boy did I ever get in trouble and I deserve it. i really didn't want to sensationalize 6633 Ultra while I wanted to reflect the internal struggles that happen in the race I want to make sure that everybody know I was never in danger of dying.
I failed to make it check points and that is the minimum expected when you sign for that race, martin and his crew did a great job of helping his athletes it was me that after all had a hard time on the race. There re somethings that I need to clarify.
I hurt my back and had my sled switched and everything was fine.
when they checked on my during at night I was fine, it was not until i undid my sled harness that the sharp pain came, i tried to sleep on the course and that is the reason why the left me, i never told that my back was hurting, they had already left thinking I was going to be down for a couple of hours.
It was when I strapped my sled again to continued because I was getting colder in my Bivvy that the pain became too much, when Claudia came by, I had my arms behind my back holding the sled underneath to relieve the pain. Only about an hour an a half I had been fine and waived them good night. I would have made it to check point on my own for sure but it was nice to take my sled off since it was hurting my back.
The frostbite was not visible until the morning light when I had already left the course that we notice the bridge of my nose was black.
My apologies again to martin and his team, they where great and I am sorry that it came across as whining.
I have been thinking a lot about the race and regret hit a few days ago, I think the only way I can make peace is to return and run it once more, there is no guarantees that next time will be better, I know of athletes that have return and they are force to quit even sooner that the time before but I will never know if I can do better if I don't return.
A lot of people asked me about my equipment, i did try it before hand but it was always from warm to cold, I took my gear out tor try out but it had been nicely stored at home warm, next time I will leave it out for a couple of days then try it.
Claudia took some fantastic shots and you can check here
2 comments:
Don't worry about having regrets; life is way too short for that. You had the balls to go out there and gave it your all - I take my hat to you. Running ultras can be tough on the mind/body at the best of times but to do it in those cold, frigid conditions is something else. The photos are amazing. Thanks for sharing. Good luck in Oz and don't let Lesley lead you astray:)
I'm sure everyone can understand that you felt frozen, scared, hungry, in pain and very alone at times during your race even if a team is available to help. I'm sure they also know how much you appreciate them.
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