So I just got back from my run, which is why I had to whine about my hamstring, but then I thought "Dude, quit yer bitching. It's boring." So I am going to bury my last post with team info, since now we have a team! Yay! For those five people who aren't on our team who read the blog, our running lineup is:| 1 | Teresa |
| 2 | Shaun |
| 3 | Laurie |
| 4 | Chrissy |
| 5 | Mark |
| 6 | Joe |
| 7 | Al |
| 8 | Jessica |
| 9 | Pete |
| 10 | Melissa |
| 11 | Danielle |
| 12 | Lisa |
When I recruited Al, I neglected to tell him that it would be great if he would run 9 miles with a 1600+ ft incline. That's what he gets for running 36 min 10ks and admitting that he was already hill training :-) So we all have to be extra nice to Al :-)
One of the perks of being captain is that I assigned myself an easy leg :-) You know, the hamstring and all... Plus, I am one of the slowest on the team anyways...
Team stats in case anyone cares:
Our average 10k pace is 8:08 min/mile. Addng Al and Shaun (who runs as fast as Al) to the team did a lot for a team average :-) But who the heck knows what it will be running up hills at altitude? All part of the fun my friends, all part of the fun...
6 of us are from Iowa, 2 from Toronto, 1 from Nebraska, 1 from DC, 1 from California, 1 from Boston... Although I shouldn't say "from" as apparently most of us are actually transplants as I am finding out when practically none of you actually have licenses with your current addresses on them. Don't you know you are supposed to change it within a month?! You're just making my life difficult with proving your Flatlander status (please bring a bill or something with your current address if your license doesn't have it!) You should all run out and get new licenses solely for the purpose of this relay gosh darnit!
Less than three weeks! How many exclamation points are acceptable in a post!?!
7 comments:
I don't know what the big deal about the altitude is. Back in March I went to Winter Park, CO for a week long ski trip (can't wait to do that again) and did a few 6-8 mile runs while there. It was about 9,000 ft and not that bad (even the once while tipsy). Now hills can be tough at any elevation, but as long as you don't go crazy with it I don't think breathing should be an issue.
HAHA AL, YOU'VE GOT THE INSANE LEG!!!! :p
I'm so excited for you guys!!!
Well, here's to hoping you're right Shaun :-) The main thing with altitude I think is that it really can affect some people (at least I know I don't have to worry about you - maybe I should have given YOU the insane leg? ;-)).
J: You can be there in spirit :-)
Nah, if you gave me the insane leg I wouldn't get to pick on Al about it. Just think of all the enjoyment you'd have deprived me of. ;)
Al, you know if it were your last leg I'd probably run the second half with you, but since I'll still have another leg to go and it may cause problems with my van having to wait around...you may be on your own with that. Just ain't the same as leg 6 of R2R.
Leg 19 might not even be the hardest section of the relay, looking at the maps. It does have the largest climb, but it's spread over 9 miles and decreases slope as it goes. Legs 13 and 14 have some steeper climbs that are a bit shorter that look really tough in particular, and there are a few others. What would really scare me, though, is leg 34: -6.7% grade for 5.7 miles. I've run 800-foot downhills over about 3 miles, which is not fun, and this leg is steeper and twice as long; in some ways it's more tiring than doing the same thing going up, because it puts a lot of pressure on your knees and hips and because you have to mentally focus the whole time because of how easy it is to trip and sprain an ankle.
If you're getting worn out running downhill, and the course is straight and smooth, you can spell yourself by running backwards for several seconds. For downhill running especially going backwards is a lot less physically jarring than going forwards, and you can go really fast with practice. I use this technique occasionally on downhills and flat sections near the end of long runs, though I've never tried it in a race...
Anyhow, overall, there are no easy legs. They're all pretty insane.
Yeah, but when I tell people about this relay, Leg 19 is the most visually dramatic to show them :-)
But yeah, there is no way Shaun is getting off easy with Leg 14! Plus, you will get to do 19 at like 9pm, while he has to do 14 at 3 pm. And I still am curious why Runner 1, which does Leg 13, is ranked as the fourth easiest position... Maybe Teresa's other legs are really easy (I mean her first leg is a four mile flat jaunt at only 5000 ft...)
As for Leg 34, here's to hoping Melissa likes running downhill!
Well running at 3ish in the afternoon will probably suck but as far as leg 14's toughness compared to leg 19... Which is harder? Gaining 1100 ft in a 4.5 mile stretch and going downhill after that or Gaining 1200 ft in 4.5 miles and still going uphill!!!
I do agree about leg 34. My only take on that is that we aren't out to break any records so there is no reason to run fast and risk breaking any bones, Melissa. Just keep a comfortable and controled pace and think of poor Al when he was on leg 19 wishing he could go that fast with so little effort. :)
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