Run Through Time Half Marathon (Race Recap)

Salida, CO

Saturday, March 10

Half Marathon #57

Colorado Half # 9

Weather - Pretty chilly, but SUNNY and virtually no wind. PERFECT.

I picked Run Through Time half marathon because I noticed that the last double digit run I was supposed to do was 12 miles, and about two weeks before the 100. I did a quick internet search and found this one, saw it wasn't that far or expensive, and as soon as I locked in babysitting, I registered. I figure 13.1 is close enough to 12, and running a real race with a few "challenges" is probably better than another two hours on the treadmill.

I got up at 4:30 so I had time to get ready and be out the door by 5:00 am. Mapquest had the drive taking just under three hours. However, plugging the address into the Garmin, I was looking at closer to 2.5 hours. Fine with me, that way I didn't feel rushed. The first part of the drive was hard because I don't see that well at night and it was a dark, two lane highway. After the sun came up, I nearly hit a wolf (coyote?) and saw about a dozen deer inches off the road. Arrived at the start line with a little over an hour to the start and go in to get my stuff. (Oh, YOU'RE the one who has their name in all capital letters). This is what picking up your number and shirt looks like at a teeny tiny (I think 250 total runners), no frills race:

Bathroom stop number one, then I sat in my car and listened to my iPod and ate my Luna bar. At about 8:15, I headed back in to give me time to use the bathroom one more time and to listen to the announcements about the course. I ran into Jennifer, a girl I ran part of the Fatass with back in January, and was recognized by a few guys who had also run it. I also got probably ten compliments on Razzy Roo's newest headband, the I heart Bacon one.

We had to cross a bridge and some railroad tracks to get to the start line. I was a bit worried I would be cold while running, but opted to not bring my jacket. I didn't want to have to tie it around my race or try to shove it in my hydration vest. Looking around, most people were wearing short sleeves with arm sleeves and shorts with compression socks. (Spoiler: I would have been FINE wearing less). It just SEEMED cold:

I'm going to do this recap a bit different. Most of what needs to be said can be said with pictures. So... here you go:

Hot, Hard,  HILLS HILLS HILLS HILLS and (H)amazing.

I knew I was not racing this race. There were really only two goals. Finish without getting pulled for being too slow, and to NOT hurt myself. Both, accomplished.

The course was by FAR the most challenging I have ever run. I went back and looked at all my other elevation profiles, and the only two that showed similar gain were the Great Wall Marathon (only a few hundred feet more, but twice as long a race) and Greenland Trail 50K - again - LOTS longer, similar gain. (I didn't wear my Garmin for the 50 miler since the battery would not have lasted long enough, but I think that might have been about a 1000 feet more. But again, over FIFTY miles, not THIRTEEN). So I will just say, whenever I have complained about hills, I didn't even know what hills were. THESE were hills. So yeah, it was HARD. In addition to the steep uphills, there were steep downhills. It's arguably even HARDER to run steep downs. Couple that with SUPER muddy conditions in parts (literally, there was a section I slid down a good ten feet) and ice, a section of sand dunes, this course pretty much had it ALL. It was overall pretty well marked, but there was about a 20 minute gap when I didn't see anyone in front or behind me and I was 100% certain I had gone off course. I spent that time wondering who do I call. 911? A park ranger? It was scary. Luckily a woman finally came up behind me and we ran together for a bit - NOT lost. (In the picture of me after the race is over, she is lying on the ground half in the picture). Overall, the easiest way to describe this race? Think of the hardest hike you have ever done, then try to run it.

Course was ALL OVER THE PLACE - can you see how I could have been LOST??

BIB #190
Garmin Time - 2:59:50
Garmin Distance - 13.28 miles
Garmin Pace - 13:32
Mile 1 - 11:53
Mile 2 - 10:31
Mile 3 - 12:40
Mile 4 - 14:33
Mile 5 - 13:35
Mile 6 - 11:37
Mile 7 - 19:03
Mile 8 - 17:43
Mile 9 - 14:22
Mile 10 - 13:40
Mile 11 - 15:32
Mile 12 - 11:25
Mile 13 - 10:28
Mile 13.1ish - 9:52

The Good:

