April 22nd, 2017
One of my favorite runs of the year is the River to River Relay from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River. It's 80 miles, the team is 8 people, and we are in 1 van! It's so much fun, the people you meet and the camaraderie you make that day is amazing (not only among your own team, but the others around). Everyone is so happy and excited to be there that it's a blast.
This year was quite different than last year. Last year it was hot and sunny and we all ended up with sunburns. A week out the weather was calling for rain, storms and chilly temps in the 40's and 50's. They were even talking about skipping the first leg since it runs on gravel and through the woods and gets flooded/dangerous.
We meet a few weeks before the race to figure out who is running what legs, and who is bringing snacks and drinks, etc. I pulled the 1st runner and was psyched. Not only is the first leg a fast all downhill, but I would be able to go first and set our pace and moral for the race.
We drove to Marion the night before and met up with the rest of the group and went to the managers meeting, then had a team dinner at Cracker Barrel then off to bed. Our start time was 6:15 (the first wave) so we had to be on the road by 4:50am. Brooke and I shared a room and went straight to bed, the alarm at 4:30 rang pretty quickly. We met in the lobby and I learnt they had cancelled my 1st leg of the race. So instead of starting right away I would be waiting a few hours before I ran, and I would only run 2 of 3 legs I was required to do. It sucked...made me feel like the weak link of the group.
The relay began in the dark at 6:30 with runner #2 and it was cold. Rain came in a little bit later and got a few of us soaked (which was hard since it still was cold too). Everyone was rocking their legs, and we were near the front. Since we started in the first wave there was much less traffic than last year which was nice, we didn't have to battle anyone, and the porta potties were still clean!!
By the time it got to my first leg I was cold and wet. I couldn't feel my toes, which makes it hard to run. I started my leg on a huge uphill and just couldn't catch my breath after that. The chilly air, no music (I couldn't seem to connect to the internet), and cold toes made me miserable. I had to walk a few times on some of the uphills (I had a few steep ones). But I finished, with a decent time still...I just couldn't catch my breath the whole time, not a great running day apparently.
The rain slowly stopped and it began to warm up a little bit...54ish. When it came to my next leg I was a little warmer, and the rain had stopped. I was hopeful that this leg would go better, even though I had some more hills (but luckily ending on a pretty big hill). I took off (again - no music- makes it instantly harder to be motivated). I wasn't cold anymore, but still just couldn't catch my breath and get into a groove. I ran as far as I could before I stopped and walked. Half way through my leg the sun came out (and I got hot) but then it also started to rain, which wasn't so bad. I was happy to see my exchange up ahead, I let gravity take me down the hill and sprinted to the exchange and I was done....done for the day! (still feeling inadequate to my team for only running 2 legs and not having a great 2 legs).
Despite my bad running we finished in 10 hrs and 4 min! Almost an hour better than last year! We were a quicker team. It was nice to be at Golconda early in the day (around 4:30/5) so we could relax a bit before heading back on the road, but the chill had come back and the sun was gone again, so we were eager to leave and start the journey back.
Even though it was hard, cold, rainy, and everything else...I would not trade this race for the world, it's an amazing race, put on by amazing people, and all the volunteers are so excited to be there...there is even a group of ladies who bake a crap ton of cookies for you to take at no charge! It's the best race, and I hope I never have to miss it!
I know this isn't race related, but the whole way back I was thinking that I wanted tacos for dinner (yes, I would be home for dinner!) When I got back to my car at Stefano's I called Corey and he said just to come home. I got home - I was so excited to see Corey- and he had made tacos and burritos! What an amazing guy, I am so lucky!
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
April 9th, 2017
On April 9th I had the pleasure of running the GO! St. Louis Marathon Relay with 3 military guys. It was a blast! We decided to follow with a car to be able to pick up the last runner and drop off the new runner so we could all have fun together, especially since there was only 4 of us (and one who had to leave right after their leg).
