After crossing the finish I hugged the race director, collected my belt buckle and finisher bling, then saw my friend how had finished just ahead of me by about 8 minutes. He said he ran on because he was afraid we would not make the cut off. I don't blame him. I would have too. But I made it so it's all good. He was going to come back to my room to shower before heading back to Memphis.
After picking up what was left of my drop bag I headed straight to the car. The adrenaline rush began to wear off and I became immediately aware of the cold. I also could not believe how far away from the actual start/finish I had actually ended up parking. It seemed like forever to get back to my car as my legs got stiffer and stiffer. I also began to shiver and by the time I made it to the car my teeth were chattering.
That adrenaline is an amazing thing.
I ignored the change of clothing I had laid out. Ignored the sandals I had out to put on after. Ignored my heavy coat. Ignored the mud on my shoes and legs, sat in my car and blasted the heat. I picked up my phone and turned it on....No Service...oh well.
I did not waste any time. I had to get to the hotel before I got really sleepy and really uncomfortable. I pulled out slowly as I forced my legs to push the clutch and the gas....everything seemed to work! Good, I could drive! I pulled passed the chute careful for the runners still coming in and got to the exit of the park and could not remember if I needed to go left or right. ...nice and not service on my phone. Intuition told me right and fortunately it was correct. After that first turn getting back was no trouble. I finally got to a high spot in the road and my phone blew up with text messages and voice mails. Those would just have to wait until later.
I made my way over the dirt roads and a good line of traffic was forming behind me cause I don't like to drive fast on dirt roads. So sue me.
I finally got to the interstate and right off at the hotel and parked. I managed to grab my bag of clothes but left everything else in the car. As I walked to the room I began to shiver again and waiting for the elevator my teeth were chattering, but I was too tired to put on a coat...just get to the room and get to a hot shower. That's all I had to do.
I was tracking mud down the hallway and into the room...oh well. I got into the room and my mom was there. She fortunately collects plastic bags and I put my muddy shoes and clothes in them and stepped into the shower. Wow....that's an amazing feeling.. Afterward my friend came over and took his shower and we ordered pizza delivered to the room....Before we had made plans to go to a sushi restaurant but after getting warm and clean we decided that was too much effort and opted to eat in. Funny how plans change!
Well if nothing else, long runs make for good sleep. I slept like a baby that night and slept late. My mom and I went downstairs to have breakfast. I had waffles, eggs, bacon, and some more bacon. Met up with some other runners who had stayed over night as well and relived some stories. That's always fun when you run into other runners who did the race.
All in all it was a good trip. I don't know if I would recommend the Mississippi 50 due to the strict keeping to time cutoffs. But I may do it again now that I know what to expect. Who knows. ....anything is possible...
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