Top of Zion Relay. We left Friday morning and drove down. Kimberly, Lisa, Aaron and Stuart. We met Melissa down there and then Kimberly was the first to run. The team had been working hard and we were van 2 and so we had a good reputation to keep going. We'd won last year (I'd bowed out, but gotten a super fast replacement for me!) so we also had some people hunting for our heads!
My first legs was down Hell's Backbone. Wow. More uphill than expected, but the 14% grade downhill was incredible! I was hauling and keeping my AP under the expected 7:15. Until the last stinking half mile. Just after lower calf creek falls (which I remember going to with Craig's family when Lauren was a baby) and just as you cross the mile 6 marker you get uphill. After all the downhill it takes a toll on your legs and I wasn't ready for it, so I sucked it up BIG time. I now am ready to go back and take on that dumb hill and conquer it in style! Watch out you 250 ft of gain in 1/2 mile. I'm coming for you and you're not taking me down this time!!
6.5 miles - 7:31AP splits: 7:06, 7:08, 7:11, 6:57, 6:24, 7:39, 13:00 (last 1/2...a little walking?)
After everyone finished their legs we got subway and headed to the next exchange we slept our only really good sleep, but I tried to sleep in the car on the back seat and it wasn't comfortable or much sleeping :/ I would come to regret this!
Our next legs were in the dark. Kimberly again started us out and she used my garmin since hers was out of batteries. She did a great job and exceeded her expected AP. We were ahead of time!
My leg was a flat/uphill this time. I knew with my tired legs from the week before I wasn't going to kill anything here, but I just tried to push and stay steady. My legs were done and the dumb light from the airport that would spin around and flash me every 10 seconds would always scare the pee out of me in this pitch dark area! Then the shoulder was nearly non-existint and well, it just was crazy. I hung in and almost hit my 8:15 expected. The fact my headlamp ran out of batteries didn't help either. I was glad to have the night run done.
4.8 miles AP: 8:17 splits: 7:57, 8:24, 8:10, 8:31, 8:26 (last .8)
We hit our van exchange after missing a turn and going a couple miles out of our way and handed off so that we could get our last hour of sleep before our final legs.
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