The Relay 2009

Posted May 6th, 2009 by KellBell

Twelve runners, two drivers, two volunteers, 200 miles and one weekend. That, in a nutshell, is The Relay as it just happened this past weekend. After weeks of anticipation and training the weekend of The Relay was finally upon us. Was I excited? Of course! Events like this are just the kind of challenge I am looking to do in my retirement. Was I frightened? Oh hell yes! I have NEVER done anything like this in my life and I had little confidence in how I would do and how my body would hold up during the event.

The weekend’s events started with the team having dinner at Riviera. Although we were an hour late getting there, Riviera graciously made it work out and hosted us for a great dinner. After salads, entrees and some limoncello dessert, we got into our respective vans and headed out for some sleep before the craziness of the relay began. Van 1 headed to my house while van 2 went to Shannon’s house.

Fast forward to 5:30 am on Saturday morning and the sound of my alarm kicking off my relay experience. After making sure the team was up at their respective times, and after trying to keep my nerves calm, we packed ourselves and our gear into Bessie the Suburban and headed to Calistoga for our 9 am start. The forecast of rain decided to hold true for this weekend since gray rainy skies greeted us on the drive out and while we were taking care of pre race prep after getting to Calistoga. I will say that everything up to this point was pretty calm and organized. We got checked in quickly, got the required sign attached to the back of Bessie in plenty of time, we even had the time to take care of some more personal needs before our 9 am start. Everything after that start, however, was just chaotic!

To understand the chaos that ensued I should take a step back and explain this relay process a bit more. Sweet Tooth was comprised of 12 runners where one of us was running at all times. Ideally, runners complete each relay leg in order from 1-12 and then start the rotation over again until all 36 legs are completed. In order to minimize the number of cars and runners on the course the race not only staggers start times based on your “estimated” race pace they also require you to split your team in half and over two vans. Only the “active” van can be on course except for those legs and time periods where you will do a van exchange. In the end Sweet Tooth broke out the legs and vans as follows (runners are listed in order):

Van 1: JoJo, Kelli, Gail, Bea, Liz, Irene

Van 2: Cindy, Lindsey, Sarah, Shannon, Heather, Beth

So at 9 am after JoJo started her run and kicked off our relay madness we scrambled back into Bessie to head to the next start point and the start of my specific experience. Based on the team’s 10 min mile pace we expected JoJo to come in at around 9:45. Boy were we wrong! JoJo came rolling in 5 minutes ahead of schedule and off I went to start Leg 2 and my first run.

My plan the whole weekend was to run as fast or as slow as my body wanted me to. I had been training at about a 9:30 min mile pace so you may understand the surprise I had when I looked at my Garmin 405 and saw that I was running a sub 8:30 pace! Adrenaline sure does make a big difference! I didn’t feel like I was running any harder or pushing beyond my limits but I was sure running faster than usual! It took me 39 mins and 34 seconds to finish my 4.7 mile leg which meant that, in the end, I completed my run with an 8:24 min/mile pace. By the end of my leg we were tracking well ahead of our estimated times, and it was only just the beginning.

By the time Irene came rolling into Napa and van exchange 1, Van 1 finished out our first set of runs about 45 mins ahead of schedule. After we all finished our first legs we headed back to our house to recoop before our next set of legs began.

You would think that after napping, showering, and eating that our next set of runs would go beautifully. I am sad to say that wasn’t the case. After packing Bessie up to hit our 2nd set of legs and then to head to the city afterwards, we made our way to the start of leg 13 and van exchange 2. Well, I should say that we made our way to what we *thought* was leg 13 and van exchange 2. We were actually at the start of leg 12 and we didn’t realize it until we waited there for 90 minutes. After we made our way to the correct location, we ran around for another 30 minutes trying to find our team. We figured that since we were so far ahead of our pace (nearly 2 hrs when Van 2 had finished their first legs) that they would wait for us. As it turns out they waited 7 minutes and then continued on, covering our legs and hoping it would all get figured out soon. After failing to gain cell reception and still unable to find them at the exchange, I went in and asked the Deli staff if I could use their land line. I guess my look of complete and utter despair was enough to make them cave and we were finally able to get a hold of van 2. They had just finished leg 13 for us and as I was on the phone they started leg 14, which was supposed to be my run. We made the plan to meet them at the start of leg 15 and make the switch there.

