Thursday, August 1, 2019

San Francisco Ultra Marathon Race Recap

The San Francisco Ultra Marathon was this past weekend (yup, we ran the San Francisco Marathon course in reverse starting at 11pm Saturday night and then the "correct way" with everyone else starting at 5:30am Sunday morning).

I owe this medal to this guy standing next to me... But you'll have to read on for all the reasons ;)

Originally the hubby and I were going to drive up to San Francisco on Friday, stay with a friend and then drive home after I finished the 52.4 miles Sunday afternoon, but then home renovations got in the way... If you don't follow me on Instagram you may not know that there was a hiccup in our countertop delivery. They were originally supposed to be delivered the week before the race and then our plumber was going to come to hook up all of the sinks but 30 minutes after they were supposed to arrive the hubby called to see where they were and they told us they forgot to call and let us know the countertops were delayed and they would have to reschedule - GRR! After the debacle I looked into flights and saw I could get a round trip for $250 so I decided I'd fly so the hubby could stay home and continue the home renovations.


My flight was supposed to be at 6:30am on Friday, but Karl the Fog was being rude and we ended up getting stuck on the runway for about 75 minutes because SFO was closed to incoming flights. Eventually we got in the air and onto the ground in San Francisco. I grabbed a Lyft into the city and worked at a Starbucks near the Expo for a bit.

Since we "left the gate" it was showing on time, but
we literally sat on the runway for over an hour waiting
for the go-ahead from San Francisco... 

Trying to stay off my feet and get a little work done while I waited.

The Expo was set to open at noon, so after I got some work done I made my way to Vegan Picnic for a yummy breakfast burrito before heading to the Expo to grab my bib, participant shirts, snap some pre-race photos and grab some samples.

Yum, yum and yum!

Where the Expo is held.

Let's do this thang!

After the Expo I walked to my friend's place that I was staying and hung out for a bit before he got home from work. Friends came over and we had a nice, relaxing time chatting and eating delicious pizza. His views definitely do not suck.

Karl the Fog came rolling back in Friday evening.

Saturday was a very low-key day. Although I would have loved to gallivant around the city, I knew I needed to stay off my feet with the upcoming 52.4 mile adventure. I slept as long as I could (which surprisingly was almost 8am - HOLY CRAPOLY!), did some work, watched movies, foam rolled and stretched, tried to nap, etc. Fueling/ eating was a bit interesting because normally you have the time when you are sleeping between your dinner and when you are going to run, but when you are starting a race at 11pm you have to take into account how much time your food needs to digest, etc. I tried to keep things easy so for breakfast (around 9am) I had some scrambled Just Egg with mushrooms and a bagel, around 11:30am I had a bowl of watermelon, around 2pm I had the rest of my Just Egg with a bagel and around 7pm I had a PROBAR BASE bar. I made sure to sip on water all day long so I would be plenty hydrated.

"Lunch" with a side of Chariots of Fire to get pumped up for the race ;)

The streets were ready for the race... but were the runners?!

Foam rolling with a view... And Saturday night's sunset before leaving Gregg's place and heading to the race.

I thought the best way to break up this recap would be to split it into the two separate full marathons (I still haven't decided if I will count this as my fourth ultra marathon, full marathons number 22 and 23 or BOTH ;)). So here goes --

Marathon #1 (11pm Start Time)

Isn't it weird that I don't have a screenshot of my alarms to start off the recap?! Let's just say night races are definitely a different beast... but we will get into that soon! For now, here's the gear I would be rocking for the first half of the ultra (the top picture shows it in "daylight" and the bottom picture shows it with a flash {seeing as we would be running in the dead of night I wanted to be safe and wore all of my reflective and light-up gear that I could pack in my carry-on):

This #FlatCarlee was all about the lights and reflective gear (so of course I had to shoot
one picture without a flash and one with a flash)! My flat runner included: red and white
PRO Compression socks (no longer in stock), red Handful bra, Sparkle Athletic reflective
chevron skirt
Brooks LSD reflective jacket (no longer in stock), Brooks Sherpa reflective hat,
red, white and black QALO silicone wedding bands, red Momentum Jewelry wrap, Knuckle
, NOX Gear vest, HeadlampCOROS APEX Multisport Watch, Nathan Handheld,
PROBAR BOLT chews#WeRunSocial thingamajig and Brooks Ghost 11.

