Coaching + Training = Success!

I guess I will stop apologizing for only blogging once or twice a month, now.  It seems to be all I have any time for.  However, I decided I needed to make the time, this week, since so many have asked.

The routine of marathon training is never anything to be taken lightly.  Its very demanding on one’s time and energy.  With 4 weeks remaining until the marathon in Tucson, I feel like I am spending every free moment on the streets or trails.  It also requires a little more sleep than usual – which means mid-day, weekend naps are a must.  A lot of marathoners and triathletes don’t understand the benefits of sleep – but the restorative value keeps athletes from injury and ensures quicker muscle repair. 

All this being said, in another week I will have officially (financially) committed to my first full Ironman – IMAZ!  It will be Nov 16^th, 2014.  So, I ask all of you who actually read this blog and care about my first love (triathlon), please mark your calendars.  I will need all the support I can get! 

Working up to a full Ironman takes a hell of a lot more than marathon training – this I can tell you.  So, one year prior to the full Ironman, I have hired a triathlon coach to assist in making sure I am safe and have all the tools necessary to be successful.  My coach is Diane Alkins – 57 years old and an accomplished Ironman, having completed 22, herself.  You would remember Diane – she’s my Masters Swim coach and has already had a huge impact on my swimming.  Diane and I began meeting weekly 2 weeks ago – and will continue through this time next year. 

In the two weeks I have worked with Diane she has modified my training calendar, completely altered my nutrition and encouraged me to really dial into my metabolic threshold.  The coolest thing, so far, has been my nutrition.  She looked at my running data week one – and simply walked me through mile after mile of my last 20 mile run. 

So, last weekend, I had a 14 mile run on my training calendar (9.25 on the Desert Classic Trail ) and the remaining 4.75 on the streets.  Strapped to my back was a Camelbak filled with 1.5 liters of water; in my hand, 21 ounces of a strong electrolyte mix (high sodium/carb), and 4 gels.  Her suggestion was to take a sip of the electrolyte mix nearly every mile, to take water as needed (but routinely) and to try to take a bit of gel all along the route, as well. 

Boy did I feel weighted down.  But, I hit the hard landscape of the Desert Classic trail with strength and excitement.  Because I had a bottle in my right hand, manipulating a gel pack every mile was nearly impossible and I had gel all over my hands within mins, incapable of folding it up neatly to put it in a little pocked in my handheld.  So, by mile 5 I downed the whole gel pack and called it a day.  I sipped the electrolyte mixture every moment that I remembered it was in my hand.  I swear it tastes like soap for the first few sips, but within the first few miles, it’s fine.  Not sure what I should expect from that much sodium in a mixture, anyway. 

Well, the combination worked – at no point did I feel like I didn’t have the energy to complete the trail or the run.  My feet weren’t incredibly happy on the roads with my trail shoes, but I managed, nonetheless.  I was never so happy to be done, though.

The next day, Sunday, I had the pleasure of watching Anne finish the Phoenix ½ Marathon in 2:22 – a Personal Record for her!  As I saw her flying to the finish line, I was jumping up and down, screaming with excitement.  I knew when I saw her she had beaten all of her previous records.  She’s become such a strong runner.  I am so proud of her it brings tears to my eyes, most days. 

An accomplished 1/2 marathoner!

Loretta and Dan ran, too!

Much like Anne, I was once a weight I wasn’t proud of, and running helped me figure out how to control my weight and feel incredibly healthy (and happy).  Its clear that its done (and is doing) the same for Anne.  Now we are just about the same size and weight and we both have a love for running.  Its an incredible thing to share – and only those who participate in the experience can truly understand. 

By not blogging for the last few weeks what most of you don’t know is that my workout buddy, Matt, was injured in a pretty bad car accident en route to work a few weeks ago.  I will admit that not blogging was a bit of an homage to Matt, as I was pretty down about it – thinking about all that he had lost; all those months of training for the marathon. 

But, I am happy to report that the two of us went out a couple of mornings this week on the bike and were able to put a couple of solid rides together.  Please people – don’t text and drive.  Had the woman who plowed into Matt on the highway been focused on the road instead of her phone, there’d be no doubt in his ability to push out a strong marathon finish in a few weeks with Anne, Hannah and me.  Now, only time will tell.  (He has a 13 miler to do in the morning – his first long run since the accident – stay tuned!)

