Gansett Half Marathon

I swear, this sounded like a good idea when we all signed up!  Heidi W needed to find a race in Rhode Island (on her way to all 50 states).  It had been awhile since I'd been to visit Heidi T and she agreed to the fall race also.  It was mid-summer when we registered but planned on a nice crisp fall day come late November in New England.  Wrong.  I joined Heidi W for a few long runs, but ran into some achilles pain in one of our last training sessions and we ended up taking uber back to our cars (part b/c of my achilles... part b/c we mis-judged the circumference of the lake...would have been over 20 miles!).  This meant my last meaningful run was a full month before the race.  Then I made the rookie mistake of taking brand new running shoes out of the box and putting them in my weekend bag without even trying them on.  Bad idea.

The weekend started out well enough.  I had an uneventful flight into Providence and hung out with Heidi T for a low key afternoon and evening.  Heidi W arrived Saturday and we did the trip to packet pick-up, ate the most amazing pretzels in Westerly (yep, if the afternoon snack makes it into my blog, you know it's good!) and got ourselves ready for the event.  A 10am start meant no early alarm clocks - yay!

Race morning, we lined up at the back of the pack and were literally the last people to cross the start line.  It was a position I would be well familiar with for the entire race, less a couple minutes here and there.  Heidi T went ahead to semi-join her pace group and Heidi W decided to run the first mile with me.  I jogged most of that first mile until the right turn which I knew was a pretty big hill based on our driving course preview the day before.  I have a pretty fast walk though and stayed with Heidi. 

We noticed the sweeper cyclist right behind us - like literally right on our heels - and Heidi asked him if he intended to stay that way the entire course.  "Yes, unless somebody else falls behind you" - Ugh.

When we made it to the top of the hill, which was a little longer than I had thought it would be, Heidi decided to pick up her pace a bit.  That left me all alone with the cyclist who was still maintaining less than a car length of space between us.  He was also announcing, rather loudly, to each volunteer that I passed, "this is the last runner, you can finally go home..." -- umm, I can hear you!!  There were a handful of people I could see in front of me and my goal was to keep pace with them and not fall too far behind.  I spotted Heidi T on the first out-and-back portion and she seemed to be running at a pretty good pace.  I kept trucking along, jogging and walking, not in any particular interval set.  We were on the shaded part of the course and I was trying to enjoy it....for a late October day in Rhode Island, it was pretty hot!

I was getting a little [more] irritated with the cyclist right on my ass, so when we got to the downhill section, I let gravity take over and picked up my speed.  I passed about 3 people and was feeling pretty happy to have finally lost my escort.  We made the turn onto Ocean Drive and I knew I had to try to keep up a slightly faster pace because these people were not too far behind me and could easily catch up and pass me again.  Normally I don't care about my position in a race, but that cyclist was so annoying!  Of course, about a mile later I heard the familiar sound of tires on gravel right behind me... "You really picked up some speed and passed a bunch of people......but they all dropped out so now I'm with you again".  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! 

Hard to see but the cyclist is in this photo!  He's so close to me it looks like I'm the one wearing a bike helmet!

The cyclist also mentioned that I was doing OK with my pace and was likely ahead of the cut-off limit.  Uhh... the cut-off limit???  I had scoured the website before signing up (like I always do) and never found anything indicating a time limit.  I was at a 14:30(ish)/mile pace and wasn't super concerned, but I was less than halfway and the fact that he mentioned a limit made me nervous.  He told me that his direction was that anybody not at mile 10 at 2:45:00 would not make it.... oh.... ok..... no problem.  Why did he even bring it up?  I was WAY ahead of that limit.  What's weird was that he kept mentioning it, which made me glance at my watch a lot more than I'm used to.  At one point, a volunteer started jogging with me telling me she was going to help get me through the upcoming intersection.  It seemed super nice, but the sense of hurriedness that everyone imparted on me was concerning.

I made it to the turn-around and saw Heidi W.  I was last by a decent margin so I didn't feel bad taking extra water at all the water stops.  Heading into the halfway point, I realized I had not taken in any salt or nutrition.. D'oh!  Stupid, stupid, especially considering how warm it was.  I grabbed the gel out of my race belt and chugged it, but it was probably too little too late.  My hands were really swollen already with about 6 miles left to go...and it was getting hotter.  There was plenty water on hand at all the water stops, but I do wish there had been some Gatorade or other non-water option.  I heard later that there had been something, but they must have run out by the time I made my way through.

