Bucket List

I was recently asked.... "What's on your bucket list?" And I was stumped.  I stuttered... my mind went blank and all I could force out: "I don't know. You see, I'm a creature of habit, I'm afraid to try really hard things...." I felt like an idiot.

There are races I want to do but if I'm really honest with myself I pick events that I think I can do well/finish, that are the most economical, that don't force me to adjust my schedule too much, etc.  But is that really helping me with my goal of being more "adventurous and carefree"?!

I left that day (volunteering at the Paleozoic Cambrian Fall) and decided that I needed a bucket list.  Sure, we were talking about races but I don't know that I even have a bucket list in general.  I'm nervous a lot.  I worry.  I don't adjust well.  I prepare, I plan, I make goals and lists.  I play it safe.  But I want adventure.  I CRAVE adventure. 

So here's to 2018.  I need to get thinking about that bucket list.

Javelina Jundred: 100 miles in the desert

I have been a rain magnet... I can count on 1 hand the number of dry ultras I've done. And let's be real, I can count on 1 finger the number of dry ultras I've done. So when it came time to pick another hundred to go after, I thought "I'll go run in the desert... at least it won't rain there!" This was the start of my journey to the Javelina Jundred.

The Javelina Jundred is a 100 mile or 100k run in Fountain Hills, AZ. It is put on by Aravaipa Running and this race is dubbed the "running party in the desert."  I heard this race was well organized with a great atmosphere and let me tell you... that is exactly the truth.  I'm sure I'll forget some of the details, but come along on my recap of my 100 mile run in the desert.

Friday 6:30 am Travel:

Everything needed for 3 days in AZ

This is the first race I've had to fly to get to and we were headed from the Chicago chill out to warm Phoenix. This complicated things just a bit as I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed for myself and my crew, including packing a popup tent in my suitcase! Thank you Amazon Prime for the mini popup that was only 14 lbs! I checked 2 large suitcases.  Just some of the item included that definitely earned my "TSA Baggage Inspection" card are the above mentioned popup tent, an actual tent, cooler stool, camp lights, 50+ dollars of gels and protein bars, and my first aid kits.  I was nervous that the checked bags wouldn't make it (I'm a worrier, what can I say) so my carry-ons had my drop bags, race gear, hydration vest, extra shoes, hats, etc.  Thankfully my parents, Jon and Kim, were coming with me as my support crew.  This definitely helped as I was struggling to maneuver through the airport with all my gear.  Check-in and security were a breeze and so was the flight.

Once we were in Phoenix, it was just a quick drive to Fountain Hills.  We stopped at a target to get some last minute supplies and then headed to the start/finish line to setup my camping tent and the crew popup.  This is when my nerves really started to act up.  I always get this feeling of "what am I doing... do I really belong with these athletes... am I a runner?" I know that may sound crazy but I try to be fully open in my blog and that's still my truth.  At the start/finish line there were several others already setup with tents and popups.  We met an awesome volunteer, Debbie, who helped us find the perfect spots for both the camping tent and the popup. At this point, I was still not sure if I would be staying at the hotel with my parents or camping at the start/finish line in the tent. After the setup we took a little walk around the Javelina Jeadquarters and the beginning of the 1st loop of the course.

My awesome parents!

I could tell it was going to be a hot run the next day from our setup. So after we walked a bit of the course we headed to the hotel. My parents went to grab lunch and I decided to take a nap. It felt good to sleep for an hour or two (but not long enough to hinder my sleep that night). I woke up to food waiting for me, ate a bit and then we were off to the expo.

4:00: The Expo
The Javelina Jundred Expo was at La Puesta del Sol in Fountain Hills and it was BEAUTIFUL.  Easy bib/swag pickup.  The bag they gave us is awesome and I will definitely use it in the future. There were also vendor booths for the sponsors and I was able to pick up some Squirrel's Nut Butter and Mas Korima pinole products.  A runner panel with the elite athletes at the race was starting and stuck around to hear a bit. It was pretty cool to listen to top runners share their insights and experience leading up to the race.

Saturday Pre Race: 

I ended up sleeping at the hotel and got a solid 9 hours of sleep! What?!?! That never happens. I got ready in my Rugged Running tank, shorts, compression socks, shoes, gaiters, and hydration vest. I had my ice bandanna and cooling arm sleeves packed in my vest along with my needed fuel for the 1st loop. We had about a 20 minute drive to the start/finish line and planned on getting there around 5:30. We walked up to the crew spot to drop off my start/finish line bag and then found the truck that was taking the dropbags out to Jackass Junction (the 1/2 way point on the course).  My father-in-law and pacer, Ralph, met us at the start/finish line as well.  What a team for support: mom, dad, and father-in-law!  I had prepped them with my race and nutrition plan well before the event and I went over my gear with my mom at the hotel.  This race you were able to access your crew just at the Javelina Jeadquarters (start/finish line staging area) and so they could keep everything needed under the crew popup tent. I would pass by that coming in and out of each loop. Everything was set, including hanging up a picture of Lucy to the front of our popup sent... so why was I still feeling so nervous?  Even with the nerves, I tried to stay calm and positive.

