RGR Race Recap

Ok, this post is not going to write itself.  I wish it would just magically appear.  You know...transmit from my brain to le blog.  The problem (in my weird little mind) is that this was such a grand experience that I don't know where to start and there is SO MUCH to tell.  And, well, let's face it....I can talk & recap things until the cows come home.  I recently verbally recounted the race in its entirety to my RP while we were on a 20 mile run.  Her last long run before Chicago.  No, it didn't take the entire 20 miles, but from about mile 11 to 15 I told her allllll about it.  Also I'm such a detail person that it's then hard to get all of that down into word format for you all to read without it feeling like a novel.  Anyway....here I go......

(taken right when we got to Ames)

Once 4 Jills & a Jack got to Ames, the starting point, we sat down for a nice dinner, hung out/prepped for the race in a college boys (RP's nephew) dorm room and then headed to the start line which was right outside the football stadium.  Despite the really nice fall weather we had been having it was pretty chilly going in to the evening hours.

(waiting to start)

(moments before RP started)

RP was our 1st runner and she set off on her leg at 10 p.m.  The rest of us took one last trip to the porta potty and was ready to pull out of the parking lot.  Except I spotted another support vehicle.  Not ANY vehicle, but one from the opposing team.  There it was all, all decked out in its ugly ISU support and completely unattended.  So I pulled up next to it and said....."wouldn't it be funny if we messed with their vehicle?"  Now, I like to have fun, lots of good, innocent fun and when I say mess with their vehicle I didn't mean anything like slash their tires or key their vehicle.  But we still had some window paint left over so I was thinking of  leaving a smack talk note for them to find.

Now, even though I had only met Patches a few hours earlier I quickly got the sense that she was quite the smack talkin' daredevil who could not pass this opportunity up.  So even though it was my idea, I quickly volunteered Patches for the job & she got the work done.

Soon after we headed down the road to catch up with Kandice who was off with a bang on her first leg.  Ideally in these races the support van drives ahead to each pitstop/exchange point and waits for the runner to finish their leg.  However, since it was dark and we were in unknown territory we had decided to not do this.  We drove ahead a few miles at a time & waited for the runner to catch up & gave them support if needed, even if just verbal or emotional.

What started as a bang with Kandice quickly faded and she wasn't feeling too good & her supper was threatening to be upchucked all over the country side.  She hung on for as long as she could, but it because very evident that she was beyond struggling & about ready to die .  Being the team we were someone was always ready to jump in for another runner and since I was next up I finished the last 1.5 miles of Kandice's leg and went right into my leg which was suppose to be 6.7 miles.

 Patches meeting me at the end of Kandice's leg & the beginning of mine

Despite jumping into it full force and feeling very off I still managed a good pace.  Being in the dark on a rural country road didn't bother me too much.  We were required to wear a head lamp, a flashing light on our back & a reflective vest.  Still these were very rural places with no other form of light.  In theory it was kind of freaky, but I'm kind of used to running solo in dark surroundings.  Guess all my late night/early morning runs were good for something.  I did eventually move off of the gravel back roads & on to a paved highway.  However, I never felt like I settled into a good flow of movement.  I think there was too much going on and I felt off the entire time.  Luckily I was on auto pilot and just kept moving forward at a good pace.

When we approached my end point my team was close by letting me know where to go to find the exchange point.  Except that even with them following the maps and having a phone on GPS we still couldn't find where we were looking for.  Finally we saw another team and the pointed us in the right direction.  Once I got there GG was ready to go for our next runner.

Almost immediately we, again, had issues following the map and/or GPS.  Nothing was making sense with what was going on.  Every time we followed the map we were going the wrong way and had to back track and come up with some other plan, ask other teams where to go or simply figure it out our own by spotting other teams & following them.  All while GG ran the wrong way too far and had to turn back to get on the correct course.  This was beginning to be a little thorn in our side.

GG made it to the next exchange point and then Teri took off.  She only ran a few minutes and then had to disappear down a path.....a completely dark, unknown path, where a vehicle could not go.  *gulp*  We as a team was not ready to lose sight of her, but felt we had no choice.  We followed the map meticulously and waited for her where she would come out of that path.  And we waited and waited and WAITED!  Something was wrong and we were all slightly panicked over it.  Seriously, just imagine being in a horror movie and that weird creepy music begins to play.