• AWESOME aid stations. The aid stations were what you would expect at an ultra marathon. Sports drink, water, pretzels, chips, cookies, gels... more than just people throwing cups at you. They were friendly and helped you out any way they could. Including cleaning off all the blood off my hand after I bit it around mile 10 and bandaging me up. Thanks!
• The most awesome of the awesome in the running community were here. I have NEVER run with such an amazing group of people. Everyone was so nice and friendly. I LOVED IT.
• The course, and the views I was able to see from the course. Honestly, I have lived in Colorado about 95% of my life, and I usually find it pretty UNimpressive. I must have thought to myself - "wow, this is amazing," at least a dozen times.
• This race brought out the "runner" in me. I truly enjoyed myself. Even when I thought I was lost, even when I almost broke my neck sliding down a hill, even after I did fall and bloody myself up, I had a great time. I wish I wasn't such a weenie and felt comfortable enough in my abilities to run alone on the trails. This was so fun.
• CHEAP (for a Colorado race). No expo, no swag bag, no bling, and registering only about a month in advance and I paid about $35. COMPLETELY WORTH EVERY PENNY. I even got a pretty nice shirt. Since there were no sponsors, it just has a tiny race logo on the front.
• I wore the hydration vest that I got for the 100. It did not annoy me even a teeny tiny bit. I think it will be fantastic for the 100. Thanks, Fast Cory!!!
• My YMX shirt was freakin' spectacular. Any other long sleeve shirt and I would have been BAKING in the heat (so what it was only 43 degrees when I was done, it felt like 80). I loved having the pockets in the back to stash my gloves when I got too hot to wear them - at mile TWO.
• FREE race pictures!!! FREE!! These were taken at mile 4.25:

The Bad:

• If I had to be picky, I'd say no medal. But that's just because I really like them :D I knew I wasn't going to be getting one when I registered, so obviously, NOT a "bad"
• Honestly, NOTHING. This race was amazing. I will run it again, although I am not sure I am badass enough to run the full. You all can see how long "just" the half took me! Of course I was taking it easy, but in all honesty, I don't think I could have run much faster!

Terrifed.

Seriously, terrified.

Today I started week 12 of my 18 week ultra marathon training program. Training to run 100 miles. I have reached the stage where I am having my doubts. I am starting to freak out. I remember being afraid for my first marathon. My first 50k. And DEFINITELY for my first 50 miler. But this just seems insane. Can I do it? What if I can't? What if I fail? What if I completely fall apart? What if I get sick? What if I get injured? What if I run xx miles and then get pulled for being to slow and DNF? What if I am too afraid to even start?

I'm sure this is all normal. But the closer the date gets, the more apprehensive I get. I have virtually NO support going into this. While I train alone, I don't know if I can get through 100 miles alone.

How do you approach things that TERRIFY you? I need some inspiration!!

Southside Fatass 20 Miler ("Race" Recap)

Not really a race, but an organized group run with distances where you record your own time. There IS a winner, but totally unofficial.

So the other day, I'm on Facebook, and one of my friends asked - "anyone want to run 20 miles on Saturday?" Well. I did want to run 20ish. Actually, I had 24 on schedule. So I asked for more information. She told me about the Southside Fatass run. Lucky for me, it was taking place only about 20 minutes from  my house. On a day I was supposed to do a long run anyway. With available distances ranging from 15 miles to 50K, I was pretty sure it would be a nice change from the treadmill.

Yes. You heard me right. After 9 weeks of doing my double digit runs on the treadmill, I decided to take it outside.

Date: January 21
Time: 7 am

I was warned that I shouldn't be late, or I would miss getting a map. I was very concerned about getting that map since I have only run a teeny tiny section of the trails. And THAT was about 2 years ago. Two other girls needed to use the bathroom, so I went with them - and we informed the group we would be back for the start. Had some nice conversation, the women had actually done the relay of the 100 miler I'll be doing in a few months. One is running the Leadville 100 this year!

Anyway, we are heading back to the start, the sun is coming up:

And then we see the runners heading toward us. They started without us :( Which meant... no map for me! OH NO!!! It looked like they were running fast. Not really surprising since Boulder is known for super freaky fast runners. I ended up at the tail end of the pack and spoke with the organizer. She said she would get a map for me and ran off. Unfortunately... she never came back. Lucky for me, I latched on to apparently the only other average runner. And yay for me that she turned out to be AWESOME. She gave me her map, and said she was familiar enough with the trails that she probably wouldn't need it. And she was super great company. I never ONCE turned on my iPod. And for pretty much the only time EVER, the miles seriously did fly by. I didn't really look at my watch, and actually enjoyed most of my run.

