Moderngypsygirl.: Let the Journey Begin...Trans Rockies 6 day

The other day I was sitting at work minding my own business (which is usually how these things happen) when I get a text from a friend asking how I was recovering from my Grand Mesa debacle. The truth is, other than a bruised ego (no one ever likes to DNF!!) and some sore leg muscles, my recovery is going "fine". In fact, I had even signed up for a half marathon the upcoming weekend, you know, to "get back on the horse'! Here's were the textversation gets ridiculous..... my friends then says "how about you skip the half and run Trans Rockies instead?" WHAT! Yep that was my reply.

You see, I know very little about the TR. In fact I'd never even heard of the race before last summer!?! What I do know is that it's a 6 day event that happens high up in the Rocky Mountains and it involves my dreaded "camping". I'm pretty sure I'm going to use a lot of quotations in this post :)...sorry...

I honestly think that this is some sick play by my friend James to get me to go camping. See when I first met James, he was teaching me how to put up a tent for the Javelina Jundred. I'm pretty sure he thought I was some silly city girl that clearly doesn't know how to put up a tent. Well I don't know for good reason...because I"m a silly little city girl that doesn't like camping!! Ever since that day, it's been a bit of a secret challenge for him to teach me that camping is "fun".

I however, am never one to say NO to an adventure or a free race entry. James is sponsored by Nathan Performance Gear (you know the hydration packs and cute little water bottles) and they had an extra entry for a team of 2. I'm not going to lie, I feel pretty honored that he even thought of me...or maybe they were just that desperate! My plus one (or vice versa) is James's older brother Carlos aka Charlie.

Here I am a tad concerned. You see James is like some child prodigy runner, and comes from a running family. His dad is a high school track/cross country coach in Arizona and also amazing Ultra Runner...in fact his license plate reads "ULTRAZ"! (a fun tid bit I learned from Carlos :) ). So I'm pretty sure Carlos is bad ass! I on the other hand, as we all know, am pretty average on a good day! I'm not being modest here, just painfully honest!

I also know that James (in true Ultra Runner style) has probably told Carlos nothing about his partner. My concern is that Carlos is competitive like his brother and will want to perform well. I on the other hand only have moments of brilliance (like descending down the side of a mountain). Sadly, most trails aren't down hill (unless a considerable amount of uphill is FIRST required).

It should also be noted that since Grand Mesa I’ve only ran 4 (maybe not quite) miles on asphalt…and I had to stop several times to stretch my painful hamstrings!

I being a type A personality need DETAILS…James however, is a type C and just floats through life assuming things will work out, which they generally do—for him! In order to keep myself sane I ask as few questions as possible, but POUR over the website! After all this isn't a 1-2 day event…this is 6!

Sunday morning I go to the Denver Airport to pick up my running buddy. I haven’t even seen a picture of this guy, so I am pleasantly surprised when he is “normal” looking. By normal I mean, clean cut, and looks like he showers on a regular basis, which makes me quite happy ;)! I think shower's are over-rated in the Ultra running community!

Carlos & I fueling for our week long race!

We have some quick introductions and I learn that he is married and has a 4 yr old daughter and is in the Navy…probably NOT a serial killer (or any kind of killer) like all my friends and co-workers had imagined ;)!! I’m relieved! He also has a sense of humor…and seems to enjoy my sarcastic wit! It’s like we've known each other much longer than just a few hours!

Carlos is hungry and so we decide on a little sushi for our pre-race meal. Fortunately for me he isn't some Vegan eating (nothing wrong with those peeps—I love you all!) ultra runner.

He likes dessert and chocolate so we decide to indulge in a little treat ;)…after all we are going to" run it off!"

For the rest of the afternoon we drive around town running errands (2 REIs to be exact). With just 3 days notice, I had a lot of prepping to do before the week! Lucky for me 2 of my friends from Florida ran the Trans Rockies last year and their brother lives here in Denver, so they were gracious enough to let me borrow their sleeping bags and mats! Thanks Tami & Brian!!! Since I don’t do camping, I don’t even own a sleeping bag! After we finish all our errands, I begin packing. Packing is one of my specialties…packing light, well…not so much! The challenge I have is that everything we bring needs to fit inside the large duffle bag they give us at check in. I do my best by packing each days outfit inside a separate zip lock bag (which will come in handy later on…oh, the suspense!).

Carlos and I talk a little bit about our “race strategy”. I’m relieved that we are on the same page. He is in to enjoy the journey and takes some pictures! He even brought along a friend (Billy the Bison) for his daughter! “Whew”