I dropped out at mile 16 of the
World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Podbrdo, Slovenia. Mile
16 crossed over and through the small mountain village of Hudajuzna, the lowest
elevation point in the race. Ironically, my lowest point was at the lowest
point.
At the start of the race, there was
a 500 meter prologue. We were instructed that after they counted down, instead
of taking off, everyone would jog together in a glomerulus cluster so that
spectators could cheer us on before heading up the mountain. It was hard to see
the road due to all of the bodies pressing together and I caught my left foot
in a cattle grid. My ankle twisted, but it was no big deal. But, once we hit
the trail, I did it again and again. Since late March I have been dealing with
a tight hamstring/glute/hip flexor that has affected my gait and movement in my
lower leg. My guess is that residual tightness made my ankle not able to
recover and so it just kept getting weaker and weaker during the race. This was
extremely unfortunate because the next 42 kilometers was on an aggressive,
technical and relentless course with over 11,000 feet of gain.
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| Team 'Merica |
The first climb started on a wide
mountain jeep road. I worked on staying controlled and was sandwiched between
my teammates, Cam and Anita. We gradually made our way up and then at about 5k
there were short, steep dips. Every time I descended I felt sharp pain in my
ankle and it made me rely heavily on my right leg. I felt lop-sided and
unstable and was unable to navigate the technical terrain efficiently. I was
working extra hard to get my body to move forward. I have never felt injury
pain in a race before that made me question my ability to finish.
I made it up and over the highest
peak and then started the long technical descent. On my first step down, my
ankle just bent over and I would fall sideways catching myself with my hands.
It was really ridiculous. My body felt so beaten up I felt like I was finishing
up a race, not 9 miles into a marathon. Three miles into the descent I took an
extra second at the aid station to try to regroup. Cam powered ahead and Anita
was long gone. She mastered the descent like a boss. I started walk jogging to
try to loosen up my legs and GU'd desperately.
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| Opening Ceremony Festivities. |
At mile 12 I started to have Tad
sightings. There was a man walking towards me with sunglasses and a backwards
hat. "Tad! Tad!" I yelled ahead. He ignored me. "Tad, it's
me!" It was like a bad dream. As I got closer I realized it was just a
mirage. After what seemed like forever, I made it to Hudajuzna. There was a
check point and somebody yelling out names on a loud speaker. I heard my name
and wanted to just crawl in a hole. I knew my day was done. There was no questioning
it. I walked around looking lost and confused until Tad finally found me. A
sweet Slovenian grandma gave me a hug, kissed my cheek and gave me a chair to
sit in. Kristina, my La Sportiva teammate, ran by and powered through to score
for our team.
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| Breathtaking views and not even to the top. |
My U.S. teammates are some of the
most awesome people and amazing athletes. Our men placed 5th and the
women 4th. Full results here.
The day of the race, I accepted
what happened. It is what it is. It happens to everybody. In the scheme of
life, this is no big deal. But as each day passes, I get more and more
overwhelmed with grief. I feel terribly embarrassed and feel the need to
apologize to everybody for not representing our country well. I wake up in the
middle of the night and obsess over what I could have done differently in the
race, in my training.
I feel like I have been forcing
races, workouts and runs for a couple months now. It is time to hit the reset
button. Tad and I are getting married this weekend and then going to West
Virginia to spend time with my family. It really sucks, but we decided to skip
the U.S. Mountain Running Championships in Lincoln, New Hampshire. My body
needs time to heal and I do not want to line up for another sub-par
performance. I don't think I can handle it mentally.
A good aspect that has come out
of struggling the past couple months is it really has made me reflect on last
year. I had an awesome spring and summer last year. When you're in it, it is so
easy to bounce from race to race and not appreciate successes. You always want
more and therefore are always looking to the next event. But I am savoring it
now.
I can't express my gratitude
enough for all of your wishes of support, encouragement and understanding. Many
thanks to Nancy Hobbs and Jason Bryant for the opportunity to compete among the
world's best in one of the most beautiful places in the world.
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| Nano Hobbs, one of my favorite people. |
Thank you to La Sportiva, NativeEyewear, Trail Butter, Bio Skin, Rocket Pure and Enduro Packs for supporting me,
fueling me, hydrating me, protecting me and healing me.
Thank you to my Bellingham dream
team Terrain Gym, Prime Massage and Align Chiropractic and my Bellingham Distance Project teammates.
For more pictures of my European
adventure, check out my Instagram account @mariadalzot.
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| Planking with Peter at 9:30 pm. |
