Week in Review (January 2 - January 8)

Tuesday (15,907 steps) - Peloton before work. Work in the office and did a few miles of walking on the treadmill. 

Found this awesome picture of us at Javelina with Larry at the finish line

Finally got my acceptance back on the Runners Roost team for the 8th? 9th? year? There were I think two years that I was not on, but I can't remember when that was.

At lunch I did a full body strength workout, as well as a Pilates video and stretching. Ariel joined me for a neighborhood loop with Olive, although we hadn't wanted to do the bigger loop because it was pretty chilly.

Wednesday (20,626 steps) - Work in the office. Walked on the treadmill a decent amount. I had a sustained "rolling hills" workout on schedule. Unfortunately, we don't really HAVE great rolling hills, at least not ones that are open when I get off work. I knew part of Dirty Biz was closed, but I figured I could get a warm up done on the flat and just run up and down Meadowlark. It was actually not that horrible. 

I ran past my car a few times and actually called Ben because it seemed like there were some suspicious cars just idling in the lot. He came to check it out and said everything was good - I've never been paranoid about my car (or running alone) before, but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Thursday (21,027 steps) - Work from home. Had an "easy 6" to do. It wasn't too bad, and since it's been dry, I ran the south side of the lake on the trails. Took Olive for a walk after. Other than getting these amazing bracelets from Melody in the mail, zero things happened.

Friday (12,186 steps) - We unanimously decided to skip the morning walk since it was supposed to be cold. I did enjoy getting a little bit more sleep for sure. Headed into the office, where I was shockingly busy and did a few miles on the treadmill desk. Took Olive for a walk when I got home.

Saturday (42,477 steps) - Dreaded today's run. Slept in and then took Olive for a walk before heading out. Ben seemed to REALLY not want to run, so I created a route that would allow him to bail after 10 or so miles. It was chilly out, but the sun was shining, so I opted to wear shorts and layered up top with a tee and my Patagonia Airshed Pro. Ended up being the perfect layers. I pieced together a run similar to what I've done in the past, and the first 3-4 miles were fine, but pretty much a big struggle after that. Was supposed to do 18 miles, thought I accidentally only mapped 16 - then ended up doing just under 19. Took FOREVER. 

The cutest little guy ever!

We ordered Hops & Drops takeout to eat at 4 Noses so Ben could have his post-race beer. 

Sunday (18,243 steps) - Possibly was dreading this run even more... only an hour recovery run at least. I decided to wear the Speedlands that I had won at Runners Roost for a test run. The run itself certainly wasn't as bad as it could have been. Of note: the Smartwool top I am wearing is literally the best winter top. I just picked it up in a second color because it's so good. I want to say the original price was close to $200, but this second one I got for $58 or something crazy. Totally worth the money.

Took Olive for a lake loop, then we headed to Torchy's for breakfast tacos and to wash Ariel's car. Olive had a grooming appointment, so we headed back up north so she could get a haircut. I drank Topo Chico while Ben had beer. Poof, the weekend was gone.

She looks so cute with her new bandana!

Monday  (20,464 steps) - Work from home. We got snow overnight, so I was dreading running. It was also supposed to get windier as the day progressed, so I sucked it up and went out pretty early. I was supposed to have a faster run but with the cold and sketchy conditions, I decided to just do a trail run. Randomly, went to the north side of the lake, which I rarely do. It was mostly ok, and just glad to have it done. 

Took Olive for a lake loop walk after that. Winter is here and I hate it. Olive, however, really enjoys the snow. She was happy.

Stats:

• 150,900 steps
• 41.25 miles run
• 30 minutes of cardio
• 50 minutes of strength

Week in Review (October 24 - October 30)

Tuesday (115,264 steps) - Katy 225

Wednesday (120,902 steps) - Katy 225

Thursday (109,057 steps) - Katy 225

Friday (39,070 steps) - Katy 225.

