I was feeling great for my first run around 10AM. Call it excitement. Call it nervousness. Call it adrenaline. Whatever. My first run started at Messiah Lutheran Church on the far East side of Madison. Oh my goodness, was that brutal!!! Not even a half mile into it, I already have a steep hill to run up but at least I already knew that by doing research of my runs two weeks before the race. It got a bit scary during the run because I knew I had to turn at a Vilas Road. However, before my actual turn, I saw a Vilas Hope Road and started thinking 'Hmm, am I suppose to turn? I know it's suppose to be Vilas. Maybe I didn't read the entire road on my map beforehand.' Then I saw an arrow to go straight but I was a bit skeptical since we had stopped earlier to cheer on Beth at a corner where an arrow sign was and saw about 5 runners go by on a different street. I didn't know if I could trust the arrow or not. But I did. There was not a runner in sight in front of me nor behind me for most of my run so I couldn't just trust to follow someone. After passing Vilas Hope Road and the arrow to continue straight, the next two minutes I kept thinking 'Should I get the phone out and call my teammates?'. Finally, I saw Vilas Road and sighed a big relief. Besides that bit of a scare, I was enjoying my run except for the 3 more hills to run up. I definitely appreciated the two very short downhills I had during that run. By the time I reached the fourth hill I had to run up, I actually said out loud to myself 'Seriously?!? Another hill? You've got to be kidding me!' and started cursing all the way up the hill. For the last 1.5 miles, someone finally appeared behind me. That gave me an incentive to not let that person pass me. I think that person kept trying to catch up to me and I kept running faster to not let them pass me so thank you random runner. I never stopped running and was extremely proud of myself for getting through that run with the 'awesome' hills. At least the weather cooperated with me; it was cloudy and cool. But, I was so happy to pass the baton to Andrew at the Fireman's Park in Cottage Grove. That run took about 44 minutes to run, an average of 8:45 minute per mile, about my normal pace.
I now have about 8 hours til my next run. After I had finished running, I rehydrated, ate some snacks and stretched out. Stretching was the key to not getting injured for the weekend. I stretched before and after all my runs. I even stretched on my downtimes when others were running so then my muscles couldn't tighten up. Time to cheer on my teammates. Andrew was now on the course and Joshua was next. I was really excited for him to get going.
I was so proud of Joshua! He ran so fast! I guess when he would go running with me, he would keep my pace even though I knew he could run faster. He finished with a time of 26 minutes!!! A pace of about 7:30 minutes per mile! Impressive!
Our last teammate Mandy was after Joshua and the brutal sun showed up in time for her and her trail run with no trees or shade. I was not jealous at all. She made it through the sun and finally our van was done around 1, 1:30PM. Time for Car 2 to have their five runners (Erin, April, Matt, Kristen and Allison) run the course and us to have a break.
We drove to where our first runner Beth would continue for Car 2 in Dousman, WI. Checking out the small town, we opted to go further and stop at a bigger city Delafield for more food choices. We kinda wanted to be healthy since we each still had two more runs to go. Subway!!! Once we got some food in us, we returned to Dousman to wait for the other car. While we were waiting for them to get to the TA, our van pulled out the sleeping bags and pillows and took a catnap on the grass. Our second car came around 4 and most of our entire team got to hang out. The hanging out didn't last very long since the last runner of Car 2 came by and our first runner in Car 1 Beth was on her way for her 2nd run. And here our van goes again.
I was feeling great while getting ready for my 2nd run. Unfortunately, dusk was approaching and I had to put on the night safety gear. But at least I was the first person to use them so it was all sweat free! My blinking vest was too big for me. If only I had grabbed the other blinking vest which was a lot smaller.
