We Came, We Saw, We Ran 38 Mountainous Miles: Veni Vidi Vici Race
By admin
Our kick off to 12 months of adventures and racing began this past weekend.
It was a weekend I will never forget and one that I will always hold dear to my heart. I am one proud woman as I sit to type this post out. I’m tired, but I’m proud.
Dan and I covered {together} over 37 miles in the Pisgah National Forest.
In case you missed it, this past weekend was the 2-day Veni Vidi Vici Race, meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered!”
That we did.
You could tackle both days if you wanted, but Dan and I opted to split the race between the two of us. Who ever wasn’t running that day, served as a race volunteer.
I loved this decision, and quite frankly so did my body.
Oh, be prepared for a ton of pictures.
Day 1: 22.5 Miles
Saturday morning we woke up early in our warm hotel room and hit up the free breakfast buffet before heading to the race start. Which was also the campsite where several runners braved the weekend. <— Clearly, we’re not this rugged.
Did I mention that the starting temperature was a frigid 18-Degrees? The coldest race for me to date.
This little tidbit of information actually saved my run. I was around a few other ladies at the start, when I mentioned this out loud. One of the girls looked at me and agreed, saying it doesn’t get like this at home.
When I asked where home was, she responded with “Charleston!”
This sparked a conversation, and eventually the young lady with the purple hat became my running partner. We ran together for the ENTIRE race. Motivating, supporting, and getting to know one another as we ran almost 5 hours side by side.
8:30am… the race started. We were off.
Pace was great, the knee was feeling great, and the only thing bothering me was my frigid toes (I was sure I was going to have frost bite).
But after about 2 miles, everything warmed up.
It could have been the long and slow ascent we made.
Leaves were frozen, and sometimes ankle deep which added to the adventure.
What I love about trails is how different the race can become from one turn to the next. One minute it was a wide dirt road with inches of leaves, the next, a single track trail with rocks, logs, and trees trying to slow you down.
It helped knowing that Dan was SOMEWHERE on the trails taking pictures.
I wanted to stay strong and I looked forward to seeing him smiling at me.
I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw him! It was of course short lived and we continued on our merry way.
Luckily, we hit the half way mark shortly after. Fuel, layers pulled off, and the second half of the race to look forward to.
22.5 miles isn’t easy. In fact, I’ve never run this far in my life.
Toss in incredible inclines, thin trails, declines (my knee hated these) and obstacles trying to slow you down and that 22.5 miles feels a hell of a lot longer.
Did I run the whole time?
Heck no! At some points, the incline was so steep and long (like the one above), no one could walk.
We just prayed we wouldn’t slip, slide back down and have to start all over.
There were times when my legs felt great, and other times my knee felt as if it would break. But then the terrain would change and I would continue on.
The Hardest Part Of It All
The hardest part of the entire race, was the final 2 miles.
Stephanie and I stayed together the entire race, and I am serious when I say I am not sure I would have made those 2 miles without her.
Muscles were spasming, knees were aching and my body was exhausted. Those 2 miles felt like a 10K. Gorgeous scenery couldn’t take our minds off how we were feeling.
I wanted to cry when we finally saw the finishing flags. The best feeling in the world.
With 22.5 miles done, I was able to sit back and think about what I we had just accomplished. Not so bad for 2 girls from the flatlands of Charleston… a vertical climb of over 4000 feet (according to Garmin)!
It took us right around 4 hours and 40 minutes.
Day 2: 15 Miles
Day 2 was Dan’s day! Thank goodness because my IT-Band hated me. I could barely walk much less try to run.
I was more than happy to help set up the first aid station, cheer on runners, and snap a few pictures!
Dan’s trail was much different than mine. Though shorter, it included more single-track trails and from what I heard, amazing views.
Since I wasn’t the one running, I’ll share his run by letting his Go Pro do the blogging.
Mustard Man Dan! <– Why he will always take mustard with him for races!
He had some incredible inclines to battle against too! This one was rumored to be an 800-foot climb:
Almost there!
I was so proud of him. This guy has never run over 10.something miles before this 15 miler!
I wish we had gotten a picture together with our medals. But with the excitement and exhaustion, we were bad bloggers and spouses.
But regardless, the pride we felt (and feel still days later) for ourselves and each other is indescribable. I am blessed to have a guy who will shrug his shoulders and say “why not” when suggesting crazy ideas like this one.
Thanks to GoRunEvents for putting on another stellar event. Can’t wait for January when we take on Paris Mountain.
For now, after far too many races in the past 5 weeks… it’s time to hang up my racing shoes for the remainder of 2014. <– Yup, I am NOT running Kiawah and I’m stating it here so that I follow through.
My body is done. I’m listening to it.
Thanks for supporting us and sending us good vibes this weekend!
And special thanks to Stephanie for becoming my new BFF over the course of our 5 hour run together. Once Dan met her he was a bit freaked by how much alike we were.
