Del Sol '09, Part 2

If any of you saw my earlier post, you got a glimpse of the thoughts that go on in my head during my legs.  I thought that commercial described it pretty well.  It's a constant battle with myself.  But I'll try and break down the legs a little more.

Leg 1 - 8.5 miles - very hard

After being at the starting line and getting all pumped up to start as Trent took off, we (van 2) decided to "hurry up and wait."  We headed to the major exchange 6 and waited a few hours for van 1 to arrive.  I was a little anxious getting started since it was my first leg and I usually run better in the mornings and it was about mid afternoon.  I wasn't too excited though when Liesel and I were standing at the exchange waiting for her to take off before me and the official told us the next 20 miles were on dirt road.   That would encompass most of the next three legs. My turn came and I took off at a good pace.  However the dirt was a little hard to run on since it was uneven and very soft.  There were some small rolling hills but no major elevation changes.  The sun was just starting to go down and the scenery was beautiful.  I got scared for a second though when I crested a hill and looked down to see a small stream that was maybe 8 feet across, too wide to jump over, flowing over the road.  The van had already taken off to the other side, but luckily somebody had put a board across part of the stream that gave us enough room to run across and jump a couple of feet over to the other side.  One of the coolest things I saw on the run was a huge boulder about 70 yards from the road out in the middle of nowhere that somebody had painted like a huge skull. For some reason though there were several vans that came speeding by the opposite direction that kicked up a lot of dust (I must have inhaled about half a pound). The uneven road started to affect my IT band a little, but I managed to keep a steady pace with no major problems.  

Leg 2 - 6.4 miles - Hard

Even though my first leg was longer, I thought this leg was going to be a litte tougher.  It was about 4 in the morning, and having slept maybe 30 minutes I was a little dazed. But the rest of my van mates were doing really well and I thought I could keep up the pace.  However when Morgan and I walked to the exchange to wait for Liesel, a cross wind was blowing really hard and it was cold.  It was a lot more comfortable in the van.  But here she came and off I went. After about half a mile my IT band started to ache, and I thought I was going to have to call in the "ibu's", but it went away as I warmed up.  This was probably my loneliest leg.  It was really dark out, hardly any traffic, and I only saw one other runner the entire leg.  The leg started out about a mile out of town, then ran into town along a major road.  I kept wondering if I was going the right way because there were no runners and no vans.  But as I kept running, my headlamp illuminated a figure in the darkness that I didn't see until I was about 5 feet away.  It was Liesel, ready with water.  I new I was going the right way at that point, and not having a repeat of last year.  The wind seemed to die down, and I managed a pace that was a little slower than my first leg, but lack of sleep will do that to you.

Leg 3 - 3 miles - easy

Don't be fooled by the distance of this leg.  I was.  I thought this would be my easiest leg but the conditions were tough.  At this point it was saturday afternoon and the sun was making his presence known.  I hadn't eaten much since my last leg, but felt ok.  This leg had a few turns but was mostly flat through some neighborhoods.  However it was hot, dang hot.  You wouldn't think 87 degrees would be that hot, but having trained in 40 and 50 degree weather, 80 degrees is a big difference.  I could feel the heat just scorching from the blacktop and it was draining me.  Luckily Morgan and Liesel came to my rescue a few times with water to pour on my head. I think I would have melted if they hadn't done that.  But I made it through and survived.

So anyway, if you're still reading, I had a blast and loved Del Sol '09.  I think we had an awsome team and I would do this all over again with everybody.  I can't wait for LA.