Started out just as dawn was breaking. I was way more nervous this morning than I thought I'd be. More nervous than I was before Boston. I think because trail is where I really want to do well. Wrangling 3 kids this morning and not realizing just how far the Race was from the hotel led to us showing up just before the start. Gun fired and we were off. My goal was to keep it easy and increase my effort every 10 miles. I knew this would be a challenge for me and it was. Starting out I was not far behind the lead female. I kept telling myself "run your own race", "paint your own picture", but I found myself desiring to "keep up" with her. I was pushing easy into "almost moderate" effort. I kept telling myself to let her go, "run your own race", "paint your own picure" and finally after about 3-4 miles I said, "let her go" loud in my head... and I did. And she went off in the distance. So glad I did. It was like a weight lifted and now I could relax thinking, "ok, let's paint this picture!". I stretched my arms out several times like a bird with wings and felt the breeze. I knew I was still hanging at the upper end of easy, but I was happy here. Now I was focusing on my fueling and hydration. I opted to use a handheld and so glad I did. I stayed much better hydrated drinking to thirst and not fighting the tube and suction/gravity making pulling water from a hydration pack a little harder. I could also see how much I was taking in. The texas trails were gorgeous...lots of sandy double track sections, tons of cactus and scrubby brush and shrubs we don't have in NE Oklahoma. It was a rolling course with some good climbs. My goal was to run the entire course..no hiking the hills. My favorite little lunchtime run course has a nice 3/4 mile climb. These climbs reminded me of this and i pictured myself on that course, picking my way up, turning my feet fast, but keeping effort down. Around 15 miles I saw the lead girl in front of me. I was shocked, and a little concerned. I decided to relax my pace a little and follow. We hit another hill and she shifted to a hike. I was feeling really good and did not want to hike so I passed her. I stayed right in front of her and we chatted. She had run Leadville last year and we met on the trail there. I confided in her how glad I was at Leadville to run across another "low lander" girl. It gave me hope that if there was another girl from near 0 feet elevation completing Leadville, that maybe I could too. I was feeling very good at this point and reminded myself I had a painting to work on. The first 10 miles i painted the base layer, the background, with easy brushstrokes (cadence and pace) and light colors (easy effort). Now it was time to add some bolder colors..oranges and reds (confidence and persistence). I don't think my pace increased, but my effort did. The lead female would catch me at every aid station at this point. By now I was not worried about her. I was tickled pink that I had passed her and knew at this point I could not add any effort, so if she passed me it was just the way it was going to be. 20 miles came around and my pace slowed with a similar if not increased effort. I hit 24 miles and knew I could now count down from 10. Something about getting into the single digits makes life seem so much better. Pace slowed more and I started feeling like the little engine that could. My uphill pace was rediculous, quite the shuffle. I was able to recover and pick back up on the downhill/flats. The next 2 aid stations I did not see my friend. 4 miles left to go and I was moving slow and the miles were moving slower. The last 10 miles of this race were all varying efforts of heart. Painting my picure with moods of deep purple. I felt passing clouds of bad and not quite so bad feeling. Mild nausea plagued me from about mile 18 on. Then came the last mile and a half. thank God! The finishing touches on my painting I wanted to be filled with speed and strength. I kicked it into what felt like high gear and raced on in. I sprinted...well felt like sprinted...the last 1/4 mile. Finished in 5:48... I did not realize until I stopped was that my friend had closed the gap and was only about 40 seconds behind me! Had I known that a few miles back, I likely would have bowed and let her take it. I was so worn those last few miles, I think if I saw her gaining on me, it would have broke me down a bit. I hollered loud as she came in. She did fantastic.
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