A marathon, a triathlon, and a half marathon all walk into a bar...

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned. It has been three events since my last blogging.

On May 30, I completed my 11th marathon, the Jordan River Marathon. This race was a big deal, because it was Jamie's last race to qualify for the Marathon Maniacs (which she did, in spectacular style, with cookies and everything).

Remember how the Ogden Marathon was so cold and wet? Well, this one was just the opposite. It was so hot for this race. By the first aid station, I was already pouring water over my head and dreading mid-day's arrival.

It may have been warm, but what a sunrise!

It was a pretty run along the river. I don't really run there much so it was nice to see some new scenery. The course was an out and back course, which I really didn't mind. The race was small enough that I was actually looking forward to seeing the other, faster runners on their way back. Plus, I got to go through my favorite aid station twice! I was happy to see that the aid station had Coca-Cola and ice. It was a little slice of heaven on a long hot run.

Not the worst place to be running.

For quite a while, I was pretty sure that I was in last place but it turned out that I beat 7 other people somehow... I really wasn't concerned about my pace, since I knew I had to run more after to get my 31 miles for the day. The only thing I didn't like was at the end, when I was very overheated and ready to be done, I still had to go past the finish arch and do a lap around the parking lot before I could be done. That was rough.

Commiserating with Jamie about the heat and having to go around again before I could be done.

FINALLY coming into the finish.

At the end of the race, we got free waffles from a very tasty waffle truck and then we were handed lots of extra stuff, hats, bananas, Dr. Pepper. We walked away with a nice haul of goodies, along with the sense of badassery that comes from completing a tough run.

Sassy, classy marathon ladies. 

The next weekend was our family triathlon, the Daybreak Triathlon, out in South Jordan. My brother, Alex, was our swimmer and my other brother, Jason, was our cyclist. We opted to tackle the Olympic distance and see how it went.

We got there with plenty of time to get marked and set up in the transition area. The lake looked nice and calm, but the dark clouds were ominous.

Getting ready to get in the water. Whee!

The skies did open up while the swimmers were in the water, but thankfully the rain had stopped by the time Alex was done and Jason needed to take off on the bike.

Swim! Swim for your life!

So happy to be done with the 1500 meter swim.

We switched the ankle timer and Jason took off!

 We got through the transition pretty smoothly and then set to work getting Alex peeled out of his wet suit. He started coughing up blood, which didn't seem like a good thing, so he went over to the paramedics. It turns out that he had gotten swimming induced pulmonary edema because the wet suit constricted his chest too much. They told him what to watch for and if it got worse, he would need to go to the hospital. Thankfully, it cleared up quickly and he's fine now.

I got all prepped and ready to run when Jason got back from the bike portion. The ride was supposed to be 26 miles, but his Garmin only showed close to 20... He followed the route perfectly and didn't miss any turns, so we don't quite know how it was so far off.

And he's back, time to switch the ankle timer and run!

It had actually warmed up considerably by the time Jason had finished, So I knew I would be running conservatively. Heat is my downfall. So I just set myself on cruise control and just focused on moving steady and keeping my heart rate from spiking too high.

Starting the first lap of the run. 

Because we had signed up for the Olympic distance, I had to do two laps around the lake to get the mileage in. It was supposed to be 6.2 miles, but the course was half a mile longer than that. I was pleased to see that my pace was dead on for the distance though. It's always satisfying when I can stick to a plan.

Finishing and happy to be done with another hot run.

Swim! Bike! Run!

It was another good experience for Team T-Rex and we're looking forward to doing more in the future. Alex is also thinking of doing some longer swim-only races, while Jason just registered for his first 60 mile bike event. It's safe to say, we're enjoying our chosen sports.

And lastly, yesterday, I completed my 65th half marathon, the Utah Valley half. I had done this one last year and enjoyed it, so why not again? It was a good last longish run before my 50 mile race next weekend. The best part of the race itself was the Boy Scout aid station. Those boy scouts put out quite a spread! There was a whole dutch oven meal if you wanted it. Since I've been training my body to eat during long runs, I've been getting so hungry during races. I was more than happy to grab up some dutch oven potatoes with bacon to help fuel me through the rest of the race.

I was also excited to meet two of my Daily Mile friends in real life, Jill and Wade. It's been so fun to meet more and more running friends through racing. We all had a good time yesterday and are looking forward to hanging out at more events.

I like running. Running is my favorite. 

Their slogan is 100% correct. 

