Wasatch Back Relay - Leg 23- Rockport Reservoir - Moderate I
started this leg at about 6:40am. There was a cold headwind so I wore my jacket. The sun came up during the leg and it warmed up enough for me to unzip my jacket a bit and pull up my sleeves, but the headwind never stopped. Near the end it was so strong I had to turn my hat around so it wouldn't blow off. I just focused on trying to keep my feet turning over and my body moving forward. I finished this 5.6 mile leg in about 49:30 (8:47/mi). I passed 8 runners and 6 passed me. A lot of the elite teams caught up with us during our second legs. You can tell the elite runners because they pass you like you're standing still. Wasatch Back Relay - Leg 35- Guardsman Pass to Park City - Very Hard
I started this leg at about 3:52pm. It has been pretty hot, but the heat didn't really affect me on this leg. Shortly before my leg started I felted really tired and didn't much feel like running...a feeling very unusual to me. Lyle asked me when I had last eaten. I realized it was around 8:30am, over 7 hours ago. I had been so concerned about digesting the pancakes, eggs, and sausage that I had forgotten to eat anything in the meantime. I decided to quickly down an eGel and hope for the best. It must have worked, because I felt pretty good as I started to run and passed 10 runners in the first couple of miles. I was warned shortly before my leg that it had grown from 5.4 miles to 7 miles, because of construction I think. What I didn't expect was when we turned off the road a couple of miles in and ran most of the rest of the way on a single track trail through the trees and along some dirt roads. I was glad I had been doing more trail running this year, and it was a lot easier than much of the Squaw Peak 50 course, and very beautiful, but I still had a few missteps and nearly rolled my ankle once. Two runners passed me on the first section of trail. I passed one of them back when we got back onto a dirt road. I enjoyed this leg and felt like I ran it pretty hard. I passed 18 runners and was passed by one. I averaged 8:13/mi. I was surprised to see a bandage over Lyle's eye when I handed off to him in the exchange. I later learned that he had been stretching leaning on the side of a Honey Bucket portapotty. The wind had been gusting and just as someone opened the door a strong gust of wind caught it and it whacked Lyle in the face. He got some first aid attention and had it bandaged up by the time I got in and ran the last leg very strong. They thought he might need stitches, but after he got home he said it didn't look too bad, and he was too tired to go to a doctor, so he just super glued it. What a tough guy. This was one of my slower relays, but given that I'd run the Squaw Peak 50 two weeks earlier, followed by the Utah Valley Marathon one week later, I feel very satisfied with how I did. My teammates were awesome and I had a really enjoyable time. Everyone ran strong and worked well together to make everything come off without a hitch. It was yet another successful relay.
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