Day 2 of the Relay, but my work is just beginning. Once we escaped from the cops (a story for another day), Van 2 (Laud, Chris, James, Ryan, Andy, and myself) drove to exchange 6 to wait until Van 1 showed up. A band was playing and excitement was high. We stayed in contact with Van 1 and knew that our team had lost about 4 minutes to Google, but it was early. We had blown away from the other teams that had started with us for good, and didn't think about it again. Our van ran some good legs with some of us losing a bit of time and some of us gaining a bit back.
I got the baton at 12:32 AM and took off. I was running all by myself with Google about 10 minutes ahead. I had 3 miles of flat and then a gradual climb over the next 3.5 miles (Leg 12 = 6.9 miles according to the Garmin 305). I started out pretty hot, full of energy and excitement. I could also tell the lower elevation helped. My goal pace (worst case scenario) was 6:30 average. I ran 5:51, 5:58, 6:03, 6:18, 6:13, 5:59, and 5:33 (.9). I felt like I had a lot left, but felt like I was working pretty hard. I heard that I made up about 3 minutes on Google during this leg.
Total Time: 41:58 (6:05 ave pace for 6.9 miles)
Ave HR: 183 Max HR: 187
We then drove to exchange 18 to catch some z's before our next legs. Big mistake. That exchange was at a location with 2 porta pots and dirt everything. I didn't feel like sleeping in the dirt, so all six guys tried to get comfortable in the minivan. Everyone slept a bit, but I think I only slept about 1/2 hour. Bummer. Van 1 came in flying and Google realized a race was brewing. Laud ran an excellent leg. Chris ran awesome, evan gaining time on his guy. James ran a fast 10K for his leg and made up chunks of time, and we were loving it. Ryan took off and also gained some time back. Andy took off and man, that guy can run. He passed people like they were standing still. He came into my exchange only about 1:20 behind Google (well within sight of them).
My leg two (leg 24) was 5.4 miles according to the Garmin, was at sunrise and had rolling hills, but finished with a climb of 150 feet over 3/4 mile. I took off working to catch Google. I knew I could close the gap. I ran 5:45, 5:47, 5:53 (18 min 5K = fastest 5K I have run in years), 5:53, 6:25 (uphill), 2:27 (.4 = 6:17 ave). I closed the gap to 20 seconds and handed off to Dave. I know I could have closed and passed him, but I would have been too spent to run again, so I compromised and closed as much as possible while trying to save something.
Total Time: 32:12 for 5.4 miles (5:58 ave) (my actual time was about 2 seconds faster for each leg as I started the watch before I recieved the baton and stopped it after I handed it off, but I will record what my watch read exactly).
Ave HR: 186 Max HR: 195
After my leg, Van 2 drove to exchange 30 to wait. It was now warm and sunny, we didn't have time to sleep, so we just hung out. We were pretty pumped about closing such a large gap on Google, and we knew it was going to be a race. Van 1 came into the exchange spent but they did their job minimizing the gap. We knew it was up to us to close the gap ( 3-4 minutes, I don't remember). Unfortunately, the Goggle runners ran their best legs on those first two legs and opened up a lead. James ran an excellent leg, running a great time, but was frustrated by running on a stretch of road with a million stop lights. He had to wait at all of them, losing all the time he was making up. I am sure he will comment about this, but the course difficult due to the lights. Ryan ran well, but also got stopped at a light and had trouble getting going again. Andy ran a suicidal pace in the heat, and made up some time but we were down by about 12 minutes (2 miles).
My last leg (leg 36) was 3.75 miles according to my Garmin. Most of it was on paved trails along a Golf Course and Park. It was very poorly marked with branches running off in many directions. I ran what seemed like the right course, having to adjust a couple of times to get back on it. My legs were so trashed by now it was a miracle they even worked. I also had some serious cramping in my chest and stomach (full body side-ache) that didn't help. The heat was so bad (for me at least) that my water-soaked shirt dried in the first .5 mile. I am used to running in the snow and below freezing weather, not 80+ degrees. I ran as hard as I could, but Google never came into view. I do figure that I gained about a minute is all.
I ran 6:04, 6:16, 6:19, 4:37 (6:12 pace for .75)
Total Time: 23:17 (6:13 ave)
Ave HR: 179 Max HR: 185
We finished 2nd overall (71 teams) and first in the Mens Open Division with a time of 19:10:57 well ahead of our goal time of 20 hours. Results are HERE. I am impressed we got so close to winning the thing. Except for 2-3 bad legs, it would be a whole different story, but we put ourselves within reach of the victory. Nice Running Team!
Not exactly sure how many easy miles I ran with warmups and cooldowns and aiding, but I will call it 8.
I figured out I ran 6:04 ave pace for the 16.05 miles. I am very pleased with that result. As my worst case pace was ~ 6:30 and my expectations were closer to 6:10 - 6:15. | 
