I'm Back..........................

Our first annual trail run was an awesome experience! So awesome, that I got sick of hearing myself use the word "awesome" to discribe the experience as it was unfolding.

In case I have not given the details of the trail race before, it was a seventy-eight mile relay with a team of six runners, and two driver/navigators. One of my friends volunteered to be one of the navigators, and she, my youngest, and I went up a day early to scout out the route. What a good thing this turned out to be, as some of the roads were not identified with road signs. This could be because some of the roads were more like trails than roads, and what a great time we had figuring it all out. As we found the legs that I was to run, my excitement built as I saw the narrow trails right next to steep drop offs. This would be an adventure for sure!

We had originally planned to run the race with five runners, but at the last minute added a sixth person as advised by the race director. We could not have ask for a better teammate than the person that answered our e-mail request for an additional runner. I have dubbed him VTR (veteran trail runner) as he had done the race several times before. Not only was his experience invaluable, but his speed was pretty welcome as well. What was most amazing was how we functioned as a team with many of us never having met before arriving at out camp site.

Our goals for the race were to Finish, have Fun, and then be Fast. FFF was the moto for the day. We completed the race in thirteen hours thirty-five minutes and thirty seconds. None of us could come up with a time when we had had more fun, and considering the details of the day, we were pleased with our time. The trails taught us so much about ourselves, and the lessons learned as a result of some wrong turns and missed marks changed all of us for the better. We are so much stronger after coming through the race as a team, and I am sure that we will all hold the experience of the race up as a marker for our next life challenge for some time to come.

This morning, I am experiencing that slightly un-anchored feeling now that the race is behind me, and there is nothing really pressing to divert my focus too. The difference is, that I am getting used to that feeling, and know that in a few days my mind will be clearly centered on my next goal/plan/race/challenge whatever that turns out to be. Today is a day to not worry about eating/running/planning/doing. Tomorrow, (or the tomorrow after that, or the tomorrow after that) is soon enough to get back on track, and I know from experience that I definitely will.