My calves started cramping up pretty bad whenever I was jogging, and my left achilles was really bothering me, so by mile 8 I decided to [speed] walk the rest of the way.  One volunteer actually told my cycling escort that he didn't need to stay with me, that there were a bunch of people walking just ahead of me and it was fine for him to go see how they were doing also.  So he went ahead, chatted with the person about 50 yards in front of me for a min... and then came right back to me!  Seriously.  I actually worked my way past another woman, but wouldn't you know...she ended up dropping out also.  The cyclist kept telling me to try to catch the man up ahead so at least I wouldn't be the last person, except my position among other people couldn't have been further than anything I cared about. 

At mile 10, I took out my phone and my hands were so swollen that I could barely operate it to send Heidi T my pace, so she'd have an idea of when to expect me to finish.  I remembered I had my salt tube, and shortly after a volunteer came driving by offering us BOP'ers a full bottle of water which I used to wash it down.  The mile markers actually seemed to come and go pretty fast, and it probably helped that the race had half mile markers for ever mile.  I really thought it would be more windy along the coast, but the sun was burning down on the back of my neck and I wanted to be done.  I finally gave in and started up a conversation with my cycling buddy.  My pace slowed down considerably, but I did enjoy the company to get me through that final part.  Turns out he is a swimmer and thinking about doing the Save the Bay swim next summer.  

So happy to be finishing... and there's Heidi W in the green shirt, proof that she was actually there!

Finally I was at the seawall which indicated the final mile of the course.  There were a bunch of cars parked and I wasn't sure if I should hop on the sidewalk or stay in the road...but there were a lot of pedestrians on the sidewalk and the racer (I use that term loosely) in front of me - who had his own volunteer escort - stayed in the road, so I did too, even though there were a bunch of cars passing us.  I was hot and swollen and very uncomfortable.  Heidi T popped out from behind the parked cars and kept me company for the final part.  There were actually a bunch of people at the finish line cheering which was quite impressive, especially for a smaller race.  I'm used to desolate finish lines... it was nice.  And I was done!  Yay!

This is Heidi T's medal and her photo that I stole cause I think it looks really cool

The Heidi's and I made our way over to a bench so I could rest for a minute.  Both big toes were extremely bruised thanks to my poor shoe decision.  Sitting was probably a bad idea though... when we stood up, the hot spots on my feet made for very painful steps.  Heidi T offered to go get the car, and Heidi W gladly volunteered to wait with me.  A shower, lunch and lounging around were on the agenda for the rest of the day.  It was an early bedtime, and Heidi W and I had an early flight (4:15AM alarm!) home...straight to work and back to reality. 

Mother's Day 4-Miler

Sarah and I bought a race package through =PR= running this year, and this is one of the races we decided to do as part of that.  I had mixed feelings as my schedule started filling up.  The two sunday prior were the North Face 10K and the Nanticoke River Swim, the weekend after is swim camp, and then the next 2 weekends are another open water practice race and the bay swim.  That's literally every single Sunday booked for awhile.  But, we had already signed up for this and I'd already bailed on the St. Patrick's Day 5K we were supposed to do, so I sucked it up.

I arrived at the park pretty early and got a good parking spot, or so I thought.  It was a half mile walk to the start line area to grab my bib number and t-shirt, a half mile walk back to the car to drop off the shirt and text Sarah, and then another half mile walk back to the start area.  Geez!

I'd told Sarah that I'd meet her and Dave at the 12-13 min/mile pace sign that they'd set up.  Interesting that it was the slowest category they had??  Sarah and Dave arrived and after a potty stop and a "before" picture, we were ready to go.  It didn't seem like a large event, but given that it was a mother's day targeted race, I expected that there would be slower folks, including all the kids and strollers (ugh.. I hate stroller races!).

We started and Sarah immediately moved up to stick with the faster runners.  Dave and I were together for a hot second before all the strollers started weaving in and out and we got separated.  I knew that the first half mile or so was a long uphill.  I was jogging and considered walking the hill, but somehow - not sure why - I decided to keep jogging.  I made it up the hill and turned the corner and soon was at the first mile marker.  Wow, I'd run a whole mile!  It's been awhile since I've done that.

