 15 min ahead.
It was getting hot out. My hands were so swollen, I was drinking tons of water but the electrolytes I couldn't stay ahead of. The ladies there got us hooked up with ice and water and we got our other nutrition bottle. We downed some coke and mountain dew and I had some AMAZING watermelon.
A funny thing happened and they asked if I wanted ice down my shirt. I looked down my shirt like to see if it would fit?? I have no idea. It was funny. So they dumped ice down there, I had ice in my hat and ice in a buff around my neck. No sign of Susan or Bruce. Michelle heard that we were ahead of time and she said, just relax Kristin it is going to be okay. Heck I could have sat down and ate a snack which was went through my head, through Kevin's head was, we need to be ahead, let's go.... so we were getting gone. As we were getting ready to leave Bruce showed up, no Susan. He was freaking out that he wasn't going to make it. I told him to calm down, if he left out of there by 1:30 and power hiked out to Gabe Zimmerman and kept the pace under 18 min he would be okay and we left. He said, you are leaving me, I said, yes, sorry we have to get going.
We headed out for the vital 6.1 miles to Gabe Zimmerman before the cut-off which is 3:30. We planned on getting into Gabe Zimmerman at 3:15 and we needed to get on it and keep moving. I had at this point been having a lot of problems with my tummy and feeling like I needed to pee but barely peed anything out. My lungs had already began to act up with the wheezing and it sounded like I swallowed some bees or a Kazoo. I was just trying to push one step in front of the other and ignore the pain in my feet and my inability to pee or breathe.
I was off in the brush doing some nature visiting when Bruce cruised by, I didn't call out hello of course, I was indisposed. He caught up to Kevin and passed him up. I joined Kevin and he said Bruce looked really strong. I was worried Susan had to pull up at Sahuarita road, if she made it that far.
Kevin and I had arranged to have our friend Gerrie meet us at Gabe Zimmerman with ice and two cold cokes. He text Cecilia when we left the aide station and we would text her again when we left the I-10 tunnel, it is 1 1/2 miles from the trailhead and the cut off point. We got to the tunnel finally and we were maintaining our 15 min ahead of schedule so we were okay. Had to keep pushing. We came up the trail and I could see Cecilia and I stopped to take a pic of her and wave to her.
He said we don't have time for that, we have to get in and get out very quickly. Yes dear. Then I said, oh my god. I have to go to the bathroom I won't make it to the trailhead. We DEFINITELY don't have time for THAT!!! So he took my pack and I went and headed to the trailhead. Poor Gerrie, I came up to her and got my pack from her and handed my ziplock of tp and asked if she would put it in my pack. It was funny. She was an angel. They were out of ice as we expected and the coke was nice and cold.
Here are some pics Cecilia got of us coming in.
I filled a ziplock with PB and J and chips, we had our cokes and out we went. It was 3:17 pm. We did it again!!! How is it possible? We are a year older, I am 10 pounds heavier, my feet are shredded, we walked a ton, but we made it, made the cut-off. Now as Kevin calls it, a 29 mile race and a 4.9 mile walk to the car.
We got to the bottom of the hill to the creek and we just leaned against a rock, ate a PB & J, drank some coke, stretched and moved on. That mile was 34 minutes, and that was okay. The next few miles were of delirium.
I didn't want to say it, but man we would have moved faster with the sticks. But, the strength we have gained did pay off a little. You have to climb for 3 miles before you get to the saddle and a mile long decent into the start/finish line. When we first climbed out of the creek we ran into a guy who makes sure we make it across a busy road okay. He chatted with us for awhile which was nice. This part of the course is so pretty, it kind of stinks you feel so damn awful there.
Along the way, Kevin said, I have a surprise for you. You do? I was excited. What kind of surprise? Then he handed me two salt tabs, oh. Thanks.
I decided that Batman learned how to do his voice on an ultra because I couldn't talk and when I did, it was just like Batman. It was funny, maybe too funny.
As mentioned, coming back up this you forget what it all looks like, even though you went on it that morning. It seems foreign. I always think we are lost. Which is impossible. This year they put these glass reflective things on the markers which is great at this time because the sun hits them and you can get an idea where you are again. We were worried about the sun going down on us earlier. Sunset is 5:24pm.
We are always in a state of where is the saddle. Where is it, oh art thou, where is it? Then the sun shines on it and boom it is the saddle. Cecilia sent a message earlier for when we got to the saddle. (she is getting so good at this trail lingo) So I made Kevin take a pic with me at the saddle and I sent a message, "holy shit, we made it to the damn saddle". We thought we heard Matt say the Trapps are coming. It may have been a chicken, a duck, an alien or my imagination.