The four of us decided to do this way back in September knowing we had time to train and that these other guys were fast already. so they would run the longer legs to get us a great time, and who knows...maybe place. Well as the time got closer and closer this plan went down hill. We found out the legs would be 3.75, 4.75, 7.2 and 8.2. One of the guys had an abdominal injury, so we figured we would give him the shortest leg because he still wanted to run. But then other things came into effect, where Corey and Buddy were both unprepared and didn't have the chance to train as they should. Additionally Buddy had an injury to overcome, and the week before Corey got shin splints...it wasn't looking good. I knew I would be running the long leg, which I wasn't too upset...I had been doing at least 6 miles every other day with 3-4 miles the rest of the days. So I let them fight it out. The night before it was decided...Buddy would run the 3.75, Justin the 4.75, Corey agreed to do the 7.2 mile and I would run the 8.2 miles. I was psyched, we loaded up the car with a cooler, with ice and beer, and loaded a bag up with some snacks, gu's and protein bars for the pre-race.
Buddy met at Corey and I's house and then we met Justin downtown that morning since he rode with another person running the half. Buddy headed down to the start line and we made our way to the first exchange (right by Busch Stadium). Corey and I had found a great app the night before that allowed us to view each other's positions, so we knew when and where Buddy was the whole time.
Buddy and Justin exchanged and we were off to the next stop. Buddy was a trooper and headed down the course a little bit to give Justin some encouragement and a running buddy on the last little bit (which happened to be an uphill). Off went Corey! We dropped Justin off at the Metro (he had to get back to the finish to meet with his friend and head home early) and Buddy and I went to Forest Park knowing we had some time with the legs getting longer. Unfortunately Corey's GPS thing wasn't working, so we had to go off of timing, but we knew when he crossed the 13.1 mark so we were able to judge a little bit on when he would be coming in and what pace he was running. Corey really pushed it and was running faster than expected. Buddy and I went ot the exchange point, and again Buddy went back in the course to help Corey finish his leg (which Corey needed...he was hurting but doing awesome). He exchanged with me and I was off. I was feeling great knowing I had 8 miles to go. At first I paced myself behind a group, but they were running the full and weren't going as fast as I could, so I passed them and just went with what was feeling good. I had a few hills to go up and down in Forest Park, but they weren't enough to slow me down. I was running and 8 - 8:10 pace. The miles were flying by (and I was flying by people - granted they were doing a full marathon). Unfortunately around my 4th or 5th mile I had to pee so bad that I ran into a porta potty and peed as fast as I could, and I was off again. I was heading back into the city and could see the arch knowing I was on my way, and when that 25th mile marker came up I was surprised, I didn't realize I only had 1.2 miles left an was still feeling awesome! There was a big downhill to get down onto the Riverwalk and I took that carefully and then the last stretch (mind you it was about .5 of a mile). I knew I would be coming up on the relay meetup point and was ready to see and finish with my teammates...well, I past the meetup and no team :( I thought maybe they didn't want to all run together at that point since they were hurting and maybe they were closer to the finish line. I continued forward and kept looking on the side lines for them...still none, oh well. I was finishing this by myself apparently. I sprinted to the finish and felt amazing! Then I heard Corey yell from the side. He jumped the fence and gave me a big hug.
Apparently when they were coming back into the city they didn't expect me to be running that fast (neither did I to be honest), and couldn't find a way through the road blocks, and then couldn't find parking. Buddy had let Corey out on the highway and he ran to the finish line. He was coming down the stairs by the arch when they announced me coming across the line. (We may have some logistics to figure out if we do this again so we can finish together). Buddy finally found parking and came down to meet us. We grabbed all the delicious snacks and ice cream they had for us and headed to the after party with our medals. I have to say, even though parking is harder with the start/finish being on the river walk, it was awesome finishing next to the Arch! We had rocked the relay and ran better than we all thought we would. We finished in 3:45, 18th in our group and, 24th overall. Not to shabby for 3 injured guys and a girl.
Although no one thought they would run the pace they did, I would say we rocked it the best we could, and had a lot of fun doing it! It was a great day, and we couldn't have asked for better weather, or after party!
Peace, Love and Running 🏃
#seejessrun #runtheyear2017 #runningwithoutlimits
