So I'm sitting here pretty sore, definitely elated after a fantastic 40k race. Granted, for a non-coffee drinker who rarely has caffeine this could all just be from the caffeinated shotbloks I ate during the race. Or maybe the endorphins are just still rushing. At any rate, this Glenlivet should put an end to that lickety split. So my high-end goal for this year's race was 3:30 - and I finished the race in 3:20! That definitely beat my expectations and I am just really proud and excited about it. That's nearly an hour faster than the 4:15 I did last year. Yay! avg. heart rate 158. peak heart rate 174. total calories 3410. time in zone: 7 minutes (ha!) While I was disappointed not to be number 420 again this year (green jacket pics), 883 seemed to work well for me (yellow jacket pics).Even though I didn't meet my fundraising goal I was able to raise exactly $10,500 over the past two years for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - also something to be very proud of.
Our team raised $230,000 which is just amazing.The day was beautiful - sunny even though it wasn't supposed to be, and mid to upper 20's. perfect. The scenery is just gorgeous, and i really felt great the entire time. Have you ever seen the frozen ocean? with enormous slabs of ice resting at odd angles on top of the frozen base. Looks almost like the the lava fields and flows in volcano craters.
I was happy, I knew I was skiing fast, and only a few elite skiers were complete asses when passing. One even slammed into me. The water stops came up unexpectedly quickly before I even had time to wonder where the hell they were and how could 7k seem so far (the distance between each stop). The only downside was that they changed the order of the race this year so literally I was in the last wave of the entire day - behind every 50K racer, and every 40K racer, and every 25k racer. By the time we skied the snow was like deep mashed potato - especially going up hill. 6-8" of deep deep slush. Which meant the downhill sections which are *quite* steep were a 2' swath of ice surrounded by mounds of at least 12" of snow. So much for step turning! That I only fell once was a true miracle. I was completely out of control on at least two of the downhills. You're thinking 'I have this - yeah, this is okay - oh sh*t!!!!' as you go flying and flailing down the hill and just hope that you come out of it in one piece. I was very lucky. 
The best part was knowing I will NEVER do this race again - and going out on what was such a pleasant, easy time - amazing how being in much better shape makes such a difference!Thanks to everyone for all of their support and well wishes, and donations and general kindness. Especially to Rochelle for helping to motivate me to climb and run constantly, and John for kicking my core's ass once a week. I really have an amazing network of friends and family. Seriously though, i am definitely NOT doing this again. You can hold me to that! Any races I do will be local. Big kisses...
