After hitting snooze several times on Friday morning, we got up and got ready for The Big Dance. The team divvied up the food items between the two vehicles, we decorated the vans, I donned the chick apron that Val brought, and we headed to the start.
I Love This Apron
But not before getting lost on the way to the start.
Was this a bad omen? Nah.
We made it to the start with plenty of time to spare. I checked in the team (did I mention that I was a co-captain?), and picked up our packets while the team dug through the tub of Salted Nut Rolls and Shot Bloks...stuffing our bags like Augustus Gloop stuffed his cheeks with chocolate. There had to be at least 40 mini Nut Rolls in my bag when Kim handed it over.
We posed for a team picture...
The Twisted Chicks
Got our first runner ready...
Our secret: Scrunch up the bib so it moves with your body
Cheered her on when we were introduced...
Lisa...flapping her wings
And she was off. The relay was in progress. YAY!
And this is where everything became a blur. The details all run together and I have trouble remembering what time and where and how things happened. Ahhh, the joys of being awake and coffee-free for 36+ hours!
ROUND 1:
Run Start Time: 9:00am
Leg 1: Lisa ran 7.3 miles. We stopped at about the 3-mile mark and gave her some water and cheered her on.
Leg 2: Kristyn ran 7.6 miles. It was hot and sunny and she handled it like a champ.
Please...no photos...
Leg 3: Ruth ran 9.5 ridiculously hot and sweaty and sunny miles like a Rock Star.
While Ruth was running, we added a little flair to the bus...
The rarely heard version of the song
At about the half way mark we had a great surprise - van 2 stopped along the course and paid us a visit!!
At exchange 3, I ran into fellow blogger, Collin. YAY for super awesome bloggy meetups!!
And I still can't get enough of that apron
Leg 4: Melissa ran 8 miles. It was still hot and sunny. And Super Seigo was volunteering at the exchange!
Looking Goooooood!
Leg 5: Karen ran 5.4 miles. Yup. Still a scorcher.
Leg 6: I was scheduled to run 6.8 miles. Like a jackass, I forgot to put on my Garmin, so I ran for about a mile before the van caught up with me. Karen hopped out and handed over Carmen...I was So Relieved to be able to see my pace and splits. After running for about 5 miles, I came across another runner that had collaped on the side of the road. The police were there and I believe an ambulance was on the way...but it was a wakeup call to keep hydrating. My run started just before 3pm, so we were facing the mid-day heat.
Because I didn't have Carmen for the first mile-ish of the run, I didn't know exactly how far I'd gone. I was estimating that I'd ran for a mile before I started tracking my distance. When I looked down at the Garmin at the finish and saw that I'd run 6.5 miles, I knew something was up. I KNEW that I'd run farther than .3 miles before the van caught up to me. So. I'm going to estimate that I actually ran 7.6 miles.
Round One - Leg Six
Distance: 7.6 miles?
Pace: 9:45
I passed the baton to Duana...and our van was officially off duty.
Run End Time: 4:07 PM
We were hungry for "real" food, so we headed toward the next major exchange so we could hunt down a hot sandwich. But not before getting a frantic phone call from van 2 that they didn't have any race numbers. I gave their van six bibs at the start, but they'd left them in our van (we alternated so the suburban was the "on duty" vehicle on the race course so the roomier van could be used for sleeping).
The clock was ticking. We didn't have that much "off duty" time and we wanted to lay down after we ate...but we met them somewhere in their second leg and gave them some bibs. We made it to a restaurant, scarfed some food and made it to the exchange (a grassy park) with a few hours to spare. We sprawled out in the van and on the grass outside the van and tried to catch a few Zzzz's.
Project Sleep: FAIL.
We had been resting for about half an hour when I heard a suspicious tap tap tap. Tap Tap Tap Tap. TAP TAP RAIN RAIN PELT PELT PELT.
Shit.
It was raining.
We had tossed all of our bags on the grass outside the van so there would be more room to sleep...so we had to scramble to pile all of the crap back inside the van.
We were just getting settled when someone hopped out of the van to do something...and bumped the switch that turned on the dome lights. But then she couldn't figure out how to turn them off. At first we thought they'd automatically turn off with the timer, but after 5 minutes, she tried every switch in that van to get the lights to turn off. The lights were on for 20 minutes. And I was all "Stupid Fucking Shit Asshole"...and I wanted to rip that dome light into next year... Okay, so I didn't say that out loud. But I might have been thinking it. :) But really, what can you do? You just have to laugh it off. She finally found the switch (you have to turn it the other way!) and we tried again to fall asleep.
Once again: FAIL.
Before we knew it, we got the call from van 2 saying that they were on their way, so we rallied the team and headed out to the street to cheer for our team.
Sorry, dudes. Looks like you're in store for a 4-part saga. To be continued...
I Love This Apron
But not before getting lost on the way to the start.
Was this a bad omen? Nah.
