I was so wiped out last night, I forgot to tell people we finished! Matt finished a strong last 2 legs and brought us into DC. Compared to our experience at Ragnar, this finish was much better organized. They had the runners come off the C&O trail, through Georgetown, and finally into the park adjacent to the FDR Memorial.
The Washington Post had an article about the relay today - and our team got mentioned!
And no, we didn't see Mayor Fenty - although I did run with him for a few miles during the Marine Corps Marathon 2 years ago.
More to follow - today is yard work - I will go back and fill in posts, as well as add more photos.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Final 2 legs
So despite the heat we are now standing by for the final 2 legs. After a beautiful 14 mile run last night, I had one of the toughest 13 mile stretches of my life. Hot and humid, and don't forget that I slept about an hour and have already run 24 miles....
Kevin is now finishing up his last 2 legs, and Matt is getting ready to take us into DC. Our revised ETA at FDR is now between 6 and 6:30. See you there!
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Home stretch
The end is in sight... Greg is wrapping up 29 and 30, and getting ready for 12.8 on 31 and 32... It's warm, but thankfully not as warm as yesterday.
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IT issues
It appears we are having air card issues... So I'm going to try and update via the good old blackberry. In a nutshell, we've made it through the night safely - definitely tired though. Nobody got that much sleep. D is currently on leg 28 and Greg is prepping for 29 and 30. After I got into a footrace last night with some girl in the last 1/2 mile of 20, I am not sure how my legs are going to hold up.
A bunch of teams got held at 5 am at the C&O trail start.... Seems we were ahead of pace and the trail wasn't open yet.
Right now we're projected to arrive at the finish line between 3 and 3:30... Updates to follow.
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Friday, April 24, 2009
Getting ready for 14.1 miles
So in what is definitely a very cool setup, the Odyssey staff has arranged for a local high school to act as a little base for us... complete with showers, massage tables, and food. Lots of people laid out sleeping in the gym.
D finished up his legs, and Greg is out on 17 and 18. 17 is supposed to be pretty brutal, so I'm sure he's going to be feeling it at the end. At this point I am going to sign off and start prepping for 19 and 20.
D finished up his legs, and Greg is out on 17 and 18. 17 is supposed to be pretty brutal, so I'm sure he's going to be feeling it at the end. At this point I am going to sign off and start prepping for 19 and 20.
The Oasis
Jay just finished his second leg on 13 and 14, and D is up now on 15 and 16. One neat thing about this relay is they have an area where 15 transitions take place... So basically it will give all of us a chance to wind down and relax.
With the sun down, it has cooled down considerably... There is a nice breeze now and we're hoping it stays like this for the rest of the night.
With the sun down, it has cooled down considerably... There is a nice breeze now and we're hoping it stays like this for the rest of the night.
Matt is now part of the club
So Jay is now started our second round... a quick 8.8 on legs 13 and 14. The sun is starting to come down and temperature has gone down nicely.
Matt, having missed the story of Charlie and car accident of Ragnar, now has his own relay story to share. While we were at the transition between legs 10 and 11, there was a house across the street which had a larged fenced area... apparently, there was a hole in the fence, and the 4 dogs from that house were coming out to bother runners. Matt, immediately upon starting his leg, actually got nipped by one of the dogs (it didn't break the skin).
And don't worry Madison and Peyton, Daddy can still get in the van because he doesn't stink (yet).
Matt, having missed the story of Charlie and car accident of Ragnar, now has his own relay story to share. While we were at the transition between legs 10 and 11, there was a house across the street which had a larged fenced area... apparently, there was a hole in the fence, and the 4 dogs from that house were coming out to bother runners. Matt, immediately upon starting his leg, actually got nipped by one of the dogs (it didn't break the skin).
And don't worry Madison and Peyton, Daddy can still get in the van because he doesn't stink (yet).
Little cute animals
One thing I forgot to note was Kevin crossed the Pennsylvania-Maryland border during his run (Matt cracked he came all this way and doesn't get to run in a different state...)
This friendly guy, guarding his sheep..
Some of the more interesting things we've seen today...
This friendly guy, guarding his sheep..
No idea what this was...
During one of transitions, we had a State Police helicopter land in the parking lot next to Wal-Mart...
What has to be the coolest play ground we've ever seen...
57 miles down, 142 miles to go
So it took me a bit longer to get back to blog... I just finished two great legs (7 and 8) and was quickly followed by Kevin. Hard to believe it's already been 4 hours since I started my run.
Last time at Ragnar, I got stuck with the ungodly hill up Rt 40... this time, it was Greg who got the hill. Technically, he had more of a vertical climb than I did, but mine was over a shorter distance!
The weather has not only held, it has gotten very warm... I debated with running with or without a belt and ultimately ended up running with it (which ultimately was a very good decision). I felt great for the first mile of leg 7 or so (chasing a guy from another team) but then quickly hit a wall as the heat and a steep uphill got to me. After the third mile I was feeling in the zone and having liquids made a big difference - I started picking other teams off. At one point I was running around a sub 7 minute mile, but had to slow myself down as I reminded myself that I had 33 miles or so to go... Leg 8 also went pretty well - after a long slow uphill climb the last 3.5 miles was all downhill - steep downhill. I took advantage of the downhill and flew into the checkpoint to hand off to Kevin for legs 9 and 10.
Kevin's legs also went well - except he had literally run through several miles of farm fields that had been freshly manured. At one point he almost felt like he had to throw up due to the heat and the smell...
Kevin finished up his 10.6 strong and handed the bracelet off to new team member Matt for legs 11 and 12. Matt wanted say hi to his girls Madison and Peyton - and they should know the van is not stinky... yet! More coming soon on Matt's progress.
Also wanted to give a shout out to Tony, who ran Ragnar with us but unfortunately couldn't run this time due to injury. Wish you here brother!