This IS pretty nice to look at

So it IS January. Luckily most of the trails were pretty clear. Only a few sections were icy and about a mile was decently muddy.  But for the most part we had some pretty runnable trails. I was doing really well until we had to cross the highway - maybe somewhere around 4 miles. Right after we crossed, there was a downhill section. I tripped over a rock, flailed awkwardly and was not able to catch myself from falling. Face plant. Skinned my knee. But at least I didn't rip my running tights or my jacket. And at least I (narrowly) missed the cow poop. Jumped up, and kept going.

I had chosen a VERY unconventional (for me) outfit for running. My new YMX Winter flower long sleeve jersey and my Athleta Headwinds jacket. PERFECT. As you know,  I am 99% of the time a tank top wearer. But. 27 degrees. Windy. January. I didn't want to take a chance.

We stopped to use the bathroom around mile 7. First aid station at mile 8. Yes, there were aid stations. The organizers husband ran a "mobile" aid station. Waited for the last people to arrive then headed to the second point down the trail. I downed a 1/4 PBJ sandwich, small cup of coke, a few pretzels and some animal crackers. (Did I mention this event was FREE???)

Hope (the woman I was running with) and I were having a great time talking, and we finally encountered the first section we really couldn't run. It was steep single track, lots of mud and ice. Neither of us fell. Bonus. After scraping mud out of the soles of shoes, we continued on. Second aid station at mile 11. We beat the van there by a couple of minutes. Refueled - this time with a chocolate chunk rice krispie treat, some chips and M&Ms. We added another runner who only wanted to run the end, and headed out again.

She turned out to be MUCH slower than we were. We talked and "ran" (her jog was my brisk walk pace) for about a mile, then when she slowed to a walk, we went on without her.

It's hard to see, but in the picture below on the hill there is a big animal. We could not determine if it was a wolf or coyote. Luckily he never came close enough for us to find out.

We had a nice section of fairly flat and downhill. Then we turned and the wind picked back up. I took off my jacket around 10:30, tying it around my waist. That was not as annoying as I thought it would be either.

Since Hope knew where she was going and was only running 20, I decided to scrap my extra miles and finish up the run with her. Even with over 20 minutes of stopping and standing around (between the bathroom stop and aid stations), we still maintained a pretty decent pace.

She is training for her first 50k in May (the same one I ran last year!) and we plan to do another run together this spring.

Bear Chase 50 Mile Recap (As L Views It)

Yep, you read that right! I got L to write a bonus blog!!! If you missed my awesome recap, you can read it here.

Bear Chase 50 Mile Recap as L views it.

I originally only signed up for this race because I didn’t want B to die alone. I did not train for it and just decided to wing it. Quick background is that I had not done a run longer than a half since our 50K and China back in May. Before that, my 1 marathon back in October. So no, I never ever do long runs. I had done a 20 mile race 2 weeks before and during the entire time I kept thinking… “there is no freakin way I can run 30 miles more than this. What on earth have I gotten myself into?” I wore my Brooks that I had gotten last year. I don’t think shoes should last this long but with the creek I knew we were going to run through and apparently all the manure and what not… I knew I didn’t want to wear my newer shoes. These shoes have raced 19 halfs, 1 50K and 1 marathon. I was almost sad this was it for them. Would it be creepy to mount them in a clear box on my wall of awesome?  

My alarm went off at 4:40am and I almost forget what I was getting up for. Apparently I blocked out this event entirely. I started working overnights so I had been having a hard time getting enough sleep so I was pretty out of it. I thought maybe it was for my second job I worked on the weekends. Wishful thinking on my part. We got to the race with no problems and with plenty of time. It still hadn’t really sunk in what we were about to do.

