We camped for free at a park under the old Viaduct in Lanesboro PA, and got an early start at 5 am. So much fun. I Love, Love Love that Jason and my boys crew me. Peter lectures me about my diet and tries to police my junk food intake (mom you can't get fat before your race, haha) Adam talks my ear off about politics and current events, Jason plays games and gets into mother hen mode, and makes sure I have everything I could possibly need. He is the most attentive crew (and Dad!) At some point in the night Adam had a little nightmare and cried 'someone help me'...I barely was conscious of it but Jason had shoes and pants on and was out of the tent in like 2 seconds flat. Luckily everything was ok. He does the same for me in my races! <3 <3 <3 I taught Peter to cook rare steaks but forgot utensils so he used my 6 inch blade that I run with, and a blade from my purse and feasted on red meat. :-D Memories just so fun, I'm so grateful for them and that they will all give up a weekend of beds, showering, computers and A/C to come support their Mamma! Because this is a small low key race, everyone is so friendly... you get to know most everyone, and Jason was in shock because he couldn't believe I was so social...there is just something about the ultra running community, you are sharing blood, sweat, tears, vomit, and probably some electrolytes or a bandaid /salt tab here and there, so its like you are instant friends. So great. I love it. So we had these nasty outhouses at the campsite with no toilet paper, but God bless runners, by race time there was an overabundance of TP stocked in the potties! It was sooo embarrassing, could be like a movie scene, my last pit stop before going to bed pre race, the outhouse door broke and I was literally locked inside the porta potty. 11:00 at night, I was pounding on the door and panicking, thinking I might have to nap there, luckily it only took Jason about 10 minutes to figure it out so he came and got the door open...but like really...so funny. cherry fruit pies and a donut for dinner + a huge plate of hash browns at Perkins. Was feeling confident starting out in the dark, I kept an eye on runners in front of me to know where the trail was going, though that came back to bite me later. I should have been taking mental notes along the way, Coming back I missed the turn to go up the return side of the switchback and stayed on the wider road. As I was close to finishing up the first loop around 10:30 am I took my ill fated second wrong turn. Ran at least half a mile or more out before I frantically called Jason to figure out where I went wrong...luckily at that point I actually had cell service. 99% of the course there was no signal. It was getting hot and I was discouraged losing a full hour but I set back out determined. In the heat my main challenge for this race was to manage hydration and fue There was one point in the heat of the afternoon when I was really struggling with the heat. I had this clarity of thought from the Spirit and like, in my minds eye I could see the names and faces of the friends I knew, who were actually saying a prayer for me. Not the vague “tots and pears” kinda thing, but a legitimate prayer that I would be doing well. I thanked God for them and my stomach settled and I got a refreshing bit of energy, pains would subside and I could keep moving forward. I love those conversations with God out there on the trail...there are not many people to talk to, but feelings about life and love and people and answers you need, come with such clarity, I think anyone who truly wants to converse with God needs to head out into the wilderness. Peter made me a hot dog at the start of my third loop, I was really craving it but it was cold since I was a little behind because of the heat, so I took a bite and chucked it. Note for my family crew in the future, hot food needs to stay hot! LOL The big drama in the daytime heat was getting a text from a lady buying one of my lambs and she thought it was sick, so I was trying to text and run in this brutal late afternoon solid sun, telling her how to treat the lamb, with very sketchy internet. It turns out it was probably just some overheating, I actually had 2 rabbits die in the heat while we were gone from home... so sad! But I guess better them than me. :-O Ive found I get my energy drained if I talk for more than 20 minutes though, sharing race experiences, family backgrounds etc...so I found if I politely bow out for a pit stop I can enjoy conversation but get back to my music running and meditation. Was worrying that loop that I was going to cut close to the cutoff and that was discouraging. I went back out on my 4th loop stressed because I didn't get the ramen I wanted, I was an hour behind, I was sleepy and irritable. My two chest collapsible bottles both sprung leaks so I was shoving crushed water bottles filled with soda into my pockets and under my vest, and stashing sweaty face wiping towels down my shirt. I spent countless hours staring at the ground so I didnt trip. I did bring home a bunch of heart shaped rocks for Dexter's grave that I found as a result! <3 <3 <3 I also got incredibly nauseous and threw up all over the front of me. Luckily I was only drinking soda at that point so it wasn't too nasty, and I actually felt much better afterwards. My biggest challenge was I was sooo tired, I was swaying back and forth on the trail closing my eyes, thinking I should just stop and sleep. I really had to fight that off, but the thought of ticks crawling on my dead body kept me going. Ha. After I met Jason I asked him to give me a blessing. That meant a lot esp since we were in Susquehanna County, formerly Harmony Pennsylvania where the Priesthood was restored accd to the LDS faith...so it just felt really powerful and sanctifying for me. He prayed I would have clarity of thought so that I could manage my nausea, that I'd be alert to not miss the trail and that the Spirit would help me and that the promises we get in the temple (LDS Temple in Palmyra NY where we went on Thursday) also applied to me in that moment, in that race, and that I could run and not be weary, and walk and not faint. I just felt so powerful after that blessing...for about 2 minutes...at which point I started dry heaving. Haha. I was like, what the heck!!!! lol! Like every step for maybe I don't know...5 minutes, I was lurching and dry heaving, nothing coming up because there was absolutely nothing in my stomach. Dry heaving so hard that I was peeing my pants. Talk about embarrassing. That is when you know you have true love...Jason went out in the dark and rocky field with me for a couple of miles, dumped a bottle of water on me to help so I didn't smell like urine (LOL) ...but strangely that stomach issue really woke me up. After that point and after he left me, I felt solid. I wasn't tired. Had some hot spots on my feet but otherwise I just pushed a solid pace to the finish. A few special moments were, when I hit the 100 mile mark at 27hrs & 10 minutes, my favorite running song came on, “Whatever it Takes”...”I was born to run, I was born for this!!!” to me music that comes on at coo incidental times are a sign to me that the Lord and Dexter are with me, and I really felt him there running that mile with me, thoughts in my head. From Dexter.. “You got this mom, I love you”. They carry me. When they are gone, I'm devestated and sad because I miss him so much, but I know it is him. When I hit 104 miles, “Carry on my Wayward son” came on... That was my song for Dexter after he died. Tell me that is a coincidence and I absolutely wont believe you, I bawled that whole mile and it gave me strength to keep running to the finish. It was 28 hrs by then. I should have taken first place for women, but my additional lost miles added an hour and I ended up finishing at 29 hrs 18 minutes, about 15 minutes behind the top female finisher. Jason came out to run the last mile with me and he was such a welcome sight. I take him for granted and he has had to live with a mother who is an emotional wreck, but still he puts in every bit of his heart to help me fulfill my dreams and I'm just so grateful to him! Laid in the grass at the finish and talked to some others, recounted the rocky hell and ankle breaker miles... no shower facilities at the park so I limped to the river and Jason held up a towel while I partially bathed in the creek. I'm usually a fairly modest woman but with that much sweat and grime, vomit and urine, after 108 ish miles you really don't care who might accidentally see some nakedness, lol. This was my best race I think for time, based on effort, weather and difficulty so I am just super pleased and grateful Dexter and the Lord helped me through some very dark days to keep training, No matter the weight we carry, if we turn to God he doesn't necessarily take away the pain... I get so tired of people who say that...God will not usually take away your pain. He hasn't taken away even a tiny bit of my pain. But he strengthens my legs and shoulders to bear up under its immense weight. And He understands it. To me that is hope, and life.
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