Yellowstone Half Marathon

I have not blogged in quite awhile.  My life has taken quite a few curves and side roads.  My oldest son left for Panama to serve a 2 year mission for our church.  Then my health took another weird turn and it took me quite a few months to get it all sorted out.  But now, I'm back!  (applause)  I am not the same runner I was....but I am back nonetheless!

This last weekend we went to run the West Yellowstone Half Marathon together; me, my sister Michele and the Bossy Bandit (Kris).  It was our girls trip to run a race.  This is part of the reason the blog is back!

Kris drove her NEW CAR!! It's such a high tech car, even Kris was unsure how to operate it.  Michele put her glasses on and tried to help.

 The drive began with a lot of deep thinking and sharing of some serious stories.  It was getting a bit too serious!  Luckily I had brought along the printout version of our blog from 2 years ago.  That got us laughing and having some fun.  When I was done Kris announced that the blog needed to be resurrected!  So here it is.....

It was predicted by our spouses that we would need at least 8 bathroom stops.  We were also on the look out for Share a coke bottles with MY name on it!  I found both Michele and Kris already!  At the first stop we found a Dan..... well Yippee!  We did take a lot of bathroom breaks though but just not 8!!!  A selfie to document it.

Road trip memories on the way there:

• Kris' car has voice recognition.  Michele and I spent several minutes screaming at her car trying to get it to call "Stud Muffin".  It never worked.
• Arguing over whether Kris will drive to the gas pump itself or if she will see if the hose reaches to her parking spot.

• Dave told us to look for the "indian lying down" formed by the mountain range.  We never saw it.  When Dave asked if we did, we lied.
• As we grew nearer and nearer to Yellowstone, suddenly we heard a BANG!  Because of the elevation the Lays potato chip bag had burst open.

• Michele decided to bring Pickle flavored pringles.  I hate pickles.  When she opened it the ENTIRE CAR STUNK so bad!  I was dying!

• I tried to explain a cool story about a lady who played the saxophone, Kris was confused and miss heard me.... not G rated.
• We passed a large building.  When we were trying to figure out what it was Michele dropped a knowledge bomb on us.....  "It's a churchy retreat."  No, no it isn't Michele.
• "Can I have some of the licorice rope please?  Wow, thanks for such a generous piece Michele."

• Comparing what we had packed for the run, Michele had brought her YakTrax.  It was 90 degrees outside.  Good thing she brought those....she may just need them.  

Arriving in Yellowstone we went straight to our hotel.  We sent in Michele alone to check us in.  She was gone quite a long time.  She came out finally and announced that they had NO reservation for us and the ENTIRE town was booked.  We followed her back in....

To summarize, Michele was NOT happy.  They kept asking her if the room could be under any of name besides Kozel.  "No!"  She kept telling them.  They finally had to get the manager.  After digging through the compute he asked, "Do you know anyone named Kris Rayells?"  Are you kidding me?  How did the room get put under that name?  At least we did have a room now!  First order of business?  STRETCH!  That was a long car ride!

 

We then discussed what would be the best way to go to the race expo and pick up our packets.  After researching it on her phone Michele had it all figured out, "Step 1 we have to leave the hotel.  Then we need to decide if we walk or drive.  It is a 10 minute walk there or a half hour drive."  No folks that is not a typo, that is what Michele really said.  So we drove.

Our race shirts were awesome.  It only took 3 tries for Kris to get hers.  First it was too small.  Then it said 5K and then finally it was right!

The race directors had taken every one's names and made it in to the shape of Montana.  We each found our names easily, way cool.

The evening was spent shopping, eat WAY too much spaghetti (I neglected to show them the appetizer choice) and tipping bus boys.

We called it an early night.  I took my medicine and started getting pretty loopy and silly, noticing that Michele and I laid down in the EXACT same position!!  Then we all became experts on avalanches and saw a disturbing man fall on thumbtacks (well Michele closed her eyes on that part).