Loops 1 & 2: Beat the Heat

The race started at 6:00 am and I planned to go out towards the back of the pack and take it easy knowing it was going to be a warm day.  I didn't want to go out too fast and then be riding the struggle bus later in the day.  It was pretty crowded the first mile of the course (we were told this ahead of time and it allowed me to just trust the process and walk) but then it started to thin out and I could run and enjoy seeing the whole course for the first time.

Speaking of the course, it was a looped course that would be covered 5 times.  The first loop was slightly longer than the remaining 4 loops and it was run "washing machine" style alternating between clockwise and counter-clockwise each loop.  There were 4 aid stations across the loop: Coyote Camp, Jackass Junction, Rattlesnake Ranch, and Javelina Jeadquarters.  I believe the longest distance between aid stations was 6.7 miles on loop 1 and then 6.5 miles between Coyote Camp/Jackass Junction the rest of the loops.

course map from the javelina jundred race site

Hot and Happy after loop 1. Look close
 and see my girl Lucy is right with me!

There are a lot of things I love about running ultras, but one of them is the people you meet on the course. As I was running, I had the chance to chat with many runners and hear a bit of their stories. We would share the trail for a bit and then carry on with our own races... no judgement, only encouragement.  I LOVE that! Because I was taking it easy, it offered time to chat with others, take a few pictures, and really enjoy the new environment. If I can be honest,though, it was HOT. The ice bandanna was a huge help! The aid station angels helped me fill that at every stop and they always had plenty of ice and words of encouragement.  I was sticking to my food plan of 1/2 a gel every hour, salt tab on the hour, and protein bars/wafers about every 15 minutes or so.  Water was the drink of the day.

Ian and I walking up to the crew tent after loop 1

Coming in after loop 2 I was excited that the sun was going to go down and it would cool off.  I was nervous about my feet as they were starting to hurt and I feared blisters.  I also was struggling to stick to my food plan as the thought of more gels or wafers was starting to make my stomach turn. I hadn't finished my loop 2 fuel bag and so I didn't need to take all of loop 3's fuel.  We packed what would fit in the vest. I also sat and changed my shoes/socks and took care of a blister (eeek I don't normally blister!) changed into a new shirt, and my dad handed me my headlamp and an extra flashlight as most of loop 3 would be in the dark.  They all said some words of encouragement as I went on my way.  At the aid station, I had a wonderful slice of pizza and some pringles.  Totally hit the spot.

Big positive about loops 1 and 2: my friend, Ian Stevens, was at the race crewing for his friend and saw me at the Jeadquarters and walked me through the out-and-back, talking with me about how it was going. He was so encouraging and told me I was being smart to be taking it easy through the day. It meant a lot that he would take time out to walk with me and make sure I was feeling ok and ready to head out for another loop.  In fact, Ian kept me in the know with this race even before heading out to AZ.  He would send videos, links to information, and advice about the event.