So there you have it. Now I can fully concentrate of freaking out about the 50 miles I'm supposed to live through this coming Saturday. I've scheduled my massage, planned my drop bags, and had a couple of minor meltdowns, so I guess that means I'm as ready as I'll ever be? I'm really mostly worried about finishing in the time limit. I've pretty much figured out that I can go the distance, it's just a question of how long that will take me... And that's why timed events are my new favorite thing. Anyway, look forward to a detailed report of hopefully epic proportions in the near future.

Until then, happy running!

Ogden Marathon Race Recap

It was a pleasant enough evening when I arrived in Ogden to pick up my race packet. There was even some sunshine, trying to convince us that perhaps the day to come would be pleasant as well. Silly, silly, sunshine. I didn't believe your lies.

When I awoke Saturday morning, the weather was still deceiving. It was almost warm as I got on the bus to head to the start line.

I could see the dark clouds massing, but I continued to pretend that they meant nothing.

I quickly found Jamie at the start and got comfy by the fire. Everything was still pleasant. We could see the sun come up and if we faced east, we could pretend that those pink hues and blue skies were going to stick around.

Sunshine! Photo courtesy of Jamie Eckles.

Little did we know that that was the last sunshine we would see until Sunday. We lined up and the countdown began. As we crossed the start line, the rain started to trickle down. Just a bit of a drizzle at first, not enough to make me doubt any of my gear choices.

I thought my jacket was much more rain proof than it was. Oops. I thought that tights would be good to keep my legs warm. Oops. I thought my gloves would help. Oops. I packed a clean, dry shirt and some arm sleeves in a ziplock bag in my hydration pack. That was smart. Too bad I got to the point where I didn't dare take off my pack because it was keeping my back dry and slightly warm.

The rain went from drizzle to a steady downpour before I was even to the first aid station. I was thoroughly soaked by mile 5. My jacket was clinging to my freezing, wet arms. My tights just held the cold rain to my freezing, wet legs. My feet were getting pruney and it felt weird to run on them. I was still moving along at a decent pace though, mostly to try and keep my body temperature up.

How I was feeling by the second hour.

I was starting to feel pretty miserable by mile 8 and was happy to take a bathroom break, if only to get out of the rain for just a couple of minutes. But a couple of minutes of inactivity made me very cold. Trying to get some of my warmth back was proving to be difficult. I was starting to wonder if I was going to make it through the race. I began to entertain ideas of dropping out of the race. That seemed preferable to ending up in the hospital and all... But if you drop out, you don't get a medal. So I started scanning the sides of the road for any discarded items that I could use to keep the rain off. At mile 11.5, I lucked out and came across a Mylar blanket, lying there in a heap, but shining like a beacon of hope. I grabbed it up, shook it off and wrapped my shivering body in its heavenly embrace.

The trouble is, it's difficult to run and keep all wrapped up in a flimsy sheet that the wind keeps trying to rip from your fragile frame. So I developed quite a back ache from the way I had to run to try and keep dry. My legs were numb, but the muscles felt alright, so I pushed on.

It was so much wetter than it looks.

I tried to take some pictures along the way. The trouble with a touch screen phone is that pickled, pruney fingers cannot operate it. It took ages to get the screen unlocked and snap a couple of shots.

But I just had to have a picture of the sneaky T-Rex lurking behind the fence.

I was actually on track to beat last year's time on this course, but something in me snapped around mile 23. I just lost my will. The rain and cold had beaten it out of me. So the trudging began. I walked and walked and walked some more, constantly adjusting the Mylar blanket around me. I would only run when I started to shiver. The time and the miles crept by but I finally made it around the corner to the finish mile. I picked up the pace as much as I could. I just couldn't wait to be done and get warm and dry. It felt like I would never be warm again...

I'll never let go, Mylar. I'll never let go.

I refused to take my blanket off as I came into the finish. There was no way I was letting it go until I was well and truly done with the race.

Whoosh!

As soon as I stopped running, I just wanted to get out of everything wet. But I had to trek across sopping wet grass that was so saturated, every step brought a new flood of water into my already soaked shoes. I grabbed up my drop bag that had my hoodie and sweat pants in it, thankfully, they were mostly dry. My mom and I headed over to Rovali's, which is one of my all time favorite places to eat. And thankfully, they have a large restroom that made it convenient for me to stumble around whilst trying to pry myself out of my wet tights. I eventually got all the wetness off of me and the dry clothes on. When I made it back to the table, my mom had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for me. Finally, the day was looking up.

