Epic Oregon Relay Race Report

First a numbered recap of the previous week:

1. Running-wise, we ran 2 days total. About 3 miles on Monday and about 2 miles on Wednesday. I have no idea what our pace was, but I didn’t care. My legs felt ok, and I hoped they would hold up for the weekend!

2. Yoga-wise: I went Tuesday and Wednesday. I even made it to class AFTER running on Wednesday. It was power (hot) Vinyasa, too, and it was a VERY warm day! But I still felt great, and hoped the yoga wouldn’t affect my running over the weekend. (Spoiler alert: no problemo!)

With that out of the way, onto the relay!

First of all, I found out on Monday that I was assigned to the very first leg. I was cool with that, since that meant I would be the first one done. I was given the legs that were qualified as 8/12 difficulty (1 being hardest, 12 being the easiest) and capped out at 11.46 miles. Seemed do-able. We met most of our team members at a pasta party the night before. I knew everyone that was going to be in our van (including J!) but I was able to meet some of the people who were in Van 2.

Our Van was scheduled to begin in Lake Oswego at 11:30am; we parked near the starting line at 11:15am. Yeah. I think I’ll use the first mile to warm up… (BTW. You may notice, we were no where near super serious and competitive for this relay. We just wanted to have fun!) We got our packets, goodie bags, and I got my bib placed, then lined up at the starting line. Our group was starting along with, I think, 5 other teams? Anyway, once the gun went off, every single one of the other runners quickly outpaced me. Whatev’s, I still needed to warm up.

Leg 1:
My first leg was 3.8 miles and classified as “Mild”. It was through some pretty neighborhoods in Lake Oswego, and started with a slight incline. The incline was followed by a nice, smooth downhill and some nice flatness. I managed to catch one of the girls from my group on the flat section, and got a nice lead on her, until I made it in time for a stoplight. Sweet. Yeah, I was there for at least 4 minutes, and she totally caught back up with me again. But I was dead set on finishing before her, and once I figured out where I was supposed to go, I kicked up the speed, and finished with a nice kick.

3.8 miles (8:58 avg pace, including the stoplight…)
Mile 1 – 8:48 (Warm-up + incline)
Mile 2 – 8:30
Mile 3 – 8:50 (Not sure why I slowed down…)
Mile 3.8 – 9:52 (avg pace; Tapping my foot at the stoplight)

Van Exchange 2:
After our final runner passed of to Van 2 (that would be J), we headed off to the second Van Exchange to get some rest before starting our second leg. I was able to get about 2 hours of “half sleep” since so many other teams weren’t trying to sleep, and many groups were ahead of us. I learned later that earplugs really help out a lot!

Leg 13:
My second leg was 4.4 miles and took place at dusk. My leg was classified as “Hard” but was totally worth the price of admission. The lighting was beautiful, and so was the landscape. I passed vineyards and farmland and greatest of all, Christmas Trees! It smelled like Christmas!! All this beauty was almost enough to distract from the ass kicking I got. We started on a straightaway, where I caught up with one of the runners who had started a little ways before me. I think there were a few rollers after the flat start, and then I saw it, the first big hill. I knew there was a good hill at the end of the leg, but it was too early for that. There was a monster hill in front of me, but I saw the top, and managed to get through it without difficulty. Some super nice vans slowed down to cheer me on, which totally helped too. Finally, I reached the top. (Thank you Christina. I am a “Fighter” ;) No sooner had I reached the top, than I saw the start of the 2 mile climb that would take me up 200 feet. Thank goodness I had some music to push me through. I kept a pretty good pace, throughout this leg, and I’m really proud of myself for it. It was hard for me, but I really think I pushed through the leg quite well. I was slightly worried that the girl I passed at the beginning would pass me on the climb, but no worries! I think I even gained some ground on other runners in front of me! Booya! :)

4.4 miles (8:58 avg pace)
Mile 1 – 8:11
Mile 2 – 8:47
Mile 3 – 8:53 (I think this is where my pre-hill was)
Mile 4 – 9:57 (wee!)
Mile 4.4 – 9:05 (avg pace; I got a mini-downhill here)

Van Exchange 3:
We finished this section at about midnight. We were pretty exhausted. We made our way to my alma mater, Corvallis High School. As soon as my earplugs were in, I was out like a light. It didn’t seem long, though, when J woke me up at about 4am to tell me Van 2 would soon be coming our way. I changed my clothes to smell a bit fresher (nice try!) And got my night gear back on.