Loop 3: Running in the dark alone 
Loop 3 brought cooler temps, which was wonderful! I was ready for that and loved that you'd run into these dips/lows in the trail and feel a rush of cool air.  It also brought the night and boy was it dark out there.  I didn't need my headlamp for the first bit of the trail but the time came to pull out the headlamp and when I did: boom! It fell and busted in the desert dirt.  Thankfully I found all 3 batteries and managed to use my flashlight (thanks strong teeth) to put the batteries back in correctly.  However, the headlamp was now broken and wouldn't latch.  I held it the rest of the way to the Coyote Camp and rolled in asking if anyone had duct tape.  Thankfully a volunteer (I didn't catch his name) had some electrical tape and fixed me up.  I also grabbed a cup of ramen soup and some pretzels and headed on my way.  It was 6.5 miles to the next aid station and as soon as I left the light of Coyote Camp I knew it was going to be a slow going due to the dimness of my light.  I think something must have happened when it fell.  I started to get worried as this section was very rocky.  I was thankful when I'd see other runners because their lights helped me to know I was still on the right trail.  The washing machine course was a blessing as runners were going in both directions.  At Jackass Junction, I grabbed my backup, old headlamp from my drop bag, more soup and some quesadillas and headed back out.  The disco party was already going but there was no time for dancing for this girl... 5.2 more miles until Rattlesnake Ranch.  Once back on the course, I realized my backup light wasn't awesome either and I started in with the mantra "God, guide my feet" as I traversed the trail in the dark.  I found that if I turned my extra flashlight off for a bit, it would brighten when I turned it back on.  Towards the end of the loop I came to a section where there was the "critical turn ahead" sign and I honestly couldn't see the way to go.  I don't think I was thinking fully at this point and was a bit panicky.  I turned to the left and started walking and just about went straight into a cactus.  I stopped and saw some lights coming towards me and decided to stand and just wait until someone could help me figure out the way to go.  Two runners approached and said "we go this way" and pulled me forward because I was about to back into another cactus.  It might have been a Jumping Cholla but my light was just too dim to tell.  I strolled into the start finish line emotional and thinking "how is a finish even going to be possible at this point."  I can't remember if it was at the end of this loop or the previous, but my dad said "Buckeyes won today and I think that's a good sign, Jen."  It feels fitting to put that here as I was feeling a little low and his words help to perk me up. :)

Jackass Junction at night. Photo from Aravaipa Running

Loop 4: Running with my mom
There was only 1 cutoff for this race and it was that you had to start loop 5 by 6:00 am.  I told my mom that was her only job.  I had to make the cutoff.  I was not seeing well, I was emotional, and I need to get back to a proper headspace.  Thank you, iPod.  My mom was wonderful in the fact that she let me be me, even in my grumpier moments.  Even with fresh batteries, my lights were still giving me trouble.  My mom's light was bright and she would run right next to me as often as possible so I could see a little better.  We saw lots of runners along the way and everyone was so encouraging.  This helped me to snap out of the negativity because how can you be negative when you're telling people "great job, awesome work, keep it up!"?  Early on the loop we got to hear coyotes! That was awesome. My mom's loop was a counter-clockwise loop.  I found this loop to be the tougher direction and I was just getting really tired of the rocks.  I think I said a couple times "these rocks are definitely going on my yelp review!" I kicked one pretty hard too and am still feeling a bit numb in that toe. I realized I wasn't sweating anymore on this loop. We weren't walking the whole time so I knew I should be sweating some but I wasn't. This made me a bit nervous. We put gatorade in my extra bottle that was in my hydration vest to alternate with the water.  I also enjoyed plenty of quesadilla slices at Coyote Camp (I think.... it could have been Jackass but whoever had them were my rockstars!).  When I was feeling weak, my mom ran strong. She believed in me the whole time and somehow we made it back to the start/finish line just before 5:00 am. Wahoo!!! We made the cutoff.  I ditched my long sleeve shirt and grabbed a fresh ice bandanna as the last loop would get warm again. After saying goodbye to my crew and welcoming my final pacer, Ralph, I headed to the start/finish line aid station to refill my hydration vest and grab more food.  This time it was more ramen and some pringles.

Loop 5: We can do this!

Ralph waiting around near the crew tent.

Ralph was pacing me loop 5.  Because I came into the start/finish line with an hour to spare from the cutoff, that meant I had about 7 hours to complete the final 19+ miles.  Sounds pretty doable right?!  I knew I had to keep moving and that was the plan.  Ralph was fresh and ready to go.  We started out and from the beginning I knew something was going on with my eyes.  It was still dark, but things were starting to get hazy/blurry. I was constantly asking am I on the right path? Is this the right way? Ralph was patient and encouraging, although he did make me do math throughout the loop to keep my head off of the pain in my feet (I could feel more blisters).  I taught kindergarten... I'm not great with fractions and ratios!  My eyes kept getting progressively worse throughout the loop but when Ralph said it was runnable, I tried my best to listen and trust.  We stopped along to put in eye drops every so often but nothing seemed to help.  At the half-way aid station, I completely took my contacts out and tried to clean them (thankfully the awesome volunteers had hand sanitizer).  Still foggy.  With only 9ish miles to go, I knew I would just be running in a cloud.  Ralph would say "oh look at that cactus!" or "it's just around that rock" and I had to keep saying.... "I got nothing. I don't see a cactus.... rock."

My attempt at simulating my vision...

 "It's ok Jeni, you're doing great. Just keep moving." That was always the response from Ralph.  Which was exactly what I needed. Then all of a sudden we saw them (and when I saw "we" I mean Ralph really saw them and I saw blurry brown blobs), 5 javelinas running across the path.  It was amazing.  I laughed and smiled and shouted, "we just saw javelinas!" It was incredible.  That definitely gave me a boost.

