“All events are neutral until perspective is applied.”
~ Julie Piatt
- I never thought I’d say, “I ran 50 miles today.” There’s no way I would have done it without family and friends who constantly encouraged and educated me, including my dear friend Faye who signed up and trained for Greenbrier not once, but twice so we could run it together.
16 months. 3,117 miles. 589 hours. How do you measure, measure a race training cycle?
The training for the 2022 Greenbrier 50-miler actually began in 2020 when I was signed up for the 2021 race. Unfortunately my hopes of Covid being over by 2021 were completely wrong. However, I still ran all the miles including a wild weekend at the end of February 2021 where I ran 88.44 miles total from Friday through Sunday, including running the 41-mile Northern Central and York County Heritage Trails in 80% snow-covered terrain. I destroyed my left hip, knee, and had tendonitis in my ankle that required some chiro and PT. Dr. Jake was able to get me recovered pretty quickly so I was still able to run the Mid-Maryland Relay a couple weekends later. I was relieved that I wouldn’t run my first 50-miler feeling the way I did. (Although I still ran 20 miles at Miocene the same weekend. “Rest” is a 4-letter word.)
When registration opened for the 2022 Greenbrier 50-miler, I didn’t hesitate signing up even with the midnight start. Happy that several races were not canceled later in 2021, I was not pleased with how I felt after the big races. I ran the Baltimore Marathon with a super fun crew but the heat and humidity coupled with the limited water and Gatorade stops (there was no water after mile 22), I was so light-headed and drained, I could barely make it back to my car without fainting. Afterwards I started having pretty bad back pain, like I pinched a nerve in my lower back.
I needed a redemption marathon and so I signed up for the Rehoboth Marathon in December shortly after the BRF. A friend of mine and Personal Trainer, Dennis, suggested I start seeing him once a week to help strengthen muscles beyond my legs to help hold me up properly. With only a few weeks in between Baltimore and Patapsco Valley 50k, Dennis helped tremendously! Unfortunately, weather washed out some of the PV50k course and they had to push the race back one day which also happened to be Halloween. With Fiona, I just could not run a 50k and then go trick-or-treating, so my friend Lori who was also signed up for PV50k decided to run it “virtually” along the Grist Mill Trail in Ellicott City. I could already feel a difference from having started to workout with Dennis. My back was not hurting after 31 miles!
The Rehoboth Marathon was on December 4th and for the most part, I felt stronger than I had at Baltimore. The weather and the course (much flatter) were also in my favor. At about mile 21, however, my back began hurting again. I had to take it easy to the finish line but enjoyed the after party and celebrations!
In January, I started TribeFit, a small group training workout at Athletic Club. Twice a week at 5:30 a.m. my mom came over so Nick could get to work on time, so I could take this intense workout. I used equipment and muscles I’ve never used before. I stopped seeing Dennis because it was too much. Tribe was kicking my butt in a good way!
Mid-month, my friend offered me her bib for PHUNT50k in Northern Maryland. It’s an infamously hard course in infamously unfavorable weather conditions. This year, race day temps were in the single digits with the wind chill. I showed up in my warmest gear and attempted this challenging course. Being so frigidly cold to the bone, I could not surrender my gloves at the aid stations to take food and drink. I quickly realized that there was no way I could complete a hilly 50k without fuel and so at the halfway point, I pulled the white flag and called it. After heading into the building to grab my bag of gear, I realized that my hydration pack had leaked through my 2 layers and the left side of my body was ice. It’s no wonder I was so cold. Physically, my muscles and body felt great. Tribe and strength training was working (the bladder in my hydration vest was not). I checked Ultrasignup the next day and Trail Dawgs downgraded me to 25k. So kind. I’ll still recall it as my first DNF.
With PHUNT DNF behind me, I needed to prepare for the “Midnight” part of Greenbrier. I asked SRTT (She Runs This Town) if anyone would be up for a late evening/early morning trail run. I couldn’t believe that I had several “yes” responses! Jen K. and Miranda agreed. Mark reached out to me after his wife saw my SRTT post and wanted to join as well. So on another cold Friday evening in January, we set out for 10-ish miles from the Woodstock Inn. Mark was leading us through Patapsco. It was a beautiful evening. The moon was high and we followed it down to the Daniels trails. At about 7 miles in, we realized that this could be quite longer than 10 miles. With “Mark’s math,” we were looking at a 14-mile out and back. Good thing he knew a more direct way back since neither Miranda or Jen brought water. We stopped and took some pics of frozen icicles on rocks, and even turned off our headlamps to feel the darkness. We made it back in just over 11 miles around 12:40 a.m.
