Hold that Thought

The 50K I was supposed to run today?  Didn't happen...will happen next week!

Due to the freak snow storm, it created icy road conditions that were going to prevent us from getting into the state forest.  Also, the buses to get us to the actual start line weren't going to make it so the race was postponed until next weekend.

I'm sure this messes with some people's schedules, but it works for me.  One more week to get my foot back to normal!

When I woke up Saturday morning and saw the snow, I just stood in amazement.  Despite seeing the forecasts, I honestly didn't believe them.  Most of the time those things are just plain wrong, especially for this town.  I grew up with tons of snow but we really don't get much here.  I totally planned on still going to the race but checked e-mail the afternoon and found the announcement.

So I ended up with another rest day and then today, I ran 11 miles, a third of what I'll run next weekend.  Afterwards, I went out for a huge lunch, equivalent to what I should have been eating if I had actually completed 50K.

And, I've totally failed at staying out of the Halloween candy.  Thank goodness I'll unload the rest of that stuff tomorrow night!  

Countdown to 50K

I'm planning on continuing my 'rest' this week.  These guys seem to have the rest thing figured out.  They trash the house, crash and then let me clean up whatever they moved/messed up/broke.  Wonder if I can get away with it? 

Hopefully as I take it easy this week I will be able to stay away from the Halloween candy I bought for trick-or-treat next week.  I spent $65 on candy this year, seriously?  Isn't that a bit pricey?

One week out from the 50K.  The forecast so far looks wonderful and my foot is still a bit tender but am hopeful that it will survive.  I continued to take it easy this weekend, only running 6 on Saturday and 8 on Sunday.  Both days it felt a little funny for the first mile or two and then went away but I did not want to put in long mileage.

I knew October was going to be interesting with everything I was trying to pack in it, just one more week and we'll see.  For awhile, I was secretly thinking about an early November marathon depending on how I felt after the 50K but I'm pretty sure that is going to be out of the question now!

Obsessed?

Last night, while my husband and I were eating dinner he said there was a segment on the latest episode of HBO Real Sports that I needed to watch.  It was about people who were obsessed with running.  I grabbed the remote, flipped on the OnDemand and tried to find it...it wasn't there.  I checked the channel guide to find the next airing, nothing coming up soon.  At that point, he said I wasn't supposed to want to watch it to admire these people but to make me realize what I'm becoming.  Umm...huh?

Still wanting to see it, I tried to find it online but could not.  So, today, I found the next scheduled airing and set the DVR.  While it was recording, I went for a run (not kidding).  When I got back, I turned it on and fast-forwarded it to the running segment.  The segment features 3 runners.  Raven, who runs the exact same 8-mile route each day and has every day since 1975.  Catra Corbett, an ultra-marathoner who does many 100-milers and is an ex-addict and Marshall Ulrich, who has also run many ultras and has also run across the country in 52 days. 

The jist was basically these people relied heavily on the running, used it as a coping mechanism or a way to 'run' from other issues.  They are extreme cases but everyone has their own ways of dealing with issues in life.  I got the point they were making about Ulrich basically disregarding his family and ended up with several failed marriages due to his lifestyle. I guess I didn't find any of them overly nutty.  Also, considering after watching it I looked up Catra Corbett because I found her interesting probably means I didn't get the point my husband was trying to make.   

I'm pretty sure my husband thought this running thing was going to be a phase, just like anything else.  I'd get bored with it and move onto something else.  Instead, I just seem to want to do more and more and I keep dreaming - bigger and better.  I look up to people who do bigger and greater things.  It keeps me motivated but I'm happy with my own successes and am not trying to be like anyone else.  I'll be the first to admit that I have a somewhat obsessive, addictive personality.  I get really into things and I'll also admit that at times I am quite nutty.  At least I can laugh about it.

However, I do not think I'm obsessed with or addicted to running...at least not in a bad, compulsive way.  I do not think I take it to extremes and think I keep it in moderation and don't really see myself taking it to an extreme in the future.  I do not run crazy mileage - I just keep a base of around 30 miles per week and do not see this changing drastically anytime soon. I try to keep races to no more than one per month.  I keep the amount I run with others in check (it always takes a lot longer with others meaning I'm away longer).  I try to keep it in balance with work and everything else in life. 

