Day 11: Cedar City, UT, to Gunnison, UT (Wednesday, June 25)
Distance traveled: 99 miles
Personal running distance today: 4 miles
Total personal miles to-date: 83 miles
Today's dedications: Joe Maddox and Dan Ritter
My running buddy: Katie
Weather: Started cool at 60* in the mountains, got up to 80* and sunny
This morning started off beautifully. Our team is so happy to be in a place where it's not already in the 80s (or warmer) when we wake up and head out at 5 a.m.! We left our host this morning and our route immediately took us into the mountains. I was one of the first groups to get out and run. I ran with Katie today, who is one of our team trainers. Unfortunately, my hip had already started hurting because we were running in the mountains and the hills really bother it, so I felt like I was dragging myself along. We passed a song that said, "8% grade ahead," signifying that the roads were about to get really hilly...and that was no lie. Yikes.
However, the road was beautiful. But as we soon discovered, it was not ideal for runners. The shoulder was small and non-existent in some places, there were blind turns occasionally and cars passed by pretty fast. Plus, we were starting to lose our cell phone service and some of our runners were experiencing altitude sickness as we climbed the mountain. So, after Katie and I completed our first 3 mile leg, I decided to pull the runners off of the roads. It wasn't worth the risk, even though the temperature was amazing and the views were beautiful.
Distance traveled: 99 miles
Personal running distance today: 4 miles
Total personal miles to-date: 83 miles
Today's dedications: Joe Maddox and Dan Ritter
My running buddy: Katie
Weather: Started cool at 60* in the mountains, got up to 80* and sunny
This morning started off beautifully. Our team is so happy to be in a place where it's not already in the 80s (or warmer) when we wake up and head out at 5 a.m.! We left our host this morning and our route immediately took us into the mountains. I was one of the first groups to get out and run. I ran with Katie today, who is one of our team trainers. Unfortunately, my hip had already started hurting because we were running in the mountains and the hills really bother it, so I felt like I was dragging myself along. We passed a song that said, "8% grade ahead," signifying that the roads were about to get really hilly...and that was no lie. Yikes.
However, the road was beautiful. But as we soon discovered, it was not ideal for runners. The shoulder was small and non-existent in some places, there were blind turns occasionally and cars passed by pretty fast. Plus, we were starting to lose our cell phone service and some of our runners were experiencing altitude sickness as we climbed the mountain. So, after Katie and I completed our first 3 mile leg, I decided to pull the runners off of the roads. It wasn't worth the risk, even though the temperature was amazing and the views were beautiful.
Once we had pulled all our runners into vans, we decided to regroup at a safe location off the road. We found a visitors center for a campground a few miles up the road, so we all stopped there. We got a map for some trails in the area and decided that we would let our runners make up their miles on the trails! When in Utah, right?
We gave everyone the option of hiking their miles, running their miles, or a bit of both, whatever they were feeling up to. After we had given everyone the instructions, our vans started heading toward the trail we found on a map. However, two of the vans got separated from the other two. I happened to be in one of the two vans that didn't have the map and didn't know where the trailhead was.
So, for about 45 minutes, we drove around the mountains and trails of Utah searching for the trailhead. It sounds like we were miserably lost, but really, we were all enjoying it and taking in the beautiful scenery. The main issue was that none of us had cell phone serve, so nobody could get a hold of anyone on the team. We were thankful that we were at least all together in two groups and IN the vans, not out on the road running. Eventually, we got to ONE spot where we got a bit of cell service, and miraculously the other group did too! So, we were able to get a hold of the other group, then meet up again at the visitors center so we could try again.
When we all met up, all four vans headed to a beautiful trailhead for Cascade Falls. The altitude here was almost 9,000 feet, and the view was nothing short of incredible. We could see so far from way up there; we could even see Zion off in the distance where we were two days ago!
We gave everyone the option of hiking their miles, running their miles, or a bit of both, whatever they were feeling up to. After we had given everyone the instructions, our vans started heading toward the trail we found on a map. However, two of the vans got separated from the other two. I happened to be in one of the two vans that didn't have the map and didn't know where the trailhead was.
