Leg 7
Our 7th runner was not going to be able to run his first leg due to work (he was a last-minute replacement), so I volunteered to run his first leg for him. I was hoping to just make this a nice warmup - that didn't happen. When I got the armband, I took off like a rocket, and didn't look at my Garmin until about 1/4 mile later, when my breathing had started to get kind of labored. I realized I was actually running 5:10 pace up to that point! Needless to say, I was full of adrenaline. I managed to slow down a bit, but completed leg 7 in 29:13, average pace of 6:37/mile. This was definitely not a warmup for me, and unfortunately probably set the tone for all of my legs. Leg 12 This was my actual leg I was scheduled to run, and it was already dark and we were running on dirt roads. This slowed me down due to the decreased traction on dirt, as well as the inability to see very well, plus there were some very inconsiderate vehicles blazing down the road, throwing up huge clouds of dust. Not very good for the lungs . . . I actually started off on this leg at about 6:20 pace, but was unable to maintain it - and then the thing that really kept me from meeting my goal was a big superman-style wipeout as I veered off towards the left side of the road and tripped on the soft shoulder. Thankfully, there were no injuries, and I was able to get back up and start running again, but I was kind of in shock. It took me a while to recover. Then, with about 0.5 miles to go, I ended up walking for about 30 seconds, then started up again. Time for this run was 48:12, average pace of 6:53/mile. Still below 7:00/mile, but slower than I had wanted. More details to come later - right now I need to lay down and get some sleep. | 