A CCC recap to the tune of @thenational weird goodbyes because the song has legit been on repeat in my head since it dropped last Monday & because I’m weird like that 😆🤗🎶 “I’ve been going down some strange, strange water” — flying from Seattle to Amsterdam, panicking about all the ways I could die on this trip and leave Gabe without his mama before he’s even two. “My soul is stripped” — confessing my fear to my dear friend & crew captain, @alwaysrunning86, and together we talk through the ways we can minimize & manage risk. My teammate & friend @mendozarunner overhears my confession and says a prayer for me that brings me to tears. “Memorize the bathwater, Memorize the air” — running on joy with the one & only @t.jibs for the first 50k, trying to savor every second. We’re wonderstruck by the beauty of it all and the no-small-miracle that we get to be ✨here✨ together. “Move forward now” — watching with pride & joy as Tara moves further & further ahead while my own pace slows. We share one last hug at 53k, pulsing with gratitude & excitement for the miles shared & the adventure ahead, knowing it’s time to go our separate ways. “I’m feeling sacred” — climbing out of the woods, witnessing the sweeping valley below. I’m pulling over to admire the view and a rainbow appears. A person runs past with fists in the air calling out “be brave!” “It’s crazy the things we let go of” — descending into the valley as the sky glows cotton candy pink, blowing gabe and abby a final kiss before the colors fade. “The radio’s painful” — hearing a baby crying in the pitch dark, thinking of my own back home asking for mama when he wakes up in the morning. “I’m on a shoulder of lemon fields” — cheering for @justin_grunewald as he runs down the homestretch of his race, having moved up from mid-30s to 12th, knowing he must have found (felt) whatever it was he needed to find (feel) out there. ✨ “The grief it gets me” in much the same way that a best friend just gets you. Even after all these years together, we can still surprise each other; “I didn’t know how sad it’d be” — and I didn’t know how beautiful it’d be either. Allez allez! 🙏🏼💖✨