Marathon Dreamer

Wow!  What a race!  My husband, son and my son's friend were running the 5k and I was the only one crazy enough to do the long race.  My son finished 2nd in his age group and my husband was 6th in his age group!  They did an awesome job!  My youngest son volunteered and helped hand out medals which earned him a free breakfast!  ;-)  The race consisted of several climbs one which left me saying holy crap before I even began to head up the 1000 rail road tie steps that finished at the top of a mountain!  Toward the top, it was super steep and there was a girl dressed as an angel cheering everyone on waiting for all of us to get there.  Ironically, it was hell and she really should have been dressed differently. ;-) The first 3 miles I felt good.  The most painful moment was on the climb up those 1000 steps.  I came to a really steep incline that was short but tortuous at the beginning of the race, where you would actually use your hand and touch the ground as you climbed.  Most of the runners did just that and we were reduced to a "hike" speed.  The down hills are my strength so I cranked on those and made up a lot of time there.

I got some compliments from people that I passed saying "go girl",  "darn you are fast."  Loved that!  Some of the down hill was gravel so I ran down it sideways almost slalom style with short fast steps and skidded my way down.  I used the gravel to help me get down.  One thing that I have learned is that I absolutely love being air-born, and I was many times as I leaped over rock and bumps in the trail as I cruised downward to ready for another climb.  It was a well organized race and really challenging.  I really wanted to place in top three but doubted that I would be able to do it.  The climbs really ate me up but the down hills were my savour.  I was so darn close... 30 seconds off or so from that top 3 spot.  I got some redemption today for my crappy marathon last month!  When I am on, I AM ON!

Happy Running!