Marshmallows, Dusty Trails, Peaks, Mountains and Stars

Some races just come together.
Some races start and you know you're done before the first mile.
Some races are done before you start but you do them anyway...and that's okay.

This last Saturday was one of my better ones:

hot
trails
hills
for 13 miles.

BS had some battles...

heat
trails
hills
for 32 miles(50k)...

but he persevered and finish his 50k in 7:xx,  ending with a death march that included a smile and a few minutes of projectile vomiting once he reached the shade.  So proud of my mentally and physically strong husband.  Yes,  projectile vomiting might not seem okay to some but in our household,  it happens.

 Dawn...we camped and drove a mile to the start.

 Early start, 6:30 a.m.

 Finish...sometime after 1 p.m.  the last 1/2 mile.

 Pre-vomit fest with Craig!

 Race Eve festivities with Ping and Pong, their mom and her boyfriend.

My favorite part of camping.

Finding the perfect marshmallow roasting stick is always a priority for me.

BS was satisfied with his time and effort, it was a hot day and he finished.

My half was a highlight for my year; I felt strong on the hills both up and down and the heat made me feel great...it is definitely a comfort for me which is weird, I know.

My highlight of the weekend was NOT the lumpy, hard and crusty ground where we slept because I tossed and turned ALL night.  No, the highlight was when I left the tent to pee in the tall grass at about 2:30 a.m.,  near our tent,  and and looked up to see an ENTIRE sky filled with stars that were so close together they almost exploded before my eyes.  I couldn't walk.  I couldn't stop myself from scanning the sky.  I felt so insignificant and yet, so embraced by the beauty.

Thank you Cuyamaca 3 Peaks for a great time...

Run happy,
meg

St. George Marathon Training and other SUMMer Things...

Sunday's  long run:
14 miles on rolling hills(ha, mostly rolling straight upwards rather than down)
4x60 sec. 3k uphill
40 min. LT uphill, 5 min. rest
4x30 sec. 3k flat

I did all this before the 7 mile mark and then headed home...you guessed it....uphill after three miles of screaming downhill.  Actually, the screaming was coming from ME and was more like heavy sighing.
Ice bath for 20 min.


Work out #2 was TRACK at Discovery Lake:

90 degrees at 5 p.m.
20 min. at marathon goal pace: 7:30(hot, hot, hot)
3x400 up hill 3k effort
1200 around lake, 10k (less hot, finally)
3x400 down hill 3k effort
1 mile around lake
O.K., I honestly couldn't do the mile around the lake,( nor could the rest of the crew)so the workout turned out to be 10 miles with warm up, so we cooled down around the lake.
Ice bath for 20 min. when I got home.

L   O   V   E  summer, here are some highlights from this last week:

First week off starts with a trip to the fair where I run into to past students and  we go on rides together.  

Perfect!

 The first week off also ends with a bang when I get to go on Sparkle Pant's first fieldtrip with his pre school...which resulted in a zillion snookie-nosed kids taking their clothes off at the park, eating each other's lunches and just a few run aways, escaping the preschool madness(yes, I was one of them).

 Sparkle's Mom packs his lunch with a note.  So cute.

 First meal at the New Grill we can visit on foot in Leucadia.  I guess you could say I liked the macaroni and cheese...a little.

 Sparkle Pants gets set to eat a gummy dinosaur on the 4th of July.

 Sparkle and I cuddle while we wait for fire works!

 Grandpa Boy Scout and Sparkle pants watch the explosions.

 End of cold harvest carrots in July,  rainbow carrots!!!  We made a yummy soup with them.

So, I always wanted to enter my flowers in the Del Mar Fair but found a way to win blue ribbons anyway, right here at home!  My favorite blossoms from last week.

On the tap for running this weekend:

Boy Scout has another 50k this weekend and I'll run the 3 Peaks 1/2 marathon while I wait for him!  It's going to be HOT(over 100 degrees)and I'm terrified I'm going to see a lot of SNAKES.  Don't ask me why this has all of a sudden been a worry of mine but it might have to do with the page-long warning the RD sent out a day or so ago.  UGH!!!!

GO HONEY!!

Happy Training!
meg