The game plan was to meet Brian at the Hyatt Embarcadero around 9:30pm. The official race start time was at 11, but this gave us time to drop our bags (the race had reserved us a conference room in the hotel where we could store our gear, relax between races, get some food, change our clothes, etc), use the restroom, snap some pictures and get ready to go.

Yes, we do in fact take our #RunMatchy game very seriously ;) 

Pre-race instructions from Michael, the ultra director.

Seeing as we would be running during the darkest part of the night, reflective gear and lights were a must!

Let's just say this ultra is NOT your normal kind of ultra - which is normally done on the trails, during the day, etc. The first loop of the ultramarathon is NOT a closed course. Towards the end of the first marathon (closer to say 3 or 4am), the race is starting to close down streets in anticipation for the start of the "real" race, but for the most part you are just running around San Francisco like it was any other night. Participants need to stay on the sidewalks and to the side of the road.

Because we can't run the Golden Gate Bridge during the night loop, we have to do some miles on the Gray Highway...

This was going to be my third year running the San Francisco Marathon (in 2017 I ran it with Dave {the hubby joined in and ran the first half marathon with us} {Brian was supposed to run the ultra but got injured and ended up cheering on runners instead}, in 2018 I ran it with Brian and now I'd be tackling the ultra with Brian for 2019) and I was actually pretty stoked to see the city this way. I'm always down for a new adventure and this was a fun (albeit crazy) way to change it up.

Now, before I get into the recap any further I need to mention something. If you've been around my corner of the InterWebs for a while, you may be aware that I have Fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed in 9th grade (after I broke fracturing some vertebrae in my back in a cheerleading stunt and the pain never went away). With that said, I live in a constant state of pain. As I mentioned, the hubby and I are eyeballs deep in home renovations so along with my fibro I have also been sleeping on a futon, bending and stretching in ways I normally don't (due to painting, installing flooring, etc) so I guess you could say it was the perfect storm. I am going to mention "pain" a lot in this recap, but I want to be very clear about something - this is not pain from an injury. In fact, I went to Urgent Care and spent over 5 hours getting blood work, x-rays, internal and external pelvic ultrasounds, etc to confirm this was not an injury. I made sure to ask if I could continue running and the doctor told me "it's like the old adage goes - 'a patient tells the doctor "it hurts when I do this" so the doctor says "don't do that"' - if it doesn't hurt more when you do it, feel free to keep doing it, if it hurts more, stop." I am in no way advocating runners run through an injury, disregard pain or ignore an injury. If you are inured - STOP RUNNING! Listen to your body (and your doctors)! No race, event or run is worth doing irreversible damage to your body. There will be another start line, another race, another day... give yourself the time your body needs to recover, heal and rebuild. Okay, now I'll step off my little medical soapbox (remember - I am not a doctor, nor do I play on on TV, so nothing I am saying constitutes medical advice, just what I have experienced in my own life) and get on with the "show".

Blood work and hydrating so they could look at my ovaries... TMI?! Oops!

Okay, so a night race. I'll be honest, the only other evening race I've run is Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas and that is always about the fun and friends, so I have never really worried about the miles, the fueling prior to running, etc. Well, let's just say that when you are tackling 52.4 miles you need to focus on those things... And I'm not sure if I just didn't execute things well, if it just wasn't my day or if it was a little of both, but SPOILER ALERT: THIS WAS ROUGH! 


Seeing as Brian had run this event before (back in 2014), I was relying on him for some "cheat codes". He said we should shoot for a 5 hour first marathon, which meant we would finish around 4:00am, have about an hour to change, eat and make it down to the #WeRunSocial meet-up at 5am and then to the start line of the "real" marathon at 5:30am. If we were considering this 52.4 mile "ultra" two separate marathons, they would be my 22nd and 23rd marathon. Well, looking at all of my finish times, I had only run one marathon over 5 hours and that was the Walt Disney World Marathon when we had 27 character stops and were doing the run/walk method. Although a 5 hour marathon finish might not be my normal pace, I decided I'd trust in Brian's expertise and follow his lead. {PS You also have to realize that the sooner you finish, the more time you would have to wait to start the next marathon, so running fast wasn't necessarily a positive thing...}

The ultra crew (which was a lot larger than I was expecting, and apparently larger than the race was expecting since we received an email the morning of the race letting us know that with the last minute registrations they would not have enough shirts or medals for all of the participants) made our way down to the Ferry Building, snapped a quick group shot and got ready to head off into the night. There wasn't a timing mat, an official start line or a big send off, just a quick count down and a "good luck" -- but, if you've run an ultra before, you are used to the lack of fanfare. You don't do it for the kudos or the pageantry, you do it for the miles, the challenge, the community, the insanity, the snacks.