Over the past month or so, the amount of time I've been away or out of the house due to running has been higher than usual.  I ran races 4 weeks in a row, the last two of which required me to be away for the entire weekend and also take 2 days off of work.  That is not normal and not something I do all of the time, nor do I have any desire to.  On top of that, I have been running with others a lot more, mostly due to wanting to run on trails and not going to do that alone.  Due to others schedules and plans, it may take up more time to do this. 

If anything, I would say the time I was the most obsessed was while I was training for that first marathon.  Since then, I think I've figured out how to balance it all better.  I attempted to follow a training plan perfectly last year.  After it, I got a little more settled...and even burnt out for awhile.  The burn out faded and I've been ready to go lately but I do not think it controls my life.   

Then again, maybe I am just completely delusional. 

Anyone else see the segment?  Anyone think they are an obsessive runner?      

I ran!!

Today, I ran!  Four whole miles and it felt wonderful! 

Despite being uber-motivated to run in my mind and heart, my foot basically decided otherwise over the past week and a half. 

I took it very easy last week and kept trying to deny the fact that my foot was f'ed up. 

On Saturday, I ran 14 miles on trails and it actually went pretty well.  I thought my foot miracuously healed...or maybe I was still in denial.  I desperately wanted to get one more good run in on some technical trails before the 50K to practice the art of not falling...even if I stumble a bit...and move faster than a snail's pace! 

On Sunday, I biked for 2 hours with my husband...although I'm pretty much terrified of biking.  I won't be switching sports anytime soon.  A bad accident when I was a kid made me uneasy and my bike is my mountain bike from when I was in the 5th grade (literally), so I'm not really sure it was even considered real exercise. 

Determined to get in real exercise after the bike ride, I tried to run but the foot was having none of it and I hobbled my way home just a few minutes after heading out the door. 

Since then, I decided to do the smart thing and actually rest for a few days.  Meaning, do nothing kind of rest. This doesn't really make me happy and I've been a little on edge...there's that little 50K in a little over a week looming over my head.  I'm really nervous I won't be able to make cut-off times due to my lack of trail experience (and the amount of time it took me at Megatransect). 

But, my spirits are a bit renewed.  My foot was still feeling a little iffy but thought I was OK to try again today.  I set out and felt great.  I only went four miles, still trying to play it really easy but I so wanted to go longer.  Hopefully, by continuing to take it easy I'll be ready to go next weekend!

Ragnar Relay Pennsylvania

October 7-8, 2011 marked the first Ragnar Relay Pennsylvania. Several months ago, I got an e-mail from our lovely team captain asking if I wanted to be part of an all women's ultra Ragnar team. My initial reaction was 'No', because I thought I might be a little banged up from Megatransect the week before. However, after reading about the relay, I got sucked in and thought it sounded like a great time. Always making smart choices (haha!), I decided if I took the week off after Megatransect, I should be good to go by Friday.





Our team changed a bit over the months leading into the race. It took a little time to find a sixth member and one of original members had to sit out due to injury, but she become one hell of a support team member/driver/navigator! By race day though, we had a full team, we were all ready to go and excited to have a great time together over two days stuck in a van with each other.

Festivities began Thursday evening while we decorated the van. Due to connections from our last minute runner, we ended up with an awesome set of legs to attach to the top of the van, perfect for our "She's Got Legs and Knows How to Use Them" team. Legs firmly (hopefully) attached to the top of the van, pictures in fishnets and high heels, including our "Sharp Dressed Man" and we were ready to run.

Friday began with a 1 AM wake up call. I was lucky to at least got a few hours of sleep, a few people on our team didn't even bother going to bed at all. Van fully packed, the six girls settled in while our awesome driver and co-captain hit the road at 2 AM taking commands from the Mr. T GPS leading us Lancaster for our 5 AM start.

Arriving in Lancaster shortly before 4 AM, we got our necessary gear from the start line, which was just getting set up since we were part of the first group of runners. Our first runner, Anna, got all of her night gear on and headed over to the start line. It seemed like just seconds later and she was off! The start was a bit of a blur and I remember thinking "Now what?". It seemed a little anti-climatic! We all piled back into the van and leap-frogged our runner through the first two exchanges. Since we were an ultra-team, each of us ran two back-to-back legs. I'm pretty sure I was in and out of full consciousness during these legs (sorry Anna!).

