18 March 2015 ~ 0 Comments

Peyton’s Wacky & Wild 5K Ultra Race Recap

By admin

This year truly is shaping up to be full of adventures!

While some may take their bodies for granted, I feel so blessed and lucky every day to be able to to do all the things I do.

This past weekend was Peyton’s Wackly & Wild 5K Ultra. Sorry for the delay in the recap, I was waiting for the results.

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It’s an amazing event put on by a local family, the Moore’s, in honor of their son who sadly passed away not long ago. Peyton Moore left this earth far too early but not before leaving a legacy in his passion for running.

This event, being in his honor, was filled with energy all running for for him. It was amazing. Seriously, if you’re a local and love to run, do this race next year! There is the ultra (which I did) and a 5K option.

Let me quickly explain the ultra event: 

Held down the road from my house (what a special treat!) at Middleton Plantation’s trails, the 5k Ultra is made of 10 5K’s, one held each hour, on the hour kicking off at 7am. The website clearly stated, rain or shine the race would go on. And with rain in the forecast, we expected the worst.

I knew I wanted to participate, how could I not? Such a fun and unique race! Plus, there aren’t many trail running events in Charleston, so when one comes around, you jump at the opportunity!

While I wanted to do it, I knew that running all 10 wouldn’t be wise.

Training for the May 50K is my #1 goal right now and that means smart training. So I grabbed the only girl that I knew that would be insane enough to do this with me, Ashton, and we partnered up as a relay.

Race Day Morning

4:45 am came far too early, and though the rain was lightly coming down, I had a feeling it would get worst before it got better.

Breakfast was a mix of this new to me Go Raw granola (which is addicting) and toast with almond butter.

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We headed to the race at 6am, grabbed our packets and signed in and waiting in the car while the rain fell down, hard. It was also pitch black and Ashton and I both regretted not grabbing my headlamps. <– which is why no pictures.

Oops.

While we initially thought we would alternate 5Ks, we changed our mind that morning and decided to run together for the first few. Plus, with the rain coming down as hard as it was, we didn’t feel right making one person run while the other sat in the nice dry car.

At 7:00 am on the dot, the race kicked off and all the ultra runners took off into the woods.

What an adventure. In the pitch black darkness, we used mini-flashlights that had been in our race bag for guidance. It didn’t help much. Just enough for Ashton to be able to direct us. The trails quickly became mush and by the end we agreed it felt as if we were running in soft mushy, sand. We also realized we had run through a lot of house poo.

By the end of the first race, the sun was peaking over the trees and the rain was subsiding, we were all dripping and covered in mud and horse manure.

But all the runners agreed, that first race was one to for bragging rights!

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We both felt great, so again, instead of alternating, we both ran lap #2. This time was fun because it was the first time we actually got to see where we had ran.

The trail was gorgeous (all of Middleton is). Lake views, wilderness, and fun having to run through puddles.

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Having familiarized ourselves with the 3.1 mile loop, the lap went a bit faster.

At lap 3, Ashton sat out and prepped our tailgate tent for the day (her boyfriend did an amazing job at buying food, drinks and setting up a tent for the day!).

So #3 was all me.

Luckily, I chased some ladies down and we paced each other while chatting away.

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At the end, I was still feeling great. So when Ashton left for #4, I went with her.

#5 was again on me, and though I felt awesome, I definitely began to feel my legs.

I also began to hear Amanda’s voice in my head reminding me to be smart and chill the ‘you know what’ out. I was only supposed to do 5 total and here I was only half way through the race, and I had completed ALL of the 5Ks so far.

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Check out those shoes… formally recognizable as Mizuno Wave Rider 18s. See tips below.

Finally, I rested for #6 and from then on stuck to our initial plan of alternating.

Of all the loops, #7 was by far the hardest. My legs were getting tired, I was getting tired (4:45 wake up, hello!) and my music was starting to bore me. I again paced off my new friends, but I kept quiet and just focused on finishing without walking.

Ashton was a beast and finished every one of her laps full of energy and amazing times. At the start of each, she’d say “it’s just a 5k?”.

Seeing her energy, was my motivation for my final lap. I kept telling myself and laughing… “It’s just a 5K!” I also had a glass of champagne which may have contributed to my new found energy too.

Prior to kicking off my last lap, we did a quick champagne cheers to lift our spirits! Pre-celebrating? Or moral boosting? It worked!

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Regardless of how I found it, I powered through and finished the 9th lap strong. In fact, it was my fastest lap of the entire day! It even included a tinkle stop behind a tree (champagne travels fast!).

Ashton completed our 10th lap and together we celebrated with a cheers and a celebratory jump, as always.

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Overall, we finished 4th out of relays, not to shabby. Not too shabby at all!

Was It Boring?

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This race was amazing! We saw friends.. great seeing Amy Lauren and Stephanie (you might remember her from my Pisgah Race) and met lots of new friends (thanks blog reader Stephanie for saying hey!).

It wasn’t boring at all, which I was worried about knowing that I would be running the same route over and over and over again. But with the rain, and the trails getting torn up with each lap, it kept changing. And it actually helped learning the route, as each time it was easier to say, “okay, this is where I can pick it up!”.

It became a sort of game.

What I Wish I Had Done Differently: Tips For A Day Long Ultra

There are a few things I wish I had known or thought about beforehand. Some things I just blame on being a tired blond while packing.

    • Running trails? WEAR TRAIL SHOES! I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe I assumed that because we live in such a flat area, that road shoes would be best? The whole day, I regretted my shoe choice. I even asked Dan to bring my trails shoes, but he forgot them.
    • Pack multiple pairs of shoes, socks and clothes! I did bring more than 1 outfit, but I didn’t think to bring an extra pair of shoes or socks. I ended up wearing Dan’s socks for the second half of the race. His size 12s were still better than my wet, muddy and chaffing pair.
    • Lots of fuel! We did great on this one. And I made a conscious effort to force down food every 2 laps at the start, then between every lap the second half. <– I think this helped tremendously!
    • Hydrate more than you think! I made sure to drink at least 500ml of water between each run, yet when I woke up the next morning and weighed myself I was down 3 pounds. Sweat and humidity played a huge part and I spent all of Sunday getting fluids back into my body.
    • Pack electrolyte drinks. I’m disappointed at myself for not packing any NUUN. I’m a very salty sweater and there were a few times while running I knew I could have benefitted from some sodium.

Who Won?

I don’t normally highlight this, but it’s too amazing not to share.

The winners were a bunch of middle school aged boys that had been friends with Peyton. Their camaraderie and speed was jaw-dropping, it was clear they were running for their friend. Beautiful. It made losing to a bunch of 12 year olds much more acceptable.

I loved the challenge of the rain and the muddy course. I loved having a tailgate atmosphere with Dan and Jared supporting us through the day. And I loved having a cause to run for.

The After Effects

How did my legs feel after 21.7 miles? Awesome, actually.

I even tossed on some high heels for dinner that night. Insane? Perhaps. I also felt great the next day, just some slight tightness, but focused on recovery with some light walking and stretching!

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Loved this event and can’t wait to do it next year! But perhaps all 10 will be conquered.

Have you ever run in the pitch black or rain?

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