The 50 milers started first and as I looked around at all the other crazy people I was beginning to think we were WAY out of our league. These were some hardcore people. The start began and off everyone goes. I began to panic because everyone took off and we were already last in the first .10 of a mile. I thought “OMG…. We are going to die alone out here.” I tried to keep up with a group of 5 other people who seemed to be pacing well by a girl I will call “green skirt.” I did not enjoy how narrow the trail was and I did not like having to look down at my feet the entire time. It seemed like we had been running forever and then we hit the first aid station I was thinking how on earth had we only run 3.2 miles? This is going to be the longest day ever. We were able to stay with this group of 5 for most of lap one. I did like this one lady told us we looked like little ducklings following the mama duck. That was the plan. Hehe. When I had stopped to use one of the port-a-potties somehow both of my GU’s fell out of my pocket. Of course one landed right under the urinal and the other bounced off the floor and landed outside. I had many thoughts go through my head as to what should I do. Should I pick them up and consume them later? Should I just leave them there? Should I just throw them away? I wasn’t sure how many GU’s I was going to want to have and I only brought 10 with me. I ended up picking them both up and using the hand sanitizer to try and clean them off. 

I don’t want to bore anyone going into details of the course since B covered most of that. At the end of first lap I was relieved to see that the last part was downhill…. Good to know for future moments. Green Skirt was looking extremely sunburned already and that just put into perspective how hot it was already with only a fourth of the race done. She had her bib on her hat and the officials told her it probably wasn’t picking up her timing chip. We never saw her again but I did spend many hours wondering if she was going to keep going since it didn’t track her first 3 timing mats. 

Starting the 2^nd lap and all the people we had been running with before were gone so no pacers. It was still going ok. I grabbed a few more GU’s from my drop bag and you will be happy to know I decided to throw those other 2 away. I had only one GU the first lap so I decided I would be ok. I wasn’t delusional… yet.  Or crazy.

Lap 3 was when things started to go downhill for me. My knee that has been giving me trouble here and there got extremely angry and started doing these random throbbing pains that were nothing I had ever felt before. I did not think I was going to make it. It seemed to be worse going downhill and it didn’t help with the narrow trail where it was just one foot’s length. This was also the time when we were realizing we were very close to not making the cut off and everything got very panicky. Secretly I was hoping we wouldn’t make it so I could just be done. The other part of me was my “determination” and I was thinking I had already suffered this long… I HAD TO FINISH. We finished the 3^rd lap with less than 5 minutes to spare so off we went on the 4^th lap. We walked a lot in the beginning which may not have been the best idea because my legs started to tighten up fast. We couldn’t run very long at a time without needing a break. We knew we had 3.5 hours to do the last lap but apparently we did not really comprehend how long that was. I was started to get delusional. I kept thinking I was having outer body experiences or something. Nothing seemed real. It was hot with a side of hot and I just wanted to be done. And yes… I did tell B SEVERAL times that I wanted to murder her with my bare hands for suggesting something like this. After we left the last aid station with only 2.4 miles to go I thought we just might make it. I also cannot believe how far 2.4 miles really is. It seemed really, really, really far away and was taking absolutely FOREVER. At the last stretch where we hit the road it finally hit me that we were going to make it. There was a crowd cheering for us even though we were positive we were the last ones to finish. We had seen no one else out there. Once I crossed and stopped my legs tighten up fast.

Overall, I am glad I did it even though during the entire race I was thinking this is the worst thing I have ever done. I have never felt such an amazing accomplishment. Would it be wrong to wear my medal around as an accessory every day? I think that would be awesome. The other bad side was I had to go to work that same night that involves constant movement. I couldn’t move and was running on no sleep. Let the good times roll.

***Warning- Do not let B talk you into any shenanigans. J

Bear Chase Trail Run 50 Miler (Race Recap)

Lakewood, CO
Sunday, September 25
Ultra Marathon #2
Weather - SUNNY, very slight breeze in the morning, cool temps at start, HOT (mid 80s) at the end

"Never Say Never" - Justin Bieber

**Warning. Super duper long.**

I'm not sure WHAT I was thinking when I signed up for the Bear Chase 50 mile trail race. I mean. I sorta read the website. I sorta glanced at the elevation profile:

I sorta looked at the course profile. I mean. I should have realized what I was doing. But. I often do things without REALLY thinking about it. So. I registered. And other than building my mileage base a teeny tiny bit (I started the RLRF marathon program at the beginning of August), I didn't do ANY specific training. No trail running. No runs longer than 20 miles. And yet. I found myself waking up at 4:50 am on a Sunday morning and heading out to the lake to run FIFTY MILES. Seems unbelievable. I hadn't even been really THAT stressed out about it. Which seems weird. I mean, I remember how worried I was for my first marathon. And my first 50k. But this? I mean, it was just too insane to even think about.

