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Reimagine Running | DC Peaks 100 Recap with Jenny Little S1E36 · Reimagine Running

• Jenny: I mean there's probably lightning and it you know like we will see but I was like I'll be with a bunch of dudes and this might be sketch, but I was like, there's five other people that are about to do this run too, so it's not sketch enough. I would count in my head like one Mississippi, two Mississippi and then I'd be like, that's three, that's two. And then I just remember. like Ken and I were pretty close to each other. we like looked at each other and I was like, that was one. That was definitely one Mississippi and we're just like, we're just going, like just kept going. I mean that run and we did Big Mountain down. And even though those weren't like my race course, to be out on these areas where I was like, This is just good to like see the benefit of running on the course was like really good exposure, Coach Ryan Head: Running is a strange thing. Some people find it on the sidewalk at sunrise. Some find it deep in the mountains chasing daylight. And some of us find it when life feels heavy and running is the only thing that makes sense. For some, starts with the 5k. For others, it's a marathon. And for a few, it's a hundred miles that changes everything. But somewhere between the first step and the finish line, something happens. Running stops being about pace or distance or medals. It becomes about purpose. I'm your host Ryan Head. And this is Reimagine Running, the podcast dedicated to talking about why we run. Each episode, we'll sit down with runners from every background, trail runners, road runners, beginners, veterans, and talk about their journey. Not just where they've run, but why they run. Because for many of us, running didn't just change our fitness. It helped us find clarity, healing, discipline, hope, and sometimes even ourselves. Whether your why was born on a short loop around the block or somewhere deep inside a long, lonely mile. This podcast is for you. Welcome to re-imagine running. Ryan Head: Alright, everybody, welcome back to Reimagine Running, the podcast talking about why we run. Alright, guys, as we've been doing for multiple episodes now, we have been doing different people's race recaps. we are into the fall season, we've been doing a lot of the heavy hitting races here in Utah, also multiple other states, but Utah is prime time right now for race season and it's been exciting. Obviously, as I've gone over both my Wasatch and Bear 100 finishes. They're great episodes. It was fun to talk to all of you about that. Next, we had Nate Allred on, who talked about his finish at Wasatch. And we have some others coming on. So why not continue to follow this trend and bring on our next guest? She is a former guest of the pod, one of my first guests that I had on early, early on this season. And she's also been on when I did my recap of the Scout Mountain 100. She is a dear friend, a great friend of mine. someone that I am just proud of. as I've said multiple times on here, my races, I need a crew. my community is very important to me. And she is my crew chief. She's always been my crew chief for the last couple of races. just does a great job. She is the most organized person I've ever seen. And so I figured, why not? Let's flip the let's flip the script this time. Why not I get to crew the crew? So I'm excited again to bring Jenny Little on this episode. Again, she was a former guest earlier this season. I'm excited to have her back here. It is going to be awesome as we go a hundred miles with her on the DC Peaks. 100 miler. I don't want to give it away of how things went. You know, there was ups, there was downs, a lot to be learned. Anyways, I'm just proud of her. It's been fun because I was obviously also able to coach her as she went through her training program. Again, just very, very excited. So awesome. Anyways, Jenny, welcome back to the podcast. Jenny: It's good to be back. I like this and I love listening to the episodes, so it's fun to be back on. Ryan Head: Awesome. Well thank you. I know we it's fun. It's fun to do it. It's you know, I didn't know I'd have this much fun. And this is now what episode thirty-six, something like that. And I never thought I'd make it this far in in season. So here we are. Well let's just keep going and and we'll have fun. But as always, before we jump into it, love to give a big shout out to our premier sponsor for the podcast, Fleet Feet. If you have any shoe needs, gear needs, nutrition needs, hydration, electrolytes, you name it, go see those guys over in Layton and Ogden. They'll get you taken care of. We are heading into the fall, we're heading into winter, so if you have any gear needs, go see those guys, they'll get you taken care of. So anyways, Jenny, What led to that moment for you? What led to you to decide, hey, you know what? I wanna go for the D C peaks one hundred. This is this is my race. I'm gonna do it. take us back in time. What what got you there? Jenny: so after I ran my fifty miler, I knew I wanted to hit a hundred. I knew that was gonna be the next progression step. That's what I wanted to do. And to be honest, originally I wanted to do Antelope One hundred. I thought if I'd done the fifty, it'll be a great way. All one hundreds are can be hard, just the distance alone. But mentally I was thinking, I'll do the antelope. It's a little bit easier than a mountain race. kind of was banking or thinking that they would do a fall one hundred with antelope. So when they announced their distances, hundred mile was not on their plan. And I remember emailing them and asking, Hey, any chance there any chance you're gonna do a hundred? And I I mean to to their you know, I get it. They said they've got there's a lot of other races happening around that weekend anyways, so they didn't think they'd get enough participation. So back to drawing board. I remember immediately looking up just like a hundred miles around there in the fall, but also priority of I wanted to support you, I wanted to be at Wasatch and Bear to crew you. But looking at that, I was kind of debating between goat rattler or DC Peaks and just timing, schedule, and everything. DC Peaks seemed to fit a lot better with what we what we wanted to do and After seeing the course and having run I mean like a short section but getting to do the Mueller half, knowing that that was on part of the course too and the time of year with the fall leaves, I was like, okay, this is gonna be good. This is this is close enough to home, I don't have to drive far. And it's peak fall season that I'll get to enjoy all. So I remember when I finally was like, okay, this is this is the one we're gonna do, it started to get hyped up, started to really lock in on it. Ryan Head: That's awesome. So obviously, for those who are not familiar, and that's totally okay. The Antelope Island 100, Buffalo 100, it goes by multiple different names. that is located here in Utah. it is a two-loop. I know it because I've done it myself, but it is a two-loop, 50-mile loop, twice around. total vert for it is like 7,000 feet, 7,500 feet. DC Peaks, on the other hand. Close about twenty thousand feet. So I'm gonna start with the obvious question. Did that get you nervous at all? when you're like, Okay, this is like a thirteen thousand foot difference, maybe more, difference invert between the two races over a hundred miles. Jenny: A hundred percent. I I remember thinking like I know training for a hundred is not easy. And in my head I just kept telling myself the the easier choice versus a mountain one hundred. But when the easier choice did not seem in the picture, I thought, okay, if we're doing this, we're just going all in. There is there's not the the easy button, there's not an easy route, we're going all in. And it was. It was very intimidating thinking about it at first, but I'm I'm glad I knew early enough in the season that we could pivot because I can't imagine hoping for the race and then and then getting to the point of realizing I need to do a mountain. Not need to, but I'd want to change to do a mountain and be like, do I have enough vert? But thankfully we had enough time that I feel like I still was able to get a good a good training block to prep for it. It's very intimidating. Ryan Head: Yeah, no, that's awesome. And it's funny because you know, naturally my next question is is what did training look like? And and before we go there, it's just funny because we did so many training runs this year and very good memories, a couple bad memories, but there are memories nonetheless. but yeah, talk us through training for you. How did that look this you know, as you, you know, embarked on this adventure, if you will. what did the spring, summer early fall look like for you? What did that how did that go for you? Jenny: Yeah, I I feel like I'm r I mean, a lot of us in Utah are probably really lucky. I live pretty close to trails and they've been foothills. So I've been able to kind of train on those for quite a bit. In the springtime, I would just train on those. I didn't have to stress too much about vert. I was getting enough through those. As we ramped up into the summer, definitely was like, Okay, I I actually need to find a trail. I actually need to go somewhere to get more than just what my foothills can get me. And I had the opportunity to get to like volunteer to be on the emergency response team for Mount Timpanogos. And I mean that was only a couple weekends, but that was some good good time to be on my feet at an incline with a backpack, going up the summit. I feel like that that helped me just be in the environment, even if I wasn't stressing that this is this is a run, it's still a a hike. And getting some good mountain races in. versus just getting not that you don't get to enjoy but enjoying just a fun race, but signing up for the cra the crazy, the steep races, the you know, we've got a race in the rain, being prepared for that. And you've got the race, you got Skyline, which is the vert the heat we've ta it's been talked about in other episodes, but getting race like Skyline really is gonna help in the training block. So I feel like there was a good blend of distance, but the having a vert goal each week was really helpful 'cause you can't just go to your everyday trail if you have a vert goal and kind of planning that out I think really made a difference instead of just like taking it easy, taking the regular route. Ryan Head: Yeah. So remind me, it was a it was Twisted Fork, right? That was the rainy Jenny: Yeah. Ryan Head: one. Ha so she did a race in down in her neck of the woods in Utah County called Twisted Fork. How far was it? Seventeen, eighteen miles for eighteen miles. Jenny: It's eighteen miles, so whatever the whatever the kilometer coverage it is. Ryan Head: Yeah. But I but I want I want her to talk about this because this race was kinda nuts, like to be honest. her and another good friend of ours, Ken Swalberg, were at this race together. just give us the high overview of what happened there and what the weather was like. That was in that was insane. That was craziness. Jenny: That was. And just a little bit further back, I had not had this race in my schedule, like in planned. I was lucky and I won a raffle for a free entry into a race. And this was the one that was gonna fit in terms of what other races they put on. So I signed up, I was excited, I don't know what it is, but I love the eighteen mile distance. I just it's kinda Ryan Head: Heck yeah. Jenny: like the trail version of people who like a half, I think. It's my it's my trail half and So I was looking forward to trying the trail. I've never really seen the course done it before. The day before, looks like it's gonna rain. So I'm like, okay, I'll I'll I'll be I'll bring the gear I have. I've I've never actually had a race in the rain. I've been prepped for it. I've had a couple runs, but like I've never done a race. And I remember showing up to that race and I was like, I think I have all the right gear. I have my regular jacket, like my sun hoodie, thinking, you know, maybe it's gonna be warm. I have a sun hoodie. And then a race or a raincoat and gloves. And I'm just okay, we're gonna do this. And you can see, I care if I sent you a video ride, but the race starts almost like in a rec center and you're in the like football turf area and it's these like garage doors that are open and you're kind of going out the like garage barn doors. So you're inside and you