So, for about 45 minutes, we drove around the mountains and trails of Utah searching for the trailhead. It sounds like we were miserably lost, but really, we were all enjoying it and taking in the beautiful scenery. The main issue was that none of us had cell phone serve, so nobody could get a hold of anyone on the team. We were thankful that we were at least all together in two groups and IN the vans, not out on the road running. Eventually, we got to ONE spot where we got a bit of cell service, and miraculously the other group did too! So, we were able to get a hold of the other group, then meet up again at the visitors center so we could try again.
When we all met up, all four vans headed to a beautiful trailhead for Cascade Falls. The altitude here was almost 9,000 feet, and the view was nothing short of incredible. We could see so far from way up there; we could even see Zion off in the distance where we were two days ago!
I had already run 3 miles on a mountain at that point, and my hip and my IT band were really, really bothering me. I decided to do a short hike with a group of girls on the team out to the Cascade Falls, which added 1 more mile to my distance for the day. As the summer progresses, more and more of us understand that this summer isn't about the miles and it definitely isn't about the speed at which you complete the miles. If you have to go slow as a snail or if you have to cut your day short in order to stay healthier, that's most important. We want to start with 26 team members and end with all 26, so we want to stay healthy and safe! The Cascade Falls hike was a great way to give myself a bit of a rest. It was a quick out-and-back, but again provided fantastic views.
After other teammates had run or hiked a few more miles, we loaded up the vans and headed to our host. We made our way to Gunnison, UT, not knowing what to expect. What we found when we arrived was...not much. About three restaurants, a grocery store, tiny hospital, police station and the fire station that we are staying at. Needless to say, this is definitely a small town! However, as we soon discovered, it would be a great town for us.
The fire station is less than 5 years old and is awesome! There's a huge upstairs space that's empty where we can all sleep, plus there's a giant screen TV with surround sound down in the kitchen area...perfect for watching the USA/Germany World Cup game tomorrow! We've really lucked out with our route, because I've been able to watch USA/Portugal and USA/Germany. I believe that we will win!
When we went out to get food donations for dinner, plenty of places were willing to donate to us. We had a combination of pizza and burritos for dinner (very healthy, right?!). The local Gunnison Market donated four cases of Powerade and even told us we could return tomorrow to make sure we had plenty of food for the day and when we continued on the route. The people of this town have been so accommodating.
After dinner, a van full of us drove to the nearest Walmart...almost 30 minutes away...to get some supplies. The drive was gorgeous, though, and totally worth the distance. The sun was setting in the mountains and made for the best pictures.
The fire station is less than 5 years old and is awesome! There's a huge upstairs space that's empty where we can all sleep, plus there's a giant screen TV with surround sound down in the kitchen area...perfect for watching the USA/Germany World Cup game tomorrow! We've really lucked out with our route, because I've been able to watch USA/Portugal and USA/Germany. I believe that we will win!
When we went out to get food donations for dinner, plenty of places were willing to donate to us. We had a combination of pizza and burritos for dinner (very healthy, right?!). The local Gunnison Market donated four cases of Powerade and even told us we could return tomorrow to make sure we had plenty of food for the day and when we continued on the route. The people of this town have been so accommodating.
After dinner, a van full of us drove to the nearest Walmart...almost 30 minutes away...to get some supplies. The drive was gorgeous, though, and totally worth the distance. The sun was setting in the mountains and made for the best pictures.
After heading back to the fire station, we had some classic team bonding in our room. A lot of us were up and sitting around together, reminiscing on the early days of our relationship with one another. We went back to the very beginning of our team's Facebook page (around November or so), and we went through the earliest posts from our teammates, which was pretty funny. Meanwhile, our awesome trainers, Katie and Michelle, were using the foam roller stick to roll out all the injuries from our tired, beat up legs. I got an excellent roll out from Katie, which will hopefully help my right hip/IT band.
It's about time for bed now, though. I will thoroughly look forward to sleeping in as much as possible tomorrow, and then.... I BELIEVE. Go USA!
Day 12: REST DAY - Gunnison, UT (Thursday, June 26)
Weather: Sunny, 80s
"Sleeping in" has a totally different definition on 4K. I slept until a little after 8 a.m. today, and that was a huge success for me. I felt so well-rested! I woke up, headed downstairs to the kitchen area where the TV is and watched CNN for a bit before the USA/Germany World Cup game started. Nerves were high amongst the few soccer aficionados on our team as the game began. Although the USA didn't play our best and we lost, we still advanced to the Round of 16, which we were thrilled about. We're hoping that we arrive to Lander, WY, early enough on Tuesday to catch that game, too!
