Chug-along-chica!

Speedwalking with Sparky at 18:11 pace on ave. including many doggy stops.

So I'm sure you are all dying to get the real report on Del Sol, right? I.e. what are all these super-human fast people on the racing team really like when they are not COMPLETELY DOMINATING a relay? Well, from what I can tell, they mostly lay around a lot--fall asleep in the sitting position and so forth. By the time I got to meet the whole team (after the race), they were...hmmm...flat. Like flat soda, I mean. The fizz was gone, but they were still sweet. Anybody who can be polite and thankful after being up all night running in the desert just has be a good person. I didn't get a chance to talk to everyone as much as I would like, but these were some of the things that were notable to me about the relay:

• Logan. Holy smokes! This guy ran a 7 mile leg with an average pace of 4:55! He beat his 5K and 10K PR in route. And do not forget--this was on his 2nd leg! He had already run, and he still did that. But running aside, Logan also gets muchas bonus points for being the one to volunteer to hold baby Jacob Pachev when Sarah and I were really busy doing stuff. And he even made Jakey laugh...
• Kory ran really well, even though he has been battling achilles tendonitis pretty bad leading up to the race. He's just as kind and respectful in person as he is on the blog. Great athlete, great person.
  
• Ted also ran surprisingly well--making all his times although fighting off an illness. Way to gut it out, Ted! And by the way, this guy did a FABULOUS job of pulling all the details together as team captain, don't you think? I do! Plus, this guy, I suspect (in cahoots with Jeff Shadley) is chiefly responsible for the wonderful Friday's gift cards I got as a thank-you for hosting. How did he know that I dream night and day about Friday's brownie obsession? I got enough to buy one everyday for the next couple of weeks. I could roll around in 'em! But I digress...
  
• Clyde. This guy is such a natural leader. When he talks, everyone listens. Especially when he is recounting his "I almost puked on a girl on one of my legs" story. You have to read about it on his blog.
• Walter ran very well and was coming down with a nasty sore throat. Hope you feel better, Walter!
• Jeff. You know, this guy is really modest. I don't think he ever even bragged about how well he did. But I'm sure he ran fast. He's like lightning, but nice about it.
• Ashbaker, I mean Steve, I mean Darkhorse, I mean Masterhunter. He rides a motorcylce! I heckled him about it. But of course, he ran fantastically (even after quaffing a double cheeseburger from McDonald's right before the race!)
• Steve Hooper. This guy provided the best entertainment of the afternoon by fanning the fire of Sarah's wrath. He's fun to be around. He also has the highest bone density of anyone I know.
  
• All the guys on the team tried out our fancy scale that not only tells your weight, but also your metabolic age, fat percentile, and bone density. ALL the guys on the team had a metabolic age of 12! That explains some things, I guess. ; )

I didn't get to talk much to everyone, so I'll let you get the juicy details from their individual blogs, but let me end with just saying how much I enjoyed having the Pachevs stay at our house. What a great family! They are so authentic. Just having them around makes you want to not only live healthier, but just be a better person all around. Sarah was an absolute lifesaver. I really could not have fed the whole team without her. I'm the kind of person who freaks out just when we feed the LDS missionaries. (2 whole extra people!) And Sasha is a great coach. When he talks about running it is powerful, because you know he is speaking from vast experience. He does a great speed-walk too. ; ) The highlight of the whole weekend for me was just hanging out with the Pachevs all of Sunday and talking like crazy.

Congratulations to the Del Sol Relay Team! This is just the beginning. Today the relay, tomorrow the world!