WARNING:
Way long race report! The abridged edition is this:
The race was AWESOME
PERFECT company
TONS OF FUN!!!!
First off, let me say that I have never ran a relay before and I LOVED IT!!!! I am certain what made this race so much fun was the girls (Smooth, Kathie, Kimmie, Mom of Kathie and Kimmie, and Marcie) and Andy!! I am just going to cut to the chase because midterms have begun and I am so so so so so behind!!!! OUCH!!!!
Smooth ran legs 2 and 7 and was absolutely AMAZING!!! She had 12 or 13 road kills on her first leg alone! I LOVE the time I spend with her. She is fun, laughter, dynamite and inspiration all bottled up in a little body! Thanks SSF for being my SSF!!!!
Kathie ran legs 3 and 8. WOW -- leg eight was a killer and she impressed us all. She was the greatest Team Captain with her cute binder full of directions, instructions, etc. I hope she allows me to be on her team over and over and over again! And ... who would ever believe that she is a grandma??? She looks AWESOME!!!!
Kimmie ran legs 1 and 6 and just plain cracks me up. In fact, it is impossible not to be laughing incessantly when her and Kathie are together. It is a riot!!! Then add Mom in the mix. FUN FUN FUN!!!
Marcie ran legs 4 and 9. Where to begin? 55 marathons and she looks like she is mid-30s, and yet she is 44!!!! She had the toughest leg by far and I bow to her greatness. Her asthma was acting up yet she charged up a 6 or 7% grade dirt hill (which seemed endless)!! Amazing!
As for me, I ran legs 5 and 10. Could not have worked out better since Ry came with me and our condo was literally 2 minutes away from the start of my leg. SO ... I was able to sleep in and meet everyone there. I got there early because Ry had a tee time. Worked out perfectly because I was able to see the leading runners come in to that exchange and spend a little time chatting with Andy. I was so excited to see him take off. Despite what his race report says, he looked AWESOME!!!
Leg 5 - 5.5 miles, AP somewhere between 7:19 and 7:22 (my watch is a little messed up).
** Started way too fast (first mile came in and 6:58 and I knew I would pay for that later -- STINK!!) The goal the whole time was to not get passed and pass at least one man. Ended up passing 2 women and 3 men. Could have passed another but thought I was running 6 miles, not just 5.5 and was finished before I was ready. STINK again! Oh well, that actually probably saved me by allowing me to have some reserves for my other leg. (There was one hill on this leg that was one mile long ... I kept pretending that I was Kelli in hopes of surviving. It must have worked.)
Leg 10 - 4.9 miles, AP somewhere between 7:24 and 7:27.
** Had been texting Andy (who ran my same legs) so was forewarned of the headwind. First couple miles weren't awful because it was more of a crosswind. Probably ran the steeper uphill portion a little too fast but was feeling much better than I thought I would be and was actually enjoying the run!!! Was pleasantly surprised to see the gals a couple miles into it wanting to know if I needed water. I passed on the fluids but soaked up all the cheers and encouragement. Miles 3 and 4 were tough for me. Saw Andy and Smooth with 2.2 miles to go. That helped a ton!!! But man ... seriously, seeing the finish line with that much further to go is torture! That fourth mile about did me in. I have never ran in a headwind like that while trying to run fast. BRUTAL!!!! I could taste the sand and feel its grit in my gum and it was pelting my legs. I just put my head down a bit and kept thinking about the tail wind I would get that final mile. All the girls ran in with me --- I can't describe the happiness and energy that gave me!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
Anyway ... I had planned on keeping this race report short, but totally failed!!! Too many good memories!!!! :)
Race was over and we realized we had taken 6th place in the all female teams!! WOW!!!! We weren't expecting that. Cool (especially considering that the average age in our group was over 40!!!! I was the baby)!!! The girls then dropped me off at the golf course where Ry was golfing before they headed home. Ry said it would still be roughly another 30 minutes. So I ran 4 more miles (AP: 8:30).
OKAY ... I am so so so far behind (two more midterms - one on Thursday and the other on Friday and one assignment, two projects, and a quiz). STINK!!! So, I best hit the books!!
Here's to a great upcoming week everyone!!!! :)
(Btw, I wasn't very good at cutting to the chase, huh???)
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