Let me start by saying sorry this is so long.
So, about 7 weeks ago, in late January Dave decided that it would be a good idea to bring up a marathon that was to occur on the 3rd of March. So, initially I scoffed at him. We were sitting at work and I could tell that he was really thinking about doing this thing. That was when I just thought it was a somewhat normal marathon. I brought up the point to him that he would only have like 6 or 7 weeks to train for this thing. Anyway, to make a short story shorter, he signed up for the Mountain Marathon in Olympia Washington.
I consider myself a competitive. Someone who likes to be challenged. But I was not willing to commit to doing this thing until I knew that I was going to do it. I did not want to waste the money on this thing if I was not going to do it. So, I decided I would train for a few weeks and up my milage to 10, then 12, then I committed to do the race. My training routine was similar to the one Tracey and I did for Leavenworth last year. I don’t like the taper so I just ramp up from 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20...then I do the marathon the next week. This is the best training program for an established runner. It is short and sweet. If I had to adjust it, and I will, I would do some more speed training. I did not in this case. I would just go out and run. I felt like I was being so smart. I would do some of my shorter runs on the lacamas trail. And, I would even incorporate some of that trail into my long 14, 16, and 20 mile runs. I would do like 5 miles of trail running in the middle of that. Golden right?
Ok, so the day has come, We drove up to Mike and Brookes place and stayed the night there. I got a good night sleep with Amber(ambien) by my side. We woke up and headed out for the race. it was like 48 degree and not raining so we were thrilled. I think something was wrong with the thermometer in the car because it was colder when we got outside. The wind was pretty gusty and that added to the coolness. It was nice to just sit around these big barrel fires that they had and just hang out. We sat in the car for a little while and then we headed out to the starting line.
So, the race starts. The first mile and a half was just an uphill climb with a few little downhills(these did not seem so little on the way back)interspersed. I felt pretty strong. At the starting line I said goodbye to Dave. Thinking about the experience now there is a real part of me that wishes we would have run together to be able to joke about the absurdity of it all. But, that did not happen. I was probably about #6 on the way up the hill. I just kept thinking, alright, at least we are getting the hill out of the way now. Well, that did not happen. We got to the top of that hill and entered into the trails. We then traveled up various switchbacks that were littered with mud and puddles that you would have to jump to the side to avoid. This part seemed like totally extreme trail running to me at the time. I thought it could not get much worse than this. I did everything I could to avoid getting my feet wet. What a waste. We got to the top of all those trails and ran up a road for about a mile. It was a really pretty view. Most of the run was really pretty but enclosed. This was one of the rare moments where you were out in the open.
You then enter back into the trails with more mud, more puddles, and snow. There was one area we came to that was just an opening with a snowy hill and one path running along the slope of it. It was flat and I remember there was a guy in a bright orange jacket ahead of me. It just looked so cool to see the orange against the white backdrop. I had one of those....this is so cool moments. I actually said something to the guy right ahead of me and he had no comment. I am hoping he just didn’t hear me.
So, we kept running through more trails with deep mud, puddles, snow for another few miles, until we came an aid station at about mile 6.5. So, this was the turn around for the half. I felt like I had traveled a lot more than 6.5 miles and the prospect of doing that 3 more times seems fairly daunting. But, I headed up the hill. It was a snow covered hill, about a mile and a half long. the snow was about 1.5 to 2 feet deep and the only tracks in it were from the quad runners that were driving through it. This hill was crazy steep. We went from about 1600 to 2300 feet in about a mile and half. When you add snow on top of that and throw in a little windiness, forget about it. But, I made it to the top of that hill. There was another aid station at the top that marked the 8 mile mark, I believe. So, at that point, you took a hard right down a very steep grade. I remember there was a guy that came up behind me on the hill that was in a Seattle Sounders shirt. I let him pass me up as we set out on the trail and he told me 2 times, “Just let me know if you want to pass.” That was the last thing on my mind. My feel were totally wet by this point. In fact, long before this point. I assured him there would be no passing up and I began my decent down the hill. It was quick. Just a ton of switchbacks. The snow was about the same depth as the road and was probably untouched when the first runner came through. It was a lot of sliding and it made me grateful for the trail shows. Occasionally you would end up stepping right through the snow into a pool of ice cold water. That was always a nice surprise. Eventually we exited the snow and entered into some hard dirt trails. There were difficult to maneuver because a lot of it was just a deep V shape so there was no great way to run. I alternated between jumping from one side to the other and just going back and forth each step. Neither of these were particularly great but we got through it.
