Another Success Story

I am so proud of my friend and client Hollie Parry.  I think she got tired of hearing me ramble on about having a goal, something to train for.  But instead of just signing up for a mealsy little 5K, she got me off her back by signing up for the Wasatch Back.  Yes, RAGNAR!  Not only did she sign up, she put together her own team and trained her little legs off to prepare for this monumental event.  I want to share her words with you, and to re-emphasize how great it feels to set your sights on something, to sweat and grunt your way to a finish line, and then to say “I DID IT!”  In Hollie’s words:

“Thanks for this beautiful reminder of how amazing it is to stretch and do something beyond what we ever thought we could do. All I have to say is: It was so worth it!

So the rundown….

I ran my first 3.6 in 31 minutes. It was hotter than hades and high elevation and I don’t think any of us anticipated how hard that was going to be. But I did it and surprisingly, I did it fast!

My second run was the downhill 7 miles and I FLEW down the mountain. I ran the first two miles at an 8 min. mile. It was a beautiful run! Super cool, dark, a little solitary! The last mile was BRUTAL! But I ran that entire run in 56 minutes. Another amazing victory for me. The big deal about that race was that I stepped either off the pavement or in a pothole or something twice and the last time I rolled my ankle and almost went down. I stretched as much as you can in a van but by the next morning, I couldn’t even walk. I was so worried about my last run!

I found a chiropractor at the major exchange (complimentary for the runners) and he worked on my ankle and back a little. I was praying like crazy for strength to run the last 6 miles. As the runner handed off to me I had a little voice inside my head tell me to just slow down and take it easy. So that’s what I did….sans headphones, sans pressure. It was a BEAUTIFUL RUN!!!! I made it running all the way to mile 5. After that I had to run/walk the last mile because that’s all I had left in me. But I finished EVERY race with a full out sprint to the finish…in honor of you! I felt like I gave this race and this experience everything I had and I don’t regret a moment of it.

All in all, it was AMAZING!!!! I am already gathering my team for next year so we can register in the next few weeks and get a spot…..they are predicted to go fast!!! I am so grateful to you for your help and encouragement in this journey! I literally couldn’t have done it without you!!!!!!! I will forever be grateful to you for coming off the bench with me and pushing me to run just a little faster.

Unfortunately, I can’t really walk all that well right now. My ankle is surprisingly fine, but my quads are shot! I think I might have finally caught up on enough to sleep to function (ha ha) but I am still trying to rehydrate. I lost 10 lbs in two days!!! Happy to see that number on the scale, but I know that I have to get it all back before I am recovered fully from loss of water. WORTH IT!!!!!!!

Good times, great experience, and I am ready to do it again….in a year!”

Way to go Hollie, you did it, and I am so proud of you!