State #22 - Wyoming!

Don't call it a comeback...

... Or I guess it really is a comeback. My first marathon in almost a year! After running the Frye Island Marathon on the 4th of July last year I took a much needed break from running altogether for a whole month! After that I limited my running to shorter distances and started experimenting with trail running. The break was so good for me and I came back in the new year mentally and physically ready to train hard. 

In April I PR'd in the half marathon at Rock the Parkway with a 1:34:09 time! 9 seconds quicker and I would have qualified for the NYC marathon... doh. A couple of weeks later I ran my first 50K and won! The win was awesome, but I was mostly so happy to have gotten through a tough training cycle with my legs still intact and my love of running still strong. 

The Casper Marathon was the first weekend in June. Britt & I road tripped with our friend Claire to Wyoming in one day... quite the feet in itself! We made sure to factor in plenty of time for stops at bakeries, breweries, and interesting stops along the way.

Practicing our candid shots.

It was my first time to Wyoming and wow! It's a super pretty state! Someone said it's like an underrated version of Colorado, and I would have to agree. 

We made it!

Britt & I haven't run a marathon together in several years, so we decided this was the perfect race. We didn't have a time-goal. We just wanted to enjoy our time together and finish strong... and we were pretty excited to rock our BRF tanks.

Best Running Friends.

Claire is not a runner, but boy is she a great spectator. For all the years I've been running marathons, I have rarely had anyone come out to watch, let alone drive 13 hours and show up with signs and my picture on a stick. Take note, Drew. :)

Claire is seriously the best.

The race went pretty much as expected. The day was warm and there wasn't much cover so our pace was slow, but we were having fun. 

At around mile 5, we witnessed the craziest thing I've yet to see at a race. One of the pacers, a tiny woman wearing head-to-toe neon yellow, pulled off to the side of the road a ways ahead of us. We thought she was stretching at first. She was in a lunch position and I realized when I saw the massive stream coming from her crotch that she was peeing! Standing up! On the race course! Where everyone could see! She had simply pulled the tiny spandex shorts to the side and let it loose. I was kind of in shock. She finished just as we were coming up on her so she re-adjusted her shorts and fell in with us on the race course and just chatted away like it was totally normal. What. The. Heck.

Later we caught up to a friend from our Oiselle Volee team who recently moved to Wyoming. It was fun to run with her and catch up on life for a few miles.

Our friend Shannon on the right.

We're having the best time.

The miles ticked away and pretty soon we were nearing the finish. I love that Britt and I can literally run 26 miles together and never run out of things to talk about. She's really the best running friend a girl can ask for.

State 22 - DONE!

We finished in around 4 hours and 26 minutes, one of our slowest races ever, but also one of the most enjoyable. I'm grateful for a healthy body and legs that can carry me over so many miles.

After we cleaned up, we did what we do on race trips... we walked around town eating, drinking, and laughing. Casper is a pretty cute little mountain town with plenty of spots to keep us occupied.

"Try to look candid."

The next day it was time to head home! Our plan was to spend the night in Lincoln, but by the time we made it there we were all ready to get home so we made a late arrival back to KC. It was the quickest trip ever, but such a fun time.

Nebraska has some interesting spots... like Bitch's Bar.

I'm so happy to mark off another state. 22 down! 28 to go! And I'm already looking forward to another race trip with these girls next Fall.