What a better reason to come out of blogging retirement than to document a very special race for Jarrod. You know, if you think back on Jarrod's health history, it's pretty remarkable how far he's come. He makes me extremely proud!
Back in 2012, Jarrod had a huge wakeup call after seeing a photograph of himself and had this overwhelming feeling to get healthy. He started hitting the gym nearly everyday, focusing all his attention on heavy weights, building his muscles and losing fat. Still, there wasn't much emphasis on cardio - it was all weightlifting.
Then, in 2014, he started a new position at Sam's Club, and starting working closely with his friend, Chad. Chad happens to be a triathlete, and Jarrod was sucked in. In April 2015, he completed his first Half Ironman, which was followed the next spring by his second, and finally, in September 2016, he completed his first FULL Ironman.
All of that was amazing, right? It was also around this time that he started running with the Rush Racing Team, and it became clear that running was his true passion. We both worked on our own running goals, hoping to inspire the children along the way. He participated in many races! In 2017, after completing his first marathon, he spent most of his time on the trails and found his happy place. Let him spend hours in the woods running trails and he's the happiest man in the world.
That love of trail running led him to a completely new goal - an ultra marathon. I thought he was crazy when he explained it to me - 100 miles on the trails with no sleep - but when he sets his mind to something, he accomplishes it. And this was no different.
As with many of his races, this one was not local and it was during the school year, so it wasn't looking good for me to be present at this race. But something about 100 miles honestly freaked me out a little. I really felt like I needed to be there, not just as encouragement for him but also as his wife in case anything happened. It wasn't looking great to go though - driving down from Ohio in the middle of winter is a bit risky for my family, and I just wasn't sure how we'd make a three day road trip work with the kids. On a whim, I checked plane tickets one last time just a few weeks out from the race, and surprisingly, there were flights for under $250. I decided to ask one more time, and my mom and aunt Rose generously agreed to take off work and purchase a plane ticket so they could come stay with the kids. {Bonus: They would fly in on my birthday!!}
So, race weekend approached. We had the crew and pacers over the weekend before to discuss the plan of action. This was all SO new to me so it was a bit overwhelming. I didn't know what to expect - what I'd be doing, if I'd be alone, if I'd be up all night. I decided to just go along for the ride....
He packed and repacked all week. There were large ziploc "drop bags" with all his nutrition and gear in them, and he had multiple outfits, pairs of socks and shoes ready to go. Finally it was Friday, and we got up early and headed out. We met up with the rest of the group at a local Walmart parking lot and joined forces, filling two cars with people, coolers, and lots of bags. We were on the road by 6am, just as planned, but about 30 minutes into the drive we remembered that we left a few things in the refrigerator that we were planning to add to the cooler - beet juice, turmeric shots, and bacon wrapped dates that our sweet neighbors, Bill and Vickie, made for us.
Trey and David were the drivers; Adam, Jarrod and I were with Trey, and Mark, James, and Corrie rode down with David. We stayed together and stopped off in Dallas for Torchy's Tacos - amazing lunch! Then, Newman's car took a detour and dropped James off at his parents house and we met back up for one final pit stop at Buc-ee's Gas Station. That place is quite the experience! I think it had close to 40 gas pumps, and sold everything inside from beef jerky to toys to house decor to candy. Crazy!
Finally, we arrived at the Huntsville State Park. It was a beautiful park! We went through packet pickup and gathered around for the race briefing with the race director. While listening, we saw a beautiful bald eagle fly overhead. It was such a cool sight!
We took a minute to do some photographs with the group. Below, are David (Jarrod's pacer for the final loop), Casey (also running the full ultra), Mark (Casey's pacer for the last loop), Adam (Jarrod's coach and pacer for the 3rd loop), and Trey (Casey's pacer for the 3rd loop).
These guys are quite comical! Especially Mark...he definitely kept me laughing all weekend.
Next up on our Friday agenda was to get checked into the hotel before heading to dinner. Unfortunately, there was some confusion and our two room reservation was only one suite, and the hotel was at capacity with no way to get us another room that night. After lots of patience (not on my part...I was frustrated with the rude customer service) they decided to put us all in the suite - two queen size beds, a pull out sofa, and threw in two rollaway beds. How sweet of them, huh? That was quite the sleepover! Six grown men and two women in one room with one bathroom.