We headed back to the last exchange point to see if we could find some other teams.  Maybe Teri was lost & went back there??  A million things raced through our minds.  At this point we were also contacting the race director.  We had been having one problem after another with our maps & routes and now we've lost our runner.  While we out doing we came along side of some other teams.  We pulled over & asked if they were going the right direction.  They thought they were, but according to our maps, they weren't.  I wasn't about to just drive off and let these people also get lost.  One runner right out refused to get in my van when I offered.  Another runner put full faith & trust in us and hipped in without asking any questions.

Well, long story short, we did not have the most recent updated maps and WE WERE WRONG!  No wonder we were having such a hard time!!  We found the exchange point.  We apologize profusely to Adam (the runner who blindly jumped in our van....good thing we weren't serial killers or anything) for taking him in the wrong direction and giving him a joy ride.  We actually met up with his team at the exchange point and they kindly gave us updated maps (they were an Iowa team.....no wonder they were so wonderful!!)  And Teri....she had missed the exchange point, ran 3 miles too far before turning back around and then kept running since we, her team, was no where in sight.

Crazy runner that we picked up!  He was a good sport about it!!

Yeah, all of this was just in the first 4 of 20 legs!!  After that we settled into a routine and knew we had the correct maps.  The race director finally caught up with us and apologize profusely for what had happened & took responsibility for not making sure we had updated maps.

On my end, when I picked up my 2nd leg (7.1 miles) it was 3 or so in the morning.  Again, it was weird, but peaceful to be running down a road in the pitch black.  I actually had no fears of anxiety about this part of the race.  Half way through my leg it started to rain.  A nice sleety pelting my face sideway rain.  By my 3rd leg (6.9 miles) it wasn't raining, but lack of sleep was catching up with me.  By this point I have been up and in motion for 24+ hours.  I never really slept.  I'd close my eyes, maybe get 5 minutes here or there of shut eye, but no real sleep.  And it was taking it's toll.  Each leg I ran slower and slower and I was miserable, but yet in a fun once in a lifetime experience kind of way.  Perhaps it wouldn't have been quite as bad if I was running on flat paved roads, but contrary to the belief that Iowa is flat & boring we were running very hilly back gravel roads and that just made it that much more challenging.  Leg 4 (5.5 miles) was my shortest leg, but it still took "forever".  I wanted to quit and my team mates were more than willing to jump in & take my place (at one point I ran a few miles for someone myself), but no matter how slow I was going I knew I couldn't give in.  So I kept on running!!

See that hill?  There was nothing but one after another!!

Done with my final leg!

I could tell you story after story after story of what else happened, but I'm sure you get the idea of how the race went.  And honestly, somethings that happened on the race.....stays on the race and between us 4 Jills & Jack!!  We finished at 5 o'clock the next day and I've never been so happy to see a finish line in my life!!

It's pretty safe to say that I'm in no rush to complete this kind of race any time soon.  Although knowing me I'm a sucker for a running adventure and I'll likely do it again.  For now though I'm happy just to say I've done it!!  And the time & memories I spent with my 4 other teams mates is unbelievable & I'm glad that I was able to spend this time & create these memories with them!!

Shaggin' Wagon

As soon as GG had asked me to be on the team for RGR, I was quick to volunteer my van for use.  Typically teams rent a big passenger van for these types of races.  I think they may even be required for the big races like Ragnar & Hood to Coast.  At least that is the impression I get from the many blogs that I read & pictures I see from said race recaps.

There was no reason to rent a passenger van when I own one!  Yes, 6packmomma here is always traveling in style with some sort of  "bus" and it's no stranger to being full of people and stuff going all over from place to place.  I think She Runs Everywhere also applies to my van!!

I've never been one to name my vehicle, but kinda wish I had a cute name for it right now.  Actually our last van was a big red passenger van & sometimes I'd call her big red.  And sometimes I do say big blue when talking about our current vehicle.  Other friends & family have certain names they call my van....church bus, Peterson mobile, boat, stranger danger van, rapist van (don't ask, but it's all in innocent fun!) or just plain BUS!  And in my town everyone knows my van by sight and sees (or hears....as in the noise from the kids or perhaps screaming mother on occasion) it coming from miles away.  I do not have to have a special license to drive it since it's a personal vehicle.  However, I do have a class D commercial vehicle license (not a full blown CDL) which lets me drive an actual church or other business vehicle.  Anyway, I'm used to hauling it around.

