Wild West Relay Report: Day 1 Continued + Leg 1

After our first 4 runners were finished, it was my turn. As each team member would hand off, I would get just a wee bit more nervous. I think I used the portapotties 27 times in preparation. I even resorted to stretching to calm my nerves. I remember starting to stretch at least an hour and half before my races in high school (yes, I stretched that long for a race that last less than 13 seconds, and around 27 seconds!) I was also pretty jealous that there were freezy pops at this exchange. Probably not the greatest pre-run snack. :(

Stretching on the gravel feels awesome.

Look at me. I'm bendy. Hah. (I think I actually said that as the photo was taken :p)

And I was off! Buh bye portapoopers, I got 7.3 miles to conquer.

Here's the elevation according to my Garmin. The first part is just a subtle uphill, but it didn't feel very subtle. Everyone who had ran before me said it took the first mile to get used to breathing the air, so I was thankful for the slow incline to get me acclimated. The worst part about this race: no iPods/headphones. Although, many others didn't follow the rules, tsk tsk, I did and I'll tell ya...it sucks listening to yourself breathe! It totally messes with your head hearing how labored your breathing is. I didn't feel tired/winded, but I sure as heck sounded like it. Ay ay ay.

The team drove ahead a couple of miles to park and morph into the sweetest cheering section EVER! Seriously, it was great getting to see them every couple of miles. They would crank up some sweet tunes (on the awesome playlist created by yours truly), bust out some sweet cheers/yells, and snap a gazillion awesome photos in the process.
This is probably my new fave running photo. Thanks Amanda. It makes me look like I'm flying. Uh...I mean, I WAS flying, and she managed to capture the photo as proof. :p

Someone else managed to snag my best angle. Thanks again team. :D And I kept running....

The run was really great until I encountered the first, seemingly endless, hill. I can rock hills. Because "I am a machine," a mantra I said over and over while running it. But uff da, it was getting difficult to breathe! As I was running up, I was catching up to a girl in front of me. We had a mid-way up the hill chat.

Me: Wowsers, is this hill ever gonna end????

Girl: I know...it's....

Me: .....brutal.

Apparently there were some beautiful views on the way up the hill. Unfortunately I was just focused on the top of the hill and taking air into my lungs. Lucky for you all, my teammates snapped some shots. :)

I started getting a bit dizzy and light headed while trudging up, but judging by my Garmin I knew I only had a little ways to go to get to the top. Once I did I was rewarded by a pretty sweet downhill portion.

Wheeee!!

Dunno why this is such a small picture. :( Grrr....

The handoff to Julie, our van's final runner for Leg 1.

And I'm done. Sweaty. Salty. But done.

And another with the mountain I conquered behind me. You might be able to take the wind out of the beast, mountain, but you can't take the BEAST out of the beast. :p

How many road kills did I garner, you ask? 3. Boom.

Run Stats:

7.3 miles in 1:10:32 for an average pace of 9:40. My goal was 10:00 miles, so take that mountain. :p

1. 9:11

2. 9:30

3. 9:35

4. 9:31

5. 9:37

6. 9:58

7. 10:40

.3 2:27 (8:07 pace)

*Can you tell at which point I wanted to jump off the mountain? If you answered mile 7, you are RIGHT! :)

Plenty more to come so stay tuned. :)