I kept on jogging, albeit slowly, but jogging.  I wasn't sure how long I would keep that up and didn't eliminate the possibility of walking in my mind.  I made my way to the second mile marker and soon after the only water stop on the course.  I did stop and walk to grab my cup and drink the water, but got right back into my jog.  I still wasn't sure how far I'd jog or even if that was my goal, but I stayed with it.

When I got to the 3rd mile marker without taking a walk break (other than the water stop), I decided I wanted to see if I could make it the whole 4 miles.  I mean it was only one more mile now!  Of course, no sooner did I create this goal for myself than we rounded a corner and there was another long uphill.  I wasn't prepared to give up though so I plugged along and the reward for making it up that hill was the final downhill stretch back to the park. 

Towards the bottom of the hill, I heard a pidder padder coming up behind me and a second later, Dave appeared.  Just 0.15 miles to go, although that final stretch was another uphill.  I wasn't about to start walking now so I chugged along and crossed the finish line where Sarah was waiting for us.  I was so proud of myself - 4 miles without a walk break?!  I can't even remember the last time I did that!

We grabbed some water, took our "after" photo, and headed to brunch.  Not a bad way to start the day!

North Face Endurance 10K

For the 2nd weekend day in a row, my alarm clock went off at 5:20am.  They day before I had to wake up early to drive down to Luray for a practice open water swim as part of the bay swim training.  I haven't had a weekend like this with back-to-back early workout days since Ironman training!

Me, Lacey and Jessie before getting on the shuttles!

I made the drive out to Loudoun County and met up with Lacey, Jessie and Mindy before catching the shuttles to our various races.  Lacey and I were doing the 10K and Jessie and Mindy were doing the half marathon, which started in a different location, but we would all end up at the same finish line.  Between the shuttle ride, picking up my packet and shirt, dropping off my bag at bag check, and using the bathrooms, we didn't have much time to get bored before lining up for the start.  Lacey was wave #3 and I was wave #5 but they seemed pretty relaxed about the whole thing so I went ahead and started with Lacey.

Lacey, Mindy and me

Of course, Lacey and I only stayed together for about a quarter of a mile as we ran through the grass around the field.  This was the same course as the North Face Marathon Relay that I did last year, but luckily not *quite* as muddy.  I jogged the entire field portion, a little less than a mile, before giving myself a walk break.  I did my normal run when I can, walk when I need/want to routine as I went through the golf course, onto the wide path and crossed a couple bridges. 

When I got into the trail section, I saw the leaders returning from the out and back course.  I decided to jog until I saw Lacey.  This was mostly single track, so everyone was running single file, and it was a little hard to run past everyone going the other direction.  Everyone was so freaking nice, cheering me on, giving me high-fives.  It was to the point that I thought maybe they felt sorry for me being so far in the back.  I glanced around and was happy to see that there was a steady stream of people behind me also. Phew.  Then I saw Lacey, gave her a high five, and rewarded myself with another walk break. 

Lacey and I finished the 10K!

The sections back in the woods were really nice and scenic.  A girl passed me about halfway through the run, and I managed to keep up with her for the second half of the race.  We leap frogged each other and it was nice to have the motivation to keep going.  I was in the last mile or so when the lead half marathon runner passed me.  Luckily we were back on the wide trail by then and he was able to pass easily.  Back through the golf course, and I was almost done!  I started running just before the 6 mile marker and jogged my way into the finish, thankful I hadn't decided to sign up for a longer distance race as I had been tempted to when Mindy and Jessie sent out the link.

Mindy and Jessie after the half marathon finish!

I got some water, met up with Lacey and got my bag.  We walked around for a little while before Lacey had to head out to make it up to Philly for work.  I hung around for awhile and cheered in the half marathoners, waiting for Jessie and Mindy.  Then it was off to Joann's house for a shower and a day of lounging around on her back deck.

Albuquerque Half Marathon

Going into my 3rd week of travel in a row, I flew into Albuquerque, arriving around noon on Friday.  Deb picked me up and we went straight to packet pickup after checking into the hotel.  We had a quiet evening and got to bed pretty early.

When I woke up - well before my alarm, thanks to the time zone change - 13.1 miles was seriously the last thing I wanted to do.  I got up though, got dressed and ate some breakfast at the hotel.  We drove to the race start, still dreading what was to come.

Did I mentioned I hadn't really trained?  I've been doing Orangetheory which includes a good amount of time on the treadmill, but that's about it.  I've really been focusing on swim training for the Bay Swim that's coming up.

