I have been training for this event for several months. I have run more hills than I ever care to again, and I have been training to run at different times of the day. Again, for those of you that are wondering why..........During this race, if you are a member of a 12 person team, then you run 3 legs. If you are a member of an Ultra (6 person) team, then you each run 6 legs. This means that you run at different times of the day, and the chances of getting any sleep................well, are slim-to-none.
So, Let me break down the weekend for you:
Thursday
I spend the day cleaning, packing and grocery shopping for both my family while I'm gone, and for my trip.
4:30pm- I head to Jess' house to get loaded up and headed out.
5-6:00pm-Jess, Mindy and I are preparing the food for the trip and packing everything up
6:30pm-The rest of the team arrives and we get their stuff loaded into the cars
6:45pm-We all head to Olive Garden for dinner
9:00pm-We are finished with dinner, have picked up anything that anyone had forgotten, and are on our way up to Ogden to stay at our friend Ally's parents' house.
11:00pm- While the guys are busy decorating our vehicles, the girls are separating the food and necessities between the two vehicles.
Our "Tiki Mobile"
12:30am- We make an attempt to get some sleep
1:45am-I can't sleep
2:30am- Still can't sleep
3:00am-Finally fell asleep
4:30am-Alarm goes off-time to get ready
5:45am-The girls all head out the door and head to USU Campus to make our start time
6:30am-We get our "Tribal Tattoos"
Just a few of my "Tattoos"
7:30am-And we're off! Jess starts us off. This girl runs like a Cheetah-she is amazingly fast.
11:06am-It's my turn! I was runner 5, and my first leg was up Avon Pass- an all-dirt road/trail. My run was 7.4 miles long with a 1,200 foot incline. It actually wasn't as bad as I thought run-wise, but it was worse than I thought, because with all of the cars passing by, I ate dirt the entire time. I drank a lot of water to wash it all down.
1 Leg Down........
9:13pm- I run my second leg. This run didn't seem so bad-it was only 4.2 miles. I took off: my leg seemed to be holding up ok, and I had more energy than I thought I would. But..........by mile 3, my leg was screaming, and the blister that popped up at Utah Valley the week before, was back again-with a vengence. Then, out of nowhere, my left IT ban began to throb. I ran with all that I had left, and at 9:48pm I handed the baton off to Kristin once again. I was so glad to be done.
10:45pm-The girls are done for the night, and the guys take over. We drove to Oakley where the next major exchange would take place.
Saturday
12:45am-We finally get to the rodeo grounds in Oakley, and decide to "sleep" in the car until the guys showed up. Sleep..........right. I did my best to lie down in the driver's seat, while everyone else crammed together in the passenger seat and in the back of the Aspen we were in. We were packed like sardines.
I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep. Every time I would roll over, pain would shoot through my leg. Just when I started to fall asleep, a group of people would pull up next to us, and they were anything but quiet. I maybe got 1 1/2 hours of sleep before it was time to go for round 3.
5:30am-Jess is on her last leg. By this time, her left IT band was so bad that she just walked her whole leg. Remember, this is the "Cheetah", so for her to walk you know it hurts.
6:30am-Mindy takes over. Same thing with her. Both of her knees are in such bad shape that she traded Tanya runs, and then has to end up walking her leg anyway.
9:46am- My 3rd and final leg was under way. This one was only 3 miles-piece of cake. I swallowed my ibuprofen, rubbed the oil on both legs, and took off. I cranked my music and did my best to ignore my aching legs. I was doing pretty good.........until I turned a corner to see the monster of a hill I had to run. I won't share with you the thoughts that were going through my head, but let's just say that I wasn't happy. However, I made it up and then down that hill, and I then ran as hard as I could for the last 3/4 mile. When I reached Kristin, I was so relieved to be DONE. From here on out, I could sit back and relax.........
10:30am-the girls all went to Chick's in Heber for breakfast. It's funny- I had no appetite whatsoever, but when the food came I inhaled it like I hadn't eaten in days. It was the first actual meal we had eaten in almost 24 hours.
So Happy To Be Done
12:30pm-We arrive at the finish line and wait for the guys to show up. We wait, and wait, and wait.........
3:30pm- FINALLY, the guys arrive and we cross the finish line as a team!
Team Evolo
(waiting for our last runner)
Thanks to our mascot, Zac, we even made the Deseret News: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700145334/Wasatch-Back-runners-raced-for-family-titles.html?pg=2
As you look through the pictures, you'll see us there. By the end of the race, everyone knew about our mascot. However, I do have to say that we were not the only ones with crazy costumes. You would not believe some of the things we saw. There was a team entirely dressed as different Super Heroes; some of the BYU team members were dressed in nothing but Speedos; and there were guys dressed in grass skirts and coconut shells. Some pretty insane stuff. But, that's all part of the fun. Here are a few photos of some of my favorite vehicles:
I love this one! Written all over were things like: Running is a mental sport & we are all insane!
and Insane in the Brain!
This car was completely decorated with monkeys and bananas.
It was one of the funnier, and cleaner themes-believe it, or not.
I came home exhausted, sore and filthy. I showered, went to dinner and hung out with my family, before finally crashing around 10:30pm. I actually got up in time for 9am church- but, as soon as I got home, I slept until 5pm. Then, I was up for a few hours before crashing for the night around 9pm.
It was a crazy time. In some ways it was harder than I thought it would be, and in other ways it was easier than I thought it would be. In the end, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It was a TOTAL BLAST!!!!! I was part of an awesome team, and I love them all to death. A major part of the experience you have depends on the type of team you have, and my team was amazing. I can't wait until next year! YES- I may be insane :)
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