It. Is. Time.

I think it's finally time, cats and kittens. Time to talk about what happened to me during the Javelina Jundred. Here's a picture of a javelina to get you in the mood.

The babies! I die from their cuteness. 

The day is October 30, 2015. I arrive in sunny Fountain Hills, Arizona to await my fate on the Pemberton trail system of the McDowell Mountain Resort.

A thoroughly marked course means I didn't get lost. Hooray!

We went out to the race start/finish to check out the area and get a feel for the place. This trip to the venue the night before was also to (hopefully) allay my fears for the coming day. Spoiler alert: it did nothing of the sort.

Oh good. This looks promising.

While the desert was stunning, what with the giant saguaros looming over their domain, it did not quiet the screaming in the back of my mind.

Me. In my mind.

I tried to focus on the beauty of my surroundings and not the fact that I would be spending 61.2 miles in the desolate desert. 

This is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife. How did I get here?!

My face in the picture above conveys the cluelessness and confusion that comes with realizing that I  paid money to be here and do this. 

I only had to do 4 laps, not 7 like those suckers in the hundred miler. Pictured with the lap signs is a former Javelina participant. 

After sufficiently exploring the area and doing nothing to calm my nerves about the adventure of the next day, we headed back to the hotel. We decided to just have dinner at the restaurant that was connected to the hotel. It was a wise choice. They had a most delightful beef stroganoff. I made sure to finish off dinner with an ice cream sundae. For all I knew, it was my last meal and I was going to make the most of it. 

Despite all of my expectations, I slept fairly soundly and didn't have any pre-race nightmares. I had meticulously arranged my gear for the morning and just had to focus on getting dressed and eating breakfast. In this case, breakfast was two strawberry Poptarts. I'm pretty sure those are the breakfast of champions, or something.

Yeah, that's totally a breakfast that champions eat. I mean, look at those sprinkley bits! 

I made it to the shuttle bus without incident and we headed off to the start, Javelina Jeadquarters. I noticed that Mirna of Fat Girl Running was on my bus. I geeked out a bit, because I love her blog. I didn't dare say anything to her then, I waited until we were lined up at the starting line. Because by that point, I was so freaked out, I couldn't even string together coherent sentences. It was the perfect time to try and and talk to someone I admire. 

The desert sunrise is worth waking up for. And then going back to bed instead of running 100K. That would have been the wise thing to do.

Anywho, the countdown went way too quickly and the race began. What I love about these longer distances, is the way that everyone starts out at a nice leisurely pace, e.g. walking. We're going to be out there for a long freaking time! Better take it easy, amiright?!

That pretty much sums up my ultra running strategy. 

The course at Javelina is a 15.3 mile loop. This is important, so remember it. There may be a quiz at the end. After leaving Jeadquarters, we came to our first aid station at only 2 miles in. Hmmm. This seems like odd placement for an aid station, I thought to myself. This theme of odd aid station placement would plague me throughout the run. 

Pffffffft. That's not even that far. I'LL BE FINE.

On that first lap, 6.5 miles didn't even seem that bad. But trust me, it got progressively farther as each lap progressed. But I digress. The first lap was actually quite pleasant. I tried to just soak up the scenery, take pictures, and chat with other runners. 

Hey look! Scenery! 

It was seriously pretty out there. So here's a bunch of pictures to prove my point. 

Whoa, that's some scenery! 

Holy cow! Would you look at that!

And here I am, in the scenery!

Okay, that there? That's just cool.

Lap one went as planned. I completed it in about four and a half hours. I wasn't breaking any land speed records, but I was on track for the 18 hour finish that had been predicted for my by Ultra Signup. 

I fueled up at Jeadquarters and while there was helped by a very nice gentleman. He filled my pack with ice water and even offered me some ice for my bra. In the Arizona heat during an ultramarathon, that's not even weird. It's quite welcome.

So I headed out for my second lap, all iced up and ready for action. Or so I thought. It was getting pretty darn warm out there. And all the ice in the world couldn't change that. I had to slow my pace dramatically in order to avoid heat stroke. At least I had the good sense to do so. I heard that others were not so sensible. 

