Craig's Running Blog

Wasatch Back Relay

We all met up in the morning and Andrea's and Johnny's house. 2 teams: Runamoks and Runamok Divas. Our 2 "Van 1" crews dropped by Bill's house in Bountiful for some supplies and words of wisdom. He basically told us to treat this like a race. Don't do the first leg too hard. Don't treat this like a slumber party. Hydrate with Coke and chips after each run (interesting idea there, but I liked it).

We got up to Logan at 12:15 and had a start time of 12:40. Perfect. I checked in, got a mild warmup (not much of one) and lined up with about 15 other people. I didn't see much in the way of competition at the start, but that was expected since I was the anchor on our team and I had made a conservative estimate on our overall pace. Natalie (from our Runamok Divas team) lined up with me, and she was probably the second strongest runner in the crew. I found out later that she fell in behind the "Jogging Broads" girl at the end of the first leg. I didn't get her name, but I talked with her before her last leg. She started our last leg before me, then gave me a playful push as I went by. They were a really cool bunch of girls, and our Divas team had a friendly rivalry going. Interesting enough, although they were about 15:00 ahead at the beginning of the last set, they only beat our Divas team by 25 seconds. They literally went down the finish chute together. Wow.

Ok- back to leg 1. I was hindered by the heat, but I decided to throw caution to the wind after the first block and race it.

Mile 1: 6:42 - conservative warm up

Mile 2: 6:02 - good pace

Mile 3: 5:40 - ideal pace

Mile 4: 6:35 - the heat started to get to me

Mile 5: 6:25 - I held on through the heat to finish

I was hacking and coughing like crazy. That's what I get trying to race in the heat while getting over a cold. The same thing happened last year.

Johnny went out strong, but the heat soon got to him as well. He had a brutal hill about 2/3 of the way into his run, and he had to slow it down pretty good. Fortunately, this was his slowest leg and his other 2 legs were much stronger.

Jason did our leg 3, and the Divas runner (Alicia) caught up with him. They finished together. I was proud of Jason for picking it up at the end and not letting Alicia get in front of him.

Christina was our leg 4 runner. I didn't know how she would do, but she was smart. As long as her breathing is going good, she is pretty consistent and strong. She finished with a great effort and put a good gap on Katrina (the Divas runner).

Scott did the brutal leg 5 up Avon pass. That is arguably the hardest run of the relay. He had Andrea close behind the whole time. I was wondering why they didn't run together, but Scott explained it well afterwards- this was a race, and you had to give it everything you had. Great attitude.

Tracy C started off a little tentative on the hill down Avon pass. I forgot how rocky that was, and it didn't really suit her style. Like Johnny, this was her toughest leg, and she got stronger after that. My friend Jen (on the Divas team) is a crazy downhill runner, so she put something like a 10 minute gap on us. That was ok. I wanted to be close to them, and they were in another division. I was really hoping they would beat the Jogging Broads team.

We spent an hour or more at the first major exchange, taking a cold shower and getting some food. Then we followed the course and drove up to Snow Basin. We should have spent some more time there, because they had a great grill and some nice, comfortable seating. Maybe next time.

Leg 2: This started out at 9:00pm at the base of Snow Basin. I had a mile uphill to begin with, then it was screaming downhill after that.

Mile 1: 7:14 - tough uphill

Mile 2: 5:36 - hardcore downhill

Mile 3: 5:31 - downhill

Mile 4: 5:47 - some level, but mostly still downhill

Mile 5: 5:58 - starting to slow down

Mile 6: 5:31 - steeper downhill

Mile 7: 5:46 - downhill

Mile 8: 5:47 - more downhill

Last .5 miles: 5:45 pace - a downhill finish

I coughed a TON after that run. Fortunately, I had the inhaler on hand to give me the boost I needed and calm down the cough. Johnny went out next, and had a good leg. After that came Jason, and he held his own. Still no sign of the Divas team. Christina went out 4th, and I was getting tired by then. After Scott and Tracy finished up, we followed the Divas van to the school and tried to find a place to sleep. The inside was full, so some of us found a place to stretch out on the lawn. I didn't get any sleep, but I still felt better after laying down and stretching out for 2 hours. I got a call from our other van at 4:15am (Traci H) with an hour to go, so we headed out.

I had a good 30 minutes to warm up at the Rockport major exchange. I felt good, just a little fatigued. I figured I would start out slow and pick it up. I talked with the Jogging Broads girl a bit at the toilet line. She was really nice. As it turned out, she took off on her leg 1 run about 2 minutes ahead of me, and it didn't take long for me to catch up. It's weird that they were ahead of us at that major exchange, but then lost 20 minutes in the final set of legs. The Divas almost caught them (25 seconds behind).

