R2R 2010

After what seemed like nine months of constant rain, I woke up Saturday to silence. No rain on the roof. That was a good sign. By the time I had finished getting ready for the day, it was beginning to get light out. Not the grey dimness that we had become accustomed to, but a real brightness. It was clear skies out there. As I stopped at the light to turn onto the main street, Mount Rainier was showing off. She was perfectly silhouetted by the sun and surrounded by a vivid blue sky. One of her flanks was that bright pink that is only seen during perfect sunrises and sunsets. What a good sign that this was going to be a great day.

I was to pick up Dan at 5:30 and I arrived at 5:20. After a few last items were throw into his bags, we were off and headed toward the mountain. We had to stop at South Prairie for the pre-race checkin and instructions (they weren't sure until that morning whether they'd have to re-route the second leg because all this rain has greatly raised the level of the creek there). After that Dan and I headed to the start - past Carbanado. His race was to start at 7:30 so we had plenty of time. Temperature at the start was 38. Right before the race started he began to verbalize having seconds thoughts about his ability to run this thing. I did my best to convince him that he was ready, and that it was just a mind game at that point. Reminded him that the weather was perfect, and we had been escorted by a Bald Eagle for a portion of our drive out. Both good signs. We went over his bag drop preps and the fact that there were other runners out there who would be going his pace. Got him out there and took a few "before" pictures. The mood of the runners was good! They toed the line, the bell rang, and they were off.

My relay team showed up soon after the 50-milers started and our race started about an hour later. I was 5th leg so I had plenty of time. By the time my leg came around I had changed into shorts and the unshaded parts of my run were going to be hot. Nice!! Before my leg started though, I was able to meet Dan as he came in to the checkpoint at South Prairie (where my leg was) and I changed his shoes, socks, and shirt and got him going again. My handoff was 15 minutes or so after he left. I kept an 8:32 pace for my 5.2 mile run. I wish I could have done better (it was downhill most of the way) but I ran as fast as I could. I passed Dan midway, which meant we handed off at the next checkpoint before he arrived. We would stay ahead of him from here on out. His wife and kids were at the checkpoint three miles farther down the trail so I didn't feel too bad missing him there.

My next leg, #11, was on the access road next to Levee Road - down by the river. It's a sand surface there but it was pretty packed down from the rain. The problem was going to be the mud puddles that went from one side of the 'road' to the other. It's like a wide ditch down there and there was no alternative but to head straight through the water. If I kept to the center, the water was only up to my lower calves, but if I veered off even a little, it was 6 inches deeper or so and came up to my knees. I couldn't see what the running surface was either because the water looked like chocolate milk. I never knew what the next footfall would bring. By midway through the second puddle (think lake) I decided to walk through instead of run. We were not going to win the relay and I wasn't going to twist an ankle to save a minute or two. This portion of my leg lasted for a mile. After I came out of the water zone, my shoes squeaked for a good mile or two. It became somewhat entertaining as the sound changed as the water worked its way out. This leg ended at the glass museum and George actually ran the last 2.5 miles or so with me as I wasn't totally sure I'd see the arrows for the turns through town (and he knows the course well). We averaged 9 minute miles over this portion. Not bad considering the stops (waits) for lights and such.

There were only 4 miles left in the race after my run, and I handed off to Elizabeth (the junior-high student who was the captain of our team) . She ran well and came in strong and we all joined her for the finish. Fun!! As soon as we could, we took off in one of the cars to take me back to run in with Dan. I had a clean pair of shoes and socks for him. I was worried about his feet being in those 'lakes' and staying wet for miles. Not a good thing after 30 miles of running. We found him after the water portion and they had guided them to Levee Road at that point so he missed running through the 'lakes' anyway. He declined the clean shoes - he was afraid his feet were swollen too much to get them on. He was tired but still had quite a bit of mojo left in him. I ran with him for 7 miles to the finish. He came in 11 hours, 31 minutes after he had started. He was wearing my Garmin and it showed 53.3 miles.

Sooo, my total for the day was 9 fast (for me) miles, 1 mile of slogging through water, and 7 miles of a slow run mixed with a walk break every now and again. Perfect day of running and being with friends. Loved every minute of it - including the water!