Once we finished, we literally had no plans. Paul and his family had plans to go to a hotel to rest and shower, so we grabbed our gear and then sat at the Bike Stop. They opened at 6, which is about when we finished, and they were nice enough to serve us beer. After having two, I realized I had not had any amount of sleep in many days and we needed a plan. We were able to reserve a Hilton nearby for the morning so we could shower and nap (plus, Ben was supposed to be working remote). They were still serving breakfast, so we ate first, then showered. I don't even really remember napping, but next thing I knew, it was 12:30 pm... we realized we definitely needed to get everything packed and check out of the hotel so we would have time to get everything done. No new breweries were close enough to where we were staying (or the airport), so we just headed to the airport. We found out upon arrival that since Ben and I were flying two different airlines that we weren't even in the same terminal. His flight left after mine though, so we had a beer and some pizza before I boarded.

I think I watched "You've Got Mail" and I was surprised to not fall asleep. We landed on time. By the time we got off the plane my left food was hurting pretty badly where I had the blister. I had plenty of time to walk to baggage claim while I was waiting for Ben. Bag came quickly and I was lying on the floor with my feet elevated to alleviate the swelling. 

Even though it was late (and a dumb idea) we went to 4 Noses for a beer before heading home.

Saturday (23,144 steps) - Seriously, WHO HAD THE BRILLIANT IDEA TO HAVE A 5:30 AM FLIGHT OUT OF DENVER??! We had a wakeup call of 2:00 am (after not getting to bed until 9:30?) and neither of us had packed for Arizona. We did manage to get out of the house as planned, and the only snafu was there not being any parking available at the lot we normally use. Since we were going to be gone for less than 48 hours, we just did onsite parking (which we knew would be a bazillion dollars). We landed on time (early) and Terri came to pick us up. We briefly stopped by the BnB before going to a place named Flapjacks down the street for breakfast. French toast and a bloody Mary!

The BeReal actually featured Ben and Terri (usually just me at work) when we were leaving breakfast.

We stopped back by the BnB to get stuff to take to the tent at the start. I had to take a picture of one of the "Swiftie" banners for Ariel.

The downfall of not writing things up right away is I can't remember a lot of things. We left the start/finish area to grab a beer at a local dive bar down the street. Lucky for us, they had some extra pizza they shared with us too! We realized that Ben was going to be pacing Larry on loop 3 (maybe not loop 4 like we thought). 

So we shipped them out on their loop. Terri and I decided we should find some dinner. We ended up going to the Mexican restaurant next door to where we had breakfast earlier, Maskadores. It was pretty good (and fast).

Terri decided a nap would be good, and I certainly was NOT going to complain. I swear I only closed my eyes for a minute before I heard Terri saying that it was time to go because it was going to be time to pace Larry soon. We did end up having a bit of time, but not a ton. I was definitely out of it from sheer exhaustion.

Sunday (15,170 steps) - Terri was going to be pacing Larry for two loops. Initially I had thought that maybe I could help out and pace one, but there was no way. I was way too tired. Ben and I went back to the tent and I basically passed out. I kept waking up because I was cold - who knew I was going to be COLD after how warm it had been. I had set an alarm for when I estimated it would be time to meet up with them before they headed out for their last loop - and it was the middle of the night (like 4 am?) We made it to the aid station with just a bit of time to spare before we saw them coming in. Larry still looked really good! After we sent them out, we went back to the tent. Sleep was tough with how cold it was, for sure. Once again, I had alarms set to make sure we didn't miss Larry coming in. He didn't look as great this time around - he had developed the leans, but he crossed the finish line in something like 28:13 - second oldest finisher - what a stud!!

We got Larry back to the tent and he sat in a chair and promptly dozed off. Ben and I were going to wander around near the finish line and found that Honest Bob ended up having an opening for tattoos! Since I had run Javelina before, I felt fine about getting one - isn't it cute? And free! 

Crazily, Ben decided to get one too. (Fun fact, Javelina in 2018 was the first race we did "together" - seems like a lifetime ago). 

We tipped Honest Bob and headed back to the tent to finish packing everything up. Ben and I agreed to be the ones to get the car since it was over a mile away and there was no way we wanted Larry walking that far. We got everything loaded up and went back to the BnB so everyone could get cleaned up and packed. We wanted to have a celebratory dinner before heading to the airport, and we went to the same restaurant that we had gone to last year after Javelina, Salt & Lime. Margaritas for everyone!

