Thursday, July 1, 2010

slow and steady

Wasatch Back Relay ~ Logan to Park City
188 miles ~ June 18-19
What an incredible experience! I am so glad I was able to be a part of this. Some things I learned:
*Utah is super green after such a rainy spring. The scenery was amazing!
*You shouldn't expect to get a tan on your legs when you haven't had them out in the sun for a few years; instead expect to get burned really bad on the front thighs and calves.
*My body shuts down at 10:30 p.m. - like I felt it all. over. and took it out on my team by hogging the back seat of the suburban for the majority of the race.
*Morgan at midnight is DARK. No street lamps, nothing. I had a 2 ft diameter beam from my head lamp and that's it for my second run. (Also: even when I'm freaked out from darkness I don't run faster than normal)
*A single blister can cover the entire ball of your toe, reaching down towards your foot and can actually form *around* your toenail. (Plus: I have no idea how to use mole skin)
*The aforementioned blister can make the last 6 miles of a run really long (luckily a guy named Andy came along and asked to run with me - I laughed when he said he had been pacing me the entire time because I was alternating running and walking up the freaking huge hill so much.)
*When my body is so tired and I start running up a steep hill I laugh out loud and silently swear (probably Tia's influence) because it hurts so bad.
*Water stations every 2 miles aren't enough - thank heavens for my van who brought me gatorade regardless.
*Hotels that you think are for those reasons because they are so cheap are really that crappy inside - but paying $7 for a super painful shower where I thought my aforementioned calves were bleeding whenever water ran down them was super worth it. So was holding my bladder until we got to a toilet that worked.
*I cried twice - once when Lesa got to see her husband and kids, and once when I saw Boualay in Park City and she was going to Cafe Rio and I had 3 more hours until my team came in. So, apparently I love my family and Cafe Rio. (Also: I don't push myself *that* hard)
*Speaking of family, Delena is a wonderful babysitter and Adam is a wonderful Dad. I was gone so long and my kids were very happy the entire time.
*Ragnar is kind of like giving birth. I remember very clearly during the race that I had no idea why I had signed up, and there's no way I would ever do it again because it was so uncomfortable. But now it's over I'm so glad I did it and kind of want to do it again.
My stats: Runner 3 - 18.4 m total
1 - leg 3 - 5.6 m, 61 min, ~10:45 min/ml, start 2 pm (HOT and SUNNY)
2 - leg 15 - 4.9 m, 56 min, ~11:30 min/ml, start 11:45 pm (cold and BLACK)
3 - leg 27 - 7.9 m, 1 hr 48 min, ~13:30 min/ml, start i don't know because i was so nervous and delirious by then. but it was in the middle of the day and hot and windy and the hill climb was a 'beast', or so people told me who got to drive up it.
And here are all of us Rockstars: Trina, Lesa, Tia, Lisa, Kathy, Carla, me / Amanda, Lori, Erin, Celeste, Kristin. Thanks for the good times.

7 comments:

Britt-Marie said...

Sounds like an unforgettable experience. You are one amazing woman.

April said...

You ROCK!!! That is awesome you did that. You ran with my friend Amanda, so fun!

Emily said...

Sabs you rock!!! Way to go lady!

Boualay said...

I'm so glad that you got to do this and finish the race. All the pain and suffering that you mentioned just made me smile because I totally understand on a certain level. This goes down as one of my highlights of my life. I'm proud of you, Sabrina.

Liz said...

You are my new hero. Seriously. I am so proud of you. And I laughed out loud reading it, even though my family is sleeping.

Jeff and ReAnn said...

Sabrina you are awesome. What cool experience. I had never heard of such a race but it sounds amazing. Great Job!

amanda said...

Wow, you are amazing! 18.4 miles is a long way... I think that would take me a few days. Is a marathon the next thing on the list?