Seriously.

I was really starting to dislike the heat, however, and by the time I rolled into Jeadquarters for the second time, I was mostly looking like death.

Artist's rendition of me at the end of lap 2.

The heat had been making it difficult for me to stay on top of my nutrition. Basically, that means that I hadn't been eating enough. And that equals bonking, big time. At least there was a friendly face to greet me when I came in from lap 2. Turd'l (of the Capitol Reef 50K DNF  debacle) was there and gave me an encouraging pep talk.

I made myself eat some pizza at Jeadquarters. It was the pizza of angels. I drank an enormous amount of Coke. It was the Coke of angels. I refilled my pack with, you guessed it, the ice of angels. Once I had been fortified by the foods of the heavenly host, I felt much better about heading out for my third lap. Extra bonus, lap three is where the sun went down! Woot! 

Here's where things get crazy, y'all. My third lap was absolutely incredible. "How can it be incredible when you've already gone 31 miles?!" you ask. The answer is: I have no friggin' idea. But it was! The temperature went down and my pep level went sky high. Pep, guys. I was irritatingly cheerful. I was totally stoked about the rattle snake that was crossing the trail in front of me. (It was far enough away I was in no danger, but a dude coming the other way was having a bit of a fit about it.) We let the snake pass and kept on keeping on. 

They're really kind of beautiful... When they're far enough away not to bite you.

That was pretty much the only wildlife encounter that I had. Unless we count the coyotes that I heard howling as the moon came up. Which I thought was pretty incredible. The moon was rising at the same time as Orion was, the coyotes were whooping it up. And everything was the most magical that it could possibly be. Until mile 42,

Mile 42. The place where the magic ended and the pain took hold in a vicious, unrelenting vice grip. Here's what happened. The trail had some seriously rocky sections. Rocky sections equal ankle tweaking, right? Right. So after a that many miles of slightly tweaking my right ankle, an injury occurred. 

My ankle, and more specifically, my Achilles' tendon had begun to swell, pushing against my shoe in a most uncomfortable manner. It slowed my pace to a crawl, almost literally. The only reason that I didn't actually resort to crawling was the numerous cacti along the course. Those spiny bastards will get you. They don't mess around. 

Yeah, we don't mess around!

I hobble into Jeadquarters to find my mom waiting for me. She can tell I'm not doing so hot. But she also knows better than to try and talk me into quitting. I sat with her awhile, eating Ramen noodles, which were basically the only thing that I could get down any more. I tried to eat some more pizza at the end of lap three, but two bites in I knew that was NOT going to be okay.

This NEEDS to be my new ultra running hat.

I spent far too long trying to psych myself up to head out for that last lap. Another 15.3 miles wouldn't be too bad, if I could walk as well as a teetering toddler. Alas, my walk was not nearly so graceful and quick as that. I came up with a mantra while I was slurping down those Ramen noodles. "I didn't come here to quit." And I hadn't! I didn't spend two days in drive time, all the money on gas, hotel, and race entry, and I didn't spend my entire year training just so I could quit. The time limit for the 100K is 29 hours. I could make it. 

I said my farewells, and slowly hobbled back out onto the course for my fourth and final lap. I knew that the 18 hour goal was not going to happen. Not. At. All. It was 17 hours and change when I headed out on that last lap. I desperately wanted to beat the sunrise. So I adopted this really awkward shuffle that I would do off and on. It at least made me feel like I was moving along slightly faster than a lame sloth. 

And then, my watch died. This is where things got to be the worst. I had nothing to tell me how far I had gone, how fast I had gone. How long until the next aid station?! I'll never know! It's dark. All the cactus look the same in the dark, in case you were wondering. They're lousy at helping you get your bearings in the middle of the night, in the desert of Arizona. I was probably clocking 25-30 minute miles at this point. Every uneven step that I took with my right foot sent agonizing pain shooting up my leg. 