We then had to head to the airport. On the way, we got a notification that our already VERY late flight was going to be delayed 90 minutes, with us not arriving until nearly 2 am!! I said we should just go to the Southwest counter and find out if we could get on the earlier flight. Thankfully - we could! We lost our boarding positions but we were able to get out an hour EARLIER than we were originally going to be leaving, so I was fine with that. I managed to get in the third row, but Ben was in the back of the plane. Neither of us had checked a bag, so once Ben got off the plane it was pretty fast getting out of the airport. We had apparently parked in a really stupid part of the parking lot that was nearly impossible to access, we had to keep going up/down levels but finally found the car. What a loooong day. Got home just after midnight.

Monday (11,895 steps) - THANKFULLY a work from home day. The normal issues with digging out after being off for a week. Ugh. Took Olive for a walk at lunch on the "mud route" because I figured the trails would be icy from the snow. Second walk after I got off work and then went to Costco to pick up food for dinner since we had nothing after being out of town for so long.

Stats:

• 464,502 steps
• 171.18 miles run
• 0 minutes of cardio
• 0 minutes of strength

Week in Review (October 25 - October 31)

Tuesday (7,899 steps) - Work in the office and a walk at lunch. I dropped off my ballot on the way home - yay early voting! 

Ariel had her first orchestra concert of the year. It was a bit depressing seeing how many kids have decided to not choose instrumental music after the school got rid of the full time teacher at the end of last school year. (I apparently didn't take any pictures, but this is a still from the video I took). This is all the kids in the WHOLE SCHOOL that are in orchestra - ALL levels. Sad.

Wednesday (18,105 steps) - Work in the office. Left a few minutes early so I could get my run done before it got dark. Of COURSE there was an accident that caused me to get to Boulder more than 20 minutes later than usual. My run actually went really well, but the last 15 minutes or so were in the dark. That'll teach me to not have a backup headlamp in the car! 

Thursday (11,907 steps) - Work from home and FINALLY got around to packing for Javelina pacing.  I did some grocery shopping (I will admit, I have NOT missed doing that AT ALL) and made a new crock pot recipe of vegetarian chili.

Basically the cutest picture of Batman yawning ever

Also got in all my cross training - rower (first time in 6+ months, woof), Peloton and some strength training, plus a walk. Finally turned on the heat because Ariel thinks wearing a coat in the house is ridiculous. *eye roll*

Friday (15,927 steps) - Wash Park CHILLY walk with the gang and coffee. Work in the office until 2. Walked to Union Station, caught the train and met up with Terri near our gate. Flight into Phoenix was uneventful and Kristin and Tyler picked us up so we wouldn't need to rent a car. 

Hung around the house a bit, picked up groceries and went to bed early. (Too bad we weren't staying longer, the back patio was fantastic!!)

Saturday (21,346 steps) - "Slept in" until after 7. I hadn't been feeling wonderful the night before, could feel some congestion coming and and was very restless all night, so didn't feel very rested. Spent the morning lounging around before heading over to the race start with Doug chauffeuring us. 

Got everything set up in the tent. After we saw Kristin come through we decided to get some lunch off site. I picked something called "Wicked Six" - which was a pub - apparently on the golf course, so it was a good thing they let us eat there how we were dressed, haha. 

Headed back to the race and managed to get there in time to see friends coming and going. Kristin and Joe looked a bit rough heading out for loop 3, but we got them onto the trail. 

Tyler came in looking and feeling great and left with Terri pacing for loop 4 around 9:15. I figured I needed to start being ready for him around 2-2:30 am since I was pacing the last loop.

Sunday (61,621 steps) - There was no way I was going to be able to sleep, so I was basically just passing time. Doug had gone to take a nap in the car, and I spent a bit of time with Cooper after he finished his race. He finally left around 11 so he could get some sleep before coming back to get me and Terri. I was alert and awake to see Kristin finishing!

Shortly after she came through, Terri and Tyler came through. He was still looking really good and was obviously well ahead of cutoffs. We got him ready to go and headed out for the last loop just before 3:30 am. I was worried that I was going to be tired since I'd been up all night, but I was feeling ok. I had no idea what kind of pace he was going to want to do, so I power hiked all the climbs and ran the downhills and flats, which he seemed fine with. He got pretty sick at the first aid station and was really apologetic about it. I'm like, dude, you are the one puking, I am fine! I gave him some tums and the medic gave him some gum and we headed out, deciding to stick with his Spring Energy gels for the remainder of the race. 