just see the rain outside pouring down as the crowd is just like Getting ready to go and you're like we're we're going out there. Like that's that's where the race is. Ryan Head: You're like, I'm good, I'm good, you know what? I'm not doing this. You guys just you gotta do your thing, I'm out. Jenny: I'm like what? And I'm not doing the the furthest distance I think was 60k? I could be wrong. There was a high like a longer distance and they had already gone out. Like people are already out there. And you start this course starts on pavement for like maybe a mile and then it hits trail. And the pavement you're like, okay, like it's raining, it's fine, you know, like you're just you're gonna enjoy the rain, you're just gonna be in it. And then you hit the trail and it is muddy. It's not just like you're in the rain. You are losing traction. There are not many people. I mean, fast people are gonna be running, but there are not many people running. A lot of people had to slow down. And there's good gradual climbs throughout. But like you get yourself excited for like the halfway point when you're gonna go downhill, and you cannot send it on the downhill because you are just sliding down these. And it's just it was I mean it was such a fun adventure. And like there's no thunder, there's no lightning, it's just rain. So you know you're gonna be safe. You're just in pouring rain. But that was that was a fun run to just be like, these are one of the runs where you just enjoy that you get to be here and you you get to be in a different environment than the hot sun. The amount of mud, I took so many pictures, but like the amount of mud just like caked on the back of my legs for when it kicks up. I went to my parents' house after and I just hosed down my shoes and everything because they were just so dirty. That was that was a fun race to kinda almost like kick off the summer season because it was in May. So it was early season, but that was I was like, okay, here we go. This is the this is training season. Ryan Head: That's awesome. Well we've talked about this one a thousand times, you were at Skyline this year and it was hot, there wasn't enough water. I still just remember passing you I was a little bit ahead of you on the out and back to Lewis Peak and I remember coming past you and you're like, they're out of water. And I was like, What? And I remember w when I came through the first time they were low, but I was like, I bet someone will be bringing up stuff, and then you're like, No, they're out, like they're full on out, and I was like I don't know how this is gonna go down. Anyways, it's just one of those memories. but yeah, that was an interesting race. How did that go, you know, for you, like Skyline? How did was that a confidence Jenny: Yeah. Ryan Head: booster or was that a confidence destroyer? I don't know. I'm curious what your thoughts were on that one. Jenny: There are a couple of really good moments. So I had only done the marathon distance the year or two years ago. And so this year I signed up to do whatever it is. The fifty-five K Okay, I was like, I really am more I'm bad at the conversions. But I only signed up to do the 55k, or that's what I was gonna do this year. And so I was kind of a little nervous to do more distance than I had done. And I hadn't done anything over a marathon distance since my 50 miler. So I was kinda like, this is where I really get to see where training's at, how I'm doing, and like it's not a hundred miles, but this is like the closest I'm gonna be to like testing my race day. And I felt really cool. I mean, anytime I get a run with like you and the other guys, I'm like, if I can keep up with them, I feel like I gotta be good. Like I have to be And so to get to keep up with you guys for a good bit and then I stopped to tie my shoe or something, inevitably you guys would have passed me. But I it was really fun to do a good chunk of the climb at the beginning with like people I knew. And I'm like, this is good. Like I'm with people. I'm in in a community. Ben Lohman, that climb. I had never done that climb because you don't do it for the marathon. That was good. That was like a good I didn't know what to expect. And I remember getting to the top. I think I asked when you guys passed me. Maybe I didn't, but I was like, is this worse than Louis? Like which which thing am I like knowing that I'm done with is which one's worse? So that was it was a good boost to get down that and be like, okay, I could do that. And it also was a good confidence boost, the idea of going up a mountain, down a mountain, and up another one and down, like that was good because I knew my race Later that year was gonna be similar. So I thought, okay, if I could, how do I feel after doing up and down? honestly, props to you because we've talked about the heat. You called me at the last aid station that like everyone talks about the spa or whatever, but you called me right as I was leaving that aid station. And I remember thinking as I was leaving that aid station, like, I could, there's every reason. that I could give to DNF right here and someone would probably like not bat an eye. And I was like, I d but like why would I do that? And I knew I was cutting or like not chasing a cutoff. There's only one. I knew I was like barely gonna make it for this cutoff. But you called me and you like hyped me up and you were like It's only this many miles. You can do it. And just even hearing that like everyone else struggled or like that it was a hard race very much was like, okay, okay. I can feel like this is difficult, but I'm not alone. Like it is difficult for everyone this year. And that made me feel like I didn't just blow up my whole training block. Or like I didn't this doesn't mean my race is tanked. And honestly, if you hadn't called me, I mean or if we haven't even talked about it, I definitely would have been like in my head. about my hundred miler like if the if this is how 34 or 35 miles goes like how's a Ryan Head: Mm-hmm. Jenny: hundred gonna go? So that race was really good. It if I hadn't talked to you, it probably would have scared me, but because I talked to you it was a confidence boost by the end. Ryan Head: Two two funny things about that race. One I have never told you. I'll tell you it here in a second. But yeah, like you said, it was so hard for everybody. Like I truly walked away from it, not feeling any better about Loss at Chamber. I actually was like, that was bad. That was bad. Like my confidence, that's why like when I said was it a confidence booster or confidence destroyer? Personally, Skyline was a confidence destroyer for me. And I I had to like go home and like think about it and be like, listen. And like a lot of bad happened on that race, so you can't beat yourself up too much. Like a lot of that was out of your control. You know, whatsatch shouldn't be 93 degrees at the finish line or you know lower down. I mean, it shouldn't be. So you should be fine. You don't, you know, the sun shouldn't be killing you like that. So I'm like, okay, I I I you know you had to go back to the drawing board. And that's why I wanted to kind of hype you. I was like, even though I was feeling down, I was like, I gotta hype you because I don't want this to rest. What was coming later in the year for you? The other thing I've never told you was I was actually in my car at that last aid station. I've never told you this. I know. Jenny: No. Ryan Head: I was. And I truthfully, I will be honest, I did not see you. I was looking for you because I was gonna get out and to and help. I did see Dustin Booker there. and I was like looking for you and I was like, Are you there? I had pulled my car off to the side and I was like looking and I was gonna get out and I'm like, You must have left already. I'm like, I must have missed you somehow because I I I felt like I knew where you were at. Anyways, I could not I could not tell you when I called you or like when I called you that I was like, Jenny: I'm so glad. Ryan Head: I'm yeah, I'm like I'm like right there. But I remember calling you and being like, Listen, the mileage for the last the last little bit's not as hard as they make it out to be. It's really simple and anyways, I think that boosted your your confidence. Yeah, I never told you, I was like, I could not tell you that I was there. So kind of a funny Jenny: I'm so glad you did it. Ryan Head: Yeah, I know because you could have easily just got in my car car and called it a day. Like you easily could have, and I was like, I would never let you, but I was like, I was there. Yeah. Anyways, so yeah, it's kind of a Jenny: Right. I'm glad you did it. I can't I mean the I can't believe you missed me somehow. I mean I hobbled did you see the dad and the like the father and the son Ryan Head: yeah. Jenny: that left? Somehow you pass like because I was between yeah. 'Cause it was them and then I left. Ryan Head: You were there. I think you were just behind one of the trees. Yeah, I think you were behind one of the trees or something. Like I was like, I pulled my car off to the side and I was like looking over there and I was like, where is she? And then I see Dustin Booker come in right as I was there and I was like, maybe you're in there. And then I was like trying to look and I was like, I don't think so. I'm like, I better just call you. And when I called you, you're like, yeah, I'm at the eight station right now. And I'm like, crap. I'm like Jenny: You're like hi hi Ryan Head: Drive, drive off. I'm like, I gotta drive off. So I hurried drove off. I was like, okay, I don't want you to be like because I was Jenny: yeah. Ryan Head: like, if you were gonna tell me you're gonna DNF there, I was gonna get out and be like, come on, no, you're not, like, let's go. Jenny: Good, good. Ryan Head: but then when you're like, no, I'm doing okay, but it's pretty rough. And I'm like, hey, you want me to give you some good news? And you're like, Yes, any good news right now. So, anyways, just a fun little part of the story that I never Jenny: Love that. Ryan Head: could I could never tell you at the moment, but I mean it's kind of fun to tell you now. So cool. Last last training bit, I mean just Because we've all talked about it. And the one thing I will say before we talk about this run, it's the run that we did from Lambs to Brighton. Good memories there. Cause it's good when there's more than one witness to what happened and not on that one. But me and Nate talked about it, I've talked about it on my episode. But it's funny when you're like, I get to be part of the crew with the guys and all this other stuff. I dude, I want you to know like everybody loves having you run with us. Like they have all said that. They're like, dude, Jenny is just part of the crew. Like, love having having her. You know, the only thing is is it sucks that you live down in Utah County. No shame on living down there. It's a great place. Jenny: Right. Ryan Head: But we're just like, we we wish she lived up here. We'd like she should totally come do more runs with us. Like everybody in our little running club love loves having you. And I'm like, I know I wish I wish it wasn't an hour, hour and a half drive, whatever it is, always for you. Just one way. It sucks that that that's the case. But it's it's funny when you're like, I really like when the when you guys let me run with you. And I'm like, we let you. We love Love Avenue. You don't get it. Like, you're one of the crew. Like, you are one of the crew at this point. Like, there's there's no like, you have to invite your like we we're inviting you. Like, it's like a standing invitation at this point for you always. It really is. Like, you're very, very well respected in our in our little circle of friends up here. So, but anyways. But yeah, tell us yeah, how did how did the the run from Lambs to Brighton go for you? Not our best day ever. As like talk Jenny: my goodness. Ryan Head: about it, it was the lightning day. And not a cool scenario to be in. But yeah, how'd that go for you? Jenny: I remember thinking and I can't remember if I told my husband Jonah or if like it wasn't till after the fact, but I remember recording like I must have been sending an audio message to a friend or something as I'm driving to this run and I said I mean there's probably lightning and it you know like we will see but I was like I'll be with a bunch of dudes so like if something's gonna happen I'll probably be the last person to be injured. I was like someone else will take care. Like I was like, if