When I decided to run the Cajun Coyote 100K in Ville Platte, Louisiana, I figured it would be good training for the Rouge-Orleans in February. I had run the Louisiana Trails 50K in Keithville, Louisiana, last fall, and it had its share of roots and small ups and downs, but no mountains or miles of ascent which I’m accustomed to. So, I thought Ville Platte must be similar to that. I was partially correct: there were roots and ups and downs – just a lot more of everything – and way more technical.

The trail was spectacular – pine forests and swamps with Spanish moss-covered cypress trees – this was classic Louisiana. Only thing missing was alligator sightings – not that I didn’t look for them. I did, however, see about a dozen armadilloes.

Technically speaking, I felt it was a challenging course. With the tons of fallen leaves, it was sometimes tricky to follow the trail. Thank goodness the trees had orange blazes to mark the trail. Without the markings on the trees, it would have felt MORE like I was in the middle of nowhere. There were also flags marking confusing intersections or turns. The course was well-marked for sure.

At night, following the trail was a little more tricky. I had to use a headlamp to watch for the blazes on the trees and a handheld light to watch for roots. Watching for roots was not easy in the day with all the leaves, but it was even harder as it got dark. However, by slowing my pace, I had only one fall in the dark – compared to three falls during the daylight hours.

Speaking of falling down, I managed to make it through the whole first loop without falling – my first spill came around mile 21 or 22 shortly after I had left the aid station. A root was the culprit – I went flying and the side of my hand landed hard on another root. Falling always gets the adrenaline pumping, but this fall also got the swelling going. My hand immediately started to swell, and in the next few miles, it was swollen almost double. I thought I might have broken it, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at that point. I didn’t help it by falling on the same hand two more times in that loop!

So, I decided that I would look at the bright side: 1 – it wasn’t my foot, and 2 – the pain in my hand took my focus off the pain in my legs. Plus, I had something to think about for the next 41 miles besides other common ultra-associated aches and pains.

This little hand episode also gave me a chance to practice 2 of my favorite mantras:

• What is the opportunity in this?
• Remember: It doesn’t have to be FUN to be fun!

The night was beautiful in its own way. I love running in the dark, and this was no exception. I use the word “running” loosely – it was more of a shuffle on my last loop. My goal going into this race was to use it as a long training run for the Rouge-Orleans in February, so I hoped to finish between 14-16 hours. I knew I could take it really slow in the last loop and still finish under 16 hours, so I took my time and enjoyed the night. I do have to admit, however, that I was very happy to be finished, and the thought of going out for another loop in the dark on those roots was not that appealing to me.

Race Director Chris Scott, aka the Cajun Dip, and all his helpers put on a terrific event. The aid station volunteers were super. Oh, and the pre-race dinner was the best!

About a week after I got back home, the swelling and bruising on my hand was nearly gone, but it was still bothering me. As it turns out, I did break the 5th metacarpal – that’s the bone on the side of my hand just under the knuckle below my little finger. My hand doc said it was a nice, clean break so no intervention was necessary. His advice to me: “Stay on your feet and off the ground.” Always good advice.