Race Recap: Wine Down Relay!
So, this was a last-minute race addition for me.
I'd WANTED to do this relay - all of my "Sole Sisters" here at home were running, but the numbers never really worked out and they're all about 4-5 minutes faster than me per mile, so I took the odd person out and decided I would support the two teams as they battled each other out!
And then, On Tuesday, my triathlon training partner Em text me to ask if I'd be able to come run with her relay team:
So - that's a little insight to Em and my relationship ... she is CONSTANTLY telling me that I'm too hard on myself, but always saying we need to get out there and "do a little extra" from what our training is telling us. An extra lift session, a longer swim, double-down on the bike. Just SOMETHING else to make it count.
Race Day
I loaded up my "Uber" with myself and six of the seven gals that would be running with me and we went off to the race start.
The race itself was four 4.5-mile loops - you could run as a team of two or a team of four, but you had to have your wristband cross the finish line FOUR time to equal 18 miles.
It was a quick decision on how the eight of us split up - Team 1 was going to be our 7-minute girls. Tam, Kari, Brooke and MB together had the BEST chance to podium finish (and win us some extra boozes for our post-race celebration!). Team 2 was Em, Roz (who was super sick thanks to the weather and allergies), Sage (who just wanted to run with us) and me ... the World's Slowest Anchor. Team 1 was competitive with how they broke down their race legs.
Team 2? Our theory was different. Em needed to run at least 8 miles or 90 minutes on Sunday as part of her 70.3 training - so, she wanted to go first and planned to tack on and try to finish her run when our No. 2 was finishing. Roz asked to run second - to get it over with. I felt SOOOO bad for her - stupid allergies had her nose and eyes running like you wouldn't believe. Sage just didn't want to run first or last. I said I would go last - I would take the longest and I didn't want to keep anyone from drinking our "FREE WINE" before they had a chance to. So, the strategy was set!
Team 1: Tam, Kari, Brooke, MB
Team 2: Em, Roz, Sage, Keels
Hands in! Let's do this, Fems!
Race Logistics
We all were given a bib that had the same number (there were 90 teams - we were teams ... 22 and either 21 or 23, can't remember now). We had to always wear that bib. But our timing chip that we would hand-off at the end of each leg was a foam bracelet.
Thanks to technology and Garmin, we were able to see when our teammates were coming in, so we could all wander down to the start/finish line to cheer them in and cheer the next runner out. It was a SUPER tight spot, so they weren't really allowing people to congregate down there. They had a spotter at 4.25 that would look at your bib, radio your bib number back to the start line and the race announcer would call bib numbers to get in line in the "exchange chute". Once Runner Four finished, they had to take the wristband to the medal table on the exit chute and would receive the medals for all four team members.
How'd The Race Go?
Well, this is Texas. And if you ask a Texan how they feel about the weather, they'll generally tell you to "wait an hour - it will change". And on Sunday, BOY ... that was true.
The crap thing about a relay is the waiting - luckily, I was with fast people, so we were really only looking at 25-35 minutes before we'd go down the hill to cheer everybody on. But when we got back to our "hangout spot" - it was grey, it was cold and it was certainly windy.
We've learned lessons for next year - bring our own cooler of snacks and hydration ... we ONLY got bottled water when we finished the race, and we didn't get food (other than a banana) until they opened wine tasting at 11 a.m. ... for a race that starts at 8 a.m., that's a CRAZY amount of time to go without food or water provided in the race registration we paid for.
How'd YOUR Race Go?
Well, thanks for asking! I was undertrained on running as I was coming off my week off post-triathlon, and my only workouts of the week were weight, water and wheels-related (aka - I lifted, I swam and I cycled ... no running).
My run was long. It was HOT. After a dreary morning, the sun finally came out when I took the wristband and went out on the trail. According to my Garmin, in the 50 minutes I ran, the temperature went up 22 degrees ...
There was only one water stop and they were handing out teeny Dixie Cups of water, so that was terrible. But, this was a stretch of the trail that I've run SO many times. It's the "damn dam" portion of the trail. So, I just set in, figured it was going to be miserable, might as well tough it out and then go have fun with my Sole Sisters.
So ... I did!
Sage took this AMAZING picture of me hustling to the finish:
My girls really do know me, don't they?? Just hold up some booze at the finish line and I will SUPER HUSTLE. Look at those flyin' feet.
Thoughts?
This was a GREAT Sunday with my favorite girls. We got our run in, we got our chat with each other and catch up, we got to really take a different twist on Sunday FunDay!
Look at all those fast runners and me:
And hey!!! Super-functional bling!!!
My "Sole Sisters" are some of the most important people in my life ... these gals ran with me, encouraged me, cheered me and coached me through my first year of running and my first Dopey. To spend this day running WITH THEM? To achieve a common goal? The best.