Rocked at the Tick Tock 12 Hour Ultra
by Dawn Lisenby on 08/22/14
The Tick Tock 12 Hour Race was very
hard. The heat and pavement beat me up a bit. I had to walk a few laps
around 30 miles because I was cramping so bad with early hard pace in
heat. This was primarily due to my not holding my handheld for my first
10 laps and instead relying on my support crew vehicle for coconut
water and gels every three miles and water at aide station provided by
race at halfway around loop. What I learned at this race is when you
begin a race with 88% percent humidity and heat index in the mid 80s
that then climbs and stays in mid 90's w/ 100% humidity till you
finish..THAT IS NOT ENOUGH!! Lesson learned I should have been holding
my small handheld with electrolytes in it so I could sip on it each
mile. Due to six hours of running in these conditions I got behind
with electrolytes. I crashed hard with my legs cramping when I tried to
run 30 miles in. I thought my race was over. I also had realized I had
not gone to the bathroom in 4 hours which was a definite sign of issues
with dehydration. I decided to walk a lap and did so with my pacer
carrying my fluids so I could sip off them to try and catch up. After
walking 2 laps and deciding I was feeling better but still not right I
decided to try a few pickles offered to my by a fellow runner. They
saved my race as I began to feel better and was able to run from 36 on.
I
did feel very sore from running on pavement and tired from heat stress
after the race. I suffered from a migraine headache and nausea for 2
days because of heat stress. I was happy that mechanically I felt solid the whole day as was farthest I have run on pavement since my hip injury. I
really felt strong and had no aches and pains through 53 miles.
Although I wish I would have been a bit smarter about my hydration and
not been too lazy to carry a handheld, I am so glad I did this race and
happy I finished as I seriously did not think I would. Really one
should not be running in heat like that period, let alone 12 hours. But
that is the challenge right :)
I ended up with officially 18 laps, 51.12 miles and 9th overall female. Results are located here http://ticktockultra.vpweb.com/results.
Although my watch had 53 miles so must of logged a few more miles with
bathroom stops. I believe I was 7th overall female (and in top 20
overall) but results are alphabetical according to laps finished not
actual placement but whether 7th or 9th I met 3 of my goals for the
race. I wanted to finish in top 10 females, wanted to complete farthest
mileage to date, and just wanted to run for 12 hours ie finish.
I could not have done it without my best girl/crew/pacer Carla Cellini's
help:). And my ice bandana!!! And of course my Pearl Izumi gear was
awesome. I ran in N2's all day and feet felt great, even when they got
wet when it stormed in the afternoon. I also used Trail Toes
anti-chafing product that also kept my feet happy. I highly recommend
this product to all of you for chafing any where on the body. It is
amazing!! And much more effective than Glide.
I
really appreciated all of your the interest in my race and well
wishes...you guys kept me motivated. Now to decide if I want to do a 12
hour in colder weather.....:)