I thought I would never reach Jackass Junction, the aid station halfway through the loop. I kept asking passing runners how far it was and not getting the answers I was hoping for. When I finally made it, I wasn't sure I was ever going to leave. They had a warming tent and grilled cheese sandwiches. Do you know how amazing a grilled cheese sandwich is in the wee hours of the morning on a cold desert night? It's downright mind blowing.

I am the sandwich of your salvation.

I eventually pried myself from the bench I had been occupying and continued to hobble my way down the trail. The runners that I did see were all very encouraging and friendly. They could tell I wasn't doing well and most asked if there was anything that they could do. Runners look out for each other, and that's pretty great.

In the middle of the desert, running an ultra.

After I was a couple of miles out of Jackass, I couldn't take the pressure on my ankle any more. I began to look for, what I decided to call them, sitting rocks. Rocks that were just enough off of the ground and flat enough to sit on. I would do a thorough snake and scorpion check before lowering myself down onto each sitting rock I found. I spent many a minute sitting on rocks during that last lap. I knew that sitting every couple of minutes wouldn't get me to the finish any faster, but I was too tired and hurt to care. 

I knew if I could just make it to the Coyote Camp aid station, the finish would only be two miles away (at the rate I was going, that was still another hour, but hey). It took an eternity to get there. I could see Coyote Camp gleaming in the distance, mocking me with their ever receding lights. I swear, it kept getting farther away the more I moved toward it. 

An awful thing happened as I finally trudged my way into Coyote. The sun came up. I wasn't supposed to see the second sunrise! I was supposed to be snuggled in my comfy hotel bed when the sun came up again, with my belt buckle of victory resting on the nightstand. But nooooooooo. I had been out there long enough that the earth had made a full rotation around the sun. WTF.

I was now a meager two miles from the finish line. I spent those two miles intermittently sobbing. And I mean sobbing. It wasn't some gentle tears running down my cheeks. It was full blown, chest heaving, noise making, sobbing. It really impressed the other runners still out on the trail with me (all but two of whom were running the 100 miler). But I could hear the announcer at Jeadquaters. I was so close! All I had to do was keep moving. 

I gave everything I had to do a limping shuffle jog into the finish, I tried to hide how much it hurt. I don't think I was very successful...

I am in sooooo much pain right now.

I had done it. It was over. 

Please, let me sit down forever and never move again! 

Except for the part where one of the volunteer ladies tried to get me to go out on another lap because she thought I was in the hundred mile race. I told her to check my bib, that I was in the 100k, and to give me my buckle now, please. I wanted that damn buckle so bad. I was pleased to see that it was quite hefty. I would have been a bit sad if it were some flimsy little thing.

The Precious.

It took me 24 hours and 34 minutes to finish this race. The last lap alone took nearly 8 hours. But I did it. I finished. There were 33 people in the 100k who did not finish. And I completely understand it. That course is not to be trifled with. I don't hate it, though. 

The swag was pretty great, you guys. Totally a good reason to do it again.

I would go back and do it again, but only if I could have someone do it with me. The long, lonely stretches in the dark were almost too much to handle. 

This quote sums it up. It was the toughest thing I have done so far in my life, and still I rise. 

There's nothing quite like accomplishing something that you never thought you could. I encourage everyone that reads this (Hi mom!) to go after those things that linger in the back of your mind. The goals and aspirations that hang on, despite your best efforts to subdue them with a "normal" life. The negative thoughts that tell you that you can't. That tell you you're not good enough. Don't listen to them any more. Frances Bacon said "It's all so meaningless, we may as well be extraordinary.". And how can you argue with a man with such a delicious name? 

I'll leave you with that for now, and until next time, happy running!

Another triple race report.

I know you're all wondering, did she survive the Javelina Jundred?! I did, gentle readers. But I am not quite ready to write about my experience yet. It will take a while to process what happened to me out there.

Instead, y'all can read about the three half marathons I completed in the 2 weeks leading up to Javelina. I decided to do another back-to-back race weekend, because why not? So on the slightly misty morning of October 17th, I toed the line for my 70th half marathon at the Lake Powell Half.

