Celebrating A Friend's Birthday

Early in July, my friend Amy had been planning to run a marathon for her 44th birthday. It would be her first marathon, and she trained with me and even let me help plan some of it! We had such a fun day with various meetup opportunities so as many people could join as wanted. I enjoyed sweeping the first 10 miles, running back and forth between groups and getting some extra mileage that way. Then I was pretty far behind Amy and was determined to catch up. So I ran my butt off. I made a guess of where I might catch her and enjoyed working hard to catch up and having some trail time to myself. I was able to hear her calling back to me at the exact spot where I thought I could catch up. I was super psyched that we were close! I was relieved when I did finally catch up to her and have some company for awhile. I was feeling great, and she was in top form. We got back down to the Welcome Center and met up with family and friends who did the final 5 miles with us. And the finish was really great! It was like finishing a large race with spectators and a ribbon to cross and balloons and cheering and a beer in my hand. Plus, my husband and 3 kids were there at the finish and that was the best thing ever!

I didn't feel super great at the end. I was lightheaded and felt like puking. But I ate a little food and drank an electrolyte replacer and started to perk up and then was able to enjoy the party.

Waiting at the first intersection for part of the group
Runners on Yost
Navigating a downed tree on Holsclaw Hill loop
Finally! I caught up to these two!
I love when family and friends joined us for the last 5 miles!
Psyched to be tackling trails together early in the morning.
Stuck at a downed tree, looking for the trail!
Happy Birthday to Amy!

Amy's support crew at the finish line!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Race Recap: Superior Fall Trails 50 Miler (9/9/17)

Image
Travel Details Jeanette and I traveled together by car (my family's minivan) from Louisville, KY to Lutsen, MN where we were staying at the Caribou Highlands lodge, which was also the location of the finish line for the race. I was packed for the race the previous weekend, and had very little to take care of the night before the race. My mom brought me awesome chocolate chip cookies and folded laundry and reviewed my lists with me to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Mike was handling kid activities for the night. I got to bed at a reasonable hour, and planned to leave my house at 6:30 a.m. to pick up Jeanette from her house by 7am. At 4:30 a.m., I woke with an outrageous migraine. Ugh. I couldn't move or even ask for help until after 6am. It was almost 9am before I was able to drive, and I still felt pretty awful most of the day. Our drive was awesome though. We didn't need any distractions with all the fabulous conversation. We turned on a podcast around 6pm, ...
Read more

Lake Martin 100 - Pre-race Report

Image
My youngest daughter is 5, and got this book for Christmas. It's about what happens to Humpty Dumpty after he falls. My daughter wants me to read this book to her every night. And every time she hands it to me, she says that I am like Humpty with my broken rib. Humpty is scared to climb the wall again because of his fall, and parts of him are broken that are not fixable with tape or glue. He tries some other stuff, but ultimately, he misses his wall and decides he needs to climb it again. And then he hatches into a bird and flies! Time has passed quickly, and winter is now almost over. It's been almost 10 weeks since the bike accident and broken rib. My winter was filled with a different kind of training than I planned, and I found time for a different kind of reflection in between weeks when I couldn't get out onto the trails. I learned things about myself. But I am always learning. I'm back up and going again now. Slowly increasing mileage and getting myself out...
Read more

Race Recap: Redbird Crest 100k

Image
The idea of running a 100k scared me. A lot. I wasn't sure if I had it in me. This particular 100k was a new race, on terrain I had never seen before, with a race company I had no experience with (but came highly recommended). I was emotionally prepared for the possibility of a DNF (did not finish) but I refused to go into the race with the idea that I might not finish. For my own possibility of best success, I had to have the mindset that I would hit that trail and give my all and find my way to the end somehow. But I was really nervous. Preparing race packets for Mike and Amy, including maps, directions, and notes I "laminated" the aid station location info with my own notes and time predictions, to carry with me in my pocket.  On the back of my aid station carry-along, I wrote two running quotes to refer to when I needed them. Friday after work, My husband Mike and I drove to the cabin I had found on AirBnB. It was an hour from the race start, about as c...
Read more