To talk about 29029 Everesting in Snowbasin training for 2021, we have to start back in the dreaded 2020. In December of 2020 I gave up drinking. Let’s be real, it was really after a wild night in October when I couldn’t move the next day. But officially official gave it up the day after Christmas.
2021 is the last year in my 30s so I wanted to get in top physically shape for my 40th birthday. A plan was painfully put in place in November 2020 for the next 10 months.
A lot of work, not a lot of off season needed to happen to reach my goals for 2021. I needed to be mentally tough to endure nonstop training.
In January I went back to Bear Bait Ultramarathon – the 50 miler that crushed me in 2020 – with only the desire to finally finish the distance that haunted me. …I ended up winning 1st female and 4th overall
I had no idea how, but it set me on such a high knowing how I ended that same race the year before.
Even on that high I knew I had 7 weeks to get ready for my next 50 miler. Which also came with having to shave off 28 minutes in order to complete it under time cap. Nothing like pressure!
The MS50 was the first weekend in March and now that I had a 50 miler under my belt I was confident I could complete the distance. Once worried about the time cap, but ended up PRing my 50 mile time by 57 minutes. IN SEVEN WEEKS!!
I was on a roll. 2021 was already worlds better athletically than 2020 for me. I went on to have a great race at Grayson Highlands 50k in May which was HUGE vert for me.
Florida summers are basically the surface of the sun mixed with the devil’s butthole – it’s hot and humid y’all. Training through the summer was awful. I hated it. I worked on heart rate training which made me slow…until it didn’t.
In June I won 1st female in Unleashed – a 24 hour event in north Georgia while tropical storm Claudette pounded us. I was only 8 miles behind Brian who won 1st overall.
In May I decided to do a round of 75 Hard to keep me laser focused on my goals right when the months of nonstop training were starting to add up. Digging deeper into personal development, I learned more about nasal breathing in correlation to health. I improved my life.
All the hard work was paying off. I lost and kept off 14lbs throughout 2021. Ran not one but TWO 50Ks in my neighborhood doing 45min on / 15min off later training days for 29029. Woke up at 0130 to run at 0200 and ran throughout the night. I sacrificed free time and fun times to put in the much needed work.
I wanted the #redhat from 29029 Everesting in Snowbasin more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. That hat was so powerful and had so much significance in it that I NEEDED it. But I had to earn it with blood, sweat, and tears and I will willing to give my everything for it.