I (Nat) decided I wanted to give Ultra running a shot and I wanted to try a long one.
I was having some time off in France in May and thought it would be a good occasion to do so.
I found a trail race not too far from where we were staying that would fit perfectly what I was looking for; The Ultra Draille http://www.festatrail.com/festa-trail/courses/120-km-ultra-draille/
A 120km in some of the most beautiful landscape you can see with 5000m D+.
When I asked James if he was keen on joining me he said yes and then mentioned he would run the 73km. A couple of weeks later I told him I had registered both of us for the 120km and that we could run it together :)
So we did. It is 5:30am and we are at the start line. It is dark and a little chilly but we know it is going to be hot day.
I wanted to put the emphasis on my mindset for this race. I wanted to be able to control those down that keep me down too long during races. I wanted to learn to snap out of them and be able to run and enjoyable race without worrying about what was going on around me.
In order to do so I decided to not "race" but only to focus on completing it in a good mindset.
The race starts and I am struggling to run properly. My left hamstring hurts from a track session I had done a few days prior to the race (my mistake, my bad). I am a little concerned about my ability to run and mostly about the first two cut offs but I jog along not worrying too much about what's going on around me. My two pairs of 2XU shorts I am wearing are helping me a lot.
After 15km or so a volunteer tells me I am in 5th place in the girls. I try not to pay attention too much. It will be a long race and I don't want to think about placing.
After 25km I am passed by another girl. I don't let it upset me. It is starting to be hot. It is 9:30-10am and I am already feeling super warm, a little dehydrated. I sweat like crazy. I mention it to James who points out to me the time and that we will have to take it very easy if we want to go through the warmest time of the day.
The day goes on and we get warmer and warmer. The peaks we are climbing don't have much shade and we drink a lot. We barely make it from aid station to aid station with our 1,5L each time.
We had a long winter and the temperatures at home were still pretty cold and only had one run on trails without snow/ice before leaving for France. The difference in climate is brutal but we love it anyway. The terrain I also very rocky. we are not used to it but our Pearl Izumi N2s are doing a good job at keeping us stable and running.
The mid point (60km) is where we can see our drop bag. Unfortunately I cant eat anything that I brought. It is too warm and only little fruit puree can go through and I am thankful they have some at the aid station so I can refuel now and then. I also made sure during my entire run to keep hydrated with Nuun and even dropped a few Nuun plus to get some calories in me.
I had in my bag a bottle of Endurox R4 that I drank there and it boosted me. I left that aid station feeling a lot better. it is now 3:30pm and I now the temperature is going to drop from there on and I am already feeling a little better.
Another big climb to get us to the 70km mark. On the way up I managed to pass a girl but didn't want to get excited. My climbing is going really well. I am trying not to think of the distance left and take some little rest here and there.
A volunteer tells me I am in 4th place as we are coming down. One girl ahead had DNF and the 3rd girl is 20min ahead.
I think "20min is a lot" and keep on doing my own little race. I can accelerate a little more as the day goes and the temperature cools down. I am feeling better and better.
On the way to the 90km mark the sun goes down and it is getting dark. I have managed to push off any negative thoughts that had come to mind but I am starting to think that maybe I should call it off. My elbows are starting to hurt from running with poles and I am wondering if I should stop to prevent injuries for the big expedition races to come. I tell James I will have to evaluate at the aid station at 90km. We get there and oh surprise the 3rd girl is there. She is just leaving as I get there.
Without thinking twice I fill up my bladder and I am gone. James runs after me and ask me what happened to the "evaluation". During the entire race other racers and volunteers would tell me to push to get the girl ahead but I ignored them to run my own race and I decided to not change that so I kept my pace thinking that I would probably see her again.
At the 100km mark I pass her. Since I was feeling pretty good I decided to push it a little harder from there on and so we did. The feeling of having someone right behind you is hard cause it makes you push a lot harder than wanted. I will never see the other girl again and ended up passing the line with James in 40th and 41st place overall, ranking 3rd in the women and 1st in my age category in 21h23:11.
My biggest victory of the day was my mind control and being able to enjoy the entire race with the man I love.
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