My results:

9:00 am - Leg 1 - 4.8 miles - 0:53:27 - 168
I went out kinda easy, knowing that I needed to save something for the rest of the weekend. I fell in step with another runner and we kept each other company. She pushed me to hold a slightly harder tempo, and kept me honest. I was surprised by my finish time.

7:45 pm (??) - Leg 2 - 6.0 miles - 1:03:02 - 172
OMG! That's better than my best 10k pace! I think it helped that I had to run up a big hill and then got to push it down the other side, which was a long long downhill. I knew I didn't have to really save myself, so I ran as fast as I could sustain.

4:45 am - Leg 3 - 5.5 miles - 0:55:43 - 165
I pushed as hard as I could! It was dark, and I was completely alone for the whole run, except for the two times my van stopped for me, one lone cyclists on the other side of the road, and one other runner who blew past me like I was standing still. Creepy.

+ + +

My race report from another (bicycle) forum:

We got back from The Relay yesterday evening around 6, ate some dinner and vegged on the couch watching Paris-Roubaix highlights, and went to bed at 8. Eric had to get up for work this morning, but I slept until 11, and still feel tired. And sore. Very very sore.

It was a good time, all things considering. I did really well on my legs and beat my own PRs for a couple of the distances. Our van was mostly friends, but had a couple of folks that we got to know really well over the 29+ hours.

Highlights:

- I ran my first leg (4.8 miles) in 53:27, 5 minutes faster than I estimated. As Runner 1, I started in Calistoga at 9 am and ran along 128/29 for a bit, then crossed over to the Silverado Trail. Lovely! LOTS of people out on bikes.

- As we drove through parts of the Napa Valley, supporting our different runners, saw lots more cyclists. Did you know there are specific Cycling Rest Stops there? Cool!

- We showered at a church somewhere in Napa, and drove to have a late lunch in Petaluma while our other van of runners took over.

- My next leg started out of the Cheese Factory in Nicasio, which is one of my favorite places to ride. No cyclists this time. I took off around 7 or so, and got to run directly into the wind, uphill, for about 3 miles before I got to turn and get some shelter. That leg was 6 miles, and I finished it in 1:03:02, which is a PR for me for that distance, by more than 3 minutes. The sun went down while I ran.

- Over the course of the evening, the wind got stronger and stronger, and each runner after me had a harder time.

- We say a coyote in a parking lot in Sausalito.

- One of our runners got lost on the course, and had to get a ride back. :(

- We passed off the running to our Van2 at the south side of the GG Bridge around 12:30 Sunday morning, and drove to one of our guy's mom's house in San Mateo to shower and sleep for about 3-4 hours. Or so we thought.

- Expecting to get a wake up call at 5 am, we all slept soundly for about an hour and a half. Then the phones started to ring, as our Van 2 folks ran faster than they expected and we had to get up and get ready. That sucked.

- I started my third, and thankfully final, leg at 4:45 am, out of Canada College. I ran a very long, very dark, very cold, very creepy 5.5 miles in a very fast (for me) 55:45. I think I was so fast partly because it was cool, and I knew I was almost done. But I'm pretty sure that the fact that it was pitch black and I was completely alone and a little spooked helped.

- I did see one guy pedaling up Woodside in the pitch black. I said Hi. I think he thought I was just some insane runner on the wrong side of the road (they made us run with traffic, which was not fun in some spots).

- Our course took us up Stevens Creek, and we passed one of our runners by the spot where those two were killed. How sad.

- Saw lots of cyclists out there, which was cool.

- After our last runner came in, we went down to a little camp site and showered, and then cruised down to Santa Cruz to get some food (a well-deserved bacon cheese burger for me!), and wait for our Van 2 runners to come in.

- Saw lots of pretty cool looking mixtes, cruiser and whatnot in SC.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. Even if every muscle in my body (except for my arms) hurts like hell now.

NOTHING! I totally kicked butt! :)

Warm down? After each run, I had to get back in the van and keep rolling with the rest of my team.

After we were completely done, we went and took showers and drove to Santa Cruz to wait for the other van. Ate a bacon cheeseburger and rested. :)


Nothing really. I ate and drank as much as I could, slept or rested when I could, and I felt like I was properly dressed for each leg's unique weather.


I love doing this, as long as I get into a van of people I like, which I was.