3 Degrees of Hell, Rainbow Gardens July 8, 2017

We were up at 4 am for this race, while being the 'coolest' (102°f) it is also in full sun.  I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to that.  To keep the sun off my skin I used a cooling towel to cover my shoulders and upper back. I probably looked ravishing.

Once again the scenery is gorgeous.  The sun rose as we drove out on very quiet roads, it was so beautiful I forgot how tired I was.

My game plan is to sit in the car's AC as long as possible then stay out of the sun until the race start.  I spot Josue who I met at Jackpot earlier in the year so I had to rush out to say hello.  Josue is just an awesome human.  He works so hard and brings so much passion to running.

There's no selfie with George today because I was sheltering from the sun behind a large truck before the race started.  Sunstroke is a thing people.

The 7 milers head out then we start a few minutes after.  Since we're not uphill right away I manage to run for the first 15 minutes (then run/walk after) I'm quite excited about that.  This trail is harder packed with less gravel than yesterday, also exciting.  It's a nice rolling course with a bigger uphill to reach the turnaround/aid station.  This is where the ice lives, it is worth the climb!  Any hill causes me to get very very hot, I'm so happy to be able to douse my hat and towel in cold water before heading back out.  Ice in the hat for the win.

There's a nice downhill start for the return, and this happens!  It's the best thing in the world.  Kev agrees.

Photo credit: Triple Dare Running

It was extremely hot toward the end as the sun got more intense.  I finally saw some shade over the finish line so picked it up a little.  That's our race ambulance/mascot!  Reminded me of Slapshot.

Thanks again for the photo George!

Kev took this one, you can see George in the background taking the photo above which I think is funny.  I didn't notice either one of them.  I was busy surviving.

One of the things that really struck me about all these races is how friendly and open everyone is, so encouraging out on the course and always there cheering at the finish line.  

Kev placed 5th again!

I looked magnificent in my new headgear.

Our first stop after landing in Vegas was WalMart to find a lifesaving $10 cooler. Before each race we filled it with ice and the SCRR bandanas, extra water, nuun and these glorious things.  I can't even describe the joy of a frozen shot blok after a hot race.

It was really hard to cool down after so we hit up the car and it's AC pretty quickly.  Two down, one to go!