So the details are starting to pour in, and my excitement is growing.
The relay is a 200-mile hike from Madison to Chicago. It’s broken down into 36 (?) legs, and I am Legs 9, 21, and 33. The respective mileage is 6, 6.5, and 6.
The craziest part is that my final leg is runs right down the bike path which I ride, so it’s really familiar territory. And I am pretty sure the Chicago legs run right past my actual house.
YAY!!!!!!
While the mileage itself is totally doable (I am running about four days a week now, and riding about the same), I am a little nervous about the speed. It looks like there are some super fast runners on the team, of which I am not one.
Prior to IM, I was able to increase my overall pace, but since the surgery, I have gotten a tad slower, and it’s been difficult for me to pick it back up.
So right now, I am at about a 10:15/mile pace. But who knows – maybe the adrenaline of the event will help me kick it up.
We leave Chicago on Thursday, and start the race Friday from Madison. The team is comprised of 3 other girls and 7 boys, none of whom I have actually ever met in person. It sounds like Friday night, we sort of camp out (or least that’s what I gathered from the recommendation of sleeping bags).
This should be interesting, as I have never camped anywhere before. Well, unless you consider sleeping in an un-air conditioned studio apartment in a Chicago July "camping."
In other training news, I did a 2-hour brick today, and felt great. Definitely feel like I am getting stronger, and now getting used to running in hotter, more humid weather. My weekday workouts are moving forward, though I have successfully managed to escape the pool this past week (although I don't know what kind of success that actually is).
So my goal before Thursday is to hit the pool at least three times. Kinda lofty for me, but hey, I signed up for Racine for the sole purpose of giving me a structure and forcing my hand at working out.
And so goes another weekend in Chicago!
5 comments:
There are some superfast people on the team, but the team captain (ahem, me) is a slowpoke :-)
And yes Friday night we'll be camping sorta - we just throw down our sleeping bags at the exchange and try and get as much sleep as we can. If you are fast and it isn't too hot, you can call the back seat of the van :-)
If escaping the pool is equivalent to success, I could write a book on how to be successful. Good luck getting in those swims!
Sounds like a lot of fun...your recovery speed is quite impressive!
Take Care
OM Gosh. the spirit of the race will totally fire you up! We all nearly PR'd on 10k times during our first relay and completely surprised ourselves!
Yey!! *high five*
It's going to be fun racing with you at Racine. Let me know if you (and Cheese if he's here for that) want to have a spaghetti dinner with the Schabel clan the night before.
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