I headed over to Muscatine with my van on Thursday morning.  I actually had a funeral to attend first (worked out to be perfect timing.....may you rest in peace Great Uncle John) then headed over to GG's house.  I actually have never decorated my vehicle windows so I wasn't sure what to do.  But GG had all the supplies, I just had to get creative & get decorating.

I didn't get as many pictures as I would've liked, but you get the idea.  We wrote all over the windows with our team name & other sentiments like #1 Iowa, Tiffin or Bust, our initials on the back & then a tally for each leg that we ran.

Then we drove half way across Iowa and then back like it was just your average Thursday & Friday.  So many stories and moments of fun were crammed into my van within the next 24+ hours.  Don't worry, I'll recount SOME of them, but some things stay between us team mates.

Somewhere along the way Patches came up with the idea of calling it the Shaggin' Wagon.  If she told the story then I don't remember it.  But we liked the name & it stuck.  As a team we were able to fit very comfortably into the van, plus had it loaded with ALL of our stuff.  It worked very well as our traveling headquarters since we had to eat, sleep (if you wanna call it that!), change clothes several times, be back seat drivers and navigators and who knows what else.  But it successfully got us from point A to point B with no problems and that's what we really needed!!

Do you name your vehicles?

Have you ever, more less, lived in your vehicle for a time while you traveled?

RGR - 4 Jillls and a Jack

This week I'm going to write a couple of posts to sum up my race experience with Rival Game Relay.  I feel it's too much to put all in 1 post.  And quite honestly I need to work on smaller, more efficient posts here on SRE because I just don't have time to write up big posts at this time.  Since there is SO MUCH to tell you about RGR, I wanted to start with the basics of telling you who my team mates were on this magical and unicorn filled journey.

Team Captain Terry contacted me months ago to ask if I was interested in doing this race.  He knows I love running and racing and most importantly Iowa, even if I've lived on the other side of the river for almost 20 years.  So, of course, I said YES!!!!

Terry is better known to me as the Gray Ghost or GG.   I met him 5 years ago when I first tagged along with the Muscatine Running Friends (MRF) to a race.  We've done many of the same races & always keep in touch.  Even though he hasn't been running all his life he has a vast experience with running & racing & I look to him as a great mentor full of wisdom.

Next is Kandice.  She is GG's running partner.  So he refers to her as her RP.  I've known Kandice mostly via GG, but she also lives in Muscatine and does events and race with the MRF.  She's very smart and technical when it comes to life and running.  But she also has a great sense of humor (she has to, right, being GG's RP) and loads of fun to be with.  I've had a few brief interactions with her, but  this was the first time I really got to know her.

Next is Teri.  She is the most genuine and wonderful person you could ever meet.  Her heart is so full of love and kindness!!  Even though she has lived in Muscatine her whole life, I've only personally known her for the last 6 or 7 years.  She is the heart and soul of MRF and always a joy to be with.  Teri has an extremely extensive running and racing career although had never done a relay such as RGR before.

Patches is a name that I had heard many, many times.  For a long time I actually thought Patches was a man.  Only because.....idk, it sounds like a man's name or nickname.  But it really is her first name.  And she is ah-mah-zing!!  And I think the funniest, spunkiest person alive.  RGR was the first time I had ever met her in person and she is all that and a bag of chips.  In years past she was a collegiate runner and still kicks butt in my book.

Last, but not least, there was ME on the team.

I'm not sure what the others would say about me and what I contributed to the team.  But I know that all together we made such an awesome team & had A LOT of fun!!!!  Even though (spoiler alert) I am not addicted to this type of racing (not that that's a bad thing, but I can see where it's just not my thing) my team mates still made every single moment of this race worth it!!!!

