Sunday, December 10, 2006

White Rock Relay 2006

Maggie, Joey & I ran the White Rock Marathon Relay this morning. My dad was our support crew and did the most excellent job of carting us around from point to point.

After dropping Phil off at the start (since he ran the full marathon), we drove to the 20 mile exchange point. This took about an hour, and we were so lost that we weren't sure we'd make it to the first exchange point in time. The course was barely marked so it was hard to tell where things were. Finally, we figured it out and then headed to mile 10. We nearly froze as we waited for Phil to run by and then to meet Joey. I ended up wearing my Freescale jacket over my Running Banana shirt, even though I knew I would get too hot. Joey came and slapped the exchange wristband on my hand (we had practiced all weekend) and I took off.

Of course, I warmed up after a mile. So I wrapped my jacket around my waste and enjoyed getting knocked in the knees by 2 clif shots that weighed my jacket down. Anyway, I was trying to take it easy and break the 10 miles into 2 sections. The first 5 miles felt great and I kept a pace of a little less than 9:30s. I continued to feel great until mile 18 (or 8 for me) when I started questioning my logic of finishing out the marathon with Maggie and Joey instead of stopping at mile 20. Even though I had escaped the wind of the lake by miles 19-20, it was still somewhat uphill and I had to push a bit harder to keep my splits consistent. At the exchange point, I slapped the wristband on Maggie and told her I'd meet up with them in a bit. I met my dad, got some water, and then had him take me to mile 23 to meet up with my crew again.

When I rejoined Maggie & Joey, my legs felt like new. I wanted to run really fast, but I kept it easy so we could finish strong together. We crossed the finish line in about 4:17, fingers hooked together over our heads. What a blast!! We collected our medals and made our way through the finisher's chute. We saw Phil, Dad and Rachel and pretty much bolted from the racesite . It was cold and drizzly by this point and we wanted to get home. And to Cafe Brazil for lunch, of course.

Some highlights of my leg included:
-a relay team comprised of 5 Borats! They were wearing grey suits, black fuzzy wigs, and waved the American flag. Classic, really.
-at mile 19, there are 2 hills called "dolly parton" hills. So, the men working the water stop dressed up as Dolly Partons and looked hilarious.
-passing tons of people throughout the course. it wasn't fair that my legs were more fresh than theirs, but it was still fun to pass them.
-being done at mile 20!! (or at least not HAVING to run the last 6.2 miles)

Seriously, I would like to thank Joey and Maggie for one of the most fun races I've ever run. I really enjoy doing the relay thing.

And I can't forget to thank Rachel, Ruth & Steve too. Of course.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Erin,

It was an honor and a privelege to run with you today. On behalf of Ruth, Steve, and Rachel I accept your thanks and gratitude. You have, of course, our undying love, affection, support and encouragement.

-Joey

Mike said...

I'd like to thank Ruth, Steve, Rachel and Joey for this post. And for teaching me to read in first grade. Without them I would be pancaked.

PS: Thanks again, to Ruth, Steve, Rachel and Joey. And extra special thanks to Ruth, Steve, Rachel and Joey.

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank Ruth, Teve, Rachel and Joey for allowing Nedra to 'cop a feel' of the men's boob's and take her mind off running.

She said they felt lik efake boobs. I'm not so sure. Yeah, they looked fake, but maybe they were real???

Anonymous said...

by the way, good job on the Relay!

Anonymous said...

By the way, thanks to Ruth, Steve and Rachel I am able to link to a picture of Rabbit from the expo. He was elusive, but my training in covert photography by the aforementioned Steve, Ruth, and Rachel made this all possible.

Also, thanks to Maggie, Team Pain Train, and everyone at Rogue for supporting this effort.

-Joey

Erin said...

I couldn't believe the Rabbit was at the expo. It was absolutely hilarious watching Joey run around trying to catch him on film. Good thing the Colonel didn't see Joey and off him!

Anonymous said...

Like the Colonel could ever off me. That is just crazy talk. I have so much dirt on the Colonel that when he sees me he just nods and walks the other way.

Rabbit said...

Yes it is true, when The Colonel noticed it was Joey he had to figure out how to put a pin back into a grenade. Not an easy thing to do so he just tossed it into a ladie's room. Those ladies will scream at anything.

Rabbit said...

Oh, yes and congratulations on a well run marathon relay. Maybe The Colonel and I will you see you in São Paulo some time. The Conolel also enjoys Brazilian Crepes along with Brazilian woman.

Erin said...

rabbit,
if only i was as fast as you. once, i could keep up with you.

actually, when we run together, we get lost and add more miles - so maybe perhaps it's better that you are too fast for me!