We wound through some neighborhoods for the first little bit, but then we turned a corner and saw this sweeping vista. I hadn't ever spent time in Page, Arizona, and I was glad that I remedied that. The town is surrounded by breathtaking scenery.

My favorite part of the course.

We got to see even more of it than the race directors had planned. The lead bike pacer took a wrong turn and we ended up going about a half mile more than we were supposed to. I know this really upset some people, but for me, mileage is mileage and I'll take it.

I hadn't done much research on the course and was pleasantly surprised when we took a turn onto some glorious red dirt single track. I started passing people like crazy in this section. I think of myself as a trail running newbie, but I must be better at it than I think I am. It felt like I was flying through this section while other runners were standing still.

I took a break from flying along the trail to get a runfie.

When the trail section ended, we got to run over the bridge right by the dam. It was pretty dam cool (Get it? Dam? Ha!). 

Dam!

The weather was really nice for the run. There was only a little drizzle around mile 8 and it didn't last long. The clouds enhanced the already stunning scenery. 

Phone cameras can't quite capture the glory of it all.

I was focused on running this race nice and easy, and with the added distance, I finished right around 3 hours. I was happy with it, considering that I was going to do the same thing again the next day.

I had enough energy left to kick it up a notch for the finish.

The shirt and the medal are superb. 

I finished with enough time to make it back to the hotel and shower before we had to check out and start our drive to Moab for the Other Half. As it turns out, it's quite a drive from Page to Moab. So I was good and stiff by the time we got there. I knew the race was going to be tough. It's already a hilly beast of a course, and stiff legs weren't going to help. Oh well.

At least I would be sharing the course with some great running friends. Jamie was there, as well as Jill and her husband, Wade. We goofed around before the start, taking pictures and enjoying the morning. 

Photo credit: Jill Lynch

Jill just told Wade to take his shirt off so that we would smile really big for the picture.

Jamie and I were wearing our Three Amigos outfits and she decided that she would run the whole thing with me, because "Amigos stick together!". I'm glad she did, because I was going to have a tough time. It's such a lovely course, it's nice to go slow and take it all in. 

Enjoying chatting with Jill. Photo credit: Jamie Eckles.

I was having a rough time from the first mile. Jamie and Jill kept me distracted pretty well, though. As much as my stiff legs didn't want to do this run, it was a great day to be out there with friends. 

Amigo pose. Photo courtesy of Jamie Eckles.

The best part of this race is the Taiko drummers that are at the top of the last big climb, around mile 11. This is my fourth year running this race, but it was the first time that I stopped to take pictures of the drummers. After I had snapped a few pictures, one of the ladies brought over a pair of drum sticks and told me to give it a try. I was geeking out. I had always wanted to bang on those big ol' drums. 

Letting us live the dream. Thanks, drummers!

Another drummer handed Jamie some sticks, and we started giving it our all. It was so amazing to get to do this in a race, a truly incredible experience. Being able to do something so cool gave me an instant burst of energy and endorphins. The fatigue I had been dealing with went away for a good mile and we made up a little time. 

I somehow found the energy to make a decent spring to the finish.

We came in right behind the 3 hour pacers, and I was good with that. My finish time for this race has always been within 2 minutes of the three hour mark. 

Good friends, great location, fun times. 

The Other Half never disappoints. The weather is always pleasant, the atmosphere of the race is fun. And the swag is fantastic. 

I love the pint glasses.

Having successfully completed another back-to-back weekend, it was time to start my taper for Javelina. Not that I had been doing all that much running during the week anyway. With the injury from September, working all the time, and trying to have a life, my mileage was way off what it was supposed to be. I decided that I was at the point where I needed to just focus on some cross training and only run for the next half on the schedule. So that's what I did.

The last half that I did was the Haunted Half, in Salt Lake City. I didn't want to like this race, because I spent 3 hours stuck in the car just getting to and from packet pick up. The race wanted me to like it though, and it won. 