Monday morning

Wednesday

I also pulled out a couple of strong 6 mile runs, this week.  My times for my 10K are nearly back to where I want them – just over a 9 min mile. 

Tuesday

Thursday

And, while I don’t have any pictures from it – the student veterans group at MCC put on a 2.5 mile fun run on Friday morning on campus, so I participated with faculty, staff and students.  It was an absolute blast!

Saturday morning, I awakened at 5am for my 20 mile run with my new nutrition schedule.  Now that Matt is off schedule in terms of running, I decided (for old time’s sake) to run to Anne’s. 

I really felt good for the first half of the run, taking electrolyte every mile and beginning my gels at mile 6.  I remember that I used to start to bonk around mile 8 and then need to mentally pull myself back up, but at mile 8 I felt stronger than ever.  I hit another gel at mile 11 – glancing at my watch to see I was keeping my heart-rate around a 160 and my times just under 10 minute miles. 

At mile 13, I ran passed Anne’s neighborhood only to hear Anne honking her horn at me and telling me she was going to pull over to see if I needed anything.  I stopped my watch for about 30 seconds as I sipped some ZippFizz and wiped my face.  Anne told me how strong I looked and wished me well on my remaining 7 miles.  I really still felt fantastic and pushed off to finish. 

I took my last two gels at 15 and 18 and it was the right recipe.  I still had electrolyte, as I convinced myself to take a sip at every mile – which would leave me with a smidge in the bottle at the finish.  The combination worked.  I pulled a 9:24 in my last mile for a total time of 3:19.  No issues, no breakdowns, no bonks.  I was just fine the whole time.  Diane’s working!

At Bfast, post-run.

Saturday night I officiated my good friend, Teresia’s, wedding.  She looked so beautiful.

This morning, I swam 1600 meters and then met Anne at mile 12 of her 14 miler.  She looked great, too.  Then, as usual, we all went to breakfast together and talked about our runs, our plans and our excitement for the upcoming marathon. 

Post Anne's Run!

Tomorrow Matt runs long for the first time since the South Mountain ½ -- keep him in your thoughts!  K?  Thanks!

Ragnar Trail Relay and the 1/2 Marathon

I know, I know – another month has gone by without a blog.  To be honest, there has been no time – NONE.  I traveled two weeks this month and somehow still managed to get my runs, rides and swims in. 

I did want to bring all of you up to date on a couple of cool things that we did this weekend! 

First and foremost, a few weeks ago a colleague of mine from work mentioned that her Ragnar Trail team had lost a runner due to pregnancy and I volunteered to replace her.  I am so happy I did – ‘cause it was as much fun as the last one we did back in February.  The difference this time – tougher terrain (trails in the McDowell Mountain area), only 8 runners and camping the whole time.  No vans required – which is always a logistical challenge, anyway (navigation-wise and comfort-wise).   

The team was mostly comprised of faculty at the college – Alex, Niccole, Kaatje, Jen and Tara – combined with a family friend of Alex’s – Marie – and the husband of another faculty (the pregnant one) – Brandt.  The faculty, of course, were all Science faculty and they created the witty name The Red Mountain Rise Over Run(ners).  For those of you who don’t know, as I learned recently, that Rise Over Run is a mathematical expression to calculate the slope of an object – or something like that.  I am not going to pretend to had known that prior to the invitation to join the team, but once I learned – I knew they’d done well.  Super witty and appropriate for a bunch of science-y/math peeps.   The Red Mountain bit – well, they all teach at the Red Mountain campus. 

Alex, Niccole, Kaatja and I offered to get to the grounds early so we could unload, pick our spot and set up camp.  And, what a genius maneuver that was.  By the time we arrived (10am), most camp-sites had been coveted and we were left to scrounge for a spot.  Who knew!!??  We managed one that was not terribly far from the bathrooms (but far enough) and a little distance from base camp where all of the runners started/ended.  It turned out to be a perfect location.

After lugging what seemed to be 700 lbs of tents, backpacks, coolers, tables, and foods to the site, we scoped out the grounds and waited for the rest of our team to show.  Brandt came next, set up his tent on the perimeter of our marked area and then the 5 of us wandered down to Base Camp for our briefing and to send Alex on his way. 

