Things You May Not Know About Me (Bonus Edition)

If you've been on Facebook lately, you've seen the thing going around where someone gives you a number and you post that many things about yourself that not everyone may know about you. But not all of you may be friends with me on facebook and some of you stalwarts may not even be on facebook at all.  I know. 

 So, I am reposting the 8 random things that people may or may not know about me. And then, as a BONUS for those of you that already saw this on my facebook page, I am going to give you some extra stories that you may not have already heard!! So keep reading, you won't regret it!

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  Alright I was given the #8 so - 8 things people may not know about me. I've made a lot of new pain buddies and many people who have only known me since all of that started so there are some things that people may not know about me before all that started such as: 

1. Right as my pain was starting I was training for and completed my first and only sprint triathlon. I miss really exercising. 
2. I read approx 100 books a year on average and I will read books about just about anything.
3. I've written in over 50 journals.
4. I birthed 3 of my 4 children naturally and breastfed for a total of ... approx 6 1/2 yrs - lol.
5. I never figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was interested in too many disparate things. This still really bothers me. I'm a stay at home mom, which is what I really wanted. And now I am mostly bedridden with pain anyhow. But if I wasn't those things, what would I be? I don't know.
6. I consider myself a half expert in ultra marathon running since my better half is an ultra runner. It's a funny thing being a spouse of a crazy person like that. 
7. I play the violin but it's another thing that is aggravated by the facial pain. I haven't really been able to play.
8. One thing I love that not many people know is bread making. In another life I think I'd like to live in Germany and own a bakery. Yummm.

One thing I learned when my older sister did this on her facebook is that when she and I were quite little (I was 1 or 2, and she was 4 or 5), my parents apparently picked up a hitchhiker and had him sit in the backseat with us. He proceeded to threaten my sister and I with a knife to rob my parents or something. My sister remembers this happening to her. I obviously do not - but I'm still kind of disturbed to learn about it.

Another thing that happened to us when we were very little is that my mom was traveling alone with us by train to visit relatives once and when the train was crossing a bridge over a river it crashed and tipped over and everyone had to walk along the windows to evacuate. I was a baby and so my mom was carrying me. My sister was 3 yrs old and my mom was holding her by the hand. This was in the middle of the night, so it was dark and she could only hear the river rushing below them. I imagine this must have been terrifying.

One thing that I do remember happening when I was little was when we had a copperhead snake on our back patio. This must have been in the somewhat early 80's. Our neighborhood had it's own police force so my mom called the police and the officer came to our house and blew the snakes head off with a rifle. I'm not exactly sure why this was the best course of action, but it saved the day!

We had a lot of snakes around our semi-rural neighborhood when I was little. I remember a time when I was riding my tricycle around my driveway, I must have been around 3 or 4, and I came around to the front of the house to our sidewalk and there was a huge black snake in the middle of the sidewalk and it reared it's head up at me. I have no idea what kind of snake it was but I was absolutely terrified and I just jumped off my tricycle and ran away.

It seems that we also somehow had snakes that got into our basement somehow. I don't know how it happened. Mom? Dad? Someone might be able to tell me how we got snakes into the basement. It might have had something to do with flooding. I'm not sure. But then I developed quite an irrational fear of having snakes in the basement. I had nightmares about it for years.  In fact, it's entirely possible that this didn't really happen and it was all just dreams but I really hope that's not the case because that would be really freaky.  I really think it did happen once and that's what started the nightmares.  And my new neurologist is also a sleep specialist and he asked me a lot of questions about my sleep and dreams history and he says that it's really not normal to become confused between what is real and what you have dreamt. So. Yeah.

I also had fears of seeing Giants looking at me through our second story windows. No idea why.  And tornadoes.  I had a huge paranoia of tornadoes. I had heard that they sound like trains so I would lay in my bed at night, listening to the wind and straining to hear if it sounded like a train approaching, my heart pounding.  I also slept on the top bunk of a bunk bed and I was so afraid of a tornado coming, I would move to the floor to sleep, because I thought that if our roof blew off I'd surely be the first to go with it and I didn't want to get blown away by myself.  This was when I was about 9 years old. I know this kind of fear is developmental as children learn about the world and become afraid of all the bad things that can happen but I'm not sure if all kids are as afraid as I was or for as long as I was. I don't really know.

