Friday, May 12, 2017

A Grand Feat

So Bob and I ran to the bottom of the Grand Canyon last weekend.  I am going to write this, of course, from my point of view which may vary quite a bit from Bob's, but the really short of it is that it was AMAZING and CHALLENGING and I may or may not have been under-trained for the massive feat.

I have had a lot going on with my body lately so my training for this has been sub par at best.  At the end of the day I knew without doubt that I could walk that far so I approached this epic run that Bob had planned with that one shred of confidence,  No matter what.....I can walk this thing.  Bob had far more grandiose goals of running all of it, but as a newbie to the Grand Canyon, I don't think he fully grasped the angle at which those trails are carved.  

We rolled into our campsite on Thursday and decided to go all out the next morning.  We set our alarms for 4am (a big deal considering our phones said we were in a different time zone than we actually were......30 min hike to the ranger station and setting our alarm to compensate......yada yada yada).  So we slept....sort of.  I will admit I spent much of my night hours just praying protection over us and our crazy scheme.  People die in the Grand Canyon.  The Rangers SPECIFICALLY tell you DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GO TO THE BOTTOM AND BACK UP IN ONE DAY.   Not even kidding.  There are signs everywhere, on the brochures, posted at the stations, on the website.  People die.......don't be stupid.

And there we were fully confident we could not only complete a descent and ascent in 1 day, but before 12noon.  What were we smoking.  Well, I was about to find out.


We had about a mile and a half run from our campsite to the Bright Angel Trailhead so we were able to shake out the legs, and warm up the mind and the body.   I just prayed......."keep us safe Lord.  I know we have the physical ability to do this, but accidents happen.  Help us be smart and strong and know our limits.

We got on the trail in the dark.  I had NO CLUE the sheer drop offs that we were running downhill right by.  HA!  For the first mile and a half we had to use our headlights and our flashlights.  Our heads were permanently pointed down to navigate the "very technical" route.  The first hikers we passed were almost to the top.  It was a couple of older gentlemen.  My Chatty Cathy husband was so jovial, "Hey, Good Morning!  You are almost there!"  to which the exhausted and semi grumpy hikers replied, "You're NOT!"  I just about laughed myself off the trail.  What we younguns must have looked like.



The Grand Canyon is breathtaking in the early morning.  Before the sun hits it, the sunrise light displays all of these amazing colors.  It was quiet and BIG on that trail.  It made me feel enraptured, enthralled and empowered to do what we had set out to do.  I remember running thinking Nature is so big and can be so scary, but nature is also peaceful.  Its full of beauty and space.  


The distance to the river is right at about 9 miles and it breaks up in really cool sections.  There is the upper canyon that is just STEEP.  Imagine stairs and you are pretty close to reality (Note to self........do more stairs next time).  The second section is AMAZING.  Its the area of Indian Gardens and it was spectacular.  



You start to get into this really cool tight canyon with a river running at the bottom.  After running right along the rock face, you enter this amazing swampy oasis.


It's gorgeous and cool and full of rich grass and foliage as well as large trees that provide amazing shade.  The 2 miles through that area were most definitely my favorite.  I stubbed my toe (the one that has been injured) and nearly cancelled the whole trip then and there, but just couldn't imagine not finishing now that we were a mere 3 miles from the river.


The third section of the trail is the lower canyon and much like its upper portion is very steep.  I loved being able to see the bottom and the entire section was in the shade......at least for the descent.  I was feeling so good at this point and so excited to get to the Colorado River.  


I remember making this descent and running into two other runners.  We grabbed onto each other and started talking.  Before I knew it, we came around a corner to the amazing sound of rushing water!  We had made it to the bottom!  WHOO HOO!  I paused my watch at 10.4 miles.



The water was FA REEZING, but was a perfect cryo bath for my aching toe, sore muscles (running down hill is rough guys) and problematic wanna be blisters.  I got settled in the cold pool and stood there for a good 10 minutes.  It was amazing.  Bob thought I was nuts and only managed to tolerate the cold for 2 minute bouts at best.





We changed our socks, ate some food and geared up for the climb back up.  I instantly knew that running the entire thing was out of the question for me so my goal was to run when I could and keep moving.  It's a long way back up when you are moving slow.

Bob ended up running quite a bit of the trek from the river to Indian Gardens and I stayed back in my space taking in all of the beauty around me.  When you are running you miss a lot because you are constantly watching where your feet go!  When you walk you SEE it.  I embraced it fully.


Back to Indian Gardens.  So beautiful and such a wonderful half way spot.


As we exited Indian Gardens we realized that 1. Now it gets hard 2. Now it gets hot and 3. Now it gets busy.  The sun had made its full debut and at mile 15 I was staring straight up at an enormous rock face.  That's a long way up there.


I was getting tired, but had all that I needed to make it to the top.  As my body fatigued and I realized that I was getting close to the "Done" place, I just put my head down and kept moving up.  Our buddy who was camping with us, Steve, met us about 2 miles from the top.  It was GREAT to run into a new face and feel refreshed with some camaraderie.  Bob was still feeling really good and ended up running quite a bit of the steep part, but I just hunkered down in my hike.  


Steve and I let Bob finish the final mile ahead of us and we came in strong and steady a while later.  When I crested the top and realized that we had DONE IT, I was so excited......and tired.  My legs were done.......all done, but the sense of accomplishment cannot be described.


Now remember we were still 1.5 miles from our campsite.  I almost cried.  My muscles were just done.  Then Steve goes, "Hey, they have a free shuttle that will take us to our campsite!"  Oh I could have kissed him right there.

This smile is equal parts, HALLELUJAH a bus and how much I love this guy next to me and all the crazy things we do together.


Running the canyon was one for the record books and Bob and I cannot wait to go back.

Congrats my love on accomplishing this very Grand feat,

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