onepinkfuzzy

Whew! I'm tired today. I couldn't sleep much or well Friday night, so I got up at 3 a.m. I took my leisurely time getting ready, and left with plenty of time to spare. OP50 is about an hour-and-a-half southwest of Tucson, on dirt roads I've been on before, but I've never driven on by myself. I was a little worried about finding my way back there.

I had used trade at a local book/music store to purchase a couple used CDs for my drive out there. First, I rocked out to an older Hot Hot Heat release (while I could hear characteristics of their later, more well-known release, this one was definitely more raw; I still enjoyed it though), then I really had fun bopping along to the newest Jet release (the first couple of songs were a little too..."swagger rock"...for me, but I mostly enjoyed it). I managed to find my way back to the correct dirt road, and by this time, other cars were heading there as well, so I followed the caravan of about 10 cars as we slowly made our way back to the starting point at Kentucky Camp.

It was about 21 degrees, and I wasn't prepared for that (I was more prepared for about 40 degrees (or so I thought)). Despite the chilly conditions, there were runners milling around in tank tops and shorts! We loaded a truck for mile 25, and then waited for the start. I was so cold; a friend offered hand warmer, which were a lifesaver! Once the runners were off, we headed back up to our cars and caravaned to the aid station. I really enjoyed the ride out there - twisty, turny dirt roads through southern Arizona grasslands as the sun rose. The road plunged over a pass and down a canyon. Four miles later, we arrived at our station.

I opened the door and was assaulted by a freezing wind. "Uh-oh," I thought. I had been fighting either bad allergies or a slight cold all week, and being out in cold wind did not bode well for me (cold and wind dampens your immune system). As I helped to set up the aid station, I couldn't stop shivering. One of the volunteers offered me an extra fleece, and another volunteer gave me a blanket. I was wearing my jeans, a tank bra (shimmel), long-sleeve shirt, thick fleece, windbreaker, another fleece, mittens, handwarmers, my beanie topped with my ballcap and over the whole thing was the blanket. I looked like a mummy :)

We waited for about an hour while crew and additional volunteers showed up. Finally, Hal Koerner was the first runner through. We all pounced - "What can we get for you?" The ham radio operator asked for a person to check runners in and also a person to check runners out. I volunteered for that. I spent the next four hours sitting in a camp chair, wrapped up in my blanket, attempting to capture everyone's numbers and time out while saying Hi to the runners I knew (most of whom said, "I didn't see/recognize you under there!"). It was a little stressful to try and get everyone's numbers, but I only missed one person. I got to chat with David Goggins' crew for a bit (he was at Twin Peaks a few weeks ago), which was cool. The wind starting dying down by the end, but even as we were packing up, I was still shivering, deep-inside-my-core shivering.

The warm drive home was a welcome relief. Despite preparing well with food, I was starving on the way home, so I stopped by Carl's Jr. After downing a totally unhealthy lunch, I jumped in the shower. Oh, the warmth! I spent the next few hours reading a magazine and just relaxing.

I think I need to stop staying up till midnight on days that I wake up before 6 a.m. But I got to sleep in this morning until 9 a.m. I was supposed to get an 8-mile run in this morning, but I woke up feeling like it's definitely a cold that I have. And the wind is wicked today, with major dust in the air. I just really don't feel like subjecting my sick body to more wind while I fight through a long run. I want to rest and take care of myself.