First place for "mixed" division (i.e. 6 women/6 men), 4th overall
Leg 1 - 3.9 miles, 28:10, 7:13 pace
Leg 2 - 11.81 miles, 1:30:19, 7:38 pace
Bonus (pacing) leg - 7.79 miles, 1:20:39, 10:21 pace
Leg 3 - 4.17 miles, 31:59, 7:39 pace
Miami to Key West, with team "B12". Start time 12:45 on Friday 2/7, somewhat hot start, cooling down at night and then hot again the next day. This was my first relay experience. Team did great, lots of organizing and planning. My running wasn't quite where I wanted it to be.
Started off the first mile of the first leg at 6:35 pace, second mile a little slower at 6:55, but still under 7:00. For just a 4 mile run I think I was carrying too much stuff. Into the third mile there was a traffic light I was stopped at for quite some time, a couple other people were waiting also. Light was changing and the woman who had been waiting took off, crossed two lanes, then past the median and came within inches of being run over by a car trying to beat the light (both the runner and the car could not see each other due to cars in the left turn lane). I was pretty sure I was about to witness my first traffic fatality, but fortunately that did not happen. I was more than a bit shook up though. Started going again, passed the woman who had almost been hit, then was passed by another guy. Third mile was in the low 8:00's. Picked it back up the fourth mile but just missed getting under 7:00.
The exchanges went pretty smoothly although I saw a number of teams not do so well - e.g. runner shows up but his/her van is not waiting.
After our van's six runners finished we stopped by Pollo Tropical for dinner then headed to the major exchange at Miami-Homestead Speedway to wait for the other van. The next leg was more interesting. There were sections on trail and two legs run on a canal road running through some remote area. We had some of our best legs there though, with Ryan getting a 6:50 average and Jeremy getting a 6:04 pace for his 9 miles. My next leg started at the end of the canal road, where I had to run up a ramp to get on US 1 for my long 11.8 mile leg. I ran up the ramp and was on a 7:00ish pace when I heard something fall off of me. The red blinking led tail light came unclipped. I had to pick it up, snap it back together and attach it securely. Got going again but couldn't seem to get back on pace. Next 10 miles were between 7:17 and 7:50. Finally reached Key Largo but then ran on roads and shoulders not nearly as smooth and the shoulder on the divided section of US 1.
Passed off to Jean who did great on his 7ish mile leg. Next up was Jessica who I ran with for her 7.8 mile leg. I figured that since it would be at a slower pace might be a good recovery, good night running ultra experience as well as keeping her company through some middle of the night miles. It was actually quite challenging the first couple of miles, with my legs, especially quads my sore than I thought. Finished finally and were at a high school were they had showers available and the cafeteria open. Stayed there a bit before driving to the next major exchange and a couple hours of sleep.
By the time I was up for leg 3, it had gotten hot again. Mike, Ryan and Jeremy again did awesome but each one had more heat to battle. Lots of runners were having issues with heat at this point and I was started to feel overheated waiting my turn to run again. My leg started off with just 0.3 miles until I would hit a stop light with a police officer assist in crossing. Lost a little time there but not too much. Ran by feel at an effort adjusted for the heat (did not try for sub-7:00) but still did pretty decent.
Jean and Jessica finished up their legs and that was it for Van 1. We headed to the finish line, waited for van 2 and their six runners, and that was it.
Our start time of 12:45 was one of the later starts (last one was 2:00). We had informally kept track of "road kill" at a bout 400 runners, but it was maybe a little bit more since we finished 4th overall out of over 500 teams.
I learned a few lessons along the way and was happy to do my part - although would have liked to have done more, but oh well, maybe next time!
Also, hats off to Jessica who bravely agreed to jump in and fill a vacant spot without any hesitation. Had some time in Key West but would have also liked more time after the run. Again, maybe next time!
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