Redeemed, for the W! Twilight 12 Hour!!

💥Holy moly! The✨Twilight 12 Hour✨ did not disappoint! From 19oo Saturday night to o7ooam Sunday morning (Ok ok, 7pm to 7am 😜),1oo m+ runners would set out to run a 2.3 mile loop 📿on a single track 🎢 trail in the beautiful mountains of Cle Elum, as many times as they chose to challenge themselves overnight. 👣

As most of you that have been following me know, I haven’t been able to run 👣 since my DNF😱 in March at the Chuckanut 5oK after my him flared 🔥 setting off significant TFL, IT Band and knee problems/pain keeping me from much more than hiking for weeks. 😩 I had been so feeling so depressed anxious🤣 and worried 😬about my *BiG* season ahead and if I was in fact, going to be able to get “back at it” in time.

I have attempted a run every week to test my pain level to no avail and finally last Wednesday (week 6), I took my little buddy 🐾 Jet, to Hovander Park 🍀 and we succeeded at “shorty” 4 and 1/2 miler pain free! 🙌🏼

Being just 3 days out from the ✨Twilght 12 Hour,✨I decided to stay stick👑 to my training/race schedule and attempt to “run” it. 🤔 I told myself I would walk when any pain returned and if it ever got bad enough, stop 🛑completely and relax around the campfire with buddies until morning. 🏕

Sabrina and I loaded the SUV and headed off ⛽️ to head over the mountains! We arrived to Cle Elum about an hour before the start, quickly unloaded, set up camp,⛺️ got ready to run 👣 and before we knew it we were all off. 🏁

💫 Because my training schedule is only getting me prepped for longer and longer distances ahead *Bigfoot 200 Endurance Run* the rest of this season, Running for Combat Veterans, (my Non-Profit benefiting Veterans in need of funding💰 for medical/mental health services deniedvia the Veterans Affairs).... I decided I would use this run to work on slowing my pace👣, proper form, shorter strides, gait and endurance.⏳

I felt absolutely GrEat running into the night so I kept on going... and going. Annnddd going. 🌓 And before I knew it, half the night was through and still no pain ~just a little soreness which Ill gladly accept😅

I talked to fellow runners on the trail, prayed to ✨God🎚✨ for all of His many blessings *especially the ability to be able to run again* and told to my Auntie❣️ (who just recently left us on this earth just one week back😔) that I was grateful that she could *finally* SEE👀what I had been doing out here in the mountains⛰ all these times we talked about my running👣 and my ⛑Non~profit, Running for Combat Veterans!

I watched 👀 the sun ☀️go down and up and watched 👀 the moon rise 🌔and set.... and after 2o loops and 46.8 miles, it was o7oo, over and I was the female champion🏆 with a time of 1o:o7 (Yeah, I might have stopped to eat a JUSSST a bit in that 12 hour period lol 😂)!...

A special ThaNK YoU to the amazingly kind volunteers who supported us all night at that 🍪killer aid station and to the fabulous Gretchen Walla who organized such a super fun event and weekend @ the ✈️ Flying Horse 🐎 Ranch!! An AmaZinG time was had by all!! 🎉 We’ll definitely be back for that *BiG* pancake breakfast! Until next time..

. 2o Loops📿/46.8 Miles👣/77ooFt⛰/1o:o7⏱ .