Just in time, we headed out for dinner at The Farmhouse Cafe. Everyone gathered around one table, chatting about old races, plans for the next day, and phone calls with families back home. Jarrod and I shared a chicken caesar salad and got loaded baked potatoes. The food was great! He couldn't wait for dessert - since he'd called to make the reservation, he was craving the Lemon Ice Box pie. Unfortunately, they were sold out, and Jarrod was heartbroken, but the peanut butter pie took him mind off it pretty quickly. ;)
We all headed back to the hotel and got settled in for the night. I think we were all having a little trouble sleeping that night, but we did get a few good hours at least. Jarrod joked about how 'cute' it was that they were going to set an alarm, and in true Jarrod fashion, he was already up and showered before the alarm went off at 4am. We all got ready, grabbed some bagels and coffee, and headed to the park. Jarrod was so calm - at least from the outside. He may have been nervous inside, but he never showed it, even when we ended up in a long line of cars waiting to pay the admission fee at the park entrance.
We got him all set with his nutrition, water, body glide, headlamp, etc. and waited patiently. We also took some time to take a pictures before he headed out. The race happened to take place on the anniversary of Jen Bikel's death in our running community, and her sister was tallying the number of miles run on the 3rd in her memory, so we were sure to grab a group photo of everyone that would be running in her memory.
And just like that, his first ultra marathon was underway...
We headed off to the Nature Center aid station which was about four miles up the way and saw them one more time before heading back to the hotel for breakfast and to take a nap. Soon enough, it was time to head back to the park and watch for him to come back in after his first loop. His first 25 miles was completed in 5:16, and he came into the aid station looking great! It has rained off and on so he was wet, but he was ready to head back out without changing anything.
After we saw him off this time around, we all headed back to town to have lunch. We stopped in at McAlister's, and there was a comical conversation about how they were going to go buy party hats and balloons and pretend to have a birthday party for me the next time Jarrod came through to the Dogwood aid station. With everything on his mind, Jarrod *might* have forgotten to wish me a happy birthday, something that didn't bother me at all, but his friends definitely weren't ready to let him live that one down. Unfortunately, as we all headed back out to head to Target, David realized he had a screw in his tire, so instead they spent time tending to the tire and the rest of us just went back to shower, rest, etc. at the hotel.
Just before dinner it was time to head back and see him at the halfway point. He completed loop 2 in 5:30, and when I asked him how he was doing, his response was that he was 'starting to feel it.' Well, you just ran 50 miles, love....of course you're starting to feel something. ;) He changed his clothes and shoes this time around because the rain was really coming down at times during this loop, and he had some coffee and ramen. During these aid stations, you saw how amazing his friends really are - can you imagine rubbing someone else's feet after they've just ran 50 miles in the rain? Yikes!
At this point, Jarrod was starting loop 3 with Adam, and Trey joined Casey on his third loop. Shortly after they took off we realized Casey had forgotten his headlamp, so we headed to Nature Center to wait for them to come through to hand that off, and then it was off to dinner. Trey had been driving us around up to this point, but now that he was running, Mark took his keys and took over driving. Let's just say, Trey drives his truck much better. It was a little scary at times with Mark behind the wheels, but somehow we made it to Five Guys for dinner and then back to the hotel safely. The next round of pacers, David and Mark, attempted to take quick naps before we headed out yet again around 10:15.
Just before 11:00, Jarrod completed loop 3 in 6:12. It was dark, and actually the warmest it had been all day at that point. One of my biggest fears with this race was that I'd see Jarrod break down. I have a hard time seeing him push the limits because I worry for his health. Yes, he's well trained and worked hard to educate himself about what to do/not to do, it's still always a worry in the back of my mind. During one of his Ironman races, an athlete who was definitely well prepared for the race had a heart attack during the swim portion and died; stories like that will always stick with me. So when he came through and took a seat and I asked him if he was doing ok, I was a little taken aback when he initially said 'no.' I think he realized that I would worry about him so he did change his answer and told me he was fine, but I could tell at that point he was nearing his breaking point and ready to be done. But, Jarrod is too stubborn to give up that easily...
I attempted to help him with his socks before he took off but he was insistent that he was going to do them himself. He was back at it rather quickly with Newman by his side, and as soon as Casey was ready to head off with Mark, the rest of us headed back to the hotel with Adam and Trey. They were both doing pretty good after their loop with the guys, but Trey had rolled his ankle pretty badly and was in some pain. Thankfully, we were able to get the second hotel room by this time - really, it wasn't needed for the bed count since there were several guys out running, but it was helpful to have an extra shower - so they showered and get got Trey some ibuprofen and ice and everyone headed back to bed for a few hours.
