First Day

The first days of these trips are always hard. Ultra runners remorse sets in early. What am I doing out here. My secret weapon of relying on past trips failed me today. Is it possible my muscle memory has Alzheimers? My Legs, "What are you doing out here? You can't do this. You've NEVER done this before." Relax, I tell them. Like Wendy talking to Peter Pan, you just have to remember... Running from the airport at 3 pm in 95 degrees and high humidity is not advisable on a first day. 3 miles in I stopped at Gallup and was joined by 11 runners from there. We ran across the bridge to Iowa and back then they stayed with me for a few more miles. It was great to have an enthusiastic welcoming party. The sun and heat took its toll quickly. I stopped for lunch which helped but I was soon struggling again. At mile 15 I was dragging and got a much needed boost from Tim, a local runner and trail angel. He met me for the last 5 miles and brought me cold Gatorade. That did the trick.