So we left the house at 5:10 am, for the 25-30 minute drive to the lake. We get there in plenty of time, especially since we ended up being able to park like 50 feet from the start/finish area. SCORE!! It was still SUPER dark. A bit windy and chilly, but since it was still dark, we knew it was going to warm up.

Fifteen minutes until the start

We sat in the car and waited until about 6:05 before using the bathroom. Using the port-o-potty in the dark is TERRIFYING. By the time we got back to the car we had to apply our sunscreen and get our drop bags ready. I still wasn't freaking out. Have I mentioned that 50 miles is just not even comprehensible?? We drop our bags, L makes another bathroom stop. And then, we barely have enough time for a few pictures:

Still pretty dark!

We started back of the pack

So. How do you mentally prepare to toe the line of a FIFTY MILE RUN??? Well. You just go... I wanted to start in the back, mainly to pace myself well. I mean, for 50 miles, I do NOT want to tire myself out.

Yes, that is Marshall Ulrich in green. He only did three loops...

We were pretty much in the VERY back, but we settled into a pretty decent pace, following 4-5 other runners. The course was pretty well marked, but if you weren't paying attention, there WERE lots of splits in the course. So it was even more important in the beginning that we were following other runners.

Miles 1-3.2 (36:46)

The course is really nice. Shaded, wide and beaten down trails. This is going to be nice later in the afternoon when it starts to heat up. Even though L and I were running "together," there is a lot of single track, so we can't run side by side. Pretty uneventful first few miles. Feeling good.

Look how clean my shoes still are!

Miles 3.2-7.8 (55:18)

First lap there is only fluid at the aid station. No big deal. The course is "green" so since I only have one small bottle on my belt so I had purchased a hydrapouch for my electrolyte drink. This thing was AMAZING. I am notorious for messing with my belt and it just clipped right on and I swear I never even noticed it was there. Grabbed my drinks and off we went. So. Where is this major elevation change? A few ups and downs, but we haven't encountered anything yet. Not too long after we get passed by the super fast 50k'ers. This was tough, on the single track we had to jump off the path. One girl fell... I stopped to make sure she was ok, she said she was. And off we went. We leave the nice tree covered path and enter the first of the barren wasteland... We see a ginormous mountain. And what looks to be... people on it. Yep. There it is... We run to the base and then we are walking. It is steep. The insane super crazy fast people waste their energy and run up it, we walk. Some conversation with a random guy who has also run Greenland. We agree this section of the course is similar to the crazy hairpin uphill around the 4 mile mark of Greenland. We make it to the top... and REALLY narrow & rocky single track with a slight downhill. Literally you would fall down the side of the mountain with one wrong move. Hard to go fast. Get to the base and and we enter a tree covered area by the golf course. I misread the sign about the river crossing. (This is when reading course profiles might be helpful. The sign said "Three River Crossings" - I read it as "Three Rivers Crossing") There is a nice cool breeze I would describe as "cave wind." We run by the golf course, up a small incline and then down a steep, wide, rocky decline. We then arrive at the river crossing. At the time I thought it was THE river crossing, turns out it was the FIRST river crossing. Deeper than we thought:

Toward the middle it was upper calf deep

Squish, squish. We are in another wooded area, wider path. Then we come across a second river crossing. Huh. That was unexpected. This one was not as deep. 

Crossing #2

More running through the woods, a pretty muddy section and then... ANOTHER river crossing. I'd argue the third was the deepest. 

Crossing #3

We come out of the water, a short run and then hairpin turn onto pretty much the only paved section of the course. Golf course on the left, houses on the right. Jog all the way up to the second aid station at Fox Hollow.

Miles 7.8-10.1 (31:47)

Use the port-o-potty. It is placed on a hill and I almost fall in. Terrifying. Dump the sand/gravel out of my shoes. Use some hand sanitizer and grab a handful of skittles (oops, thought they were M&Ms and a pretzel, refill my bottle and head out. A wide open space of skinny single track. One pretty big hill fairly close to the aid station, and then lots of little uphills and rocky downhills. The downhills are really hard, I feel like my ankle keeps rolling. Then along a creek and I'm running off to the side of the trail, discovering it is easier to run in the longer grass. Keeping a good pace.

Go around the bend and see a skinny trail along the road and the next aid station.

