I made it!!
Well, I’m way behind in catching up on posts, but before the month gets away from me, I wanted to let you know how I did at the annual Imogene Pass Run, held earlier this month on September 6th. My goal was just to finish, and that’s what I did. I didn’t make the first turn-around time at mile 7.5, but they let me carry on. I knew I could finish, and my timing didn’t matter to me. The weather could not have been more perfect. About 1,100 runners participated, including my sister, Barbara, from San Diego, CA, and my niece, Josie, from Flagstaff, and Kylee from my office. We had our own support team in the way of our friends, Annabel, Ann from my neighborhoos, and MJ (also from San Diego), who hiked up 3 miles and met us (well, Barb and me) at the end.
I have to say this was one of the most physically challenging things I’ve ever done, but what an incredible venue in which to challenge myself. I felt so pleased and relieved when I finally summitted Imogene Pass at just over 13,000 feet. But I quickly realized jogging down 7 miles on a tricky, steep and rocky jeep road wasn’t a cup of tea. Since I knew I wasn’t breaking any records, I decided to minimize my chances of breaking any bones and walked most of the way down after the first 2 miles, especially after meeting up with my friends, Annabel and Ann. I did, however, sprint in from the last quarter mile. It took me about 7.5 hours. My sister made it in at 6:50, Kylee in just over 5 hours, and my 28-year old, 8-week pregnant niece made it in at 3:50! My training buddy, Sharalynn, was the last to be timed in at 6.5 hours, and even got called for an interview by a local newspaper! She wasn’t so sure if she liked such notoriety, but like the rest of us, was so pleased just to have finished. I achieved my other goal in signing up for this event, and that was just to scare myself into training on a regular basis. The momentum remains and I’m happy to report that I’m still regularly running and walking and looking forward to being in much better shape for the ski season. I’m even contemplating doing it again next year since I know a lot better what I need to do to train and have more time to train for it. If any of you are interested, check out the Imogene Pass Run site. They have race results, training tips, and information already about the 2009 run. Registration starts June 1st, and it will fill up in about a day. So, mark your calendar!
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