Anyway - so hmm there's an interesting collection of stories about me that you may not have already known. Some interesting little traumas I don't even remember which reminded me of some little weird memories and some of my early fears. What were you afraid of as a child? Do you think my fears were unusual?  Do you have things you dreamt that you can't remember if it really happened or not? Do you think early traumatic experiences that you can't even remember can still affect you? 
Anything else you feel like commenting?  Please do.:)

Relay Race!

Our local churches were putting on an 18 mile relay race that Zac wanted to run. He thought it'd be fun to get Abigail to run on a team with him, so he was trying to get a coed team together. We found another guy to run (our neighbor Jaxon) but had a really hard time finding another woman. So. Guess what? Yep, I ended up getting talked into it.

Then we ran into some issues because the race organizers decided we couldn't have a youth on our team. They either had all youth teams or all adult teams. But then they did more discussing or something and changed their minds again. So we ended up in the Open Category at the last minute.

Each of the legs were between 1 mile and 3.3 miles and we each ran 2 legs. I had the shortest sections, but one of them had a huge hill that about killed me. Especially since I haven't really done much running since the triathlon. The guys were speedy though and that helped our team do really well!! Abigail did great, too, but she was really sore from running the 3.7 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving so it was tough for her. But it was more fun than I expected it to be and we came in 2nd for the Open Group and 5th overall (out of 2o-something teams). Plus doughnuts at the finish. So yay for us!!:)

Anyway - here's the photo story for you: (Enjoy!)

Go Team 4!!:)

and . . . more running!

(a catch-up post on some races I've missed)

Recovery Days 5K

Sept 17 2011

Zac's work helps put on this Recovery Days race and he likes to drag the older kids along to run it. This year they ALL PLACED FIRST in their age groups! YAY!

Isaac - ran in 29:54 - got 1st place boys age 1-10 (49th men's overall out of 126)
Abigail - ran in 25:15 - 1st place girls 11-14 (5th women's overall out of 113)

Zac - ran in 18:14 - 1st place overall!!!

(and he won a gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse and to a spa place! yahoo for fun race prizes!!!)

(some pics someone else took at the finish and gave to Zac)

BYU Triple Crown Elementary School Race

Sept 21 2011

Our school running club decided to participate in this elementary school meet at BYU. They were separated by gender and grade and then each group started 5 min apart. And I think Zac was out of town and Abigail had a church youth group activity so I was there alone with the 3 kids trying to help get them to the start and then be there to take pictures at the finish and, well, let's just say it didn't work out very well. Ugh.

I don't like crowded events much to begin with. Then the stress of getting the kids each where they needed to be, making sure they stayed there, coaxing them into participating (and not wimping out), etc etc. Hm. It wasn't much fun for me.

Here is Elisabeth at the start (#1472). The kindergartners were invited to run with the 1st graders.

So 5 min after her start, it was Samuel's turn to start. He was very anxious and nervous and almost didn't let me leave him there. But he did it!

Then I ran over to the other side of the field to see Elisabeth finish!

And I had gone up to sit in the bleachers where they told the parents to go to watch - but then when they got to the finish I realized in a panic that they were just letting the kids go off into the crowd after the finish line. AHHHH!!! So I pushed through the crowded bleachers and weaved my way over to the finish line to get her and by the time I reached it, Elisabeth was nowhere to be found. Panic. I ran around a little trying to find her, but then realized that Samuel was coming up to the finish line!!

I grabbed another familiar looking parent from our school and asked her to please grab Samuel at the finish line so that I could go find my lost daughter. Ugh!!

I ran over to the start to look and then came back again and finally saw her with her friend's mother. Phew! But of course she was in tears because she didn't know where I was. Who knows how lost she'd been before this nice mom grabbed her.

Then we went over to get Samuel, who was then also in tears because I wasn't at the finish line, even though at least I knew he was safe with another parent. But I was about in tears as well from the sheer madness and panic of it all. Not good.

Ah. But then, we had a wait until it was time for the 5th grade boys. At least I didn't have to worry about him freaking out at the start, or running off the course, or deciding to stop somewhere along the way, and I knew I would be there at the finish for him.

yay! We survived!!