Mile 10.1-12.5 (29:58)

Grab more food and fluids and then head out, we cannot believe we have only covered 10 miles. This is insanity. We are still with a decent sized group of people and then we make a 180 and see... YET.ANOTHER.HILL. Blech!!! This hill is steep. No attempt at jogging/running up this. And of course... what goes up, must come down. Skinny, rutted single track down the back side. Through a wide open barren wasteland, another 180 turn, down a wider trail. Back up (again), and then a turn, across a footpath and a few zig zags. Gradual downhill, and then... we are at the street! HUGE downhill, around the parking lot, past the boat ramp, through the parking lot and athlete village and...

I think I'm saying, holy crap, we are only done with ONE??

...we cross the line for loop #1.

Loop 1 - 2:33:43

Mile 12.5-15.7 (40:01)

Stop at the bag drop. Grab more gels and a new piece of gum. Reapply sunscreen. Get more food/fuel, and then off we go. We are pretty much alone this time around. We start running, and after a few minutes, we wonder if we went the right way... We come across the right path, but yeah, we went the long way. Oops. L starts running a bit faster.

I stop to take a quick picture, and by then L is really too far ahead. I can't comfortably chase her on the trail. She is not turning around to make sure I'm behind her. She waits for me at the aid station, where yadda yadda, we refuel.

Mile 15.7-20.3 (59:45)

The course is not closed and there are other people out and about. I come across some horses (yes, horses) and then turn a corner and she is gone. She is so far ahead of me that I can't see her :( I keep going, but at a comfortable pace. I use this time to make sure I get a shot of the mountain that we have to run up:

See it in the distance? I promise, it's huge. Probably two minutes after I take this picture I trip over a loose rock and fall. Into horse shit. Yeah. Not something I ever thought I would say mid race. Sucks even worse because I don't want to contaminate any of my stuff. So no water, no wiping the sweat off my face. Just grumbling about how dirty and smelly and gross I am now. And I'm not even halfway through the second loop...

Flat barren part of the loop right before we head up the mountain, and there is this sign. I find it amusing:

I see L coming up from the middle of the base headed toward the mountain. Turns out she started chasing some random people out for a morning run and went the wrong way. Oops.

Head up the mountain AGAIN and take this shot of the lake:

Notice that there is not ONE cloud in the sky? Yeah. It was HOT. So we struggle up the hill, scary single track along the side of the mountain and back down again.

I have like 4 pictures along this section but I'm not heel striking in this one...

Get to the sign announcing the riverS crossing and no cool "cave wind" this time. Boo. The river crossings were even BETTER this time around. Got to clean up my arm and legs from some of the dirt and horse shit. Exit the woods, head back up the paved path and arrive at Fox Hollow.

Miles 20.3-22.6 (36:27)

Use the bathroom again. Almost fall in again. Dump the sand/gravel out of my shoes again. Refuel again. (Sensing a pattern?) Off we go... it's getting INSANELY hot. Melting. Still some people on the trail. Hot. Tired. Feeling ok, but man, this is taking forever. If I could actually look off the path without fear of tripping and falling, it would be a nice view:

Mile 22.6-25 (34:12)

L stops to use the bathroom, I refuel and hang out to wait for her. A guy sits down on the medical cot and says he is quitting. I think he is joking, he was ahead of us. Nope, he is not kidding, he is done. The volunteers have already arranged for him to take the short cut back to the start. Hmmm. We walk off together and are still with a small group of runners. Up that other stupid gigantic hill. Scary, skinny, painful single track down the backside. Hot, hot, hot through the barren wasteland. Up that hill, around the corner, across the bridge, yadda, yadda, yadda... L runs off ahead of me, I can't/won't chase her.

But look! Still smiling after 25 miles!

Cross the line, still feel... as good as can be expected.

Loop 2 - 2:50:21

Halfway done

Miles 25-28.2 (45:24)

Grab more gels. Grab new gum. Reapply sunscreen. Refuel. Blah blah blah. Start off again. Yep, we had taken a wrong turn the last loop. We laugh about how we got confused. Course is pretty well marked, we should have been paying more attention. We run past a group of cyclists waiting on a picnic bench. They are trying to be inspirational telling us we have already run a marathon so we are halfway there. Yeah, yeah. Best part was the little toddler with them. The kid kept yelling "you guys are nuts!" Hilarious. L stops to use the bathroom. I tell her I'll keep going (walking) and she can catch up. I use the opportunity to "tweet" for the first time ever in a race...