Our camp -- with Niccole under the Easy Up

My  sweet set up!

Brandt, Alex, Kaatje and Niccole (praying, I guess) waiting to be briefed.

Each runner was to run 3 different loops – #1 Green and a 4.6 mile route, #2 Yellow and a 4.3 mile route, and #3 Red and a 7.6 mile route.  None of which were slated to be easy – all had substantial elevation changes associated with them.  To help you understand how it was managed – one runner from each team at a time would take the trails in order.  Alex was our first runner and would run the Green Trail first, then Brandt would run the Yellow, and so on – rinse and repeat.  We were given ONE bib with a chip in it that had to be exchanged in the transition area of Base Camp.  I bet that waist band was pretty knarly at the end. 

Our slated starting time was 2pm – we got messages that Marie would be arriving near 5pm – Tara and Jen around 6pm.  This meant they would all three be our last three runners. 

Alex donned his Ragnar Trail Tat while waiting for the start.

Kaatje applying her tattoo while "thinking" and being badass

Alex - ready to start us off!

Our starting line video!

Alex blazed through the Green with insane speed – in insane heat!  Brandt was off and did similarly well with his Yellow – in the heat of the day, as well.  And, I had the longest run as the 3^rd runner with the Red route.  It was blazing hot and huge sun exposure, but the first run is always the most exciting – so we did well.  Niccole followed me (Green, again) and then Kaatje (Yellow) – we were blazing the trails.  Marie arrived with enough time to unpack and warm up before hitting the Red Trail with lightning speed in pitch darkness.  Jen and Tara faced dark runs as well.  Fortunately, we had a full moon – so it really assisted the headlamps we all wore.

Brandt caught this hive-five shot of me after crossing the finish line of my Red run.

Niccole after her Green!

The night wore on and we ran and ran.  My second run was Yellow – and many claimed it was the toughest course out there.  Maybe it was the darkness, maybe it was the weirdness of running at 11:30pm – I thought it was an awesome and windy trail.  Yes, it had a HUGELY difficult 1/3 mile at mile two, but once you were up and over it – it was lovely. 

Each of the legs came together at some point – Red met Yellow about 1.75 miles from transition, and Red/Yellow met Green within the last ¾’s of a mile.  And, let me tell you – the last mile was nothing to get excited about!  Up and Down, Up Up and down…a truly demoralizing last mile that we all endured on all three of our legs, each.

By the 5:30am, we were starting our final 8 legs.  I had laid down in my borrowed tent, sleeping bad and sleeping pad around 1:30am and awakened after Alex had gone down to start his run.  4.5 hours of solid sleep – MUCH more than I anticipated.  So, I was ready to go when Brandt returned from his Red and I went out for my last run – Green.  Maybe it was because I had already run 12 miles on the trails, but I thought Green was the hardest.  2.75 miles of climbing before any sense of relief.  It was 8am and already getting warm from the sun.  I eeked it out, but it was the most difficult run of all of them.  16.5 miles of trail running over 18 hours – with 6-7 hour breaks between legs. 

Alex's final finish!

Kaatje's final leg!

Marie's done!

Tara looking at Marie's son, Bruno, who ran with her the whole last run - for FUN!

Jen, our final team member, crossed the finish line after completing the 7.6 miler just before 2:30pm.  It was an incredible sense of accomplishment for all of us.  The aches, the pains, the occasional stomach issues – we did it.  And, it felt good to be done.

The whole team crosses the finish line together with Jen!

Naturally, then we had to pack everything up and haul it all back to our vehicles.  I’m not sure when my arms and abs will ever recover from those two days. 

(The team does send a HUGE shout-out to Anne, Lyla and Sean who provided coffee and donuts in the early hours of Saturday morning!)

As soon as I got home, I showered and raced to Anne’s house to help her with the kids.  She (and Matt and Hannah) had the South Mtn ½ marathon to do in the morning – and her husband John was out of town.  So, I offered to sleep over and watch the kids in the morning during the race.  (Sadly, her folks were supposed to be in town to assist, but they had a close friend pass away – and had to delay their trip.) 

