Janette Maas
Javelina Jundred 2012
Race Report

This is my last post about Javelina (until next year that is). I've figured out why this DNF is bothering me so much. I pride myself in being a smart runner. I am older than average, have less natural ability than most, and I got a late start getting into this ultra-running thing, so I have to use my brains a bit more. Unfortunately this means I take very few risks.

I arrived at Javelina with
everything I thought I needed. I had the legs, I had the guts, I had the heart. However, I left my brains at home. I had this thought that I needed a monster PR to feel worthy enough to put my name in the WS lottery hat in a few weeks. To me, my just barely under the cutoff time at Umstead didn't compare with folks who ran mountain 100s or sub-16 hour 100s. I needed to prove something.

If the conditions had been perfect, I probably would have gotten away with just legs, guts, and heart. But they weren't perfect. According to a weather website, the high temperature at Fountain Hills was 87. Out in the desert with no shade and with heat reflecting and radiating off the terrain, I'm sure it was a lot hotter on the course. I started out great. The temperature was cool at the start and my first 15.4 miles went exactly to plan. Then it started heating up. If I had my brains with me I would have immediately slowed down a bit. But I was on a mission. Go big or go home. I kept to my monster PR pace schedule. About five miles later my stupidity caught up with me. My pace slowed dramatically and I started having stomach issues. Five miles after that the death march started which lasted until about mile 40. During this time the only calories I could manage to take in were small sips of Ginger Ale. I remember thinking at one point during this time that I would be lucky to finish the third loop for a total of 46 miles. I was even looking for a spot on the trail to sit down, but there was no shade and I was afraid that if I did sit down, I wasn't going to get back up, so I just kept on moving. Finally I did something I had never done in a race, I threw up. This seemed to restart my stomach, and I was able to drink more than small sips without gagging. I made it another five miles to the start/finish area.

At this point I started using my brain. I know, finally! I changed socks and shoes, put on my headlamp, and headed out into the dark for my fourth loop. The cooler temperatures helped a lot, and I was able to maintain a smart pace. Unfortunately my brains kicked in too late and I had lost too much time to be able to salvage a 100 mile finish. I was also able to start eating again, but I took it easy. No pizza for me, I stuck to plain bread and ginger cookies.

The fourth loop was slow but uneventful. Nice and boring like my normal races. I finished 100K right around midnight and felt good. Doing math in my head I knew I only had about a 5% chance of making the cutoff at the end of my fifth loop, and even if I made that cutoff, I would have to run the sixth loop a whole hour faster than that to be allowed to continue to the finish. A smart person might have said to herself, "hey self, you got your 100K buckle, you're done." Remember I left my brains at home. Besides, I think I wanted to punish myself a bit for my earlier stupidity so I started out on the fifth loop. My stomach was finally back to normal. In fact it was so normal that I was now HUNGRY! I took my time at the aid stations to watch runners and their pacers on their sixth loop pushing for a 100 mile finish. I was jealous but also happy for them. I think I enjoyed that last loop the most. I listened to coyotes sing and saw a shooting star. I moseyed across the finish line about 6 AM and smiled as they told me I was past the cutoff and handed me my 100K (plus 15.4 bonus miles) buckle.

Lesson learned: you can get by on guts and heart if you are young or talented or conditions are perfect. But you get better results if you have your brains with you. Will I ever try pushing myself beyond what I think I can do again? You betcha! In fact I will be putting my name in the WS lottery hat even though I didn't get that monster PR. If I do get picked, I guarantee I will train harder than I've ever trained before. And you know what else? I'll be taking my brains with me to Squaw Valley :)