I just got back to my hotel and got cleaned up from Loup Garou. I did the 40 mile race. It probably went about as good as it could have. I finished in 10 hours 10 minutes.
The first loop went better than expected. The first 4 miles were the hardest - Lots of climbing and descending, lots of roots, and some mud. The pack separated after the 4 mile aid station and I was pretty much alone until mile 8, but I made up some ground and finally saw some more people after the 8 mile aid station. Next was 8 miles until the last aid station. I ended up running most of it with a guy and this was his first ultra too. I wasn't too sure what his plan was because I didn't see him eating or drinking, but I figured everybody has their own deal. We made it into the last aid station and the loop was about 3.5 miles away. I let him go ahead of me and I kept the last bit at a steady conservative pace. I knew the first 4 miles would come pretty quickly and I wanted to make sure I didn't kill myself. I finished the first look in about 4:45
I saw my new friend at the loop and ended up heading out before him. I got some snacks and changed socks and just headed back out. I realized when it was too late that I forgot my headlamp, so that was a little push to keep it moving. I saw him again at the 4 mile station and we were both in good spirits. He stuck around longer than I did, but my strategy was to get what I needed, and keep moving. I got to 8, hit the porta pottie, and he was there when I came out. I was in pretty high spirits and joked around with the volunteers. My new friend looked rough. He looked over and said he couldn't eat anything. When I headed out, I joked with the aid station girl that this was the start of the recovery run.
The rest of the race was pretty solitary for me. I saw one guy resting on a log, and that's the only person I saw for the next 8 miles. The last 8 stations had signs leading up to it, so you knew it was coming. I was doing really well mentally the entire race, but I did lose it a little bit there because I knew I was going to do this. I got to the aid station, had some snacks and a few drinks of beer, and I was off. Those last miles were tough. I passed one more person right around mile 39 and the rest was solo. By then, I knew I wasn't going to run out of light and I knew I would finish before 10:30.
All in all, I learned a lot and I felt like I had a pretty good result. No falls, and the guy at the last aid station told me I looked great, especially for this being my first ultra. I'm sure they say that to everyone, but I felt like he meant it. Mentally I don't feel tired at all. My legs are fatigued, but I'm still in good spirits. When I called the husband after the race, he said "wow you sound really chipper," which is much different than I sounded after the 17 mile Possum Kingdom race.
Thanks for all the advice everyone!