There are a group of people ahead of us. Wow. We thought we were alone on the course. Yay for people!!

Still appreciating the scenery. Sort of. It's shaded but the sun is coming through the trees and it is DAMN HOT. Roasting. L is running ahead of me again a bit. Where on earth is she getting all this energy? I'm tired. Two of the women in front of us stop to use the bathroom. I have a little bit left in me, so I'm determined to run as fast/far as I can while still in the shade.

Trees on one side, empty space on the other... I kept expecting some of the 3-4 people we passed to come running past us, but it never happened. Caught up to a girl "jogging" (more like walking with jogging arms), and passed her right before the Pelican Point aid station.

Miles 28.2-32.8 (1:10:29)

By the time we are refueling the "jogging" girl is coming up. She tries to cut a corner around the aid station. They make her turn around and go around. Heh. I ask what time the cutoff is to start the last loop. They say they don't know. Off we go. Woman chases us down to tell us it's 3:00. O.M.G... is this EVER going to end? I'm so tired. HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE THE CUTOFF? WE ARE GETTING SLOWER. L still running ahead of me a bit. Not fast enough so I can't stay with her. Through the last of the wooded area, back in the barren, to the base of the stupid, stupid, huge mountain. !!!!! Up we (slowly) go. Another first. I send super whiny texts to J about how tired I am. By the time we get to the top, start jogging, we are getting passed by more of the 50 milers. Hard to jump out of the way with a cliff on one side and a mountain on the other. HOT. Run out of water this loop. SO THIRSTY.

Come to the river crossings. Man. This is awesome. I love these. Exit the wooded area, take off my shoes halfway up the path. My feet feel AWESOME with no shoes on. I decide to walk in just my socks until the Fox Hollow station.

Miles 32.8-35.1 (32:12)

I have to sit on the cot to put on my shoes. They seem concerned. I ask what happens if we don't make the cutoff. Told that if we don't cross the line by 3 we will be pulled off the course. OMG. NO WAY. I HAVE NOT BEEN RUNNING ALL DAY TO GET PULLED OFF THE COURSE. I suck it up and start to run. L is struggling. She tells me her knee pain is back and that it feels like it is going to explode. I tell her we have like 57 minutes to go or we will have done this all in vain, and what does she want to do. She wants to keep going. So we keep going... as best we can. By the way, the song "Friday" by Rebecca Black is an AWESOME race song (although I have the Glee version). Totally pumped me up.

It is at LEAST a billion degrees out. Maybe more. I have never been so hot and thirsty and tired in my life. Super super super super SUPER happy to see the next aid station.

Miles 35.1-37.5 (32:38)

The volunteers are super nice at the aid station. I am super grumpy because I don't think we have enough time to get back to the start. They cheer us on and tell us they "know we can do it." Annoyed. Refuel and head out. Stupid hill, skinny single track, 180, wider trail. We come across two men that are STRUGGLING. One is sorta trying to jog, the other has literally given up. He is stopping after the 3rd lap. I'm disoriented, have no clue how far until the start area. We have 12 minutes. J is texting asking if we have made it to the start area yet. Do not respond. Irritated. Volunteers from the last aid station come by on a bike and tell us we can do it, we have a mile to go.

WTH. I can't run a 10 minute mile right now!! I'm about ready to cry. I cannot believe we are not going to make it. Screaming. Then, all of a sudden I see the street. I have never been so happy. Come down the bottom of the street and start heading toward the boat ramp... and J jumps out. OMG! He has never come to a race! Gives me the boost I need (and a kiss) and off I go. We cross with literally, less than 5 minutes to spare.

Loop 3 - 3:00:45

3/4 of the way done... barely made the cutoff!

Miles 37.5-40.7 (58:40)

Immediately mixed feelings. I mean, I would have been pissed if I would have missed the cutoff. But I'm so tired and now I still have another loop to go. Grab GU, gum, cake Icy Hot on my thighs, apply MORE sunscreen. Refuel, and we walk off... Literally, we are walking. My legs hurt SO freaking bad. Unsure I will ever be able to run another step. We probably walked about a mile. Try to jog here and there, make it maybe a tenth of a mile and then stop again. How are we going to do this??? The best part of the last loop is commenting on how "this is the last time I will see you ____." insert TONS of profanity. I was kind of looking forward to the aid station more than usual because L's boyfriend had volunteered. We hadn't gotten a picture of the two of us yet, and I was going to have him take one.

