Last nights group run was no different when it came to the WANTING factor, however, the DOING factor was not in the cards.
Austin my college kid came home to surpirise me...AHHH SURPRISE!
Not only did I work all day Saturday, I rushed to the grocery store, came home to the boys wanting me to take the to the mall.
And if going like a banshee was not enough to mess up my mojo, Austin wanted CHINESE BUFFET for dinner.
I wanted to curl up and DIE.
8 hours on my feet working all day, 3 more hours of shopping and then eat Chinese before a 31 mile night right...The night was not looking in my favor.
Kris, Lacey and I are all busy moms. I was not a lone island. I was actually very encouraged to know that we were all starting our midnight right with our tail between our knees.
THE MIDNIGHT 50K
This run has been in the books for about 6 weeks. I was mostly concerned because Woodstock 50m was last week. I was really hoping my body would be forgiving from the havoc I reaped in it.
We met at Paula and Matts house.
Before we headed out to run, we left early to drop off my truck as a aid station. The location of the truck was important because Lacey would NOT be running 31 miles with us. She wanted between 23-25 miles. She would then drive back to Paula's, get cleaned up and take a snoozer until Kris, Matt and I arrived around 7am.
The 4 of us took off together heading towards the Polly Ann trail for about 7 hours of running.
We could not have asked for better temperatures. It was 71' when we started.
We ran most of the first 5 miles. From that point we took walk breaks about every mile and a half-ish.
These walk breaks were a pleasant way to break up the monotony of flat boring running.
They were also great to remind us to drink and eat.
The Polly Ann is a lovely trail. We needed these miles in the dark and flat.
We all had headlamps but one of the things I learned was I like to run in the back and use the light from those in front of me. I also learned that wearing a hat gives you a funky shadow below your eyes. This shadow was making me get dizzy and disoriented. I quickly found my place behind their lights canceling out the shadowed issues I was having.
We had miles we were not feeling well. I personally discovered that all the food I had brought was mostly sweets, granola bar, Honey Stingers, trail mix. This DID not favor well with my belly.
I forced myself to eat, looking forward to the potatoes Kris had boiled in veggie broth.
To get to the next mile and buy time, I began singing "99bottles of beer on the wall." This was my way of making sure I was still with it. Afterall, it was almost 4 am.
I thought they were gonna throw me in the nearest trash can between my singing being awful and the content being equally as bad. I waited and waited, only to discover that it was actually entertaining to them and helped get us through 4miles!
We had moments of silence but overall we were all enjoying one another's company.
We discussed our goals for Hennipen, held each other accountable to eat and drink and took multiple potty breaks in the woods.
We dropped Lacey back off at the truck, she got in a little over 23.5 miles.
She was DONE.
Before she headed out we ate Kris's potatos, drank, stretched, tinkled and headed back out there.
This last few miles were a bit quieter than the rest.
My plantar fascia was getting fussy along with my right quad. I did however have plenty of energy and strength.
The sun coming up over the gold course at Indianwood was breathtaking.
It was little moments of beauty that broke up the last 6 miles.
Each mile the sky slowly awakened. And like sunshine lights the day it also lightened our spirits. I felt my sore legs turning over faster, Horses to the Barn. I was ready to finish it up.
When we reached Paula and Matts condo, Matt had hit 31 miles but I had just barely hit 30. I was happy to be done.
I was looking forward to hot coffee and buttered pecan rolls Paula was going to treat us too.
It was a perfect run.
We all gained a little more confidence when we finished. Everyone did very well.
I ended up going to church at 9am, then breakfast and a very interrupted 2 hour nap.
A BIG thank you to the gang. Everyone that came out and those who did not were so instrumental in making this last long run so successful.
I am once again warm and fuzzy with gratitude for such a great tribe.
ANITA
ALSO!!! BIG SHOUT OUT TO JUDY! SHE WON THE CONTEST LAST WEEK AND GETS A GOODIE BAG WITH AMYS YUMMIES.
WHICH ...We drank a coffee drink at about 5 am..we rocked the last two hours home.
That Starbucks, kept me rolling!
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