RACE DAY!!

We had special shirts made for this race.  They read as follows:

Kris - I am the oldest, I make the rules

Michele - I am the middle, I am the reason for the rules

Jodi - I am the youngest, the rules don't apply to me!

We loved the shirts until Michele said she felt like a newbie runner since we all dressed alike. Haha!!  Who cares right?  We looked and felt great!  Well if you don't count the fact that I woke up with a raging nose bleed and then realized that I forgot my hydration bladder!  I put on my pack (waterless) and use a small 8 ounce bottle that Michele had brought.  I didn't think it would be a problem....WRONG-O!!

At the start line we realized how many people were there.  Holy Cow there was 3,000!  My comfort zone is to race with about 400.  There was so many people, so many people!

Waiting at the start line while Kris stretched

Kris Stretching

The race itself wasn't too technical or steep hills that we are used to.  What was hard was the elevation!  I had no idea that it would affect me so terribly BUT it sure did.  We started at 6700 feet and climbed up to 7200 feet.

It started with a headache and a lot of thirst.  I could not get enough to drink!  This is not good when you are only packing 8 ounces of water between each aid station!  Then I got a bit dizzy.  We had left Kris in the first half mile because she had to go to the bathroom.  She just followed some guy into the woods to pee.  She also she has a new injury that forces her to really slow down.  Eventually I had Michele get in front of me to help prevent me from pushing myself to hard and let her set the pace.  I did let her know that when she handed me her baggie to put in her pack she needed to SUCK THE AIR OUT of it!!!  She ended up pulling a few minutes in front of me because I was struggling so much.  The scenery was beautiful though, the volunteers friendly and the course fairly easy. 

 The few bad things were of course the crowd.  Did I mention there were TOO many people.  Also the other runners were RUDE.  Oh my goodness. One lady went tearing through the mud and splashed all over Michele, with no apology.  So Michele took it upon herself to yell at the lady.  "Ah man!  You got me all muddy!"  Then Michele tried to make friends with her and asked her what her name was.  She told Michele her name and then ran off.  Wow, didn't even reciprocate the gesture!  Then there were the walkers.  If someone decided to walk they just POW started to walk.  No concern about those of us running behind them.  Oh don't get off the trail when you need to walk, I enjoy having to jump into the weeds to prevent myself from hitting you!  The major part of the race was spent zig zagging around walkers!  It was exhausting.  We saw one lady running with her daughter.  He daughter was struggling and the mom kept saying, "Just relax, you are fine."  The poor girl did not look fine and was almost in tears but mama dear did not care!  The worst runner award for the race goes to "lady with stroller".  This woman would barge in behind people and yell "Walkers to the right!"  She just pushed her way through and around people in a very brusk and rude way.  I ran next to a guy fart-er.  Now we all do it when we run, but this guy, wow.  Kris shared her biofreeze with someone, yes Kris to the rescue once again.

The elevation must have effected quite a few people because all three of us saw a lot of people fall down.  I sure did feel like it several times.  Near the end I was so tired and dizzy that I contemplated sitting down on a rock and just waiting for Kris to come by.  But I figured that since I was at mile 11, I should just keep moving towards the finish line.  After the race I realized that it was a combo of poor hydration, elevation and my new medications that made this race so difficult for me.  When you have a bad race, you learn from it and then move on.

Second in coolness only to the scenery were our race medals.  They were intense and so heavy!  It almost hurt to wear it!  Fun day despite it all.  We can always manage to have some fun regardless of our circumstances.

We had one novelty that we don't usually get on our girls' trip races.  We got to shower before the drive home!  That was AWESOME to say the least!  And as much as we had sweat, it was probably good for the interior of Kris' car that we were clean and smelling fresh.

The ride home was pretty uneventful.  That is if you call getting of the interstate to get gas and go to the bathroom and then the exit to get back onto the freeway is closed and you have to take some long weird detour through the back roads of Declo uneventful.