As my feet started to dry out and the blisters that I hadn't realized were there made themselves known. I got sharp pains springing up all over the ball of my left foot. Because my feet had gotten so wet and wrinkly, blisters had formed between the wrinkles. It was weird looking and awful feeling. I should have taken a picture for posterity... Oh well. But at least I was getting some warm, amazing food in my body and I wasn't getting wet anymore.

Marathon #10 was tough, but worth it.

So there you have it. I survived. Apparently, there were a lot of people that dropped out of the race. But I have no idea how many because they didn't list the DNFs in the race results. I managed to finish only 7 minutes slower than last year's time, which isn't too terrible, considering. I will have to go back next year to see what I can really do on this course, since last year is when my pants split at mile 10, leaving me with raw, bloody thighs by the end, and this year was a battle against hypothermia. Let's all hope we get ideal conditions for next year's race, mmmkay?

I get a week off from racing this weekend, and then it's the Jordan River marathon with some bonus miles afterwards to make my last long run before the 50 miler in June (which I'm having minor meltdowns about every so often). My training has really been going well though, so let's hope that means something.

Until next time, happy running!

New Half Marathoners and Dinosaurs.

May has more than a few races in it, so y'all will be getting bombarded by race reports for a bit, mmmkay? Just over a week ago was the Provo City Half Marathon, which was also the first half marathon for a couple of friends of mine, Russell and Matt. 

The day went perfectly well for everyone involved. The weather was lovely; the course was pleasant. My friends finished strong (and beat me, of course). I did run well, though, finishing with my fastest time for a half marathon this year. With smiles on our faces and medals around our necks, we were able to watch the rest of the runners come through and the kids race. It's always so fun to watch those little kids run like crazy to the finish line. After a nice recovery lunch, everyone thinks it's a grand idea to run some more of these races. 

Half marathon #63 was a good one.

Yesterday was one of my most favorite races, the Dino Half marathon. It didn't take much convincing to get my friend Jamie to come down to run this one with me. In my excitement for the race, and with the weather always being cooperative before, I hadn't really bothered to check the forecast. It was a good thing Jamie informed me of the rainy weather prediction for the weekend before we headed out so that I could throw some rain gear in my suitcase. 

It was a pleasant drive down over to Vernal and since packet pick up was at our hotel, the whole evening was very convenient. We perused the Vernal dining guide and chose the Quarry Brew Pub for dinner. It was a good choice for a pre-race meal. Getting in to the restaurant involved dodging giant raindrops and cowering from the booming thunder and lightning. That did not give us good feelings for race morning. We obsessively checked the weather reports all night and then first thing in the morning. 

As it turns out, the weather gods decided to be somewhat merciful. The worst of it passed during the night, and left wet conditions behind.

Snowy peaks awaited.

It was a chilly morning, and there was some mist that fell on us as we began the race. 

Not far from the snow.

Heading to the start line, mist falling.

Just before the start, I decided that my plan would be to stay with the 2:40 pace group, since my finish time for this race is usually between 2:37 and 2:42. I didn't want to let myself get too caught up in the downhill of the race. Having a marathon this coming weekend means I should try to be a little conservative or something, right? Sticking with the 2:40 pacers was a good choice. Matt and Cevan made the miles fly by and it was nice to get to run with company. I even got to hold the pacing sign, and I have to say, I kind of enjoyed that part. I should look into pacing some races in my future. 

Having a pace party! Photo credit Cevan Skinner.

The skies stayed cloudy, but the temperatures stayed down and made for a nice race overall. For some reason, around mile 11, I had to let the pace party go on without me. It was like I got hit with a wave of fatigue and it took me a bit to recover from it. I could always see the pacers just ahead of me, so I knew I wouldn't be too far off the finish time I had planned on. I felt a little bit stronger and narrowed the gap just before mile 13 and came into the finish at 2:40:18. 

Running to my ever patient pacers.

 A solid finish line hug and medal bestowing, 

My mom drove down Saturday morning to see me finish and to hang out for some post race adventures. We snapped some sassy finish line pictures with Mr. Mittens, the T-Rex. 

We are loving this whole running thing.

Sweet victory and dinosaurs. 

The medal this year was a T-Rex, so it seemed appropriate for Mr. Mittens to join in the festivities. He was very popular and well received at the finish line. 

Meant to be.

You guys, dinosaurs are my favorite. FAVORITE.