By the time our little firecracker of a runner hit exchange 2, the sun had risen for our last minute runner, Angie, to start. It seems the van got a little turned around during the next two exchanges. Pretty soon we were at exchange 4, although we didn't realize it for quite some time. Wondering where our runner was, since she is a really good, fast, runner, we finally figured out that we somehow skipped exchange 3 completely. Angie probably wondered what the hell happened to her team. She said she didn't want us sticking close to her but completely abandoning her until exchange 4 probably wasn't in the plan either.

On schedule, she arrived ready for our third runner, Charlene, to take off. This was the shortest section of a very long race and pretty soon it was time for runner 4, Nikki to take off. This was at a major exchange point, where normal teams would switch out vans. We were a bit ahead of pace so they held us back a few minutes. Also by this time, we were running/driving through gorgeous farmland in Lancaster county. Having grown up in the country, I thought I knew what farms looked like pretty well, but they are still very different in Amish country. I thought this part of the course was great.

While Nikki was running her heart out in Amish country, we were busy stopping and taking pictures while going through Intercourse, PA. How could you not!?! Somehow we got a little turned around making our way to Exchange 8. Turns out our runner did as well, adding an extra mile and half to her run...she only had the most miles anyway at over 40 during the course of the weekend, what is a little more!

After we were back on course and also located our missing runner, we enjoyed some yummy ice cream at the next exchange where Brenda, our captain, was ready to take off. By this time, I was fully awake and getting antsy to run. It had been a long time. Through more country roads Brenda ran before stopping at exchange 10 for me to take over. By this time, it was the afternoon.

I started, about 2 PM, along a somewhat busy road and in front of a strip mall but quickly turned into quiet, country roads. I had about 13.5 miles to run total on these two legs. The first leg was great as it rolled along a gravel road, passing through a covered bridge and I continued passing farms with horses plowing the fields and tobacco (I guess?) hanging in barns to dry. It was quite picturesque.

Before my run started, I was a bit distraught since I could not find my mp3 player. I looked for it frantically but to no avail. I was going solo on this and frankly not happy about it! One of the most fun things during this relay was to witness the nervous energy that each of us runners displays before we run. Checking and double-checking gear multiple times, reviewing the route over and over again and doing our normal pre-run rituals, questioning everything. By the time I was a few miles into this, I realized I didn't need the music, I just needed to enjoy the run. We were doing this solely for fun and taking the time we needed on each leg. As I continued onto leg 12, I was passed by a horse and buggy. That was a little odd. What do I do? Do I attempt to jump out of the way? Stop? I kind of just slowed down and hopped into the grass on the side of the road.

After a fairly long, gradual hill, I was back into a small town and ready to hand off to runner 1. By this time it was a little after 4 PM (I think) and finally, we had all run. It was now time to start all over again. We were able to fill up on some food before quickly trying to find our runner. We missed her during the first exchange but apparently she was quite the Energizer Bunny flying up the hills and encouraging others as well. As we tried to look for her, a guy from another team told us Anna helped get him through those hills...gotta love that! We made it to the next exchange in a park where our next runner was able to take off. By this point, I was getting tired so I resorted back to my semi-conscious state. I only truly fell asleep a few short times but was semi-conscious during several legs.

Angie made her way through Reading along some killer hills and some lovely sketchy, ghetto-land. Some more massive hills and eventually we were at the top of Skyline drive ready for Charlene take off on the first night run. Darkness seemed to settle in quickly and Charlene had about 14 miles to cover. The van, with our still amazing endless energy driver at the wheel, tried to stick close with her, leap-frogging as much as we could. We had been warned in advance that signs might be messed with and LEDs from the signs removed. We didn't want her getting lost out there in the dark. However, the runners got led off onto a path of some sort and we ended up getting a little turned around due to an unmarked road that we needed to follow. Eventually, though, we found her and she made her way to the next major exchange.

Exchange 17 was a bit of a cluster. There were people and cars everywhere. The exchange was on one side of the road and we wanted to get to the other where they had bathrooms (real ones!) and food. After parking, I made my way to the food stand with my mouth watering for some warm soup. By this point, I had basically eaten a banana and a bunch of PB&J and a few Shot-Bloks. I'd had a cold all week and was still not feeling 100%. My heart sank a little when the soup option was Beef Vegetable. I am not a fan so I settled for a turkey sandwich. It still tasted good and the hot chocolate was a treat. After everyone refueled a bit, we needed to get back on the road to get Nikki through the night legs. These roads had a bit of traffic and some of the drivers were driving a bit crazy.

