So, it's safe to say I didn't complete 70.3 miles yesterday. Instead, I did 73.6 miles because...ya know, I like to leave no doubt 💯 😊I want to take a moment to say I dedicated all of yesterday's 70.3 challenge to all the folks in Hawaii and to the spirit of those who did and did not survive the wildfires in Maui.
We are no strangers to wildfires here in the PNW and in fact, I woke up yesterday to very hazardous air quality due to a fire raging just south of us and under any other circumstances would NEVER have done a 70.3 much less train in these conditions. However, I have worked my buns off since last February for this challenge often hitting MORE than 8-12 hours of training a week!
If I waited longer in the taper, I ran the risk of losing my conditioning and we all know in the PNW that smoke can take up residence for weeks before it clears out!
The day before my mother had relayed to me a touching story of 3 survivors of the Maui fires (2 men and a pit bull) that just brought me to tears.
So, this girl's spirt knew what had to be done. I was terrified because I have NEVER done this kind of physical exertion in such hazardous breathing conditions, but I thought of those folks in Maui and knew they had endured 100 times worse. I called upon their spirits to run with me EVERY. STEP. OF THE WAY! And, damned if I didn't get it done.
This may be a backyard challenge, but there is NO BIB, NO RIBBON, NO TROPHY that can remotely scratch the surface of the "feels" I have this morning after completing this!
That being stated I want to reiterate I under no circumstances encourage anyone to run in the conditions I did, unless of course you have to get out or evacuate. And, indeed if I ever decide to do another 70.3 and these circumstances arose - I would not do it. But, this was my first and I wasn't going to back down, especially if being this physically fit means I have the capacity to save my life or someone else's at some point.
There's so much to unpack about the whole journey and I can't imagine not writing more about it, but now it's time for some much needed rest and to work on getting my appetite back again.
Peace Out❤️
