West Mac Monster 65km ultra / silver
/By Northern Territorian Bridie Duggan - she gives us all the nitty gritty ultra insights to running her debut ultra in one of the most spectacular rugged trail events in the world along the LARAPINTA TRAIL in the NT, Australia.
Firstly, I just wanted to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to coach Greta for all your help in getting me prepped and ready for the West Macs 65km. It was such an amazing experience and I still question myself to this day as to how I came second (especially after having covid fairly soon before the race!!). Here is how the event unfolded.
Before leaving for Alice:
12 days before, another running friend said she got sick. It reminded me that the previous year (for the 25km run) I’d also gotten sick a few days before my run. So I quickly went and got the flu jab across the road from work on the Wednesday. The next day I started to feel unwell from the jab and just figured it was because of that. I took a few days off work because I was starting to feel very fatigued. I didn’t want to eat food or drink anything as it meant moving. 4 days after the jab I tested positive for covid, later finding out that a patient brought her sick son to the appointment after she just picked him up from school as they rang her to say that he had covid. I was FURIOUS! I was in bed from Thursday through to Friday before my flight. I saw two doctors and had my bloods taken and was prescribed a Puffer.
I tried emailing the event coordinators to ask if I could get a credit for the following year, but this wasn’t accepted as I needed to give them two weeks’ notice. They have no policies for sickness. That’s why I thought I would at least still go and if it meant I went for a short walk at Standley Chasm then I was fine with that considering the week of sickness.
Weekend of the run:
My mindset was that I would just walk to Simpson’s Gap and get picked up by my partner there. Then I would at least know the track for next year if I came back and ran it.
Night before:
I forced myself to eat spaghetti Bolognese because I knew I needed something in the stomach. I also had a croissant that day but that was it. I really wasn’t eating much but I forced myself to drink electrolytes.
Day of the run:
I woke up at 3am on Sunday and started to get ready, still feeling very warm internally and not well rested as I was nervous sleeping all night thinking I wouldn’t wake up to my alarm. I forced myself to eat some bread with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast before leaving on the bus.
My nutrition and water intake before the event and the days prior were not as planned. I was lucky to eat a box of Pringles or plain crackers with Vegemite in the days prior. I was forcing myself to drink as much water with electrolytes as possible, still wasn’t a great amount.
I started the run at 6:30am and it was 2degrees. I somehow started at the front of the pack because everyone moved to the back when the announcers said, ‘move to the front’. I started off in a good position and only saw about 10 runners in front of me, I flew well up the first few hills, so I maintained a good position. I just wanted to stay ahead because I didn’t want my pace depicted by someone in front. I had a lot of people gas themselves early and really increase their speed at the start, but they died off quickly, it just meant I was stuck behind them for a short period. Something I learnt was that even if someone is in front of you, don’t stick to their pace if you know it isn’t yours, overtake if needed. But I also kept in mind not to race anyone at the start because we had a long run ahead.
Finding those blue arrows up that first hill was very difficult! I’m glad I was at the front with people who knew where they were going. My GURU app on my phone wasn’t working so I had to rely on other runners which wasn’t a good feeling.
My friends were tracking my race and said I was maintaining a good place at the front of the pack for about 20kms and they were worried I took off too quick. I honestly never felt that was I was pushing too hard at all during the first 40km’s. My goal was to drink 800mls every hour of water, coke or ‘Tailwind’ and if I was cramping then I’d drink pickle juice and have a gel every 30-45minutes. This went to plan. I still didn’t feel like eating any food like chips, watermelon or lollies that were at the aid stations. But I knew I had to force in the gels and fluids which I did.
I hit a wall after the 24km mark (I think I realised how long I had to go) and I had a strong urge to want to cry. From that point on I told myself that a negative attitude or thoughts won’t help me get to the finish line. Whenever a negative thought popped in, I changed it for a positive straight away. I also made a rule that I had to run down all hills and chill on the hills when going up. I’m a fast walker so I was still over taking people when walking up hills.
I was complimented by other runners for my strength to power up the hills with speed and not needing to stop. I made a few friends along the track that said my walking pace up the very steep steps was very quick and they had to jog just to keep up. I am very proud that I learnt my strength was tackling the inclines as we had plenty of them!
One of my weaknesses however was the inability to run down hills quickly. Everyone else were like mountain goats and quickly overtook me on the downhill running. This was disheartening.
When I hit the 50km mark I managed to catch up to the leaders again as we were approaching Euro Ridge. I knew this was my time to give it my all and catch them, so I did! I ran up those hills and told myself I wasn’t allowed to stop from here on out as best as I could. I only walked a few small inclines after this but managed to get moving again. I kept telling myself that the person behind me wouldn’t be walking, so it’s best I don’t.
The last 5kms were hard and I had to keep telling myself not to stop as I was so close to finishing. I didn’t want to look behind me because I knew I’d get upset if I saw someone hot on my tail. For most of the run I tried not to look behind.
I made it across the finish line and was so proud of myself for coming second! I was surprised I even finished it! My body quickly spasmed and my feet were swollen. I had to get my partner to pick me up off the ground and carry me to the car. He was so helpful all day and quickly filled my waters at the aid stations. I know what you mean about not really having time to change or sit down, I raced into the aid stations, quickly refuelled then got out of there as quickly as I could.
That night I still struggled to eat food. I think I had 3 bits of Indian Naan Bread and a few mouthfuls of pork belly. I’m now managing to eat more as this sickness is slowly leaving the body. But the recovery was not as planned either.
Things I learnt on the day:
Other runners didn’t train specifically. I heard a lot of chat from runners saying their biggest runs were about 30-40kms and they didn’t run many hills or trail runs. I’m so glad I ran hills, rocky areas, trails and covered big distances.
A negative thought can easily bring you down, replace it immediately with a positive thought.
Lollies, although full of sugar and carbs aren’t easily chewed and absorbed when running. I wish I never packed any.
I didn’t need to pack tailwind as it was supplied all around the course. The flavour of these during my training runs were important but during the race I couldn’t have cared less and just wanted my bottles filled.
Putting Glide or Vaseline on and around my toes was a lifesaver, not one blister!
Niggles will occur such as sore feet, ITB pulling and some knee soreness but distract the mind from this soreness.
My prior strength training was vital when running up those hills.
The Next Goal:
I’ve celebrated and I’ve also felt the post run blues. Now my big question is what I’d like to train for next. I wouldn’t mind doing a run that is greater than 65km’s, perhaps a 100km run? I’ve been contemplating the 128km run at West Macs but I’m unsure if a year is enough time to prepare for this and whether I should do a 100km before this event to make sure I could even achieve it…..
(the next part of the journey continues…. :))
