Moab Ultimate XC 2009!

I can’t believe it has been a year since I started blogging. I can’t believe that “blogging” is a word. Anyway…I had the amazing good fortune of running the Ultimate XC race in Moab again last weekend. Last year it was a total fluke when I managed to out-survive the other master’s women to win 1st place. The highlights last year included the long ride with Anthony, beers with Steve and Tony in the tub and watching as my friends learned to embrace the ridiculous endurance trail running life style that they have since conquered and redefined.
This year’s race threatened to be a rare cold and wet day in Moab but the Universe was looking out for us and the sun rose warm and the sky was a crazy deep blue! It was the perfect start to amazing day for so many friends! I had friends from different worlds converge to make for quite a party! Paula, Shonna, Dottie, John, Michael, Ken, Lori, Tyler, Andrea, Jewels, Randi, Brian, Kelly, Heidi, Sarah, Drake, Paul, Katie, Adrianna, Rich, and Johnny were all at the start line ready to take on the sandy rocky canyon! I have definitely struggled with my focus and energy since returning from Worlds and this event was such a great wakeup call! Most of us ran the first few miles together. We would straggle apart and then someone would need to stop and we would all end up together again! This made for great pictures, mocking and deep appreciation for all the people in my “dessert globe”! There were moments in the first 9 miles when I was overwhelmed with how blessed I am that so many wonderful people want to play with me! Ken blew out his calf, which we were afraid might happen, in the first 2 miles. Paula continues to nurse a sore back and Lori was recuperating from 2 weeks in Italy…whatever! The coolest thing was to see everyone push through and overcome whatever their injury or challenge of choice was that day. We took so many pictures in the first 7 miles I thought we would never get to the 9 mile aid station!
At about the 7 mile mark Tyler was toying with the idea of completing the 24 mile race instead of the 12+. We mulled over a deal; I run his pace and we go ahead together. If I wanted to run the 50K then he would finish the 12 because he didn’t want to run alone. Don’t blame him. I ran alone last year and although rewarding the thought of running with one of the funniest people I know was pretty compelling. I had been nursing a calf/knee injury and it still wasn’t right and I knew Ken would kick my butt if I even considered the 50K. During the first 9 miles I could feel it twitch and pull but it never made a serious move…so for the first time in my memory I made the sensible decision to NOT abuse myself more and NOT do the 50K. Instead I would run with Tyler and John and enjoy the race from a completely different perspective and I am SO GLAD I DID! So when we cruised into the 9 mile aid station after climbing down a rocky wall into the ravine Tyler and I were ready to go ahead but there was one problem. He had his car keys and Jewels, Andrea and Randi would be stranded so we waited for the next person. In comes John, all smiles and he decides he wants to go with us. Admittedly this made me a bit nervous because he hadn’t run more than 8 miles in over a year…but what the hell! So we waited some more and before we knew it we were having a party at the aid station! More pictures, band aids and duct tape and then move on down the road! Apparently the 12+ milers had a pretty intense water crossing that lasted for 2 miles! I am happy to say that I ran a lot farther and never had more than a creek to hop over. Sorry 12+ runners!
John and Tyler were perfectly awesome to run with once I caught them. Apparently my running with them was only important when they were tired. But when I was stopped to help a friend tape up some sore feet then I am not worthy of waiting for! HA! For this they will pay some day! The next 16 miles flew by for me! The scenery was stunning. Most of the trees had their end of season bright yellow leaves, the rain had darkened up the canyon walls and everything was just stunning to me. The guys ran steady and strong the entire time and my knee behaved! Tyler and I are not quite as smart as John and we tend to cruise down hills much faster. I think it has to do with how far you have to fall. When the 3 of us peaked the top of the canyon and took some amazing pictures of the Colorado River, Tyler and I unintentionally made a gap between us and John as we cruised down into the meadow. I was a bit worried about my knee and I hate to slow down when we have so far to go. The top of the canyon is 16 miles so we still had 8 or so miles to cover and I knew some of it was a hairy climb back down to the canyon floor. That climb was really cool! I was worried that John would get lost by himself because I had a pretty good idea of where we needed to go but the markers were hard to find and somewhat unbelievable because it appeared we were going to climb straight down the canyon wall. We did. And John did.  But he recovered before he got too far off course and still finished shortly behind us in less than 6 hours. Once we hit the aid station at 17 miles it was obvious that Tyler was on his game. He had managed his water and nutrition really well so that he would finish strong. The last 4 miles of the race are a rolling downhill back down to the canyon floor and I couldn’t believe it when Tyler turned it up…I mean really turned it up. He relaxed, stayed steady and cruised the last 3+ miles at better than 8:30 pace. That may not seem fast too many however we had just run 20 miles in a rugged desert with lots of climbing and descending which takes its toll on legs after a while. The key was to keep moving and stay as straight as possible. I could feel my lateral strength was shot and there is always that thought in the back of your mind…what if I trip…will I catch myself or will I keep right on going over the cliff wall into the canyon. Admittedly a quicker route to take but really not the best choice! As we neared the finish the canyon floor was lush with green yellow leaves and great smells and it felt terrific to be cruising to the finish with Tyler knowing we had both had great days! Tyler, always the gentleman, let me pull us into the final climb as of course I am like a horse to the barn. I dropped my center of gravity and rolled us in. I must say the last hill climb is really annoying and much more fun to watch others do than do ourselves!
There was a little confusion at the line because I hadn’t run far enough and Tyler had run too far however once we explained the details to Dan and his crew they agreed to give us both unofficial finish times at the 20 mile (24 miles) distance. I know I didn’t care about a finish time. I had spent some serious time considering my very first DNF on record and was OK with it. Wow, things really are shifting! Normally I would do whatever I could to prevent a DNF and on this day it was the last thing that was important to me! Ken and Lori had actually waited for us to finish and we were so happy to see them! I think they had both frozen and thawed while waiting for us so I hope they know how grateful we were to see them! John cruised in a couple minutes after we did and he was all smiles! A couple burgers and a coke and that boy was right back on his game in a few short minutes. John and Tyler made me so happy! What a great day!
After the race, plenty of showers and a screaming good Diet Pepsi, we headed into town for dinner at Pasta Jays! As always they put out a large volume of awesome food and we had a great time. Dessert was served up at Kelly and Paul’s hotel room as they were celebrating Kelly’s birthday! She is on the young end of this particular gang and I have to say she hardly looks 30 let alone 39!  Dessert was delicious and I asked everyone to retell their favorite part of the day! That made for great laughs and good stories. I honestly think the stories are the very best part of these weekends! Lori and Jewels had a good face plant story, Ken blew out his calf, Rich had to carry his wife’s camera, Shonna was the Zen master and soaked in every step, Paula and Tyler had a knock down sprint that ended in a spanking, Andrea and Randi spent some time with the boys downtown and overall it was a great day!
Sunday Shonna led some of us through a very chillaxing yoga session. It was great to see Tyler and John do Yoga with us. Even when Tyler was fighting with his “hungry butt”. The mountain bike ride didn’t happen as it snowed. I have never seen snow in Moab and it was so beautiful on the red rocks and canyon walls. Just gorgeous! We did a little power shopping and more eating before heading home! Our drive was pretty low key and as always John was great company.
I love this event and I think it has become a staple for me. Next year back to the 50K for a race!