Cape Cod Marathon Relay, Leg 4

The fourth leg of the Cape Cod Marathon Relay was fun and mildly painful. I'm a bit more sore today than I was yesterday, so am resting one more day. I enjoyed the team experience very much this year and it was great to run with so many old friends, and new runners.

Last year I went out and ran the same leg in just under 48. I was hoping to run the same or better this year. I wasn't sure where I'd net out though. With nights of broken sleep from Child 3 etc. I downgraded my expectations, though I was still hopeful that I could hammer it. Leg Four is sort of a bear, with a ton of climbs and descents and a particularly brutal climb at mile 20. Some woman said, her as I and others were running by her at the 20 mile marker that the top of the hill was at a car that was parked part way up it. Deep in my memory banks though, I remember it being longer than what I was looking at. It was. The hill actually turns at the point where the car was parked and continues up. I know that I wrote about this last year, but this is a big climb at this point in the marathon and I have tremendous respect for the runners who did the full course yesterday -- this means you VTR.

Speaking of the full course the CCM is a nasty little marathon. I'm quite familiar with about 20 miles of the course and it is a hilly, climbing extravaganza. As I said I was reaching for 48 minutes and came in at 45:54.1 so I was pretty pumped. I gritted my teeth up the last few hills, leaned into them and shifted my drive from my quads to my calves. I passed a lot of relay runners and was only passed by one relay-gazelle. He was a tall skinny guy and I heard him come up behind me and then disappear over a long hill around mile 18 of the course.

Based on some rough calculations I received the baton at 14.9 miles, and handed it off at 20.9. Here are my splits:

First 1/10: 0:59.3
15-16: 7:57.9
16-17: 7:38.3
17-18: 7:47.5
18-19: 7:52.7
19-20: 7:54.4
20-20.9: 5:44.0 ( this is s 6:22/mile pace, and granted there was a long down hill in this stretch but this also included the huge uphill, so I'm pretty stoked about this split)

I had a blast running this challenging leg and even more fun running with my old friends. Running is so solitary 9 out of 10 runs that it's great when it becomes a team sport. Nice job to the FAs, you worked hard and hit your goals and should be proud of yourselves. Way to stay on the course this year PR. Finally, way to tough it out VTR, it was an impressive performance. Let's all do it again next year.

The Race

Racing, and running in general for that matter, brings with it a series of epiphanies. As I sat down to write this post, I really didn't know where to start, what to title it. (Still not sure where it's going to end up.) Through various sections of the race, my mind latched onto titles like, Getting Your Ass Kicked, Humbled, and Living Through It. At those points, this blog was a welcome distraction. I was blogging virtually as if I had already run the race. Implied in that in-race daydream, I realize now, is the fact that I pictured myself post-race, finished and writing. So, in the lowest points of the race I used the blog to create the positive scenaro that I needed to get through it. Nice.

I digress. I opened the blog tonight to find your impressions of the events and emotions surrounding the CCM and Bennu's welcome back run in Dedham. The strength of the bond we've formed here struck me. Made the races seem almost secondary to the dialog that's going on here. A supportive, funny discourse on accepting new challenges, enduring set backs, pushing forward and sharing the entire progression with friends we've known for going on 20 years. Very cool. Epiphany #1 for this evening.

So, what do I write about the race? Mrs. VTR inadvertantly helped out a few minutes ago when, after hearing about Mixed Drinkers' strong placing, she asked where I came in. I hadn't checked and replied that this race in particular was just about the struggle to finish, not about the time. I was serious, and I still feel that way,... but curiousity got to me, so I checked the results. I finished in the top 25% overall, 37%. I compete against my own goals, but I'm a competitor.

Now, I'm into it. I want to know what really happened. So here it goes by the numbers:
Mile 1: 7:04
Mile 2: 7:19
Mile 3: 7:23
Mile 4/5: 14:31
Mile 6: 7:22
Mile 7 7:21
Mile 8: 7:23
Mile 9: 7:25
Mile 10: 7:13
Mile 11: 7:46
Mile 12: 7:51
Mile 13: 7:33
Mile 14: 7:42
Mile 15: 8:08
Mile 16: 9:06
Mile 17 8:43
Mile 18/19: 20:32
Mile 20: 10:55
Mile 21/22: 20:58
Mile 23: 10:56
Mile 24: 11:45
Mile 25: 10:39
Mile 26: 10:09
Mile 0.2: 1:53

Epiphany #3, I bonked...definitely, but I knew that. In looking at the numbers, I realize that I also dug deep on mile 17 to pull myself together and again on miles 25 through the finish. Feels good.

Epiphany #4 (just had it), running gives us an opportunity to accomplish great things and feel good about yourself, for yourself. This blog gives us an opportunity to share that feeling with friends. Not a common thing these days. Very cool.

That's all for now. Thanks Agricola's for opening your home for the pre-race dinner. Thanks LDT-ers for sharing the experience.