Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim: What I Packed and Other Misc.

Well, I’m back and I’m alive!

It was absolutely incredible and I’m sitting on my couch super sore as I write this, lol! Before I get to the amazingness that was crossing the Grand Canyon twice, I just want to relay the “boring” stuff first–what I packed, what I ate, what some of the places I visited are called, etc. Maybe it will be useful for someone planning a trip soon.

Hydration Pack

Okay, as far as what I used to stuff everything in, I used my Ultimate Hydration Wink hydration vest.

Canyon ready!

Canyon ready!

This pack is uh-mazing. I wrote about it here. It has a 70 oz reservoir which I refilled several times while I crossed.

I love this pack because it’s got a lot of room for storage and it has storage pockets in front for easy access to stuff you’ll use regularly (cell phone, gels, etc.)

What Was Inside

-Emergency card and ID
-Cash (for lemonade when we reached Phantom Ranch)
-My glasses (in case something happened to my contacts)
-Chapstick
-Hand sanitizer
-Tissue
-Sunglasses
-Jacket (rolled up when not in use and on outside of pack–see pic above)
-Phone (for pictures-there is no service down there, lol)
-Hiking poles (on outside of pack-you’d be fine w/o poles but they sure do help)

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You can see my poles on my pack here in this pic

Food

-a small orange
-two tortillas
-4 cookies
-Starburst
-a pickle (packaged)
-pretzels
-large bag of Beef Jerky
-Salt tabs
-2 gels (never used them)
-20oz Gatorade (this was on the outside of the pack where I rolled up my jacket)

I ate all of my food the first day I crossed, but had a lot left over the second as the second day goes a lot faster.

I mentioned that I refilled my reservoir several times. There are water stops along the Canyon that allows for that. It’s recommend you bring your own filter but I didn’t both times I crossed and was fine.

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You can see from the map on the left and the key on the right that there are water stops along the way.

What “R2R2R” means

Rim to rim to rim is what R2R2R stands for. It means you go from one rim of the Canyon to the other and back again. You can see there are two routes you can take coming from the South Rim–Bright Angel Trail or South Kaibab Trail.

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The first day, we went from South Kaibab Trail to North Kaibab Trail with a pit stop at Ribbon Falls and it took us roughly 11 hours. The second day, we went from North Kaibab up through Bright Angel Trail and it took us around 9 hours.

The first day is “hardest” because going up to the North Rim is brutal. The second day is difficult because going up Bright Angel Trail leaves you exposed to the sun for hours. The whole thing is an awesome sufferfest.

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We did NOT double cross on the same day, lol!

Where We Slept

There is a nice lodge/motel at the South Rim near the entrance to Bright Angel Trail. We stayed there Saturday night before we started the first day Sunday morning. The rooms were like a regular motel and very comfortable. They had a “cafeteria” type-esque place to eat with different types of food–Mexican, Pasta, Grilled.

At the North Rim, we stayed at a little cabin at the Grand Canyon Lodge. They have a restaurant where you can eat and also a smaller “deli”. We ate at the deli.

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The above picture is a lounge area where you can see the views of the Canyon. There’s also an outside deck:

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I would totally recommend visiting this place if you just want to “see” the Canyon and not actually go inside it, lol. You do have to make reservations if you want to eat in the restaurant though; the deli you can just walk in. You also don’t need to be staying at the lodge if you want to eat.

Okay, that’s enough of the “boring” stuff. I’ll whip up the awesome details/pictures of the actual crossing here in the next couple of days.

If you want a sneak peek of pics, follow my Insta 😀

Thanks for following my journey!! ❤ , helly

 

 

A-Hiking We Will Go!!!! Off to the Grand Canyon!!!!

I’ve been a little MIA from the blog-o-sphere as I’ve been life busy and life has a way of letting you know who’s boss–lest you ever think otherwise…lol!!

But this weekend, I’m off for another adventure. I did the Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim a couple of years ago with my running group and even though it was absolutely amazing, I said I’d never do it again unless my husband decided to do it.

And this year he decided.

It’s fitting that the both times we’ve EVER visited the canyon it’s to cross it both times, lol! And we’re both native Arizonans!

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The photo above depicts the routes we’ll take. The first day will be South to North Rim and then the second day will be North Rim to Bright Angel. Total amounts to around 45 miles.

We don’t plan on running but taking our time as this will be our last visit to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and we really want to enjoy it. Though a part of me would really like to do this all in ONE day someday (I know, I’m crazy), I’m really just excited to share this adventure with my husband, and if it’s really the last time I do this, I want it to be with him.

So until Friday, it’s all about packing and making sure we have everything we need. I’ll post the amazing details when I return!!

–Have you ever been to the Grand Canyon??

–What “Wonder of the World” is on your list”?? The Pyramids would be really cool. And the Great Wall of China. There’s so many!! 😀

 

 

 

Run Like A Mother 5k–Recap

After the Parent’s Mile on Saturday, I was triumphant in my win, but sick in health. I went through the day fatigued and weak and I felt I had left all I had out there in that park.

