I almost threw up before we even ran.....

This edition of our adventure is truly the meaning of adventure.  We didn't take a lot of photos this time, but what we caught does have meaning.  We learned a few lessons on this journey, the most valuable was what goes up goes down.  This part of the race is the highest for elevation with a gradual incline over several miles.  There were a couple points that we thought it should stop going up already.  As we have done before, we ran when we could and sometimes it was an area we could run but our legs said no.  We also ran this on dead legs.  Depleted and energy depleted legs.  Which is very important for use during a long race such as this that we are stupidly embarking upon.

As with every run, there is a half way point to turn around and for us to refuel at.  This run was no different.  On a map things seem simple.  On the road, not so much. Here are some pictures of the road we had to take to get to the turn around point.  I started out driving but then had to hand the driving over to Kevin.  On the way up I was holding my breath and gagging for fear the truck was going to flip over.  

 We finally reached the top of the hill and placed our cooler with our note that said to please do not disturb our cooler, it has our refueling items in it etc.

 Then came the task of going back down the hill.  Kevin had the idea that I should get some photos of going back down the hill, which I thought was a great idea.  Especially since I was so scared to be in the truck.  I have a lot of bad dreams about the car flipping over, going off of bridges and cliffs.  I don't know why I have these dreams, but when we were coming up this I felt I was in a bad dream and nearly puked from the fear.  What a total wimp.

 How beautiful though...no matter how hard the ride up, the journey down brought us great beauty.

 Seems all fine and dandy and you are thinking what a giant sissy pants I am aren't you?

 This picture is all about trust.  Do I trust he won't just off me and then he won't have to do the race?  Trust in that the truck will clear this rock problem....I am still here and we cleared the rock, so all is well.

 Or is it?  Do you see that?  The back tire is off of the GROUND?  It is called 4 wheel drive, not 3 wheel.  We didn't realize until we got home and looked at the pics that the tire was off of the ground, but I KNEW going up we didn't have all contact.  As such, I hung onto these for dear life and almost puked. 

So the truck made contact again with the ground and on it's way.  I was rethinking running behind the truck and growing a little nervous about what does our run entail after being on this???

 Hey honey--are you leaving me up here?

 As I closed the gate we went through to get to the top I couldn't help but notice this sign.  I talked with someone later about it and he said, if we had a hunting license we would be okay.  Also if I told them I was a Veteran we would be okay, it is more to keep the 4 wheeler, ATV types out.  Kevin and I decided that after we get our stuff when we are done that we will place it at a different point.  It took us almost a half hour to place our stuff.

 So off we went.  Adrenaline rush started, we were all excited and happy to get going.  A 14 mile run ahead of us and we were happy and high on life.

One silly random note.  Kevin was looking all around the house this morning for something.  I said what are you looking for?  The white hat you are wearing....oh, oops. Sorry.

 Speaking of OOPS....I just never learn.  Guess what I am doing again?  Emptying water.  I had 2 L of water on board.  Seriously, how am I going to drink that over 7 miles?  

 Kevin, is this enough?  I am not sure....

This looks pretty flat, what is all that elevation about?

 We got a pretty special opportunity to see this little fella.  It is called Night Blooming Cereus.  Also known as Queen of the Night.  In all the years Kevin has lived here he has never seen one in the wild.  We have one in our back yard that we protect and treat like gold and here one is growing all by itself.  Someone thought enough to protect it with some rocks.

 Then this happened.  We have been trudging along, going up and up and up and up.  We could see up ahead where the trail cut across into the hill side.  It is hard to capture in this photo.

 But, what goes up must come down.

 Be positive, think positive.  In the race this will be in the 20's for mileage wise.

 This trail has a funny way of hiding things, like a pond in the middle of nowhere.

 Just up from the pond is our turn around point and some downhill!!