Once the race started, I got into an easy jog and trudged along.  This was a really small race, much smaller than I had anticipated, and suddenly thoughts of being DFL (dead f'ing last) popped into my mind.  I glanced around and noticed a few others going a similar pace, some slightly faster and some slightly slower.  I actually wish I had a pocket or something to carry my phone because the course was really pretty and I would have liked to capture a photo or two.

I really do love traveling for races like this because it's such a good way to see new places.  The race took us all through Albuquerque, over the Rio Grande River, through some fields and a bunch of interesting neighborhoods.  I jogged when I could walked when I wanted to.  A few times I would spot somebody ahead of me and make a concerted effort to catch up.  Eventually there were 5 of us, pretty well spaced out, bringing up the rear (though I *know* there were more people behind me and think they turned off a the 10K race for a quicker route to the finish).  We kept plugging along, all of us in a solid walk by this point, ticking off the miles one at a time.

Finally, I was in the service road leading up to the finish.  The time limit for the race was 3.5 hours and I jogged across the finish line with 15 seconds to spare!  Though, they did let the woman behind me finish as well.  Then there was the LONG walk to the shuttle bus back to the car.  And when I say long... I mean a full mile.  My legs did not like that!  But we did it, albeit with some chaffing...

We rewarded ourselves with a massage that afternoon, dinner in downtown Albuquerque and then had another early evening.  Facials were on tap for Sunday morning, and we enjoyed a nice dip in the hot tub at the spa before heading out on a little hike at the Petroglyph National Monument. 

And then you know I can't visit a new state without visiting a local winery!  A busy day for sure, and I slept well before the long travel day home.  Phew... This ended 3 straight weekends of travel and I was happy to be back in my own bed!

Hot Cider Hustle 10K

It's been awhile since I've laced up a pair of running shoes, but an advertisement for the Hot Cider Hustle on facebook caught my attention, mostly because of the free hoodie promised to all registrants.  I sent out an email and actually got some interest from a few friends, and so I signed up.  The race offered a 5K, 10K and 15K, and I optimistically registered for the 10K, along with Sarah and Paula, while Dan, Sloan, Regal and Dave all signed up for the 5K.  I was excited for the group event, and more importantly, the post-race brunch that was sure to follow.

Orange theory!  I'm just to the right of the instructor who's holding the sign.

Now, when I say it's been awhile since I've put on my running shoes, I don't mean it's been a few weeks, or even a month.  I mean I cannot remember the last time I went out for a run!  Literally, I have been on the couch for months, from taking a break after Ironman to dealing with some back issues and life getting in the way.  Recently, I signed up for orange theory, a kind of interval training class where you spend time on the treadmill, the rower and floor strength exercises.  I do that twice a week, so those 20-25min sessions on the treadmill are the only run/walk training I have had lately.

It was a little chilly race morning and I felt that I had dressed inappropriately for the weather.  Sarah even said she had to scrape frost off her windshield - yikes!  I drove to RFK stadium and was forced to park a half mile away thanks to my lack of cash and the $15 parking fee (only one lot allowed credit cards).  I made a mental note to count the extra mile round trip as calories burned - that means one extra breakfast riesling!

Teammates Stacy and Beth (who you'll remember from the SwimFest).

I picked up my race number and free hoodie, and it didn't take long to find Sloan and Regal.  I also ran into a couple Team Z-mates and we hung out for a bit.  Sarah and Dave, and eventually Paula met up with us, though there was still no word from Dan...hmm...

Me, Regal, Sloan's dad (who got 2nd place age group!), Sloan, Dave and Sarah

We were off!  I'm not sure where the rest of our crew was in the photo below, but us three girls started off together.  It didn't take Sarah long to separate herself from us though, and then it was just Paula and I chugging along.  We ran about 0.8 mile before suggesting that we take a walk break.  The course went around the perimeter of RFK stadium, and was only marked with orange cones.  At one point we noticed that the crowds in front of us were cutting off a huge portion of the course as the cones were way to our left.  We came to get in the full 6.2 (or at least 3.1) miles, and decided to run along the cones.  A quick glance behind us and we noticed that a ton of people followed our lead - go us!