After some long miles, it was Brenda's turn to tackle about 10 miles, including one bitch of a hill. She powered up that thing as the van leap-frogged her cheering her on. From the van we could see her headlamp, light and blue reflector on her shirt just chugging away. By this point, it was after midnight and I was getting a second wind. I was getting excited since it was soon going to be my turn to run again. Brenda brought it into the next exchange and I was off around 1 AM. I had a little over 9 miles to cover and for the night running, this was probably the easiest. I went through one little town so there were streetlights that helped, although the uneven, cracked sidewalk was a little tricky to maneuver.

Leg 24 started with a bit of a climb along a very dark road. It was the type with woods (I'm guessing!) off to the side and I got a little jumpy a couple of times through this section. The road was marked off with cones which we were to run inside of but sometimes that was difficult since they were so close to the edge of the road. Eventually, I made my way through another small downtown and into the next exchange, handing it over to Anna for her last run. We were actually getting there. Poor Anna had the most dark, nighttime running with two of her legs happening in the dark.

By this time, the legs on the top of the roof now had a name. Liza! Liza took out a tree limb and had to be adjusted during one of the earlier nighttime runs. She also took out some flags at exchange 25. Of course, this was minor compared to what was to come.

Around this time, our driver and wonderful cheerleader finally got tired...over 24 hours straight! He was remarkable! Our lovely co-captain took over the driving as we pressed on. During this leg Anna's foot became victim to a hole that wasn't illuminated very well by the headlamp, but she pressed on with her finish line in sight. With that, she was finished, just had to wait hours and hours for the rest of us!

Next up, Angie took over her last legs, most of which happened in the dark. At this point I was in my semi-conscious state again and cannot remark on too much that occurred. I think I actually fell asleep when we were at Exchange 26 but it must not have been long because when I woke up we were still there. I felt like I had slept for hours though. This stop had real bathrooms and I took advantage of being able to do a complete change and wipe down. By this point, I was feeling a bit disgusting. I ate the remnants of someone's egg sandwich and went back into my semi-conscious state.

Angie finished up her legs and was picked up by her boyfriend at the exchange point. Unfortunately, she had something else to do that day (can you imagine?) and wouldn't be able to make the rest of the journey with us to cross the finish line.

Charlene headed out on some tough mountains and probably thought we abandoned her since we stayed at the last exchange a bit for Angie to meet up with her ride. We left her without water but tried to make up for it when we caught up with her! She powered through the miles and finished her journey at one of the next major exchanges. This exchange was at a high school where we had more real bathrooms plus food. The sight of that cafeteria pizza put me in an excited state and it tasted delicious! Three runners finished and three runners to go, we were getting there!

Nikki took off for 16 very tough miles. Through the legs these girls we doing, we started to earn some major respect from other teams. Many were commenting on us being an ultra team and having our runners tackle these tough miles and double the miles. We passed through a quaint downtown, Jim Thorpe, on our way to the next exchange. At this exchange, Brenda was able to tackle a reporter who interviewed us for a story. We're so famous! By this point in the day, it was getting hot and the sun was beating down. Brenda took off for her final two legs, an extremely tough 17 miles. Leg 34 was going to be killer. Our wonderful support team did everything they could to keep her hydrated and motivated as she powered her way up the hill.

At the next exchange, as I was waiting for Brenda, I decided I was going to use her as my motivation to get through the final two legs. My foot was bothering me and I was not sure how it was going to hold out. I switched shoes to a brand new pair. The ball of my foot hurt after Megatransect and continued to hurt all week, just a mild, dull pain. It felt pretty good through the first two legs but I was thinking the ~34 miles I was putting on them over these two days might be pushing it.

As Brenda made her way into the exchange, I was ready to get through the next two legs. I was tired, going on virtually no sleep and my foot hurt. At a mile and a half into the ~11 final miles, I wasn't really sure how it was going to go. It felt hard yet what I was running was cake compared to what all the other girls just tackled. I just tried to ignore the pain and keep going. I knew I could get there, it was just a lot slower than I had hoped. I had really hoped I was going to have something left at the end to give, but I didn't. I just had to keep going one foot in front of the other.

My team filled up my water at the exchange point and I kept moving for the final ~6 miles. I was hot, tired and just ready to be finished. The road was a little difficult to run on because it was fairly busy and again there was no shoulder, only cones lined up on the road, but they were so close to the edge that it was hard to run inside of them. With four miles to go, it was time to just suck it up and get through it. In my head, I just kept repeating..."You are just walking the dogs, this is your normal, easy, daily 4 mile loop". Slowly the miles were ticking by. At one point I had to run along a freeway which was a little odd before taking the exit that led me into Pocono Manor.

