Adventures in Relay Racing with Tortoise and Hares

If you've been keeping up with my blog, you'll know that I was presented last week with an opportunity to be a part of an 80-mile relay race in Illinois this weekend. After some tough decision making, I decided to go... It was a weekend I'll never forget!

The River to River Relay is an 80-mile race that takes place in southern Illinois, beginning at the Mississippi River, traveling through the Shawnee National Forrest and ending at the Ohio River. Teams are made up of 6 to 8 people. In our case, we only had 7:

Janie Jason ErinMattAngieDad and me (the Tortoise and Hares team, aka. The Team of Last Resort). That meant that someone would have to run extra legs to make up for the missing 8th team member.

Here is how it all unfolded...

The alarm went off at 4:00 Saturday morning. Dad, Erin, and I left the hotel at 4:30 to meet up with Jason, Janie, and Matt. We swung by and picked up Angie, and then we were off to the start. Only Jason's car stayed at the start (Jason was runner #1). Janie (runner #2) hopped in our car and we headed to the second leg to wait for Jason to come in. It was the longest wait we would have all day. At 7:45, we new Jason was running. And we knew he was flying! Everyone in our car was excited and a little nervous. We new it wouldn't be long before Jason came hurdling around the corner and Janie would be off! We cheered for Jason when he came in and saw Janie off. Then, it was back in the car and off to Leg 3 (my first). My adrenaline was pumping. My first leg was rated "Moderate to Easy", and totaled 2.95 miles. I figured I should try and run fast on my first leg since I would be fresh and it was my easiest one. Once I saw Janie coming my way, all thoughts of starting my watch flew out of my mind. So, I have no idea what my pace or time was on my first leg (Dad and I approximated it at 28 min.). I felt strange the whole way. My adrenaline was pumping so hard, I felt like my heart was racing the whole way and that I had no control over my legs. I had a pretty good hill, but nothing compared to what I would face in my second leg! I think I accomplished my goal. I was even able to sprint to the end. I handed the baton to Erin, walked around a little, then it was on to the next leg!
The weather was really cooperating so far. Overcast, and moderate. No sign of rain...yet. Erin finished strong, and Dad was off on his first leg of the race. This would be his hardest leg. Matt was next. Then, the hand-off to Angie. Since we only had 7 on our team, Jason filled in for the 8th runner. He ran Legs 8 and 9 back to back. So now we were back to the top of the order. Time for round two! The day was racing by (pun intended)!

I actually felt pretty good after my first leg, even though I hadn't been running much and I pushed it a lot harder than I have in a long time. The only thing sore was my left calf. But it only hurt when I stretched it, so I knew it wouldn't affect my running. I still took an Ibuprofen for good measure though.
At Leg 9, I needed to go twosies. So I headed to the port-o-potties while the others cheered for Jason. Now, if I can avoid having to use a port-o-potty for this particular situation, I will at all costs. But I just didn't have any other option. Fortunately, most of them were equipped with hand sanitizer dispensers (something I had never seen before), so that made me feel a little easier. Still not a pleasent experience. But, it's all part of the game...

Before I knew it, it was time for my second leg! This one was 3.25 miles (my longest) and classified as "moderate". I knew it would be harder than my first, so I really wanted to pace myself. I thought by the second leg, my nerves would've calmed down a little... Nope! The adrenaline was still pumping, and yes, I forgot to start my watch again! Argh! This time, I thought I would start it when I got to the first mile marker, and at least check my time on mile 2. I ran it in 9:36, which is pretty fast for me (in my current state of fitness). My goal was a 10-minute pace, so I felt good that I had a small cushion. Good, until I saw what was looming ahead of me! One of the longest hills I've ever seen! Of course, from my vantage point, it looked a lot worse, but it was still a beast! I said to myself, "No problem! I got this!" So I straightened up, shortened my stride, gritted my teeth, and plowed up it. You can probably imagine the burning I felt in my quads as I neared the top. I was also feeling that burn in my lungs! Once I could see the top, it seemed an eternity before the road began to level off again. And as soon as a reached the peak, the photographer was there to capture the expression of pain written in bold letters across my face. I haven't seen the photo yet, but I can imagine!

I didn't have much left on that second leg. By then, the sun was out and it was much warmer. There definitely wasn't a sprint to the finish like the first, but at least I was still upright! And nothing specific was hurting. That was great news! I just needed to walk around a little before getting back in the car to head to the next leg.

It wasn't long until the sky darkened and it began to rain. That was around Leg 16. Jason was running. Fortunately, it didn't last long, and had quit by the time my turn to run came around again.My third and final leg was also labeled "moderate". It was my shortest leg at 2.6 miles, but the discription noted a steep hill to the finish. Great! By now, the weather was perfect. It had just rained, so the sky was overcast and things had cooled down a bit. This leg would be my favorite despite the hills. It was on a country road through the forrest. Everything smelt so wonderful because of the rain! I knew this one would be tough, but I tried not to think about it and focus instead on my surroundings. I remembered to start my watch (third time's a charm). I was trying to take it slow my first two miles, knowing that I needed to save something for the hill at the end. When I checked my time at mile marker 1, it was 9:27....way too fast for me! I slowed my pace down, and took it easy for the second mile. Almost immediately after crossing mile marker 2, the road started up, and up, and up, and up! They were right, it was steep. Thankfully, there were a few places where it leveled out just enough for me to catch my breath before heading up again. I knew this was my last leg, and I only had about a half a mile to go. I gave it my all, finishing in 26.59. It was my slowest leg. But I was done! What a relief. I felt great! Now, I could sit back, relax, and watch everyone else complete their last leg.Dad went all out on his last, and easiest leg. He was flying! Matt had the leg classified as "the hardest"! But, he kicked it's behind! We were closing in on the finish. Janie stepped in for Jason and ran the last leg. She flew out of the exchange zone like a mad woman. We all hopped in our vehicles to head to the finish. The teams were supposed to join their runner as they turned onto Main Street and all cross the finish line together. As we were putting on our team shirts and moseying down towards the finish, we saw Janie fly by! There was no way we could catch her! Erin started running after her, yelling her name as if to say, "Wait for us!" But, there was no stopping her. Before we knew it she was across the finish line. Since we missed her, we all went back to where the tape started, and ran in together. It was a little anticlimactic, but it was tradition, so we had to do it.

We had just run 80 miles! Our time was 11 hours, 11 minutes, and 56 seconds. We ranked 155 out of 232 teams. Not bad for the Team of Last Resort.