Bless your scantily clothed little heart

My 50 for 50 campaign moves on one tired step after another! And my target 50 Mile Race is getting closer. So, how’s my training going? Well, the Lost Lake 50K which is really 34 miles and includes 8,000 vertical feet of elevation certainly challenged me by keeping me in my running shoes for nearly 10 hours! And my third Ultra race, the Rainier to Ruston 50K gave me a different challenge—heat! But it wasn’t supposed to be hot! I was anticipating an “easy” 50K knowing that the majority of this race’s course was on a nice paved rail trail and there was virtually no elevation gain. But alas summer decided to show up on race day giving us temperatures close to 80. With no heat training so far this year and virtually no shade on the course, my “easy” 50 K became a bit more of a challenge.

Originally I was aiming at finishing around 5 hours 15 minutes, but ended up coming in just after 6 hours. And if it wasn’t for Janna Theriault of Fleet Feet Sportsin Bonney Lake, I probably would have finished even slower. Janna caught up to me around mile 12 and we ran together for nearly 16 miles. Her positive attitude kept me focused on finishing. And during the darkest (actually the brightest and hottest) miles of the course-that would be the gritty industrial strip of Tacoma that we had to run through from Mile 24 to mile 26, I really started to fade.

At Mile 25 I was out of water and dreading the terrain that still lay ahead of me. I was shutting down. The next aid station was still a mile or two away and I badly needed water. So, I headed to a drive up espresso stand to have my water bottle filled. And to my surprise a rather slender cute-young-thing wearing very skimpy (and I’ll add sexy) lingerie heeded my call. Talk about a tall skinny non fat you get my point! Turns out I showed up at one of those Sexpresso stands—the ones I have only read about (honestly) — and now a bodacious barista was coming to my aid. Bless her scantily clad little heart. I realized at that moment that I wasn’t dead! I got my second wind! And amazing too that my espresso stand revival didn’t even involve caffeine!

With my heart now pumping strong again and with a full bottle of water, I was able to finish the last 5 miles of the course. Janna and I got a kick out of the incident and she had gotten a great laugh when she saw the look on my face once I realized that I was talking to a near naked woman! So, maybe that’s what I need to help me finish the White River 50 Mile Race. Sexy baristas cheering me on—and who needs the espresso shots?!

(photos by Janna Theriault)