SATURDAY, JULY 25th - 2:34AM
Sitting on the edge of a picnic table in the dead of night, listening to everything, but hearing nothing except my inner dialogue repeating on a loop, “This is insane,” I watched the minutes tick by on my watch as my friend Heidi writhed and grunted on the muddy grass five feet away from me.
Heidi was over twenty-eight hours into her thirty-six hour bike quest, she was spent, this being the only moment she begged to close her eyes the entire time since the race began at 10P Thursday night. I wished I could ride those last hours for her, instead I watched her lay on the ground, prayed that her body and mind absorbed the rest it craved, and that she wouldn’t hate me forever when I wrestled her from her slumber after I saw the final minute of her coach approved twenty-five minute nap pass on my watch, (actually, Mary approved a 20-minute nap, I slipped in the extra 5 minutes, shh). She was so close to reaching her goal, yet hours of pedaling the ten mile-looped course still lay in her path toward the finish.
Heidi had already reached and surpassed super-hero status hours before having ridden 370 miles by 2:30A, but her goal was 450 in 36 hours, which meant there was still much more time left on the clock until the race officially finished at 10A. All I wanted to do was help, that was my purpose for being there, but at that early hour of the morning helping Heidi meant not trying to ease her exhaustion, or reveal my gut-squeezing compassion and yell out, "Surrender!" Rather it was to give her the confidence she needed to finish how she wanted to. Therefore, I kept my focus of boosting her spirits by quipping jokes, and rattling off positive affirmations, believing she would rally, climb back onto her bike and keep riding.
“Heidi, it’s time to wake up.”
Heidi rode in support of fallen police officers from her town of Sedona, AZ, and all across the country.
PRESENT DAY -
Hi All,
I hope that little teaser whet your appetite enough to come back this Thursday when I will post my ENTIRE 36-Hour crew adventure at the Washington Island Ultra Relay. Honestly, I have A LOT left to write, (I traveled home yesterday), and I want to finish the mini-movie I shot from the race, (it’s very close), and post them concurrently, but I don’t want to rush either. That said, I appreciate your patience, and I hope you will check back in on Thursday when both items will be ready for your reading and viewing enrichment.
Sincerely,
Taryn
P.S. In the meantime, please enjoy this vibrant new tune and video from once of Heidi’s favorite artists.:)