Obviously, I adore this race. You can tell from the copious amount of photos. I was so pleased with the way it all played out, from the weather working out, to the finish time being what I was shooting for, to spending time with friends and family. I will run this race every year that it exists, which better be as long as I exist. 

Stay tuned for the next race report, which will hopefully recap an amazing finish at the Ogden Marathon. Until next time, happy running!

A good half and a great ultra.

It's race recap time again, cats and kittens! First of all, I ran the Salt Lake Half Marathon as half number 62 of my illustrious running career. I ran it last year and enjoyed it so I thought why not do it again? This year, there was nothing wrong with the race, I just made the silly decision to ride the train up to the packet pick up. This would not have been a problem if I hadn't missed my connecting Trax train. Oops. So all in all, a trip that would have been around 2.5 hours round trip ended up taking over 4 hours. I was not in a good mood at all by the time I got home. I was cursing the race and not feeling excited about waking up before the butt-crack of dawn to drive an hour and run. I should have known that the race was going to be great. Seriously, if I have stress and anxiety before a race, I tend to do pretty well.

I got up to Salt Lake nice and easy; there's no traffic at 4 a.m. I found a sweet parking spot 2 blocks from the finish line, caught the train to the start, and found a few of my friends at the start line. I was especially happy to see Jamie at the start, she was running the full marathon. We both had on a delightful array of Ink n' Burn and were happy to get on our way as the huge mass of people slowly made its way across the start line.

The only picture I took during the race. My best friend got married here, plus the sphinxes are neat.

The course starts out uphill, so it's easy to keep from going out too fast. I really just cruised through the race, feeling pretty nice the whole time. I was glad that I had cut back some of my training miles during the week leading up to the race. I wasn't planning on tapering but it really paid off. I was able to run this course 13 minutes faster than last year. Woooooo!

The medal is also a belt buckle.

I was happy this race went so well, it left me feeling confident about my 50K, the Snake River Island Hop, the coming weekend. I took off from work a little early on Thursday and my crew (my mom) and I headed up to Twin Falls, Idaho. We had dinner and I passed out pretty early. It had been a long day and I was full of chicken wings. Mmmmm.  Heading out of Twin Falls, the sky was overcast and it really made for a beautiful day of driving. There were a lot of animals out in the cooler weather. I saw a badger and quite a few pronghorn antelope.

Some gorgeous scenery on the drive.

We finally rolled into Pasco, Washington and I was excited to go see where I would be running. So we made our way over to the Ice Harbor Dam trail head to check out the trail.

The glorious Ice Harbor Dam.

After we checked out the area and got sufficiently stoked to be running the next day, we headed out the to RD's house to pick up my packet. Shir lives in a gorgeous area and it was such a nice drive out there. I didn't realize that Washington had such beautiful vineyards.

We made it back to the hotel and had some dinner. I kept my carb loading simple with a salad and a personal sized pizza. I spent the rest of the night foam rolling my legs. The car ride stiffened me up pretty well so I knew it was a necessary pain. I managed to get to bed perfectly on time and even slept really soundly. When my alarm went off, I was well rested and ready to run.

A gorgeous sunrise greeted us. 

There were pelicans flying over the river, which basically made my day. It was a very peaceful setting and it really helped to calm my nerves. 6:30 a.m. rolled around and we were off!

The scenery was so lovely. The rocks we ran on, not so much...

The field thinned out fairly quickly. I just settled in to a pace that was doable on the terrain. The terrain happened to be big gravel. It wasn't so bad at first but after the first hour, I was really starting to wish for some change in footing. I was also starving by the time I got to the first aid station at mile 4.5. My stomach was actually growling. So I spent far too long at the aid station, stuffing my face with potatoes. They were the potatoes of angels.

I loved this part. Having the water on both sides of the trail was fun.

It stayed overcast and the temperature cooperated better than I could have hoped for. I never got overheated, like in my last 50K. Heat is my nemesis. I kept a mantra going in my head to run smooth and easy. Every time I started feeling tired or frustrated with the gravel, I would remind myself to run smooth, run easy. That really helped. I also enjoyed Jason, a wonderful volunteer who was going up and down the course, taking time to run a bit with each of the runners. It was great to have some company in this small race. Don't get me wrong, I loved the size of the race. But a friendly face and some chatting helps lift tired spirits.

Lots of fun things to see along the course.