Anne fed me steak and beer and I was asleep by 8pm.

At 4:15am I awakened to little miss Lyla crying.  She had vomited all over her bed in her sleep.  We were hoping she’d make it through the morning with me before having a complete meltdown from being unwell, so we packed her and Sean in the car to head to the starting line.

We met Matt and Hannah there as soon as we arrived.  We explained the Lyla situation to both of them and allowed everyone to get into their zone(s).  Matt allowed me to tell story after story of Ragnar, as I continued to thank him for the use of his camping gear.  Then, Lyla, Sean and I watched as all three of them left the starting corral. 

Here is another video of another great start – Matt at 27 seconds on the far side (waving), Hannah at 45 seconds and Anne shortly after Hannah. 

As Lyla, Sean and I attempted to keep ourselves occupied, Lyla got sicker and sicker and vomited again while playing in the park.  At this point, Loretta had joined us since her fiancé, Dan, was also running the ½.  She tended to Sean as I attempted to clean up Lyla – man does milk come up poorly!  Bleh!  Strangely, she seemed completely healed for about 30 minutes after that episode.

Just before seeing Matt come to the finish line, Lyla had a meltdown, but managed to gain some enthusiasm when we started to see him coming down the path to finish. It was incredible – Matt finished strong with a 1:50 total time and 5^th out of 17 in his age group!  Now THAT is amazing!

Mere feet from the finish line and flying!

Then we saw Dan at 1:56.

Anne came next at 2:25 and Hannah soon followed at 2:33!  Amazing stuff!  The course was soooo hard – loads of super hard hills and steep ascents.  Obviously, they are followed by huge descents as well – but those hills can kill.  I am so proud of all of them – this was NOT an easy race!  They all did so well!  I am beaming with pride for my Tucson Marathoners – watch out December.  Here we come!

Anne in the distance!

Hannah pushing through for a strong closing!

Milestones (birthdays and runs)!

I just hate when time gets the better of me and I am left with content for two weeks worth of a blog.  Alas – I am going to make it pretty short – mostly because I am tired and in desperate need of a nap!

So, last week I went back to the St Louis area because my beautiful grandmother turned 100 years old and the family was getting together to honor the occasion.  Interestingly, it was also my mother’s 70^th bday weekend. 

Naturally, the weekend was filled with family.  I arrived on Thursday afternoon so that I could have at least one evening with my Gram, Mom and brother-Michael, without the other 20 members of the family around.  It was a delightful first evening with the three of them. 

Gram and Me -- at the Red Lobster, her favorite.

Friday morning I got up, milled about the house for a few hours and then asked Mom to drop me off at the gym for an easy bike ride.  I admit, I was a bit stressed for my mom, as the entire family was about to descend on her house (at 4:30pm) for a BBQ and it was raining and raining and raining.  The forecast was for rain all day – possibly ending by 2:30pm.  So, dropping me off at the gym gave mom and opportunity to create an alternate plan and gave me a chance to unwind from worry.

After my ride, I walked a mile home from the gym… in the rain.  Things did not look good for the party.  However, the skies managed to hold back after 4pm and everyone enjoyed the outdoors sans rain.

I awakened on Saturday morning and headed out for a lovely 10 mile run.  The temps were in the mid-50’s – so you can only imagine how much I enjoyed every step. 

Sun-shining morning, Fairview Hts Illinois

Shortly after my run, I met up with my good friend, Marcy, for breakfast.  We’ve known each other since 5th grade and she is as beautiful as ever!  Strangely, she and I reconnected in Arizona a few years before she and her family moved back to the St. Louis area.  Its nice that we still get to spend time, even though no longer within driving distance.

Marcy and me -- breakfast

Saturday night was the big birthday soiree for Gram – and I am pretty sure she had a delightful time.  Here are some shots of the family. 

Gram and Mom

My cousin, Laurie, and me

Cousin Dan and Me

I spent Sunday with mom – celebrating her milestone.  And, I even got a little alone time with my brother, that evening. 

Big-brother, Michael

By Monday I was back to the old routine and met Matt for a ride out Pecos and back. 

The trail was relatively kind to us on Tuesday morning – as we headed out the Desert Classic for 5 miles.  The weather is finally cooperating enough that we’re not mortified by our pace, any more. 

