onepinkfuzzy

Woo hoo! What fun!

(I have lots of wonderful pictures, but my computer is not reading my camera, argh!!!!)

Woke up bright and early without needing my alarm at 5:25 (hmm, noticing a pattern here, nice!). Quickly dressed, brushed my teeth and ate a half a powerbar. Ash woke up just as Johnny arrived. We hustled out of the house, loaded up his car and hit the drive-thru at Starbucks for some early morning java to perk Johnny up and some vanilla horizon milk for Ash. I kept drinking my powerbar endurance drink and water. We got to the starting line early enough to grab a nice parking spot and then it was off to the porta-potties. Again, early enough to have only a brief wait in line.

Then we headed to the start/finish area to await Paki's arrival. Shortly before she arrived, I saw Mike getting ready for his warm-up. When I jogged over to wish him luck, he said Kiera was still on the fence about coming out for the race. I was hoping she'd be there.

I also got to talk to a fellow trail runner who was at Zane Grey last weekend. He said he didn't see me there, but had looked at my photos and then my blog. He found the post I wrote about my first ultra - Pemberton 50k 2006 - and said that he usually doesn't make it all the way through those sorts of things, but loved reading my post! What a great way to start the day :)

Paki and I met up, and Ash gave good luck hugs to both of us. As we drifted to the starting line, I heard my phone ring - Kiera was wondering where we were. "I'm over here!" I yell, before realizing that "over here" could be anywhere :) "To your, uh, left!" We laughed, Haiden gave me a good luck hug, and then they were off to the front to cheer on Mike. Paki and I lined up about mid-pack and then the gun went off.

The weather was perfect - gentle breezes, not too hot, not too cold. Paki and I ran well together - she reminded me not to burn out in the first couple of miles, and once she got warmed up, she helped me get up the hills (all of which I ran). I had been intimidated by this race in the past, due to the hills and time of year it's put on. But the hills were not bad, and the temperature this year was just right. Paki and I talked a little bit at first, but then concentrated on running.

The course winds through the Tucson Mountains, next to a golf course and below stunning red cliffs. We had fun watching the front-runners go by, and after a never-ending hill, we hit a turn that took us down to the turnaround. There was plenty of water and cups at each water stop, and cute kids handing out the cups. Paki and I were feeling good, and as we headed back up, we were able to tick off a few runners. Then it was downhill - oh, the joy! As I ran down, I commented to Paki that I couldn't believe I actually ran UP this hill! We passed a few more runners, including a guy in a yellow shirt, who I guess didn't like being "chicked" because shortly after, he came FLYING by. But then we hit the last water stop, where Paki didn't want any water and I ran ahead, then jogged through. Yellow Shirt walked, and Paki and I flew back by him. We passed a few more runners, one of which then had an awesome surge up a final hill - Paki and I were beat by then, and there was no way we could keep up with her! Suddenly, the finish line appeared, and we gave it a final kick to the end.

I had forgotten my watch, so I had no clue what my time was. Kiera guessed around 1:09, which was great - I was hoping for under 1:10. I found the results - where strangely enough, Paki is not mentioned - and I finished in 1:08:22, an 11-minute-mile pace. Not bad for a hilly 6.2 miles the day after I ran a hilly and fast 5.1 trail miles. I know I could have or possibly should have gone faster, but I am totally satisfied with my time.

I really enjoyed running this with Paki, and I loved the distance - much more than a 5k. Johnny, Ash and I hung out afterwards with Kiera, Mike and the kids for the chorizo and bean burrito breakfast and to cheer for Mike - he placed second in his age group (5th overall).

What a beautiful morning.