Monday, March 7, 2011

3 Days of Impatience



I HATE the couple of days right before a race... the impatience kills me and I start feeling all sorts of aches and pains and my brain goes into overdrive and I can't sleep.  This weekend is 3 Days of Syllamo, one of the BEST races around.  3 days of running through the gorgeous Arkansas trails... with yummy food, beer and a freezing cold stream afterwards.  Day 1 is a 50K, Day 2 is a 50miler and Day 3 is a 25K, and it totally kicked my ass last year but I've been dreaming about going back.  Last year, one of the runners got lost on Saturday and so the Sunday race was canceled. Almost everyone went out on the trails with search and rescue to look for him, and luckily he was found safe and sound, but I've been looking forward to actually completing all 3 days of the race.  I almost crossed out the 3 Days logo on my (super sweet) shirt and markered in 2 days, but I figured all the hiking we did with search and rescue counted as something.

The secret to being able to run each day is spending time in the frigid cold river after each race.  As you can tell by our faces, it's REALLY freaking cold!   I totally wussed out and was only able to stand about 10 minutes in the river,  everyone else was chatting and relaxing and acting like it was a freaking day spa...uh no.  But this year, I'm totally gonna put my game face on since it will be Sarah's first time at the race... she can be the noob squealing like a little girl and hopping out before everyone else! HA!!

6 comments:

  1. Wow. Thank you for this. I get so cranky before a race. I can't sleep because running is what helps me get tired and fall asleep, I start to worry about how I will do in the race, and I'm generally unpleasant to be around. If you find a secret cure for pre-race jitters (so far melatonin seems to be the only thing that helps, and that's only for sleep--no help with the cranky!) then please let us know!

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  2. I like your new blog.
    I'll be thinking about you this weekend while I am snuggled into my comfy chair reading a good book or two.
    Kick it all the way girl.
    Mom

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  3. Yeah! A knew blog. Can't wait to read more.

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  4. @Beka... the only 2 things that (kinda) work are sleepytime tea and cleaning the house! The week before a race is about the only time it gets a super, deep down scrubbing!

    @Mom- thanks! Hope you'll be doing a bit of writing in addition to that reading!

    @Brad..thanks! it's good to be back!

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  5. I LOVE this race! Run a "hill" for me! I totally understand the impatience part. Dane loves it when I do a big event because I clean EVERYTHING!

    Glad to see the new blog and looking forward to more.

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  6. Yay! I'm excited! Also, stop trying to make me run an extra 5k on the final day. 20k!

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