As my alarm went off at 6:20am I remembered the awesome evening I had just had, ending roughly 4 hours earlier. Everyone tells me I should get more sleep before my races, this is true, and I'm sure I would have much faster times if I did get some decent sleep. But as I lay there thinking about my adventures, I would have been okay getting dead last if it meant spending time with that special someone! =)
Well... anyone who knows me and my running knows that the next part of my morning consisted of several bathroom visits, even when I'm not nervous it seems to hit me good. Plus, I need to make sure its all gone so I don't have issues during the race. None so far in my racing career, unfortunately not the same for training runs! haha.
God could not have blessed us with a more beautiful race day! It wasn't even chilly out. I could stand there in my shorts and race top with no worries, no bundling up till the last few seconds. A-Mazing! As I waited for the race to start I lined up in the front of the pack and danced it out to some "Who Let the Dogs Out".
The race horn went off and I went out in the lead (I knew I would not finish first in this race and I wouldn't be lead for very long, however, there was someone taking pictures and I figured I might as well try and get a good shot of me in the lead). lol. It wasn't long before Rono (the Kenyan) was along side of me, and for awhile I ran next to him. At most of the creek crossings I fell back a little and tried to find the lowest part possible to run through. The last time I ran the race I just went straight through the middle and actually ended up waist deep at one point, but not this year! I do enjoy running through these creeks, however, I wish they were at the end of the race... because when you get your shoes soaked in the first 3 miles and then have to run another 12.5... your feet suffer quite a bit.
As the race continued Matt (a 15k racer) joined us and we ran together until it reached a point where he had to go a different way, eventually wining the 15k race. It was at this point that Rono disappeared from my sights for the rest of the race. I don't know if it was just me... but the hills seemed much much steeper this year (the course was different).
When I reached the first aid station I splashed a little bit of water into my mouth and grabbed a a few sport beans. As the race progressed the 2nd place finisher slowly passed me, and eventually 3rd place caught up to me. I enjoyed running with him. We chatted it up a bit and I used him to keep me going strong! We eventually reached the part in the course where its basically a short cliff drop and then a quick climb up a 75 degree angle maybe. hahaha. I just a bit confused on where to go.. i tried to go towards the camera guy and was supposed to go away from him. I guess he made me nervous, just kiddin.
Eventually, the 3rd place finisher pulled away from me pretty dramatically (Honestly, I can not figure out what happened. It wasn't a gradual distancing, he straight left) At the second aid station I took a quick sip of water. Every time I reached a clearing where I was out of the woods I would look all around me and see God's wonderful creation! The sun was shining with a magnificent beauty over the gorgeous Ozark Mountain hills full of the amazing fall colors as far as I could see! I debated stopping so I could take it all in longer! Every now and then I would say a little prayer of thanks, or prayer for someone. And I had a song stuck in my head, "Our God" by Chris Tomlin. Thanks to last night from Lexi singing it to herself as we made our way through the haunted corn maze and haunted house. haha <3
The first place 50k runner slowly caught up to me... he wasn't stopping on a single hill. He pushed through every single one of them! Amazing!! The 4th place 25k finisher caught up to me and we ran together till we reached the 3rd aid station. According to the race details, there would be an aid station every 5 miles.. so as soon as I saw aid station 3 I kicked it into high gear! Passed 4th place who stopped at the station. I put my stride on and picked up the pace. I kept pushing and pushing... but the finish never came, eventually I came up on a turn where my parents were. A lady said it was a hard push up this hill, level out, and then all down hill from there.. But the top of the hill didn't come for a long time.. once it did come.. there was another aid station, by this point the 4th place guy passed me again. (I had exhausted basically all my fuel... way too early).
I ended up finishing in 2.09, approximately 4 minutes slower than my first time 2 years ago. I Finished 5th overall this year, and 7th overall last year. I placed 1st in my age group. The course was much tougher this year, aaaand I got little sleep so I am fairly happy with my time, especially when I look at the 1st place finisher for both years(same person) he ran about 20 minutes slower than the other time I ran. I got an awesome plaque and nice finishers fleece.
After the race I spent an awesome day with Alexis. Included a random awesome dance party!!!
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