Holy frickin cow… the experience of a lifetime!!!!! i had no idea what i was getting into and certainly didn’t have it as a goal in life. in fact, i thought we were hiking to the north rim one day and back to the south rim the next (challenging enough in and of itself… particularly considering i’ve run more than an hour maybe twice in the last two months)... until i learned when we were talking with a friend two or three weeks ago that my love’s goal for years had been to do rim to rim to rim and our goal was actually to go the full way in one day. for the rest of that time, until we got to the canyon, i was nervous. would i turn an ankle? would my knees crash? would my hamstring (which of course developed a phantom pain a week before we left) prevent me from going any further?
our trip down was a kick. we were in sync from the very beginning. carefree timelessness to talk about everything or nothing, and it all felt so relaxed. and then we met the bus crew… we were definitely about 30 years below the average age. how cool that barb and tom assemble this group every year! one guy was going to run both ways. one guy was going rim to rim to rim in one day. we decided to hang out with him.
looking at the canyon on thursday night was humbling. as we stood there in our running clothes (as we had ditched everything else in barb’s room or the bus) and thought about what we were about to do, i felt excitement… you know, maybe it’s my rosy remembrance, but i only remember excitement, not doubt. of course, i thought we were just going down and up, but i realized much later that we actually went deep into the north rim -- about 10 miles -- before going up. CRAZY!! i was filled with excitement and anticipation. okay, a little nervousness.
morning of was all fired up. so cool to be out there in our headlamps and no one or nothing else! just steep cliffs, the dark, my love and her light in front of me and the slight outlines of rims in the distance as the sun started to rise. so cool to watch her kick butt in the distance. i felt strong, happy, alive, so so thankful to have this opportunity. my love moved faster than i could. i had to watch every step, knowing my propensity to step on things and turn my ankle. but, as the sun came up and the headlamps became unnecessary and the steep edges subsided and the grade lessened, i eased into a comfortable jog that made me feel invincible. seeing the water down below. whoa. humbling and thrilling. there are no words that can describe this experience.
actually, i can’t really recount it all. we ran for a long time… through beauty, having conversation, having fun, feeling really really great. i did turn my ankle once, but the pain/discomfort wasn’t bad at all and eventually went away. phew! i took it as a warning that i needed to pay HUGE attention to every step.
seriously, i can’t describe the feeling, but i can say a few things. i never doubted us for a second. we paused to consider the sanity of our adventure when it started snowing on the north rim, but once we left there (and prior to that), i had complete confidence in us. even as we were running back from the north to the south along the floor with driving rain in tough headwinds and dwindling strength in my legs, i knew we’d get it done. that kind of accomplishment does something internally. i feel so alive, so accomplished, so strong, so thankful, so in love… many of which i feel frequently, but at a different level for a different reason. the canyon is magical and incredibly humbling. you look back out over it in total disbelief. and appreciation. this had been a goal of my love’s for years. the drive to help her accomplish it was on fire in me. i loved the time we spent together, the teamwork we shared, the giggles, the conversations, the quiet. every frickin piece of it. i’d be happy to ride this adventure forever… but i think it will inspire us to just create more similar (although this was an unmatchable one) adventures.
no words can truly do this justice