We made it to the start with plenty of time to spare. I checked in the team (did I mention that I was a co-captain?), and picked up our packets while the team dug through the tub of Salted Nut Rolls and Shot Bloks...stuffing our bags like Augustus Gloop stuffed his cheeks with chocolate. There had to be at least 40 mini Nut Rolls in my bag when Kim handed it over.
We posed for a team picture...
The Twisted Chicks
Got our first runner ready...
Our secret: Scrunch up the bib so it moves with your body
Cheered her on when we were introduced...
Lisa...flapping her wings
And she was off. The relay was in progress. YAY!
And this is where everything became a blur. The details all run together and I have trouble remembering what time and where and how things happened. Ahhh, the joys of being awake and coffee-free for 36+ hours!
ROUND 1:
Run Start Time: 9:00am
Leg 1: Lisa ran 7.3 miles. We stopped at about the 3-mile mark and gave her some water and cheered her on.
Leg 2: Kristyn ran 7.6 miles. It was hot and sunny and she handled it like a champ.
Please...no photos...
Leg 3: Ruth ran 9.5 ridiculously hot and sweaty and sunny miles like a Rock Star.
While Ruth was running, we added a little flair to the bus...
The rarely heard version of the song
At about the half way mark we had a great surprise - van 2 stopped along the course and paid us a visit!!
At exchange 3, I ran into fellow blogger, Collin. YAY for super awesome bloggy meetups!!
And I still can't get enough of that apron
Leg 4: Melissa ran 8 miles. It was still hot and sunny. And Super Seigo was volunteering at the exchange!
Looking Goooooood!
Leg 5: Karen ran 5.4 miles. Yup. Still a scorcher.
Leg 6: I was scheduled to run 6.8 miles. Like a jackass, I forgot to put on my Garmin, so I ran for about a mile before the van caught up with me. Karen hopped out and handed over Carmen...I was So Relieved to be able to see my pace and splits. After running for about 5 miles, I came across another runner that had collaped on the side of the road. The police were there and I believe an ambulance was on the way...but it was a wakeup call to keep hydrating. My run started just before 3pm, so we were facing the mid-day heat.
Because I didn't have Carmen for the first mile-ish of the run, I didn't know exactly how far I'd gone. I was estimating that I'd ran for a mile before I started tracking my distance. When I looked down at the Garmin at the finish and saw that I'd run 6.5 miles, I knew something was up. I KNEW that I'd run farther than .3 miles before the van caught up to me. So. I'm going to estimate that I actually ran 7.6 miles.
Round One - Leg Six
Distance: 7.6 miles?
Pace: 9:45
I passed the baton to Duana...and our van was officially off duty.
Run End Time: 4:07 PM
We were hungry for "real" food, so we headed toward the next major exchange so we could hunt down a hot sandwich. But not before getting a frantic phone call from van 2 that they didn't have any race numbers. I gave their van six bibs at the start, but they'd left them in our van (we alternated so the suburban was the "on duty" vehicle on the race course so the roomier van could be used for sleeping).
The clock was ticking. We didn't have that much "off duty" time and we wanted to lay down after we ate...but we met them somewhere in their second leg and gave them some bibs. We made it to a restaurant, scarfed some food and made it to the exchange (a grassy park) with a few hours to spare. We sprawled out in the van and on the grass outside the van and tried to catch a few Zzzz's.
Project Sleep: FAIL.
We had been resting for about half an hour when I heard a suspicious tap tap tap. Tap Tap Tap Tap. TAP TAP RAIN RAIN PELT PELT PELT.
Shit.
It was raining.
We had tossed all of our bags on the grass outside the van so there would be more room to sleep...so we had to scramble to pile all of the crap back inside the van.
We were just getting settled when someone hopped out of the van to do something...and bumped the switch that turned on the dome lights. But then she couldn't figure out how to turn them off. At first we thought they'd automatically turn off with the timer, but after 5 minutes, she tried every switch in that van to get the lights to turn off. The lights were on for 20 minutes. And I was all "Stupid Fucking Shit Asshole"...and I wanted to rip that dome light into next year... Okay, so I didn't say that out loud. But I might have been thinking it. :) But really, what can you do? You just have to laugh it off. She finally found the switch (you have to turn it the other way!) and we tried again to fall asleep.
Once again: FAIL.
Before we knew it, we got the call from van 2 saying that they were on their way, so we rallied the team and headed out to the street to cheer for our team.
Sorry, dudes. Looks like you're in store for a 4-part saga. To be continued...
Labels: Race Reports, Relay, Running
4 Comments:
can't wait! this is better than prime time TV :)
and i missed all of this???
next year next year next year...and next year bring your 'night night eyes' aka an eye mask so you can TRY to get some sleep, dome light or not. ;)
I seriously love you, Ally.
More more! This sounds like a PARTAY!
I love that apron. Great photos!
Post a Comment
<< Home