The "worst" part of the loop was the 6.5 miles into Jackass Junction. For me, having only to do it once, it really wasn't that bad. We walked most of it, and it was "hillier" and more rocky than other sections. We also had the treat of one of the most beautiful sunrises I have seen in a LONG time. It lasted for about an hour, starting with the red/purple sky and morphing into oranges and yellows. Cathartic.

Once we got to Jackass, we were more than halfway done with the loop!

I had hoped for a bit more running on this "downhill" section, but we still walked quite a bit. Once the sun was fully up it did get a bit warmer, and I had to take my jacket off and tie it around my waist. We stopped at the last aid station only to use the bathroom and then it was less than 4 miles to the finish! Tyler seemed content to walk it in, but I made him do run intervals, and then run all the way through Jeadquarters - but it worked out, his first 100 mile completion had him finishing in 26:30, with his last loop a whole minute faster than his 4th! So proud of him!!

We still had to clean up all our gear and load it all up, which took a pretty long time. Cooper agreed to go to lunch with us, and we found this delicious Mexican restaurant, Salt & Lime. I ate this entire plate. It was fantastic. 

Our flight wasn't until 7:15, but Cooper dropped us off very early, maybe 2:30? There was no line at security, but apparently my dragon costume flagged things in security and I was molested by a TSA agent, and then my bag was also flagged. Exciting stuff. I may have actually dozed off for a bit waiting for our flight, but most of the time was spent charging my phone and catching up on Facebook. My cold that I had felt coming on hit full force and I was so congested and sniffly and sneezy. Gross. Flight was not bad at all, and we even landed early. Unfortunately there wasn't a gate ready for us, then people were super slow getting off. I moved very quickly hoping to get an earlier train, but missed it by a few minutes. By the time I took the train, walked to my office and drove home it was after midnight. Downed some cold medicine and took a quick shower and passed out.

Monday (14,564 steps) - Work from home -THANKFULLY. Also.....

So I was about 99% sure I couldn't do this. I know it sounds ridiculous, but my drinking has been pretty out of control for years, and I haven't gone longer than 3-4 days without drinking in probably 10+ years. Felt pretty pleased with myself for sticking to it. Ironically (maybe insert eye roll here), I am feeling better, my sleep is better. 

Anyway, I was really tired all day. I spent the first part of the morning working from bed. Went for my run, then a walk at lunch. A had plans for the night and I went to Kristin's for the annual Trick-or-shot, and yes, I still stayed sober and just had some hot tea. Came home around 8 and tried to watch a movie on Netflix but kept getting interrupted, so I just went to bed early.

Stats:

• 151,369 steps
• 29.51 miles run
• 40 minutes of cardio
• 30 minutes of strength training
  

Javelina Jundred 100M (Race Recap)

Fountain Hills, AZ
Saturday, October 27 - Sunday, October 28
Ultra Marathon # 32 (?!)
100 Mile (attempt) - #7
Weather - HOT. Sunny.

I very clearly remember retiring after Burning River. It's always nice to go out on a high note. But then, as things go, I started to get sucked right back in. I knew so many people that were running, and I was going to be able to save some money on travel, so why not? (Oh, so many reasons, but I've never been very logical).

Friday

Of course we booked the earliest flight in the universe. Jeramiah and Tyler picked me up at 3:45 (which means, I was up at 3:15) to get to the airport in time for our 6:10 flight to Phoenix. Security lines were long, but we still managed to have time for breakfast and basically walked right onto the plane. Fastest boarding process ever, and we landed nearly 30 minutes early. Of course that meant that we had TONS of time to kill - and what on earth do you do in Phoenix for a whole day?

Well, first we picked up the rental car, then we went to Target to get some last minute supplies. Tyler and Jeramiah had heard about some giant fountain that could be seen from the race course, so we found that.

Went to Jeadquarters to see if the boys would be able to set up early. They did, and it's a good thing we got there early, because it was already pretty chaotic.