Eventually, I could see people and knew it was almost over. My teammates were all waiting for me and we jogged it into the finish line. There was no kick at the end! Just like the start, the end was a bit anti-climatic, but we were finished and it felt so good! The end was a little disappointing. I was tired and none of the food appealed to me but the chocolate milk tasted good. We didn't hang around long. We were all tired and wanted to get home to a bed and shower, but still had a 3 hour drive. Our wonderful driver broke out a bottle of wine for us to enjoy. Surprisingly, as tired as we were, none of us really slept on the ride back. Guess we were all a little amped up. We did all of calculations to figure out time and pace and despite us all agreeing it was only for fun, I guess we all have a bit of that competitiveness in us. I certainly thought I could've done better but overall, it was still a great accomplishment. 202.1 miles, 6 girls, 1 van, 2 drivers and 35+ hours.

Those girls seem to have brought back my running mojo a bit though. I think I'm ready to get back on a real plan, with real goals. I have big things coming up but have been in more of 'do it for fun and just to finish' mode. I haven't been pushing myself for the last few months. I've kept my fitness level fairly level for the past few months.

So, thank you to all the Ragnar girls for an unforgettable weekend, good times and motivating me than you realize. You were all awesome. None of killed each other by the end of the weekend, we all got along and hope everyone else had a great time as well. Our only real casulty was Liza who fell off the roof on the way home. I'll always be the 'quiet' one but I enjoyed every minute of this!

Megatransect 2011

This weekend turned out to be quite the adventure trekking through the woods completing the Megatransect, a ~26 mile ultra hike/run up and down Bald Eagle Mountain in Lock Haven, PA. I signed up for this on January 1st. It has become very popular (like many ultras these days) and sells out quickly - in 48 hours this year. It was hard to believe it was actually here.

Friday afternoon, I met up with my sister and we made our way to Lock Haven. After quickly checking into our hotel room and grabbing some dinner, we attempted to find the start/finish area to pick up our packets. We didn't have an actual address and the GPS proved to be ineffective so we were relying on our navigation skills and a few crude maps. Eventually, after a few stops for directions and more illegal driving maneuvers than I can count, we made it there, picked up our packets and made the drive back to the hotel. After a night of little sleep (thank you hotel neighbors who were up talking and laughing very late), we left the hotel around 5:30 AM and made our way to the start.

By this time, the rain had started but it was a light drizzle. I dressed in capris, a tank top and a long sleeve shirt overtop. The capris were a last minute choice, I was planning on shorts but the forecast changed looking like it was going to be cold and rainy. I had never worn these capris to run but I thought they'd work well. They did, except for the fact that the waist was way too big and I was tugging on them all day long. Stupid choice! Also, after overhearing others say the forecast now looked like heavy rain, we both decided to shove our jackets into our packs. This turned out to be such a good decision later in the race.

At 7 AM, we were off, making our way 3 miles on the road before heading into the woods. As the gravel road ended, we made a left turn, across our first stream of the day. This would be the last time for dry feet for the day. This would also turn out to be pretty much the last time I 'ran' for quite a long time!

Up, up, up we climbed the Link Trail and we went down before hitting the boulder field. This is probably the most 'famous' part of this race. The race changes every year, both in the trails used and the total distance. Due to the rain, the rocks would be slippery. I started up them, basically crawling up them and felt OK. I seemed to be able to figure out where to put my foot next and was feeling just fine. They could be slick but overall weren't bad. I thought I saw what I thought was a ridgeline and was feeling good. Then, someone said, about 1/3 of the way there! What!?! I thought it was almost over. After the first third, I slowed way down and tons of people were moving up faster than me. I kept finding myself moving over towards the right (not where I ultimately needed to go) and seemed to keep getting stuck with no good next rock to step on. But, I just kept going, very, very slowly and eventually hit the top. I think it took me almost an hour to get up them, the section is probably only 3/4 of a mile. I was so out of it by the time I got to the top that I didn't even see that my sister was standing right in front of me waiting for me. After a quick picture, we proceeded onward....






...to more rocks. Next up was Rattlesnake Ridge and down a trail called Winchester and I was very uneasy on the whole thing and moving slow. These rocks were much more slippery than the boulder field and I continue to move very, very slowly to avoid crashing hard on them. Eventually, we got to a level section and I attempted a slow jog into the 1st aid station.