I'm in a group, I'll be the least concerned because they'll like they'll figure it out kind of thing. And that was exactly like I was like, well, we're about to do this run and this might be sketch, but I was like, there's five other people that are about to do this run too, so it's not sketch enough. But I just remember and I know you guys talked about it, I would count in my head like one Mississippi, two Mississippi and then I'd be like, that's three, that's two. And then I just remember. Like I went like Ken and I were pretty close to each other. I think I was behind him or he was behind me, but I remember we like looked at each other and I was like, that was one. That was definitely one Mississippi and we're just like, we're just going, like just kept going. man, but it was so good. I mean that run and we did the other what was it, Big Mountain down. And even though those weren't like my race course, to be out on these areas where I was like, This is just good to like see the benefit of running on the course was like really good exposure, both of those. Ryan Head: Yeah. Well and and I agree with you. You know, we talked about that with Nate, you know, on his episode, just getting time on the actual race course. And n though you ne you didn't necessarily do that, you know, what what benefit do you think it actually brought to you, like on your races? Obviously I'm kinda leading the witness here, but what do you think it helped with yours? Because right, obviously Yes, it that wasn't necessarily your course, but it was very similar to your course and what you would experience. But yeah, how do you think that benefited you? Jenny: a couple things. You run by yourself a lot. I mean, unless you have a friend that comes to every run, which is great. But like a lot of times you run by yourself. There's such a benefit in running with other people that like that's always good to be around, especially like when you get ready for race day. But just being in different terrain. Like, yes, it's nice to have your regular course, and I'm such a routine person, but there is such a benefit to getting out there, being on different like technical trails. That's a big thing. Like being on the technical trails. trails makes such a difference. Doing a climb that's different than your usual climb to like see, how long can I put it in this effort? How hard can I climb this thing? It makes a difference. Like and I'm not putting shame on like stair climbers or incline treadmill, but it's a difference to be on different verts, different, you know, different areas of the trail. It just makes you a well-rounded, well-rounded prepared runner. Ryan Head: Yeah. I hundred percent agree with you. And it's just good because like you said, it just gets your feet used to it. It gets your your you know, your gait, your cadence, you know, all that jazz really in a good rhythm so that you're like, okay, this is what I'm gonna be experiencing on race day. And it's gonna go really well. It's gonna go a lot better because you're like, okay, I'm used to running on these rocks or the technicality and and all the other stuff. And you know, honestly, lambs to brighten is probably some of the cleanest parts of Wasatch, but It it's but it also has its parts where there's good climbing, it's a constant uphill basically the whole way, and there is a couple technical areas where you know you can just kind of plow through it and whatnot, and so it was really good. It was fun to have you there again for that. It was fun to have you from you know Big Mountain to to Lambs as well. that one is more technical, obviously, and you got some good experience there. but yeah, I mean, I felt like you had a really good training block. you did a lot of really good stuff. I mean, obviously. you we we can always set back afterwards and high you know, hindsight's twenty twenty, but you know, look at stuff and say, Okay, well, we could have done this better or could have done that better. But at the time I thought given where you're at in life, you know, with how much time you have and, you know, work and personal life and yada yada yada, y you had a great training block. I think you did the right stuff. one thing, you know, I've touched on heat training a lot. I'll give you a second to talk about it, but how do you feel like that went for you and what did you do? to be heat acclimated for the race. Jenny: Yeah, I if I didn't have good people around me emphasizing heat training, probably wouldn't do it because no one likes it. It sucks. But choosing races in the summer, it's saying that I intentionally did a heat training when really I just slept in, but getting to sleep in on the weekend and then you have to do your run and those all made a difference. And like I it's funny because I mean we talk about it like You race with an ice bandana, but we train without we train without all the cooling features. You're running without your ice bandana. You're running without these. And I think that makes a difference because it then when you get the ice bandana it feels very nice. You're like, this is better than I'm used to. So I think a big thing is just training with what you're like wearing what you're gonna wear in a race. The heat training was really nice and I'm bad at sunscreen, but it makes a difference because then you're not already heated up. Like there are many runs where I would not wear sunscreen on a Saturday, go to do my Sunday run, and I feel like I'm overheating just because of my sunburn from the day before. And yeah, the I heat training made a big difference as we get to like my big race, but also even just heat training to get to Skyline and Skyline itself being heat training, but I almost was more stressed for Skyline in terms of heat than like my race for needing heat training, but There's a definitely a benefit and hearing other people talk about it too. I'm like, yep, okay, keep doing it. It's good for me. Ryan Head: Yeah. That's awesome. And I I second everything you said. I mean, is it fun? No, nobody likes it. I mean, it's a pain and it's miserable most times. But like you said, when you do when you've done the work and then right, then you when you're actually on the race and you have like ice bandanas or like those microfiber whatever cloths that retain cold water and stay cool, all of a sudden you're like, Whoa, like this this is a lot more doable because you have these things and you know, so I I second exactly what you said and it's good to do it. It also the benefits with your plasma and and you know bigger you know your capillaries and and your body being able to cool itself faster and get your blood through your body quicker is it it's just it it's a no-brainer for for healing and and for saying keeping cooled and and having great races. So anyways, that's awesome. All cool stuff. Well, let's get to race day. How how did that go? Like, even you know, just the lead up to it, like how did you know the for you know the night before? four or any of that other stuff because obviously I got to crew you. I was your crew chief, which was fun to reverse roles. I have my opinions on it, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Like how do you how did getting ready for your race and prep for it go? Jenny: So I feel like you as a coach did a great job making me feel like physically I was ready for the race. Like and not that I was overly confident or like I'm gonna be amaz but I felt like I could do this. I felt like physically I was like, I got this. I remember because of the timing, it got wasatch, gap, bare, and then it's my race, like the weekend after. And I remember talking to my nutrition coach, and I was like, Well Now there's nothing else to focus on but my race. Like on the drive home from Bear, I was like, holy cow, this is happening. Like I need to think through 20 things. And I am, I'm a spreadsheet, I'm a planner. Like, I knew, I was like, I just need to get into the spreadsheets. I just need to type it all out. And I remember recording this long audio, I should have just called my sister. I recorded this long audio. I was like, here's every single thing I need to consider before I'm prepared for the race. And then I threw it into ChatGPT. I like threw the recording in and ChatGPT summarized like everything I'd said to her that I was like, I need to consider this. Stuff like, okay, well, how many of these do I need to buy? And do I need to tell my pacers XYZ? Like, my brain felt like it was not mentally ready yet. It was like you have twenty things you need think about. So I remember Saturday and Sunday before the race on Friday, I was like I have to figure this all out right now. Because I wanted to queue up the team or like the crew well. so I had like a couple freak out moments there, and you were so good. There were a couple times where I was like, we I need to hear the course again. Like, tell me what the course is gonna look like, and what am I gonna experience? And that's a skill and an experience you have that is so beneficial and like so nice about a coach is because you've been on parts of this trail, you know it. I felt like a piece that I never because I didn't run the trail. You would know these sections and whether you had experienced it or you knew someone who had, I feel like I had a whole course like review in my head from what we did. So few days before the race I felt stressed. And then probably like the day or the night before, I feel like I had Things were starting to come together and every day leading up to it I was like slowly getting something checked off checked off my box of like, okay, my my drop bags are packed. Okay, now this is prepped. Okay, now my packet's been picked up and my drop bags are now set up. Like I slowly was getting there and I was like, Okay, it's coming together. Like I don't just have to go out and run. Like I have to get everything logistic. The logistics part is where I was like, Yeah. Ryan Head: Yep. That's funny. I I hear ya. It two thoughts that I had. One, I remember coming through the finish line at the Bear 100 and as we were sitting there, because you sat there by me for a long time. As, you know, we sat there for I think for two hours, I think. you know, kinda waiting for Ken and then just enjoying the moment and like basking in, you know, our our glory. Like it really is. Like, honestly, this is my this is my humble opinion. I hope this doesn't come across as arrogant or cocky. It really isn't. But, you know, your runner And your crew chief deserve a moment to just enjoy, like be grateful that we both we both like because your crew chief is very much like the coach or the you know your crew lead on a NASCAR race or whatever. Like they deserve as much credit as the runner because the crap that they go through and the all nighter and the running around and obviously I learned all this just barely. because I've crewed before, but I've never been truly like a crew chief, and so I guess like at the end of bear you know we me and you both finish we and I'm like let's both just enjoy this moment and we just sat there and we just like were like laughing I remember looking over at you and I thought to myself I don't have to worry anymore about running. And I remember looking at you, and it wasn't that you had this look of fear, but it was definitely a look of concern. And I remember just saying to you, like, hey, this is gonna be you next week. Like, just Jenny: Ha ha. Ryan Head: like get it in your head. You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. Like, yes, it's gonna hurt. Yeah, it's gonna suck at times, but you got this. Like, I I believe in you. And you're like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. And I was just like, I hope, I hope she knows like it's gonna be okay, like we're gonna Jenny: Well you know. Ryan Head: get you through this. The other thought that I had was It was just funny like when you when we would talk leading up to the race and and you know and even on race day eve if you will I wanted to say to you but I knew you just needed to get some of it out so I was just like whatever Jenny: Ha ha. Ryan Head: you need say just say But I was like dude stop prepping like stop worrying Jenny: Yeah. Ryan Head: so much you just need to worry about running like quit like and trust me Jenny: Yeah. Ryan Head: I'm the same way I love to get all my boxes and my drop backs But there does come a point where it's like no more can be done Just let it be what it's gonna be. Let it happen. Whatever's gonna happen. Yes, of course, you're gonna forget stuff. I mean, you saw on Wallace, I forgot my gators. I didn't have gators for the whole race. Like, I in the end, I was like, whatever. Life goes on. I gotta just move on. And there's always something you forget and something that gets missed. And anyways, I just remember being like, hey, just let it be what it's gonna be. Like, you don't need to prep it all out. You don't need to worry about it. Like, you're worrying yourself to death. Like, just let it be what it's gonna be. And then all of a you kind of went quiet like the day or two before, and I was like, perfect, maybe it's all good. And I I'm sure it wasn't, but I was like, good, I think she's she's in a good spot. So anyways, okay, well let's jump into it. Let's jump into the race. Take us to the start line and and beyond. How did it go? Jenny: Okay. So start time was at eleven AM, like middle of day, which Like I'm not here to bag on race directors, but I remember in my head, like because I've gotten to support you in a lot of your races, I've been so used to like an early start. And like I've been in races with an early start. So almost leading up to it, I was kinda like, this is in the middle of the day. And at least it's in October. So hopefully it's not as hot. But I like, this race is happening, like right in the middle of the day. Like what is going on? And I will say for for the mental sanity part of me, it was kinda nice. Because I've never experienced an early start, I've I've never done a hundred, I was like, I'm gonna treat the morning like a normal morning to just help the race jitters. