Thursday, May 6, 2010

I Ran The Relay and Survived!!!!

Gosh that was fun catching up on everyone's blogs. Ok not *everyone* but I'm definitely catching up! I got through about a dozen today. Good thing it's kinda slow at work. ;-). Before you report me to my boss... a quick recap. Did I mention I went on a girls trip to Cancun for a week? Yes, it was blissful. It was all about relaxing in the sun, margaritas, massages and well, eating. Happy to report that I got one run in on the treadmill but that was about it. And I ambitiously packed about 3 running outfits, too. C'est la vie.

Last weekend, I ran a super duper fun relay! It was The Relay: 199 Mile Relay from Calistoga to Santa Cruz. Technically it ended in Davenport, a few miles north of Santa Cruz. I have a good story to tell about Davenport (one day)... it's about me in high school, sneaking out at 2am, getting the car key locked in, hitch hiking and somehow making it back home, etc. Anyway, back to The Relay! The distance was 199 miles broken up among 12 runners. Our team consisted of The ROHOS, Katherine, Kristen and a few others. Our team name was "That's What She Said (TWSS)" and the entire weekend's conversation ended up with someone saying "That's what she said!" Funny enough, it didn't get *that* old. I had one of the easier legs.... I was runner #2, with 13.9 miles total. More details on each of the legs here.

Aron, Maritza and Katherine have written up awesome race reports already! I just want you to know that I SURVIVED. Considering I ran maybe 30 miles total for the year before this relay, I wasn't even sure I could complete my legs!

Leg #2 (Easy) 4.7 miles - 43 min @ 9:08 pace
Leg #14 (Hard) 5 miles - 50 min @ 10:00 pace (Can we say hills?)
Leg #26 (Easy) 4.2 miles - 39 min @ 9:17 pace


Runners in order (in our van):

Runner 1: Maritza
Runner 2: Me
Runner 3: Kristen
Runner 4: Tara
Runner 5: Mark
Runner 6: Katherine

A few notable things. It was eeky hot during leg #2 and I went out way to fast! I clocked in my first mile at 8:40 min and I knew I had slow down. My second run (leg #14) was in complete darkness (can't see nada) and ran with a flashlight. But I loved it. It was eerily quiet but at the same time very serene. I wasn't the only runner out there of course. Various other runners from other teams were also out there but we were spread apart so it definitely felt like I was out there alone. But when runners passed me up or team vans drove past, I knew people weren't far from me. Not at any point did I feel scared or afraid, I never felt like I was in any kind of danger, either. My last leg was down in the backside of Stanford University and by this time at 10am it was getting to be quite hot. Again, I am so glad I had one of the easier legs. Because that course had some REALLY tough climbs!

They call this relay "California's Longest Party" for a reason and I have to say it rang  true for me. Being stuck with 5 other people in a van, showering in random places, numerous Porta-Potties and eating/sleeping at unusual hours was... REALLY FUN! Maybe it was the team, our van-mates but overall I had a really great time. And did I mention for a great cause? We raised over $800 for Organs r Us! Thank you all to those who donated!! And yes, I would totally do it again!!! But I promise, I'll train a little bit more next time around.

And now, here comes the pictures. Maritza and Aron both posted awesome YouTube photo montages on their site... These are all from my iPhone. Excuse the crappiness! Oh and one more thing, our TWSS team was sponsored by Punk Rock Racing Gear!! Thank you Ron! :-)



Maritza, our t-shirt model

 
The GIRLS of TWSS!
Van #1!


 
Maritza is SO ready!

 
The Runners!

 
Team Bonding~!

Aron anchoring us in with Tara!

Team TWSS at the finish!!!

And I'm off to Boise for the weekend!

14 comments:

  1. I am still on a high from the weekend!! It really was a party. I am so glad we were van mates! YOu also did amazing!! Those are awesome averages. I am working on my re-cap right now. :)

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  2. Nice job, looks like a total blast!

    Boise...best place to live in the US!

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  3. That just sounds like the BEST race ever and I am so pleased you're back in the blogosphere. Boise - why?

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  4. Stuar, really?????????

    Petra, I'm visiting one of my oldest friends who moved out there after she got married. Long overdue trip!!

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  5. So much fun! Looks like you're in a great place to be able to start training for NYC in a bit :)

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  6. What an amazing experience with awesome people! Definitely something I'd love to do one day!! One day ;)

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  7. I have some friends from Team Challenge that did this too! It looks so awesome! What a creative team name. haha Thats what she said! Your blog is great. Its nice to know other Nor Cal girls that run! I was just big by the running bug this year and I love it!

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  8. What the heck are you doing in Boise? LOL! *That* should be fun! (that's what she said!)

    Love your recap and next year, we're back at it! I think Ragnar is calling our names since you know, we're pros now! Hahahaha!

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  9. I was sooooo shocked when a comment from Julianne showed up on my blog the other day. Glad to see you back in blogging world.

    Cancun sounds lovely.

    The Relay looked awesome, Kristen told me all about it. For not running a whole lot, your leg times were amazing, great job! I'd need to be on a team of slow people you guys were all speedsters.

    Whatcha doing in Idaho???????

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  10. yay! it was fun hearing about the relay in person! i'm excited you will be running NYC! it will be fun to see you again!! :)

    u-da-ho! <3

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  11. SUCH a fun weekend, so glad we got to all experience the relay together <3

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  12. SOOOOOOO much fun having you in the van with us girl! You did awesome out there and I am so proud of us all for rockin' 199 miles!

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