Their times were:

Elisabeth 12:36 1 mile (54th out of 65)

Samuel 9:55 1 mile (45th out of 78)

Isaac 9:17 1 mile (33th out of 43)

Redhawks Run

Oct 14

As the culminating activity for the school running club they had a race during the school day and the other classes came out to watch and cheer them on. That was kind of fun. Except Samuel and Elisabeth refused to participate. Stinkers. So we all cheered Isaac on.

He did great! He ran 2 miles in 18:38, placing 3rd for the 5th grade boys. He kind of does better with the longer races because he paces himself so well. He gets in his good pace and doesn't really vary it and can maintain it well - which is great for long-distance, not so great for sprints.

Anyway - they had a little award ceremony at school the following week and he didn't think he had done that well (I'd seen the results posted online so I knew where he'd placed but didn't tell him). When they called his name for 3rd place, he even thought it must be some other kid so he didn't stand up until someone nudged him and told him to go! He was so surprised and excited!

I'm pretty proud of all my runners, big and small.:)

Abigail has also been running at her school cross-country team - but I'm not sure if they're doing any races or not. They are kind of more of a club, not an actual "team" for some reason, so I'm not sure how it works.

But anyway - there's our running update! Give them all a cheer! wohoo!

He did it again!

Zac ran the Pony Express Trail 50 Mile race again!

(this pic is from when he first arrived home. I do believe he might actually be using the walls to support himself up) He finished this year in 9 hrs 20 min (30 min faster than last year).

I was just so relieved not to have to be his crew. You wouldn't even believe how relieved I was. He recruited a coworker/friend (boss) who does Ironman triathlons to be his support crew. And then another coworker who has done a 50-miler offered to drive all the way out there and just support and run along with Zac for the last 20 miles or so. I am so thankful to both of them for being there for my husband to do something I cannot!!

As much as I try to support him in all his endeavors . . . well I just can't be there for him for this one.

So these are pics taken by Tim:
(Zac in the red jacket and then white t-shirt with white hat)

This year he had a lot of really bad charly-horse/leg cramping - possibly related to not getting enough salt, despite his salt tablets. He tried eating some different things this time, and did more walking breaks - but he'd also had some IT-band problems in the weeks leading up to the race and actually stayed off his legs completely for 2 wks beforehand to try to heal that up (doing elliptical and crazy 4+hr spin bike sessions instead). So it's hard to know for sure what caused the problems. I guess with these really long ultra races, you just never really know what you're going to get when you run it. The weather, your food intake, salts, fluids, any number of factors could drastically affect your end result on race day. At any rate, he is happy that he did better this time. And also happy that he only dry-heaved once and didn't vomit at all this year! wohoo! Way to go Zac!!! ;)

(and he's getting really revved up about trying the 100 mile in the next year or 2! I don't even try to comprehend this mentality. Seriously. But I love him to death for it.) :)

swim bike run: an update

So, some of you may (or may not) be wondering how my training is going for this triathlon I'm going to attempt. Getting into a routine has been a challenge for me because I love my zumba and didn't want to give it up, and I love what Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred was doing for me, so I didn't want to stop that either. Problem was I was already doing those 3 days a week each (combined with walking on my Jillian days). So - I had to cut out a day of each to make room for swimming, biking, and running. Yeah. haha. The Jillian workout has 3 levels so I had been doing each level once a week, but now I rotate through each level but only getting 2 a week. And then, figuring out how to space things out so I'm not completing killing myself was a little tricky, but this is the plan I came up with:

Mon - Run (30-45 min - I don't run the whole time though. It's about half run/walk right now)

Tues - Swim (20-35 min - plus 15-30 min each way travel time to pool, grrr) and Jillian (30 min strength, cardio and abs)

Wed - Zumba (1 hr)

Thurs - Swim (30-35 min) Bike (45 min) Run (30-40 min) Since school has started, I've been swimming in the morning and then doing my bike and run in the evening (since half-day kindergarten doesn't give me enough time to get it all done at once).

Fri - Zumba (1 hr, plus abs)

Sat - Bike (12 miles - which takes me a little over 1 hr) and Jillian (30 min strength, cardio and abs)

Sun - DAY OFF!! Phew!;)

Combining Jillian with my longer bike ride on Sat has been hard so I've missed a couple, but still trying.