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna make breakfast. My husband and I are gonna eat breakfast together. He's gonna go off to work. And then I cleaned the because I'm me. I cleaned the kitchen. I was like, I want the kitchen to be clean. When I come home, I want it. I did that and then I like put my box all together and then I got in the car and went and it felt nice mentally. To not feel like okay, I gotta wake up really early, I gotta stress about like XYZ. That piece of it was nice. We'll get into it later. But the late start for me and like my checklist brain was like, okay, this is good. And then the stine, there was only s I think 69 ended up running, if I remember looking at the stats right. So it was a low participant, like it's kind of a small start. good vibes around, but it was like a small start. I was okay, we're we're going. Like I remember my friend and one of the pacers, Camilla, came with me. She was gonna have my car and you met me at the start and I was like, okay, like this is it. Like this is where this is where we like take pictures and then I leave and you guys go you guys get have a day and I'm just going. And I remember thinking like okay this like we gotta lock in for time. I don't even think they had a gun start. It was just like three, two, one, okay, go. And I remember starting and the amount of times really early on I had to tell myself, we're power walking and it's okay that we're in the back, but we're power walking. Like we don't need to be running. We don't and I just have to keep reminding myself like we're going slow. We're going slow. It's okay. We're moving at a like intentional pace. And that's kind of how the race kicked off for me. Ryan Head: That's awesome. Yeah, it was really cool to see you at the start. Honestly, everybody has the race striders. I knew you did, but you didn't show it, which was really good. You looked locked in, you looked excited, you looked just like, hey, I got this, like it's gonna be my day. I was like, this is you look as good as I can expect of somebody who's about to go do a hundred. And like you said, smaller race, but still cool. Like it felt very similar to Scout Mountain. Like Scout Mountain obviously has thirty more people or whatever, but It kinda felt like the same vibe, like with the amount of people. Obviously two different races. That was in a you know, beautiful, you know, memory grove type place in Salt Lake. Scout Mountains, middle of a desert mountain, different. Two different race starts, but it was just cool. I like, okay, kinda same vibe. And just seeing you go, I was like, Yes, like, let's do this. And I remember being like, She's got this. She's got this. So it was really cool. It was really cool to see you take off and be like, you know, and and as I say to anybody, I don't care how people finish. I don't care You know, just to toe the line of a hundred and be like, okay, I'm gonna go do this, just most impressive. And you know, especially you know, you're expecting in October for it to be cooler and it's already warm, it's another warm October day here in Utah. We've just had this heat wave here in Utah, and it we yes, we've come down from the 90 degree days, but it's still in the eighties, and I'm like, man, this is gonna be tough for so many people. So take us, take us through those first couple of bait stations. How did it go? Jenny: Yeah, the first like 20 miles, I remember you and I had talked about what those distances were like. And I remember trying to tell myself, like, I want to feel as as fresh as you can, but like I want those 20 miles to not feel like I just did 20. And taking it slow, jogging when I could. And I was really happy with myself for those miles because I do feel like I paced myself fairly well for like what my average pace has been. I wasn't pushing too hard and I was feeling like I mean it's the first 20, so hopefully I'm not feeling any crazy kind of feelings, but I just felt good. I remember and everyone's probably talked about it too, but like there's an aid station that is an out and back aid station. I think that was the first time you probably heard from me. It's like mile 10 or 12, I can't remember. And I remember just sending a message where I was like, what is this? Like why why do I why am I going downhill to get an aid station and go up? The hill, like unnecessary, like there's already enough for. But honestly, talking to you on the phone, that whole little it's short, but that whole short little uphill, I was like, it's not. Okay, I'm good. And then the like second half of the 20 is the the only part of the course I well, I guess I did another part, but like a version of the course that I had gone to do because of the Mueller half. And that was nice. That was like where I saw the benefit of running a course and being on it. I was like, this is familiar. Like I somehow felt confident to jog a little bit more because I wasn't like, well, I don't know when it's gonna go uphill, or I like don't know where this, you know, where you're like maybe being more cautious or slow, like, I like I kind of know where this turn is or I know where this and this isn't I'm gonna make it here. And that felt really good to be like, I I know this section. And just gorgeous views. I mean, that's when you gotta s you get to see the leaves. I just felt I felt really good those first twenty. And coming in, I remember we had a good strategy and I'm glad it worked where instead of shooting you a text, I just shoot you a quick audio of like, hey, here's XYZ. And I bet I bet it sometimes it was excessive, but I remember I sent you one coming into that first twenty. I felt fine, like gut, stomach, everything's going well. But I was thinking in my head, okay, I think I didn't plan enough salt. Like of all things I forget, I like, I don't know if I have enough salt. I have the carbs, the calories locked in, everything's planned. But I was like, I don't think I have enough salt. And I remember leaving you an audio message and then we called on the phone and you were great because I was like, I need I need someone else's brain because I'm just gonna keep moving. But we gotta figure out if I've got enough Ryan Head: Yep. Jenny: salt. And yeah, I'm curious to hear your thoughts. But I remember like we attacked it early, but I was it could have been detrimental. Ryan Head: Yeah. No, I mean you you hit it right on the head. I mean, when you called me, 'cause I I was loving the voice the voice messages as well. Like we were just messaging back and forth that way and it was going smooth. And you had a great pace that first twenty. Like you said, it was just like it I like you said, I didn't want you to go hard, but I wanted you just to have a good, healthy pace that you were like, Okay, I'm not losing time, but I'm I'm just have a good, you know That you're you got already good little buffer, like you're not gonna be hurting as you're coming into some of those later aid stations, and then you know the big climb that comes at mile 24, 25. And so you did great. I honestly I was feeling really good about where you were at with everything. And then yeah, when you call when you sent me that message, you're Hey, I don't think I'm getting enough salt, this is what's going on. I was just like, Hey, we gotta talk right now because that is one of the quickest ways for someone to DNF a race, in my humble opinion. It is an easily overlooked thing, because right It can lead to nausea, it can cause cramps, it can cause stomach problems. I mean, you name it, right? Jenny: Right. Ryan Head: and I was just like, we've got to get on top of this. And so I remember just being like, hey, this is what I want you to do. right now, immediately do these things, like, and then when you get in, like, we're gonna we're gonna overload you for a minute with salt, but then it's gonna it'll start to get into your system, and then we'll reset you and get you back to where you need to be. And I thought it was just really good because you were like, Okay, yeah, like that's I'll do whatever you tell me, just let's keep, let's just make sure it doesn't become a a problem and I never felt like it was ever a problem to be honest with you but I think it was because we we got ahead of it right there that it kept us from turning into something something worse than it was so super I I thought it was genius of you to bring it up and I think that's where your crew chief can be so instrumental especially if they know running is you you call them and tell them what's going on and they gotta start problem solving that or have a running coach that can problem solve for you right one of the two just be like hey I think I've got this this could be a problem down the road, whether that's right, that's blisters, whether that's your stomach is already starting to go sideways, whether it's your shoes are too tight, whether it's you know you need some real food, whatever it is. Like there's a million things that you should be calling your running coach on, or not your running coach, but your crew chief on and just saying, hey, like these are things I think might become a problem and the like let's talk through it. So but that was awesome. So yeah, take us walk coming into Mueller. How did that go? And then after you left Mueller. Jenny: I remember coming into Mueller feeling strong and I didn't ever feel like the need to rush through an aid station, but all the conversations you and I had for your races, I was like, I wanna be efficient. And we I mean we hit that aid station. I feel like we were I mean we probably took more time, but in my head I was like, we were quick through it. I felt good. I felt like I had the right food in me. We got the electrolytes figured out and I was like, okay. We're we're gonna be strong. I knew leaving that aid station in my head I like, Okay, we have a big climb. So I was like, I'm gonna make sure I'm not conserving and being too slow, but I like conserving energy because I'm about to hit this climb. But coming to that aid station I felt so good and I was happy 'cause I it was a cruise station and Camilla, one of my pacers, she was there. I wasn't expecting to see her and it's just it's always fun to see more faces than you're expecting to see. Just 'cause you feel loved and supported. That was like thanks guys. but yeah, it was well. Ryan Head: That's awesome. Yeah, you you came in, you removed quick. And as I always say, I think that in life there's only two times in life that well, there's a couple of times more than once, but that time goes by super, super fast and one of them is in aid stations. Like I swear time speeds up. I don't know what it is. I don't know if we're like closer to a black hole or something like that, like time dilation or whatever it is, but time goes by way too fast when you're in a aid station. I'm just like, really? It's ever been five minutes. I'm like, I feel like I just barely got here. But but you did really good. Getting in a