The Quinns: Keys100 Ultra Marathon

Monday, May 17, 2010

Keys100 Ultra Marathon

I survived! I can now say that I have completed two ultra marathons!! Jeff and I arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday afternoon. We were able to spend a couple of days relaxing with Traci and Tim. Friday, we even enjoyed a day out on their boat. Saturday, we headed to Marathon Key for the start of our race at 10:00 am. Traci and I were both excited to get going. The first half went surprisingly smooth (although it was really hot-almost reaching 90 degrees that day). Once we got to mile 26, we were able to shower off and change.

Traci started to feel really light headed and got sick a couple times. We headed out but only made it a couple miles before it was obvious that she was not okay. The medics checked her out and decided her blood pressure was WAY too low, so they hooked her up to oxygen and an iv (seriously scary seeing her on a stretcher). After waiting a few hours to see if she would start feeling better, she told me to go on.

I thought that she would not be able to finish, so I trucked along. I was happy to hear (about an 1.5 hours later) that she was going to keep going! I felt pretty good until the last 12 miles. My knees really gave me some grief. I wrapped an ice pack around and decided to push through. Jeff was kind enough to join me on the road that last 8 miles-he even ran a few miles with me! Running on a busy highway in the dark was pretty scary, so I was thrilled to have him out there.

Although Traci and I finished at different times, it was so wonderful to have both of us cross the finish line! 29 people didn't even finish the race, so I feel fortunate to have made it through.

No more near death experiences though Traci! We might need to try a marathon next time...in cool Indiana weather! :) Thank you Traci and Tim for getting everything together for the weekend. We enjoyed our trip!