Bogus 50/50 & My Birthday

Mark and I ran the Bogus 50/50 in Boise. It was our first 50k, and happened to be on my birthday. Most people wouldn't want to spend their birthday running 31.5 miles, but I was super excited about it. We trained all summer long, and had a blast on all of our training runs. We got to see a lot of incredible places, and we met some great running buddies. Most of the fun is in the training!

The race was in the Boise foothills. They have an incredible trail system there! Not as pretty and scenic as what we're used to training on, but also not as hard and technical, so it made for a good trade off. The first couple hours of the race was in the dark, and I loved it! I've decided I'm a big fan of running in the dark. It was nice to not have to worry about bears, mountain lions, and other big creatures that we are normally on the lookout for. We just cruised along ticking off the miles. The course was marked super good, the aid stations were often and stocked with all the good stuff, and it was a very pleasant run. Our legs were feeling it pretty good the last five miles, but not bad enough that we couldn't run. We just plugged along until we made it!

Time: 7 hours 13 minutes

The start line!

Leaving the Boise lights behind. This is Mark coming up a hill. It was fun to look up the trail, and back down it and see a big line of headlamp lights.

This was maybe an hour into the race, and it was still pretty dark.

The sun finally coming up. I had mixed feelings about this. I was enjoying running in the dark, but I was also ready to be warm.

Our attempt at a sunrise selfie.

This is what the area looks like. Really pretty, but not the forest we're used to.

This was the start of one of our last big climbs.

One of the aid stations had super fun people. They were all dressed in costumes, and had put fun signs out on the trail for us. 

We were almost done, and we were excited to finally be in some fall trees.

Our last trail picture! We were less than a mile from the finish line. We were hurting but at least still smiling!

We did it! So proud of us!

Bailey and Mason ran the 15 miler. They started an hour after us, and texted us when they were finished. We were only at mile 16 or 17. So basically they had gone almost the same distance in an hour less time. They didn't have the big climbs that we did, but still! Oh to be young and awesome again! They were waiting for us at the finish line with gifts and treats. They are the best fan club!

I've been asked a lot of questions since the race, so I'll answer a few of them here:

Would you do another one?

Absolutely! We love trail running together, so the training is tons of fun for us. We have more in the works for next season for sure!

Would you ever go farther?

I asked Mark if he'd ever do a 50 miler, and he took a hard pass. He said the 50k distance is as far as he'd ever want to go. But....keep in mind that he said he'd never try a 50k either. I think that I could do a 50 miler, and I wouldn't mind giving one a try, but I would just have to plan on walking more. Slow and steady may get me through one. However, I have a knee issue, and my never ending back problem. Those are my only concerns. If I could get those issues resolved I would say, "Let's give it a try!"

And my favorite question of all:

 How is that even kind of fun?

Hahahaha, there is a small percentage of crazy people in this world who like this sort of thing, and we happen to be two of them.

The day of the race happened to be on my 46th birthday, so I'll write a bit about that. I celebrated with my fab five friends earlier in the week. They came over for a yummy dinner that Misty made, and we stayed up until 2:00 in the morning laughing and talking. They got me wonderful gifts, and it was a fun way to kick off my birthday week. Mark always sends me on a themed scavenger hunt for my birthday, and I thought he'd have to skip this year since we'd be in Boise. He came home from work early on Friday and said we were face timing Bailey and I was doing my scavenger hunt right then. It was a trail running theme this year, and as funny as usual. Lucky we did it early, because one of my gifts was a headlamp, and I needed it for the run! After the race, we went to my birthday dinner with Bailey and Mason. We went to the Bittercreek Ale House in Boise, and it was yummy. That night we watched the Boise State football game in the student union building. Bailey gave me my present there. She's coming home on a weekend of my choice and we're having a girl's weekend! We're gonna get pedicures, watch some movies we didn't get to this summer, and she's making me the treat of my choice. Fun! Then to top it all off, I got my present from Sawyer when we got home. I told him the only thing I wanted for my birthday was for him to get a haircut. Hahaha, if you've seen him lately you understand. Picture Bob Ross with Sawyer's face! It was ridiculous! Well, he did it! I never thought in a million years he would have, but he did! What a good boy! Then on Monday I went to my birthday lunch with my home ward ladies. I miss seeing them each week, so it was super nice to visit and catch up a little bit. On Thursday I went to lunch with Kassie (Jenni couldn't come at the last minute). As usual, I laughed way too hard with her. I'm telling you, I really had a full on birthday week! It was the best! I had a signal for most of the race, so I was getting constant birthday text from friends and family. I really am blessed with great people in my life. Thanks everyone!

Playing Uno during half time of the BSU game.

Yay for his haircut! I totally wish I had a 'before' picture!