Next up, Mid-Maryland 50k. This race was always going to be a part of my training plan. If I could run this and feel good afterwards, good enough to be able to run the week after, I knew I had done something right. This is one of my all-time favorite races. It brings together some incredible running communities - Phil and Vicki have that effect! It's half-race, whole party! Dennis, Faye and I decided we would run it together. We three had a great time. We pushed each other. I’ll admit, three loops in and at the halfway point, I was worried I was running too fast. It had warmed up, mid-50s, and sunny. I was trying to fuel while being a bit overheated. We talked and laughed about everything and learned quite a bit about one another. Going into loop 5, “Dad” decided to jump in with his tunes and it was the pick-me-up we all needed. Highlights from the Rehoboth Playlist included Metallica’s “Whiskey in the Jar-O” and Lizzo, of course! The final loop was a breeze and we finished with smiles! Crossing the finish line I felt I could have kept running! That was just the confidence booster I needed.
Mark rounded up a group for another night run from the Woodstock Inn. This time we had 8 folks show up at 10 p.m. to run trails in the dark, including Mark, Miranda, Jennifer D., Jennifer S., Dylan and Josh Barclay! Yes, Josh B. jumped out of Dylan’s car to my surprise. It was a pleasure running along the Patapsco with this group. This route over to Alberton had many more hills than our previous night run, which was a good challenge. This time out in the middle of the night, we had some wildlife encounters including a very chatty raccoon. Luckily, we didn’t actually see him/her, just heard the noises.
Other fun adventures leading up to Greenbrier had to include some elevation. HJ, Dad and I ran 22 miles of the Masochist Marathon route (cutting out the very dangerous Shepperd Lane and Rt. 108). HJ even set up a fueling station for us! Enjoyed their company and, of course, tunes!
A week later, Faye decided to run birthday miles starting at midnight. This was another opportunity to run in the dark on tired legs and mind. I learned a very important lesson about what not to eat the night before a night run - pizza and mac n cheese! I had an urgent bathroom situation about an hour into the run. I live close to the start so I was able to drive home, take care of business, and return for the 1:30 a.m. crew meetup to head out again. I ran the first 15 ½ miles with Faye, went home at 3 a.m. to sleep a couple hours and then returned at 6 a.m. for 8 more miles. Faye kept running for XX miles. During Fiona’s ballet class, I ran a few more to round it up to 26.2 miles for the “day.”
Then it was taper time. Of course it was beautiful weather the week leading up to Greenbrier which made it hard to sit on the sidelines and “rest.” I tried my best and only ran about 24 miles.
Race Day
I went back and forth about wanting to take Friday off or just work from home so I can throw things in “the pile” (and pile it was) as I thought about things I may need. In the end, I worked from home. It helped keep me distracted from worrying about f.i.f.t.y. miles.
No time for a nap, but I did spend the majority of the day sitting on my laptop working so that’s considered “rest,” right?
The pile grew as the day went on - tent, sleeping bag, 2 blankets, a camp chair, two pair of shorts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 tank tops, 2 pairs of shorts, sweatpants, 3 sports bras, 4 pairs of socks, 3 Buffs, a fleece gaiter, rainbow headband, 2 winter hats, Gus/Gels/sports drink powder, mantras, motivational bracelet from April (Keep Reaching Higher), hydration vest, 2 pairs of gloves (couldn’t find my favorite Saucony gloves - argh), deodorant, toothbrush & toothpaste, tampons (yes, any day), a sweat towel, face wipes, butt wipes, tissue, 2 headlamps, extra AAA batteries, an external battery charger, hand warmers, and a bucket of trail shoes (2 Peregrines and 1 Cascades). Most of this came back unused! Oh well, less laundry to wash is a good thing!
For dinner, the usual pre-race meal - roasted salmon with slices of lemon, baked sweet potato with coconut oil, sauteed spinach with garlic. Nick thought it would be a good idea to share an Espresso shot before heading out to wake me up and so we did. I had BFF bracelets for Fiona and I to wear while I was gone, so we each put ours on. She told me that Ms. Cindee would probably not like her wearing it during ballet class Saturday morning, but Fi said she would tell her it was a special occasion and that her “mom needed me to wear it.” I packed up the car, kissed Nick and Fiona goodbye, and headed out.
