Tampa Bay 100

 Tampa Bay 100. Oof. 

Just over a year ago I DNF'd Mines of Spain 100 and gave myself a firm "Never again!" So of course a few months later when Shae Merritt  said, "Who's coming with me?!" and presented a 100 mile run through Tampa Bay I said, "Count me in!" 

With the help of my coach Brian Frain I trained hard with a single focus of finishing 100 miles. On pavement. In the Florida heat. I hit a bump in the road a couple months ago with a back injury that I thought was going to take me out of the game, but with the guidance of Holly Lindroth and Shauna Carlisle I worked through it and made it to the starting line.

On Saturday morning, Shae and I went to a chicken sanctuary in Ybor City Tampa with 71 other people and started on an "Endurance tour" of Tampa Bay. We started out run/walking around historic Ybor City where chickens run free and cigar factories are a tourist attraction. Then we headed through Tampa and along the waterfront, weaving around town to see the many sites and murals Tampa has to offer. We first met our crew, Kevin and Susan, at around 10 miles and we were feeling good. We picked up a couple of new friends in our first few miles as well to share the journey.

By the end of the Tampa segment the sun was out, it was hot, and I knew that I had to cut out running through the heat of the day. At around mile 28 we hit the first aid station. I was desperate to cool down, but there was no ice. And we were headed into a long stretch with no access to crew or aid, the Courtney Campbell Causeway, an 8 mile foot bridge across the bay that is totally exposed. We weren't supposed to meet up with crew until mile 42, but I needed more than the race cache at mile 36 had to offer, so we had crew meet us there. We sat in the shade, cooled down, added ice to my pack, and we were back out. 

I was still hot and running was still off the table. My husband Stephen swung by and gave me encouragement and a kiss giving me a short burst of energy. But by mile 42 when we saw our crew again, I decided I was done. But I didn't say it out loud. I cried my eyes out and sat in the chair. I'm pretty sure that this was the first time that Susan's husband Mark joined in the crew fun. Poor guy. 😆 My feet and legs felt awful, I ate some food, took some Ibuprofen and got back out. This whole time if Shae had any doubts she didn't show it. She kept her spirits up for me. She was amazing.

Soon after it got dark and we were able to start running again in little spurts. I couldn't go back to the 2 minute runs I was doing earlier in the day because I was still hot despite the sun going down and my heart rate would jump. I felt blisters starting to form and was happy to see Tonya Olson at the mile 50 aid station. Tonya worked on my feet for a nice chunk of time, popping two blisters on my big toes and taping my heels, big toes, and forefeet. She even gave me a dry pair of socks as my change of socks were with my crew.

We headed back out with my taped feet and grilled cheese in my belly and threw in some short running intervals again. I tried to keep my spirits up with music but descended pretty quickly into a dark place. When we saw Susan and Mark at mile 60 I said it out loud. I was fucking done. I cried, I said I couldn't do it. Shae convinced me to take some Tylenol and pull Kevin in to pace earlier than our plan for mile 69. I agreed and pushed on. Soon after, we were joined by a bouncing ball of Kevin. 

My crabby state could not show him my appreciation, and I instead cursed at him when he made me run. He continued to bring the energy, cheering us on, telling us we were doing amazing, and pulling us down the Western coastline toward St. Pete Beach. He was exactly what we needed to keep going. 

By sunrise, my spirits were up and down, mostly down, but once I cracked 80 miles I knew I couldn't quit. As the sun was coming up we hit the last aid station. I marched straight through to the public beach restroom down the road, blew it up, then laid on a park bench under an awning to try to catch a quick nap. I had been falling asleep on my feet for the last hour or so, but of course there was no sleeping when I could lay down. We had plenty of time with the generous cutoff. I hurt more than I imagined possible and I could feel new blisters forming and old ones spreading but I pushed forward with my friends. 

At mile 85, Susan jumped in to pace us the last 15 (actually 17) miles. I talked to Stephen at around mile 91-92 and told him we'd be about 3 hours. He was already in St. Pete waiting for me to finish and made another swing past to give me a kiss and encouragement. Shortly after, my feet and energy took a dive and I slowed down. Every step was agony on the pavement. I cursed the little bumps at the intersections and cried when we were forced down uneven brick alleyways to see more murals. I was over seeing murals. The end of the course was a mind fuck. We came within a few blocks of the finish line with 10 miles left to go only run circles and out and backs around St. Pete, including a hot long march to the end of the pier and back. Shae and I bitched with every turn, just ready to be done, as Susan marched ahead of us toward the finish.

Coming off the pier, Kevin appeared and guided us to the finish line. During a mile that felt like 20 I probably asked 10 times where the finish was. On a small concrete pier on the beach sat the race director and a couple other people with a cooler, a couple chairs, and a table with buckles. We chose our buckles, got our pictures taken, then headed up to the shade just off the beach to our chairs. Stephen found us shortly after, we relaxed for a few taking off our shoes, then waddled to the parking lot.

I've had some time to process. I'm glad I finished, I'm proud I stuck with it. I also wouldn't have minded if I had stopped at 42 when I first wanted to. Shae was amazing. Our crew was fantastic. I couldn't have done it without them. If I had been out there by myself, I would have quit, gone back to the hotel, and called it a day. My feet are covered in blisters and are sore, my right calf is stiff and my legs ache. But other than that I'm no worse for the wear. Now it's time to go back to real life.