 Just after we passed the pond, we passed these mountain bikers who were really cool.  They told us they saw our cooler and note and had a nice breakfast on our gatorade and water and snacks, but they left us two beers for us to enjoy when we got there.  It was pretty funny.  They really didn't have our stuff, but they did look at our cooler contents and note...left no beer....

 Then I saw this.  A spent shotgun shell case.  We have heard the shooting and we even saw a cannon looking explosion.  I still have some concerns we may get shot one day out here.  I am seriously going to buy some orange clothes to run in.  I heard the cannon blast explosion and I stopped running and Kevin ran into me.  He said I should keep running and I said, I will after I assess which direction to run!!

 We kept seeing this cute little cloud just hanging out.  Then as I ran past I noticed the plant on the right was giving us a peace sign.  You got it plant, peace on this gorgeous planet.

 We made it up to the turn around and came back down passed the pond.  It is really a cool thing to see here in the desert a pond in the middle of nowhere!!

 During the 50 miler we aren't sure where the aide station will be but it will be nice if it is here.

 Through a gate I come holding on for dear life.  The legs were so dead tired. 

 So we got done and drove up to the road to get our cooler.  Neither of our driving abilities was up to par to navigate the rocks so we parked the truck to walk up.  Kevin said he would go and I could wait and I said no, we are a team and I am coming.  I had to work my way out of the truck first with a pokey plant. 

 Okay, I tried to walk up the whole way and I couldn't keep up.  I thought maybe we should just call the cooler a loss for awhile.

 But, my every fearless and invincible husband got it.

 There is a tiny white dot to the left on this picture and that is our truck.  Yep. Long walk.

Okay this picture is a little out of order, but I wanted to finish this with how we finished.  The above picture is a stupid cattle grate.  I have a stupid fear of these.  I really. Really.  Really. Hate them.  I think my foot will go in there and I will die.  I had to cross this to get to the truck, after 14 dead tired legs miles.  A car drove over it as I was trying to walk across it most likely thinking I was an idiot.  I walk across them like a tight rope at the circus.  I really hate them.

Here is our finish picture.  Don't we look happy and full of energy?  I am struggling with chaffing from my pack on my neck still.  Still problem solving that out.  Things to note from the day, for every song we heard we changed the lyrics to our misery.  Such as, instead of stop dragging my heart around, stop dragging my legs around.

When we got done, we usually get something tasty but we were absolutely wiped.  Kevin hadn't slept and worked all night, I got a few hours of sleep.  I don't usually sleep much when Kevin isn't home.  Kathy called and wanted to see about meeting up which was sweet but we just wanted to get home and have a shower.  We did stop at Jack in the box and get a burger.  I was getting ready for the shower and managed to get my bra clasp stuck in my hair.  Kevin had some chaffing issues on his pebbles as he called it. It has been a few days since the run and our legs are feeling a little empty still.  We have a 5K planned for next Saturday and the remaining part of not run on area of the trail that involves a hill called Pistol hill.  This hill and I have history involving Lucy my bike and a snickers bar.  It wasn't a pretty sight, but we meet again.  This portion of the run is fairly important because it is where a lot of cut-offs happen.   Speaking of the course, here is a photo of the elevation profile for our run on Strava.  We think it looks like the Devil or our fat cat Tyler.

 Speaking of our run, our pace ended up as 13:26 per mile, which was pretty good given the state of our legs.  Our ultimate goal for race day is to keep it below 15:00 per mile to allow for problems.  The average to make the 15 hour cut off is 18:00 per mile and I know we can keep it below that.  It will take a lot of commitment with strengthening to do it.  I am considering wearing ankle wts all day at work to build my leg muscles up.  On average I walk 6 miles a day with work and I think I can build up some strength there. Kevin said he could wear them for the dog walks.   For now, we are planning out our next run and logistics to make it happen.

I still love that we are doing this.  No matter how tired we get, we will never forget our journey to get there.  Thanks for reading and taking the time to follow along....

I will end this with a quote I came along that makes training so worth while.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail"--Benjamin Franklin

 We will not fail.  We will conquer.