We had a great time and like always, we learned a few things along the way.

• Apparently the name Jodi is so rare it does not show up on any Coke bottles
• Do not run in races with 3,000 runners on a trail system.  It is too crowded!
• The rock Indian does NOT exist
• The police will strip search some people right alongside the freeway
• When the GPS is taking a weird detour it keeps telling you to "Proceed with caution"
• Bacon sandwiches are as near to heaven as we are ever going to get right now
• It is a regular practice to skateboard along the highway in Montana
• When you pack for a summer race, water is more crucial than yak trax
• If making a hotel reservation, note that it can be in anyone's name!

But like always, whether we ran a good race, a bad race, or somewhere in between it is always a great thing because we simply ran.

Death of my Yaktrax!

These babies are relatively new.  I believe they have seen only 3 runs.  What is wrong with me?  This is my THIRD pair!!!!

I am beginning to believe these are not meant for me.  Time to move on to something else.
On the plus side, I did enjoy a nice chat with a friendly horse on todays run!

Ho Ho Ho Run!!

The trails dried up and froze just enough for us to get one last run on them in 2014!!  Time for our Christmas run.  Last year we ran the entire run with the Santa Headbands on!  This year they were used only for one quick pic when we got out of the car!

It's also a tradition to wear our Santa socks.  Kris REALLY wanted to make hers show!  She went through ALOT to have them clean for today's run.  Yesterday one of her grandkids threw them in the toilet.  She was up ALL night getting them clean.  She was EXTRA angry at Michele for not wearing hers!

The run was great! Just over 12 miles.  We were very slow, but enjoyed ourselves.  We added decorations to the trail Christmas tree.

As always the views are spectacular.....

And the conversation is lively and loud!  We still can't agree on  WHO gets the longer walk break!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2nd Annual Poker Run

Today was our 2nd annual Poker run.  Here is a brief description:

Throughout the year we had to declare 3 runs that we would run each week.
It had to vary every week.
For every run you missed you had to add a quarter to the "jar"

Today we ran 7 miles.  At each mile we drew a card.  The best 5 card hand would win the jar of coins and a cool medal.

Ready to run!

We decided to run the Rocky Canyon Road due to all of the days of rain that we have been having.  We started 15 minutes late because Michele had to turn around and go home for her rain jacket when Kris declared that she could seen rain clouds over the foot hills. (note: it did not rain one drop on us).

The water in the creek was higher than we had EVER seen!

The run off from the side trails convinced us that we took the right route.

Michele and Kris both spotted a dollar bill on the run.
 They both fought over who saw it first.  It went into the Runopoly jar for the winner.

At the end of the run the last card was drawn.  Lucky Lucky guess who won!

We exchanged Christmas gifts in the car, had a baby sprite, and salted pretzel cookies.  I have the best running friends ever!!!

Run the Highway, Up the Yuck, Down the Side and through the Reds....... WHAT?

HAPPY BLACK FRIDAY

We spend it running on trails not through stores!

As you run trails with your friends, you tend to give trails your own name.  It can be because of an event that happened there, or simply a way that helps you remember.  Our run today is a perfect example.   Our run today could be described as follows:

From the upper parking lot, run the Highway, instead of going to the lunch box we'll go up the Yuck, a nice easy run down the Side and finish through the Reds, leaving out Chickadee this time.

To anyone else it sounds like jibberish..... but to us..... perfect clarity!

Another run we love is near Veterans.  Some of those trails include; the hill Kris almost died on, Crow Corner and the Forgotten Switch backs,

The only problem we run into is when we find ourselves having to explain a trail to someone else.  It is tough to explain to someone how to get to suicide hill when you forget it's real name.  But usually we can remember.

That is one of the great things about running.  You can be literally in your own world, naming all the trails and turns however you want to!