What surprises me is how hard the bike riding is for me. That continues to be the hardest part for me and I don't really know why. People talk like riding 12 miles should be a cakewalk - but, man. Of all 3, that is the only one where I feel my muscles just burning and I get waves of nausea and chills at times. Only time ever in my life, actually, that I've ever felt that way working out. I don't like it. I can feel swimming getting easier for me and I love it. I swam on a community rec swim team until I was about 14 and so I'm pretty confident in my technique, at least. I'm just going to do breaststroke in the race since that's the easiest for me, but I've been incorporating more and more freestyle into my laps and it feels good. Really good. Running - well, I've been icing my shins each time and it's never really much fun for me (and sometimes downright painful), but alternating running and walking, I know I can get through a 5K (sort of).

But biking. Ugh. That's the most discouraging part. About halfway through, everytime, I get an onslaught of mental monsters wanting to convince me there is no way I can swim, then do this, and then run. This is also about the point where I'm struggling and fighting up a neverending hill and I feel like I'm going to die. Plus sometimes it aggravates my sciatic nerve which really makes me unhappy. So. Yuck.

Well anyway, yesterday during my bike ride I experienced some exciting firsts. First off, I almost got hit by a car for the first time ever. This guy apparently just decided that the 4-way stop really didn't apply to him. He wasn't even at the stop sign yet when I came through the intersection and he still had to slam on his brakes. Really?!? You weren't already SLOWING down and looking for traffic when approaching a busy 4 way stop and bike trail?!? Idiots have a way of ruining my day sometimes. I yelled at him as I passed and since they had their windows down, I think they probably heard me. Seriously. Ugh. I have a little bit of paranoia about crashing on my bike anyway. Ever since I crashed in 7th grade and shattered my elbow (ask me to show it to you sometime - it's still nastily deformed) - it's one of my greatest fears. And that doesn't even cover the possibility of colliding with a car.

And the other first was getting a flat tire. Luckily I was about 100 ft from my house at the end of my bike ride, but they say it's a good idea to know how to fix these things in case they should happen to you during the race. And now I've got my chance to learn! yay. ha.

Quite the eventful evening ride.

And then during the run, I decided I would share with you a favorite running song from my current running playlist:

Run Baby Run by The Primitives. ;) It seems appropriate. (And the beat is just right for my pace.)
Blogger isn't letting me embed it right now, though, so a link will have to do. Enjoy.

http://youtu.be/G4OjEr8rUxs

Run, Baby, Run. And bike. And swim. ;)

me. triathlon. me. - wait, what?!?

yeah, I know . . . what am I thinking, right?

Well, I am now taking this opportunity to tell you what I'm thinking. Cuz that's what a blog is for. ;)

So, last week in my daily blog perusing I came across a blog giveaway for a free entry into this mini-triathlon. It's a women-only, non-competitive triathlon, where they say that beginners are welcome and that there is an attitude of helping you know what to do. That's the most intimidating thing for me. All the where-do-I-go, what-do-I-do-now, why-am-I-here stuff. haha.

I admit I've looked into the mini sprint triathlon idea before and kind of put it in my "bucket list" in the back of my head. Like, someday when I'm actually in a habit of lap swimming and biking and can run without being injured. (Haha - yeah, right.)

Well, but . . . this triathamom idea sounded almost tempting . . . and for free (!!!!) . . . hmmm . . . and I thought well, I'll just put my name on the list . . . and if I win it, then I'll just try it and see how it goes. Nothing lost, nothing gained. I ran the idea past Zac and we came to the conclusion that with all the back to school shopping etc, we couldn't afford the $70 entry fee anyway. So the only way I'd be doing it is if I won the entry.

And yesterday. of course. I found out I won it (out of about 21 entries)!! hahahahahaha.
oh, wait . . .
That means I'm doing a triathlon. HAHAHAHAHA.
(Nothing like winning an entry to push you into doing something you maybe want to try but probably wouldn't do otherwise)

Here are my thoughts:

- ok. It's a "sprint" distance triathlon. This means (for this race anyway): 300 yd swim, 12 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. I'm fairly confident I could do each of those independently - but . . . not too sure about about one right after the other.

- oh and the last time I've swam (swum? swimmed?) laps?!? uhhh, I think I went once last summer. uh huh. I'm a "good" swimmer, as in I know how to swim well. But an in-shape swimmer? Nowhere close.