My 2nd run started at Apostolic Church in Waukesha, WI. I went back onto the Glacial Drumlin Trail that our team had been running on for a long time. It felt nice running on a trail as opposed to pavement because it was a lot easier on my knees. No hills on that trail! Woohoo! I was on that trail for about 2.3 miles. At least for this run, there were people behind and in front of me in seeing distance. One guy ran past me pretty fast and I didn't care. I did however hear footsteps behind me throughout the trail and saw a guy running about my pace so again that kept me going, not wanting him to pass me. On the trail, I ended up passing two people. YAY! When the trail ended, it led me to College Ave going towards Carroll College. I passed another 3 people on this street and then heard someone behind me. The guy was now on my heels, about 10 feet behind when what did I see? A f*ing hill. He caught up to me and said 'It's all uphill from here on out' and I'm thinking 'Wonderful!'. He passed me going up the hill but I think that winded him because he started walking when the hill flattened out. I caught up to him and as we were waiting for a street light to change, we saw the end was near. I said to him 'Let's finish strong' so we picked up the pace then it turned into an all out sprint. I don't think Andrew, who was the next runner, knew what was coming. I think I surprised him. But I pulled out an even faster sprint and finished ahead of the guy. I hadn't sprinted like that since high school. Everyone watching was pretty impressed with our finish. Time to rest up and rehydrate again. Run 2 done with a time of 30:02, about a 8:30 minute mile average. A nice run with no sun again but a bit humid. I was soaked in sweat when I was done.
Joshua putting his night gear on for his 2nd run
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Runners not running but getting out still
needed vests, the cheaper ones |
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| Joshua coming in from his 2nd run |
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| Joshua handing off to Mandy |
Again, I was extremely proud of Joshua. Night running is so much harder. Joshua ran in the complete darkness whereas I still had some sort of light in the sky. He ran 4.54 in 36 minutes, just under an 8 minute mile average. We were now anxious for Mandy to get in from her run so we could get some sleep. It was about 10PM when Mandy finished. Time to find a place to sleep. Some of the bigger TAs had sleeping areas but luckily Andrew's mom's place was on our way to where we would start off again. But we had some problems.
Andrew didn't call his mom til 10PM to let her know we'd be there in a half hour or so and got her voicemail. We got to her place and as Andrew tried to get in with his key, he realized he didn't have another key for a different door that was locked so we couldn't get in. We were all so tired so we all sat down on the steps while Andrew tried to figure out what to do. Rang the doorbell a few times, then called his mom again and yes she picked up this time! Success! Everyone took a shower and slept on and off for about 2 hours. 2:30AM came by very quickly and we all unhappily got up. Andrew's mom was a lifesaver and put out fruit and some snacks for us while we were sleeping.
We got to our next TA, met up with Car 2 at around 3:30AM. They were not happy at all. They had not slept yet and had been running throughout the late evening. They were happy to give up the vests. Round 3...
You definitely could tell people were really tired and lazy because there were no pictures of me at least that I could round up from my third leg. And my team had to drop someone off at their car because they were leaving us after their last run.
My 3rd run was the longest of the 3 legs. 5.4 miles. Even though it was light outside, it was super cloudy and foggy so I had to put on the safety gear. By this time, several people have worn it running so it was super sweaty especially the headlamp. But at least I got the smaller vest that fit so much better.
I started off at St. Andrew's Church in Racine, WI. I got to run along Lake Michigan for some of the run. That run was not so much fun. Even though I had no hills, thank goodness, I had a lot of bugs. Half the time, I was running with my head down so I wouldn't swallow any bugs. Bugs vs Hills...I think I would rather have the hills so than I could run normal. During the run, I could tell the faster teams were approaching. People who were passing me were the ones that were running like I was running on my first leg. Strong and looking good. Definitely didn't care about them passing me. When I was coming upon the last stretch of my run, I began to sprint. When I see the end in sight, it's like I have a second and third and fourth wind in me. My team had just gotten to the exchange 2 minutes before me after dropping off our teammate at her car. I ended at North Beach Park in Racine. My 5.4 miles took 54:47, about a 10 minute mile average. Definitely had slowed my pace down. I finished with Andrew still stretching by the van. He wasn't happy about not properly getting ready for his run. And now, I'm done with the race! So you think...
We didn't have a full team so we still had 3 runs that were unaccounted for. Then also, our 11th runner had to leave after her second run so now we have 4 runs unaccounted for. I caught my breath, stretched out and rehydrated. I think I can do one of the extra runs. But we'll wait and see how everyone feels.
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| Joshua getting ready to run his last run of 6.71 miles |
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| Joshua getting Andrew's vest because of the fog. |
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| Joshua's off for his longest run of the race. |
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| Joshua coming in... |
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| ...to exchange to Mandy |
58 minutes for a 6.71 mile run! A little over 8:30 minute mile average! Couldn't believe he still had energy and kept going strong. However, I think he may have pushed too hard because his right knee started bothering him. He was limping and had to buy a knee brace and an ace bandage wrap. But he still wanted to help out with one of those extra legs but we said, we'll just wait and see how people are feeling.
