BRR: Race Recap Part 1

Yesterday, I ran my very first relay.  We had an 8 person team to run an 8 leg, 100 km race.  Some teams had two runners split the longer legs, so up to 11 people could be on each team.  In previous years, there were some 4 person teams, but this year, two people ran the whole 100 km solo, and finished.  The race is mostly on paved road, with a small section on dirt road, and stage 7 on trail (which is still covered in snow).  I was running stage 2, 17.1 hilly kilometres.

This winter and spring, I have been running with a group from our local running store, and the store owner, Candace, put together a mixed team and a ladies team. I was on the ladies team. We had a brief team meeting on Saturday, got our bibs, store t-shirts, and discussed who would have cars to shuttle runners to their stage.  Because of frequent bear sightings along the route, teams are asked to keep a vehicle in sight of their runner at all times.

The starting line was about 20 minutes away from my house, so I set my alarm for 5:45, got up and had my typical pre-race breakfast of a bagel and peanut butter, and a cup of tea, got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt (it was supposed to be 9C and sunny by my estimated start time), and put a couple of layers on top because it was only 4C as I headed to meet my team at the start line at 6:30.

At this point, my stomach was not feeling good.  I was fearing a repeat of the 2011 Vancouver marathon.  I hadn't eaten anything funky, and I wasn't feeling nervous (I ran my stage the week before and felt comfortable), but my stomach was not happy.  We took a few pictures at the start, saw our runners off, and then I drove straight to the start of my stage.  Stage 1 is 8.5K, and very hilly.  I had ran it as a practice run 2 weeks ago and it took me 51 minutes, so I figured I had at least 45 minutes until I started, and I wanted to take that time to try to relax and get my stomach to settle down.

After about 10 minutes, a few other runners started to show up, and my stomach felt better.  I knew a few people so we were chatting while we waited for our runners to come in.  The first runner through was one that was running the full 100 km!  There were a few more, and then my runner was racing in with another girl so two of us were starting at about the same time.  I had been sorta hoping our stage one runner would come in solo so that I would be starting out on my own, but there was nothing I could do soI was off!

The run started with a big down hill, but soon we were climbing.  The first hill is big one, and then the climbing continues for the first 4km.  The other runner that started at the same time as me, passed me on that first uphill.  I caught up to the next runner, passed her, and then got a horrible, can't take a proper breath, cramp under my rib.  I had to walk, and that runner passed me.  I had taken the hill too fast. After about 10 seconds, I ran again, passed her again, and proceeded to have the best run I've had in a looooong time.

After the first doozy of a hill, the rest of the climbing is broken up with just-in-time down dips and short flat stints for a welcome break. I did not worry about my pace at all, because I knew it would be slow going up the hills and I would make up for it on the down hill later.  I just knew after the first 4K, it was going to get easier and I was counting down to that, but feeling good.

5:11 (downhill start)
7:03 (I told you,  it's a doozy)
6:50 (still climbing)
6:04 (almost there!)

The runner on our other team had started after me, so our vehicles would drive ahead of me, check in, wait for the other runner, then drive ahead again.  This was perfect for me.  I'm used to running on my own, so I didn't feel like I needed anyone cheering me on any more frequently, but it was nice to know that they were never too far away so I didn't worry about running out of water (there were no aid stations).   There were also other vehicles around because that runner that passed me on the first hill was always just ahead of me, and I was pretty sure they would warn me if there was a bear.

At about the 5K mark, I was passed by three runners that came out of nowhere.  They were fast.  I felt a little demoralized for about a minute, but I could see that these were strong runners.  I was not trying to win the stage, our team was not competing to win the race, I just wanted to run my own best race.  I was feeling good, my legs felt strong, and I just kept going.  At this point there is a bit of downhill which was a nice break before another 2K of climbing.  I just kept that first runner that had passed me in my sight, and felt sure I could pass her.

5:28 (ahh, flat)
5:09 (heading down!)
5:35 (feeling good)
5:16 (nearly halfway)

At 9K, I took a gel, just before the last big hill of the stage.  Halfway up the hill, that runner switched off with another runner.  Again, I felt low for about a minute as the new runner would have fresh legs with only 7K too go, but I quickly realized I was closing in.  I passed going up the hill and still felt strong.  I knew after this I had 6K of glorious downhill.  The other three runners that had passed me were long gone, and with nobody  in sight in front of me, it was easy to just feel like I was out for a long run on my own.  I felt great.  I kept waiting for my hip flexor to tense up or my legs to tire out as they had the week before, but I still felt strong, and just kept pushing.  I wasn't paying attention to pace on my Garmin, but as I went into the downhill, I knew I was on course to finish faster than I had during the practice run the week before, and that gave me another boost.

5:13 (going strong)
6:56 (gel and up the big hill)
5:39 (down hill is in sight!)

As I was heading downhill, and our runner on the other team was still climbing, and I was no longer near another runner, I went for quite a while without seeing a vehicle.  I pushed thoughts of bears out of my head, tried not to pay attention to sounds coming from the bushes, and just kept running.  4000m to go, 3200m to go, 2000m to go.  The downhill ends and there is another giant uphill.  No, not really.  It is fairly flat, with slight uphill, but at this point it felt like the giant uphill from the beginning.  I knew I was almost done, and wanted a strong finish.  Just as the hill started to get a little steeper, it was time to turn off and into Cottonwood park where I would tag the next runner.  Down a little dirt road, along a gravel path, across a wooden bridge....how much farther?  I wasn't racing another runner, but I wanted to come in strong!  Pass the general store, there's the timer's table, and finally the pylons and the next runner!  Phew!

5:11 (down)
5:11 (down)
5:10 (down)
4:52 (down, and woah!?)
5:53 (flattening out and got a little carried away - 20 second walk)

I was so happy with my race, I forgot to stop my watch.  Race results won't be posted until Tuesday, so I won't know my official time until then.  I figure it took me over a minute to stop my watch at 1:39:51, and the last time I looked at my watch as I turned onto the dirt road I was at 1:36:xx, so I think my time was probably around 1:38, 3 minutes faster than I ran last weekend.

5:32
?:??

For the record, my Garmin also says I went 17.44 km, rather than 17.1.

I wish I had photos to share, but I didn't take any until the car ride home.  More on the whole race day experience to come...