North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile

Reading the course description I was under the impression yesterday would be a nice little run through the woods with some gentle, rolling hills.....Not the case!!!  This was probably the toughest race I have ever run. I am not sure if it really was an exceptionally hard course or my body was saying "Enough already, you just raced this distance two weeks ago!"  I promise myself I will take it easy this week and recover.  As I was climbing Blanchard Mountain trying to get my mind off of negative thoughts (this is so hard...I want to be done...) I was thinking about how important it is to save these precious spots for all to enjoy.  The DNR wants to log this mountain which would be such a shame. There are too few spots left to wander through the woods.  Even a bad day of running is a good day spent in nature.  I ended up placing 4th behind some uber fast women (Nikki Kimbell, Susannah Beck, and Kendra Ralston).  Great job Ladies!  I also got some exciting news from Krissy (who was the overall winner of the 50k) at the finish line.  She is going to pace me in my first 100 mile run this summer (Cascade Crest).  How lucky am I to have the opportunity to run with such an amazing ultrarunner and human being?