Paula and I didn't have any set run and walk intervals, so we made little goals for ourselves... OK, let's start running at that big tree and see if we can make it all the way to the water stop... Now, we'll run to the underpass but only until we get to that person sitting on a chair cheering... It worked.  As we came upon the finish line, we had both already determined that we were going to do the full 10K that we had signed up for.  After all, we were going to brunch and wanted to burn those extra calories!  We saw Sloan and Regal cheering as they had already finished their 5K, and we fought the temptation to run across the finish line and instead plodded our way to the turn around for the second half of our race.

The second half was much like the first, making small run and walk goals for ourselves.  We passed Sarah as she was heading into her final mile, and I realized my clothing choices were perfect, I was never too hot or too cold.  Paula and I kept at it and slowly made our way past the water stop and on our way to the finish.  I love that Paula and I are similar paces and I had a run buddy for the entire race.  We crossed the finish line, gave each other a high five, met back up with Sarah and Dave, and collected our mug and cider.

Dan never made it to the race, but he did join us for brunch before I went home and collapsed on the couch for the remainder of the day.  My body reminded me of just how little I had trained, and I realized Sunday morning that signing up for an orange theory class the day after the race was probably not my best idea.  But.. I got through it, and proud of myself for having such an active weekend.

Celebrate Fairfax 5K

A couple months ago, my friend, Sarah, told me she'd like to try a 5K.  She's never run more than a mile in her life, but after coming to support me at Ironman last fall, felt inspired.  Awesome!  So, we looked at our schedules and decided to do the Celebrate Fairfax 5K.

We agreed to meet at 7:15 to pick up our packets and get ready for the 8am start.  I should've been a little more thourough in reading the race instructions because first I drove to the wrong site - I assumed the race started and ended at Fairfax Corner, but nope!  It was all at the Fairfax Government Center.  Oops!  Then, because of the festival that's going on all weekend, there was no parking allowed at the race site.  Instead, we had to park at least half mile away.  All of this was very clearly indicated in the pre-race communication email that was sent out, if only I would've read that!  But alas, we both got to the race site with plenty of time to spare to grab our race packets, use the bathroom and take a few pre-race pictures.

As the race started, Sarah told me she wanted to aim to keep around a 12-13 min per mile pace.  I told her I would stay with her, but not to feel like she had to stay with me if she wanted to go ahead.  We ran the first mile and a half (maybe a little less) together right around a 11:50 pace, and then we got to a long uphill that I decided to walk.  I sent her ahead and she later told me she was able to hold that pace for the entire race, stopping only to walk a small amount at the final hill.

Meanwhile, I fell into my normal "run when I can, walk when I want to" rhythm and felt pretty decent except for the super hot sun that was already burning down.  There were very few areas of shade on the course.  I haven't been training much, esp since my pain management doctor told me I need to ease off the running for a bit, so I forgave myself for letting my pace slip to 14 min miles towards the end.  

I did find some energy as I approached the finish line and was challenged by the girl next to me in that photo to really push it at the end.  I immediately grabbed some cold water and headed to the shade to rest for a minute.  Other than the heat, it was a great event and Sarah did awesome!  In fact, I think she's hooked and is already asking when we can do another

We sat for a min and then made the long walk back to our cars and drove over to Silver Diner for breakfast. Then it was home for a shower and nap!

Hard Cider Run 5K

I'm not sure what he was looking for, but Jon found this race about a month ago and suggested we do it.  5K.. sure!  At a cidery?  yes please!  And Jon is going to actually participate?  Absolutely!  Even better was that you can pick your wave start, and we picked 10:10am which means we didn't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get to Charlottesville super early (though Jon might argue that leaving at 7am *does* mark the crack of dawn).

That's the white ceiling of U-Hall (old basketball arena) in the distance...
That's where we pick up the shuttle after standing in this long line!

This was a trail run and there was rain in the forecast accompanied by concern that there would be a ton of mud.  Not to worry, I still have my dirty shoes from the North Face relay a couple weeks ago!  But, despite a few sections of rain on our drive down, it stayed pretty dry.  We arrived at the new UVA basketball arena around 9am where we were to pick up the shuttle over to the cidery.  They told us to allow about 15 min for the shuttle ride.  Factoring in that time, plus time to pick up our packets, check a bag, blah blah... we figured we were in good shape.