I was trying to catch up with Kent and the Loco Lugnuts team on my leg, but it didn't work out. I ran it very conservatively due to fatigue, but finally felt good enough at the end to pick it up to a 6 minute/mile pace.

After the other runners' legs, we went to the school in Heber and got some food. I took a quick shower and we waited for some others to take a shower. We finally got out of there and made it to the finish line. We were all very tired, so we weren't prepared for the confusion of gear, rides, and food at the end. Next year, we'll plan out the end a lot better so that everyone is comfortable and we don't have to make hard decisions.

Here are some emails that circulated after the event from my van members:

-------------------

I want to let you know what a great time I had this weekend.  I have never done anything like that before.  But that was, for me, one memorable weekend.

I really should commend my team, and especially my van mates.  Things could have gotten ugly when we lost our water cooler.  And when the van broke down, and it became apparent from our blank stares that nobody knew what to do, we could have let things fall apart pretty easily.  But I was so impressed with how calm everybody remained, and how we tried everything we knew, until we got it running again.  I think the way people react under stress is a good indicator of what kind of people they are.  And I think I learned a lot about my teammates this weekend.  Also, thanks to van 2 for coming to our rescue.  You really saved us with that second water cooler. 

I also want to thank Andrea and Craig for organizing and leading our respective teams.  I know you both put in a lot of time to help things go smoothly.  I really appreciate all that you did for us.

Finally, I wanted to thank Coach.  Our team has such incredible chemistry and it all starts at the top.  Thank you for sharing your love of running with us.  

I hope everybody has a great week and I'll see you all soon.

Jason

------------------

Jason totally summed up our experience in Van 1 and on a whole the training as a group!  It was so fun to experience this relay with both Runamok teams throughout the relay!!
I had a great time in the "Man Van" and learning so much from them and getting to know them on a different level including "Nature & Viking Man"!  He is really "The Man"!
Everyone is so supportive in our Runamok group, and the chemistry is amazing!
 
I appreciate Coach's  insistent and enthusiastic support with everything and the push to  "eat appropriately" before, during, and after the race, or should I say "drinking appropriately"!!  I DEFINATELY felt better before, during, and after the races by doing this!  This was my 5th year with the relay!  I was able to perform and felt much better!! 
 
Wow!  So much to say.....Wow!!
 
Thank you to Van 2 and the Runamok Divas for your constant support and enthusiasm!!
 
I also want to thank all of our volunteers for our two teams!  Without them, we were not able to run the relay! 
I hope we can include them with any possible post-relay parties...???
 
Tracy C

--------------

Thanks for a GREAT race. We had such great momentum and spirit this past weekend.   The individual accomplishments pale in comparison to the collective challenge that we accomplished.  I feel very fortunate to be among such a fine group of people.  Special thanks to Andrea, Craig, Coach and everyone who worked on the logistics and planning/organization for this flawless effort, and to the Man Van folks for the support, especially during the Ascent to Avon (sorry about the bad words).   I'm sure I wasn't the only runner to remember a Kearn's Killer Workout or two when times were tough.   What is most unique about this group, I think, is that we've found a space where we can challenge ourselves and push limits in a safe, nurturing environment.  The pressure on this team is the right kind of pressure, to work hard and to have confidence in your abilities and preparation. 

However, I do have to say that there were more than a few times when I had to look over my shoulder during the Wasatch Back legs, because of F.O.A.M.  (Fear Of Andrea Martinez).     :)

Best to All.   Can't wait to get out there and pound the pavement again!

Scott

--------------------

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of their support this weekend. A year and a half ago I would have never imagined myself participating in an event like this (much less anything longer than a 5K!). As much as I enjoy running now, it's the camaraderie and friendships that we share that makes me look forward to our Saturday runs the most. I feel honored to be able to train with such talented and friendly people and with such a caring and passionate coach. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday!!!

Johnny 

P.S. Scott, I too suffer from F.O.A.M.. Our support group meets Tuesdays at 6pm. It's sponsored by Marie Callendar's and Aquaphor. Feel free to join us sometime ;o)

---------------

I ditto everything that has been said about the WBR.  I don't think I'm quite caught up on sleep yet, but it was worth it!  In our van we were talking about how cool it is that Craig is sponsored by Aquaphor, and I said I would like to be sponsored by Marie Callendars--I guess it doesn't go hand in hand with athleticism, but imagine the free food samples I may get to try! ;-)

Christina