The Headless Horseman was there to start the race.

The race started up Emigration Canyon, a place I had never run before. The grade in the canyon is really nice, not too steep. I was feeling very well rested due to not running all week leading up to the race and I was cruising right along. 

I did stop to take a picture of this glorious sky.

I was able to run strong through the entire race, which doesn't happen much for me. The course was a great one to move along at a decent clip. I knew there was a super sweet medal waiting for me at the end, too. I somehow managed to get my fastest finish for a half in 2015. I hadn't finished in the 2:30s all year, so it was exciting to come in at 2:37:54. It's not an overall PR, but I was quite pleased with it. 

Two sweet medals, actually!

What's not to love?!

There you have it. Three half marathons in two weeks. I'll try and get myself pulled together enough to write up my Javelina report soon. 

Until then, happy running!

Two marathons, a half, and a world record.

You heard me, folks, a WORLD RECORD. But we'll get to that in a moment.


First, we get to talk about heat stroke and marathon running. It's not as fun as it sounds. (You are all shocked, I'm sure, because it sounds like a friggin' party.)

It was just like this. Except I'm not a dude. And I never wear shorts. 

It all started on a late September weekend. The race was the Huntsville Marathon. The start time was 9 a.m. NINE A.M. WHAT. The forecast for the day was in the upper 80s to the low 90s depending on what source you're looking at. I am not fast. Y'all know this by now, right? So a 6 hour marathon (standard finish time for me) means that I would be finishing the race at 3 p.m. THREE P.M. WHAT.

When Jamie and I disembarked from the bus at the start line, the sun was already high and hot. We immediately took off our jackets and gloves and began fretting over how much we were going to suffer that day. We weren't the only ones having mild panic attacks as the temperature started climbing. It's good to know that we weren't alone in our freaking out. Jamie's plan was to run like a mad woman down the mountain until the heat stopped her. That was also my plan, and it was not a good plan, ladies and gentlemen.

By the first aid station I was already pouring water all over myself like I was in Flashdance. I was wearing enough bright colored spandex, after all.

This is an accurate representation. For real.

Pouring water over my head gave me sweet relief for a grand total of 2 minutes before I was fairly certain that I was on the brink of death. At least I had the downhill of the canyon to keep me moving along at a relatively decent pace. By mile 15, though, it was all over. The course flattened out and the sun was roasting me alive.  I would run in tiny spurts, telephone pole to telephone pole. And the moment there was any shade, my pace slowed to a crawl so I could stay in the slightly cooler air for as long as possible.

I'll never get over Monte Cristo.

As I was death marching my way along, I happened upon another death marcher and we decided to trudge some of the hot, awful miles together. It turns out that this gentleman had also run the Little Grand Canyon a couple of weeks earlier as well. So we reminisced about the blissful weather of that day as we made our way to the finish. After a couple of miles chatting and walking, I decided to try running again. Let me just say that that little plan of mine didn't last long. I was reduced back to the zombie shuffle in a matter of half a mile. By mile 25, there were some course officials driving around with Creamies. Holy smokes, you guys. I wanted to take ALL the Creamies and bathe in them. They were melting fast enough... But I refrained and simply ate one.

My trudging friend caught back up with me at about 25.5 miles and we just went the rest of the way together. We didn't dare to try and run until we saw the 26 mile marker. Surely, that .2 miles at the end wouldn't kill us, right? So we take off running, the finish line in sight. And I swear, it just kept getting farther away. My trudge buddy turned into Mr. Speedypants and I was pretty sure I was going to puke, then die, then come back alive just to puke again.

He's speeding out of the frame. I am just a statue, by comparison. 

I finally made it across the line. 6:18:something. Really? I hit the half way point by 2;42:something. That last half really took some time. Oh well. I wasn't the last person to cross that line, by a quite a bit. I headed straight to the recovery table to drink copious amounts chocolate milk. Ice cold chocolate milk, chugged as fast as I could get it down. OOPS. I instantly regretted that decision and spent the next 15 minutes lying on the ground trying not to vomit. Because being over heated doesn't mesh well with a belly full of frigid dairy product. Lesson learned.