First stop, Shell gas station on Route 40 to fuel up, pick up Lemon Lime Gatorade and a bag of Peanut M&Ms, and meet Faye to caravan out west.
Next Stop: Greenbrier State Park. The drive out to a race is both mediative and anxious as hell. I started repeating my mantras while 89.7 WTMD played in the background. We pulled off Rt 17 a little after 6 p.m. We spotted Mark’s truck (heavily decorated with race stickers and magnets) and parked next to him.
Although it was cloudy, the sky was still lit and the energy of the parking lot/campsite in front of Greenbrier Lake was HIGH! We saw a few 100ers run through towards the tent. Some stopped to refuel at their car, others were greeted by family and friends as shoes were shaken out, food was eaten, while wiping sweat off their faces.
There was a slight cool breeze that picked up. I decided I would wear pants, so I changed out of my shorts into fleece lined Nike leggings. Faye and I headed into the tent to get our bib, shirt, check out the scene, and use the bathroom before trying to nap for a few hours.
We were greeted by Race Director Kevin Sayers, who of course knew Faye, as well as other volunteers. We were given our bibs and swag (aka a shirt and magnet - no medals for this race - it’s “low key” so only a certificate if you finish).
I packed my tent and sleeping bag but feeling the wind and watching others struggle to keep their tents staked in the ground, we decided to just hang in my car and try to snooze. We tossed and turned for a bit but fell asleep eventually.
A jarring cell phone alarm at 11 p.m. jolted me awake. I had gotten quite cozy under my blanket!! We started moving and noticed that although the sun had gone down hours ago, the sky was still aglow from the lights of Hagerstown.
We packed up our hydration vests, snacks, checked our headlamps and prepped all of our fuel and gear that we may need as we begin our 7 loops through GSP. Kevin’s official race talk was at 11:45 p.m. Kevin was walking around with a camera to take photos of runners. Faye told me, “he has to get a photo of every runner in case they need to identify anyone.” That stopped me dead in my thinking. Identify us? I had to overcome that scary thought and scoot to the bathroom to make it back in the tent just in time for the talk.
Standing on a chair, Kevin gave several shout outs to those whose first 50-mile attempt it was. He mentioned the distance and elevation of each loop, and how the course was marked. “East Coast markings - if you come to a split in the path, there will be 2 ribbons on the side of the path to indicate which direction you go.”
“There’s only one spot that might be confusing and it’s in the beginning. As you run past the bathhouse and down to the lake, you’ll see ribbons on the left and to the right. The right will take you all around the lake, which 50-milers do NOT have to run. Go to the left and go up, Up, UP!” This made most of the crowd laugh.
“When you come into the tent, turn off your headlamp. They are bright and blinding. You do know that, right? When you look at others with your headlamp on, you are literally blinding them.” More laughs.
“GO!” It was a bit early for a “Midnight Madness” start - 8 minutes early to be exact. Many stood around confused. Anyhow, it was 11:53 p.m. and we were told to “GO!” and so we did. Faye hesitated since her Streak would not count on Garmin unless she had a “start” time on Saturday. Oh well, we left the tent and headed out early into the mountain.
First mantra: “Lori’s logic plus Michelle’s math equals magic.”
All you could see as you took off were headlamps bouncing up and down ahead of you with shadows of bodies following. The paved sidewalk along the beachside of the park was easy to follow. As we approached the lake, the gravel sidewalk led up to the trail. With reflective ribbons in two directions, everyone ahead went right at the fork. Naturally, we followed. At another bridge crossing, we heard voices from behind us screaming that we had missed our first turn - the one that Kevin had warned us about that would take us around the lake, which the 50-milers did not have to do. Like the game telephone, we shouted ahead to the runners at the front as we all began to turn around to the split and head up, Up, UP the hill.
This first climb was a doozy. It started with a muddy stream, probably from the rain the day before. Fortunately, the mud was only about 1/10 of a mile. The hill was pretty brutal though and we all stopped to climb it. Many of the runners had brought hiking poles. Soon after reaching the flattest part of this incline, we hit a mile. That’s the moment I realized that this course had way more elevation than I was quite prepared for.
The group we were with were quite talkative. We were asking one another if we had done this race before, if it was our first 50-miler, and why we had chosen this one. For many, including me, it was our first fifty. One of the guys in our paced group, Tony, was celebrating a birthday and that was his “why?” A woman just ahead heard him say it was his birthday and she said, “me too!” So now it was a party!
