Autumn Leaves 50K - 2008

How does this work? Margaret, Cat and I decided to take our time and enjoy the day. We stood around chatting with the volunteers each time we came to an aid station. We waited around while all three of us used the portapotty. We stopped to pet dogs, shed clothing and stretch. And, we came in 11 minutes faster than last year! And, I felt great - last year I couldn't eat for quite a while, this time I was ready to chow down. And, again, no blisters. Obviously a fun and wonderful day!

We lucked out for the second year in a row with beautiful, clear fall weather. Champoeg State Park offers beautiful and serene views, vibrant fall colors, and glimpses of the slow moving Willamette River. We got to see other runners that we know - Tony and Shawn, Bret, lots of Maniacs, plus Olga was volunteering. I don't want to steal any one's thunder, so I'll just say that you should be sure to check out Jenny's blog in the next few days. She is a tremendous athlete!

We had a fun drive down, with Steve, Jenny, Rob, Margaret and I in one car, with Lesa and Cat following in another. Eric stayed home to tile the bathroom floor. All seven of us stayed at Jenny's parents house - many thanks to them for opening up their home to us. Cat and Lesa drove home yesterday, the rest of us stayed the night and came home this morning (it's about a three hour drive).

We all took the six o'clock am start, with Jenny and Rob heading in one direction for the 50 miler and the rest of us running a short out and back before starting the loops for the 50K. We had two headlamps between five of us, but the moon was bright and offered a lot of light. It was cold and clear, with a low ground fog in some areas. We had a lot of fun all day, more than I can write about so I'll give just a couple highlights:

• My day started well when I discovered the chocolate chips in a bowl at the 2nd aid station. My food of the day became banana chunks rolled in chocolate chips and washed down with coke. I had this every time we passed the aid station.
• "Feeling Groovy" was the theme song for the day. Cat knows why...
• Cat and Margaret were 50K virgins, Bret wanted to hang out and hear our girl talk, but kept getting ahead, so we saved up words like "virgin" and "thong" to toss at him whenever he went by.
• There was an inordinate amount of talk about GI systems, and I don't mean soldiers. It was matched with an equal amount of discussion concerning thongs.

After we'd been done about an hour, Jenny had one final loop to go for her 50 miles. Margaret decided to run it with her - giving herself 36 miles for her first 50K! We finished the day by sharing dinner out with Tony and Shawn. This morning we managed to hit Starbucks twice on the way home, arriving here about 11:30. Another great weekend with the best of friends is in the books!

I know I say it almost every time I write a post - I guess it's because I am in awe of this group of friends that we have. I am amazed that we can continue to run and travel together and have so much fun. And lest you think I will be attempting to run three marathons in three days alone, know that I am not. Rob will be out there running anywhere from one to three of them with me, Lesa will try to run a loop of marathon #1 with me, Margaret will run all of day two with me, and Rob and maybe Jenny will be there to run with me on day three. Not to mention Eric, who has now signed up for all three as well! How can I help but be successful with that kind of support?