“So much to say, so much to say, so much to say, so much to say” -Dave Matthews

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so I figured that after the completion of the Georgia Death Race would be a good time to write something. You know, catch up on some things.

2018 was a very big year for us, and we knew that the year would be mostly consumed with a hectic, yet fun, racing schedule. Then came post-Hellgate December when, let’s face it, I needed rest. A year completely shrouded in running pursuits caused me to have to really think about letting my body heal. I texted my coach one day with an enthusiastic “I’m ready to train!” His reply: “I’m all about training, but you need to take a step back and reflect on what you’ve accomplished.”

I took his advice. We put a couple local train races on the schedule to start the year. Mostly, though, there was a lot of rest. Running in the mountains has been a thing I’ve only done with friends in the past couple months. Strength/cross training has almost completely gone out the window with the exception of some hard elliptical training once a week. I’ve started practicing hot yoga again twice a week to begin acclimating to the heat of the south. Truth be told, I’ve gotten a little soft and perhaps a little slower, ha! However, when people began to make predictions on who would be the GDR winners to take the coveted Golden Tickets to Western States 100, they didn’t know all this about me. My focus has been mostly on family life, my job, and keeping the weekly miles low. I sit with my husband on the porch more these days. We go for walks and talk about life, home remodeling, and next steps in raising our beautiful boys.

*Conquer the Rock 50K on March 2nd*

in January, I ran the South Mountains 50K put on by Tanawha Adventures. Then, at the beginning of March, I ran another tough 50K. Conquer the Rock has become my favorite 50K race, because it’s where my local ultra-family trains/runs and because of the sheer joy I get from seeing the reactions of people who have never visited Table

Rock State Park. It was after this race that I knew I was at least ready to PR at GDR. That’s really the most I figured I could hope for. I didn’t know a whole lot about most of the women competitors. I just knew that several were most likely in much better shape than I and in the mindset to compete. I’m flattered by the confidence people had in me, but my fitness wasn‘t quite what it needed to be to finish at the top.

I need to think ahead to what I’m already signed up for: Bighorn 100 (June), and Leadville 100 (August). These are bucket list races for me. Western States isn’t going anywhere, and if my name ever gets chosen, I’ll go.

GDR REPORT

*Before the race with Kelly Boone*

For those who aren’t familiar with the Georgia Death Race:

-it’s about 72 miles long, point to point with one out and back (I love being able to see friends and encourage/be encouraged by the people I see)

-Almost 16,000 feet of gain?

-600 steps to climb to the top of Amicalola Falls, AFTER you’ve already run over 70 miles

While my running speed might have been lacking a bit, one thing I did have in me was consistency and some legit power hiking. The exceptions were the obviously runnable sections and the looooong paved section on Nimblewill Church Rd. I really felt like I was able to get in a good groove on the more technical trails as well, but that’s mostly because I really like those 🙂

I took three (THREE!) wrong turns in the first half of the race, and for the first time in a very long time, I actually thought about quitting a race. The first was in the dark, and instead of hanging a sharp left, I kept going straight. It felt so right at the time, but after a minute, a guy with the route downloaded on his watch came along and verified that we weren’t on course. Ugh!! I got back on track and dismissed the situation, knowing I would feel awful and that it would be a bad example to my son to not finish this super tough thing I set out to do. I wanted to do right by my guys, who know that it’s just not like me to call it a day for the sole reason that I may have a longer day than expected. It’s not the first time I’ve gone off course, nor will it be the last. “Get on with life, Shannon. Just GO!”

*Ken and Jackson—gosh I love these two*

*Coming off the Toccoa Swinging Bridge”

The aid stations were super quick and efficient. It was so nice to get to Long Creek, where I got my first taste of GDR three years ago as a volunteer. Leaving Long Creek gave me hope, as I knew that the section after that was runnable and easy to navigate. That’s what I really needed right then, and it was a confidence booster for sure. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful, but had its fun moments along with the lonely ones. It was super cool to enter Jake Bull to the sound of Andy Jones-Wilkins announcing that, among other things, I was the 2018 Grindstone winner. Sometimes, you need the reminder of what you’ve done in the past to remind you of what you can do in the future. They sent me on my way after a healthy dose of ice water, then after a nice section of single track, I was off to tackle the beast known as Nimblewill. It was here that I passed a couple people and continued to feel really good. I took several opportunities to alternate run/hiking, but power hiking just felt so much more efficient. I was in my true form on Nimblewill, taking a couple minutes to splash my face with cold water from the side of the mountain and topping off my water bottles there as well.

Eventually, I arrived at Nimblewill AS, thrilled to be on the home stretch. Yes, there was still quite a way to go, but based on my arrival time, I was able to predict that I would be running most of the remainder of the race in daylight. Unlike two years ago, I would be able to see really well as I pass the Len Foote Hike Inn along the Appalachian Trail. I kept my headlamp off as long as I could, then had to turn it on to run the remainder of the super technical trails to get to the finish. Oh—and the stairs to the top of Amicalola Falls. I don’t know how long it took me to finish those last 10 miles, but I was so ready to be done. I finally made it to the little creek crossing that spit me out onto the finish. 15 hours and 48 minutes, and this time, my husband was there (along with Jackson) to watch me finish.

I’m thrilled to be able to say that I felt great physically, and I didn’t have any issues with nutrition. I did suffer my normal aftermath of puking and not being able to easily take in food until Sunday, and then only in small increments.

Now, Its time to look ahead and begin training for that big run in Wyoming. Two of my fellow training buddies, as well as GDR finishers, and I will hopefully be toing the line in June.