Some of the crazies we talked into joining the ULTRA fun ;)

From the first few steps I knew it was going to be a long night (and then morning). My lower back had not gotten any better even after all of the rest (I hadn't run the whole previous week to see if that would alleviate any of the pain), stretching, foam rolling, chiropractic visits, heat, ice, TENS machine sessions, etc. Running wasn't making it any worse, but it definitely didn't feel great or even good. (FYI - I am in no way saying this because I want extra applause or think that running with chronic pain makes me better than anyone else, I just want to remind everyone that some people are battling issues/ demons you have no idea about - so be nice to one another, encourage one another and cheer one another on!)


Seeing as I had run the marathon course twice before, I had a decent idea of where we were going and what we would be seeing - but doing it at night on an open course was definitely interesting. We had to stop at traffic lights, run by bars that were still open (complete with drunk folks trying to run with us or ask us what the heck we were doing) and watch for traffic. We were lucky enough to have bike marshalls following us along the course, riding back and forth between packs making sure no one was getting lost and everyone was staying safe. There were also a couple of pop-up "aid stations" along the way where we would give them our number so runners were accounted for throughout the first loop.

One of the only night shots since it was a struggle fest and it was dark the entire run...

Despite my back ache, I would say Brian and I had a "strong" first 10-15 miles. Once we hit Golden Gate Park on the return the wheels started to fall off a bit for me. I'm not sure if my back pain was causing tummy troubles or if they were independent of each other, but I quickly realized my stomach was not planning to cooperate with the rest of the run. In fact, there was a point in the park where I had to duck behind a tree to pop-a-squat because there were no open port-o-potties nearby. #PoopHappens #SorryGoldenGatePark #IThoughtIWasBeingSneakyUntilIRealizedIHadALightUpVestOn


After that I'd say it was all downhill... and not in the way runners appreciate where gravity helps propel you to the finish line... in the bad way where things just seem to get worse and worse. My back pain never let up, I couldn't really force myself to eat anything (I had PROBAR BOLT chews around Miles 7, 13 and 20, but it was a struggle for sure to even swallow those), I felt like I was going to throw up with every step I took, etc. #DrivingTheStruggleBus #ButIWantedOff

Source: @sparkleathletic's Instagram Feed

Brian was a freakin' rockstar, trying to remind me that we were right on track with our original goal of 5 hours, continuing to check in on me to see if I needed to take a break, reminding me to try and eat something, offering words of encouragement or times of silence (depending on what I needed), etc. I was grateful to have such an amazing friend along with me on the journey - especially during those dark moments (both figuratively and literally... because running out on the streets at 3am even on a good day can be tough, but when you are struggling it can be even more difficult).

Source: @sparkleathletic's Instagram Feed

We ended up making it back to the ultra tent where we needed to check in just over 5 hours after we started. We stopped our watches, gave them our numbers and made our way back to the room in the Hyatt where our stuff was being held.

This loop wasn't easy... but we pretty much nailed the goal of a 5 hour marathon! 

After taking a few moments to breath, I grabbed my clothes so I could change out of my sweaty gear (FYI: I was expecting the night loop to be cooler {especially along the water or in the park} so I wore a light jacket and I'm not sure if it was my body being angry with me or the weather itself but I was definitely way too hot the entire time. I was a sweaty betty for sure, overheating in my jacket and was unable to get my core temp to cool down even after removing my top layer.) and get ready for the next marathon... Wow, even typing those words seems crazy... #WhatWereWeThinking?!