The darkness only helped hide the hills a little bit. There were so many rocks, similar to the Appalachian Trail, that it made the uphills hard but the downhills even more challenging. My legs just wanted to let loose and trot downhill, but the loose rocks and only being able to see a couple feet ahead of me with my headlamp made it seem dangerous…because it was.
There were very few stretches that were flat dirt. When we came upon them, we took advantage and ran. The soft ground was such a retreat from the hard, rolling-ankle rocks that not only moved but also rolled with you. I had several big ones follow me down and hit me in the ankles. Ouch!
The fact that we were mostly covered by trees, the wind wasn’t a factor. It was only when we reached the ridge were we a bit chilled from the wind. That offered the best views of Hagerstown on the north side and Greenbrier Lake on the south side. It was mostly cloudy throughout the first loop so we didn’t see many stars. Also the sky was still somewhat lit from the Hagerstown lights.
The rolling hills and rocks made you really focus on your footing and forced you to slow down. That made for lovely conversation with a few that kept close throughout the first loop. We paid attention to some mile markers, a stretch of short pine trees along the ridge, a steep descent down to the only stream crossing and a gravel path that eventually led to a pretty steep, but short incline to a road. This became the mile-from-the-end marker. After one more pretty steep incline with fairly large rocks and switchback, we emerged from the woods on the west side of the lake. The Greenbrier Village was lit up, including the tent with FOOD. As the night went on, it became a mystic mirage and you could smell (not really, but kind of) the cooking.
As we ran by our cars, we grabbed Uncrustables and then into the tent to be clocked in. The Chefs greeted us with smiles, asking “what can we get you?” This time around, I grabbed a chocolate chip cookie, a cup of Tailwind, and a piece of watermelon. We quickly headed out of the tent and to the bathroom. I was pretty sure I was due to get my period, which was a little unsettling but also what could I do about it? Nothing but carry on.
Second mantra: “See the forest for the trees.”
“Never pass up porcelain.” That was Faye’s mantra about bathroom stops. We were lucky to have one every 1:45-2:00 hours. The sink water was ICE cold. I appreciated it as I got more tired throughout the night. We snapped a pic outside the bathroom with light at 1:38 a.m. Making good time.
The second loop was similar to the first, although we were a bit more spread out from other runners. We kept a fairly similar pace, walked the uphills and steep downhills, and ran along the short-lived flat sections. Faye took two nasty falls in this loop, banging up both her knees pretty bad. The blood dripped and I felt a little woozy (I don’t do well with blood) but she swore that she was fine. We kept on keepin’ on and chatted most of the loop. I was getting a little worried towards the end that my headlamp was going to die. I made it a point to grab my second battery headlamp to make sure it didn’t die in the middle of the next loop.
We broke out of the trees at about 3:23 a.m. The sky had begun to light up behind homebase from the rising moon. At my car, I grabbed the backup headlamp and took a few swigs of Lemon-Lime Gatorade. Faye cleaned and bandaged up both her knees. She said she should have known she’d fall and put bandaids before running. We clocked in at the tent and grabbed some more food - a pierogi, pickle, Pringles, a little piece of an Oatmeal Creme Pie, a strawberry, and a cup of coffee.
The third loop would be our final full loop in the dark. There was something comforting in that math and logic. Since we were making good time and were getting tired, we decided we’d walk this loop. It seemed like a long loop. The mantra of this loop: “We can do hard things.”
I noticed in this loop that if you looked up every once in a while, you could see a string of lights in the mountains - headlamps of other runners. It was pretty cool, especially under the moon along the ridge. This was also the loop I thought we had taken a wrong turn because I saw “an abandoned car.” It was not an abandoned car, but a few fallen trees that made a very odd shadow on the ground. I took a photo in daylight of this “abandoned car” to remind myself of my hallucination, haha! (Pictured to the right.)
The moon rose just above homebase making it look even more like an oasis. We clocked in at 5:40 a.m. Not too much longer until we can see the trail and it would feel like a brand new adventure! I was thinking about trying the ginger broth and rice soup but was disappointed that they had run out of it. They had gone through 6 gallons of it - it must have been tasty. Instead, they had started making breakfast which smelled incredible. Fresh pancakes, fried eggs, and sausage. I made a sausage pancake burrito and drizzled a little maple syrup over it. I chased it down with a small cup of Mountain Dew, enjoyed another few Pringles, Oatmeal Creme Pie, and then grabbed some coffee. Bathroom stop and we were off on the 4th loop. Daylight will break soon.
