After a pretty incredible weekend
I am still walking on sunshine 
Unfortunately NYC is not. Its rainy and dreary here … I spent most of the morning running in twinsane circles indoors and finally found a window in my day to go for a run.
Did I mention that its rainy? Yeah. Drenched, but feeling pretty proud of myself for sticking it out. 6.5 Miles in a downpour = dedication.
98% of my run I spent convincing myself to push through this rainy obstacle in order to prove that I can buckle up my big girl pants for the upcoming weekend.
200 Miles. 12 Runners. 24 hours.
Here is what I know
The 12 runners will be in 2 vans. The premise is simple. Runner # 1 starts off and runs to a checkpoint where Runner # 2 is. Runner # 2 then runs to the next checkpoint and hands off to Runner # 3 and so on until the first van has completed one rotation. Van #2 then meets Van #1 at a transition area where the next 6 runners (Runner # 7-12) complete their first legs. Van’s meet again at a transition area and the whole process starts again. Twice.
From our start time of 10:40am on Friday until our predicted finish time of 3:50pm on Saturday one runner from our team will be running at all times. As a team we will make our way from Princeton, MA at the Mount Wachusett Ski Area to the finish line at Horseneck Beach State Reservation in Westport, MA. Each runner on our team will run somewhere between 15-20 miles.
I’m runner 2 of the 12 and will be running a total of 17.56 miles broken into 3 legs. Here are my legs:
Leg 2: 3.22 miles (easy terrain) starts @ 11:08am
Leg 14: 6.0 Miles (hard terrain) starts @ 9:09pm
Leg 26: 8.34 miles: (hard terrain -QUIET ZONE) starts @ 5:31am
AAAAND that is where my knowledge ends. I honestly am totally shocked at myself for signing up to do this. I’ve always wanted to do a relay as I hear from many runners that they are fantastic … so when Christy tweeted that she needed runners for Team Need For Speed, I volunteered.
Next thing I know I have plans to hop on a Bolt Bus to Boston and into vans with 12 strangers of my BTF’s (best twitter friends). Good news is that they all have awesome twitter handles so that MUST mean that spending 24 hours eating, sleeping, changing and being sweaty in a van with them is A-OK.
Admittedly I am feeling panicky a little nervous. I’m a tough gal, but perhaps a bit high maintenance from time to time … I like showers, clean clothes. healthy meals and beds. None of which will be available. (cue hyperventilation) What was I saying about my big girl pants?? I attempted to reign in these nerves by reading through the race handbook. Did. Not. Help. Here are a few snippits:
7.6 Vehicle Transition Areas (VTA)
VTA’s are physically larger areas that can accommodate both of your team’s support vehicles and have enough space for teams to rest either in the vans or spread out on the grounds (teams are responsible to bring tents, sleeping bags, etc.).
These locations will have water, re-hydration products (for sale/donation- your patronage helps keep these groups coming back to support the race!), rest rooms and/or “green” port-o-johns, and dedicated recycling bins. Some have swimming (lakes)
7.9 Special Note for Night-Time Support
“Hop-scotching” your team’s runners between transitions is permitted from dusk until dawn.
By hop-scotching we mean drive ahead of your runner by several hundred yards and wait until they pass you by a few hundred yards. Please do not drive behind the runner at the pace she/he is running. While for male runners, your hopscotch may be 1/2-1 mile, for safety reasons, please hopscotch at ~1/2 mile intervals for female runners at night.
12.0 Finish Line – You Reached the Beach!
There will be showers available (cold water only, sorry) the ocean to swim in (really cold water is great to help rejuvenate those tired legs!), as well as the finish line festivities
13.13 No Headsets/Earphones
Due to safety concerns and liability we do not permit the use of any type of earphone in the ear of the runner at any time during the race.
Um right. Is it bad that the thing that scares me the most is the no headphone rule? I mean I cannot speak to my motivation to run 8.34 miles through HARD terrain after already running 9 miles, not showering, not eating a real meal and spending 19 hours in a van. Call me crazy but I’m thinking I’ll be needing some Gaga to pull me through!
I’m sure I will get it together before leaving on Thursday but until then …. squeeeeee. I’m scared.
Has anyone out there done a relay? Do any of you have jewels of advice to share with me??
PS – Team Need for Speed, if you are reading … please do not be afraid. I promise to bring my A game. And would it be ok if I bring my hot pink sparkle skirt instead of a reflective vest? Its very flashy