Our run today started with a bet as to how many cars would be in the parking lot.  Michele won with the guess of 3 cars, 2 dogs.  Amazing that she got that right!  Then she chanted "3 cars - 2 dogs"  for like 10 minutes! Here she is thinking it is funny and Kris thinking it is annoying!

Here we are about to go "up the YUCK!"  It is a really steep motorcycle trail.

A portion of "The Yuck".

Kris running "through the Red".

Michele walking through the Red and announcing that she was not tired....she was DANGEROUS!

It was a great day out there on the trails today, so warm for the end of November!  We all wished we had warn shorts!!  As the run ended Michele was swaying from one side of the trail to another, she was mumbling about how everything we said didn't make sense and that she MUST have a fever!  As I write this I think she is most likely drugged up on cold medicine.  But the good news is a trail run will make your cold last half as long.  Just ask Dr. Ryals!

**P.S.  I was told not to include that Kris peed almost immediately after she got out of the car, causing us to all scream!**

Still running.....

I haven't blogged a lot lately.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been running!!!  The weather is turning colder and snowier around here!  Time to bundle up and enjoy those slower runs.

Let's kick 40's BUTT!!

So this year I turned the BIG 40!!  I decided I needed to do something HUGE to really show 40 that I was not old!!  Michele hatched  a plan of running 40 miles on my birthday!  At the time of this plan I had not run any further than 31 miles.

It wasn't long before Michele planned a trip that would have her gone on my birthday.  Now you would think sisters would come before vacations, but apparently that is not the case. So, knowing how difficult it would be to run 40 miles alone we postponed the run until Sept 18th.  Why is that a significant date?  That is my oldest son's 19th birthday.  He is serving a mission in Panama City Panama.  Michele figured I should be doing something that day to distract me from the fact that he was gone.  BINGO!  40 mile run it is.

The plan was that we would run and her husband would meet us at a 16 miles for refueling.  Then we would be on our own.  We were doing a modified out and back.  If you follow this blog you are well aware that things NEVER go as planned.

At mile 16 he was there with wonderful pringles and sprite and water, etc.  Michele announce that she was DONE!  She was going to begin the "back" part of the out and back!  WHAT?!  We still have 6 miles to go before the turn around spot!  Nope, she said she was done.  I was dumb founded!

So now it is time for the Plan B.  Michele would walk/run until she got to Glenwood bridge.  Hen she figured I would by that time have run out and back 6 miles and then gone the additional mileage to catch her.  I didn't think this was plausible but she assured me it was since she would be walking a lot.  Thus Plan B began.

I was on my own now.  It was humid and overcast but not too bad weather wise.  I luckily had my ipod and was doing fairly well both physically and mentally.  I even had a few light showers which were very refreshing.  That's when Plan B fell apart, I was at mile 21.

A text came from Michele; "How close are you to being back?"  WHAT?!  I hadn't even turned around yet.  She was only 4 miles from the Glenwood bridge, I  still had 10 to go!!!  At that moment I decided it was time to turn around and head back.  I could make up the needed mileage at the end.

Plan C was born at my insistence and dare I say anger?  This happened when Michele texted that he had reached Glenwood bridge.  I was currently at mile 30.  I was beginning to slow and have a few walk breaks.  I was 6 miles behind her.  Then I commanded her that she would turn around and start walking towards me and would NOT stop until she saw me.  Thus Plan C began.

Michele kept textng me to see what mileage I was at, etc.  I forgot to tell her that part of Plan C was that I would ignore her text messages.  And I just kept running.

Finally we met up at about 33 on my watch (no idea what Michele's mileage was at this point).  Finally I wasn't on my own anymore. Running with someone else to support and talk to you is 100% easier.

7 miles to go....we then instituted Plan D.  Run a little, walk a lot!  I was running out of water and out of steam! But because my sister was back with me I knew I could do it!

6 miles to go....... 5..........4..........3..............2..........1...................

And just like that..... I kicked 40's BUTT!!!