The mantra: “You carry the courage.”
The path around the bathhouse tripped me up almost each loop. There were quite a few turns that were well-marked but my mind was getting slower at telling my legs to turn. Fortunately, Faye was there to push me in the right direction. However, we did make a turn too soon and ended up leading another runner up a road that was definitely not the right way. Eventually we realized it and cut through some brush and found the path. Only a few more miles in the dark.
At the top of the first steep, long incline, I ate my one and only Gu of the day - Tastefully Nude. It came in handy and I think really helped give me a boost to start running a bit more. We took a picture as soon as we could turn off our headlamps. It was 6:47 a.m. and we were moving!
It was a bit cloudy when we made it into homebase but the sun peeked out of the clouds and cast this beautiful yellow glow on the trees. It was 7:44 a.m. and we were over halfway done. Three more loops to go.
As we stopped by our cars, we saw Mark packing up his truck. We hadn’t run into him this entire time. He had just woken up from a 3-hour slumber after tapping out at 55.4 miles. He gave it his all and decided that this was not the day, nor the course for his first 100-miler. It is a brutal course. You could easily figure out by the looks on the faces of those that had been out there running since 3 p.m. By 3 a.m. you could have a crew join you and, honestly, I don’t know how Mark and others do it without a crew. Having Faye was my saving grace. Our pick-me-up energy traded back and forth beautifully. And she snapped me out of my hallucination for crying out loud!
The 50k’ers were getting ready to start at 8 a.m. which made me a bit anxious. I knew I was going to see a lot of fresh-looking folks that were just going to frolic along their first loop. I was right. They all appeared to be young, with their fresh eyes, legs, shoes, and minds. All of the runner’s bibs were identical, so it wasn’t quite so easy for them to identify what mile or loop or race we were running. Although I am sure they could see it in our faces.
This time through the tent, I picked up some more coffee, another pancake sausage taco, and Mountain Dew. Our mantra for loop 5: “Keep moving forward.”
Surprisingly, even with 50k Fresh Faces, I felt good and we were able to run quite a bit of this loop. The sunshine felt good and it was a relief not to have a headlamp around my head. I think I may have had a slight headache from my backup headlamp being too snug. I believe it was this 5th loop that we began to get a bit quiet. We attempted to start a game where we talked about our bucket lists. This led us to many tangential conversations about the desire to travel vs. the desire to be comfortable in your own known setting. I discovered that many things on my bucket list revolve around my fears and wanting to overcome them, including the fear of running I once had. I realized about halfway through that my water pack was completely empty. It didn’t slow down our pace, although it probably should have. By the time we emerged from the forest I was parched.
The blue sky broke out and Greenbrier Lake looked stunning. It warmed up so we stopped at our cars to dress down a bit. Faye changed to a thinner long sleeve and I took off my hat to switch to a headband. In the tent, we fueled up on mashed potatoes with bacon bits - WHOA! Just another way to enjoy (and crave) a potato! Also had some more snacks, coffee and Mountain Dew. One of the chefs helped me fill up my pack with water which I was so grateful for!
We set out on our 6th loop thinking, “Dare Greatly.” About an hour into this loop, the wind began to pick up which made us cold again. It did encourage us to run when we could and to walk faster. One of the 50kers we talked to was a friend of Faye’s, Caroline. We also saw her at Mid-Maryland where she accidentally called Faye “Helen.” We joked about this. Caroline was telling us about how we are all “women of substance” and “have our own story to be proud of.” From a few comments she said to Faye, it sounded like she, too, was adopted from South Korea. We found ourselves together for a few miles. We walked up a very steep incline and I noticed these scattered acorns on the ground that had such intricate patterns. Caroline saw me pick one up and shared with me that her mom used to cook with acorn powder. She said it took hours to grind the acorns down to powder and they would use the shells as decoration at the table.
As we emerged from the woods this time, I needed my winter hat back on. We stopped at our cars. I put on my Patapsco Valley 50k hat and so glad I did. This loop the weather changed drastically as the wind picked up even more. I grabbed another Uncrustable and we headed into the tent. We couldn’t pass up another serving of mashed potatoes with bacon bits. Mine was a pretty big heap of potatoes. I also grabbed a couple pierogies and added more sea salt. So yummy!