Sometime around 2:30am (I think?!) David sent Corrie a text message to give us an update on where they were. Of course, we weren't exactly sure what that meant and tried our best to figure out the pace they'd been running thus far and how much longer we thought they had. We decided to sleep for another hour before waking the guys to get their input. When that time came, we contemplated which would be a 'gentler' wakeup - calling their room or knocking on the door. I attempted to knock on the door a few times, but after no answer I went ahead and called the room. Trey answered, and though he sounded wide awake, it was clear he wasn't quite with it when he said we could probably leave around 6. I explained it again, told him to take a minute to think about it and call me back. Once he did, they had decided we should head out around 4:15.
Every time we came back to the aid station, we joined Melonie, who was there with her husband, Chris, who was also running Rocky for his first ultra and had a tent set up . When we arrived this time, however, the tent was empty and we weren't really sure where she had gone. We thought maybe she had headed to the car to sleep or warm up a little, but soon we found out that she was actually up at the next aid station with her husband, who had decided he couldn't make it any further. :( Such a sad moment when we heard that because we all knew how much disappointment was involved. We chatted for a bit with Brian, his pacer, and soon Corrie and I headed to the finish line to wait.
While we were there at the finish line, we saw several runners cross the finish line. Most had a pacer with them, and many had people waiting for them nearby. There were a few brave souls who were running that final loop (perhaps the entire race??) alone, which was just unbelievable to me. Then, there was the guy that brought both Corrie and I to tears. He was running alone, and when the woman at the finish line congratulated him and handed him his buckle, he asked her to take his picture for him, which made us both realize he didn't have anyone at the finish line waiting for him. We joked that maybe we should hop in the picture with him so it looked like he had friends there supporting him. But, after she took his picture, he shocked both of us by asking her if it was ok if he hugged her. Cue the tears. This guy had just run 100 miles, most likely alone for the entire thing, and had NO ONE there with him at the finish line. He was so overcome with emotion and just wanted that hug at the finish line. It broke my heart, and made me so thankful that I was able to be there with Jarrod. When these big races are so far from home, it is difficult for me to be there with him without the kids missing school, and something like - going back and forth so many times - would have been so difficult to do with the kids in tow, especially through the night. Thank you again, Mom and Rosi, for making it possible for me to be there for this big event.
And it wasn't long, before it was Jarrod's turn to cross the finish line. David ran up ahead of him to make sure I was at the finish line for him, and just like that, 100 miles was in the books and Jarrod was officially an ultra marathoner.
And this was by far one of the most amazing hugs we've ever had. Seriously, it ranks up there with our wedding day hug. It just felt so good to wrap my arms around him and congratulate him, and I could tell he was so grateful to be finished and hugging me. It was definitely a moment I'll never forget.
Thank you, David and Adam, for taking such good care of my love. Throughout his training and there on race day, you two were amazing to not only him, but me as well. Thank you for giving up time away from your families and taking time off work to be there with us.
James, Trey, Mark, Corrie - thank you for everything. Jarrod definitely has the best friends around. There's something very special about a running tribe.
And Jarrod, thank you for letting me snap pictures at the finish line even though I know your legs were ready to buckle, you were beyond exhausted, and everything hurt. <3 font="" nbsp="">
We headed back to the hotel and let everyone shower, eat, and rest a bit. Jarrod had taken Chad's 'legs' with him so he used them for an hour or so before we were ready to hit the road and make the drive back. We stopped every 2-3 hours to let him get out and walk around, hoping to keep his legs from stiffening up too much, and were really thankful to be home in time for dinner with the kids. And bonus - we arrived home to find mom and Rose had cleaned everything, done our ironing, organized Gavin's closet, and so much more. They are SO good to us!
Though he told me at the finish line that this would likely be a 'one and done' race, it didn't take long - think hours - before he was talking about his next one. By completing this race, he is now in the lottery for "Western States", which will take place in December for a summer 2019 race. I guess we'll see what happens!
Jarrod, this was definitely a race weekend to remember. I'll never forget being there with you and supporting you along the way. You amaze me with your dedication and perseverance. Thank you for inspiring me, and being a positive role model to our children.