Marathon #13. The race that tried to kill me. But what a great medal, amiright?!

With a week's worth of recovery, it was time to hit the Jordan River trail for a half marathon. The weather was approximately a billion times better than the previous week. It was a very low key event, meaning I was once again postulating a last place finish. Meh. Somebody has to be last, and my non-existent running ego can take it. I did somehow managed to beat 6 whole people though, so that was exciting. Also, I got a high five from my friend, Devin, who happened to be zipping down the trail on a training run. Shout out to Devin and high fives!

Can I get a woo hoo?!

Jamie and I celebrated our pleasant weather finish with a king size Kit Kat bar and some wild cherry Pepsi. Because we EARNED that shiz, yo.

Double agents celebrate in style.

Now the moment you've all been waiting for. The story of the world record. Buckle up, cats and kittens. This is an epic tale of stress, woe, murderous intentions, and ultimate victory.

Now you're all shivering in antici.......pation.

The Layton Marathon course is the only course in Utah that world records can be set on, due to it's relative flatness. So some crazy kids decided to get some other crazy kids together to break the world record for the number of people tethered together to complete a marathon. I'm a crazy kid, Jamie is a crazy kid, and we knew some other crazy kids, so we all signed up to give it a go.

We were a millipede; we were amazing. 

So this looks like fun, huh?! It sure would have been, if I hadn't been tethered to some awful specimens of human kind. The three ladies tied right in front of me were some of the worst examples of the running community that I have ever encountered. There's nothing quite like listening to three Boston qualifiers bitching about our pace for nearly 8 hours.

Hey, ladies. When you signed up for this, they made it very clear that speed was not a thing we were even going to worry about. We just had to finish. And with 82 people chained together, that was going to take some time. I knew that, and just about everyone else seemed to know that. DID YOU MISS THE MEMO?! By about the half way point, I was gauging the likelihood of being sent to prison if I strangled them each with my length of rope. I could plead insanity, because they were actually driving me insane.

"See? This is enough rope to murder three people with!"

I was willing to chance losing the record if I could just get those negative Nellies to shut the hell up. Here's the thing. Negativity isn't going to get us to the finish any faster. It's just going to make everyone hate you. And I do hate you ladies. You soured the experience of becoming a world record holder by being awful, selfish human beings. Your complete disregard for the well being of your teammates was disgusting. You didn't care that some people were struggling to keep moving. Some people weren't able to stay properly hydrated and instead of seeing what could be done to help them, you just screamed at them to keep moving. You didn't care when the man tied behind us tripped and fell. You kept us dragging him along for 3 solid feet before we could get you to stop. And did you ask if he was alright? Did you care that he was bleeding? No. You just complained that we would be even slower now.

I know this is level of vehemence isn't usually found in this blog. But I am still angry with the way these people acted for the ENTIRE day. The worst part is, they are an active part of the local running scene. I have seen them at many other races and I know I will see them again. I do not want to see them again. I may still harbor strangling urges. We'll see.

Woooooosh. 

The bright spot at the end was that Scott (the ever-patient boyfriend) was finally able to come see me finish a race. He was there with icy cold drinks and Snickers bars. Because he is a saint. I knew we would be going to lunch together after the race, which was the ONLY reason that I didn't strangle anyone. They don't let you go to lunch after you murder people. They take you to prison. I had enough foresight to know the consequences of acting on my urges.

Not only a saint, but a diligent photographer. 

I am amazed that 82 people held it together long enough to complete this challenge. We did beat the previous record. We're just waiting on the final confirmation from the Guinness people. I would like to say it was worth all that we went through, but I'm still sort of wondering about that... My faith in humanity took a little hit to the gut. But it will pass. 99% of the people in the running community are the nicest, sweetest, most helpful people you could ever hope to meet. I'm going to try and focus on that. And hey, we set a world record. A WORLD RECORD. That's pretty cool, when you think about it. Plus, I learned that I possess much more self restraint than I previously thought. Learning is also pretty cool.