Last time at Ragnar, I got stuck with the ungodly hill up Rt 40... this time, it was Greg who got the hill. Technically, he had more of a vertical climb than I did, but mine was over a shorter distance!
The weather has not only held, it has gotten very warm... I debated with running with or without a belt and ultimately ended up running with it (which ultimately was a very good decision). I felt great for the first mile of leg 7 or so (chasing a guy from another team) but then quickly hit a wall as the heat and a steep uphill got to me. After the third mile I was feeling in the zone and having liquids made a big difference - I started picking other teams off. At one point I was running around a sub 7 minute mile, but had to slow myself down as I reminded myself that I had 33 miles or so to go... Leg 8 also went pretty well - after a long slow uphill climb the last 3.5 miles was all downhill - steep downhill. I took advantage of the downhill and flew into the checkpoint to hand off to Kevin for legs 9 and 10.
Kevin's legs also went well - except he had literally run through several miles of farm fields that had been freshly manured. At one point he almost felt like he had to throw up due to the heat and the smell...
Kevin finished up his 10.6 strong and handed the bracelet off to new team member Matt for legs 11 and 12. Matt wanted say hi to his girls Madison and Peyton - and they should know the van is not stinky... yet! More coming soon on Matt's progress.
Also wanted to give a shout out to Tony, who ran Ragnar with us but unfortunately couldn't run this time due to injury. Wish you here brother!
4 down, 32 to go...
Well, the weather seems to be holding up. In fact, the wind has died down and the runners are starting to feel the sun on the course. Our second runner has finished up a tough 16.6 miles through some very hilly country. We ended up at Libery Mountain ski resort, which was kind enough to let the runners use their facilities (another plus over Ragnar!). This is true Pennsylvania farm country, complete with lots of cows and covered bridges.
Greg is now tackling legs 5 and 6. I'm up next, so I'll probably be offline for a few hours as I start to get ready. The transition after 5 was at a restaurant called Ventura's in Fairfield, PA. While most of the teams (the weak 12 person types) are stopping for lunch, I don't think our compressed schedule will allow us to stop just yet.
Greg's legs: 4 and 5
Pictures will come at the next break.
Greg is now tackling legs 5 and 6. I'm up next, so I'll probably be offline for a few hours as I start to get ready. The transition after 5 was at a restaurant called Ventura's in Fairfield, PA. While most of the teams (the weak 12 person types) are stopping for lunch, I don't think our compressed schedule will allow us to stop just yet.
Greg's legs: 4 and 5
Pictures will come at the next break.
Weather update
So the weather forecast this morning called for sunny skies, high of 70... Which would have been great for us, considering the monsoon we experienced (or rather, I experienced) during the Ragnar. However, in the last hour, the wind has picked up, and we are seeing a lot of clouds starting to roll in...
Onto leg 3
So, despite the fact that Jay ran a 50 mile race 6 days ago, he ran our first 2 legs (9.4 miles) in a respectable 1:15. Our second runner is off and we'll meet up with him at the Covered Bridge, which is supposed to be the highlight of the entire relay. He has 2 back to back 8.3 mile legs, for a total of 16.6.
The first exchange (at least for the ultra teams) was at Boyd's Bear Country store...
D's legs: 3 and 4
The first exchange (at least for the ultra teams) was at Boyd's Bear Country store...
D's legs: 3 and 4
And they're off...
So after a relatively quiet evening at the Wyndham Hotel, we met up for breakfast and loaded the van. You may remember last time at the Ragnar we crammed 6 guys, all our gear, food, and water into a very small Toyota Mini-van. This time we had the foresight to rent a 12 person van - which means everyone in the back gets their own row.
We had an early start this time (as opposed to starting last during the Ragnar) and the weather is absolutely beautiful. The route (starting in historic Gettysburg) is definitely much more scenic than the Ragnar route (although I could be jaded by the massive downpours we experienced last time).
Jay's started off on his first leg (9.4 miles). We'll keep you updated.
Jay's legs: 1 and 2
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The American Odyssey Relay
Back in my first post, I went into great detail about how 6 of us decided to embark on the Ragnar Relay - a 183 mile, 28 hour relay run from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC. Having run 7 marathons, it was something different and despite the cold weather, heavy rain, and cramped conditions I had a good time (although running 28.5 miles over 3 legs was certainly challenging). I am also fairly certain that I said back then that I wasn't planning on doing another relay anytime soon.
Which is funny now, because I find myself in a hotel lobby getting ready for yet another relay. This time it's the American Odyssey Relay from Gettysburg, PA and again finishing up in DC. 4 of the original 6 from our Ragnar team have returned, and I think we have frightened the 2 new guys with all the crazy stories from our last race. Although, I am hoping we don't get have another "Charlie" type encounter (see original post).
This time I have my laptop and air card with me, so I am planning to provide live updates from the van. For now, it's time to get some sleep. Talk at you in the morning!
Which is funny now, because I find myself in a hotel lobby getting ready for yet another relay. This time it's the American Odyssey Relay from Gettysburg, PA and again finishing up in DC. 4 of the original 6 from our Ragnar team have returned, and I think we have frightened the 2 new guys with all the crazy stories from our last race. Although, I am hoping we don't get have another "Charlie" type encounter (see original post).
This time I have my laptop and air card with me, so I am planning to provide live updates from the van. For now, it's time to get some sleep. Talk at you in the morning!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Registration Day (double whammy)
In what I can only characterize as a break down in inter service communications, the Army and Marines apparently have decided to have registration open for both the Army Ten Miler and Marine Corps Marathon on the same day (today, April 1). In addition to certainly overloading the networks around noon, as my friend Greg mentioned when you have two runners in the family it will be close to $300 in fees...
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