By the time we finished with all of THAT, we drove to the expo. It was being held at an event center about 20 minutes away. SO hot, but at least there was beer.

Ben, me & Eliot

I ended up leaving with Ben and Eliot for errands and dinner.

Wandering around on the course with Ben

By the time I got dropped off at Lexa's AirBnb, it was almost 8. I got my gear ready and headed to bed. Of course I could not sleep AT ALL. I tossed and turned until nearly midnight.

Saturday - RACE DAY!

4 am came faaaaaast. I got dressed and lugged my gear down to the car. Had half a bagel with salt butter, we were on our way to the start by 4:35.

As if running 100 miles isn't far enough, we had to park about a half mile away. That meant lugging all my stuff since I wouldn't be going back to Lexa's after the race.

I spent the hour or so before the start wandering around and talking to people.

The race has a two wave start, so I got to watch the fasties (people who estimated finishing under 24 hours) head out at 6 am. By the time our wave started it was light enough I didn't even need my headlamp. I had a goal to start out in the very back, not get swept up in other people's paces, walk as needed, and hopefully survive the day.

Loop 1

I lined up in the back near Jeramiah. We started right on time, although I was at least 100 people back so didn't cross right away. The course has a weird section that runs through camp - fun to hear the cheers and excitement, although I just was hoping to finish. We would turn left for loop 1 - and this was the only section where I really noticed any bottle-necking. Right off the bat I realized I was going to be fighting for a completion. I had my plan of walking all the climbs and taking it easy, but I also know how dangerous it is to NOT push a tiny bit at my pace.

Once we hit mile 2 (where there was a road crossing and two port-o-potties) the crowd thinned a bit as the trail widened. Even after just the initial few miles I was already feeling the dread of being up against cutoffs all day.

Photo: Howie Stern

The 100K started an hour after we did. (Well, 50 minutes after the second wave of 100M runners). I was wondering how long it was going to be before Luke passed me. He was the third runner, and passed me before I even hit mile 8 (1:52ish into my race). Haha.

I had opted to wear a skirt and tee all day, but had also chosen arm sleeves. The first 10 miles or so everything felt fine and I did not feel overdressed. The sun was already baking, however, so once I got to Jackass Junction (roughly the halfway point of the loop), I applied sunscreen. Pretty sure that's when the ice bandana started as well.

Loop 1 also had a section of trail we would only run this particular loop, and boy was it tough! It was also the section where I saw the first of a few medical incidents along the trail.

Loop 2

First loop had not gone well. Goal of the second loop was to just stay cool and run what I could. I don't remember much about this loop at all, only that I was getting passed a lot by 100K runners. I remember running with a woman named Jen (who I had chatted with the day before) for a few miles. She ended up taking off shortly before we got to Rattlesnake. I believe I spent less time at the aid station than she did, because I don't remember seeing her after that.

Photo: Howie Stern

I remember looking along the course for places I might be able to sit and catnap if necessary (there were two different benches on the course). My shoes were feeling ok, but I was starting to feel some pain in my right heel. I was thinking it was probably related to the Rock Tape I had applied the night before and convinced myself I would take it off when I got to Jeadquarters.

Cambria passed me (looking so adorable!) shortly before we got to the aid station. When I came running in Jared spotted me and asked me what I needed. I told him I was going to change shoes and he offered to help me. Little did he know what that was going to involve, haha. My "trail angel" of the day helped get my tape off, and I swapped out my Hokas for my ratty old pair of Vazee Summits. I knew it was going to be dark soon and figured if nothing else, my feet would feel better in a different pair of shoes.

Loop 3

And within a few hours it was dark. Almost immediately I was struggling with being tired. I put off napping as long as I could, but I was already soooo fatigued. Other than that... uh. This may have been the loop I spent doing intervals "with" another runner. I did finally tell him that I was appreciative of him doing them because it was helping me.

Otherwise, did this loop even happen?

Photo: Aravaipa

Loop 4

Only cutoff during the race was the end of loop 4. 80.5 miles had to be finished within 24 hours. I certainly didn't want to be up against THAT cutoff, as the daunting thought of trying to do a full loop in under 6 hours seemed impossible.