- My bike. I have a cheap-ish mountain-ish type bike. A little while ago I bought a gel seat cover which is a bonus. But I'm just figuring out how to use even use all the gears properly. HAHAHAH. And I don't know how to change a bike tire. And I've gone on precisely 3 bike rides in the last year. (the last one though, I did make 12 miles! whoopeee!!) oh and I probably need a helmet that fits well. The one I have is a men's helmet I think. Ohhh dear.

- But I did run that 5K recently. I'm afraid to do too much running training since I always tend to get injured, but my zumba and 30day shred seem to getting me in good enough shape to run that distance if need be.

- I need good swim goggles. And a swim cap.

- And I need something to wear. I'm not going to be able to get any fancy "tri-suit" kind of stuff. But I either need something I can swim, run and bike in. Or be able to bike and run in my swimsuit. And have something to put over top. Hm. I'm not sure my walmart swimsuit is "supportive" enough to run in, so this will take some thought . . .

- oh and the swim is in an indoor pool. This is another plus of this race, as I will not need a wetsuit and open water scares me a little more.

- also, my running shoes have holes in the sides, along the little toe. Bummer. Add new shoes to the list.

- Anyway - I've got 8 weeks to train and most training guides I've seen basically have you running, swimming and biking about twice a week each. Not too bad. Hard part will be getting to a pool to do laps. We have a summer membership to an outdoor pool, but lap swimming hours are only for an hr in the evenings, and any thunder means no pool (which has been a lot lately). The indoor pool would require paying more but come Sept, that's what I'll have to do. I need to see how far I can actually swim without stopping. That's the first step, I guess.

- But I can do this. Right? Even if I have to hang onto the wall and catch my breath between laps. Even if I have to walk my bike. Even if I have to walk the entire 5K. Even if I come in very last. I think I can do this. That's worth something right? (Say yes, say yes, say yes)

- And . . . if I finish this, then this will be a kind of race that I can say I've done that Zac has never done!!! And that's saying something! (eh, so I can be a little competitive . . . so shoot me.) ;)

WISH ME LUCK!! (I need it)
And I'll take any advice, tips, warnings, etc . .. I need all the help I can get!!

I did it again!

Some of you might remember 2 summers ago when I posted about running the Lavender Days 5K (I'd link to it, but it's hidden in the old blog which is now private). It was the first running I had done for many many years and the first 5K I had run since college (when I ran 2 of them, with Zac's encouragement).

Well, on Thurs I kind of decided spur of the moment to register for this year's Run Through The Lavender again. I haven't really done any running lately - just a couple weeks ago I ran 30 min one time and was surprised that I could do it. With Zumba and the Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred that I've been doing for quite awhile now, I've been feeling strong(ish) and I kind of just wanted to see if I could do a 5K again. And I love lavender. I love running through the fields of lavender.:)

(Here's the link to the Run Through the Lavender)

(and a photo from the website:)

So on Sat. Zac came down with me to cheer me on (he decided not to run it this year) and I loaded up my ipod and laughed at myself for looking a bit ridiculous (haha).

But I ran the whole thing! And I felt pretty good! Wohooo!!! (My camera batteries died, so these remaining race pics were taken on Zac's phone which takes crappy photos.)
Here I am running the dirt trail through the fields of lavender:


And there I am in the very back of this pack (and you can't really see me):

I even finished 5 min faster than I did 2 yrs ago (!!), which made me pretty happy, esp since I had been running a lot more working up towards the 5K that time and this time I hadn't "trained" at all.

(I was still slow at 36 min - but eh, who cares . . . right? ) ;)

This was the first time I've ever run a race all by myself and also the first time I've run with my ipod. Music really helps. This time INXS "Suicide Blonde" and Violent Femmes "Kiss off" were especially motivating somewhere in the middle of the race. I'd recommend those, personally, for your own running playlist, if you feel so inclined. ;)

And here I am back home later in the day with my bag of goodies and t-shirt (yay for lavender chapstick and essential oil!):

And yay for me! :)

I did it!

(again!)

hooray.

on being the runner's girl

It's kind of an interesting thing being a runner's girl. I've been thinking about it since being Zac's reluctant support crew and have been working on pulling my thoughts together.

