Sun Mountain 50k
đĽWhat a whirlwind 4 days on The road!! After leaving home Friday, I headed to Seattle where I met with my âď¸Attorney and signed off on our final step to making Running for Combat Veterans a legitimate Non~Profit Organization -our tax exempt forms!! Then, headed to Bellvue where I presented đ¤ my story and the basis behind our đşđ¸R.F.C.V. Non-Profit, to the beautiful â¨Illuminating Womenâs⨠Group and was back on the road by 1900 heading for Winthrop, WA! â°
I settled into camp @Twin Lakes Campground âşď¸ and was off to bed đ¤ around midnight for the BiG RaCe đŁ first thing in the AM! We woke up, ate, race prepped and Lois and Donna headed off for the early start, while Jessie and I took a bit more time to relax before heading to đťSun Mountain to check in!đ
I was a ball of nerves per usual, race morning but today was a bit different... For the first time, I was at ease about the actual running bit. You see, after a couple of really difficult months regrouping from 5 pretty major losses (My Auntie, my VA Healthcare *again*, my Naturopath, a childhood friend and being pretty taxed due to the unplanned and extra workload and đąstress that arose with all of that, I also lost a lot of training time (like 9-10 weeks)!
For the last year, đĽI have raced to try to placeđ as it had been my â¨goal⨠to run/race to get recognition until making a name for đşđ¸ Running for Combat Veterans ... Which Wednesday, I finally did, making RFCV itâs own Non-Profit đ¸Organization! đ And because of that, I took the stress off of myself and decided this race would now only be about FiNiShiNG... As I would RUN for my FALLEN COMRADES today to commemorate them and R.F.C.V.đşđ¸ for them and thatâs just what I did..
The weather was â¨perfectâ¨for race conditions. Overcast, drizzle and still such beauty there in the Methow. đ I ran, thanking God for the life I was given and for such đź beauty and đgifts all aound. I prayed to my fallen âBattlesâ and told them about đşđ¸RFCV and how I was dedicating this very race to them... I ran for SPC Kara HinrichâĽď¸, I ran for SPC Brandon Charltonđ, I ran for SGT Zachary SparlingđĽ and CPT John BurkholderđĽwho I deployed into Combat with.... And who tragically left us in this world, way too soon. âď¸ I ran for my friends, my Sister and Brothers in Arms. âď¸ ... And in their memory. đşđ¸ Gone but NEVER FORGOTTEN. âĽď¸
I took my TIME running not racing, for the first time ever and really took in the BEAUTY all around! đ No agenda... Just enjoying running free, happy and loving our Mother Earth đ, UniverseđŤ and Lord. âď¸
The course was windy, rolling and fairly flat sections *for me* so this was DEFINITELY a challenging race. đ And only my second like this!! I was SORE, had a pretty bad calf cramp, chafed upper thighs on sweaty shorts, a blister on each heal đł and accidentally sat too close to the ground in something (poison oak) off trail when I took a break to piddle! đŚ Ha! đ But even with those FiRsTs and small misfortunes, everything went so well! I ended my race around 2:15pm and enjoyed good friends, yummy đfoodđand awesome đś post đ¤race đťfestivities, in great Rainshadow fashion!
Sunday, I went back to Sun Mt with my buddies to help with the kids race, took pictures đ¸ and volunteered @ the 25K, announcing đ¤ incoming racers at the Finish! đ After, I packed up camp and headed home late in the afternoon, stopping a couple brief times to take in the beauty of the North Cascades while walking and stretching out my stiff legs and trying to wake back up all the while!
đWhat a whirlwind weekend that ended up going just splendidlyđ.. No issues but đ exhaustion! Praise God!! A special â¨ThaNk YoU⨠to James, Elizabeth, Colton and the rest of the InCreDiBLe Rainshadow RuNNinG Crew for another LoVeLy getaway and đŁ race weekend in the books! đ #perfecto đĽâĽď¸