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| By Lake Michigan waiting for the last runner in our car |
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| Tired but still happy |
Once Mandy finished around 9AM or so, we went straight to a breakfast place to eat. We hadn't eaten a real meal since the Subway the day before at 2PM. We ate so much, getting in some protein and carbs. We all had a feeling that our van was going to be running those extra legs. We left the breakfast place and headed towards the TA where the 3rd runner from Car 2 would be ending. We passed out in the car after running and eating. Then bad news...storm/rain delay. The 2nd runner from Car 2 was out running when they stopped the race due to a storm coming through. She was able to finish her leg of the race but then no runners could leave til the storm passed. I think we waited about an hour before the race could start again but I had been napping so I wouldn't know for sure. Finally, we met up with Car 2 and we talked about those extra runs. And yes, it would be left up to Car 1 to finish the race. I volunteered to do one but one of the shorter runs and by shorter I mean, 5.86 miles...even longer than my last one!
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| Stretching out for my 4th run, 5.86 miles |
This run was definitely an experience. I ran mainly on a bike path that cut through north of Chicago. Yes the path was nice. However, the path would end and there would be a parking lot. Okay, just keep running and yes good the path starts again where the parking lot ended. And same thing happened again and again and again. My team however, stopped their cars at one of the lots to make sure I was doing alright since I was doing an extra run. I gave them a two thumbs up and told them I could do this. During this run, I ended up passing 5 runners! Hooray for me! After 4.5 miles on the bike path, I got stuck at a light that seemed to take about 2 long minutes and two runners that I had passed a half mile back had caught up to me. When we started running again after the light, we ended up running somewhat together, the three of us. That helped a ton because I think after stopping for just a minute at the light had deteriorated my energy. We ended up keeping each other in check. Me and the woman ended together and a guy was right behind us to the exchange. Again, with the end in sight, I sprinted as did the woman. We both said out loud to each other to end strong. Thanks random runners for running with me the last 2 miles. If they hadn't, I think I would've walked but I just couldn't let them pass me after passing them. I ended up running about 55:30 for a 9:30 minute per mile. That's when I said to my team, 'I am totally done. I can't run another step.' 3 more runs to go as a team...
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| Sprinting in with the woman... |
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Giving each other high fives.
They both said they couldn't have done it without my pacing. |
Mandy was next to run an extra leg, then Andrew and finally Kevin, our strongest and fastest runner to run the longest extra leg. Apparently, he ended up passing 25 or so runners. He was a lifesaver and helped our team finish before 8PM.
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| Teams waiting for the last runner so they can finish together |
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Waiting for Kevin to get in
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| Excited to be done |
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| The finish line that we all crossed together as a team |
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| The finish line |
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| Getting our medals |
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| Getting our medals |
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| Talking about the crazy weekend |
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| Joshua scarfing down his pizza slice |
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Scarfing down a pizza slice...so hungry,
I'd even eat those black olives. Check out our cool medal for finishing the race. |
To sum up, our team ran 200 miles in 35 hours. We ate lots of bananas, drank lots of water and gatorade, and got no sleep. I ran about 20 miles in 3 hours. The simulation runs we did a week before helped but still didn't prepare us fully. This was definitely an experience to have had. Will I do this next year again? Joking around after the race, someone said 'Same time next year?' and I was thinking 'Hell no'. Got a good night of rest and food. Today, Monday, almost 48 hours later...I'm thinking 'Yes, I will do it next year if they ask'. The people I was with were awesome. Yes there were some low points when everyone was crabby but there were A LOT of high points when we had so much fun. We've got experience under our belt. So maybe next year...
GREAT JOB TEAM ROADKILL RUNNING!!!
Car 1: BETH, KEVIN, CINDY, ANDREW, JOSHUA, MANDY
Car 2: ERIN, APRIL, MATT, KRISTEN, ALLISON
VERY IMPRESSIVE! I am exhausted just reading about your day... ready to take a nap!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! What an achievement and rewarding experience! I thought the Half Dome hike that me and Jon did was brutal...but now I'm thinking this MC200 is even MORE brutal! Great job!
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