Resilience
2008
Eighteen years living with diabetes. My 1-year post-baby goal was to run the Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35 Mile Endurance Run (SB9T).
Here is a summary of the course posted on the ATRA website:
“Big climbs. Big views. Technical trails. Great people. The Santa Barbara Nine Trails 35 Mile Endurance Run is a challenging problem for trail runners of every ability level. The trails are steep, rocky, inaccessible, and long. There is more than ten thousand vertical feet of gain and descent packed into the relatively short 35 miles. Experienced runners will tell you that Nine-Trails runs like a tough 50 miler. Athletes attempting this course should be prepared for long, slow sections with no support. Santa Barbara Nine Trails is the Jesusita Trailhead to Romero Canyon Trailhead and back. This 35 mile endurance run will cover most of the Santa Barbara front country trail system.”
In 2005 I collaborated with Luis Escobar, the race director, to figure out how my Moms In Motion trail team could participate, each running a mileage section of their choosing.
For 2006 I coached another group of women for Moms In Motion and trained myself for the event. My team rallied that year, each running individually a minimum of halfway (~17 miles) and two on the team completing the entire course. (GO Karen B. and Michelle!) I dropped at mile 22 with my basket of excuses, none diabetes-related. To redeem me internally, two weeks later, I ran the 35-mile route, solo, in the rain, with my husband and son as support. It is a good story for another time.
In 2007 I volunteered at the Gibraltor aid station all day, very pregnant. That evening my water broke (while watching BOG), and my daughter was born the next day. So, in 2008, I decided to train for the event for myself.
In 2008, my training went well. During June, July, and August, Kristin and I explored the trails around SB for hours and hours while the light came up in the west. I had the course dialed and knew where to lead my Austin-residing bestie during her summer in SB. It is impressive the terrain you can cover when you begin at 5:30 AM. I felt fortunate to have a babysitter willing to come over early when my husband was out of town. An early morning sitter allowed me to remain consistent with my goal.
For me, ultrarunning training is about getting time on my feet, spending hours navigating nutrition, aches, fatigue, hydration, warmth, and cold. I get good at using the nooks and crannies of my latest hydration system/pack and the layers that feel good as my training progresses. Ultra training and ultra events remind me of the adventure of living with diabetes. You can attempt to control the circumstance, but the experiences demonstrate that dependence on a false-certainty for a particular outcome might be more hindering than helpful. In my experience with diabetes and ultrarunning, I train to the best of my ability, taking each experience/run as information only. I celebrate when things align and take note when they fall apart.
As with my son, I was committed to breastfeeding my daughter for the first few years of life. And...she refused a bottle. The timing around breastfeeding became a logistical addition to my training as the runs took more time. For SB9T course, the halfway point is at an easily drive-up-able location. It was perfect for meeting my 1-year-old baby for breastfeeding during my race.
November 13, 2008 the Tea Fire broke out on our Santa Barbara front country trails. Our community had already endured the Gap Fire in July that year, and our morale had not yet recovered. For the athletes training for SB9T course, this meant a replacement event. The Rosevalley 33 Mile Endurance Event located on the trails north of Ojai replaced SB9T that year.
The ultra running community is highly adaptable. In many ways, it has a family-vibe. People come whether they are running or not, just to offer a hand or cheer on the participants. It was impressive watching how Luis pulled this off. Many stepped up to make that event happen on such short notice. I am amazed they even somehow got shirts made. We slept with my daughter at the camp by the start the night before the event. My husband and I looked at the course and talked to anyone we could to understand how he could be somewhere along the route so I could breastfeed our daughter mid-ultra. My diabetes wasn’t an issue that race. I cherish the workouts and races I get to just be an athlete. She was there, my daughter, around mile 17. We were happy to see each other.
I finished my race that day elated, hours after local-awesomeness Mike Swan won the event for the men and my good friend, Krissy Moehl, captured it for the woman.
I agree fully with how Luis (RD) described the event:
“The 2008 Rose Valley 33 Mile Endurance Run aka The Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35 Mile fire replacement run was a great success. We had about 100 starters and nearly 90 finishers. It was a day of pure ultra kookiness, the trails were gnarly but hospitable, dark blue skies, clean brisk California air, big views, long ass climbs, perfect single track, great aid stations, helpful, friendly and knowledgeable volunteers, generous sponsors. The finish line was ultra perfection – remote and funky location (abandoned county work station) with lots of happy people, cheese burgers prepared by chef Jurek, cold beer and shots of Jack. What could be better? We all had a great time.”
Resilience is a measure of how much you want something and how much you are willing and able to overcome obstacles to get it.
True true, we all had a great time.
Photo was mid-ultra, me and my 1 year old baby!