Fiona’s Mantra: “Breathe.”
After a bathroom break, we were out on our last loop. Caroline was with us. I checked my phone and said, “putting it back in Airplane Mode and then let’s roll, Faye.”
She heard me and said, “That's it, Michelle. Just turn on Airplane Mode and fly.”
A gentleman started out this loop with us. He and Faye talked a bit ahead of me which was fine. I hung back and took photos of the rocky terrain as I was getting a little sentimental about this being the last loop of the day. It seemed like this couldn’t get here soon enough, it also felt like it had flown by. Our new friend mentioned he and his wife just moved to Bel Air from Westchester, Pennsylvania and were closing on a house in a couple of days. His sister lived in Columbia with his niece and nephew so he was somewhat familiar with the area. He had entered the Moab240 lottery and was shocked to learn that he got in the first year he entered. So cool!
Eventually he took off running ahead of us and I was glad Faye was ok with taking it a bit slower for a few miles. It started to sleet at about halfway through the loop. You could tell colder, harsher weather was headed our way. We ran a few spots but for the most part we walked. Physically I felt strong, but I think my emotions were kicking in that this adventure was coming to an end. And like a good book that you never want to end, I didn’t want Greenbrier to end.
The sleet and wind picked up at the final mile marker. It was hitting our faces sideways almost. As we climbed up the last steep hill, a rush of adrenaline hit me and I told Faye I wanted to run. We ran along the ridge to our final emergence from the trees. I took a video of us running across the field along the lake. I felt so ALIVE! The cold air was blowing against us, the rolling clouds above, half of the sky was dark clouds while the other half was bright blue, the ice pellets were falling fast, and we were smiling! That video captured the truest joy I have ever felt at the end of a race. I don’t know how we were prancing along and smiling so much after 50+ miles and 7000+ feet of elevation!
What did that mean? Did that mean that I could have gone further? Did it mean I didn’t push myself hard enough, fast enough? I am not sure. At that moment, I did think about whether or not I would have been able to run another 6 loops and quickly answered: No. Looking back, however, I know how stubborn I am when I set my mind to a certain distance. I. Can. Do. It.
Reflection
I listened to a Rich Roll podcast a few days after the race. He interviewed David Goggins and he asked him where did his motivation come from and it really spoke to me:
“It comes from that disgusting place, of not being fulfilled in your life, of being afraid of dying having never accomplished anything. That’s a fear that some people run away from, that people don’t wanna face. When you have a real fear of dying, and being just another person. That I live to pay the bills. … I wanted to for the first time in my life feel good about myself.”
About 1.1 million runners complete a marathon each year or 0.01% of the world's population, according to the International Institute for Race Medicine (IIRM), and even fewer run ultras. So most people don’t fully recognize what it takes to train for a marathon or beyond. The race is merely the final XX miles of hundreds of miles, hours of strength training, days of very little sleep, meticulous nutrition adjustments, gallons of water, and mental grit to keep at it despite unpredictable life happening all around. All of this for a feeling of accomplishment that lasts but a few moments.
I’ve trained for marathons and 50ks so I am aware of what it takes. This training cycle was a bit different. The hours of training in the dark, at odd times of day, the 2-, 3-, and even 4-a-days, the RLS (restless leg syndrome), the lack of sleep and rest, the guilt of being away from family was nearly more than I could bear at times. There’s no doubt I have a deep appreciation for my family putting up with me being gone hours in the morning and in the middle of the night, and therefore being sleep-deprived, drained, whining, and A-L-W-A-Y-S H-U-N-G-R-Y. And the laundry. Training like this, especially in the winter months, equates to a lot of laundry. All of it was worth it. I’ll do it again and hopefully shed some of the guilt because this is what makes me feel good about myself.
Lessons Learned:
Don’t overthink your gear. You’ll need way less than you think you will.
Take advantage of every bathroom break or as Faye says, “Never pass up porcelain.”
Eat more than you think you should.
Positive energy transfers to everyone on the trail. So does negative energy. And the longer you are running, the more positive energy you’ll need so fake it until you make it.
Clean out the rocks from your shoes every so often. It feels amazing!
Soak in the scenery even if you can’t see it - smell it, listen to it, feel it, and if it sleets, taste it.
Don’t wish it over too soon. All things come to an end and you won’t ever be in the same moment twice.
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