Monday, August 19, 2013

I am ULTRA

In 33:13:21 I completed an ultra relay with 5 other amazing women, running from the top of Mt. Spokane to Sandpoint, Idaho. It was hot and we were all exhausted and slightly delirious by the end, but it was worth every single second. Running is a funny and wonderful thing. You can come together in a group and not know everyone, but you can become fast friends. Before we even saw the finish line in Sandpoint we were planning races together. I could not have asked for better women to run with. We all couldn't have done it without our amazing van driver either. He did more than drive us, but took care of us and was photographer extraordinaire.

It has been 48 hours since we crossed the finish line and I am still grasping everything I learned about myself. The main thing that I learned was that an ultra relay is a million times different from a regular relay. They aren't even in the same ballpark, they are tough! I came away with a new found respect for people that compete in ultras- you people are super badas* in my book!

I am currently foam rolling, laying around and catching up on some rest. It might take a while to write up some recaps of the relay, but here is a photo collage with some of my favorite photos:




--Tasha

31 comments:

  1. Congratulations!!!! It sounds like an amazing experience - I can't wait for your recaps when you get to them :)

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    1. What was a lot of fun, but also harder than I was anticipating. Running in the heat drained all of us- we went through about 25 gallons of water of the course of the race. It was insane! I did love my teammates, they were the best people to be in a van with for as long as we were.

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    1. Thank you Brandi! It was a lot of fun and definitely worth every second.

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  3. Congrats, sounds like another great adventure!

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    1. It was a crazy adventure for sure, but really fun. Ultra relays are hard, not sure I would be game for another one anytime soon. We could not have done it without our driver- he went above and beyond the call of duty.

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  4. Congrats!!! Sounds like an awesome race... and love the pictures!!

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    1. It was so freaking fun Lora. I loved it! We took a ton of pictures between my Nikon and Luke/Amy's GoPro. Over 1300 pics to be exact. CRAZY!!!

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  5. I'm glad that you guys had so much fun!!!

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  6. I can't wrap my mind around a regular relay, let alone an ULTRA! Congrats to you and your team! That's really impressive :)

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    1. Thank you!!! I was super sore on Sunday, but already felt better yesterday other than some aches and pains here and there. Took two full days off so I am debating jumping back into workouts today. We shall see how the day progresses. :-)

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  7. Congratulations! What an amazing accomplishment!!! Your outfits were super cute too!

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    1. Thank you Marnee!!! It was an accomplishment I wasn't expecting to accomplish, but it felt awesome.

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    1. Thank you Amanda!!!! It was a really fun experience. I am so glad that I decided to join the team- even when the term "ultra seemed intimidating!

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  9. Woo hoo!! Nice job! And enjoy your rest. Looking forward to hearing more!

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    1. Thank you Laura. It was a lot of fun, but recovery has been hard. I am so sore. I took two full days off and then decided to do light weights and a bike ride tonight. Still felt really sluggish. Not sure if I will even be able to run this week at all.

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  10. Congratulations! I was on Robyn's Ragnar team. It is so true how well you get to know each other in a short time.

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    1. Thank you Bethany! I love meeting new people at relays. I think that is one of the best parts of not knowing the people on your team before hand. The only person I knew on our team was Robyn. :-)

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  11. You need to teach me how to use a foam roller because everyone swears by them yet I don't feel like they do anything for me! :(

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    1. I got a cheat sheet when I purchased my foam roller. Without it I probably wouldn't know how to use it either! Have you googled ways to use it?

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  12. I think it is so awesome and pretty badass. I kind of really want to do an ultra relay sometime. Although for my Ragnar in Colorado somehow I ended up with the leg with 22 miles, that is going to feel pretty badass by the end.

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    1. We defintely felt pretty badass crossing the finish line. It wasn't until Sunday morning when I felt like I got hit by a bus that I didn't feel so badass anymore. :-)
      When I ran Ragnar I think I ended up with close to 26 miles. I was runner 7 with about 22 miles and I then I ran an extra night leg. I bet that Ragnar CO will be beautiful! Take lots of pictures!

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  13. just getting caught up! congratulations!! that sounds amazing!!!

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    1. Thank you Nikki! It was a really fun weekend. :-)

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  14. How exciting! Can't wait to read more about it! Hope you are getting a chance to rest up.

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    1. I have definitely been resting up this week Amy! I have only run 3 miles, biked 10 miles and have gone to two farmgirlfit classes. That is only about a 1/4 of what I normally do. Getting anxious to hit it back up next week!

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  15. Oooh, girl...
    I hope you are STILL resting! I have some friends that are ultra runners and seriously...
    They are crazy!
    Crazier than any 'normal' runner! Haha...
    I am pretty sure that runners aren't all that normal, but we are an amazing group!
    HUGS!!
    Hope some wine was included in your relay recovery! ;)

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