Wednesday, I headed out into the foothills for my usual hill route.  I knew my bike chain was overdue for a cleaning, but hoped it might make it until the weekend.  Unfortunately, as I hit the hardest of the hills, the one where I must move down to the smaller ring, my chain wouldn’t budge.  I had to take the hill on the big ring and I suffered all the way to the top.  I am somewhat surprised I didn’t simply allow myself to clip out, but I made it – big ring and all.   (Was so beat up by the ride, I completely forgot to take a post-ride-pic.)

Thinking I might take Thursday off, I actually awakened at 4am, ready to go.  So, I went to the gym for a nice 1500 meter swim.  I did some form work, some speed drills and a nice cool down.  Was super pleased I got up in time to make it happen. 

You got lucky -- I remembered to take a post-swim shot

Friday, I headed out for my 15 mile run about 15 minutes before Matt.  He runs about a minute per mile faster than me, so I thought this would not only give him an additional 15 minutes of sleep, but might make it so that neither of us had to wait for the other to complete the long run – which can be tedious and achy. 

I saw him around mile 8.5 and we both high fived each other, thrilled with how great we were feeling – while knowing we still had several miles in front of us.  I saw Matt again around mile 11, and with the median in the road I just gave him a 2-thumbs-up.  This is when he gave me a 2-thumbs-down, letting me know his left leg was not cooperating.  I was worried about him, but knew that I was strong and could finish, even if it meant I had to come back to get him with the car. 

As I passed him one last time around mile 12.5, I noticed that he was looking pretty strong.  It was then that he gave me 2-thumbs-up – so I knew he was also going to finish , and finish well. 

I hit the 15 mile mark before Matt, so I waited for him to come around the bend.  He was looking good and was just under 15 minutes behind me.  Our estimate was right on – so it was cool that we didn’t have to really wait for one another.  My time 2:27; Matt’s 2:13 – amazing work!  I think we both realized the marathon isn’t simply something in our imaginations any more.

Saturday, I got up for a short ride on my tri-bike, to make sure I was not going to die on it.  10 miles later, I was all smiles.

This morning, my colleague and Ragnar Trail team member – Alex – met me at Pass Mountain for a 7.5 mile run.  Its my favorite, but also one of the toughest trails to master.  I don’t really know anyone on the team that well, just yet, so it was really nice of him to come out and chat with me for 90 minutes as we traversed the beautiful landscape of the Usery Mountains. 

Alex put up with my tired legs.  I felt like I was trying twice as hard as usual to turn them over.  The 15 mile run on Friday made things slower than I was accustomed to.  He was a good sport and didn’t complain about my pace or my occasional need for a hike as we ascended some of the steepest sections.  I was so grateful.

About 2.5 miles into the run, Alex stopped me and said, “Meredith, it’s a tarantula!” And the sucker stood up tall as Alex got closer.  I stayed pretty distant, I’ll admit.  I know, I know…I should have snapped a picture.  Alas.

Around mile 7, we passed another one of our team members, Tara.  She had just started her run and was heading in the opposite direction – she mentioned that she wasn’t all that keen on a 5:45am start time, so she hit the trail a bit later.  Was just awesome to see her out there, though. 

Alex and Pass Mtn in the background

As I made my way to the car after convincing Alex he needed to be in my blog-shot, I got a text from Anne letting me know she was nearly 9.5 miles into her 15 mile run.  I knew I had about an hour to reach her, which was perfect.

As I saw her coming down the road, finishing her run, I became emotional.  She was really doing it.  She was solid and looked great. 

Anne - as she finished her 15

Then a couple hours later, I heard from Hannah – she, too, had completed her 15 miles.   She texted me from an Epsom-salt-filled-bath! 

Hannah on her 15 mile run

Matt, Hannah and Anne – way to go my friends!  I cannot tell you how proud I am to know all of you.  No one ever said Marathon Training was easy – but the rewards are vast!

Hello Grand Canyon!

The week started slowly, as I was coming down from the high of the San Diego Tri Classic, but I managed to get up early on Monday morning for a nice easy 18-20 mile ride.  As luck would have it, it rained for the majority of my ride, but not enough that the roads were difficult to navigate. 

It was raining, so I had to take the shot inside my garage.

