The PCT 50 ..

This is how it started. Thursday night my tummy was a total mess. This is what was on the news.   What ??? Snow in San Diego. Snow on in MT. Laguna .. in May. So I should have known that just because there is snow on one day does not mean there is going to be snow the next day. So I freaked out went and bought new pants and then I went to bed. The morning did not start out the way I would of liked. There was no coffee or oatmeal at my dads. So my dad drove me to a friends house (Robert)  and I got a ride from him to the starting line. I felt both excited and sick. 

Once I got out of the car and got my bib and I suddenly felt better. The weather was perfect. You know that feeling when you step out of the car and your like 'whoa this is awesome running weather.' That's what I felt. Time seems to go slow for me in the morning . It felt like forever before the race started.  A huge highlight is having your friends out there running too. 
                                        The Trail Crashers 

The race started promptly at 6 a.m. The first 15 miles kicked my butt. I was not really surprised since I did not get to eat breakfast or have my coffee.( this is not an excuse but you should really have breakfast when attempting to run 50 miles ) I decided to just start focusing on everything that felt right. The weather was amazing and being out there was so beautiful. I could hear other runners trucking along and the air was so crisp. Strong mind strong body, right ?

The course was amazing. You run on a great trail with plenty of room as you can see in the picture above. It took me 6 hours to get from mile 1 to mile 24. The aid stations were awesome, lots of good food and lots to drink. I was sad that at aid station 2 one of our best runners was out. He hurt his ankle so I hugged him and kept going.  I thought about how lucky I was to be able to run. 

There was so much snow it was crazy. There was always someone around me and I had some great conversations . I even met a guy who has two daughters that attend the school I attended from 3rd grade to 8th grade. We knew some of the same people. Stuff like that is just really cool when you're out there. 

My face really says it all. I am just a happy mom out for a long ass run. I was really excited the entire time. I know its a long way to go but I felt fine. A couple cramps but for the most part I was super grateful. 

I was really happy to be getting close to being done because I was getting tired and I wanted to sit down. I did get to run with another mom she was fun and we had good conversations. We pulled each other for a little bit. I ate bananas and oranges but what really helped me was GU every 45 minutes. Even when I couldn't swallow it I did. I also did the Trail wind in my Camel back.  The GU was key.

This was my favorite part, mile 45. At mile 40 I started to feel really good . I didn't know how long it would last so I started running as fast as I could . This was at mile 45 I just love this view. Its so beautiful. How could I not be happy to be able to take part in a race that is held in such an amazing place. The race director  John Martinez did a really great job putting this together. Everyone was really nice and the aid stations where well prepared.  It took me 11 hours 45 minutes to finish . I was happy with that time. I did the best I could and I had fun and I made friends. That's all I can ask for. I feel I grew as a runner and I feel stronger. The PCT 50 was an awesome race I highly recommend running this if you dare !!