Mountain Mist 2022 was an event that almost happened for me! That story in a minute! But first, where have I been?
This blog went south just like my running did for basically the last four years. This blog has always been about marathoning AND mothering, but I always thought that the mothering part could take a backseat at times and allow the marathoning part its place to shine. I felt entitled to having running in my life. Plus I loved getting faster, learning about how to run, and the thrill of competition. I seemed made for it, and it fulfilled me in ways that being a mother just didn't. But don't get me wrong; I loved my role of mother too. In fact, I felt the two roles created a nice balance in my life: the sharp, dedicated toughness of a runner and the delicate, peaceful, sweetness of a mother all mixed together and melded in me. The instincts of mothering just seem to come naturally to me, and I welcomed their presence in my life, yet running was always there to give me another area of fulfillment. With two small children, I reveled in the fact that I could still compete in marathons all over the country. It was thrilling to be able to take my kids along and let them experience new places side-by-side with me. When our third child came, things just got better and better. She was an easy baby, and I felt on top of the world. I thought I could tackle any challenge. And I naively thought, "What's one more?" When my last child came, I was swiftly knocked off my feet in ways I could never have seen coming. I've always lived by the mantra "You play the hand you're dealt," without really having a life-changing event to force me to act on that belief. With him, from the start, things were difficult and off. His first year was a blur, but what I do remember consists of months of watching him be sick without knowing why, being sleep deprived like I never knew before (and this was my fourth time to have a nursling), doctor visits, and testing leading to a diagnosis of multiple severe food allergies. The emotional and physical toll on me was enormous. Then came the research--so much research--into everything from allergies, allergy treatments, foods, restaurant menus, medicines, and on and on. Trying to become an expert in something I knew nothing about. Trying to figure out how to keep him alive. I am here now, not having crested the mountain of the monumental task of being an "allergy mom," but being able to recognize that I still need running and desperately want to still have it in my life.
I never completely gave up running; in fact, I've managed to be a pacer at the Rocket City Marathon every year of his life (including the one where I was pregnant with him) minus the last two years (COVID forced the race to be virtual in 2020 and severe weather cancelled the race in 2021). It's amazing how little training is actually required for a marathon if you're prepared to suffer on the course. I now run quite a bit of easy, fun miles with my oldest son who is now fifteen, and I found satisfaction I never knew before in running next to him during his first half marathon in 2021. There's nothing like sharing your passion with your child. We've also competed in a few other 5Ks and 10Ks, even enjoying both getting first place finishes in a small local 5K. Our smiles spread as people commented, "The winners are mother and son!" I have also found great delight in taking the first place title in the women's master's category, where, at 44, I still feel a little like a fraud. There's a disbelief that I am here now, in my forties. Where did the time go? Every Huntsville Track Club event forces me to realize that I'll eventually have a day where I can't do this anymore. My today will become the past. So I press on, clinging to the running that I do have, striving for more, and enjoying the little moments that remind me of why I fell in love with it in the first place.
Mountain Mist 50K 2022
As mentioned, I had planned to pace the Rocket City Marathon in December 2021, but severe weather cancelled the race. Sometimes it feels like everything is conspiring against my running. That day, I ended up just running a half marathon distance, but that didn't really feel like the climactic event for all of my training, so Mountain Mist was in the back of my mind. Then I got COVID over the Christmas holidays, and it hit me hard. I took a full two weeks off from any exercise. That took me to early January, without having registered for the race or trained in any way since my last long run before the marathon. Not ideal, but most people will tell you that a Mountain Mist finish is possible even in less-than-ideal conditions, so in the back of my mind I was still hopeful. I even ran a 20-mile long run the day registration closed to make sure I felt recovered and ready for the distance, even if I hadn't been on trails at all. It may seem crazy to wait until the day registration closed, but in past years the race director had allowed 10-time finishers (which I am) the chance to register even if the race was full through the entire registration period. So I thought I'd be fine, but it turns out the race was full and that policy no longer exists. I felt totally at peace with it. My husband was going to be out-of-town, so I wasn't too sure I wanted to leave the kids alone for that amount of time without an adult on-hand. Instead, I decided to look into volunteer opportunities. I was actually highly encouraged by the race director which makes sense because there was a huge need. Something like 50 out of 80 volunteer options for race day were still available. My 15- and 14-year-old kids wanted to help (and would be helping me with the 7- and 4-year old kids). I signed us all up for Clean Up, and expected to learn something new about the race I love so much.
When we arrived at the Lodge around 3:15 p.m., we were actually too early to help. A huge perk of volunteering is that we were admitted to Monte Sano State Park for free (admission is usually $5 for adults and $2 for ages 2-11). We were able to take a short hike to see icicles, much to the delight of all of the kids. It was cold and beautiful up there, just getting to enjoy the scenery without having to run on it. We were also treated to volunteer shirts and visors. We also were able to cheer on the very last finishers and see friends who had just finished their 20th MM. As the finishers left, there was plenty of extra food, so we even grabbed some pizza, bread, and cookie cake to eat. When we were needed we got to work, emptying trash cans, transporting the extra food supplies to the trailer, and cleaning up after the runners. Maybe an hour of work total. The sun started to set, and it was beautiful up there, definitely the first time I had ever stayed this long on a MM day. My little kids enjoyed doing karaoke with the podium in the Lodge while my older two swept floors. They started giving food away, so we ended up with several soft drink 2-Liters and an entire pizza to take home. As we headed to our car and saw another car's headlights pointing ominously at us, we got spooked and then laughed together when the other car turned out to be security. It was not a typical MM experience for me, but I enjoyed giving back to this race. Maybe with age comes wisdom and peace when things don't go the way you had expected them to.