Leg 25:
My third leg was definitely my easiest, so I wanted to bring in some speed. I was pretty excited to be running through a town I lived in for 3 years of my life. (We moved around a bit when I was growing up.) It was kinda chilly when we were standing still, but I knew I would warm-up after I got going! When we saw our runner coming, I stripped down to my shorts and t-shirt, and took off! This section didn’t seem to be marked quite as well as I would have liked, so I hoped I was going the right way! I was making my way outta town, and was feeling really great. I was just noting to myself how lucky I was to be hitting all the stoplights just right, even though there wasn’t much traffic out at 4:45 in the morning, when all of the sudden, BAM!, gravity became my enemy. Yes, I knew it would happen sooner or later. I mean, I trip while walking on sidewalks, what did I expect when I was moving at a much quicker clip. Yeah, I fell, and it was really spectacular. Somehow I went down on my left elbow and knee, rolled onto my left hip, and finally onto my backside, where I skidded to a halt. I didn’t see any runners behind me, and there were only a few cars, who didn’t stop. Phew! That could have been more embarrassing! I assessed my body and nothing seemed too out of order, so I got back on my feet and continued on. There was a little stinging, but nothing too bad.

I crossed a bridge, but when the sidewalk ended, I was no longer sure I was going the right way, but I started along the shoulder of the road anyway. Luckily, a guy passed me soon after, and told me he was pretty sure we were going the right way. Phew! Soon enough, another guy caught up to me. He didn’t pass me, and chatted with me for the rest of the leg. It was kinda neat to have someone who distracted me from my pace, and how far we had left, and whether or not I was lost, but eventually, I wanted to pick up the pace. I felt bad about potentially leaving him behind; I didn’t want to be rude! Soon enough, I saw the exchange and picked up the pace, leaving chatty behind.

I was done! I may have been able to go faster, but I was definitely breathing HARD at the end! J was there to give me some water, and I muttered, “Is my elbow ok?” After the initial fall, my wounds weren’t feeling too bad (thank you adrenaline!) but I knew there was probably some blood, especially with my heart pumping so hard, and I was indeed correct! J was worried, but I told him it was ok. Luckily, we had been in charge of bringing the first aid kit; hopefully that wasn’t bad luck! My wounds cleaned up pretty nice, and aren’t hurting too bad today. (I’m just hoping my bruised hip, elbow and knee won’t affect my yoga! I’m addicted!) I’m just glad the fall didn’t happen until my last leg! :) (I’ll post a pic of the blood at the end, beware if you’re squeamish.)

When J was done (after a grueling 7+ mile run, 4 of which he had horrible ITB pain…) we headed to the finish line in Eugene, and took a glorious nap! We woke up in time to greet 5 of the runners from Van 2 and await our last runner. When she entered the park we all hobbled behind her (none of us was feeling up to running anymore at this point) and finished as a team. What fun! We had to wait around a bit for our epic medals, but then headed off for some Cafe Yum, which we enjoyed along with some beer and pizza (I was starving! We had subsisted on pretzels, animal cookies, and donuts until this point. Yeah, epic running food!) and watched the US vs. Ghana World Cup game (US played well, Ghana is a tough team! Trust me, I’m a Germany fan.) Finally we headed home, a little grungier, a little smellier, a lot more tired, but with some great memories of an awesome relay.

I think this was a great first relay, since the legs are pretty quick, not too difficult, and was over within a little over 24 hours. I can’t wait for the next one!

Mile 1 – 8:49 (This is when I bit it, aka “My EPIC fall”)
Mile 2 – 8:01
Mile 3 – 8:01 (No, seriously)
Mile 3.18 – 7:40 (avg pace; “see ya!”)

Here’s some pics of our good times:

The starting line (I’m in the bright blue with the white hat):

And, we’re off:

Running Leg 1:

Finishing Leg 1:

Handoff:

J and I looking cute at some point:

Starting Leg 13:

So pretty:

My favorite (and now my Facebook profile pic!) Finishing strong!:

My second handoff:

I don’t have any pics of my 3rd leg (which was during a beautiful sunrise, by the way. But I do have this):
That look says: “I might look like this, but I am done!”

J and I after a glorious nap and ravenously hungry. (We are beautiful):

Finish line:

Not sure what this next week will bring except for 3 things:
1. Sleepover Half Marathon (I’ll explain this in a later post some time this week.) on Friday night.

2. Germany vs. Argentina early Saturday morning after Sleepover Half Marathon. (Sleep deprivation is my new thing)

3. Flat Half/Full Marathon aid station volunteering on Sunday.

As for the remainder of the week, maybe some running, and definitely some yoga! See you soon!