#50km

This is my 6am I have to run 50km ‘AAAAAHHHHRRGGGGHRHRHRVGRVRVGRG FUYUUU-‘ face. :)

Sunday bike ride 🚴‍♀️☀️

Five years ago I started this blog with the plan of eventually running a 50k. I’ve had so many set backs and injuries over the past five years, but three days ago I ran the Table Rock 50k in western North Carolina. It still seems like a dream at this point.

What: Table Rock 50k

When: September 21, 2019

Where: Steel Creek Campground, Morganton, NC

I’ve been trying to think about what to say about this race over the past week. Those of you that follow me know I’m not much for writing, I prefer to just post pictures of my trail runs, but I feel like I have to say something about this one.

The race started at Steel Creek Family Campground near Morganton, NC. I drove down Friday evening and slept in the back of my Jeep. I couldn’t sleep very well and spent most of the night feeling like I didn’t belong here and wanted to go home.

7 AM we were off. The first half mile or so was in a flat field before going into a single track trail in the woods. There were several creek crossings, but luckily it has been fairly dry for the past month. The deepest crossing was up to my knees. Much of the course was on rolling forest service roads, but the parts on single track trails were very technical. I walked the steeper hills because I knew I’d need to save something for climbing Table Rock. There was one point around mile 12 where I could see the mountain looming in the distance and couldn’t help thinking I had made a huge mistake attempting this.

Hiking up to the summit was probably the steepest climb I’ve ever done. There were points where I felt like I was barely moving, my only goal was to not stop. It felt like it when on forever, but the views when I finally reached the top were so worth it.

I took out my phone to try to get a picture, but it was taking a long time to turn on and I realized it was almost dead. I didn’t want to waste too much time, so I put my pack back on and headed back down.

Descending the mountain was slow going. The trail was very steep and very technical. I’m not the most coordinated person and getting to the finish line in one piece was more important than going fast.

The last ten miles are kind of a blur. I ran when I could, hiked when I had to. I remember getting to 27 miles and thinking this is the furthest I’ve ever run.

The last half mile was through the field back to the start line. It was so hot and even though I was so close, the finish felt so far away. I’m not sure how to describe what I felt when I finally saw the finish line. I know I had a big goofy grin on my face and also felt like I was going to cry.

I ran across the finish line, the race director shook my hand and gave me my finisher’s hoodie. I was given an ice cold beer and stood by the finish line for a few minutes, not knowing what to do with myself. I’m a pretty shy person and had come to this race alone, so I decided to just drive back home.

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