Carb loading begins at Sky Harbor!
Bring on the water! Hotter than normal and more humid than we are used to means lots of sweating-yuck!
Snoqualmie Falls! 270 feet high. An impressive sight and sound as it thunders over the rocks. 1.5 million visitors a year. It is easy to see why.
Sunday June 14th is race day! The morning is low 40's, nice and cool. The location is surrounded by mountains and forests. The race starts with a run through 2 plus miles of train tunnel. Everyone has a flashlight for getting through the pitch black run-it was exhilarating. Half way through the run I am on pace for a Boston qualifying run. The sun is now out and things have heated up to the 70's. Doesn't seem too bad but as a runner it feels like 90's. When I run I get hot fast and don't seem to cool down as well as most. From that point on the pace begins to slow. Two thing keep running through my mind. "I will finish this run no matter what." And "I will do my best in every moment." Lots of mind games come into play in getting you to the finish line. So alas I did not make my goal time and this is a very difficult pill to swallow. The reality is that Washington is hotter than normal and higher humidity than I am used to. Those factors cause me to overheat and I can't drink nearly enough water to compensate. This is one thing I just could not control. I finished the race. I ran my best in every one of the 26.2 miles. I feel good about that. I can't help but say that this reminds me of life. We can't control all that will happen to us but we can control how we handle it. I am glad for this amazing opportunity to run this race in this beautiful place. No regrets and somehow stronger. Next up is site seeing on the Olympic coast!
Congratulations Katie!
ReplyDeleteThe thirst you feel in your throat and lungs will be gone minutes after the race is over. The pain in your legs within days, but the glory of your finish will last forever.
I liked the reference and reflection to life at the end the blog.
See you next week,
Scott