During the day, we really didn't do much. We all hung out together in the kitchen/TV area watching soccer games throughout the day and catching up on blogs. I took a nice little nap in the afternoon, too. I was stoked to see some RAINDROPS falling from the sky! I feel like I haven't seen rain or even rain clouds in weeks because the desert and our whole trip so far has been sunny and hot. It felt amazing to stand in the sprinkles and watch the rain roll in over the mountains. Hopefully we'll get more days like today in the future.
Tonight, the fire department cooked an incredible dinner for us full of yummy foods. All the firefighters and their families came to the house to eat with us, so it was great to get to meet some of them. Additionally, one woman brought her three kids, one of whom is an adorable 3-year-old girl, Kinley, who is in remission from lymphoma. She was adorable and such a fighter! We loved having her and her siblings eat with us.
Tonight marks the end of "Leg 1" of our journey. Our journey is split into three legs evenly. We have two leg leaders who are in charge of each leg. For the past couple weeks, my co-director Alex and I have been working with the leg 1 leg leaders, Patty and Matt. They have done an incredible job every night of helping to create the route, pair up running buddies and assign chores for each day. Now we're looking forward to working with Sarah and Bree on leg 2. It's also exciting that leg 1 is over because it means the trip is about 1/3 over, which is crazy to think!
Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City, UT, which I am especially excited for because I get to reunite and go to dinner with one of my favorite Kappa Delta sisters ever, Abby! She was on council with me when I was president and I'm not sure how I would've survived without her. I cannot wait to be back with her and enjoy a dinner at some super cool local place. We've got 10 miles each to conquer tomorrow. So I'm heading to sleep now, waking up, running 10 miles, then hanging with Abby. Doesn't sound like a bad day in SLC!
Run happy,
Natalie
It's about time for bed now, though. I will thoroughly look forward to sleeping in as much as possible tomorrow, and then.... I BELIEVE. Go USA!
Day 12: REST DAY - Gunnison, UT (Thursday, June 26)
Weather: Sunny, 80s
"Sleeping in" has a totally different definition on 4K. I slept until a little after 8 a.m. today, and that was a huge success for me. I felt so well-rested! I woke up, headed downstairs to the kitchen area where the TV is and watched CNN for a bit before the USA/Germany World Cup game started. Nerves were high amongst the few soccer aficionados on our team as the game began. Although the USA didn't play our best and we lost, we still advanced to the Round of 16, which we were thrilled about. We're hoping that we arrive to Lander, WY, early enough on Tuesday to catch that game, too!
During the day, we really didn't do much. We all hung out together in the kitchen/TV area watching soccer games throughout the day and catching up on blogs. I took a nice little nap in the afternoon, too. I was stoked to see some RAINDROPS falling from the sky! I feel like I haven't seen rain or even rain clouds in weeks because the desert and our whole trip so far has been sunny and hot. It felt amazing to stand in the sprinkles and watch the rain roll in over the mountains. Hopefully we'll get more days like today in the future.
Tonight, the fire department cooked an incredible dinner for us full of yummy foods. All the firefighters and their families came to the house to eat with us, so it was great to get to meet some of them. Additionally, one woman brought her three kids, one of whom is an adorable 3-year-old girl, Kinley, who is in remission from lymphoma. She was adorable and such a fighter! We loved having her and her siblings eat with us.
Tonight marks the end of "Leg 1" of our journey. Our journey is split into three legs evenly. We have two leg leaders who are in charge of each leg. For the past couple weeks, my co-director Alex and I have been working with the leg 1 leg leaders, Patty and Matt. They have done an incredible job every night of helping to create the route, pair up running buddies and assign chores for each day. Now we're looking forward to working with Sarah and Bree on leg 2. It's also exciting that leg 1 is over because it means the trip is about 1/3 over, which is crazy to think!
Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City, UT, which I am especially excited for because I get to reunite and go to dinner with one of my favorite Kappa Delta sisters ever, Abby! She was on council with me when I was president and I'm not sure how I would've survived without her. I cannot wait to be back with her and enjoy a dinner at some super cool local place. We've got 10 miles each to conquer tomorrow. So I'm heading to sleep now, waking up, running 10 miles, then hanging with Abby. Doesn't sound like a bad day in SLC!
Run happy,
Natalie