Nope!  Over an hour in that dang line to get to the shuttle - and I really think the reason we made the most forward movement in that line is because people bailed and found other rides.  We didn't even get on the shuttle until 10:15, 5 min after our wave was supposed to start.  Of course everybody else was in the same situation and they assured us we'd be able to run.  Sure enough, we got there, got our stuff situated and made our way over to the 10:50am wave start.  Ready to go!

Photographer stationed midway up the long hill from hell?  Mean!

I told Jon that we shouldn't worry about staying together and would meet up at the end - run your own race!  So he took off.  The trail consisted of tons of tall grass and uneven terrain which made it really hard to run.  I noticed I was running about 11:30/mile pace and keeping up with Jon... until he started walking and I passed him.  He signed up for the Hungry Apple challenge to eat a donut at every mile marker, so I pulled a little further in front when he stopped for that first snack.  Right after that first mile marker the trail turned upwards.  It looked daunting.  I was doing a run/walk pattern by now and decided to shift to just walking for this hill, thinking it wasn't too long.  And then we turned a corner and realized we weren't even halfway up! 

I'm not sure how he did it, but Jon powered up that hill and passed me right back!  I might have been standing still and resting when he passed me, that's how bad this hill was!  And I was not the only person who stopped for breaks.  I didn't see anybody actually running.  I mean, seriously... this was a 5K race marketed at beginners!  At least, what goes up must come down, and finally we were on top of the mountain (yes, I am pretty sure whatever that hill was called, it starts with "Mount" something) and on our way back down. 

I started running again and really minimized the walking on that last half.  Luckily the rain held off and it wasn't muddy at all (except for maybe a small part on top of the mountain).  The course took us winding through the orchards on more tall grass and slanted ground.  I was in front of Jon again, but not by much and I was a little jealous of the little snacks he was getting.  I was starting to get hungry!  

Finally I came out of the orchard and ran through the finish line - done!  That was a really hard course for a 5K!  I got my medal and some water and waited for the 2 more min for Jon to come in - we really were pretty close on pace.

...and of course he was munching on his 3rd and final donut as he crossed the timing mats!  This was only his 2nd running race ever, and much more challenging than the Baltimore 5K that he did over 10 years ago.

We got our cider and sat around for a little bit before getting back on the shuttle and going to lunch in Charlottesville.  And as it turns out, Joann and Daz were in town celebrating their anniversary, so we ended up meeting them at a winery for a bit.  Not a bad day!

North Face Marathon Relay

This was a tough race to pack for with rain and snow in the forecast (in April, mind you), knowing we'd be standing around for awhile before/after our turn to run, and positive the trails we would be running on would be a muddy mess.  So, we packed all the things!

Sure enough, Joann texted me first thing Saturday morning saying it was pouring rain with hail.  Awesome.  I stopped for a Chick-Fil-A breakfast (yum!) and drove out to the shuttle stop and met up with Jessie, Eileen and Henry.  We packed ourselves, our backpacks and chairs onto the shuttle and made our way to the race start.  Luckily it had stopped raining by this point, but we were sure the damage was done to the trails.  And it was cold.  Very cold.

We made it to the race start and started settling in, organizing our stuff, trying to figure out what to wear, how to stay warm.  The wind was really strong and made for some very cold weather.  We figured out our run order, and I was to be the 2nd runner.  I liked this idea, to let Jessie go and get a good start, and then since I'm slowest, Eileen and Henry could make up some time on the back end.

We met up with Paula's crew, and Paula told us that she was going to be her team's last runner because she was the slowest.  I asked about the rationale behind that and she said that there were cutoff times, and they aren't cumulative.  Every runner has 90 min, and if one runner falls behind, the rest of your team is screwed.  Hmm... OK... makes sense then that I also should be the final runner cause the last thing I'd want to do is DQ our team!  So now I'm going last, which means finding a way to stay warm all day until it's my turn.

Time for one more group shot before heading up to the start line to see Jessie off.  There were just over 100 relay teams, so it wasn't a super crowded start line, but a decent number.  Of course the other distances going on at the same time (started earlier) were the 50-miler, 50K and marathon, so we would see other runners out on the course with us throughout the day.

There they go!  You can Jessie in the blue hat just to the right of the guy in yellow who's blocking everyone's view.  Eileen, Henry and I actually lined up on the fence, thinking we were going to get a great view, and then at the last minute we realized the runners were taking a sharp left out of the gate... d'oh!

The first part of the course is a loop on grass.  From our current vantage point, it looks straight forward enough, but I would find out later that the back part of that grassy loop was basically a mud pit.