I'm thankful the last loop was a clockwise loop as I found the back half of that loop to be just what I needed.  It wasn't too rocky and had a good amount of downhill.  We came across many runners in the final loop and as always, everyone had an encouraging word as we continued on.  I was nervous about making the 30 hour cutoff and kept trying to push as best as I could.  Ralph kept assuring me that I had plenty of time but my tired brain wasn't so sure.  I can't remember how many miles out from the finish line we were, but we came across a couple of runners and one was using a large stick to move along slowly.  We said hello and I realized, it was Alijca!  I know her!!  She is a fellow Rugged Runner and I had seen her earlier in the race kicking butt.  She said she sprained her ankle late in the race and could barely put weight on it at that point.  I knew she was going for her first 100 mile buckle and told her to just stay focused on moving forward and I knew she could do it.  Then Ralph and I continued on.  I felt like the finish line was never going to come and I kept asking if Ralph saw any tents yet.  Not being able to see really messed with my head as on previous loops I could start to see tents or lights quite a ways out from the aid stations.  Sure that might have brought on other feelings like why is that tent so far away but at least I had a visual I could focus on.  And then...... he said, I see it.  It's up there and I could start to hear the music and people at Javelina Jeadquarters.  It would be the last time I had to run past the aid station, through the crew popup tents, and over the timing mat.  I smiled as people started clapping and saying "way to go".  Celebratory fist pumps just instinctively soared into the air as I rounded the popup tents.  My eyes welled with tears as I knew I was going to make it.  I saw my parents at our crew popup tent and I passed on, running.  Ralph let me go on and he joined my parents to take pictures of me crossing the finish line.  One more turn, up a little hill, and over the timing mat. What can I say about running 100 miles in the desert? It was stepping into a lot of unknown territory.  It was hard.  It was amazing.

Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in A League of Their Own

Finished after 28:47 hours of running

Fun Facts:
Animals seen: birds, a lizard, lots of ants, 2 beautiful butterflies, 5 javelinas, and 1 coyote.
Food loops 1 & 2: 10 salt tabs, 5 GU gels, 6 HoneyStinger wafers. (This was all I had before my stomach started to get weird.
Food beyond loop 2: Ramen noodles/broth, Pringles, pretzels, 1 slice of pizza, baked oyster crackers made by my awesome mother-in-law, Alice, and 5 awesome quesadilla slices.
Gear: Rugged Running Tank, Road Runner compression shorts, Pro Compression socks (loops 1 and 2), Smartwool socks (loops 3-5), Altra Olympus, Altra trail gaiters, Ultimate Direction Jenny Vesta (old model), homemade ice bandanas, javelina jundred buff, 1 extra t-shirt, 1 long sleeve t-shirt (only tied around waist for night loops, cooling arm sleeves.
Rugged Runners: I got to meet some fellow RR on the course.  Heather was looking awesome but took the time to stop and say hello at an aidstation early on in the race.  She placed 14th!!!! WTG.  Alicja kicked butt and finished her first 100 on a sprained ankle. OUCH!

A huge thank you to:
* Aravaipa Running for putting on an amazing, well-organized, supportive event.  I will definitely be back.  Incredible experience! 
* Secondly, the aid station workers were angels!   Everyone was always willing to lend a hand, say an encouraging word, and even give a hug.  The dedication and support for strangers is what makes the ultra community amazing.
* A huge shout out to all the runners out there on the course, especially the ones that guided me in the right direction during the night.  You rock and helped me stay positive!
* To my wonderful parents and father-in-law, I don't have words to describe how loved I feel.  You gave me such a gift to give up your time to come spend the weekend in the desert with me while I chased the dream of finishing another 100.  You were an organized, supportive crew and I would have you join me again in a heartbeat!
* Lucy and Barb Zahn (really the whole family!) Thank you for letting me share my running story with you.  You bring me so much inspiration and help me focus on when things get tough... we keep going.  Lucy get ready for your 2nd 100 mile buckle!!!
* I got several texts, snaps, FB messages, etc from family and friends.  I checked these loops 1 and 2 before my phone battery ran low.  Then I looked afterwards as well.  Y'all are amazing.  Thanks for supporting me in each race I've done.  You help me continue to run long. 
* And finally, my coach, Michele Yates!  Your knowledge and training plans allow me to train smarter and your support helps me realize that my dreams are worth going after.  You help me continue to strive to reach my full potential and I am forever thankful for that.

***** I definitely want to come back and who knows, maybe I'll participate in the costume contest!!!