My #FlatCarlee for the second loop would include some of the same pieces as the first loop, but we wanted to add in a little more color
(and less reflective gear) this go around - Red and White Stripe PRO Compression socks (no longer in stock), red Sparkle Athletic skirt,
Do Good. Be Kind. trucker, red Handful sports bra, tank from TJ Maxx, #WeRunSocial thingamajig, silicone stretch ROAD iD, red, black
and white QALO
silicone wedding bands, red Momentum Jewelry wrap, COROS APEX Multisport Watch, Epic Wipe for a quick
"shower" between marathons, Nathan Handheld, PROBAR BOLT chews, and Brooks Ghost 11.

I tried to force down a PROBAR BASE bar before Brian and I went down to the #WeRunSocial meet-up, but could only eat half before I felt like it was going to come right back up (I did carry the rest of it with me for the first few miles of the race in case my stomach would allow me to eat it, but ended up tossing it around mile 5 when I knew it was a lost cause).

The crew... and our socks ;) 

Marathon #2 (5:30am Start Time)

After chatting with the folks who were able to make it to the #WeRunSocial meet-up (it was difficult because although there are multiple race options, not all of them started at the same time or place so if you weren't running the full you weren't necessarily going to be at the start at 5am), Brian and I made our way to our corral. I was praying the excitement from the other runners and the sunrise would breathe life back into me, but that turned out to be wishful thinking.

The sun was starting to rise and the views along the Embarcadero never disappoint!

Some of the other ultra runners ended up at the back of Corral 1 and crossed the start line together. We joked that it was the slowest any of us had approached a start line of a race before... but, remember, not only had we already run 26.2 miles, but we had 60-90 minutes of cooling down, stiffening up and having to refuel before crossing that timing mat.

Like the first loop, Brian had a game plan for the second marathon. He said we should shoot for six hours. SIX HOURS?! Similar to his plan for the first marathon, I thought his time seemed silly, but I knew it wasn't your average marathon time... We had been up ALL NIGHT LONG, had already run a marathon, weren't fueling like an ultra (if you've run a trail race, you know aid stations are filled with everything from candy and sandwiches to burgers and fruit {aka REAL FOOD}... road races mostly have water or electrolytes for a choice of "fuel"), not to mention San Francisco isn't a super flat or fast course to begin with. Originally when Brian mentioned the goal time I agreed to it (but in the back of my head was thinking we'd blow it out of the water), but as we crossed the timing mat Sunday morning I wondered if I'd even get to the finish line.


As with the first loop, I relied heavily on Brian to pull me along. Like, honestly, if I wasn't running with him I think I would probably still be sitting on a street curb somewhere in San Francisco waiting for the hubby to come pick me up. It was a struggle from the first step and it never got any easier... I think the only positive the second time around was that I didn't have to poop behind a tree... Okay, there may have been a few more positives, but they felt very few and far between.

You know I am always down for a good character stop or four ;) 

The views of the Golden Gate Bridge were STUNNING! So stoked the fog hadn't socked it in!

Seeing friends on course definitely was a highlight of the race!

There was a sweet spectator who was asking for our names and then writing them
in chalk and cheering us on as we "chugged" up the hill. Such a kind gesture!

There were lots of breakdowns on this loop. Lots of tears. Lots of dark moments. Lots of pain. Lots of apologies to Brian for "ruining his day". Lots of trying to talk Brian into leaving me behind. Lots of thanking Brian for not leaving me behind. Lots of holding in vomit. Lots of trying to focus on anything outside of myself but to no avail. Did I mention lots of tears? 

Real Talk - Moments before this picture was snapped I had tears rolling down my cheeks...

I wish I could say at some point things turned around, I found a second wind and we finished strong, but like the first loop, the second loop was more of the same... Carlee needing to walk so she wouldn't throw up, Carlee trying to force down fuel and hydration to get any type of energy she could, Carlee throwing a pity party because she was having a tough race and her body was revolting every step of the way.

Brian had to pop into a bathroom, so I sat down on the curb and tried not to break down...

I know, I know, this is NOT the race recap that you are used to reading from me... You are used to hearing how running is rainbows and unicorns... well, it isn't always... bad runs happen to all of us... I am right there with you that this type of "whining, whoa is me" type recap bums me out too and I'd be surprised if any of you were still reading it, but you know I always gotta #KeepItReal, even when it sucks... Shoot, there was even a point in the race where a follower saw me along the course and asked how things were going and I said "craptastic" to which Brian replied "well, that wasn't very Carlee-like"... In fact, I felt very UN-Carlee-like , which was bumming me out even more (especially when I knew I was impacting those around me), but I just couldn't escape the dark cloud that followed me for the majority of our 52.4 mile journey.