mu out of Mueller. I felt like you took off. It was really, really good. And and before, I don't want to spoil it, but I was so proud of you going to Paul Brook. I mean, I I'll let you tell that story. Obviously, it's your this is your episode, but I just you know I want to preface for our listeners what she did here was textbook ultra running. and it was just I was so proud of her because she had a really mean climb. Jenny: So I this is where benefit of r Ryan as my coach and crew chief, one of the times he knew the trail, we had talked through the course a couple of times and you had kinda warned me there is a mean climb, you know, in this range of miles. And later in the race there's what like the most known harder climb that everyone kinda knows, the Great Western And I'd already known about that one, but when Ryan brought up this one. It's like, okay, that's at like mile twenty-three. At mile twenty-three, we're gonna have a mean climb, and then there's one later, like, okay. But you were so encouraging to where like yes, I like hiking, I like climbing, but you were really encouraging me, like, you're a power hiker, you're a strong hiker, you can do this. So I just remember starting the climb to Holbrook, and I can hear you like shouting out of your car, because it's not a cruise spot, but like people I mean people are there and you're just roll down window like you got this. Remember you're a power hiker. And I'm climbing up this. I'd kind of caught up to someone for a brief moment and he and I were talking and he he'd recognize you, so he was like, how do you know, Ryan? And after you like shouted that out your window, he goes, Well, I think you're about to pass me. It sounds like you're gonna really just go up this mountain and I remember saying, I said Ryan has a lot of belief in me, but like we'll see what happens. Cause I was like, I have no idea. I've not done this climb. I just know it's bad. And I like I felt like one thing that's really been good that I didn't realize till this race is the consistency that I can move up a mountain. Like, even if it's not speedy fast, I do feel like I can stay at a consistent pace and like I don't stop. And that's what I gotta see on this climb was I like everyone has different reasons for struggling. I remember passing a handful of people where I I texted Ryan during one of them and I like, I passed someone that I don't think I should have. Like, am I good? Like, is everything okay? And I just remember like continuing to move and just be like, I don't care who I'm seeing, I don't care who's in front of me, like I just need to keep moving at this pace. I just need to keep going, I need to just keep moving. And that was really helpful because knowing the amount of distance I had to go, it was like it doesn't matter how awful the climb is, I know at X amount of distance I'll be done. And there were a couple times that it got like tough or got steep, but there's one moment and I mean I bet a bunch of people took pictures. I turn around and look at the climb I've done and it's just this gorgeous sunset. And I I think I took a couple I like, I'll stop, I'll stop to take a picture, but like Taking a picture of those, like the sunset with the trees and you could see the city, like it's a mean climb. And I texted you, you remember the text but was like, This is mean. It's pretty, but it's mean like in other words, of course, but that was a climb where I was like, Wow, okay, I did that and this is what like this is where you start seeing like people you pass or people who are maybe pass you later. And yeah, it was it that's when it also started getting darker, but it was weird 'cause It was getting dark and I'm only at mile like twenty eight, twenty nine, which kinda really threw me off, but I was like, At least I made the climb, at least that's done. Ryan Head: Yeah. Well, I was just so impressed with you. Like, I was seriously proud of you. I remember texting your family. we had a text stud for your family and friends and I just was like, I'm so proud of her. Like it was textbook ultra running, with a mean almost four thousand foot or whatever it was, climb. Like you really did amazing on it. You you powered through, you pushed through, you took it one step at a time, you were very consistent. As I always say, consistency is king, and that's everything in life. I don't care what it is, consistency is king. You don't need to be an all-star for just one section, be consistent, just attack it, and you're gonna win the day. And it was really cool because I was I've seen you coming into that aid station up there at Temple Ridge, and you had passed, I think, seven or eight people, and I was like, Let's go! Like, I was so proud of you. I was like, Yes! Like, she's going. And at that point, she's as as me and her have joked multiple times, she's now getting on the Wasach 100 core, she's just going to reverse. And she's gonna be heading to Bountiful B 8 Station, which is mile sixteen of Wasatch. There's a been a little confusion between me and her about this, but I think we're on the same page now, hopefully. But yeah, she started heading that way anyways. But yeah, how was it getting in Temple Ridge and then heading towards Farmington? How was all of that section for ya? Jenny: so climbing you you like make this climb and then I feel like there's there's gotta be just a short bit of like flat or roller and then you hit it a short downhill to the aid station. And I remember thinking like I'm gonna just kind of recover after all the climbs. So I wasn't jogging as much as I was just moving on the trail. And that downhill I was kind of taking a little bit more cautiously because it was kind of steep. And I get into that aid station and then two or three of the people that I've just passed are rolling into the aid station. I was like, what about my speed? Like what happened? But I were getting to that aid station and one of the things I was trying to focus on was like only sit if I need to. Because I knew it can be so easy to get comfortable or to like want to stay longer. So I was like, I only sit if I need to. They I asked if they they didn't have salt at that aid station, but they had broth and I was like, Cool, that's enough sodium, like let's get that. They gave it to me in a bowl and I was like Like I'll just slurp the bowl of broth. So I sat down to try. I was like, Ryan Head: Heck yeah. Jenny: what am I a cat? Like but I like was like, I'm just gonna down this bowl of broth. There's not even noodles in it, and then I'm just heading out. And I d I remember starting to like power walk that the first bit and I had what I had done is Someone awesome, I couldn't even tell you who, had like made this little visual of each aid station with like an infographic and their elevation map. And I had made it my lock screen on my phone. So I could see like segments at a time, which really helped. Like I didn't have to unlock my phone or anything. I could just quickly see like what I needed to see some of the facts. And I could see that we were gonna hit like a little downhill, uphill, and then a real downhill. And so I told myself. You can power walk this downhill. You can lightly jog. You're gonna do the uphill. But when you get to the next actual legit downhill for the rest of it, that's when we're gonna like really push. I was like, kind of recover, move with the idea, I think I said it many times, maybe because I heard it from you and other friends, but like move with purpose, move with intention, but you gotta move. And that's when I could tell or like I could see that in the dark, you just do move slower. I was like, I don't get that. But you just For me, I don't know if it's like the cautious or like you don't know where the rock is, how depth, you know, all of that. And like I had a I had a good light in my opinion. It might have died, but like it was good when it was bright. And even then I was just like, okay, like I'm nervous to jog because I don't know what's in front of me or how far in front of me. But I could see I was kind of moving slower, kept going. And there were couple gnarly sections where the elevation is like, yeah, that's a good downhill. You're gonna do it. And then you and I talk, but there's a section that's downhill that's like roots and the dirt's washed away. And I was like, wait, this is where I'm supposed to send it. Like I can't I can't send it here. This is technical. Ryan Head: yeah. Jenny: And that was I mean it's not like it significantly crazy derailed, but I remember thinking like, you just can't look at an elevation map. Like you can't just depend on the elevation map and then make a plan. Because i you don't know what the trail's gonna be like, but I remember moving and I s felt like I was still moving at a good pace. It was probably I don't know, I maybe you remember like, at what mile did I send you an audio message? Ryan Head: Yeah, I wanna say it was like thirty-two, thirty-three, something like that. I could be wrong on that. Jenny: Right, 'cause it's like Temple Ridge is like twenty nine mile twenty nine, and then Farmington Canyon is thirty-four. I'm probably I know I ran that race, still couldn't tell you. The goal is to just focus on one aid station at a time, so that's where everything else goes behind me. But about halfway coming into Farmington Canyon, I noticed my foot starting to feel a little funny. And like a little bit of a queue up. Just in these later months of training, I started to notice at a certain like grade of climb, my heel will kind of act up and it gets irritated. And it's fine during the whole climb. It's like usually a day later. It gets really sensitive and tight. So I knew that coming into the race, I would run into that with Great Western. We had talked about how awful Holbrook was, but I'd kind of forgot. that that grade of Holbrook is almost like worse than Grace Great Western. And it could be a bunch of things, but I remember thinking like, okay, my like leg where like my leg connects my ankle. It's kind of feeling funny. And I remember I sent an auto message to you and it was early stages. I was like, hey, anytime I notice something, I'm gonna just try to communicate it so we can problem solve. And so I was like, this is what I'm noticing. When I get to the aid station, let's figure out what we should do. And that's kind of like I cued that up and I sent it to you and I like, I don't know how it's gonna react to this but like I just need to I need to make sure my crew chief knows what's going on. No one else it doesn't matter, like I'm not trying to keep a secret, but I was like, Ryan needs to know 'cause we gotta solve something. Ryan Head: Yep. That's awesome. Yeah, I remember getting that message from you and I was like, man, 'cause I knew that was you know, part of the problem at Antelope a couple of years ago when, you know, you did the fifty miler and, you know, you were able to power through, but I was like, Okay, we got we got some stuff coming up. We we need yeah, when you get down to Farmington Pond, we're gonna We need to probably start to go to work and try to figure this out. But I was just like, hey, let's keep moving. let's just try, you know, try to keep that foot, keep good form. I remember telling you over and over, like, try your best to keep good form. That's gonna that's gonna save you. That's what saved me on a bunch of my races this year was just always having good form. but I I won't lie, at that moment I got I started getting a little nervous. I was like, no, man. It's really hoping that foot would have given you, you know, not g not giving you any problems, at least till mile fifty or beyond. So yeah, so take us from from there down to Farmington Pond. Jenny: Yes. Dad, down to Farmington Pond. I in the dark got lost tw not lost. Almost missed or took a turn too early and I was like, this is discouraging. And I I'm so glad because I don't even know what it would have been like and it's an obvious give me, but I'd upgraded my watch before the race and I figured out how to put the route on my watch. I've never run a race with the route on my watch because I was like, I just have my phone. But the watches was save me Both the times I took a wrong turn because it'd be like, hey, you're off course. I'm like, good, because I don't know how far I would have gone that direction before I need to turn. And those kind of got me a little bit discouraged, but I was like, I I'm just gonna keep moving. Like all I gotta do is move with purpose, keep going. coming into pond, I remember I it it's