Palo Duro Marathon Race Report
Last year The Pain on the Plain race at Palo Duro State Park was going to be my first half marathon. I didn't know how to pace myself or hydrate, I ended up with my very first DNF when I started to dehydrate. Over the last year I have learned more about myself as a racer, more about nutrition and I am a stronger rider. I felt pretty confident about my preparation for the race this year and signed up for the full marathon.
Friday Chris, Derek and I went and did a short pre-ride of the first few miles of the course. I was so excited to see the trail was exactly how I remembered, fun and flowy. We did not make the mistake of doing too long of a pre-ride like last year where we rode the whole course.We went to bed early and I slept really great in the cool air, it was perfect camping weather in a beautiful park.
Saturday morning I woke up surprisingly relaxed, I knew had I had played it over in my head for 12 months now I just had to execute. We went to set up pit and found out the race start was pushed 30 minutes. This was actually good news since I needed to check over my bike, inventory where I put all the things in the pit and go too the restroom (yes I was good and hydrated!). It also gave me time to say hi to our friend Chris that had drove up and meet his girlfriend Melinda.
While we were lining up for the start I got pretty antsy. I don't like a lot of nervous energy and over course the cattle call start of a big marathon is full of nerves. While we waited it took deep breaths and mentally went over my personal goals:
- Finish!
- Finish in Under Six Hours.
- Manage my hydration and nutrition so I could accomplish goals one and two.
Finally they blew the start and the speedy people flew off. I started at a good tempo but was watching to make sure I didn't go too hard, it is so tempting in a race like this. The start loop was a big improvement from last year, you had a long road stretch with an awful headwind to string the field out. The first single track was simply fun, fast, flowy and twisty. I was having a blast by the time we looped back through the lot. We made it to the first Hard/Easy split, I was happy Chris had gone over the hard line (which is not hard at all) so I could save the distance. The first few miles was a lot of passing, the half marathon group that was fast caught us, more passing. I just tried to not get overwhelmed by the constant passing and keep myself at my pace. After about four miles it calmed down. I reminded myself to drink, took a Gu at my planned spot at the Lighthouse Parking lot and reminded myself to get Gatorade. The first lap was good, I got a feel for the loop and rode many parts I know I walked last year.
I heard Melinda cheering, it is always nice to hear your name and get a little pick me up to keep going. The first lap was right at two hours and that lap was slightly longer than the others would be. At the first pit I tried not to make the mistake I made last year, I didn't pause long enough to think about what I needed last year and really missed the nutrition. I topped off my Camelback and was happy I drank quite a bit in lap one, I also needed almost a whole bottle of Gatorade. I grabbed some extra gels and ate part of a peanut butter sandwich, then I was off. Lap two I really noticed the headwind that seemed to dominate the trail after mile two. At some points I felt like I was barely moving, I kept telling myself to push I had to keep the lap under two hours to make the time cut. Most of the lap was uneventful until we got to the Lighthouse Climb and Red Star area, that is when I started to get lapped by the fast guys. A few times the trail was so tight I just hopped off, these guys were going for a huge purse. It was cool that they were all super nice. At this point I got passed by the other women I knew was in my age group, this was a little disappointing because I thought she was lapping me. I was having some tightness in my legs, not full blown cramps but not a good feeling either at this point I took on my second Gu of the lap. Once I got to the drop into the Prairie Dog fork I knew we were out of the technical area and into the part I could just have fun with, I looked down and knew I should be okay on the time cut off. I caught back up to the girl in my division, she kept walking climbs. One I didn't make I asked if she was on the last lap, she said no her second and suddenly it was game on. My lap was slightly under two hours again.
At the pit I noticed my competitor hardly took on anything. I still grabbed extra Gatorade, water and took Sport Legs. I should have taken on an extra Gu. I caught my competition, she was walking a tough climb I couldn't make either. She got back on and disappeared, I didn't panic and knew if I was going to finish this lap I had to ride my ride. About a mile later I cleaned a climb my competitor was walking. I took off and saw she was getting back on, then I pulled away. At this point I decided I had to keep from bonking, if I got off the bike I would make sure to grab Gatorade. I kept just watching for things I remembered, Red's Rock, the beefy climb, the Lighthouse Parking lot. I got to the parking lot and saw three people at the trail head, one woman and her husband who passed me early on. The third rider asked me my number, I thought they were cutting time but he said no he was sweeping. I had new resolve when I heard that, still no clue where the girl had gone but I knew I had about an hour of riding to get to glory. My legs got tight off and on most of the lap, I would put it in a gear I could spin in more, rub the muscles and just try to keep moving. I was so happy to drop the nasty gravel climb to Prairie Dog about 40 minutes later, it was a little creepy the course marshalls were gone but I knew Chris knew I was still out. I just kept riding along, sometimes smiling just to perk myself up.
Finally I got to the twisting trees at the end, I could hear some people still in the parking lot and saw a rider going backward to sweep the course. He cheered me on, I came around and Chris and Derek could see me and were yelling. I was there, a few more twists and then the finish line. I found some pep and finished strong. It was the most amazing feeling, a year of pondering where I went wrong, a year of waiting, it was done.
I never had seen my competitor again, little did I know she had DNF'd a long time ago and was the only girl I was racing against. Not only had a completed my first marathon in 5 hours, 58 minutes but I had won it. At this point I don't know what will top this race but I am glad to know what I am capable of.
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