Sun Mountain 50k

💥What a whirlwind 4 days on The road!! After leaving home Friday, I headed to Seattle where I met with my ⚖️Attorney and signed off on our final step to making Running for Combat Veterans a legitimate Non~Profit Organization -our tax exempt forms!! Then, headed to Bellvue where I presented 🎤 my story and the basis behind our 🇺🇸R.F.C.V. Non-Profit, to the beautiful ✨Illuminating Women’s✨ Group and was back on the road by 1900 heading for Winthrop, WA! ⛰

I settled into camp @Twin Lakes Campground ⛺️ and was off to bed 💤 around midnight for the BiG RaCe 👣 first thing in the AM! We woke up, ate, race prepped and Lois and Donna headed off for the early start, while Jessie and I took a bit more time to relax before heading to 🌻Sun Mountain to check in!📍

I was a ball of nerves per usual, race morning but today was a bit different... For the first time, I was at ease about the actual running bit. You see, after a couple of really difficult months regrouping from 5 pretty major losses (My Auntie, my VA Healthcare *again*, my Naturopath, a childhood friend and being pretty taxed due to the unplanned and extra workload and 😱stress that arose with all of that, I also lost a lot of training time (like 9-10 weeks)!

For the last year, 💥I have raced to try to place🏆 as it had been my ✨goal✨ to run/race to get recognition until making a name for 🇺🇸 Running for Combat Veterans ... Which Wednesday, I finally did, making RFCV it’s own Non-Profit 💸Organization! 🌟 And because of that, I took the stress off of myself and decided this race would now only be about FiNiShiNG... As I would RUN for my FALLEN COMRADES today to commemorate them and R.F.C.V.🇺🇸 for them and that’s just what I did..

The weather was ✨perfect✨for race conditions. Overcast, drizzle and still such beauty there in the Methow. 😍 I ran, thanking God for the life I was given and for such 🌼 beauty and 🍀gifts all aound. I prayed to my fallen “Battles” and told them about 🇺🇸RFCV and how I was dedicating this very race to them... I ran for SPC Kara Hinrich♥️, I ran for SPC Brandon Charlton🌟, I ran for SGT Zachary Sparling🔥 and CPT John Burkholder💥who I deployed into Combat with.... And who tragically left us in this world, way too soon. ✝️ I ran for my friends, my Sister and Brothers in Arms. ⚔️ ... And in their memory. 🇺🇸 Gone but NEVER FORGOTTEN. ♥️

I took my TIME running not racing, for the first time ever and really took in the BEAUTY all around! 😍 No agenda... Just enjoying running free, happy and loving our Mother Earth 🌏, Universe💫 and Lord. ✝️

The course was windy, rolling and fairly flat sections *for me* so this was DEFINITELY a challenging race. 😂 And only my second like this!! I was SORE, had a pretty bad calf cramp, chafed upper thighs on sweaty shorts, a blister on each heal 😳 and accidentally sat too close to the ground in something (poison oak) off trail when I took a break to piddle! 💦 Ha! 😅 But even with those FiRsTs and small misfortunes, everything went so well! I ended my race around 2:15pm and enjoyed good friends, yummy 🍓food🍕and awesome 🎶 post 🎤race 🎻festivities, in great Rainshadow fashion!

Sunday, I went back to Sun Mt with my buddies to help with the kids race, took pictures 📸 and volunteered @ the 25K, announcing 🎤 incoming racers at the Finish! 🏁 After, I packed up camp and headed home late in the afternoon, stopping a couple brief times to take in the beauty of the North Cascades while walking and stretching out my stiff legs and trying to wake back up all the while!

🌟What a whirlwind weekend that ended up going just splendidly🌈.. No issues but 😉 exhaustion! Praise God!! A special ✨ThaNk YoU✨ to James, Elizabeth, Colton and the rest of the InCreDiBLe Rainshadow RuNNinG Crew for another LoVeLy getaway and 👣 race weekend in the books! 📓 #perfecto 🔥♥️