probably a blend. I mean hindsight's 2020, a blend of like the nervousness and pain mix. Like because it was a feeling I'd recognized from antelope. of like this is what it felt like before the stress fracture and then the pain of like I I can tell something's off. I'm my body's probably compensating for that climb I just did. I remember part of me was like, how is this gonna go? There was never like a this is bad, I'm done. It was just like I know I need to problem solve this and I just I'm just gonna keep going because we I that's what I have crew chief. That's what I have crew for is like I'm not gonna think about that right now. I'm just gonna think about moving. And I was really nervous about the night miles. And I think it I had just seen how it's been for other people. It's usually further into the distance that people are in night miles. So I feel like the fatigue is stronger. And I was just like, I don't know how I'm gonna be. And I don't get a pacer till Farmington Pond, till mile 43. And so I just remember thinking, like, how am I gonna do these miles? And I mean, shout out to my father-in-law He randomly threw a playlist in the family chat that was just like, if you need something to listen to, here's this playlist. And I had cycled through quite a few of my playlists, like each of them had intention. And I pull up this one and honestly like just fun songs, whether it's like inside jokes or family memories. But I sent one to the crew. I I will sing, I will belt the music. I don't care. I mean there's no one around. That's a benefit of where I was at in this race. But I was like singing the songs and I remember recording one of them and I said to the crew it was like Miley Cyrus and we were like and we can't stop and we won't stop and I was like yeah that's right like we're just gonna keep going we're just gonna keep moving and you had said something really encouraging you're like if you which I know back then it was probably like she's moving slow but you're like if you could just do a 16 minute pace it's gonna be okay and I remember thinking like close to sixteen as I can I can like I can try to truck this out and then we got that single track and I was like Okay, how well how well can I do sixteen here? But I remember coming into Farmington Pond, there's that little pavement section and I thought, Ooh, I just missed that trail. Like this pavement is not for me, but it made it easier to kinda run and jog as best as I could coming into that eight station. Ryan Head: Yeah. No, that's awesome. Yeah, I as you came in, I remember, you know, it was me, Camilla, and and Ken Swalberg who were all waiting there for ya. And I remember just telling everybody, I'm like, hey, we gotta keep her positive. I know her foot's hurting her. you know, as much as I don't want to recommend this, and again, I say this to every single person, every runner, I'm not recommending to take ibuprofen, etc., and any of that stuff, but sometimes it can take a little bit edge off. And so I was like, Hey, I'm gonna recommend some to her when she's out. There when she comes in. again, I'm not recommending it, not on a race. It's not very healthy for you to do. So please, anybody that's listening to this, don't take that as advice to do so. but I was like, okay, I want to take a little bit of the edge off with her. And then yeah, let's get her new shoes, get her new socks. Hopefully, this gets her going. We'll get some you know, caffeine in her, make sure she can just start moving. And so, yeah, how was it coming into that eight station, seeing all of us? I know it's been since mile what 22, 23, since she last saw us. Now it's forty four, forty three, whatever. What was it like to see us coming in there? Jenny: It's like, I mean, there are so many benefits to having crew and pacers. And aid stations are amazing and cheer you on, but nothing feels as good as like these familiar faces as you roll into any aid station. I don't know what time of day. Like when you see the people who are specifically there for you, nothing makes you feel better. I just remember like, okay, we got this. Like, we could do this. I get my first pacer, and shout out to Ken. So amazing. It is one. thirty, I think, one fifteen in the morning and there is Ken and you captured a great video. Just like gives me a big hug and I'm like, okay, I could do this. Like I I hadn't felt like I was doubting myself, but I just remember it feeling like a boost that I didn't realize I needed. Like being around these people and shout out to you for the you helped me change my shoes and my socks. And having been I loved your hashtag of crew the crew because having been on the other side, I just remember be like, thank you so much and I really appreciate this. Like I know this is not fun but getting everything changed And like taken care of. I was like, okay. And I I get a buddy now. And I love Camilla. She's just she's got great energy. And she and I we knew we knew we could have miles where we hopefully could just distract each other. Like she would be a great distraction for me and we could move. And I remember leaving that aid station, like, okay, we're gonna we're gonna lock in for these six miles that I get to have her for, and we're just gonna see what we can do. Ryan Head: That's awesome. My fa one of my favorite memories of the whole race w happened right as you were leaving. I think it was Camilla being like, Look, it's Taylor Swift playing. She's like it's perfect or something like that. And I just started chuckling. Me and Jenny: Yes. Ryan Head: Dave, and Ken, we all started laughing. Dave was one of the guys at the aid station helping and the three of us were just laughing at you two, talking about Taylor Swift as you guys were walking away. So it was good times. It we were laughing our heads off as you guys left. So So that's awesome. So take us to the next 8 station. Next one's East Wilderness. You're gonna be at mile almost 50. It's like barely under what's called 50. What it was what was it like getting there and then coming into that 8th station? Jenny: You had I it's good to know you had thought about or considered ioprofen or excedrin. Halfway through getting to East Wilderness, I remember calling you because I was like, I'm getting more in my head about the what-ifs and the concern of like, am I causing injury? I still was like, Okay, yeah, it kind of hurts, but like I'm gonna keep moving, but I was just like, I don't know if I'm gonna injure this. Like, here's what I'm feeling. So I remember calling you, and I remember you telling me, which to be fair, I have in my 50 miler, love my pacer back then, she also had me take Excedrin or something. So, like, this wasn't a new thing, but I remember you telling me, like, Jenny, have you Taken any iruprofen? And I was like, nope. Hadn't even thought about it. It's like in my pack right now. And I was like, didn't even cross my mind. Because I'm just like, I'm moving, I'm going. And I was like, I just didn't even think about it. And like I have a low caffeine, not tolerance, but like I had maybe one gel that had caffeine in it the whole race. So like I was like, no. And you're like, just just consider, like, maybe we should try this. And I so I hung up the phone. I was like, okay, I'll I'll take take some iroprofen. Camilla and I kept moving, and I remember. I don't know why, but I I had like flipped this section of the course. The course from East Wilderness to Great Western, which we'll get to in second. I thought that was the same kind of like terrain and elevation as Farmington Pond East Wilderness. So even though I'd never run this section, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into. And it's not that hard of climbs, but there's like a lot more uphill than I was thinking. And I was like, what? Like I just felt so betrayed by the trail that I didn't even know. I was like, what is this? What am I on? But promise to Camilla, all of my pacers. I remember the Sunday before the race, I had told them, like, you don't need to ask me questions. Unless it's gonna be as entertaining as yours and Joe's questions, but I was like, don't ask me questions. You just need to come with stories. Like, you need to entertain me. That's like part of your job. And Camilla, I love her. She she had a story that like lasted almost the whole thing. And it was it was juice, it was tea, it was drama, and I was like Ryan Head: Ha ha. Jenny: I'm here for it. This is this is what I wanted at 2 a.m. Like thank you. Thank you for coming prepared. It was it was solid. And I remember rolling into the aid station like I know this spot. I could do this. This short section. And yeah, that was good. Ryan Head: Yeah. Well you came in there and Yeah, you were it was starting to get close to cutoffs and I was like, Okay, you've made this cutoff and I knew you could easily come in into East, I was like, Okay, we've made the cutoff, you got in here, you know, almost an hour before, and I was like, Okay, you you've gotta you got seven you got what s eight hours almost to get to Francis, which I'm like, I know you'll be able to do, but I was starting to get worried about Mueller. I was like, Okay, you've got to get all the way back to Mueller by five o'clock. you know, that's that's thirteen hours. That's gonna be a stretch. But I I believed in you and it was really cool because you came in and at the time Cody was there, there were so many people, you know, there waiting for you as you came in. And every one of us, like I was kind of sharing with them a little bit. I was like, I'm kind of I'm starting to start to get worried about her. Like, we've got to pick up the pace. I know her foot's hurting her hurting her, but if she doesn't pick up the pace, like this could be bad. And I'm like, you know, if she DNS here, I don't blame her because she's got 30 miles she's got to go, basically. But I'm hoping she wants push through. And And it was just really cool because, you know, as you kind of are were stating, like you came in and you were positive. Like you were like, hey, let's go. Like you, and I was like, how's your foot? And you're like, I'm good. I got the ibuprofen in me. You're like, I'm feeling good. And I was like, yes, okay, okay, let's go, let's go. And so, you know, we we got you all situated. We got your pacer all ready to go with his stuff. And then I was like, hey, you guys gotta go. You gotta go. Like, keep a good pace. Don't slow down. you gotta just send it. So yeah, what was it like going out of Beast Wilderness, over to Fernie, up up Great Western, and then over to Francis and all that jazz. You know, how did that all go for ya? Jenny: Yes. I remember back to East wilderness for just a second. I remember you asked me how I was feeling and I remember feeling like not the girl who cried wolf, but like the ibuprofen had helped. And I even remember saying I was like, It's fine now that I took ibuprofen, like Not like you were right, but it was very much like a okay, like maybe I am maybe I am making a too big of a deal about it. Like I couldn't I couldn't tell yet. Like I was like I feel it at certain moments, but I couldn't tell. So I was like, okay, we'll go. And leaving East Wilderness, like, yes, it sucked that I was really close to that cutoff, but I'm also so grateful for the time I got there because once again, all these fifty miler people who were showing up earlier than I would show up for a race are there and I know them and I get to like Maybe they were just gonna give me high five, but I gave everyone hugs. I was like, hi friends, like it's just it's good to see these people and feel so encouraged. So almost as much as the iprofen or excedrin, just the people alone were like the boost of like no I'm gonna I wanna see these people out on the trail, like I'm gonna keep going. And we left the aid station in a jog. Like in a a light jog. And I was like, okay, like I could do this. I could do this. Like light jog. There were a couple of moments where I like, okay, I'm jogging. Okay, I'm gonna try to jog. A lot of the flat sections I felt confident to jog without like hurting or in or injuring anything. I was really worried during this part that f if I was doing the uphill or a downhill, I would like twinge my foot in any way that would hurt my leg. And so there was like the anxiousness of, Am I going to hurt it? And the anxiousness of this is going to hurt kind of thing. And once again I was really surprised because we start the climb of Great Western. And this was the one section intentionally I came to see the