The Old West trail 50k ultra and 30k fun run.

Today I ran The Old West trails 50k ultra and 30k fun run. My dad went with me and I drove there at 4 am and he drove me home. I have never been to Shelter Valley before it was really pretty there. Specifically, in the morning before it got hot. When we got there it was 5:50am and I needed to pick up my bib by 6 am so I was feeling nervous about the getting there on time. I forgot how cool it is to get out of your car so early and see all the runners with flash lights or their phones making there way to the registration desk. I could smell breakfast at the recreation room and just made my way in there. They had serious breakfast situation going on in there. It was well lit and it was nice to see familiar faces and say hi and to hug old friends. I love the shirt it is so soft I am wearing it now. 

Here I am all excited and a little bit nervous . I saw lots of really good people I knew and that's always nice. I love the people that run these races because they are all so real. I was so conflicted as I always am about how much clothes to wear. I knew I would get warm with in 30 minutes but it was cold so I wore my long sleeve shirt. (someday I will suck it up for 30 minutes bc I waste so much time changing )

So off we go. The first 5 miles it was cold but it started warming up quickly. It was really pretty out there and the course was marked so well. It felt good to know I would not get lost today. I love knowing I won't get lost it takes a huge weight of my shoulders. I started near the back and I knew I had a long day ahead so I was fine.

This is what most of the course looked it. It was beautiful. I did stop to pee and take of one layer of clothes and I lost Mike's Garmin. :(  I put it down while I changed and when I looked down to get it it was gone. Everything looked the same so I think I must of taken a couple steps while doing that and then I just could not see it. I looked for 20 minutes and I just got more confused. Things looks so much alike in the dessert. So sad but its my fault. If I would of listened to myself and not wore the long sleeve I would of been fine. 

It took me 6:45 minutes to run 31 miles today. I came in 4th in my division. It was warm but my legs did not feel rested and I have felt so tired lately so I was happy with my time. To be completely honest, I am grateful I am healthy enough to complete a race of this distance. So if it took me 6:45 minutes then, hey, that's great. When taking on a challenge like this it is important to stay positive because I am happy. 

All in all it was a great day. The volunteers were awesome, kind and very helpful. They were excited to see you come in and cheered for you. They also cheered when you left. They had lots of good compliments too. This was a really well put on event/race. Everything seemed to go smoothly and they really cared. I also loved my leather medal.  

Another crazy run put on in the town of Julian, California. The heat did not affect me as much as I thought it would. I definitely made myself drink a ton of water (over and over and over). I almost forgot to tell you after I was done there was a full on buffet waiting for me.