I remember virtually nothing until I arrived at Jackass, halfway through, nearing mile 75. I was trying to find somewhere to sit to take my catnap, but everything was chaotic and it was too loud. Right as I was getting ready to leave after having my coffee, I saw Ben come in. I wasn't sure how I had managed to get in front of him, but he wasn't having a great race. I chatted with him a bit - and was surprised to see another friend, Grace (who was pacing) in medical with her runner that was dropping. I knew I needed to get out of that aid station STAT. Right after leaving I tried to turn off  my headlamp (that I had JUST changed the batteries in) and it was dead, so I was trying to walk and put new ones in. One  more aid station. Ugh.

I stopped at the bench, but didn't even really get to nap because another runner was trying to stretch next to me.

I was napping in the last aid station when Lexa tapped me and woke me up - she looked fantastic and was a mere 15 miles away from finishing. I, on the other hand, was barely in it.

Jeadquarters came and my first thought was needing to get my heel looked at in medical. After I ran through timing I stopped there to have them look at it. Yep, blister looked gross, but they put some alcohol on it (that effing hurt) and some moleskin. Felt MUCH better on my way out. Here we go, 7 hours and 35ish minutes until cutoff... can I do it??

Loop 5

Oh my god. I have less than 8 hours to get this loop done. How on earth am I going to stay awake long enough to do this?? I realized shortly after leaving camp that I forgot to grab gum. Blech - I had the worst breath ever from all the instant coffee.

About a mile or so out I saw Ben heading down. He looked really rough and he didn't even recognize me when I first talked to him. He was not in good shape, but I told him not to quit, he still had "plenty" of time to get the last loop done.

Keep.Moving.Forward.

It was still going to be a few hours before the sun was coming up. I managed to get to the aid station at Coyote Camp without falling asleep. I came in for aid and asked that coffee be ready for me while I took my 5 minute nap. Ugh. Nothing was helping me to stay awake!!!

At this point, I have 15 miles to go.

The long, long, LONG stretch (6.5 miles) to Jackass Junction were ahead of me. So tired. Sooooo soooooo tired. I barely even make it a mile out of camp before I start eyeballing the sides of the trail to find a rock to sit on. I can start to see the hint of color in the sky, but it's not enough. I need to rest. Again.

I sit on a rock pretty much in the middle of the trail and set my alarm for 2 minutes. I have GOT to close my eyes. I turn off my headlamp and very shortly after a runner asks if I am waiting to watch the sunrise. No, but I am waiting for the sun to come up, maybe that will help? (Although in my mind, I remember being super tired at Burning River, even after the sun was up). So close, yet so far away.

I resign myself to not having the time to screw around if I want to have any chance of finishing.

I start walking, and even manage a short jog here and there.

I'm with a group of runners, including one who is being paced by a fellow teammate. They are all walking faster than I am. I decide that I'm really going to try to run the downhills as they happen - and I remember that thankfully, we have a downhill finish.

I manage to pass a few runners coming into Jackass Junction. I'm feeling a little better and grab some food and head right out. I have some time, but not a lot. My walk pace is slow, but if I can run even a LITTLE, I can get this done.

I start running. A lot. I start passing people. A lot of people. The people I'm running by are mostly walking. I have music in and I'm in a great mood. I'm rejoicing inside that I'm feeling so good at this point - especially after having felt SO TIRED for most of the night segment. After passing about 20 people, I start thinking - "wow, I've never really passed people at the end of an ultra. Wish I had been keeping track!"

Passing more people. Clocking some of my fastest miles of the entire race. The sun is out, and it's hot, but I'm not bothered. I'm just so happy to not be tired anymore!!

Come into the last aid station at Rattlesnake. Still feeling good. Grab a few bites of food and head out. Less than 4 miles to go, and for the first time I really am starting to realize that not only am I going to finish in time, I might even be able to PR.

My smile is huge. Around nearly ever turn I see another runner or two and think, wonder if I will be able to catch up to that one! And then minutes later I'm cruising by. Jester Ed is walking back along the course, he tells me I have about a mile back to camp.

