OK-sorry this is
long. I’m not one for long posts but …. [this surely
is].
We
left for Prescott [by the way it’s pronounced
press-kit like
biscuit, well unless your from Scottsdale. I‘m
¼ Scottsdal-ian. ; )] by 10am Friday. Peanut had enjoyed
three hours of “bring your
favorite child to work day” from 6:30-9:30am {that’s what
she titled it}. She came back all
tuckered out from shredding & recycling paper - it’s a rough life at a
Trust Bank.
After we addressed her
one [really, really painful] paper cut we were
off. The pita enjoyed driving
crazy fast in the company car and [gasp] only had to show
one car the “way to the nearest exit” / AKA
“the bird” the whole way there?!!? Yep, that’s a
r e c o r d. Happy me.
Peanut enjoyed taking
photos most of the way. By the time I got my iPhone back from her . . . I had
93 new photos.
74 of them looking mostly like this:
Once we arrived the Pita had a business
lunch at a sushi joint. Sooooooooooo
jealous but I distinctly remember the part about
sushi = bad idea on the day before race.
Bummer. However, Peanut & I ended up at a
crepe cafe which was way more
fabulous than the photo looks.
Yada
yada yada --- packet pick up. So I guess, I missed the
memo about
“normal” people don’t wear 4.5” heels to packet pick up.
Whatever. I was wearing jeans. It’s
all I wear when I’m not in my
running shoes or
flip flops. Oh and as to what
my job actually is,
click here. Next, I meet my volunteer
“honey” - - “bitten off more than I can chew….” [my face is getting
red just
thinking about it].
Walk out. The pita says [love this],
“tomorrow we are coming back…you wear those same shoes….but wear your finishing time on your jacket". Made my night. But we
hadn’t yet driven the course.
Here’s one of our stops along it.
Here’s another. [the
one where the Pita said, “Em,
seriously, I will be completely impressed
if you do this. But I hope you know
you don‘t have to.” Ugggghhh. This [as it turns out] was a "flat" portion.
I
called off the “course drive” at
mile 8. I had seen
enough. I
have never researched/driven a course
ever before. Which is
probably how I signed up for this. ;) I over think
a lot of things in my life
but not running. Less has always been more for me with
running. Weird.
Race day.
4:45am - wake up
5am - eat/dress/ p r a y / p r a y / p r a y ;)
5:30am - peanut
leaves my purse [with
way too much cash, 6 credit cards, $400 in sunglasses, an iphone, ok you get the point] on a table in the hotel lobby [but waits to tell us at 12:30pm]
5:45am - I wonder why people
run to warm up? That’s extra distance people. ;) seriously, I never “warm-up jog” first.
6am - Pita says, “you
got this baby”. [I'm thinking.....
LIAR I love you.]
Garmin - start
Ipod - start
. . . . . .
“Let’s get it started”.
The best
“fun spots":
Mile 6 - elevation gain
362 feet.
Mile 7 - EG 405’ - -
wish I would have had my camera --- there was a sign put out by the organizers which said,
“what the hill is that?” Looked up didn’t see anything
“abnormal”. 45 seconds later, the next sign,
“don’t look up now!” They weren‘t kidding!!!!
*&%@!%&^
Mile 8 - EG 341’
Mile 9 - EG 373’
Mile 15 - EG 351’
Mile 17 -
wait for it --- wait for it --- elevation gain
484’
Realized I hadn’t had any
“Gu” yet at mile 14. Was too busy dying.
{warning} TMI but . . . I can’t
just down those things. I spread
one out over 2 miles.
Where do I keep it in the
intermittent moments? In the bra top
“gap” of course. This method
had never failed me until Saturday when I looked down & . . . .
nada. bummer. Yep, no “gel
handouts” at
this race. Oh well. By this time my ipod was playing,
“[I wanna] feel it” {three 6 mafia} - and
I sure was.
Crazy moment of the race . . . .
Mile 17. The one that was
certainly the hardest by all means . . .It was also the
third best moment of the whole race. I look over my right shoulder and …… the
most beautiful view I have
ever seen in Arizona [and I’m a
native]. Insane. Gorgeous. Listening to,
“Let Go” - Frou Frou {thanks Kera} - could not have planned
that better.
By
this time, it was the [mostly]
down [ward-ish] stretch. My lungs were
opening. My legs were
just going and I was
alone. Rocking out in the pines to,
“Magic” - B.o.B. Singing like a
complete fool. Trust me, I was
not blessed with a singing
“gene”.
Funny moment . . . Not realizing I was still singing
out loud when I caught up to a man and was saying,
“mama said to knock you out” - I actually apologized. He didn’t look
impressed. It was classic though, I’ll
never forget that.
Best moment . . . Seeing the Pita & Peanut’s
look on their face when the Pita had to slam on his brakes at
22 [not expecting to see me that quickly]. He turned around and said,
“WTH? You’re doing awesome!” [I’ll take it.] At which point I told him to have Peanut put her
“earmuffs” on [
hands over ears] and I took the opportunity
to tell him in THREE words what the past
3 hours had been like!!
He drove off
yelling,
“YA BABY!!” --- and I
know I had the
biggest stupid smile on my face.
“The pursuit of happiness” started
playing. Awesome. Passed all remaining water opportunities and just
rolled with it.
Saw my
AMAZING parents at 25.
Loved that. They drove
5 hours round trip - to see me run for
15 seconds.
Seriously. One of the 7,444, 444,444,444 reasons
my family is
the best. I love my family. Completely
supportive of my insane adventures.
Two minutes later my mom was sticking out the window for this photo opp. [can’t believe it worked! Sorry mom but that’s the
honest truth.]
At 25.6,
“winner” begins to play and out of somewhere, I get a last
kick. My dad [AKA
“twinkle toe’s E"] always told me,
“you sprint with all you have left at the end. Anything you have left, give it up on the last stretch.” I
love that. I think of that
EVERY race.
What
An
Experience.
Next year,
I’ll be back. I’ll be
[way] more “ready”. For now, I’m
loving my 5th overall female and 2nd in my age group finish. Not to mention the
$50 gift card & an additional
$15 gift card for “Road ID”.
Check back
tomorrow for the give-a-way.
*********************************