course. It wasn't like, I got to just do it. I had come to see this part of the course before. And that climb, I mean it it's rough, but like I felt so prepared for that climb. And my friend and I, we've done a lot of hikes together that like we We just kind of hit that how we usually hit it. And I was like, okay, it's gonna suck. And as long as I don't like roll my foot in any way on any part of this technical horse, like we should be able to make the climb up. And I felt good. Yes, the 50 milers passed us. You had mentally prepped me for that. And I felt okay. Like that these people were passing me. I was like, you know, that's okay. We're going. I gotta see all my friends again. Say hi to me on the way up. And I was like, it's it's fine, like I'm good with this. And I saw a couple hundred milers. Like there were a couple people as I'm climbing and as we get our we're getting to Francis and I was like wait I'm not the last like I knew I was getting to the back and I was not going to ask the question of like am I last because I was like doesn't matter if I'm dead freaking last it I just care that I keep moving but I was really shocked when I'd see a hundred like a yellow bib I was like wait wait you're one of me like how are you out here because I felt very slow like I knew I had slowed down in the night I had only done the climb of Great Western. I hadn't gone from like Grey Western to Chin Scraper to Francis. And the distance between Great Western and Francis is a lot longer than I realized. And I just remember getting there and I was like, can can we just finish clim can we just keep climbing? Because like I don't want to do this. Because I noticed my foot and leg, those flats, and it's not awful, but like there's a couple like roots and stuff you're running over. And I was not I was having a hard time running those sections without pain and the concern of a stress fracture and like I was just overly concerned about that. I was like, this hurts and am I causing more issue? So we slowed down quite a bit. And like my poor pacer, I probably they they tried to like you wanna try running, you know, but I was like overly paranoid and in pain. And to there like I just kind of stopped. We just had like not been able to try. Every time we'd try, it'd be like two steps of a jog. And I'm like, this hurts. We like I am not gonna push an injury. chin scraper, I think to be honest, I think people make it more like worse than it is. It's probably Ryan Head: yeah. Jenny: scarier climbing down it for sure. Climbing Ryan Head: yeah. Jenny: up it like I'll do that section over and over again if I don't have to like go downhill even on a cherry jeep road but like yeah it just that was good. I remember we are like two miles away from Francis and I had made myself a playlist that I thought I was gonna play in the middle of the night when I'm like exhausted and tired. I call like my Dig D playlist and I'm like, it is the middle of the day but I was like, it's time for this playlist. Like I need to pull this out because This is way longer than I thought to Francis. And I'm like, the sun is out. I planned carbs and calories for way less hours than for like than we're out here. And I was like, and if I get sunburnt, I know I'm gonna hate myself for it. Like I have a face stick, but I'm like, I'm gonna get burnt. and I just start belting the music because that works, like that is what keeps me going. And there's this one girl and I actually found her on Instagram, but we she was a hundred miler and I was like, yes, another hundred miler. We pass her as I'm like belting this music and I I'm like I I feel bad that like I'm playing my music on a speaker, like not on a speaker, like speaker mode on my phone, because I was like, I don't want my pacer to think I'm just ignoring them. So it's like playing on speaker mode, I'm belting it, we're moving at a a faster-ish pace. I was like, okay, maybe. But at some point my like playlist runs out of songs and we're not at Francis peak yet. And I was like, okay, I'm not prepared. And that girl passes me again. And I remember saying, like, hey, I'm really sorry if it was like disruptive. Like, I want to be respectful of other people on the trail. And she was really true. She's like, nope, that was exactly what I needed. So it was fun to see her. But I rolling into Francis, I remember thinking, what? Like what not what did I get myself into, but like what do I have left and what do I have left in me? Like h how much damage have I done? And I remember calling you and that's when I like, okay. So I'm curious to hear your thoughts of when I called you. Ryan Head: Yeah, I mean, obviously I was watching you. You flew up Great Western. I was so impressed. I went home. I was able to get a go to sleep for Two, three hours, something like that. I it felt amazing to get that much sleep. And so I go home and I'm sitting there and I remember I woke up and I just sat there and thought to myself, I'm like, I've got to check, I've got to check account. And I knew if I looked at my phone, I'd wake back up, but I was like, I gotta check where you're at. So we we both have iPhones, so we can check or find find my app or whatever, find my fine friends, whatever it's called. And so I check and I'm like, she's done awesome. Like she's up over chin scraper, like she's doing good. And I was like, Okay, okay, like we got We got a good chance. If she can keep this pace, she's gonna do great. And then yeah, you got you kind of start to slow down and then write your messaging me and I'm like, how's it going? And you're like, my foot's hurting really bad, like this is getting worse by the mile. And I was like, Okay, like get some exagerant in you. Did you do that? And you're like, Yes, I did, or you know, whatever. And I was like, Okay, like I'm like the the and and I kept thinking to myself, if you can just get back down to me at zigzag, we'll get you to the finish line. because like you just need someone that's gonna push you. But that's gonna be there for you and and everything. But I I you know, as I always say to every athlete of mine and anybody I crew, like, of course, yes, I want to get you to the finish line, but I don't want to do it at the expense of your body. I don't want you to get hurt, I don't want you to cause injury. But the one thing I'm never gonna do is I'm never gonna tell you to DNF. So every every person I'm crewing, every athlete of mine, they will be the one that makes that decision. I will not I will never make that decision. And and only I I would If I felt like someone was putting themselves in a you know a very dangerous situation, then yes, I would. I mean, right? If they're peeing blood, if they're they've broken something, of course I'm gonna say, Yeah, you gotta be done. But in your situation, obviously I'm not you, I don't know what your foot is. And I was like, I I don't know what to tell you. I knew you were kind of getting a little disheartened by everything. And and the last thing is, you know, we were hurt starting to hurt really hurt on time. and I was like, you Jenny: Right. Ryan Head: know, if you leave, if you you get to Francis and then you get down to Farmington, you're gonna have to book. And I knew going down zigzag was gonna be an absolute nightmare. And I'm like, I think I would be absolutely destroyed if I push so so hard to get down zigzag. You you get hurt, you're you know, hurting yourself, whatever, and you get all the way down that and then you still DNF because you didn't make time. I was just like, Goll, I don't know. I mean that's gonna be hard. And I was like, but it's your choice. I'm not gonna I'm not gonna make that for you. So that's kind of where my head was at. yeah, you get into Francis, yeah, what happened with you there? Jenny: Yeah, I remember rolling into Francis and I've earlier in the race, I totally forgot. I had told myself like I'm gonna set a timer for one of these aid stations. And Francis, I was like, I'm I'm sitting. I don't wanna sit here forever. But I was like, I made the cutoff, which I can't remember how much I made the cutoff, like an hour, maybe 45 minutes. But I Ryan Head: Is this Jenny: was like, I'm I made the cutoff for this aid station, which I don't wanna chase a cutoff, but I was like, okay, I'm sitting here. I'm going to get cold food in me. We are putting our like this isn't even a drop back spot. So I'm like, it's not like I have a bunch of stuff, but I had my ice bandana. I was like, we're putting ice in this. I remember telling my pacer and me, I was like, we both need sunscreen because I'm paranoid about sunburn. My skin is just so sensitive. I was like, if I don't, I'm gonna have issues when I'm done with this race. So I like, we need sunscreen. I'm sitting there. I remember being on the phone with you and like my body is shaking. I'm like, this is dumb. Like this isn't pain. So I'm like, I can't be sitting here because I'm just gonna keep shaking. But I just remember thinking, like, what is going on? And I'm like on the phone with you because I'm like, I don't like I don't know the right move. And I I knew I never wanted to think about saying I'm dropping. I never wanted to say DNF. Like, even in all of this, I kept thinking, like, what's the what's the solution? What's the solution? Not like, how do I drop? How do I drop? But I remember getting to this aid station, it was like Okay, I know I've been focing focusing on one aid station at a time, but I was thinking the same thing as you because we had talked about the course. I'd never done zigzag, but I knew it was awful. And I noticed that the downhill was the worst on my leg and my foot than anything else. And so we had just done these awful climbs and we'd done the worst parts of the race and we get the downhill. And I remember thinking like the parts that are supposed to be like easy are gonna be the most painful and hurt and I was like, ha how is this possible? Like why are we here? And thinking, okay, well, made it to Francis. I'll be honest. I didn't think you could drop at Francis. I don't know why in my head I didn't think if I dropped at Francis I could get down. But I was convinced that even if I was gonna drop, I couldn't it couldn't be there. I thought it would have to be at Farmington Canyon. So I was like, it it doesn't matter whatever fit I throw or however I feel. I was like, it I'm still gonna do the next four miles. Like, I gotta see. And I also thought like If I could do the next four downhill, because that was all that was there. I just had to do four downhill. But I was like, if I can see how I feel on this, I can kind of hopefully gauge how much I could actually do the downhill. Like maybe I'm overthinking it. So I was like, okay, we're leaving this eight station. We're going. We're gonna go. And I remember like trying to start to jog downhill and I was like nope, this is this is pain. And to be honest, some of that was blisters, which like just buck up and like get over it. But like the blisters and my leg, I was like Okay, like this sucks. And I'm gonna try to speed walk and I can't even like speedwalk down this. And I'm I'm using poles for the downhill just so I could like brace my feet and you're like, we're not even we're at like mile sixty something. Like I don't even know what mile we're at and I'm like, come on and those four miles felt forever. And I remember like trying not to psych myself out of like this is over, this is done, but like I knew the pace I was moving at. I knew what was left in the race. was downhill and I was like, this is the best downhill of the whole course. I'm convinced. I mean I could be wrong, but like that had to be one of the better sections of downhill and I was like, if I am struggling here, there is a strong, like there's a strong chance that I will injure or make it down zigzag. And like I did it I knew I wasn't gonna make the cutoff and the pain continued with all the downhill. Like there were probably four or five times that if we pass a shade section I would do that like that stance where you're like the poles are out in front of you and just like head down just like taking a break for a second where you're just like this sucks and this hurts and it was the worst because I still was like I don't I don't want to drop I don't want to think about that and I was like I just gotta keep moving and I get to be I kept telling myself like I get to be out here I get to do this and then just being like my gosh but like I get to do this, like this is what I get to do is like this pain. And you come in and you can