Reach The Beach Relay 2011 - Initial Thoughts

It is extremely hard to try and write a race recap for RTB. I've been staring at the Blogger website for hours and I'm not quite sure where to begin.

By far, this was the hardest race I've ever done. For me it wasn't so much the running (3 Legs for a total of 15 miles), but the lack of sleep was really getting to me by Saturday. I think I spent a large part of Saturday feeling exhausted, cranky, and had a sour stomach on top of it. By noon I was ready to be done and go back home. (Using a shower and a bathroom that wasn't a porta-potty would have been nice too) But on the flip side, this might have been the most fun I'd ever had in a race. I enjoyed cheering and being crew for my friends, especially when it was late at night/early in the morning and we were all hurting. I loved seeing all of my friends finish up strong and with a smile on their face. I loved cheering on the other runners. I loved being cheered on by the other teams. I appreciated another runner telling me "If you need any help, just scream!" at 9 pm. We laughed, acted silly, joked around and took photos all weekend.

Getting to run the last 1/2 mile along the beach with my team was the highlight of this race for me, though. All of us running together, side by side along the beach with the sun shining, was just indescribable. I am beyond proud of myself for the legs I did. After a solid WEEK of racing, I believe I averaged a 9:36 pace. And if my sleep deprived calculations are correct, I hit the 13.1 mark at 2:05...which would ironically, have been a PR.

For some reason I thought muscle fatigue was going to play a huge part in my runs, and I thought by my 3rd leg I would be toast, but that was not the case at all. I really surprised myself this weekend, and I need to keep reminding myself I am a runner, and just because I may not be running 7 minute miles (yet) doesn't mean I'm not a strong runner. Our team finished 26th out of 150 teams, and for having fun and not giving a damn, we did amazing. Without getting too mushy, let me just say I am truly proud to have been on Team Honey Badger this weekend. Every one of you was an inspiration to me, and I can't thank you enough for your support.