From the very beginnings of our relationship, running has been a big part of "us," even though he has never succeeded in making it a part of "me" exactly. Not for the lack of trying, of course. As with anyone deeply involved with something they love, he is always searching for new "converts".

First some history:


I remember Zac convincing me to come running with him once very early in our dating. We went at night because I was embarrassed by how red and splotchy my face gets when I run. And I crouched down to tie my shoelace at one point, stood up quickly and took off, anxious to catch up (not seeing him waiting a few feet ahead of me) and I ran right into him. Awesome.

And then Zac ran his first marathon about a month after we met. The marathon was about 4 hrs away and he was driving down and staying with a friend. There wasn't room for me in the car, and it would have felt much too awkward to stay at his friend's parents' house at that early stage of our relationship, so I stayed back at the dorms and waited anxiously to hear how he did (when he got back - this was waaay before the dawning of cell phones). That became the first of many races, actually, where I have been home, waiting anxiously.

The St. George Marathon is kind of momentous in our history, actually.

I missed one that he ran (and got his Personal Record) when I was in Germany. But then when I was home in Aug, he ran it again that Oct. and I got to go with him this time. We stayed at his friend's parents' house along with some other friends, and his friend's dad is the organizer of the marathon so we got to drive up to the start (where usually only the runners go on buses) and volunteer and help out at the finish. Anyway - after the race most everyone was tired out and falling asleep on the floor and couches and Zac asked me if I wanted to go for a hike.

um, what? He just ran 26.2 miles and now he wants to go hiking?!? That was my first clue that something was up.

And that's where he proposed to me (officially, with the ring). :)


We were married in Dec. and as it happened, come next Oct when Zac was running it again, I was very barely pregnant with our first (maybe 5 or 6 wks along). And sick. I don't think we had even told very many people I was pregnant yet. But once again, we drove down and stayed at his friend's parents' house. But I was so nauseous and about to puke every time I ate anything, we ended up explaining to everyone why I was sick (not my favorite way to make this announcement, but it had to be done). I hadn't thrown up yet (that happened a week or so later). But I sure did feel like it was right there waiting to happen. That was sort of awful.

Anyway - so now in the time we've known each other, he's run that marathon a total of 5 times (only one that I missed). And innumerable smaller races (5K's, half-marathons). Plus his Wahsatch Steeplechase he's done 5 times now. And now his 50 miler.

As for me, I ran my first 5K with Zac at my side the summer after we were married. And then had a baby the next spring. Ran another 5K the spring after that with a friend of mine. And then got bad shin splints. And got pregnant again. And then . . . almost 10 yrs, 3 kids, and umm maybe 30 lbs gained since that last one, last year I finally got up to running 30 min straight again and tried another 5K (with Zac with me again). Then I got hurt and stopped again. haha.

So, although I would never claim to be "runner" exactly, I feel like I am somewhat well qualified as a runner's girl. Which means that I am privy to some of the wisdom and knowledge that "real" runners have, without being an actual member of the club. I feel I am sort of on the inside, the outside fringe of the inside group.

Just some examples:

1. I know that a marathon is precisely 26.2 miles, no more, no less.

2. I've read a year's worth of Runner's World magazines and learned about fartleks (among other things)

3. I know about underpronating and overpronating - and which type of shoe helps which

4. I can tell you a thing about chafing and bloody nipples (second-hand, thankfully)

5. I know the stuff they hand you on a popsicle stick during a race is vaseline, not goo to eat. ;)

6. I've seen the crusty white salt on his face from running in the summer, and seen him come home with ice crystals on his eyebrows in the winter. No joke.

7. I know that serious marathoner winners sometimes have no problem with going to the bathroom in their shorts (luckily Zac doesn't fall into that category - but I have seen it myself at the finish line)

8. I know that having the right clothing can make all the difference in the world (don't knock the biker-short or dinky shorts look until you've tried running 20+ miles in something else - seriously).

9. I know there is a big difference between the good pain of pushing yourself and the really not good pain of being injured - and that learning the difference is one of the hardest things ever.

10. And I know that when someone lives and breathes to run, you cannot hold them back. And your life is happier when you let them out. :)

Zac's First 50: Finish Line Video

Zac's First 50: where's the finish?!?