Stay tuned for another three race report next week, where I will also probably spend half of the blog freaking out about the Javenlina Jundred coming up on the 31st.

Happy running!

Races, meltdowns, injuries, and freak outs.

I shouldn't wait so long to do my race write-ups. Writing has never been an easy thing for me, and when I let too much time pass from the events to the blogging, it's even worse. Let's just jump in and see if any of this comes across in a coherent fashion.

A month ago, I ran my 68th half marathon, the Top of Utah half. I ran this race last year, and was smitten with its moosey goodness. Everything associated with the race has a moose on it. I can't not run this race. 

Also, they have the most colorful porta-potties, of all time, ever.

One of the perks of living in Utah, is that there's a multitude of races that run down lovely canyons. Top of Utah is one of those. The buses take the runners up the canyon about 7 miles. I had the great fortune of riding up on the bus that was staying to take the drop bags back down. I got to stay on the bus, all warm and cozy until right before the start. I managed to take a nap and everything. WHAT.

Heading to the start line.

It was a perfect morning to be out running. The temperatures stayed down; there was no rain to contend with. I waded through the large group of runners to position myself at the back of the pack, my natural habitat. 

The race started, and the typical dance of leapfrogging began. In every race, there are always those people that pass you, then you pass them, then they pass you, and this continues until one person finally decides that he/she can't take it anymore and they widen the gap. On this day, there was a man, close to my age, who played this game with me. Except this time, there was a difference. He was more concerned with me passing him than anyone I've ever seen. I get it, no one wants to get beat by the chubby girl. But they don't know that this chubby girl does this type of thing nearly every single weekend. Every time he would get in front of me, he would keep nervously looking back over his shoulder. I decided to take advantage of this at around mile 6. I could see the fear in his eyes, so I started hunting him. I began to push the pace, making him have to run faster, all the while, looking over his shoulder. It was so funny to me. Probably because I'm a horrible person. I finally decided to leave him alone around mile 9. Three miles of purposeful torment was enough. It was starting to affect my enjoyment of the course. Finish times aren't why I run races, getting to experience new scenery is. 

A lovely, tree lined section of the race course. 

I'm done hunting, it's selfie time.

I felt good throughout the race, and was able to finish right about the same time as I did last year. I like consistency. 

I love the pictures my mom takes. I guess I should have run faster to get more into the middle of the shot.

Moose! Moose everywhere!

I had a week break after Top of Utah and then it was time for the Little Grand Canyon marathon. I had seen shirts from this race on other runners and it had always intrigued me. I decided that this year was the time to make it happen. The race takes place a mere hour and a half from where I live. I'm sorry that I hadn't been running it sooner. 

Packet pick up alone was worth signing up for this race. 

If you know me at all, you know that I have an affinity for dinosaurs. This race course goes past actual dinosaur tracks, and Native American petroglyphs, How cool is that?! These things are what convinced my mother to participate in their 10K option. She can't say no to dinosaurs and petroglyphs either.  

I know you're all starting to wonder where the meltdown mentioned in the title comes in. Well, here it is. It didn't have anything to do with the race I was about to run. I wasn't worried or nervous. I didn't doubt my abilities. But the night before this race, as I got undressed in the hotel bathroom and stared at my naked body in the mirror, illuminated by the harsh fluorescent lights, I lost it. What I saw when I saw myself wasn't a hard core ultrarunner. I was just an overweight, pasty white girl. Weird tan lines, stretch marks, love handles, a poochy stomach, multiple chafe mark scars from my sports bra lining my rib cage, arms that jiggle, thighs that wiggle. How could this body that I'm staring at have done any of the things that it had? This body ran 50 miles?! Yeah, sure it did. This body looks more like it sat through 50 weekends of pizza-bender-Netflix-marathoning. I broke down. And I have to say, I've been in a funk about it ever since. These past few weeks have been full of self loathing. I'm a smart girl, I know that this attitude isn't going to help anything. That doesn't make it any easier to just snap out of it. My boyfriend has been putting up with my body image issues like a champ though. I just hate that it's something that he even needs to deal with. I should be able to be comfortable in my own skin. I should be proud of my body, no matter what it looks like. I have a feeling that this will be a long road...