I would say one of the main highlights of the day was seeing the finish line. It meant I could stop moving for a moment. It meant that hopefully I would feel better soon. It meant I would be flying home to see my hubby and puppy shortly.

52.4 miles later...

And we finished the journey together!

Don't get me wrong, 99% of the time I am hoping races won't end because I love the time spent on the course with friends, the running community, or by myself, but this was one race I had been looking forward to being over for many hours. When you don't feel like yourself, when you don't feel strong, when you don't feel in control you want the misery over... and that's exactly what I wanted. I hated wishing the miles away, but unfortunately the light at the end of the tunnel was getting off the streets of San Francisco and climbing into my bed at home as soon as possible.

Again, I would have preferred US to dictate the pace (rather than our bodies), but we nailed that six hour goal!

Brian and his amazing wife were kind enough to drop me off at the airport after we grabbed some Mexican food with Richard (my stomach was still revolting so I was only able to eat half of my quesadilla {you know something had to be wrong if I couldn't mow down all the chips and salsa, right?!} and almost fell asleep on the toilet when I was peeing - HA!).

Emotionally and physically drained, waiting to board the plane.

Although I was originally bummed the hubby wouldn't be able to make the trip with me, I was very grateful I'd be back to San Diego in an hour and a half, instead of 9ish hours if we were driving. I also had easy access to a potty if need-be.

It wasn't Vernors (if you grew up in Michigan you know what I'm talking about), but I decided to overlook my
pop hiatus and get some ginger ale in hopes of settling my angry tummy on the flight back to San Diego.

I'll be honest, this was NOT the race I was hoping for. In fact, I am still pretty bummed about it. I'm not bummed that I had a bad race, because those happen to the best of us, but I am bummed I couldn't get out of the dark space and I negatively impacted those around me. I pride myself on being a light to others and I feel like I majorly failed (failing, at least in my book, has very little to do with a finish time or even a finish line, but with how I show God and His love to those around me... and I'll fess up and say there was very little love flowing from me during this race). But for now all I can do is use it as a learning experience by putting more tools in my tool belt so if and when something similar happens in the future I know how to better attack it and handle it with grace and gratitude (both for myself and for the situation).

PS Before I sign off, I've gotta give MAJOR PROPS to Do Good. Be Kind. Not only did they supply me with the hat for the second loop of our ultra, they hand delivered tons of amazing goodies since they're local to San Francisco (although not for long - they're moving to Hawaii!). If you don't follow them or own some of their gear yet, you MUST change that ASAP!

How awesome is all of this gear?! 

How do you get over a bad run or race?


Diane said...

Carlee you are amazing! You did not fail! You kept pushing on despite the pain and frustrations. Your Marathons/ultra that day were not only a test of your physical strength but your mental strength. You say you didn’t feel love pouring from you on the course, but God showed His love for you through Brian’s encouragement and support and the ability to keep pushing on. It’s ok to feel “craptastic” during a race!

I ran a marathon Saturday and it was a test of my mental strength too. There were many tears shed. Goal finally was to cross that finish line. I feel as runners we need races like that. Proves running is not just physical. But mental. Then we can use that mental strength in other areas of our life.

Thank you for sharing your running accomplishments . The good and that not so good.

Briana said...

Oh Carlee... what a rough day! You are most certainly NOT a complainer, so I can tell how much you must have been in pain from everything you wrote. Mad props for being the warrior you are and finishing such a HUGE distance.

Remember that we are always hardest on ourselves... it took a while for me to stop beating myself up after my disappointing race earlier this year.

You did NOT dampen anyone's day. You are HUMAN and you are allowed to have a bad day (and be real about it in the moment and after).

HUGS. You are so impressive! Congratulations on such a major feat! I hope you can finally enjoy some chips and salsa!

San said...

Damn Carlee. That sounds like a crazy undertaking and honestly, I would have probably DNFed in your shoes... the fact that you finished (and strong!) is amazing. Thanks for sharing your honest journey though. Not every run - or race - is unicorns and rainbows!