Tuesday morning, I headed out for a 6 mile run in Ahwatukee and the weather had finally stepped off of the horrendous humidity and temps of the weeks prior.  It was only about 60% humidity and 83 degrees, so I felt like I could give it a decent effort for an hour. 

Wednesday, I met Matt for a ride out Pecos and back.  We were heading out fairly moderately for the first ½ -- not killing it or worrying about passing anyone else.  But when we both started back to the Park ‘n Ride from the mid-point, we decided to really work hard.  In fact, we annihilated our former personal bests on the Desert Foothills climb – attempting to keep our pace over 19 mph the whole way up.  Matt was right in front of me, as we ascended the hardest portion and he kept us in check.  We were both super pleased with what we were able to do! 
Two very proud cyclists for sure!

We both took Thursday as a rest day in preparation for the next day.

At 5am on Friday morning we met to run our usual-long-Sunday-run.  14 miles on a week day meant we could not screw around.  Although Matt was technically taking a vacation day, I had to be at the District Office by 8:30 for an all-day retreat.

We warmed up together for one mile and then Matt took off at his pace and I did my thing at my pace.  I felt really solid for nearly 8 miles – thinking about the prior weekend, thinking about work, thinking about the upcoming marathon.  Then, it was just work to get through the next 6 miles.  I would really like to have a solid training run one of these weeks – and although I always finish, I would really love to finish a lot stronger at a much better pace.  Everyone keeps reminding me that it will come back when the weather finally dips into the 60’s and 70’s in the morning – so I am waiting.  I am trying to be patient. 

My Garmin’s been a little funky for the last few days, so I know I need to reset the dang thing to factory settings – I just never remember until I am ready to use it (which is not the time to do it).  My run only amounted to 13.1 and change, but I think it was off.  Who knows?  I was happy to see Matt’s little head peeking out from the Park ‘n Ride as I approached the end of the run.  And, then it was off to my all-day meeting.

The reason I needed to run Friday, this week, was because Rob and I were heading up to the Grand Canyon on Saturday.  I have always been so embarrassed to call myself a trail enthusiast, when I live in the state with the world’s most amazing trails and haven’t even taken the time to peek over the edge to take a gander.  So, Saturday morning, I drove up north to Rob’s place and then he drove the remaining 3+ hours to the Canyon.

The ride was pretty uneventful – and I guess I didn’t understand what to expect from the Grand Canyon – as I kept looking and looking (for 40 miles) for a large canyon, anticipating that I would see it well before I was right on top of it.  Well, come to find out – that’s not actually how it works. 

We arrived and parked and I think I may have skipped my way to the start of the Bright Angel trailhead.  Matt told me that I should enjoy the hike, but that it would be tough.  He encouraged me to take Bright Angel nearly 5 miles down to the Indian Garden and then come back up.  He reinforced that it would be tough, but incredibly worth it. 

At the top -- just before hitting the trail.

As the two of us made our way down the trail, there were loads of people in the way for about a mile.  There were people in ill-fitted clothing, inappropriate foot-attire and packs that seemed ridiculous for a day hike where there are water-stations every 1.5 miles.  Rob mentioned that he’d only done this same hike once before and he found himself playing Sherpa to two older Canadians who had gotten in too deep near the Indian Garden and needed someone to carry their packs, just so they could make the trek back to the top. 

I listened to all kinds of stories on my way down – thinking about how much I had always wanted to be right where I was, but also recognizing just how steep the descent into the canyon was.  As we passed the first water stop, people were winded, sitting, resting.  They were likely on their way up. 

I was watching every step, thinking about what it was going to be like heading the other direction.  The breathing pattern from the people passing us (going up) as we descended was unsettling at times.  In fact just past the 1.5 mile stop, we passed a couple from the UK.  I smiled, said hello and asked the woman how she was doing.  “Good, thanks.” She replied.  And, then I passed the guy she was with, greeting him with the same question.  “Shattered!” he exclaimed, as we all busted up laughing.  It was a perfect description of how most people looked as they made their way up. 

