In November someone in our running group posted about Mercedes relay teams. I didn't even know there was a relay option. Cora was just 3 months old at that time and I knew the relay team would be a good way to keep me motivated to run/exercise without the pressure of the half-marathon (we won't even talk about a full marathon).
The marathon is divided into five parts for relay teams: 6 miles, 3 miles, 6 miles, 3 miles, and 8 miles. I agreed to do whatever and was assigned a three mile leg. I worked hard on my 5k time and had a goal in mind that I wanted to achieve. Three weeks before the race, a member of our team asked if I could swap and do a 6 mile leg instead. I agreed. I knew I could run 6 miles, but it wouldn't be my best since I had been preparing for three. Two weeks before the race, I was diagnosed with the flu! This was my first time to have the flu and it was terrible! There was absolutely no running for me that week. I just had to accept the fact that my six miles was going to be a slow six. Thankfully, our group was all about fun and the experience and there wasn't any pressure to be fast.
Race day finally arrived. There ended up being 4 relay teams from our running group! There were also lots of other friends running the half and full marathon. I was assigned the first six miles of the race. My friend, Charlotte, was doing that part for her team also. It was fun having a friend to wait and start with. I love how the race starts at Boutwell Auditorium. It was raining and cold the morning of the race. We were able to stay warm and dry inside until the race began.
I had a plan for my six miles. I didn't have a plan for the half marathon and I regretted it. I created a play list that alternated slow and fast songs. My plan was to run slower on the slow songs and faster on fast songs. That worked really well until mile 5. I think I was too fast even on my "slow" songs due to adrenaline and the excitement of the race. I also had another stinkin blister I was dealing with. (I had horrible blisters when I ran the half marathon.) My last two miles were a lot slower and I even had to walk some. I still had a decent finish given I hadn't prepared for 6 miles. My chip time was 1:02:22 with an average pace of 10:14.
Now it was time to wait on the rest of my team to finish. Thankfully, I had Charlotte to wait with. She and I didn't realize that there were buses that would take us back to the start/finish line. So, we walked back. It was only two miles and we had we had a lot of waiting to do so we didn't mind. It was actually kind of fun. The best part was stopping at Burger King for breakfast. Charlotte happened to put some money in her armband and we were so thankful! Neither of us had eaten breakfast and we were wet, cold, and starving. I will admit I felt just a tiny bit guilty being in a warm place eating while my teammates were running or waiting to run.
Waiting at the finish with these great ladies was my favorite part of the day. We were just around the corner from the finish line waiting on our last relay person so we could finish as a team. During this time, we got to watch several local runners finish the full marathon - 26.2 miles. I can't even imagine. When our first friend came by, I had tears in my eyes thinking of what an accomplishment it is to run 26.2 miles. It was so special to watch friends and strangers accomplish something that requires so much discipline, dedication, and hard work.
Here is part of our team crossing the finish line. I am waiving at our running friends who were enthusiastically cheering us on. :)
This is most of our local running community. We are a good looking group, right?
This is my team. Mercedes is such a great race and the race environment is fun. I loved participating in the relay. Hopefully I can participate next year, if I'm not running the half. :)
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