Realize that just keeping moving isn't going to be enough. We can't even walk a pace fast enough to finish in 3.5 hours. Running by now is literally torture. My legs ache. No one is behind us. We are pretty sure we are the last ones that made the cutoff. Blech. Do not see L's boyfriend at the aid station.

Miles 40.7-45.3 (1:14:43)

Cannot take any more of this heat. I think I am going to faint. Pretty sure I am not eating enough, but been so stressed with the cutoff times that I don't have time to eat, much less chew anything. All of a sudden, we see L's boyfriend monitoring one of the major turns. SUPER quick picture (hurry, we need to make the cutoff!)

We really were out there. Really!!

Get to the wasteland before the mountain and we actually see someone at the peak. Maybe we aren't so far behind after all. We need to make up some time after all the walking at the beginning of the loop. We actually jog the whole side of the mountain and downhill to the sign for the crossing. Mostly to a run/walk, the best we can. The river crossings are freaking amazing, and when I get to the paved section I walk without my shoes again. Seriously. Feet never felt so good.

Miles 45.3-47.6 (41:05)

Hear the volunteers - "Yay, the twins are here!" (We don't correct them). I ask at the aid station what happens if we don't cross before the "course closure" at 6:30. She says it will be a DNF. I am devastated. We have come SO far. I know we only have like 5 miles to go, but I really don't think I can do it. I grab a half a banana, and we do an even more pitiful run/walk then before. This time I am texting with Heather. Thank you Heather! It really helped motivate me to run for the bling (seriously, I'm not being sarcastic). L then tells me she hates me and wants to choke me. I don't really blame her. I'm pretty miserable too. If I had the energy to do the jig when I saw the last aid station, I probably would have done it. Too weak.

Miles 47.6-50 (32:32)

We thank the volunteers. They tell us we look pretty damn good for having run over 47 miles. Thanks. We feel... as good as can be expected? We actually had made pretty good time the last loop, and I was "mostly" confident that as long as we jogged at least half of the last section that we would be able to finish in the time limit. Up stupid gigantic hill, down steep single track. The sun is FINALLY behind a cloud (gee, thanks) and the diminished blinding sun helps a bit. I finally start to think... holy shit. I am going to ACTUALLY RUN 50 MILES. L is ahead of me and I make sure to tell her that I have nothing left and ask her to make sure not to leave me in the dust so we can cross together. I see the street and sorta tear up. OMG.

We feel like we are running really fast. We can hear the announcer (yay, there are still PEOPLE AT THE FINISH LINE!!) We jokingly ask the last course volunteer if there is a shortcut... no, not if we want to run the full 50. Fine. Around the boat ramp, through the lot... and thanks to L's boyfriend, here is a video of us "running" to the finish:

Loop 4 - 3:27:23

Official Time - 11:52:20
Overall Place - 53/80 (Only 54 finishers, 26 DNF)
Division Place - 13/14 (Includes DNFs)
Gender Place - 16/22 (Includes DNFs)
Lap 1- 2:33:43
Lap 2 - 2:50:21
Lap 3 - 3:00:45
Lap 4 - 3:27:23

I hit the lap button on my iPhone. Collected my GINORMOUS medal. All while making the comment... "I may never run again." I was psyched to see that there was still BEER!!! The guy gave me two :) I had J take a finish line picture of me and L:

Yep. I can SMILE when I am done running FIFTY. FREAKING. MILES.

So. What are my thoughts? Well. This was by FAR the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Even while I was running, the thought of actually RUNNING 50 miles seemed impossible. I don't know if I just never thought I would be able to do it. I don't know if I thought that if I just tackled a little bit at a time that I "might" do it. But we did it. We finished with 7:40 to spare for an official time. There was still one runner behind us, and she is still listed in the results and got a medal, even though she finished almost 15 minutes after the cutoff. 100 people were originally registered. Only 80 started. And only 54 finished. I think that makes me pretty damn awesome.

The volunteers on this course were AMAZING. Always running to meet us to ask if we needed anything, always being supportive. Definitely couldn't have done so well without them! And the course itself? I'll admit, tough, but pretty amazing. I might be back next year... but maybe just for the 50k...

I recognized someone I friended off Facebook, and we chatted for a few minutes before we headed off to pick up the kids.

FYI. I can barely move. But I promise... I'll be running again. Soon.