Boston Bound

On Wednesday I was eligible to register for the Boston Marathon.  Or so I thought.  I thought my BQ time was good for 2 years.  And for the last 2 years I have ran well below my BQ cutoff (which is 3:40).  My first one was 3:29:50 in April 2013 and then exactly 1 minute "slower" with 3:30:50 in April 2014.  One puts me 10:10 below my BQ time needed and the other 9:10.  Since I thought my time was good for 2 years I was going to register on Wednesday using my faster time.  Except, as I learned, my time from April 2013 was not any good.  Turns out your BQ is only good for about 18 months.

My bubble bursted a little because mentally I was all psyched out to get it done on Wednesday.  But I wasn't too worried.  Except for the realization that I would be on the road running RGR during that time.  Again, there should have been nothing to worry about.  But I, being Mrs. Worse Case Scenario, was envisioning waiting until I arrived home after being on the road and finding the marathon already full.  Oh, no, not that nightmare.  So there was no way around it.  I had to register on Friday when it came open for the next round of qualifiers.

While I was on the road, either literally running or riding in the shaggin' wagon (a term given to my van by another team mate) I knew I needed to save my precious phone battery power for 2 things.  My family....in case anything went wrong and they really needed to get a hold of me (or vice versa) and registering for Boston.  I have a very low end smart phone, but it gets the job done when I really need it to...even if it's a pain in the rear.  As it turned out I wasn't running when registration opened that morning, but I was the next up runner so I made sure I was all ready to run with plenty of time to still mess with my phone & registration.  After nervously watching the clock inch toward 9 a.m., my team mate Patches, heard me declare my intentions and saw me starting to type on my phone. She graciously offered to let me use her iPad to get my registration done.  Yes, yes, yes!  That made things so much easier than me squinting and struggling over my itty bitty screen.

Once you fill out your registration form & submit payment (that is held until final authorization) you get this nice little email.

And then I had nothing to do, but wait.......  But I had PLENTY to keep me occupied.  Like finishing my relay race across Iowa with little to no sleep.  (I keep giving you details of RGR and I promise a full race report will happen).  According to the email I wasn't expecting to hear any official word until early October.

However, on Sunday I received this email:

I had my confirmation that I WAS GOING TO RUN THE BOSTON MARATHON!!!!

I don't think words can express how happy & excited I am to be doing this race next year.  So many emotions and thoughts constantly swirl through my head and even though it feels like forever away, I know it will come faster than I realize.  I'm already planning for this to be a marathon PR.  Come January I'll be bringing it on like Donkey Kong and for a change take on a serious training plan.  I'm not taking this lightly with hopes to do ok.  I'm going to blow it out of the water!

I'm sure you'll hear me talk about Boston off and on for the next 7 months.  For now I'm just busy telling every person I know, maybe even some strangers that HEY....I'M BOSTON BOUND!!!!

Are you planning to run the Boston Marathon in 2015?  I'd like to meet as many running friends as possible!!  Have you run the Boston Marathon before?  I'd love to hear about your experience!!

Big Steps 5k

Today was the Knox County YMCA's Big Steps 5k.  Over 100 people signed up for either the 5k or 1 mile fun run.  Funds from the race were used to support Youth Development at the YMCA.  Most people that I know asked if I was running this race.  And, of course, there was a big shock when I said no, but that I would be there supporting the race as a volunteer.

I find it a little amusing that people think that I run EVERY SINGLE race that is out there.  Ok, granted my blog name & one of my hashtags is SHERUNSEVERYWHERE.  But really, people I don't run every race that is out there.  In fact, there are so many races that I don't do.  If money and other personal reasons were not a factor I would probably race a lot more than I currently do.  Oh yeah, there are races left and right that I would love to do, but I don't.

For this particular race I did not run because I had a hand in planning the race itself.  We had many of us from the Knox County YMCA who came together as a team to plan this inaugural 5k.  I had a large role in planning & laying out the race route.  I also picked out the finishers awards.  That doesn't mean that I can't pay the money and run the race, but I don't think it's fair.  Plus, I know what it's like to be at a race where the same person typically wins.  Where I live when I show up to a race people jokingly groan and say "oh great......we already know who won".  Which is not always true....I don't always win, but I'm a top contender.  So personally I think it's nice to step back & let others have their success at races.  It's not always about me and I don't have to win at everything (although I am really competitive).

