Colorado Relay by the numbers, Part I

We just got back from our flight back from Denver at a bit after noon today, and the whole weekend is fading too fast already.

Just from my one pathetic attempt to raise money, I found out that several of you, my (not too creepy) internet friends, gave generously to Judi's House. Thanks for supporting what I think is a worthy cause, and thanks for supporting me and my team of crazy friends in our crazy weekend.

I'm kinda tired - so I'm using a device I've seen in Time magazine for this post on the Relay.

I'm so tired, in fact, that this will have to be a To Be Continued post. Sleep deprivation (no matter how mild, in my case) has a profound impact on one's ability to make sense.

Colorado Relay by the Numbers, Part I

10 - the number of runners in our team that we took to Colorado to run the Colorado Relay. Mostly we were all New Mexico Outlaws. I didn't pick the team, the team leapt out and chose me. All of my dear triathlete friends were so eager to do this thing, it really caught me by surprise. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, this is a crazy race - and my friends are known crazies who often volunteer for crazy things. I could not have been luckier with the team I got - they are all crazy, fun, easy going people.

1 - the number of new runners on the team. Among us we had a new recruit who was the driver for the last time I did the Relay. Dave is a training partner and cycling mentor to me. He was so taken with the course he wanted to run this year -- and run he did.

1 - the number of drivers we brought along for the adventure. SW Tri Gal was our 2nd driver and contingency runner, and when we had a last minute cancellation her role changed and we were happy to welcome her on board. Our other driver recruit, Damon, having done some stints in a Baja rally and having had professional experience as a driver in many capacities, was extremely overqualified for the job. He brought all manner of excellent electronic equipment for both vans (long distance radios, GPS systems) and took awesome care of his charges in Van B. He spoiled them. I wished we could have cloned him for our van. We managed, but evidently Van B got very attached to their driver guy. He was just wonderful.

174 - the number of miles we 10 runners had to run across Colorado, starting from Georgetown, CO and ending in Carbondale.

2 - the number of times I've already run this relay (with another team). I have enjoyed the relay every time, it's hard not to bond with a group after spending 30 hours in a smelly van with them. This time, I really felt I was among my own people.

6 - the number of hours of sleep I got before our team set off bright and early 6:15 Friday morning. It was raining. It was wet. It wasn't just a little rainy, it was pouring. It was not a nice day. The words of advice during the Captain's briefing: treat this like an adventure. Yeah, as if there was even an option on that one!

10 - the number of minutes after the briefing we booted our intrepid Sluggo to embark on the first leg. At 6:15 in the morning. In the rain.

2 - the first leg I ran. This year I got legs that were sorta kinda similar to the ones I had last year (parts of the course were the same). Leg 2 was exactly the same as the first leg I ran in last year's Relay.

5 - the overall level of difficulty for my legs. That's 5 out of 10. How they rate the overall difficulty of the 3 legs is a little baffling -- My 3 legs were rated Hard, Hard, and Moderate, but for a total mileage of about 14, I had some of the lowest mileage assigned for any of the legs.

4.1 - the number of miles in the first leg. By the time we got up to Exchange Point 1, where I started, the rain had started to freeze.

9,901 - the starting elevation for my first leg. At this elevation, it was mostly just wet.

10,874 - the finishing elevation for my first leg. At this elevation, the rain was mostly slush. I ran most of those 4 miles through that slush, which was not a fun and exciting experience. I found that my efficent short, shuffly gait worked great for scooping the slush straight onto my own feet. Horrible. I never felt like I could stretch out during this leg, I felt like I was tiptoeing through the slush trying to find the footing that was the least offensive to my feet. Mostly it was cold and difficult. By the time I arrived at Exchange 2 the slush was mostlly snow - and I passed off to Flaming Mo, who LOVES running in snow. Right on, sistah!

2 something - the number of miles straight uphill that Mo ran before she passed off to Bones. Meanwhile, we struggled to get the van through the snow to the top of Guanella pass. There was so much snow we needed a tow from a friendly truck to get up to the top and over to the other side of the pass. As we followed Bones down the other side the snow turned to slush, turned to rain, turned to nothing as we descended the other side of Guanella Pass, where Bones handed off to SW Tri Gal.

0 - the number of pictures I took during this whole experience. Others took a ton of pictures and documented the experience well. Some of the pictures can be viewed on SWTriGal's blog, or on Facebook, or on GeekGirl's blog, or on Clydeologist's blog.


...to be continued. right now, I need a nap.