Randam Thoughts - Love Me Two Times Challenge

I can’t decide what I’m happiest about: that I won Sunday’s women’s race, that I ran under 2 hours on Sunday and got a PR, or that I came in 6th overall and chicked so many guys. ;) I think the 2 hours has a slight edge on the others. The other two were icing on the cake.

I am very happy with the way I ran both days. I think I held back enough on Saturday to get the job done on Sunday.

I forced myself to look around at the scenery on Saturday to help slow me down. It was gorgeous and quiet. The desert is definitely one of my favorite places to run. I was disappointed that I didn't see any horses, burros, sheep, cows, or coyotes though (there were signs as we drove up there telling us to watch out for them).

It was very, very hard to let people pass me on Saturday. I really had to fight the urge to chase them down.

I was happy with my PR on Saturday and told myself that whatever happened on Sunday was fine. But that if I felt good, I could go for it. I wasn't sure until we were into the first mile on Sunday that I felt like I could run hard for the whole distance.

I used to wonder if I had what it took to “hurt” during a race. Would I give up? Would I ease off the pace? Would I use any excuse to not do my best? Well, I think I laid that to rest with my last few races and that is an awesome feeling.

I wasn't nervous before either race. More raring to go than anything. The more I race, the less pre-race jitters get to me. I used to get almost nauseous before a race. Thankfully, that doesn't happen anymore.

The only thing I was worried about was blowing up on Sunday. I think because my mom had driven out from California to see me race on Sunday and I didn't want to DNF or have to walk the whole thing when she’d come so far. Luckily, I did well. :) She was so excited when I finished and won on Sunday that she was calling and texting friends and family to tell them about it. It made me feel 20 feet tall to know that she was so proud of me. Even more so because of how worried I know she was when I weighed over 300 lbs.

I loved the small race vibe on both days. There were quite a few people who’d raced it before and others in the series and it felt familyish but not exclusive.

There were runners there from all over the country and even a few from England, Canada, and Spain who’d heard about it from friends that had done it.

On Sunday morning, I got to see a couple of the 100milers finish and then I saw them out on the course as well. If ever I felt tired, seeing them was like a kick in the butt. Who was I to complain about a measly 13 miles when they were in the midst of 100!

And I couldn't complain about the Love Me Two Times challenge either because one of the 100milers (a 60 year old man) finished it in 23 hours 50 minutes AND then an hour later he did the 10K on Sunday as his Love Me Two Times challenge! Again, all I had to do was think about him and it gave me great motivation! There was also a man who ran the marathon route 5x and a man who ran the 50 mile on Saturday and the 50K on Sunday. And there were 7 people who ran the marathon on Saturday and the 50K on Sunday. When I was telling my coworkers those stats, one of them said “you're starting to look like a wimp”. I prefer to think of it as less crazy. ;)

Anyway, I think that the more I expose myself to the amazing distance running that humans are capable of, the less intimidated I am by going longer or running back-to-back halfs.

This was kind of a mini test because I hope to do the Goofy Challenge someday. After this weekend, I think it's doable for me.

Oh yeah, while the weather was cold, but great for us both mornings, the 50 milers and 100 milers had a blizzard blow through on Saturday afternoon! Crazy!

Next time I go to Vegas to race, I have to find a hotel that's quieter. I thought I was far enough off the Strip that it wouldn't be an issue but there was a bachelorette party staying in the rooms above me and I didn't get much sleep on Friday night or Saturday night. Again, I pushed that out of my head when I thought about the 100 milers running through the night.

Last, but not least…I wore skirts both days! Ha! Don't ever underestimate a girl in a skirt. ;)