Rest and Run

Week 22: July 28-August 3

Bike: 39 km
Run: 24 km
Swim: 0 m

When the days are long it's hard not to be out and about enjoying the light. The choice of whether to rest or work is not always yours to decide. This week, my body decided to force me into relaxation by inflicting a horrible cold onto my respiratory system. For five days I slept more hours than I spent awake. This was a nice opportunity to catch up on long forgotten soap operas, whose plot lines stayed eerily the same, and to loiter in my garden. In honor of not moving, I finally put up the hammock that I bought in Belize and read in amongst the fireweed.

After five brutal days, it was the weekend and time for the Yukon Trail Marathon. Right up to Sunday morning, I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to run. The only thing I knew for sure is that we had some left over faerie wings from our 24 Hours of Light extravaganza that were begging to be re-used. Our team included Tracy, Lisa, Jenn and our special mascot Miss Annie.

The Yukon Trail Marathon is a horrendously hilly 42 km course that weaves along the Yukon River and through many of the trails that I frequent near Hidden Lakes. The first leg was run by Tracy, who was brave enough to start running straight out of her car and onto the course due to a slight timing error. Next up was Jenn, who took the run from the Miles Canyon Bridge along the river trail all the way to Chadburn Lake. Note the fairy wings that are helping her navigate the ridge:

Next, Lisa was nice enough to share leg 3 with me. To describe leg 3 as hilly is an understatement, and I was glad to have someone to endure the horror with. Back at the Miles Canyon bridge, Lisa rejoined the team and I continued down the final 14 km back to Rotary Park. I had managed to pre-run leg 4 last Friday, but soon realized that running that marathon course was a bit like childbirth...after you're done, you forget just how horrible it was. This selective memory issue caught up to me as soon as I got off the Schwatka Lake Trail and started into the hills of death. The run culminated with a brutal climb up "Heartbreak Hill", which should be called "Heart Attack Hill". This hill is located 3 scant kilometers from the finish line and involves scrambling up a cliff-like structure. I'd love to watch the front runners tackle this hill, because I can barely walk up the thing, let alone run it. Poor Jen was forced to walk up the entire hill just to capture photos of my triumphant conquest.

After 24 brutal kilometers, I made it over the finish line with a total team time of just over 5 hours and went straight into the river to ice my aching legs. Next up - the Long Lake Triathlon...

Sierra posted this on Aug 06, 2008 from the gym | | permanent link