Pagosa Springs: Act I & II

Let me set the scene:

When my good friend Kenzie informed me that her wedding was going to be in Pagosa Springs, CO, I swiftly began to Google to see if any races were going on the same weekend.  I knew it was a long shot, but lo and behold there was a trail marathon that morning.  The Turkey Track Trail Marathon. http://www.joingecko.org/info.asp?uid=313  After confirming that the wedding would be in the evening, I registered Nick and I for the race...we're making the most of this vacation.  (Aside:  I know I'm not the only person that does this, but I do believe that this is a problem... Oh well, we all have our issues.)

We drove to Moab, UT Thursday night, set up a tent, woke up with the sun and set off to Durango, CO.  After a bit of cowboy shirt and trail shoe shopping, we continued on to Pagosa.  It was a beautiful drive!!!

ACT I

YEA!  The race starts at 8AM...we'll come back to this later...

The plan was for Nick to run with Sage so that I didn't have to worry about poop scooping, etc... and I could race it.  The race was all single-track through pines, meadows, and aspen trees, but with no scenery climax (...like a mountain overlook..).  This was fine, though.  Single track within the first 6 miles of a race can be challenging, but we all settled in eventually.  I was following a female without any water or handhelds, so I thought for sure she would be done after one lap, but when we hit mile 13 and flipped around I could see she was heading back out, too.  This was a cool way to see where the field was and how spread out everyone was.  I was in fourth place (female) about 0.5 miles behind 3rd female with 5th and 6th within 0.7 of me.  But as most marathons go, mile 13 re energized me and the count down began!  

Mile 13-19 was strong and fun!  I didn't pass anyone, but there was no way anyone was going to catch me, either.  Mile 19 brought an AS with the most adorable older adults with cold, wet towels.  After the milking that towel for all it was worth, I was ready to finish strong (...so I thought).  I did just fine until mile 22.  At this point I was closing in on noon and it was HOT!  These trees offered spotty shade, as in no real shade. I did my best to drink as much as possible, but I feel like I probably could have used much more COLD water and more salt.  The last four miles were pitiful and I am not proud, but I ended up finishing strong and placing 3rd overall female, 1st in age group (one of the top girls got lost).  Basically until mile 22 I was on point to finish in a 3:50, but ended up at 4:07.  Oh well.  

Nick finished within 20 minutes with one tired pup and we gorged ourselves on popsicles and ice water... There was beer and burgers, but it was a little difficult to eat in that heat!  PLUS, we had to get to a wedding!

ACT II

Wash dog in hotel tub.  Filthy!!!  Wash self in shower.  Filthy!!! But, clean up nicely, huh?

The wedding ceremony was lovely.  It was on Kenzie's Family's property with a river and lake, complete with EPIC rope swing for drunk wedding goers and bonfire pit.  We last until 10PM...basically right after we ate dinner and hopped on the shuttle to head back to the hotel.  CRASH.

The End.