I was sweaty and shivering and just wanted to be warm. So, I decided to shower before getting some sleep. It’s been a loooooong time since I was in a girls locker room. So long that I forgot that there are no shower stalls or curtains. UG! But, I was cold and miserable, and I knew that I wouldn’t sleep in that state. So, I hit the showers and eventually bared it all for the first time in…. ??? possibly my whole life??? I re-dressed in the clothes for my next leg plus sweat pants and shirt and my fleece blanket. I then slept on the floor of a hallway for 90 minutes. It was glorious!
In the time that had passed so far, I came to find out that our driver, Diane, wasn’t the quiet and reserved person I had originally thought. She was quite an entertainer, and we were grateful for her stories and support. She honked in support of us (and many, many other runners) no matter what. She laughed the entire time, and she never complained about the lack of sleep, being crammed into our vehicle, or our sometimes foul mouths.
We headed to the next vehicle exchange pretty early because the race organizers recommended it based on last year. Like everything else, though, it was well organized and everything went smoothly. We sipped hot chocolate, got sprinkled on, and waited for van 2’s final runner. The hand-off was made, and we were off again.
It’s worth mentioning here that van 2 really struggled. One of the girls twisted her ankle in her first section. She completed it, but it was painful. The rest of that team really dedicated themselves to making up any time lost. She tried to run her second leg, but only managed half of it. Then, she was done. :( Her teammates picked up her remaining miles. They pushed themselves so hard that many of them puked… several times. Now, that’s dedication to the team!
I was looking forward to my third leg of the race because it was the only one defined as “easy.” After two “very hard” runs and being cooped up in the Tahoe, I’m not sure that I would classify walking as “easy”, but I was looking forward to having the running over with.
Before I could begin, Maria completely rocked it on her up-down-up very hard leg past Jordanelle – in the rain – and wind – and cold! Then, Carrie ran her butt off on a 4-mile plummet into Heber city – in the rain – and wind – and cold. As always, Lisa ran a strong leg to finally exchange to me.I was NOT going to mess this up. I was determined to run this as strong as I possibly could. (Which, of course, meant that I was road kill a bunch of times, but nonetheless…..) I started out a bit too fast and faded a bit. As I tired, I was about to take my normal walk break, but then I changed my mind. After all, it was only three miles! I didn’t need a walk break, and van 2 was waiting to start their killer last legs. So, I determined to run my heart out and not look at my watch until after the exchange because my watch would just remind me that I was XX minutes past my normally scheduled walk time, and it would make me feel more tired than not. This was a good tactic, but I really was tired, and I desperately wanted every road marker to be the one that said “one mile to go.” They didn’t. I had to stop at the light on Main Street in Heber, so I know that I lost about 30 seconds, but I did my best to really push it the entire time. I didn't make a PR, but I was only 2.5 minutes over my 5K PR. I exchanged with Heather from van 2 gasping for breath, but happy to have completed this adventure.
And, what a fun group of women to share the experience with! I hope that I’ve made friends to last many years. We’re a very diverse group, but share a common interest and a respect for each other.
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