We found a nice spot for lunch - I didn't give into the temptation to join Joann and Dan S in having a beverage - grabbed some ice for the coolers and headed up to exchange 12. After a failed attempt to nap and a trip across the street to Burger King to change (and for a milkshake), it was time for our van to start thinking about getting ready... off to wait for Rachael (still feeling sick, but she did it!). Nobody from our van was actually running yet - Nina had agreed to do an extra leg for our van and was going to be running next. We cheered and then headed off to the next exchange to get Cindy ready for her leg. We had a shortage of nighttime equipment, so we scrambled to get her set since we were approaching nighttime hours (6:30 PM), but were able to get everything set in time to greet Nina (hard leg for her) and send Cindy off. Van #1 was officially at it again...
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| Misha, Cindy, Jen, Dan S, Joann, Dan C, Heidi (hiding) |
Leg 16 - 7.9 Miles - Very Hard
It was starting to get dark as we greeted Cindy and Dan C set off. I was next... the dreaded 8 miler... how in the world was I going to do this?! I really had no idea. Port-o-Potty in the dark, now *that* was fun (thank goodness for the headlamp), and then we only had to wait a few minutes for Dan who finished faster than expected. Holy crap, it's my turn! I ran across the street to grab the bracelet from Dan, which was a particular shade of nasty at this point from all the sweat, and I was off.
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| Can you tell how nervous I was? |
This leg had one turn at the beginning and then was just about 8 miles of a straight shot down the road. Up a long hill, which I would've complained about, but was nowhere near as steep as what Heidi and Cori encountered... down a hill, up a hill, wash, rinse repeat... I was in complete darkness and freaked out every time I heard something in the woods or the one time I almost stepped on a huge raccoon... I think it was dead? Then it started raining. Just a drizzle, so not so bad, but it steadily increased as I went on. I saw my van crew twice again... it really helped break up the run.
OK, so now it's dark.. and raining.. and getting cold.. what had I gotten myself - and 12 of my friends - into?! There were long stretches of road where I didn't see anyone, except the occasional oncoming car that I hoped wouldn't slip and veer into the shoulder of the road I was running on, given the slick conditions. From time to time, a runner would pass me, and was always so encouraging.. but then they'd disappear into the darkness ahead. Holy shit balls, was this ever going to end? At one point, I was running through a town with random drunks walking around on the street, and I realized these were areas that I wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone in during the daytime hours! Finally, the "one more mile" sign and I knew I'd be able to continue the intervals (which for me is a big deal.. the idea of walking the whole thing occurred to me more than once). It was really pouring at this point so there weren't many people in the exchange. Even though she was only one of 3 people, I didn't even see Heidi until she announced herself... I handed off the bracelet and watched her head out into the night. I did it, the dreaded leg was over... so freaking relieved.
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| Managed to keep up with 2:2 run to walk ratio :-) |
As I hobbled back to the van I noticed all kinds of things on my body were hurting. I climbed into the back seat of the van (the requirement for the runner who just finished) and just sat there for awhile, cold and wet but happy that was over. I changed en route as we stopped to cheer for Heidi, and I could barely climb out of the van when we arrived at the next exchange. There was a pizza shop there that Joann and Dan S stopped in for a snack, but I just was not hungry at all and couldn't find an appetite. We stood in the rain as Heidi ran in and sent Misha off... this was the last leg before a much-needed nap. We were all exhausted.
It did clear up for a bit of Misha's leg, but was pouring again as we got to the next major exchange, so we didn't really see much of Van #2, and only got a quick glimpse of Ingrid as she ran out to meet Misha for the exchange. We went looking for bathrooms which were closed for cleaning. How convenient, no matter, we will just go to the next exchange for bathrooms and naps. This brings us to Exchange 18.
Not much positive to say about exchange 18. No bathrooms. No insides. Still raining. Joann, Misha and I opted for a group of trees for our pee break versus walking a quarter mile down the path to hopefully find some port-o-potties. Time to get some shut-eye... except it's real stuffy in the van and we can't keep the door open without keeping the light on. Then the smell starts permeating the van. We had a rule that as you finish a run, you change and put your sweaty, dirty clothes into a Ziploc bag to contain the smell, only someone (ahem.. Cindy - love you!) failed to adhere to this rule. Neither Joann nor I got one wink of sleep (ok, maybe ONE wink), tried walking around a bit... my knee hurt pretty bad at this point (I think I was running odd b/c of my injured foot) and I wasn't sure how I was even going to do 3.3 miles the next morning? Ugh, time could not pass quick enough to get away from exchange 18. Finally it was daybreak (and it stopped raining) and time for Dan C to head to the exchange point (about half mile away!) and for me to start looking for Rachael (she looked much better this leg). Van #1 was off for our final legs of the relay!
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| Rachael, Tommy, Deb, Cori, Cindy, Jen, Nina |
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