Running on Empty

It's been awhile! Sorry - things got busy with this little race I was preparing for, running, and recovering from. On Friday and Saturday, I joined 11 others in the SharksWithFreakin'LaserBeamsAttachedtoTheirHeads' first running of the Reach The Beach Relay. Collectively, we ran 209 miles in just over 31 hours. Personally, I ran 15 miles - 4 miles beginning at 5:30 PM Friday, another 7 miles beginning at 5 AM Saturday, and a final 4 miles beginning at 2:30 PM Saturday. Between those legs, I napped when I could (hardly at all), supported and cheered on my teammates, drove around and across New Hampshire, used more porta-pottys than I can count, and refueled and hydrated. I was lucky enough to draw the 12th spot in the rotation, meaning that I got to bring our team's baton across the finish line at Hampton Beach. Wow - what an experience. It's hard to describe what this event was like, other than to say it was amazing and life-altering. Here's our team right after the finish:

A few things I learned by participating in RTB 2010:

• New Hampshire is a really beautiful state
• It is possible to actually fall asleep while running. I am pretty certain that I did in fact fall asleep during my second run. I don't remember most of it. And if you look at my pace during that run, it is absolutely flat - I was on auto-pilot.
• Training does work. When I signed up for this crazy adventure back in January, I was running 3.5 miles fairly regularly. By the time the race came around, I was regularly doing 6 or 7 mile runs, and 4 miles seemed like a piece of cake. That being said, nothing can prepare you for the cumulative nature of this kind of event, and the lack of sleep. My last 4 mile leg was not even close to a piece of cake.
• Running in the middle of night, all alone on a quiet, desolate country road is eerie and cool all at the same time.
• Sharing this kind of experience makes for fast friendships.
• Beer goes straight to your head after running 15 miles on no sleep.
• Porta-potties are actually not that bad, especially if you need one and there are no other options.
• It is REALLY COLD in the middle of the night in September in New Hampshire. And adrenaline makes you even colder.
• This sort of event brings out every possible emotion. I was elated, I was depressed. I was proud, I was humbled. I was hot, I was freezing. I was exhausted, I was wired. I was confident, I was self-doubting. The highs were very high, the lows were incredibly low.
• I am competitive and I do like team sports. I have always thought of myself as someone who prefers individual activities (like running and yoga) and is kind of turned off by intense competition. But this race brought out a new side of me. Beforehand, I just wanted finish - that was my goal. But once the race started, and the competitive energy grew, finishing was not enough. Finishing FAST became the new goal. I wanted to be an active contributor for my team. And there is nothing like having a team cheer you on as you struggle through something like this - there is no way I could have done it solo.

A big thanks to my husband for encouraging me to sign up, supporting me through my training, making me egg and cheese sandwiches on Friday morning, driving me to the race start and picking me up at the finish, and parenting solo while I was out running. Thanks also to Katie, Davis, and Oliver for trying really really hard to get to the finish - sorry we were too fast, but it was great celebrating with you afterwards! Thanks to everyone else who sent "good luck" wishes before the race, supportive words during the race, and "congrats" afterwards. Thanks to my munchkins for being good boys for their daddy and inspiring me to run harder and faster - during some of my lowest points, when I needed to dig deep, picturing their little faces got me through. And thanks to my team and our captain for getting me involved in and carrying me through this amazing experience. What a blast!