Super fun ladies in my car.
This is a super long post and it is mostly for me to remember the race so read at your own risk, really.
I unfortunately started the race with very little sleep. Danny went up to scout camp Wednesday night and came home Thursday night. I absolutely hate having him gone and I was doing random, probably not so productive things b/c I was dreading going to bed with him gone. I'm a lamo, I know. Anyway, I finally went to bed at about 12:30 on the couch. It felt really weird not snuggling with him in bed and I hated it so I put a movie on and fell asleep on the couch. Well, Sam decided he wanted to wake up at 3:45, 4, 4:15 and then I just ended up holding him so he would sleep from about 4:30-6:30. I think his poor tummy or teeth were hurting him. I unfortunately did not get a lot of sleep while holding him. Then Thursday night I was getting ready for the race. I don't know why but it takes me forever to get ready for stuff like that. I had to pack food, a couple running outfits, etc. And with the weather being so lame, I wasn't sure what to pack. Anyway, I finally went to bed around 12:30 on Friday morning and had to wake up at about 4:15 am to get ready for my ride to pick me up at 5. So, as you can see I was already very low on sleep. Not a good thing when you are about to run a race that will last 24+ hours.
My mom watched Sam for us on Friday while Dan was at work, thanks mom! I didn't want to make her drive up to Logan/Morgan area more then once on Friday so I decided I would just have her meet me in Liberty when I finished my first leg. I was the 6th runner in our van. I didn't really like being the last runner in the car but I had no choice. Anyway, I feed Sam at about 4:30 am before I left for the race and my mom wasn't going to bring him up until after my last leg which was going to be around 1 pm. That's right folks, 9ish hours. That may not sound like long to some of you but to a nursing mother I was DYING! I only knew one lady in our van when we started. The other ladies were super nice. Very kind, sincere, funny ladies. It was a pleasure running the race with them, BUT some of them were VERY slow runners. My patience was tried, I'm not going to lie. It did make me feel like a really good runner when I would run my legs fast though. :) I was in a lot of pain before running my first leg so I was running so fast so that I could feed Sam and eat something. I was starving but didn't want to eat anything heavy so I would have a stomach ache. One of the hardest parts of running the race for me is knowing what to eat when. I like to run on an empty stomach in the morning so it's hard when you can't really do that.
Okay, so my first leg was a 7 mile run. I started at about 12:30 and it was 1 mile uphill (very steep uphill) on a dirt road. Then a very steep 3 mile downhill also on dirt road. It then flattened out and I had 3 miles on flat gravel road. I hate trail running and love gravel so the last 3 miles were my favorite. I didn't time myself but I think I ran that 7 miles in a little under an hour which is fast for me. The weather was great my first leg. I LOVE running in the heat. Well, not scorching heat but it was about 75, LOVED IT!! I was soooo excited to see Sam and feed him. My mom just so happened to pass me in her car when I had just passed off the baton so I hopped into her car and we went and found a quite spot and I fed Sam. It was soooo good to see him. I haven't left Sam for more then like 4 hours or so, so this was very hard for me.
I had Dan meet me at Trappers loop at around 7 pm so I could feed Sam again. I had him bring my pump this time b/c he wasn't going to bring Sam up until 7 am so I wasn't making the mistake of not feeding him for so long again. (TMI? Sorry) I ran my 2nd leg at about 11 pm. I was nervous for this leg b/c it was my longest and it was uphill. I didn't train for uphill so I was worried I was going to die. It actually wasn't that bad. It was an 8 mile climb up to East Canyon. I think the worst part of it for me was the times when I was running in pitch black. I mean, pitch black. We were required to have a flashlight or head lamp so I had that but when there were no cars driving by and I was the only runner in that area I was totally freaked out. I had a ton of energy for some reason. I kept passing people. I kept thinking to myself "man, there are a lot of tired runners this leg." i don't know what got in to me but I just booked it, it felt great. I was super happy when this leg was over b/c that meant I only had one more leg left and it was an easy 3 miles. After my run we drove to where our car would start running again and slept in a high school auditorium. I did NOT sleep well on the hard floor. I probably got 2 hours of sleep. Dan brought Sam up so I could feed him at around 7 or 8 am, can't remember really. It was sooo good to see both of them. I really didn't like being away from them. Sam still struggles at night so I was really worried with how it was going to go. Dan slept at his parents and Mom S helped take care of Sam when he woke up in the wee hours of the morning. Thanks Mom S! I started my last leg at around 12 pm. I was nervous about it b/c I was pretty soar from the pounding down hill 3 miles I had done. Once I got started I couldn't even tell I was soar. It was raining at this point so I ran the 3 miles in the pouring rain and I was soaked. But I was so excited to be done that I didn't even care. It felt great to be finished! I felt bad b/c my whole car was going to hang out and wait for the 2nd van to finish so that we could all finish the race together but I just couldn't make Dan keep bringing Sam up and down so that I could feed him. It is a long drive up to Oakley and I was done with it so I asked my team if they would care if I left after my last leg. Being the super nice ladies they were they said they wouldn't mind at all. I wanted to go to the finish line to enjoy all the excitement and celebrate with my team but I was done with having my child shuttled up and down and pumping in between. It was a great race and I was proud of myself for how great I felt on my legs. I really do LOVE this race and will do it every year I can. But I will NEVER do it again while nursing a baby.
I have ran this race every year they have done it but last year b/c I was large with child. It has grown so much and I think I actually liked it when it was smaller. It was so big and too many people but I digress.
I decided to not bring our nice camera b/c I was nervous I was going to break it. That was the worst decision ever. I forgot that you have to wind disposable cameras so taking pictures of people running by was a nightmare. Just taking any pictures with that lame camera was a nightmare. I got a few pictures on the lame disposable camera but I haven't finished the roll yet so pictures will have to wait. Pictures are in.
This was at the end of my last leg. You can't tell in the picture but I was completely drenched.
Thanks to Mom N, Mom S, and especially Danny for supporting me in running this race. I couldn't have done it without you. Oh and thanks to little Sam for being good for grandmas and daddy. Sam was VERY clingy for a couple days after the race but I think he is back to his normal, not so attached self. Luckily I had the family vacation right after so I didn't have to go through letting him cry in the apartment every second I wasn't holding him. YIPPEE!!
1 comment:
You totally inspire me, it sounds like a nightmare! I can't wait to hear about your trip to Yellowstone!
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