11.2km
1:09:xx
OK, last year my dr. thought I might have a stress fracture and so I opted not to run. Ian graciously (and somewhat ironically) stepped in and filled my shoes, so to speak. I was VERY disappointed that I didn’t get my shot at kicking a few memories down, and reveling in some good ones. While I didn’t have the same NEED to burn up emotions on the course, I still wanted very much to conquer it. Besides this has become an anniversary of sorts 
I was very excited that Stella and BMan were joining us, and that we got to be their hosts. 
We all got up in the morning had coffee and breakie and headed out, picking up a couple more Maniacs on the way. With a full van we arrived at the finish of Leg 1 / start of Leg 2. Congratulated our first leg finisher, the lovely lonerunner, and saw Bman off, then headed out to BMan’s finish and my start. I love the comraderie on the course, not just between teammates, but between teams. Relays are a fantastic experience. Cheered Bman a few times, snapped a few photos and moved on.
My leg got off to a bad start, with the gun going off as I was running from my pee in the woods (my leg was one of the few with no porta-potties at the start 
AND I thought my leg started 5 minutes later than it did! 
) So, I’m running, trailing after the rest… I was feeling pretty good at a pace just below 6 min/km which was my goal for the duration. I passed a bunch of people.
Then after about 4km started feeling light-headed. This is something that happens to me occasionally during runs, it seems to be attributed to neck & shoulder muscle tension, of which I have been suffering immensely for many weeks now. I found myself barely able to keep a 6:30mpk pace without feeling like I would pass out. There was no way i was going to DNF and let my team down. So I persevered at a slower pace than I’d hoped for. Eventually I was passed by all but two of those I’d passed earlier. This was very upsetting. When the run finally brought me to my home territory, I began to pick up the pace again, knowing I hadn’t far to go – maybe 2-3 km.
The finish chute wasn’t exactly a welcome site, so much as a relief. For the last 10 mins. I’d been experiencing pins & needles in my hands and forearms, and really just wanted to put my head down before it spun out of control. I ran in, and kept going, walking at a quick pace determined not to stop until I felt my head (and hands) were back to normal. Ian followed, knowing I had been unhappy for much of my run, asking what I needed. Apparently one of my team-mates was surprised to see me with my “game-face” on for the first time. I wish that’s all it were.
After my walk, I wanted to find Stella and “tag” her, wishing her well at the start to Leg 4.
I’m not all that happy with my results, but I didn’t have big expectations with the lack of running I’ve gotten in the past few weeks thanks to muscle tension, sleeplessness and a nasty head cold. I wasn’t that far off the mark, and I conquered that leg without an ounce of memory-induced emotion!
One of the best parts of the day for me, was taking a swim at the end of Leg 4. I brought my new wetsuit with me, and took my traditional dip in the Atlantic Ocean. This year Ryan joined me.
The rest of the day is a blur of starts and finishes, quick meals, snapping photos, jumping in and out of the van, finishers banquet…
Ryan, qmp, Bicycle.boy, lonerunner, CeilidhOnTheRun, BMan, Stella, drghfx, Christa, Stephan
We invited the team back to our place for beers and laughs. It was an awesome night, and a fantastic day all around.
…Hopefully next season will be a healthier one.
About Trish
