Saturday, April 22, 2017

River to River Relay 2017

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

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