I had already been thinking about not racing the 5k. After the night trail run the weekend before, my body was sore and I just knew that I wasn’t 5k PR ready. And how I felt after the mile race, it was a done deal. I decided to run easy and give my body a break.

But as most things go with running and racing, things change last minute.

I arrived to the race early, as I was an ambassador and wanted to see if the race director needed help with anything. Everything was running smoothly so I hung out and visited the vendors in the park. They had a DJ playing upbeat music and the weather was beautiful. Perfect day for running.

As it got closer to the start, my Moms Run This Town friends arrived and we took a quick group picture. Then it was time for me to speak to the runners. The race director had asked the three ambassadors if anyone wanted to speak about being a running mom; I was the only one who said they would, lol!!!

It was in the middle of my short speech, that I saw someone waving frantically at me. It was my high school running buddy, Nadia!! I had over a month ago asked her to pace me on this 5k when at the time, I had really wanted a PR. She agreed but then we hadn’t touched base about it afterward. In fact, the night before the race, I had meant to text her but in my exhaustion, completely forgot. When I woke up, I figured since I hadn’t heard from her, that maybe she had decided not to do the 5k.

I was kinda secretly hoping that was the case.

But there she was. I knew that I shouldn’t had doubted her at all as she’s been so loyal and supportive of me for so long. It was then that I decided I owed it to her to at least give the race a shot. I knew it would be an ugly race, but I couldn’t didn’t want to let Nadia down.

We settled ourselves at the front of the pack so as to avoid as much swerving and passing. She went over the game plan–7:20’s (oh my dear Lord)–and then scolded me for racing the mile the day before. I knew she wasn’t really scolding me but I knew that I had definitely altered my chances of PRing because of it.

Then we were off! It was of no surprise to me that I instantly felt like poo. I could feel it and it just made me angry that I was letting Nadia down. Halfway into the first mile, she started pulling out the cheerleader talk: C’mon!! You got this!!

But no, I did not have it.

The first mile beeped at 7:19. That Nadia is good.

Except that was it. I just couldn’t keep the pace. I unplugged my earphone so as to hear Nadia’s directions of surging, pumping my arms, picking up my feet but nothing could make me move faster. I started mixing in Spanish with my I can’ts telling her Me estoy muriendo. I wasn’t really dying, but I sure felt like it! Mile 2- 7:40.

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Trying to keep up

We had been behind one girl the entire time, and Nadia kept trying to encourage me to pass her. I just couldn’t. Seconds later, someone came up from behind and passed me!

I was slowing down.

Snuck up from behind me and took 3rd in my AG.

I begged Nadia to let me go. I knew she could’ve won the race had I not slowed her down, had she ran the race herself.

This isn’t my race. This is yours!! Let’s go!! she yelled.

I just couldn’t. I felt awful. I felt like I’d wasted her time, like I hadn’t taken her commitment to me seriously.

The last mile-8:14.

We turned a corner leading to the finish and she was still yelling words of encouragement: You’ve got a strong kick, let’s go!!

I tried. Good heaven’s I tried, but it just wasn’t enough.

Official Time–23:55 (4th AG, 10th OA)

Four seconds from an Age Group placing, two seconds from my official 5k PR at Nick’s Run (which had been right after a 10k!), and 6 seconds from my unofficial PR at my run club’s Shamrock Shuffle.

I wasn’t upset about how close the numbers were though, because it was such an ugly race. My splits were all over, I didn’t feel strong at all, and I truly didn’t deserve any awards or a PR that morning.

It wouldn’t have even been that close had it not been for my pacer BRF ❤

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I hung out after the race for awhile as I knew quite a few moms running that morning. But then I started to really not feel good. Even worse than the day before. I excused myself from my friends and hurried home.

I ended up spending my Mother’s Day bedridden sick, my husband and I think due to dehydration and exhaustion. I was so weak. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t drink anything. All I could do was lay in bed. For two full days, I felt immobile and this morning I finally feel like a normal human being. It was just awful.

Despite my lackluster performance and debilitating state afterward, the race itself was fantastic. I can not rave more about the company Run Walk Crawl Adventures. They’re a new racing company here in the Phoenix valley and so far the races they’ve put on have been fantastic. I know a lot of people shy away from running local because they’re too small and don’t have good swag–SO not the case with these races. Sure, it’s a smaller turnout than big races, but they don’t skimp out on the fun stuff like music and entertainment. Plus, the swag for the two races I’ve done with them have been amazing. For this 5k in particular we received a tote bag, a women’s fit tech shirt, a medal, and a rose (it was Mother’s Day after all 😀 ).

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–Do you like running local?

–When was the last time you ran a less than stellar race?

I was an ambassador for this race and received a free registration, but like all things reviewed/recapped on my blog, all opinions are legit and honest.