On the Road to the Rim Rock Run

Eleven days. Eleven short days until November 8, my day of reckoning. Eleven more restless nights spent trying to remember why I thought running 22.6 miles up and over the Colorado National Monument was a good idea. Eleven more days of waffling back and forth between knowing I’ve trained hard and I’ll cross the finish line, and wondering what I can do to get out of this. Unlike lots of people who run for noble causes that benefit other people in particular or mankind in general, I did this pretty much for myself. Granted, I raised a few bucks along the way for Girls on the Run and other groups that benefited from my various race entry fees. Maybe I’ve encouraged a few people to take the first steps to run, walk or get up and move. But mostly, I’ve done this for me. Just to see if I can. Eleven days from now, I’ll know if I did. In the meantime, I’m still logging lots of miles. I’ve also acquired a few common runner’s afflictions. Plantar fasciitis. Iliotibial band friction syndrome. Toenails that refuse to stay attached to your actual toes for the duration of a half-marathon. All relatively painful, but I choose to look at them as badges of honor. Hopefully none of them will become serious enough to be show-stoppers. I ran my second half-marathon on October 19 in Moab, along with fellow Team Tiara-mates and 1300 other runners. Lining up at the start. It was such an amazing experience. Thirteen point one miles of gorgeous scenery - from the skeletal remains of Dewey Bridge, past Onion Creek, Castle Rock, Fisher Towers, phenomenal red rock and river scenery, to the finish line at Sorrel River Ranch where lots of cold beer was waiting. The weather was cool and sunny perfection and the first six and a half miles were relatively flat and easy. The hills over the next six and a half miles were no picnic, but as my friend Elissa and I joked, “They ain’t no Mariposa, they ain’t no Serpent’s Trail, and they sure ain’t no Tabeguache!” referring to some of the local hills we’ve been running. All that must have paid off because I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:25:51, nine minutes sooner than my last half-marathon! Mmmmmm, that tastes way better than gatorade! I did not, however, beat Elissa to the beer. Elissa has already finished all her beer. Hey Dad, give me back my beer! Maybe my beer will be safe here. This past Sunday I met up briefly with a group from Mesa Monument Striders to do a training run from the East Gate of the Monument until whenever. It was still dark at 7:00 a.m. as a half-dozen hard core runners took off from the East Gate. Elissa and I “cheated” and drove up 2 ½ miles to Serpent’s Trail and set off from there. Once we got past the Glade Park turnoff we had the road pretty much to ourselves. We witnessed a blood-red sunrise over the valley that was worth getting up early to see. Dan drove our personal shag wagon and three hours, two Clif bars, a liter and a half of Gatorade and close to 16 miles later we met up at the Visitor’s Center. I figured the next four miles were all downhill so I didn’t feel one bit guilty about driving them. Nor did I feel guilty about soaking in the tub for an hour or eating most of a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips for lunch! This has nothing to do with running. Just wanted you to see me in something besides sweaty running clothes! From now until the Rim Rock Run on November 8, I’ll be icing my right leg from hip to knee, trying to re-grow toenails and running in the Harbert Lumber Fall 5K for Girls on the Run this Saturday. Wish me luck, and if you’re so inclined, post a comment with some words of encouragement. Or better yet, make a donation at www.rimrockrun.org to benefit the Mesa State Women’s Cross Country Team scholarships.