North Face Endurance Challenge 1/2

What an experience all around! It started out yesterday afternoon, we went to pick up our race stuff and see the race discussion panel. They had a trainer from the North Face Seattle Running Club, the race director, Amy Palmiero-Winters , and Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes!!! I admit to feeling like a 14 year old girl going to a JoBros concert...lol. I read his book a while back and loved it and was super excited to see him in person. I enjoyed listening to all the speakers on the panel. After the Q&A session, Dean was available for pictures and autographs and I had him sign my book. He was very down to earth, and very personable.

Me and Dean:)




After that, headed home to get ready for bed-not soon enough...lol. Thanks to Bill being gone, I have insomnia, and even knowing I had to be up to leave the house by 0645, I still was up till well after 11 last night. Thankfully the morning came and getting up wasn't too bad. Had a camel back SNAFU-filled it last night so it'd be ready to go this morning, and it had leaked all over the dining room table and was all wet and I wasn't able to wear it. So I did a quick change to one of the other camel backs(of course, I picked the one I did cause it was the most comfortable). Got everything in the truck and headed to get gas and pick up Rochelle. With the help of Lola(my GPS) we got there with plenty of time to spare.


The weather was a little chilly this morning, in comparison to the recent week or so. It turned out to be perfect for the race though. The 1/2 started at 9(the 50K and 50 miler were already well underway at that point) with the 10K to start an hour later. Fair number of people milling about. As always, runners are so darn nice. I talked to some women in the restroom who complimented me on my gaiters and said they were way better than their boring black ones...lol. We checked in to make sure they knew we were running and didn't get lost on the trails.


Here we are before the race-all smiles...ignorance is bliss, not knowing what lies ahead.


Well, as we were looking up, we were getting an inkling of what was to come-and wondered WTH I had gotten us into-yes, it's all my fault...lol.






The race started out and we were trucking along, when next thing I know, who is running next to me and making small talk-Dean Karnazes!!! He was like, 'hey how's it going, can you believe they're making us run up a hill right off the bat??'. Then he was saying how we were doing great by going slow and steady at the start-and I told him I was good with slow and steady the whole way...lol.



That's Dean on the right-






Again, felt like a giddy teenager...lol. He kept on heading through the group and soon it was just the group. We started near the back, and that's where we stayed. Once the bulk of the racers passed us, Rochelle and I alternated with our new friend Crystal for the bottom 3...lol. We had a
very nice race volunteer trailing us to make sure we were ok. The race started and did an approx 2 mile or so loop back to the start. There were a LOT of uphills. I hate hills, they suck. Some of these ups and downs were tough. Parts of the course were on logging roads, so they were wide. Others were trails through the woods-and very aptly described on the race website as needing billy goat like skills to navigate. We went over and under logs. We crossed small streams. Up and down some crazy trails-while going over and under logs and crossing streams...lol.

As is the norm living here in the beautiful PAC NW, the views and scenery were wonderful.





Of course, this was my view most of the time..






Kept my footing pretty well for the most part. Had a few stumbles, but nothing major. Some of the downhills that were steep worried me-while my knee doesn't give me trouble, I think it's still in the back of my mind after so many years of dealing with it. I really took it easy on those, especially at the end when I was tired, at that point I was just trying to get to the finish.



Toward the latter 3rd of the race, was getting tired, thinking I'd just walk the rest of the way. Somewhere around mile 8-9 was a couple of volunteers who totally lifted my spirits. They were in the right place at the right time doing the exact right thing. They were loud and hooting and and hollering for us...and one of them was a penguin.







Not far after that was the aid station/check point. I have discovered a new love that was just about the best thing since sliced bread...potatoes with salt. I swear that was some of the best tasting food I've had in a while...lol. We hit the aid station one more time on the way back for the last couple miles of the race. There was some of the tougher trails on the last leg of the race(though I don't honestly think I could a pick a part that was toughest...it all was) and with some of the steep areas I really took my time and that was when I went ahead and let Crystal pass me as she seemed to have gotten her 2nd wind and was trekking along pretty steady and I didn't want to impede her(lots of the areas were single file). I just kept trekking along, one step at a time, running when it wasn't too steep and made it to the finish!



For a while, my race philosophy was to finish upright, under my own power, having enjoyed it enough to want to run again and hopefully not last. The more that I've run, the more I've made the first 3 my priorities. I am not fast. I'm not coming close to winning anything-except the love and support of my family and friends..I have the best cheerleaders ever! I'm ok with that, I run because I love it. I've run a few smaller races where I was very near the back of the pack. I had decided that finishing last was something that may happen. Today, I totally embraced it...lol. As previously mentioned, we spent the bulk of the race in the bottom 3. Yours truly was DFL(Dead F'ing Last...lol), and I'm damn happy with that. Life didn't end because I came in last. I still had an awesome race.

The whole race was as great as it was tough. Dean Karnazes said Friday night that no matter what, after the race, it will change you. It really did. It was my first trail race and at times I thought aww hell, what in the world am I doing out here. What was I thinking?? I have such respect for all runners, whether they are running their first 5K or getting Olympic gold. Today, I had even more respect for trail runners doing ultramarathons. Doing what I did today, for 13.1 miles was tough. I'm so amazed at the people who push themselves so much farther and harder-and look freaking fantastic while they do it...lol.

I truly think this was one of the best races that I have run. Not only was it such a tough race that provided such a sense of satisfaction when I crossed the line and knew I had done it. It also was such a well put on race. The trails were so well marked. The volunteers were amazing-I have already decided if I don't run it again next year, I would love to volunteer for it. The other runners were so nice too-I think runners as a whole are a wonderfully supportive group and very friendly. But the trail runners and ultramarathoners we encountered today were the epitome of that.

And once again, I accomplished my goals...finished the race up right, under my own power and enjoyed it enough to want to do it again! Yep, we were still smiling at the end!