OH
MY
GOD

I am going to PR the SHIT out of this race!!!!! Even bigger smile!! I take out my music and can hear the sounds of Jeadquarters. I am soooo close. I turn the corner and see the Hoka banner and a photographer. I have a few minutes to run. I'm almost there. I can't even believe it.

Photo: Howie Stern

Running through camp and I realize our canopy is gone. Hmm, I still want to get my pack off my back, so I strip it off and drop it about a hundred feet from the finish line.

I stop my watch... and realize I have not just PR'd - but ran my best time by over 50 minutes.

Garmin Time - 27:29:07
Garmin Distance - 99.35 miles
Elevation Gain - 6,309'
Miles 1-10 - 14:37, 13:53, 13:20, 13:41, 15:53, 14:14, 14:09, 14:28, 13:35, 13:12
Miles 11-20 - 15:31, 12:36, 12:34, 12:45, 13:08, 14:40, 13:37, 14:52, 14:41, 14:36
Miles 21-30 - 15:25, 15:22, 20:32, 16:29, 15:19, 16:06, 15:07, 15:06, 16:43, 15:04
Miles 31-40 - 14:29, 17:34, 14:16, 14:55, 13:44, 13:46, 14:13, 17:33, 16:26, 14:48
Miles 41-50 - 15:50, 22:16, 17:22, 17:32, 13:53, 19:18, 16:09, 15:50, 15:49, 16:37
Miles 51-60 - 16:12, 19:09, 16:07, 15:06, 15:21, 14:35, 16:13, 20:29, 15:11, 15:31
Miles 61-70 - 17:26, 19:17, 18:25, 18:14, 21:30, 18:23, 20:13, 21:37, 18:19, 33:49
Miles 71-80 - 16:54, 17:45, 20:16, 18:55, 19:20, 17:14, 27:41, 18:02, 14:58, 20:41
Miles 81-90 - 25:24, 19:36, 20:16, 20:13, 22:17, 19:15, 18:10, 17:04, 16:46, 15:08
Miles 91-99ish - 16:38, 14:31, 13:14, 12:40, 12:23, 14:16, 14:05, 12:51, 13:18, 13:02
(Do you see how awesome my last 10 or so miles were???)

Grab my buckle, realize that no one I know is at the finish, and figure I need to get a beer and find out where everyone is.

I texted Jeramiah and Tyler to figure out where they were, and saw that I had gotten a text from Ben HOURS earlier asking where I was. I assumed that meant he had dropped after all, and was heading to his tent when I saw him FLYING by - he hadn't dropped after all and had a pretty amazing finish.

Adding this more than a year later - Ben (left) made the race guide for the 2020 event!

There was NO beer at the finish. NONE. And it was approximately a hundred million degrees. Ben offered to buy us smoothies to tide us over. We finally decided that since we had to leave soon(ish), that we would head to a brewery to get some food. We headed into town and went to McFate (I fell asleep on the drive over).

Food (and beer) was amazing. We didn't really have anything to do, so we went to the airport even though our flight wasn't for HOURS. I fell asleep on that drive as well. Once we were finally able to get checked in, we headed to the gate, where we sat for HOURS. I got a salad for dinner, and we boarded on time (#stinkrow). I tried to watch Blacklist, but shockingly, fell asleep. On the drive home, I again fell asleep (sensing a trend) and was dropped off at home, with just enough time to... go to bed. Longest/shortest weekend ever.

Thoughts:

• After the initial registration, I can honestly say that I was never really looking forward to running this - so maybe that helped keep the nerves at bay.
• What a FUN event. I knew that it was a loop course, but figured the loops were big enough that everything would seem brand new by the time I saw it again. Plus, the loops are run washing-machine style, so there was a lot of variance (to me).
• I knew a LOT of people out there, so it was a lot of fun to see people! 
• The costume contest was a tad "meh," didn't really see that many, but kudos to people that actually did that! I was glad to have come to my senses and NOT done that.
• Honestly, the course IS easy - there were no massive climbs, nor is it technical. I think the sand and heat are really what gets people. And luckily for ME, I do really well in the heat!
• I won't go back, because it's far and there are lots of other races to run, but it WAS fun, and I'm glad I finally ran it - I'd been talking about it for a few years now.