This past weekend I ran a relay race with one of my friends called the Wasatch Back Relay. It's a race that starts in Logan, Utah and finishes in Park City. Overall it's 188 miles. I first heard about it in January and thought it would be a really cool thing to do. Another girlfriend was going to put together a team of runners and give me a call. Well, the call never came and the team was never put together. I started training for the half marathon I ran on June 13th and while doing so kept running into neighborhood friends who were training for the Wasatch Back. I admit I was a bit jealous.
The day after I ran my half, I was sitting in Relief Society when my girlfriend leaned over and told me she was asked to join a relay team on Friday. That was it for me. I had had it with everyone talking about the Wasatch Back. I didn't want to be left out!! I wanted to be a part of it all and see what everyone was talking about. All I've heard was how fun it was and so on and so forth.
I told my girlfriend I was super jealous and wished I could be running. She told me there might be an open spot on the team she was asked to join. So in between Relief Society and Sacrament meeting she made a phone call, and sure enough, there was another spot. So I was in. Just like that.
Throughout the week I thought about training, but how does one train for a relay race in one week? I have a neighbor who ran at 3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, and all other sorts of times of the day and night just to prepare. Oh well, it didn't matter. I was in!
My awesome sister volunteered to take the kids for the first day I was gone and my even more awesome husband took them the second day.
We met Friday and drove up to Liberty City, near Eden, near Pineview Resevoir. Anyhow, we were in the 2nd car. There are two cars of 6 runners. We had the 2nd car of runners and began our legs around 2:30 on Friday afternoon. I was the 3rd runner in my car. I ran my first leg of 3.5 miles in ok time and then waited for the other to run. I think that was the most fun and the least fun at the same time. It was fun getting to know the other runners and cheering them on but it also got old waiting for the other runners...
I ran my second leg of 9.6 miles at 3 am Saturday morning. That was probably one of the most exhilarating things I have done in a long time. It felt so good to be running in the cool morning hours. There wasn't much of a moon so all I could see were millions and millions of stars. Every so often I would pass a runner or another runner would pass me. It felt amazing while I was running, but once I stopped, I was exhausted. I hadn't slept yet and didn't sleep at all during the entire time.
While we waited for the first car of runners to finish we watched movies in our car, tried to sleep, ate lots and lots of peanut butter sandwiches, and one time we even stopped and ate at a restaurant in Heber.
I finally ran my last leg of 4 miles around 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon. It was the steepest part of the whole relay and not quite as enjoyable as my 3am jog around Echo resovoir. It was a mountain road coming from Midway and winding up and over into Park City. I was making ok time until the Heavens opened up and poured down on me. It was raining so hard it hurt! It even started to hail when I was 2.5 miles into my run. I was all alone on the trail and almost started to cry because it was so cold and I HATE being cold. Another runner's support vehicle drove up next to me and asked if I needed help. I did. I jumped in and they drove me the half mile up to my support vehicle. I feel kind of bad about not completing that last mile and a half, but it started to lightning and I wasn't about to keep running in a lightning/hail storm.
Overall, it was just a really fun experience. I now know why all those who have ran it want to do it again. It's just fun to be with a group that is supporting each other and having fun while doing so. I hope to do it again next year!
The day after I ran my half, I was sitting in Relief Society when my girlfriend leaned over and told me she was asked to join a relay team on Friday. That was it for me. I had had it with everyone talking about the Wasatch Back. I didn't want to be left out!! I wanted to be a part of it all and see what everyone was talking about. All I've heard was how fun it was and so on and so forth.
I told my girlfriend I was super jealous and wished I could be running. She told me there might be an open spot on the team she was asked to join. So in between Relief Society and Sacrament meeting she made a phone call, and sure enough, there was another spot. So I was in. Just like that.
Throughout the week I thought about training, but how does one train for a relay race in one week? I have a neighbor who ran at 3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon, and all other sorts of times of the day and night just to prepare. Oh well, it didn't matter. I was in!
My awesome sister volunteered to take the kids for the first day I was gone and my even more awesome husband took them the second day.
We met Friday and drove up to Liberty City, near Eden, near Pineview Resevoir. Anyhow, we were in the 2nd car. There are two cars of 6 runners. We had the 2nd car of runners and began our legs around 2:30 on Friday afternoon. I was the 3rd runner in my car. I ran my first leg of 3.5 miles in ok time and then waited for the other to run. I think that was the most fun and the least fun at the same time. It was fun getting to know the other runners and cheering them on but it also got old waiting for the other runners...
I ran my second leg of 9.6 miles at 3 am Saturday morning. That was probably one of the most exhilarating things I have done in a long time. It felt so good to be running in the cool morning hours. There wasn't much of a moon so all I could see were millions and millions of stars. Every so often I would pass a runner or another runner would pass me. It felt amazing while I was running, but once I stopped, I was exhausted. I hadn't slept yet and didn't sleep at all during the entire time.
While we waited for the first car of runners to finish we watched movies in our car, tried to sleep, ate lots and lots of peanut butter sandwiches, and one time we even stopped and ate at a restaurant in Heber.
I finally ran my last leg of 4 miles around 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon. It was the steepest part of the whole relay and not quite as enjoyable as my 3am jog around Echo resovoir. It was a mountain road coming from Midway and winding up and over into Park City. I was making ok time until the Heavens opened up and poured down on me. It was raining so hard it hurt! It even started to hail when I was 2.5 miles into my run. I was all alone on the trail and almost started to cry because it was so cold and I HATE being cold. Another runner's support vehicle drove up next to me and asked if I needed help. I did. I jumped in and they drove me the half mile up to my support vehicle. I feel kind of bad about not completing that last mile and a half, but it started to lightning and I wasn't about to keep running in a lightning/hail storm.
Overall, it was just a really fun experience. I now know why all those who have ran it want to do it again. It's just fun to be with a group that is supporting each other and having fun while doing so. I hope to do it again next year!
2 comments:
You have serious issues. I can't imagine running 9 blocks, much less nine miles. Once again, the genetic betrayal that is my legacy...except I've no posterity, so a legacy actually seems unlikely as well. :)
Girl, you amaze me :)
Post a Comment