50 for 50

[limewave]

Totally selfish, but . . .

I wish for a new bike!

[Blueberry]

That I might have the privilege of meeting in person some of the wonderful women here who have been inspirations to me And that I be able to live by V's TagLine

[Veronica]

I wish I could always live by my tagline. Really, I don't know where that entire package of red licorice went.

Veronica

[spindizzy]

I wish I could always live by my tagline. Really, I don't know where that entire package of red licorice went.

Veronica

You are hilarious!!

[Red Rock]

Hope you are having a good/great race today. Enjoy the views.

Red Rock

[SadieKate]

Our wishes must have worked.

Yellow just finished a few minutes ago. 13 hrs, 5 mins and 33 secs.

I think there was only a measly 12,000 ft of climbing.

[OakLeaf]

Woohoo! Way to go Yellow.

[yellow]

Well, I had to invoke the DFL>DNF several times.

I am happy I finished but bummed about what happened between miles 23 and 52 (yes, 52).

It was a pretty good day weather-wise, but the heat did zap a lot of folks. I had moments of near-meltdown for other reasons.

I felt great going out. I was in a pack that missed a turn and by the time we figured it out and got back on course, we all did an extra 2 miles. So it was the SP52.

Anyhow, in a nutshell, body felt good, running was smooth, nutrition was great but at about mile 22ish something happened to my lower leg/foot. It started as weakness/lower leg wanting to collapse on the downhills and eventually became pain in the lower leg (anterior) and top of foot/ankle. For a while I could still run the flats and the mile uphills but after about mile 40 that also became too painful. So I walked the last 12 miles, which included a big climb I probably would have walked a lot of anyway. Because what goes up must come down, the drop off the pass was fairly excruciating. I ended up walking down a lot of the steep hills backwards. My pacer found me a walking stick, which helped tremendously. I almost dropped at the last aid station. One of the guys working the station is a running acquaintance of mine and he urged me to finish. "You'll be kicking yourself at about 6 o'clock if you don't. Walk. It's not that far." He was right.

You never know what you'll be dealt. I wasn't happy with my hand but at least it wasn't a total loser. I finished 52 miles, albeit with lots of help from two awesome pacers. I figure the detour + foot problems cost me probably an hour and a half. But since not detouring and not having a wonky foot were not in the cards, guess it's a moot point.

Aside from my foot, the rest of me feels pretty good. I woke up at 3 am absolutely starving, but I think that's justifiable.

[maillotpois]

Wow - amazing. What a thing to push through thy awful leg stuff. Good for you for making the best of a bad change in circumstance and finishing the bugger! You are a woman of steel!

[Alex]

Yellow! Awesome job! Congratulations on winning second place among the Master's Females!

I didn't see this thread until today and didn't know you would be out there. DH did the race as well, but finished well after you. I didn't even show up to cheer him in until 40 minutes after you were done, and let's just say the poodles and I had time to burn waiting at the park for him. At least it was a nice place to wait.

This was the fifth time he's done this race. He likes the original course better than yesterday's but, like you, was glad it wasn't cancelled.

I hope you're feeling well today and that the foot/leg issue is a thing of the past.

[jobob]

Totally selfish, but . . .

I wish for a new bike!

That's not selfish, it's normal!

[yellow]

Thanks to everyone who contributed. I still have quite a few to go, but I have other sources

Over the weekend I came up with two mantras, neither of which is original. The first is footsteps, breathing courtesy of Diane VanDeren and the second is DFL>DNF>DNS (which I know is not original but I can't pinpoint exactly when I saw it first).

The RD changed the course last week because we have so much snow in the high country. The run is still 50 miles and still has about 12,000' of climbing but minimal running on snow and no creek crossings (there were 3 sizeable ones on the old course). Much of it will be at lower elevation, which is spooking me a bit because I have not trained in anything that remotely resembles warm temperatures. Hopefully it won't get above the low 70s.

My pacers have all dropped for one reason or another. Starting to build the 14 hour playlist!

[Bike Chick]

I can't imagine a 14 hour playlist!

Best of luck to you, yellow. Have a great time and when it starts hurting, just make yourself smile and for some reason, it doesn't hurt as bad.

Be sure to give us a full report.

[yellow]

Well, even with some prodding I still didn't quite get 50. Coming up with the remainder will give me something to think about while I am running.

Printed out and stowed in pack.

[Veronica]

That's very cool Sue! Good luck, have fun, take pictures, kick *** and tell us all about it!

Veronica