Now that I've had my meltdown, it was time to get some sleep and run a marathon. My mom and I got up and dressed and headed out to the town of Huntington to catch the buses that would take us to our race starts. The marathon had only one bus load of people in it. Oh great. I'm going to be last. That's the thought that crosses my mind at every small event. Somebody has to be last, so I've made my peace with it. I hung out in the back again, chatting with some other runners. It was really going to be a nice race, so it was tough to be too down about it. I was dressed in a crazy colorful outfit and the older gentleman I was talking to cracked a joke about me needing to wear something a little more visible. I told him I was dressed that way so that they could find my body in the desert. At least this got a chuckle from the people around me. 

Running through the San Rafael Swell is beautiful.

At mile 2, a small jack rabbit ran right in front of me. It scared me, I scared it. It was a fun little adrenaline boost. The sunrise was so lovely as we headed into the San Rafael Swell area. There were a few hills in the first 9 miles that I was content to just hike up. For the most part though, it was a fairly flat course. 

Running off into the desert.

I spent at least 20 minutes taking pictures. I threw my finish time out the window and just focused on enjoying being out there. I felt decent for the first half of the race, but then fatigue started to set in and I walked a lot more of the second half. 

This race tells you how far you have left to go, which was kind of depressing when the sign said 25 more miles.

But as the race went on, the scenery got better and better, so I didn't mind that I was going slower. People continued to pass me and I continued to take pictures. And all was right with the world for that bit of time. 

Such a pretty place to run.

Covered in salt and sweat, but enjoying the journey.

How could you not love this?

They had begun busing down the runners that had finished the half marathon, 10K, and the faster marathoners. The runners on the bus would wave and cheer as they passed the rest of us still on the course. The last bus that passed on by had my mom on it, so I knew she had made it. Her first 10K was a success! 

The petroglyphs were right off of the road. It was incredible. 

My mom chose her distance wisely. The last 10K of this race was the most scenic part of the course. I am considering just doing the half next year to skip the hills and soak up the scenery. When I finished the race, I was certain that I was last but it turns out that there were still 4 other people behind me. We waited there at the finish for the last runners, which was fun. Plus, there was plenty of good food there to eat while we waited. It turns out that there was no bus coming back to take us back to our cars so I got to ride back down to my car in an ambulance. It was a fun way to get back down and they didn't even send me a bill!

Such great swag!

Now you're all wondering where the injury part mentioned in the title comes in. Here it is! As my mom and I were having lunch after the race, something in my right hip started to feel funny. It got to the point that I could barely walk by the end of the night. I have spent the last two weeks trying to recover from whatever it is that happened. I didn't feel anything during the race. The best I can figure is that it was some sort of muscle strain. I was able to run 8 miles yesterday, but it wasn't pretty. Jamie had to prod me through every step of it. But that's what running friends are for, right? I'm just hoping that I'll be recovered enough to get through the Huntsville Marathon next weekend. 

I was starting to have a major freak out about being ready for the Javelina Jundred next month. The anxiety over being ready, plus the body image funk I'm in, makes for more mental anguish than I need. So I tackled my anxiety about Javelina. The time limit for that race is so generous, I can walk most of it if I have to. Reminding myself of that has made things a little better. I can finish the race. I might not be in love with every minute of it. But honestly, what ultra have I loved every minute of? That's not the nature of the ultra marathon. I keep going back because each one teaches me more about myself. And since I'm a stubborn gal, it takes me a lot of time to learn from my mistakes. (Insert winky face here.)

I'll try to be more timely with the next blog, that way Javelina can have its own entry. 100k will give me a lot to recap, so brace yourselves for that. In the meantime, I need to survive running and writing about two more marathons.

Until next time, happy running!