A guy named Paul Nelson took these photos earlier this month. I would tag him but I can’t find his Insta name. Since I didn’t pay for full-size images, I should at least mention that he took some great shots at the race. Thanks, Paul!
Taking sixth in my first competitive ultra-marathon felt amazing. And it hurt. Miles 28-50 sucked. They were also fun, in a semi-masochistic-invigorating-exhausting-igniting kind of way. Not literally igniting as in “Oh no, my feet are on fire,” but more metaphorically, as in “Oh yea, I’m on fire!” And literally, it was close to 90 F out there, so when @gobeyondracing handed me a cool pint glass at the finish I immediately filled it, and kept it full, while I waited for @tmoneywhatwhat. Once she crossed the line, it was over. We could finally stop running for a while. And relax. And read. And drink beer. Ahh... Two weeks later and I’m starting to get anxious to once again move fast in the mountains. Race prep was one of the main themes of our six-week road trip around NorCal and the PNW, so it feels strange to have not run since the race. Several hikes and bike rides, but my knee still hurts on downhills and shoot, she was limping before the gun even went off. Neither of us had stuck with our training plans, for many reasons. 1) We’d spent a lot of time in the van. 2) For six weeks we traveled on a budget with only small cooler—just large enough to hold a six-pack and a few other essentials—so we slacked on meat and veggies. 3) We couldn’t leave Rowdy alone for long with the summer heat, which complicated spending extended time on our feet. 4) There was a general lack of interest in running. That’s sort of a biggie. But we got ‘er done and I am impressed with both of our performances.
#mthood50 #trailrunning #wcm #womancrushmonday #waithowdoesthatgoagain #doesthislookbroken #pct2018 #oregonbeauty #runforrestrun
Over the past six weeks, we’ve put over 5,000 miles on the minivan we bought for $1200 in Sacramento (we named it Jesus because #jesussaves). Starting in Tahoe, we went west to Santa Cruz, then through Big Sur to visit my brother in Santa Barbara. Then we drove east to the Sequoias, where afternoon highs were in the 90s, so we called an audible: “Nevermind, Sierra Nevada.” Instead, we did Rowdy and Jesus a favor so they wouldn’t overheat. We swapped the high deserts and dry mountains of SoCal for the coastal breezes and shade of the Redwood forests. We explored Shelter Cove and ran the Lost Coast Trail before cruising north along the Oregon coastline, camping and hiking in the ferns and old growth forests. In Portland, we explored street markets and enjoyed live music. We ran along the PCT and around the Timberline Trail at Mount Hood. In Washington, we visited family in Seattle, watched fireworks over Puget Sound, and backpacked the Baker-Snoqualmie Wilderness. We’ve sampled local libations at breweries (maybe a few too many), bathed in creeks (apologies to the biker who saw me naked in Jordan Creek), sought out $1 CDs (yes, they still exist) and collector’s pins from our favorite regions, and made espressos and dinners on a trusty Coleman two-burner. Grocery Outlet/Bargain Market, you’ve been so good to us! It’s hard to go wrong with $4 bottles of quality red wine, $2 salad mixers, and $0.50 Larabars. Bonus points: Only once have we paid to camp. Other than a $10 site outside of Seattle, the three of us have slept comfortably either in the van or the tent. Well, we’ve paid for two cheap motel rooms, but a total $150 ain’t bad for a six-week budget trip. After all of that and more, I just read in a pre-race email that we’ll score a sweet coaster for our new coffee table in Colorado if we show proof on Instagram that we carpooled to tomorrow’s 50-mile foot race. Sure, you could say we carpooled 😉
#summeroffun #dosomethingawesomeeveryday #roadtrippin #vanlife #budgettravel #buzzinsohard
#50mile #trailrun #mounthood #carpoolcoaster #gobeyondracing #roddapaint #coloradobound #PNW #calitocrestedbutte