see the Farmington Canyon Aid Station, which I saw in the middle of the night. And I remember seeing it and thinking, like, how is that where it is? Like anytime you see something and you still have a lot to go, it sucks. And it's I don't know, I'm really bad at distance that far under the race. Like maybe it's a quarter mile, maybe it's less from where you can see it to where it is. And I remember like, we have to go around this bend before we see it. I told my pacer at one point, there was probably like a tenth of a mile, I like, run ahead because I wanna make sure they're still there. Like, tell I wanna see. I'm coming. Cause I didn't know. I was convinced I was like dead last. I just I didn't know, but I didn't care if I was last. But was like, tell them I'm coming. Like I need them to wait for me because I see the drop bags in the car. And that's where I was like, I must be last. And I get there and it was pretty quickly that I was like, This is bad. Like, okay, I tried those four miles. I've tested it. And this sucks. But that's when I was like I'm gonna have to for the like reducing the risk of injury, I was like, I'm gonna have to pull. And that is such a bummer of a feeling and how quickly it happens. Like I remember sitting down and I don't know what my pacer said. Whatever they said probably was from what they heard me talk about for the last four miles, two hours. Or if they just knew, but the eight station people are already asking me, like, do you have a ride? Is someone coming to get you? And I'm like, I just made the decision. Like, just give me a second. But Ryan Head: Mm-hmm. Jenny: I remember texting you and I didn't have service either. Well I had like satellite. So you were gonna be awesome and call and talk to me and I was like, I just I only get texting and I'm like trying to tell you the like the worst news and then be like, come meet me in the canyon, like come find me and Yeah, so that's that was getting into Farmington Canyon. Ryan Head: Yeah. Well And you know, like I said, I mean, yes, obviously a tough decision you had to make there, to DNF at mile seventy, but you know, I'm proud of ya. I I think it it's tough when you don't know what you don't know. And where, you know, on Antelope, you know, in twenty twenty five y you did the fifty miler, but you you walked away with a very significant injury. And this is where, you know, I want our listeners, you know, why you made this decision is she pushed through and finished her fifty miler and in in twenty twenty five, but by doing so caused a very bad injury that took her months to recover from and you know obviously as a coach as your career chief I don't want her to go through that again. obviously you kind of weigh the pros and cons. You're like, listen, if we were 10 miles out, 15 miles out, I'd be like and you she had time, I'd be like, hey, I'd gut it if it was me out, like let's just go. Yeah she still had thirty miles to go. She also had a very strict cutoff fifteen miles later and she had like three hours, three plus hours to do it. I mean it was it was starting to look rough, especially where the downhill really, really hurt her. And I just was like, you know, let's talk. You know, obviously it's your choice. I'll never take that choice away from you, but you need to make that choice and and then let's just see where it goes. And you know, obviously when I saw your text message, I was I respected it. I knew you'd given it a year all and I was just proud of you. you know, yes, it didn't did the race end the way you wanted it to. Not necessarily, but I know you gave so much to make to get there. went through just tons and tons of pain. And but the good news is, you know, I think you've learned a lot. We both have learned a lot about What to do and how to attack it, and you know, we'll take that and run from it. I mean, that's really my next question for you is what do you think you've learned from this? And you know, especially to apply moving forward, because yeah, doing 100 sucks. They hurt. You know now, it's not fun, and you have to balance this idea that hey, everything is okay, and no, everything is not okay, and everything's falling apart. Yeah, like what are what are some takeaways that you've learned from this? Jenny: Yeah, I honestly like grateful for you I've said that a bunch of times, but the timing of everything to have the DNF and then get in your car to get a ride and we waited for Camilla 'cause she had my car, we immediately I because I initiated was like, I don't wanna talk about this race and I think that was finishing the distance I did and it's probably because it was only it's still seventy miles, but like 70 out of a hundred, I felt so mentally like I still wanna like I I could do this. I didn't feel crazy, I didn't feel like exhausted. My muscles feel like my body could keep moving, but my legs couldn't. And that's like when I think about taking it what I take away from this is I feel like I physically was prepped to do a hundred. Like you coached me so well to do the distance. And a lot of what I learned from this is like It's good to be safe and know like your pain tolerance and also know where you can push. Cause I learned from that like where I could push. I learned like suck it up if it's blisters and get through the blisters, you know? But also learning things like the benefit of running your course, the benefit of doing more technical. Like you can we can do vert on a course, we could do the distance, but to mimic the course more, to do more up and down in a run. versus just let me do a climb and be done with my climb for the day. Like to mimic some of those hard parts, to do the technical. We I knew about my heel and the fact like it could be a domino effect. But to really push and test that out more, you know, if that was gonna if I'm gonna do a mountainous race, really see what the limit is, see what happens. And I'm r like this race showed me, I think, that like I really think I can do a hundred. I DNF this one, that's true. So like I still believe I could do a hundred, but I also learned like there's benefits to learning the technical sides of this. There's benefits to like really doing the like the minute things, the the strength training specific to your like deficiencies. Like you could follow anyone's strength training plan, but like if you're not doing what you need to like not compensate but to like strengthen your weaknesses, doesn't matter because that means you're not You're not improving what you need for your race. Ryan Head: Love that. That's awesome. And and it's great takeaways. I mean, like I told you, you know, as we were talking there in in my car there for a few minutes, there's two paths you could go down. You could either be very bitter and be like, I'm never doing this again. That was stupid, or you can take the path that it obviously you're going down right now, which I'm so proud of you, is you're not gonna give up, right? You're like, I'm gonna go back, I'm gonna go back to the drawing board and we're gonna figure this out and we're gonna fix these things. We're gonna make this our priority and and go from there and and I'm proud of you. That's what I love to hear from you. And not that necessarily you have to Do a hundred again per se, right? Like if you're like, you know, I need to go back to the drawing board and figure stuff out, that's okay. but it's just cool to hear that your mindset because I remember when I DNF'd Analope my first time, I went to a very dark place. Like I beat myself up. I thought it was just it was not a good thing that I did to myself, and and so I love to hear that you're like, I mean, obviously, yes, it's bitter. I know it it doesn't taste good right now, especially. You're probably like, still sucks. But you're learning from it and you're like, hey, I'm gonna take this and and go because I think whatever you do next, you're gonna absolutely destroy because now you know what mile seventy feels like. And that's not fun. It does it's not I mean, sixty to eighty is the worst parts of any race. I always say that you get past eighty, then you're like, it's only twenty miles. Like I've done eighty. Like I just gotta get to twenty twenty more and I'm done. Like this is it. Like we can do it. But that sixty to eighty is never a fun section. So super proud of you. It's cool to hear what you've learned from it and what you're gonna apply moving forward. So I guess that's the last question I'll throw at you. What's next? What's what what's what are what are we gonna do next? I don't know. Whatever. What what are you thinking? Where's your head at with all this? Jenny: You know runners are delusional when you're in the car ten minutes after a DNF and we're like, so antelope, right? Like Buffalo, the hundred, that's that's that's not too bad compared to DC Peaks. And yeah, I I mean it's kind of it not jokingly, but that was definitely something we threw out while we were talking in the car. it's not left my mind that like I I do think it's possible. I do feel like I can do a hundred. And even if I need to do the easier hundred, I still think it's a hundred. It's a accomplishment and I think that's where I go next is try for that in March. Try for that in the spring. Ryan Head: Heck yeah, I love it. Let's go. Let's go. I I think it's a good idea. I mean, yeah, I mean, like you said, I think all you do is tweak tweak a few things and you know, could you do DC peaks next year? 100% believe you could. but I think it it it's a good springboard to be like, okay, I'm gonna go do it if if they held the race, which we're hoping fingers crossed that they hold antelope. but you know, if they hold it, great, that'd be awesome. And then, you know, use it as a springboard for other things you do in your life. And I And think that's what's beautiful about it. So I'm excited to see you do that if they hold the race because I think you'll do fantastic out there. I think you've got all the right things in place and let's go. It'll be fun to see. Well, Jenny, this has been such a fun episode to recap your race. I love all the detail you've gone into because it's been really good. And it's just fun to hear what your process looked like beforehand, what it looked like during the race, and then yeah, just what your plans are next. And I think it's really cool. As I said, you know, I'm just proud of you as your coach. I think you're a fantastic. Athlete, but you're even a better person, and it's just fun. It was fun to be there for all of it with you. And I really mean this. I I'm excited to see what your future holds because I think your your positiveness, your energy, your kindness is just what this world needs in so many ways. And I mean, I wish I could I wish I could bottle up all the people who messaged me, all the people who sent very kind words about you, people at aid stations. I mean, it was insane. I was like, girl, I hope I get this much. I mean I'm like shoot man like dude everybody's checking in like the amount of people I mean I actually kind of got annoyed at a point. I was like dude Jenny: Ha ha. Ryan Head: if you guys can't follow the tracker I don't care I'm not gonna keep giving you guys updates like I don't care. I mean it was insane How many people were messaging me? I'm like, I don't I'm not I'm not gonna keep responding to all these Love you guys, but I Jenny: Yeah. Ryan Head: there was so many. Like it was insane the amount of people that were messaging me. So anyways, I'm truly proud of you. You did amazing. let's keep let's keep after it. Let's let's see you crush it. See you crush it next spring. So Awesome. Well cool. Well Jenny, it's been a pleasure having you on again for the podcast. Seriously, you're amazing and I can't wait to see what you do next. Jenny: I'm excited. It's gonna be great. Ryan Head: Awesome. Cool. Okay, well we'll wrap it up. Thanks again, Jenny, for coming on again. Jenny: Course. Coach Ryan Head: Hey runner, thanks for hanging out with me today on Reimagine Running. I'm grateful you're here and a part of this great podcast. I just want to remind you, if you ever feel stuck and unsure or just want someone in your corner, I do offer coaching for runners at any distance, whether you're starting out with the 5K or you're chasing some crazy big goals and dreams like the marathon or the 100 miler, I'd love to help you. Please reach out and I'd be happy to set up a time to go over options and plans and goals with you. Well, until next time. Take care of yourself, trust the process, stay disciplined and keep chasing that Y.