In response to some of the comments I've gotten, I will first tell you that yes, Zac was very excited (and relieved) to be running again at mile 38. I think he was afraid that a lot of his training and hard work was going to be completely derailed by the dehydration problem - so the fact that he was able to get going again was thrilling for him.

We have heard reports that it was over 90 degrees out there that day - which is unseasonably hot - and it was taking its toll on most of the other runners as well.

Anyway - I was also quite relieved to see Zac with a smile on his face again.
That is, until about mile 45 when he reported to me that he was having a hard time keeping anything down.

He was rotating what he was drinking, switching from gatorade to water to coke. And had a couple different kinds of powerbars, ate half a sandwich, along with his salt pills. Salt pills, by the way, are essential for replacing the electrolytes lost through sweat (if you looked closely at Zac in some of these pics, you might be able to see crusty white stuff on his face. That's salt. From his sweat. No kidding.)

So, at this point in the game, it was crucial that he keep fluids in, keep his calories up, and keep salt replaced. Not being able to keep anything down is a problem. Not to mention throwing up while running is just gross (but throw up he did - poor guy). So he was getting concerned about this, obviously.

[Doing some research afterwards, Zac learned that he should have been taking about twice as much salt as he had been. And becoming nauseous is common with dehydration (unfortunately - since it compounds the problem) - or could also be from drinking too much at once. Great.]


But he kept running!! Talk about endurance. This guy doesn't quit. Ever.

At the finish, the runners went out .6 miles past the finish and then turned around to loop back (I'm not sure why exactly it was set up this way, but it was). So when we parked at the finish, Abigail got out to run with Zac that last 1.2 miles and keep him going strong to the finish line (Isaac wouldn't have been able to keep up, so he stuck with me). Well, where ever the finish line was. There wasn't technically a finish "line" - or it wasn't clearly marked, which was sort of interesting. I guess after 50 miles, the exact spot of the finish isn't entirely important. You make it to the lady with the stopwatch and you have finished 50 miles. ;)

(Isaac decided to mark his own line to cross for the finish)

And here comes Zac, still running strong after 50 insane miles, and Abigail, pushing him to the very end!!! Wohoooo!!!

(in the video which I'll post next, Zac is saying "where's the finish??? where's the finish?!?" as they come running up. He just needed to cross that line and stop, not a second before and not a second after!)

He finished in 9 hrs and 49 min (5:49 PM), placing 5th overall and 3rd for men's. He was a little disappointed because, like I said before, he thinks he could have finished at least an hr sooner if not for the complication he ran into. But I just think he's incredible.

Only 13 or 14 runners finished the 50 miler. About 5 dropped out along the way.

These people are just amazing. Absolutely crazy. But amazing.

So, they actually had a guy grilling food for everyone at the end. So we hung out awhile while Zac recovered somewhat (and cleaned off some of the grit and grime and crusty salt) and then we headed out on the long drive home. It took us nearly 3 hrs to drive the 50 mile dirt road course (and another hr to arrive home). Phew!

And I must confess I made Zac drive the last hr. I was tired! haha. In my defense, I had gone to bed really late, woken up super early, missed my usual nap, and driven the car for over 12 hrs. As soon as the sun went down, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. And I think he was still running on pure adrenalin. He didn't seem fazed a bit. So as soon as we were able to drive more than 30 mph, I decided that this great adventure wouldn't really matter if I fell asleep at the wheel and killed us all - and he drove the rest of the way.

And that, my friends, is the long story of Zac's First 50 Mile Race.

He's already planning for next time (which I can't quite wrap my head around). And he's itching to complete a 100 miler sometime in his life, as well.

I've told him I'm not going to be his crew for that one.

I can't stay awake that long. ;)

PS - Here's a note Isaac wrote to him a couple nights ago when we gave him his dinner on the "You Are Special" plate to celebrate in his honor. :)

Dear Daddy,

I'm pretty surprised you finished the 50 mile race. I doubt you would be able to finish a 100 miles run. I feel sorry that you got dehigerated (dehydrated). And I'm really sorry I wasn't able to come back and fetch you. And I'm glad that you wanted us to go with you so you wouldn't die. And I'm sorry I couldn't run with you at the end.

Great Job!

Keep running daddy.

- Isaac