After we passed the 3 mile mark on the way down, we ran into 2 gals struggling as they ascended.  “How far until the 3 mile stop?” one moaned.  I was happily able to smile and let her know it was merely 150 meters ahead.  I think it helped their energy to know that.  After another half mile, we were out in the canyon with no shade around us.  The temperature at the very top was 65 degrees, but as we approached the 4^th mile, it was clearly about 80-85. 

We approached the Indian Garden and it was a shaded haven.  People were camping, eating, picnicking and resting.  There were bathrooms and water and a lot of people sitting around.  We both made a quick pee stop, downed a small bit of food and turned around to head up.  My watch read 1 hour 38 minutes.  I gasped.  “Oh, shit.” I said.  “I can’t imagine it will take us less than double that to get up.”  I remembered one group exclaiming that they’d been hiking for 5 hours – they were not far from the 1.5 mile water stop on their way up and said they had gone down as far as we did.  I turned around and looked at Rob when we passed them and said, “oh, god, please don’t let this take me 5 hours.”  He reassured me that it should not.  But, looking at my watch and reading 1:38 for a descent down 5 miles, had given me reason to panic. 

Stair steppers...

The first mile isn’t really tough – it has elevation, but it’s simply the easier of the 5 miles.  We were also exposed – in direct sun light, battling the elevation and the heat.  It felt awful. 

The next 4 miles are actually pretty stinkin’ hard on the legs.  My heart was racing with every step, but I made the decision to allow no one to pass me on the way up.  It was a challenge Matt had often discussed with me while he was in training for his various 40-50 mile hikes, so I was determined to do the same.  Routinely, we came upon people who were laden with heavy packs or people who were simply dying from the elevation and difficulty of the trail.  Much of the middle 3 miles up are stair-steppers.  They can be steep and relentless.  But we were managing.  I was thinking only about being consistent and not stopping unless I had to (for water, mules or slower people in narrow sections).  And, that’s how it went.  I didn’t stop for any pictures on the way up – I was simply too focused on finishing strong. 

We hit the 3 mile mark and didn’t need to stop.  There was a little shade from time to time, at that point, so we enjoyed the cooler temps.  We moved around one guy who noticed Rob’s pack and said, “hey, I couldn’t help but notice your Ironman backpack.  Did you just complete one?”  Rob admitted he had and the two of them talked Ironman finishes for a good while.  All I could think about was, “YES!  I just swept by an Ironman and he’s not going to be able to keep up.”  That was exactly what happened.  He thanked Rob for keeping him company for a bit and then the two of us continued – never seeing that Ironman, again.  (grin)

I was really strong for the next couple of miles.  I was pretty quiet, save my breathing, and enjoying every inch of the canyon.  It was lush with green and some sections were even muddy, given the recent rains Arizona had gotten. 

At the last water stop (mile 1.5 from the top), I filled a bit of my Camelbak and then headed back out.  I didn’t want to lose any time.  I knew the end was near and I could see on my watch that I should not have worried so much about the time.  It was not going to take us as long as I thought it might. 

About a mile from the end, we started seeing people on the trail who did not belong.   Some were inappropriately dressed, some were seriously not in the right shape and some were simply dangerously ill-equipped.  We saw one poor guy who was clearly affected by the elevation.  We all tried to help him, but he refused and simply sat down.  I still hope he was ok. 

A group of four people about a mile from the top asked Rob if they should seriously consider turning around at that point.  He sarcastically told them “it’s not so bad!”  But then I piped up, worried they might hate life later and told them, “Look, its not easy at all – but its so very worth it.  If you have the right shoes and water – another ½ mile will be ok.  Otherwise, pack it in.” 

We don’t know what they eventually decided because I was far too focused on not allowing anyone to pass me.  

At the top, again, super happy!

As I hit the top of the trail, I raised my hands in the air – I had done it.  I stopped my watch: 3 hours 33 minutes.  It took 1:55 to get to the top – a mere 17 minutes longer than getting down.  I think I may have squealed a bit realizing what we had done.  I mean, I’ll admit, I thought I might need a rope-tow about 2 miles from the top, but I didn’t allow my thoughts to kill my momentum or enthusiasm for my location.  I was hiking the Grand Canyon for the first (not last) time.  I will never get another first time – and it was amazing.

(I took this morning - Sunday - off, but met Anne and the completion of her 14 mile run!!)

Anne as soon as she finished!