Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Wild West Relay Info + An Easy (Non-morning) Run + 100 Posts



The countdown is on:  1 1/2 days until I leave for Colorado for the Wild West Relay.  A lot of my sweet teammates have already done a "preview" of the race.  But I realized you might not read their blogs.  P.S.  If you don't read 'em, you probably should.  Consider yourself warned.  Whoa, that came off much more threatening than I anticipated.  :)

Here is the race rundown (previously provided by the awesome Kristin at ChasRunner):

  • 200 miles, 24 hours
  • 12 runners per team
  • 36 legs total
  • 3 legs per runner
  • From Fort Collins, CO to Steamboat Springs, CO
  • 2 SUV's packed with granola bars, peanut butter, stinky people & Gatorade
  • Lots 'o hills
  • Lots 'o elevation
  • Really, really challenging terrain but it promises to pretty amazing

Our team is the Dangerous Dozen!! To prove how dangerous we are, I will be running with nunchucks on my first leg, a samari sword on my second leg, and brass knuckles on my third.  B.A. Fo Sho.
To be honest, this relay could very well hand my @$$ to me on a silver platter, but I think it's going to be a blast and a half.  My legs....(of the relay, not my stems) are frightening.
Leg 1:  7.3 Miles.  Moderate.  This will probably be my easiest leg, I'm guessing.  As it's at the lowest altitude of the three, and has the most gradual incline.  To add injury to insult, however, I will be running this leg at approximately noon on Friday.  Friday it's supposed to be about 96* F.  Uff da.
Leg #2:  7.2 Miles.  Also Moderate.  By my approximation, this one will be
 starting roughly around midnight.  It's supposed to be around 35*F at this point.  This is the leg that I get to cross Wyoming off my "States Raced In" List.  Also, my dad told me to wear bells on my shoes to ward off the bears.....  He was serious.....
Leg #3.  4.2 Miles.  Moderate.  This leg should be the easiest.  But it probably won't be.  The elevation is painful to even think about at this point, and my legs will be PISSED at having already ran 14.5 miles in a 12 hour time frame.  I think I can convince them to persevere if I promise 
them liquid libations once they're done.  If not, I will use my brass knuckles to slow down the competition.  Either way.....

I tried to start packing tonight, and it was a mess and a 1/2.  I have WAY too much crap to bring for a running trip.  Tomorrow I'm only working a 1/2 day, so I'll finish up then and clean my apartment.  OR I'll just go to the waterpark, and say to hell with cleaning.  I wonder which way I'll go....
Tonight I had an easy 6 miler on the schedule.  I was almost spot on with my pace of 9:40 that I was supposed to achieve.  I did the 6 miles in 57:21 for an avg. pace of 9:33.  There were at least 9 million bikers out so it was a good night to people watch.  Plus, I didn't have to wake up early for the run.  Double bonus.  :)  Taylor left for WEFest this afternoon, so I figured I'd just run after work.  Luckily for me it was a beautiful 72 degrees after work with almost no humidity.  
1.  9:13
2.  9:37
3.  9:37
4.  9:45
5.  9:39
6.  9:28
Post-run I actually got in some sit-ups and push-ups that I've been severely neglecting.  I did 3 x 15 push-ups (that's a struggle for me, FYI, so I'm pretty proud).  
BTW, it's my 100th post.  In honor of this momentous occasion, I'm giving all of my followers a new car.  Wait...what?  Did I just say new car?  I meant a new post:  this one.  Thanks for following along thus far, I promise there are more adventures just ahead.  Like the knife shanking that will occur at some point of the relay.  Can't wait.

Note to the WWR RD in case he should accidentally stumble upon my lowly little blog:  I will not be strapping or packing or literally be bringing weapons of mass and/or small scale destruction on the trip.  You should see my suitcase.  It's packed to the brim.  Simply no room.  Perhaps next year.

16 comments:

Jamie said...

Sounds freaking awesome. I can't wait for the report! Lots of luck and have a ton of fun!!! I'm sure you will :)

And if it comes between cleaning and the waterpark - waterpark all the way :) Safe travels and good luck with the rest of packing!

Anonymous said...

It's a blogger meet up race too?? that's awesome!!!

...bears? seriously? I hope you bought some little bells. that's scary!

GOOD LUCK Jeri!!!!! I really can't wait to read these race reports. and have fun with the rest of your packing! ;)

Kathleen said...

Haha, happy 100th post!
GOOD LUCK!!! Oh my goodness, you are my hero for running this kick-ass race! Hope you do amazing girl :)

Mica said...

Wow, this is super exciting! Best of luck!

Anonymous said...

Good Luck!!!! Sounds like fun!

Glenn Jones said...

Wow. Sounds like fun! And don't worry about the bears. They are only interested in food. Now - if you were frying up some bacon, they would flock from miles around to knock the pan out of your hands!

You know - I could go for a trail run like this one. I have a couple friends who do this type of stuff - the last one was a 100 mile trail run. They say that in these type of runs the focus shifts from getting a good time to making sure you pace properly to avoid any cutoff times. Sounds strange, but then again, I've never pushed my body the way that you will be.

Should be fun! Challenging for sure - but that's what makes it fun - right?

Amy said...

Haha, you are silly. I fully expect to see some brass knuckle bruises when you come back.

Can't wait to hear how it goes!!

X-Country2 said...

I know some other people doing this race, and it sounds hard core! Good luck. Can't wait to read teh report.

Kristin @ The Southern Summer said...

Hahah thanks for not copying this and saying that Alesha is your BFFie from high school too :)

Yay! I'm so excited! And...I just got my green tank in and it looks HUGE. What size did you get???

I really hope my van has some bells for me to wear. I'd rather not get eaten this weekend.

Kristin @ The Southern Summer said...

Yeah I got a small too. I haven't tried it on but it looks like it would be flappy in the front! Boo. I might go do some shopping tonight...

MissAllycat said...

NICE!! I'm running leg 4 and my boyfriend is running leg 5 - he has stars tattooed on his leg so give him a shout if you see him on the course!! :)

GOOD LUCK!!

J said...

This is so exciting and i can't wait to hear about it! I would love to run this one next year if it worked out!

Heather said...

The relay sounds so fun - good luck, and I hope you have a great time! Can't wait to read the race report.

Aron said...

omgosh this sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!!! have a great time girl!!

Jen Feeny said...

Thanks for stopping by my digs today! So excited to hear about your relay... I'm participating in a similiar relay in November with a bunch of bloggers I've never met and I'm so stoked! Just added you to my reader!

Jen Feeny said...

Thanks for stopping by my digs today! So excited to hear about your relay... I'm participating in a similiar relay in November with a bunch of bloggers I've never met and I'm so stoked! Just added you to my reader!