Fast forward a few hours. Since I had missed my run up Nicasio Valley Rd, van 1 did some juggling and Bea and I ended up covering the first two legs of Van 2’s next runs to make up for them having to cover for us. Bea handled leg 19 which was much harder than what her 2nd run was supposed to be. Me? I had to cover leg 20 which was a run from the Great Ocean Hwy & Sloat, up Skyline Blvd. to Hickey Blvd. In other words, it was a 5.9 mile run UP HILL. It was much longer of a run than I anticipated and prepared for, with a much steeper incline, but I still managed to finish it in a little over an hour with 10:34 min mile pace. After I finished my run we rushed back to Bea’s to try and recoop as much as we could before we resumed our final set of runs. Since we were going to stick to the original game plan from here on out we were expected to start up again at leg 25 which meant that we had far less time to rest than originally planned.

While everyone was sleeping or resting as best they could at Bea’s, I was struggling. I was not feeling well – I actually hadn’t been feeling well since before my 2nd run – and I couldn’t figure out exactly what was wrong. All I knew is that I was feeling nauseated and shivering and could not fall asleep. After getting the call that it was time for us to get going again, Dave brought me a coke to see if it was low blood sugar. We packed ourselves back in Bessie and headed to Cañada College to make the 3rd van exchange in time. I was not feeling well the whole way there, and after we parked and folks got out I started to shiver uncontrollably. I could tell that my body was starting to shut down and not only was that not normal for me, I couldn’t figure out why. Eating and drinking weren’t an option in my mind since the very thought made me more nauseated. It was at this point that I asked Dave to take me to the hospital. Since I have never made such a request, and since Dave knows how much I hate hospitals, he was a bit surprised to hear me say that. Needless to say I was defeated. I had mentally given up and just really wanted to make it all end. Luckily for me, not only was my van super supportive in the fact that they were preparing to cover my leg for me, they didn’t give up on me either. Bea informed Heather of my condition and Heather came to check me herself. It was her tough love that pulled me through. She made me drink electrolytes and didn’t care if I couldn’t keep them down because she was going to make me drink them anyway. Within 5 mins of finishing my first bottle of my electrolyte drink I bounced back. I started drinking a 2nd bottle as we headed on the road to track JoJo’s progress. As I continued to perk up more and more, the anger at myself and determination set in and I started to get ready to run my third and final leg.

Leg 26 was the last challenge between me and the end of my specific relay experience, and it started only 4 hours after I had finished my 2nd leg and less than 30 mins after I asked to be taken to the hospital. With a renewed sense of determination, I started on my way. The team was still concerned about me and insisted that I just do what I could and to stop the moment I didn’t feel right. They were going to check in on me often just to make sure I was ok. Well, after the first check in I was fine. I had some more electrolytes and then continued on to finish my run as strong as I could. When all was said and done, I finished my 4.2 mile run near the Stanford Campus in amazing style: I maintained an 8:40 min mile pace. Yes it was classified as an “easy” run, but it was an accomplishment nonetheless. I had overcome and I finished my 3 legs on my own. As I kicked it in the last 400 yds to the hand off zone my sense of pride swelled knowing that I had proven a lot to myself in this journey. I am stronger both physically and mentally than I could ever have imagined!

In the end Sweet Tooth completed the 200 mile run from Calistoga to Santa Cruz in a little over 31 hours. Our team pounded the pavement for 31 hours straight in wind, rain, darkness, and battling physical hurdles and we conquered this challenge together and over 2 hours faster than we had planned.

All I know I am now hooked. I not only want to tackle this again next year, but I also signed up for the San Francisco Half Marathon. I kid you not, I learned a lot about myself, and I know now that I *can* do it!

–> Please check out my Facebook album for more pics.