Sunday, August 10, 2014

Let It Go

"Let It Go" -- not only the name of the song I played on repeat about a dozen times in the final 3 miles of the Colorado Bend 60k, but also an appropriate theme for my race.  In the sense of letting go my time goal, and my hope for even splits.

As I listened to the song, these lines seemed especially relevant to me:
It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small

In my loopy mind, navigating the minefield of rocks during the second loop, alternate, relevant lyrics presented themselves to me:
The moon glows white on the minefield tonight
Not a runner to be seen
A second loop of isolation,
And it looks like I'm the queen.
The heat is stifling like this high heart rate inside

Couldn't keep it down, heaven knows I tried!

Other favorite quotations from the race, which also shed some light on the conditions of the race, as well as our mental states:

"This is probably a bad idea, but . . . " -- both me and Edward, before each of us immersed ourselves up to our necks in mystery creek water on the second loop.

"Do you need to take a dump?" -- practical question, though I can't remember being asked that by a gentleman ever before.

"I'm peeing." -- I see a theme here.

"You're one tough cookie." -- best compliment ever, from Edward

(After the race): "Hey guys, guess how much sodium was in that big pickle I just ate?  390 mg . . . oh wait, that's just per serving.  The serving size is . . . 1/9 of a pickle?? Holy crap! What's going to happen to me? Matthew, do you know CPR?"

Pre-race, pre-sweat