So I didn't run.  I volunteered.  It's nice to be on the other side of the fence and watch the race happen.  Admittedly I got that feeling.....that itch to want to be out there racing and quite possibly winning.  But I was also so tired and sore from my Rival Game Relay (don't worry race recap will be written) that I knew it wasn't a good idea to be out there running.  No matter what I tell myself when it comes to a race I go all out.  Someone suggested I sign up, but just jog it or take it easy.  I'm sorry, I can't do that.  It's not possible.  If I'm out for a daily run, no problem.  But when I hear that gun go off and BAM!  I'm in race mode (told you I was competitive!!).

It was fun and an absolute joy to watch and cheer the other runners on.  Some met their goal, some set personal records, some didn't, but they finished and that in my book is such an accomplishment.

Kelly, one of my co-workers joked about my finish line pictures.  She says I always have the best ones and that they are always fun.  So even though I didn't run I hopped in to the finishers chute and showed them how I have fun when I finish my races.

I'm looking forward to future years of the Big Steps 5k.  It was a great race, with a lot of great people participating.  I foresee this race becoming popular and growing in size.  I can't wait to be a part of it in future years.

Let the Rival Begin

I grew up in Iowa.  More specifically I was born in Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa and the Hawkeyes, and then raised in Muscatine which is a short 40 minute drive away.  Anyway, all good girls from Iowa are Hawkeye fans!  Others are somehow tricked in to rooting for that other Iowa team, the Cyclones.  Naturally there is a little bit of a rivalry between the 2 schools.  Hawkeye fans KNOW they are the best, Cyclone fans THINK they are.

This Saturday is the annual rival game of the 2 schools and their football teams.  In Ragnar style fashion a race has been created to go along with this annual showdown of schools.  Tonight I'll be joining my team, a Jack & 4 Jills, as we run across Iowa in Rival Game Relay.  Specifically we will run 126 miles from Ames (home of the Cyclones) to Tiffin (which is outside of Iowa City, home of the Hawkeyes).

We're ready to run and represent the best team....the Hawkeyes, OF COURSE, in this fun and what I'm sure will be memory filled relay race.  It's my first time to ever run a race like this so I'm sure it'll be quite interesting!!  Check back for a full race report and don't forget to check out my instagram (She Runs Everywhere) to see pictures that I post along the way!!

Back to "normal"/August Rewind

Almost every single day I think....ok....I got this.  School has started (finally!!  oh most of you don't even know the half of it!!) and I'm getting back on track to a new schedule & routine.  Things are going back to normal (whatever that is) and I'll be back on track with my regular blogging.  Annnnnnd almost every single day I go to bed (usually exhausted) and think....well, tomorrow.  Ha, I even started this yesterday & didn't get it done.  And right now, I really should be in bed.  Normal schmormal, it's clearly over rated!!

Anyway, I have a boat load of things I want to blog about, but figured that I'd start with an August rewind.  As many of you know I ran at Howl at the Moon and kicked butt with 47.5 miles.  I'm still pretty excited over that one.  Running wise that was my only "accomplishment".  As I'm getting advanced in my years aka getting old I can only handle a big accomplishment every once in awhile.  Otherwise it's a whole lot of running with out any restrictions or goals.  I mean, goals are always good, but I'm clearly going through a phase where it's not prominent in my running life.  And I'm ok with that.

Surprisingly enough though I ran 124.2 miles in the month of August.  I figured that aside from Howl I wouldn't be doing much else.  Yes, I continued my streak, but figured I'd have so many more days of just a mile here and mile there to sustain my now 826 day running streak.  While the effects of Howl and thus my recovery process was pretty harsh, I guess it's no surprise that I continue to work through that and keep on running.  I didn't set out to run that many miles.  I just ran and the rest fell in to place.

This takes my yearly mileage up to 939.87 miles.  I didn't realize I was that close to 1,000.  And I find it fascinating that last year I ran over 2,000 and yet with 4 months left I haven't even reached half of that.  And yet, I'm constantly being told that I run waaaaaaay to much.  You know, all that crazy running I do.  Yay, not really!

Ok, my bed is calling my name and my eyes are heavy.  I blogged.  Hooray, I did it!  Now if I can just keep at it.  I mean it's all up in my head I just need to get it down in writing.