Two months ago my friend Sharalyn told me she was running a half marathon in Aspen the end of September. I thought it sounded like fun so I signed up to do it as well because I had been wanting to another half marathon. I convinced my sister Lindsay to do it with me and began training! Due to an injury Sharalyn was unable to participate.
So this past Saturday, September 26th Lindsay and I were in Snowmass to begin our run to Aspen. Phil was there as moral support cheering us on!! We knew it was going to be a tough run from what we had been told and what we had read about it. Pretty much the first mile and half were straight uphill climbing 1500 feet!! Yikes. So pretty much you were hiking up because running was far too difficult!! From there you are on a single file rocky, muddy trail climbing up and down hills. It was extremely difficult. I knew when it took us about 40 minutes to finish 2 miles it was going to be a long morning. Well Lindsay and I did not have expectations of a good time and were trying to finish together so we would wait for each other at the drink stops because for safety reasons we wanted to make sure the other person was not rolling down the mountain or injured. Also it was good to have someone with you for support. So we finally got to mile 7 and from that point it did get easier and were able to get in more of a groove. I made it through the very difficult mountain terrain without falling so as luck would have it at mile 11 when the run was easier on flat terrain my shoelace got caught on a plant and I landed right on my knee!! It hurt real bad:) I got back up and continued running and a nice person let Lindsay know that I had biffed it so she came back to see me! Well we kept going and ended up finishing together!! Lindsay would have finished sooner but she was nice and held back to finish with me! Phil was waiting for us at the finish and was cheering us on but my nice self told him to shut up because I was bleeding and my lungs were on fire!! It was really great to finish and I am happy to have completed such a tough race but I won't be doing that race again!! I went to the first aid station to get cleaned up and then we headed out. You may think this is the end of the story but no. So we are driving along and all of the sudden I have a strong urge to vomit. I ask Phil to pull over and I get out but am unsucessful at throwing up. We then stopped to get Gatorade at a gas station and I throw up in a grocery bag. I get back in the car and we started heading to Glenwood Springs. During the drive I get a sudden urge to throw up again and I asked Lindsay for a bag but there was no stopping it and I threw up all over my car. I sat in my vomit until we got home and I showered and took a nap. Phil was very sweet and took care of me and cleaned out my car. I love him very much which is why I am going to marry him in 4 weeks!! Love you Phil!! For your viewing pleasure my souvenier from mile 11:)
