03 September 2011

{Leg 24... Lost in Mist} 2011 Hood to Coast Relay – Nuun-style: The Miniseries, Part 5



Scattered bodies in the mist of Mist...

the Nuun zombie rising...

oh, wait... it's not a post-apocalyptic encampment...
it's a major van transition area in the Hood to Coast Relay!


Although I had managed a 'successful' Honey Bucketing before my leg, 
and my crampy belly was somewhat soothed, all through my run I knew...
This was where I was ultimately headed... lol.
One of the advantages to be well-hydrated is I had to pee a lot ;-) 
thanks, Nuun!

There I go...
I have no idea where on Leg 24 this was taken... 
beginning... end... middle...

This was the hardest leg for me in many ways:
  • First, it was morning. Fortunately, I had run a couple of mornings in the two weeks leading up to the relay. 
  • Second, I had run just 9 hours previously. That's a lot of running in a short amount of time for me. 
  • Third, there was not the adrenaline of starting out or of bringing it home... it was 'just' the middle and 'just' there... needing to be run with no obvious specialness. 
  • Fourth, given the crummy signal reception for phones, I made some parallel or intersecting conclusion that my Garmin would be troubled so I left it in the van. I brought my watch so I wouldn't be totally clueless out there. I had a hard time settling on a pace... I think :P
  • I had to wear the night vest and headlamp even though it was broad daylight... rules, you know. As I ran, I knew I was struggling because I found myself getting distracted by the fact that there were lots of vest-less rule-breakers out there. I fantasized about having a clipboard so I could report them. Pettiness was a sure sign that I was struggling :P
  • Burger King passed me. That was slightly demoralizing.
The good points of this run were:
  • it was cool enough to wear long pants.
  • I remembered to bring my water.
  • I passed more people than passed me :)
  • someone informed me with 2 miles to go that the mileage was painted on the road. Nice to have a little frame of reference!
The route was beautiful. Farms. Sheep. Goats. Christmas trees, I think. Lots of green... which is a nice switch from the brown of late summer in California. And mist.

Entering the last mile, there were three guys and a woman in front of me. I tried to get them. Got the woman. Got one of the guys. The time/speed thing didn't work out for getting the other two... I entered the hand-off chute...

4.92 miles in 43:01... 8:39 pace. which is super fast for me.

I know I handed off to Major Miles... but again, I have no recollection of seeing her. I do remember taking the slappy strap off and straightening it out and looking... How did I get it to her? I think someone  pushed me at her or something. Anyway, she got it and away she went... on her LAST LEG!

I required a bit of a walk... 5 minutes or so... before I could stomach getting in the van. But we did need to get going because of the mounting traffic issues. We were in too much of a hurry for a Honey Bucketing even. When I climbed into the van, I not-quite-coherently handed my phone to someone...I think it was Capt. Phoenix (our awesome Nuun staff running goddess)...

"Take a picture of Mist for me. Take a picture of the place I ran to today. Please."

This is what she photographed :)


A bit later, the mist began to dissipate...
Such a beautiful place to conclude our second part.


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9 comments:

  1. That is so inspiring! I feel like I saw some of the scenery you described just by reading your words (the pictures helped, too.) I'm glad you remembered your water, too. Hoe awful if you did!

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  2. The reason you had to pee a lot is because your body was disposing of things it didn't need, which is pretty much all the ingredients in NUUN. That stuff is horrible.

    Can we run the unabridged version of this on Triathlete 54? I feel like you could drill down a few levels more.

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  3. Love the pic of all the bodies in the sleeping bags!!

    :)

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  4. I loved seeing you finish each leg. I could tell that you really left it all out there. I think one of the hardest things for runners to do was jump right into a van.

    I'm looking forward to the rest of the story...

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  5. Wow, girl - that was an awesome time! The sleeping bag picture was the best! It was 9pm and dark when I laid my sleeping bag out, so no pictures. You'll have to do a much smaller relay sometime (not in mileage but in masses) just so you can experience the difference...we had no traffic issues at all. I'd love to hear your comparisons.

    Nice job, chica!!!

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  6. I love you, speedy lady... and I love that you had to have someone take a pic of a parking lot for you. You seriously gave it your all -- and it all paid off, since we were winners. :)

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  7. How exciting for you and inspiring for me! Glad you had a wonderful time! Great pictures!!! Thanks!

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  8. You should be SUPER prod of your legs this relay! You left it ALL out there on the course!! So honored to be your teammate!

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  9. something about that first picture of all your caterpillar bodies is beautiful. really stunning, captures the attention. I have this problem where I can't sleep if my nose is cold, and I can't sleep if my face is smothered under a blanket....so, when I camp in the cold, I don't sleep. It's miserable.

    way to bust out some fast miles despite the early hour and tired legs!

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