I will add that in our first year, Matt came looking for us, thought we were dead or missing. This year, nobody came looking for us. They know us by now that we will always finish and always persevere. It would take a major medical thing to make us stop. I didn't think of that until a week later, that was a pretty awesome feeling.
We ventured down the trail towards the start area. We were treated with views of the sun cascading on the mountains that people who are so fast never get to see. We are slow, but it is about the experience. The life you take in. It was beautiful. We could feel Ben and Gabe there sharing the moment with us.
We climbed up out of the wash and headed towards the finish line to people cheering and Matt shouting out Kevin and Kristin Trapp are coming and it was awesome. Never gets old. We climbed up the podium and Ross gave us our prize of the railroad spike which was awesome because all the times we have ran on the trail there is never a train going on the tracks and this time there was. Kind of special. Matt gave us a hug, Ross gave us a hug. It was wonderful. Here is the video.
Finish video
We weren't in last place either, one fella finished behind us. The race was brutal this year because of the heat. We finished by our watch 10:58, on the official results it say 10:24 but that didn't count the 30 min head start which we have done every year. There were 87 total finishers, 15 DNF, 16 DNS. A lot of 50 milers dropped from the 50 mile to the 55K too. I am incredibly proud of our accomplishment and all those that were not able to finish but put everything out there. Our friend Susan is okay. She pulled up when the aide station noted she was sweating anymore. She just reached a point of no return and the sensible thing to do is to call it. I know that pain of a DNF and getting to that point, it is hard to swallow, but each race is a lesson. Each trail is a journey. If you don't learn something about yourself along the way or about life on the trails, you missed the point.
Here is my top ten things learned from this race:
1--don't ever forget to trim your toenails, ever, ever, ever forget.
Avert your eyes for bad toes pics. This first set is right after the race and the last is a week later.
2--don't forgo a long run with a high intensity, long runs matter
3--be forgiving of yourself out there--I get so mad at myself for not being the best I can be, I yell at myself inside about gaining weight, about not training harder, about whining, about everything--when you get to that point, eat an applesauce or swig some coke, it will be okay
4--always stop and say good job, always, we pulled off so much that I have a funny tan line on my neck for turning towards the trail and the sun
5--laugh, laugh at yourself, at others, at nothing, it will make you pee your pants, but that is okay
6--what is said on the trail or left on the trail, stays on the trail, except trash--pack that stuff out
7--don't hesitate to try something if you think it will help, my back was a deal breaker and we took a chance and it worked
8--relationships build between people on the trail, I thought I lost a sister out there, my concern for her was pushing me to the finish to check she was okay
9--running doesn't always make you hungry, we ate one and a half chicken strips for dinner
10--never underestimate the power of positive thinking and energy, if you think positive and focus on all the positives, the goal will be achieved, the only obstacle is you and your mind
We will be back next year, to volunteer and give back. I have some ideas I would like to explore to help folks out who are chasing that time cut off. I absolutely love running on the trails, it is not easy. It makes your whole body hurt. My lungs still sound like crap, my feet are awful. I trimmed my nails and 9 toes leaked fluid or blood. My heels are leaking still too. I may have to wear slippers for work tomorrow. Why do we do this??
An update since being able to complete this, I am almost ready to wear socks. I will lose all but one toenail and right now, my two big ones hurt like the dickens, but, I am going to make it. I am sure of it. I have wore closed toed shoes for 2 days, without socks. I wore socks last night. It hurt. Ultra running isn't pretty and definitely not sexy....
This race holds a special place for us. The inaugural race was held the day we got married. It is meant to be that we must be a part of it.
It is held on a trail a father had named for his son who was taken too soon, Ross Zimmerman lost Gabe too soon in the Gabriel Giffords shooting. Kevin talked to him about how special that his name is said so many times, the best gift a grieving parent can have is that their child is not forgotten.
This is Benjamin and Gabe in different times of their lives.
The people who put this together are some of the most charismatic, caring, compassionate and most awesome people. Amazing. It is a family reunion. You don't get that always from the road races that is for sure.
We will never be fast. We will fall below the norm, but, if what we achieve is inspiring others to get out there and try, we will always continue to get out there and do it. We want people to get out there and just see what they can do. See what grit they have. To push their limits and finding themselves which daily life will mask behind meetings, deadlines, computers and cell phones. There is no more beautiful sound then the sound of rocks crunching, birds chirping and wind blowing by. Find your nature and let nature find you.
Happy Trails!!
The World Famous Trapps
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