The next few miles were kind of a blur. I kept thinking I had to be getting sloes to the turn around. For about 4 miles I did not see a single person. They had the paths marked with blue and red streamers and they actually did a pretty good job of it. So, it was just series of long roads with HUGE puddles taking up the road. The roads were like 8-10 feet wide and the puddles would go for 20-30 feet. The only way to get past these would be to run up on the muddy side. This usually had a slope down a hill on one side and a puddle on the other. Multiple times I would just slip down into the puddle and these were not shallow puddles. This really slows you down. The last few miles before the turnaround were covered with snowy switchbacks with slush, low hanging trees, and just really bad paths. I was happy when I finally saw the leader some around the corner because it meant there actually was a turn around. I remember prior to this thinking that it was a big joke. My mind had thought up a few scenarios. One came to mind because there were some gun shots in the distance. I had figured out that there were shooting everybody as they got to the turn around. I know, it makes no sense. The other scenario was that when we got to the turnaround they said, “Seriously, you think we would make you run back through that crap?” The last scenario was that somebody had died at the turnaround and they were holding everybody up until they figured that out. All of those were proved wrong when I saw that guy and I as glad I was near the turnaround. I stopped at the aid station to eat a few oreos and drink some water before heading back out. I saw Dave about a mile down the road and we spoke briefly. I was happy he had a camera because I wanted some evidence of this mess. Heading back was good at first. My legs were tired, my feet numb, but I was over half way and that was positive. I knew I would be in for it when I got to the up hill trail and snow part but that was later. So, I trucked on. Through the puddles, mud, slush. Me and another guy just walked up the trail part and the snowy part. I knew that my legs would need it. It seemed like that trail went on forever. We climbed from 1500 feet to about 2300 feet in what had to be less than a mile. It was crazy. The other bad thing was that my feet would not warm up as we were heading up this trail. And, the snow was not thick slush. So, wet and cold and the footing was terrible. You really did not have an option to run without wasting all kinds of energy. Each step was a struggle to stay put and not slide back. I remember looking up the steep slope and not seeing the top. It was demoralizing. But, I knew that when I got to the top I was at the peak of the race. I would have 8 miles left and most of it would be down hill. My legs were locking up at this point though and my feet were numb. But, I was going down, so I headed down the long snowy road. There was still not a real well formed path so I just kept jumping back and forth from one track to another. When I to the bottom of the road I only had 6 miles left. The rest of the race was rolling hills with mud paths. All of the half marathoners and the full marathoners had already passed over this area so it as really soft and wet. It was a mess. I was grateful that my legs would continue moving forward. The last 3 miles was pretty much a dash downhill. My adrenaline was pumping as I ran down the mountain. When I got to the final road and the guy told me there was a mile and half remaining, I really felt like it was going to end. I could feel the end. There were a few up hills on the road back but the majority was a long down hill that brought me into the finish. It felt so good to finish. I actually started getting emotional when the guys just up from the finish told me good job. I felt so accomplished. I had many highs and lows. Many conversations with myself about how stupid this was. But, in the end, Dave and I accomplished it. There were 12 of the 70 that began the race that did not finish. I was number 16 out of 58 that finished. Dave was #31. The last guy came in at 8:30 hours. It was funny talking about it with Dave because we had a lot of the exact same thoughts and expereiences. Intense. That is what it was. And crazy.
After the first mile I was one of the front runners and knew I needed to go even faster to meet my goal. I kept watching for someone to pull ahead but no one did and as I approached the 2nd mile I made the decision to just take the lead and run what I had trained for. I was nervous wondering what made me think I should be the lead runner but none the less I just tailed the lead bike and monitored my pace as the miles flowed behind me.
At about half way there was a turn around point that led you back the way you had come for about a mile before taking you down a different path. It was really exciting at this point because as I turned around and ran back I got to see my friends who were also running the race and all the other women who were so excited with the race. Women are awesome and so supportive and we all just yelled encouraging words at each other. I felt like a real celebrity as I passed them. By the time I turned off down the road alone again I was well over half way and knew that if I could just keep it up I would not only make my goal but maybe win the race. I didn't know how far back the next runner was and the closer I got to the end more I got nervous someone would blast past me right at the finish so I pushed on even harder. It was getting pretty hot by this point and I just kept reminding myself that it was nothing compared to all the running in Okinawa and I couldn't let it affect me.
The last three miles were tough because by then I had met up with the 10K run/walkers so they were merrily walking along on the right while I had to push past on the left. They were great and encouraging but I felt like I was pushing so hard and going so fast compared to their happy walk that I was dismayed to look down and see my pace at times and know I had to step it up! Luckily, I was able to get back on pace and the adrenaline of wanting to meet my goal and win took over and I powered through to the finish!! It was pretty exciting. Tom, my parents and other family members were there at the finish line. My mom said she felt pretty special when the guy next to her said "Wow, she's amazing" and my mom got to say "Yeah, that's my daughter." :) 
After winning they grabbed me for a quick interview with the microphone and I was too overwhelmed to really think of what to say. I'm sure I sounded pretty lame mumbling something about the beautiful course.
My running friends!
The finish line! (You can see some 10K run/walkers behind me)
You can see the race results here:
http://www.racecenter.com/results/2012/res_p712.htm
All around a great race, I felt great and did exactly what I had trained so hard to do. But the success didn't stop there. I entered the race on behalf of the organization First Descents. It helps young adult cancer survivors by giving them a chance to go out and face a fear or challenge other than cancer. They take them kayaking or rock climbing or even surfing. It’s an incredible week for the participants. I understand the need to push yourself physically and the strength that comes from it. It’s free for the participants and in order to do this they need to raise money and get people involved.
Entering the race on their behalf meant that I pledged to raise a certain amount of money and then wear a First Descents shirt and represent them at the race to try to raise awareness of what they do. I was able to talk about them the friends on Facebook and through email. I wanted to get involved because First Descents has been a powerful influence in the life of our good friend Shanda. When they gave out the awards after the race I was able to take a few minutes at the microphone to tell everyone about First Descents and encourage their involvement. 
It was exciting! I'm so glad I got a chance to help support that is so valuable and life changing for those involved! I look forward to doing more. I was featured as the Athlete of the Week on First Descents web page. You can read more about First Descents and my experience and why I got involved by reading this entry from their website:
http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2012/fd/hippiechickhalf/stinchfield/
If you're looking for an amazing worthwhile cause to support you've found it!! Check out their website, watch their videos and read about what they do and then figure out who you can involved!!
