The Aftermath.

You can read the recaps of each 3 stages here...
Stage one: Raccoons suck ass.
Stage two: Lookout Mountain is pretty dang cool.
Stage three: For the love of God, who picks a trail that you can't run for a trail race??

So, going into the 3 stages race I kept wondering what I would be able to compare it to...

Would it be harder/easier than a 50k?

Would it be harder/easier than 2 marathons in 2 days?

And as it turns out... it's really uncomparable... in effort. I mean, It's not as hard as running 30+ miles in one day... but I wouldn't exactly call it easier to run 60 miles in 3 days. Does that make sense? Of course not. It's definitely more FUN I think than running 30+ miles in one day. I mean... we still had a half a day to bum around, eat a LOT, drink boxed wine, and make fart, sex, and bowel movement jokes (typical runners). Which was nice. After my 50ks... I'm usually spent and it's usually 8+ hours later(although that hasn't kept me from going out and getting drunk afterwards). But going to bed and knowing that you have to get up the next day and run a shit ton of miles... is... kinda depressing.

One thing I can say... is that I was the most sore after those 3 days than I have been in my entire life. I mean, I thought P90X could bring the hurt.. hahahahah. ha! Puhlease. Tony Horton's got nothing on 60 miles in 3 days. I mean, we're talking... CAN BARELY WALK on Monday sore. It was sad. Once I got up and started moving I was okay-ish.. but those initial few steps were brutal.

For example, Sunday, after I got home from the race, showered, and unpacked... I went over to my parents house and when I got there, they were in the basement...

"Hello...." I hollered down...

"Hey!!!! Come on down."

"Umm... really? Down the steps?"

"Yeah, come on down. We're watching golf." And in the background I heard my dad say... "tell her to drive around back and come in through the garage."

So, that's what I did. Seriously. I went outside, drove around to the back of the house and went in through the basement. All to avoid going down the steps.

But by Tuesday, I was feeling a lot better and by Wednesday... no more soreness!

I do still have some battle scars though...

Random Bruise. (Ugh. my paint tools weren't working well, today).

And my knees are still a little banged up.. but the Neosporin is working wonders.

Overall, though... I'd say that this was one of the most rewarding and challenging things I've ever done. I'm so happy that I signed up and did the race and I had a blast running/walking/falling/sliding down the trails and I really enjoyed the company that I was with, too. My friends Phil and Theresa were great throughout the trip... we had plenty of laughs, and though I always finished hours behind them... they never made me feel rushed or bad for making them wait around on me. They were the perfect weekend mates!

And the people I met.. my running buddy.. Drew (sooo inspirational and motivating) and the countless others that I met both on the trails and off were amazing. The vibe is so different at these races... it's so chill and fun. Definitely more my style.
The best news? I think that weekend really got me excited about running again! I'm re-energized and ready to tackle some new obstacles and distances! And the trails... there's just something magical about them. It's a battle with yourself, instead of a battle with other people and I LOVE that.

To be completely honest.. I have little interest these days in running road races... I'm signed up for the Chicago marathon and I'm excited to run with my friend for her first marathon and in one of my favorite cities!!!!!, but I'm more excited about the weekend before when I'll be running the Stumpjump 50k again!

Oh yeah... and you know how I was trying to decide about whether or not to do the Lookout Mountain 50 miler in December? Umm... yeah, I decided. I'm doing it! (although, I guess technically I shouldn't announce that, because I'm not officially signed up yet, but that will be happening in a couple of weeks... along with signing up for the stumpjump).

Lookout Chattanooga, you're going to be seeing a lot of me in the next few months...