frogprincess72’s BodyBlog

What an experience. I’ve done it before, but 16 years ago. Makes a huge difference being in better condition!

So I meet half my all-female team last Thursday. We get in the van and drive to Timberline Lodge, where the race begins. WOW! I was so excited to finally meet the women! Our ages ranged from 20-49, so we were in the Open Division, and all very experienced runners, and like-minded. I was in pure heaven! We have our team dinner that night, and walk around Mt. Hood and the Lodge. And it’s an early bedtime for us, as half our team is from NY and Boston, and they were sleepy lil girls!

Friday morning, we get up and meet at 7:30 am to meet the rest of the team that showed up later and to decorate our van. Team name "does this van make my butt look big!?" Awesome name, considering 10 of the women couldn’t have weighed over 90 pounds!  Our start time is 9 am, and we hang out at the start line to cheer the other teams on, and to take pix.

So once 9 am hits, and our first runner is off, Van 1 takes off to run their first legs. Van 2 (mine) has about 4.5 hours to wait…. SOOOOOOOOO we enjoy a nice warm breakfast (the last one for awhile) and chilled until it was time to go to the first van exchange.. And let me tell you! After taking the week off for "recovery", I was rarin’ to go! I either wanted to take a nap, or get my first 6.4 miles under me! But alas, I had to wait! and wait.. and wait… UGH! I’m not a waiter!

FINALLY it came my turn. We got lost and I got to the runner exchange with just a few minutes to spare. I see Cap, the gal who’s passing off to me. And I’m beyond excited. I’m no longer tired. I’m pumped! I get the green wrist band and off I go, to "I got a feeling" by Black Eyed Peas. It’s a beautiful run, along the Springwater Corridor. Paved trail with lots of nature around. AND FLAT! I make it to mile 5, and there’s my son, mom and step-dad waiting to cheer me on. gave me some pep in my step to finish the last 1.5 miles. Then I caught up to the most annoying runner of all. there are many types, but this on is the worst… The one who can’t stand to get passed! UGH! I’m a steady runner. I keep my pace steady no matter what. This gal did anything but. She’d sprint ahead and once I caught up to her, she’d sprint again.. then fall back.. I could take her no longer, and was so excited when I saw "the hill".. I train on hills. HA! So I just keep my pace steady and wait for her to trail off. I give her credit, she held strong.. Being "roadkill" is tough on the ego. But I just ran my hill and took the inside corner on the turn and then it was all downhill (literally) to the finish line, and I never saw her again.. PHEW!!!!!

My next run was at about 2 am in the middle of nowhere. It was still so warm and humid (unusual for the coastal mountain range), but the little bit of mist really felt good. I started my 1.5 mile hill climb, again holding steady. And it was dark. SO DARK! I could only see what my headlight illuminated. But I loved it. I had no ipod. No distractions. Just the sound of my breathing and my feet striking the pavement. I got in my zone. It was amazing. Nothing was getting me out of it… UNTIL….Finally, the peak of the hill came, and it was 5.4 miles downhill. OUCH! Hello quads! But fast.. so fast.. I saw the line up of all the vans to get into the exchange and I saw my runner and I heard my team cheering for me and it felt so good! Honestly, this was the leg I was most concerned about and I did it 90 seconds faster than projected

 Now it was just a matter of time waiting for my last leg, which was just over 4 miles and flat. I wasn’t worried about it at all. I was still flying high after my 2nd run and it was 3 am and cheering on the rest of the runners in our van. Once we got her, we were off to the "sleeping area".. I didn’t wait.. My sleeping area was the back seat of the van. And I was out. Suddenly, I got a nudge and a "better wake up Sleeping Beauty.. The line to the Honey Buckets pretty long and we need to get a move on"… UGH.. And it was raining. Heavenly!

My last 4 miles was very uneventful, except to see all the runners who were breaking down. There were so many. I almost felt bad running by them…… ALMOST! But I gave them a cheer and a "only ………. till the exchange and we’re done" and then suddenly, I was done..

I can’t wait to do it again next year. Really, what an experience. And now, I’m helping my son train for a kid’s marathon at the end of October. I think I can handle the 1 mile/day runs