So, Eileen, Henry and I wandered around trying to stay warm.  Luckily, we stumbled upon the Top Golf tent who was giving away gloves and hats in exchange for liking them on social media - done!  And then, a good Samaritan offered us some much-needed toe warmers.  It wasn't too bad when the wind wasn't blowing, but when it was, it was freezing! 

Jessie crushed it, finishing her loop in exactly an hour, and suddenly Eileen was on her way!  I was super pleased with her time because everyone who finishes under 90 minutes gives me an extra buffer.  6.5 miles in 90 minutes is tough for me on roads in good condition... throw in trails and mud and it's a whole new ball game.  Jessie described the course to us, and it sounded like other than the mud, it wasn't too bad - mostly flat, some pavement, some gravel, some stream crossings.

I will say the waiting around wasn't too bad when your teammates are all super fast!  By the time we got a snack for the runner who just finished, visited the port-o-pots, stood around the fire pits, we didn't have too much extra time to kill.  Eileen came in at exactly and hour also, and Henry started his loop.  I was loving this huge buffer my teammates were giving me!

While we were waiting for Henry to get back, I decided to take a "before" picture of my pretty pink shoes.  I had a feeling they weren't going to be looking so pretty after my run.  Everyone was coming back so muddy!  I was wearing rubber crocs for most of the day to try to keep my feet dry, and it worked... not that the dryness would last more than 50 meters into my run...

Henry came in just under an hour.  I grabbed the timing chip and take off!!  I had been worried that I would have to walk most of the grass area, just because running on grass is so hard, and I'm not a great runner anyway.  I started off and was surprised that I felt really good!  In fact, I glanced at my watch and I was doing 11:30 min/mi, which for me is very very fast.  I knew I needed to slow down or else I'd be sorry later.  But I ran that entire grassy part, the first half mile of the course, including the parts where the mud got so deep that my shoes started slipping off of my feet.

Once off of the grass portion, we ran on pavement for awhile.  I did take a walk break but ended up running far more than I thought I would.  I finished the first mile in 13 min which I was happy about esp given the deep mud in the grass.  Then we turned onto the gravel portion, and I will admit I walked a little more than I should have.  I'm not sure why, I think it's a habit for me to take walk breaks and in this case I'm not really sure I needed it.  Gotta work on that.  Then the gravel ended and the single track trail begain.  Parts of the trail were really not that bad, and in fact, pretty scenic. 

And then parts of the trail looked like this.  I didn't even attempt to run through this.  I was slipping and sliding just trying to keep my balance while walking.  I really am surprised I didn't end up face down in the mud at some point.  So much for my 13 min/mi pace... my 2nd mile was 19 minutes long.  Oops. 

I really did enjoy running this trail, and as long as it wasn't muddy, I ran as much as I could.  After scolding myself for walking too much on the gravel, I got into the mindset of only walking when I really needed to.  On the way back, I was much better about the walk breaks.  Back over the bridge, through the mud, through the streams, on the gravel, and then the pavement.  For some reason I thought the pavement portion was much longer than it actually was, so I found myself nearing the finish line faster than I thought.  My "ON A BEER RUN" teammates were waiting for me with about a quarter mile to go, and joined me so we could all cross the finish line together!

I ended up finishing in 1:34:46 which I was pleased about.  My Garmin registered closer to 6 miles than 6.5 miles, but even with that, given all of the mud, I thought I would be slower.  And here is the "after" photo of my pretty pink shoes.  I kind of wish I had taken a "during" photo because after running through the final few streams of water, they actually got cleaned off quite a bit.  We were really lucky that it never rained on us, though there were some snow flurries at points during the day.  In April.  Not OK.

By now we were all starving.  I had wanted to wait and see Paula's team finish, but thanks to my super fast teammates, we finished a lot earlier than expected.  Paula and I are actually very similar speeds, but since I got to start so much earlier, I finished over an hour ahead of her.  And we were just so dang cold.  So we hopped on the shuttle back to the parking lot and then headed across the street for some post-race celebratory food and beverage.

Joann met us there for the celebration and the two of us stuck around for awhile after the others needed to go.  I am pretty sure we ate ALL THE FOOD.  I was so exhausted that I drove home, took a quick shower, and was fast asleep by around 8pm.  It was a fun day and I would definitely do this relay again.