At the turn around point, I knew I had to do some blister control. I had packed my Trail Toes and extra socks into my drop bag, so I had what I needed to avert a crisis. There was a super helpful volunteer who took off my shoes for me. I never expected such service! It was seriously great to have so much help when I was feeling a bit beat up. I got the hot spots managed, and decided that a clean, dry shirt would also feel like heaven right about then, and I was right. I had the foresight to put an extra shirt in my drop bag too. I ate even more potatoes and then headed back down the trail.

I kept a decent pace for how bad my feet were feeling. I knew I could get the sub 8 hour time I was hoping for. I also know that I spend too long at the aid stations. That's something I really need to work on. But when there's delicious ham and bean soup at mile 18.5, you just have to stop and enjoy it! That soup may have saved my life. I think I let my electrolyte balance get off, and the salt in the soup made me feel like a million bucks. And all of the volunteers at the aid stations were so friendly and helpful. Besides the scenery, they were my favorite part of the race. When I only had 4.5 miles to go, the last aid station even had some lovely, cold, Coca-Cola for me. It was the Coke of angels.

I was pleased that I didn't have any rock bottom moments during this race. It was such a difference from my first 50K. With this being my fourth official ultra, and my 8th time running over the marathon distance, I felt like I was finally getting the hang of this. I have been putting so much of my time into training. It's been frustrating at times, extremely frustrating. But days where it all comes together let me know that it's been worth it.

Coming down the home stretch.

Look at that! Isn't that a pretty place to finish? I was glad to be almost done and I was surprised that my legs still had some pep in them. My feet were miserable, but my legs were okay! That is, until I decided that I would do a little leap at the finish line.

Right before the cramp of doom.

As I launched into my leap, the calf muscle of the leg on the ground there decided to cramp so hard that I couldn't even stand on that leg. Which made for an awkward and slightly embarrassing stumbling around dancing moment. Once I managed to right myself and not fall on my face, I received my lovely medal. I have an affinity for maps and the medal didn't disappoint.

We also got a cool bottle with a map of the area on it. Did I mention that I love maps?

All in all, it was a great race experience. My official finish time was 7:51:00, which is about an hour and twenty minutes faster than my first 50K. The gravel challenged me but didn't bring me down. I love getting a chance to run somewhere new, and the Snake River on the Columbia Plateau doesn't disappoint. If anyone is interested, the gear I used is as follows: Hoka Mafate trail shoes, Dirty Girl gaiters, Asics socks, Trail Toes for anti-chafing and blister prevention, Ink n Burn capris and short sleeve tech shirts, Nathan hydration pack, Tailwind (caffeinated raspberry flavor), and Honey Stingers gels and chews.

Even with such a successful effort, I'm still nervous about my first 50 miler coming up in June. I know that I can do the distance, I just don't know how long it's going to take me... I have 14 hours to finish. What I need to focus on will be not lingering at the aid stations. That could save me over an hour in a race that long. Anywho, stay tuned for the epic month of racing that May will bring. Until next time, happy running!

Pickled Feet Ultra Report

The Pickled Feet 12 hour race was something else. I alternately enjoyed and despised it throughout the day. The despisement (I don't care that that isn't a word. Y'all should know by now that I make words up all the time in the name of bloggy goodness) has nothing to do with the race itself, the organizers, or the location. Those things were all quite wonderful. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

We (we is me and my mom, in case you were wondering) drove up to Meridian, Idaho the Friday before the race. It was a beautiful day to be road tripping. We had a nice, uneventful drive and checked into the hotel. I was thankful to find such comfortable beds there, since I knew I would need some comforting after 12 hours of running. We headed over to Eagle Island State Park to check out the scene and do a little setting up while there was still daylight. I was pleasantly surprised by the park. I had seen pictures of it online, but they really didn't do it justice. There were nice grassy areas, ponds, and rivers.

Some creepy cool old barns along the course.

The aid station was set up right by the bathrooms that had running water. I love running water, you guys. I was able to check in that night instead of having to do it in the morning, as well as set up my pop up canopy, which allowed me to sleep in a bit more on Saturday morning. We watched some of the runners that were participating in the 100 mile, 24, and 48 hour events, then we headed off to get some dinner.

The start/finish/aid area.

I was feeling so optimistic when we left the park. The weather forecast was showing partly cloudy skies with a high in the low 60's. How could it get any better?! We had dinner and settled into bed. I managed to get a fairly decent night's sleep. I'm slowly getting better at sleeping the night before a big race. That's a big deal. I don't think I even had the standard pre-race nightmare of missing my alarm.