Oh, the first aid station! I will never in my life forget the scene at my first ultra aid station. I have never seen more ravenous beasts shoveling food into their faces at such a frantic rate...and under such sanitary conditions! After a PB&J, some M&Ms and energy drink, it was time to keep moving along. At this point, we were only ~8-9 miles in and already at 3 hours!




I don't remember a whole lot of details about the entire next section. I know this is where it started getting really slippery and muddy and going down any incline, you just slid or fell and I went down half of them by sliding down. Every time we thought about running, it seemed like by the time the decision was made, we were back into another area that was not run-able (at least for me, the fast people had to fly through the whole thing!). It didn't seem like it was that long before we were at the 2nd aid station - about 11.5 or so miles into the race. After some more food, it was time to head out again.

Next, it was the Goat Path. An uphill, steep trail that seemed to be never-ending. My hands were swollen at this point so I figured I wasn't drinking enough and took a salt pill about half-way up. It kicked in quickly and I soon felt like I could close my hands again. After the uphill, we got to a short section that we could run on, followed by a some more water crossings and a crazy section called Giant Steps. A few people we were with at this point commented that half of this didn't seem like trails at all, just flags and ribbon hung randomly in the woods for us to navigate through. This definitely seemed true. The course is marked so well though, there is never a point where you question which way to go. Up and down more rocky, slippery sections we went, very, very slowly!



Somewhere during the later miles of this section, things started to get a little rough. It was getting cold, really cold and the number of times we were crossing streams seemed to keep increasing and each one got deeper. My sister and I were both very hungry and could not wait to get to the final aid station, at mile 21. Eventually, we were there. We spent a few minutes longer at this one filling up some food. We also both broke out our jackets at this point. We were shivering, hands swollen again, more salt tablets taken, more food eaten. The thing that stuck out to me the most at this aid station were the people passing through here that needed help opening the packs of peanut butter crackers. I kept hearing multiple people...'I can't open my crackers, can you open my crackers for me?' The volunteers were all wonderful, I wonder how many packs of crackers they had to open?

Soon, the food and salt kicked in and we were off, only a few more miles in the woods before we got back to the road. However, the final few miles were tough. Up we went on a steep trail called the Raw Trail. I have never in my life seen my sister appear the least bit tired or worn out in any of the races we've done together. She's much more experienced than me and goes my pace, not hers. She was actually feeling it at this point and kept commenting that she couldn't really feel her feet very well. At the top of this section, we hit another section like the Boulder Field - more rocks to navigate. After the rocks, down we went, slowly across more rocks and mud, rocks and mud.

Soon enough, I could hear rushing water, we were getting close to the original stream crossing. We crossed it, hit the road and started running. My shoes and legs were once again clean...but not for long!

Running actually felt really, really good. I am not experienced on trails so this was pretty new to me, other than times when I just go hiking at a very slow, leisurely pace and never across trails like this! Figuring we were just back-tracking to the original start line, it was a little disappointing when we saw we weren't going back on the road, we were going through a field. A very muddy field that many, many people in front of us went through. It had been rainy/drizzly all day. We ran most of it but I started walking in some of the sections that were super muddy. Soon, it ended and we were back on the road and hit the finish line. Hit the finish line in 10 hours, 14 minutes and 37 seconds. That is not a typo. I had no idea what to expect but kind of thought we'd be more in the 8-9 (probably 9) hour range! There were still many people to come in behind us. It was a hard, rough, long day for everyone but rewarding at the end and overall, very fun! It wasn't rough until I got really, really cold and I was also tired of being soaking wet!



Made our way back to the car, grabbed our stuff and headed to the showers. The shower was just enough to get the major mud off and enough to be able to put on clean, warm clothes. Bundled up in a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants, it was time to eat! After filling up, it was time to head home. It was a three hour drive home, a long, slow drive in the dark, rain and windy PA state roads. Back at home, I got a real shower and then curled up on the couch..

Today, I'm sore, but nothing worse than the first marathon. Would I do it again? Absolutely! I don't think I will probably do this one again simply because I've done it and there are many others to try but I'm definitely up for more ultras - good thing since I'm already signed up for two 50Ks, one of which is in 4 weeks! They should have more trails to actually run...at least I think!

I now have 4 days to rest before Ragnar PA! Let's see how this goes!