We got to the park at 5 a.m. to finish setting out the things that I would need throughout the day. I had overdressed and ended up changing into short sleeves after we'd been there for just a few minutes. The sky was solid clouds and there was a warm breeze blowing. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but I should have. I attended the pre-race briefing and lined up with my fellow competitors. At 6 a.m., we were off, running through the darkness. The line thinned out fairly quickly and I just did my thing. The first hour was pretty uneventful. I finished my first two laps right about when I had expected to. It seemed a bit warm, but that would change and quickly.

While I was out on my third lap, the weather turned nasty. In another race report I read, it was described as "biblical" and I think that's the perfect way to describe it. All of the sudden, there was a shift in the wind, it got freezing cold, and rain started to fall. The wind then picked up and starting tearing off tree branches and kicking up dirt. I had gritty eyes and a sad face by the time I had made it around to the end of the lap. The sight that greeted me there was one of pure destruction. All of the tents that had been set up along the course were obliterated. My own pop up had been bent all out of shape and was laying on the ground in a heap. All of the things that I had brought, changes of clothes, shoes, snacks, chairs, everything was scattered around the ground. So of course, I had to do something about that. My mom had gone back to the hotel because I didn't figure I would need much support for the first half of the race.A very nice man who was crewing for another runner helped me clean everything up. When he realized that I was a runner and not a crew member, he told me to just go back out on the course and he would take care of the rest of it. I wish I could remember what his name was, he was so kind.

I enjoyed having the option of switching up the directions throughout the day.

So I grabbed my jacket and buff and headed back out onto the course. The problem was, that in stopping to clean things up, I had gotten very cold and wet. The jacket and buff helped somewhat, but I just seemed to keep getting colder. By the fifth hour, I started shaking so hard that it was difficult to stand. I ended up in the aid station under the heaters for about 20 minutes. I got some warm food and that helped too. I didn't end up taking my jacket off until hour 7. At that point, everything I was wearing was wet and cold. So I changed into my long sleeved tech shirt and then things were a little more comfortable.

Being very sad about the destruction. Also, way puffy and swollen looking. I was having a rough day.

Things got a little better for awhile. The sun was out and there were some new faces on the course because the 6 hour race started at noon. Although, seeing all the fresh, chipper faces kind of made me want to throw rocks at them because I was not feeling fresh and chipper myself. Every runner was very nice and it was fun to see them throughout the day. By hour 9, I was just power walking the laps. I couldn't really get the running thing to work very well. My hips did protest too much. But after walking a few laps, I was able to throw in some bits of running here and there, The important thing was to just keep moving. And that's what I did. I did my best to just keep on keeping on.

I don't know what I was thinking, okay?!

That about sums it up.

I was so happy when just before hour 11, they opened up the short loop so that we could bust out some easier laps and try to get the mileage up. I was feeling a bit better by this point (I had fueled up pretty well around hour 10 and that helped my mood considerably) and ran some pretty decent paced laps of the short loop. Then I walked some, ran some more, walked some more, and just kept trudging along until the last minutes of the race. I finished my last lap at 11:56:48 and I knew I would most likely not get one more lap in with that little time left. So that was that. My Garmin showed a distance of 40.32 miles, longer than the lap count of 39.20. But that makes sense with all the extra back and forth that happened going to the restrooms, aid heaters, etc.

A happy finish.

The race organizers had a post race dinner all cooked up for us when we were done. There was a lot of good food that I couldn't force my body to eat. I guess it wasn't feeling too hot after the day it had just had. I did manage to get some down and then it was time for the awards ceremony. I think this was my favorite part of the whole day. Every single runner of every single event was recognized by the race director. She personally handed out all the awards, which were very cool wooden plaques.

I love everything about this swag.

 I have never been recognized in a race before, since I never win or place. It was kind of magical. I ended up placing 19th out of 33 participants in the 12 hour race. I was really exited about that. It was better than I had thought it would be. And I was 7th place out of 17 women, something I did not expect at all. I get so down on myself for being a slower runner. But when it comes to stubbornly plodding along, I actually do alright. I'm really loving these timed events more and more each time I do one. I didn't hit my goal of 50 miles for the day, but that's alright. I really feel like I did the best that I could do for that day and I can be satisfied with that. Besides, I have a 50 miler in June that will get that distance checked off my list. I would love to do this event again next year, and I'm even contemplating entering the 48 hour option. Why not, since I'm giving the 48 hour a go at the Jackpot next February. I don't have a life anyway, so why not spend all my time training and running?!

Until next time, happy running!