Ultra Relay in T-Minus 4 days

I leave for Boston Thursday evening so I can take part in my first ever relay running it ultra style- Race The Beach- MA

I'm so excited/ nervous, so be prepared for every post this week to be about this relay!

I wish I could say that I've been a good girl and have put in my mileage and I'm ready to dominate, however quite the opposite is true. I feel utterly unprepared. Although I'm faster than the last time I ran with these folk, Las Vegas Ragnar, running an ultra relay is a whole different beast. Last weekend I ran a back to back in Idaho and Portland. Although I had no real goals for either races, I really wanted to test out Portland and see how it would be running on dead legs- the fact that I PRed was definitely a shock, but it did give me the confidence that I needed to be able to pull this off. Now its just a matter of stretching out and getting some sleep to help with recovery which will determine how my legs, and ultimately this weekend goes.

Meet my team- "Animal Print Pants Outta Control!"

The boys: will be my 3rd relay with all of them!

Scottie- Hailing from Tampa Florida, Scott is the culprit who introduced me to relays. I've known him since age 13 and he was the first love of my life, so he's  always near and dear to my heart. Everyone on this relay, I know through him.

First relay together- Ragnar TN

Craig- Flying out from Raleigh, NC, Craig is probably the most consistent of the male runners. Due to this we generally always give him the longest legs... he loves us for it. I'm generally known for being forgetful, however Craig takes the cake and makes me look good in those regards!

Kyle- Greensboro, NC and  by far the fastest on our team- generally always sub 7s. We call him the sweaty beast because he's fast and generally always runs shirtless- I assume this weekend will be no exception

Back when we ran Ragnar Vegas- most beautiful scenery!

The girls:

Yours truly- from Nashville, TN. Generally when on relay teams with the guys, I'm by far the slowest of the group, so generally I'm given the shortest distance. Considering all the legs are pretty tough, I'm sure I'll be the wild car.

Jodi- representing the west coast, L.A. Ca Jodi is the life of the party!! I met her first time for Vegas Ragnar and she wore me out. Pace wise, I think her and I are pretty similar. She's got a much greater mileage base than I do, so I'm going to say I'll be slower than herself

Katy- coming in from the windy city, Chicago, IL, she is the only one I haven't met yet. Solid proof that it is not easier to be faster when you're tall. She's a freakin SPEED DEMON and stands barely at 5'0. Although we didn't get to meet up, she ran the Country Music 1/2 a few weeks back. Despite the heat and hills, she still whipped out a 1:39. She's definitely going to be helping bring down the average girl pace.

 Coming up next- choosing my legs (we still don't know) and crazy outfits!

Race Reveal

So the other day in my "in the last 48 hours" post I had mentioned that I had agreed to do a race I had no desire to ever complete, despite being asked a few times before.


So what changed?

2 things actually---

1.) I need to run with a purpose. I'm a little over a year into my 50 1/2 in 50 states quest and I'm nearing my half way point. I've realized that I can half ass it and pull off a descent (for me) time, so until I pull my head out of my ass and train harder, its not a big challenge like it use to be. I NEED to have something to PUSH me to WANT to be better, train harder... train for a purpose.

2.) Hands down the company I'll be with. Scott, Kyle, and Craig who I ran the Tennessee Ragnar Relay with in 2010, and this year's Vegas Ragnar, as well as Jodi who ran in Vegas with us as well.


So what is it???

The New Balance Beach Relay- ULTRA.

For those who are my facebook friends I said it was the New England Ragnar-- I completely misunderstood Scott when he asked if I wanted to do an ultra relay in Boston in may. Turns out Ragnar is the weekend before, whereas The Race to the Beach Relay is May 18-19 

For those that are unfamiliar with what Ultra means. A normal 200 mile relay is comprised of 12 runners who each take turns running a leg of the race, totaling 3 legs in 24+ hours. 

An ultra relay is the same distance covered by only 6 runners. So instead of running 6 different legs, you still run 3 legs, however, you actually run 2 legs in a row, thus you're covering the distance that normally 2 people would, but in one continuous run.  Actual legs aren't posted yet for this particular race, but I know each time I'm running it will range between about 10-17 miles- YIKES! For those that have never run a relay- there is something about being cooped up in a van with very little sleep that makes the miles harder to run come that last leg----  feels something like this

Its even a BIGGER ball game when after agreeing to do this race, the next thing out of Scott's mouth is "Okay I think we can win this, so I've figured out the mile averages for the boys, and the girls in order to pull this off"

Ya no pressure or anything.

So now I have to seriously up my mileage and start increase my weekly mileage, especially lengthen my long runs.

Yesterday was day one and I did a 13.2 mile training run- obviously I'm capable of this distance since I run 1/2s all the time, but I don't think I've ever ran a training run this far (normally 11 miles), and man did my legs and hips hate me. During races I'll open my stride more since I'm competing with the clock, but yesterday I was just lolly gagging around so I wasn't as focused on my stride. Let me tell you this- IT. MAKES. A. HUGE. DIFFERENCE

So anyone out there run an ultra relay before?!?!

Any advice?!?!


I'm thinking I may have to just start training as if I'm running a marathon, but I'd be excited if someone had a better and less taxing idea :)

Inspiration to Run

Awhile back B lent me this book that she read a few years ago. It inspired her to do more long distance running, so she thought it might be a good motivator for me. Up until our road trip for the Charlotte half marathon I never had the time or patience to read it. Since we had a 7 hour road trip ahead of us, I figured no better time than right before a race to dig in. Although I only read about 1/3 of the book before our race, it was enough to help influence and change my mentality.

I'm a sucker for giving into pain while I'm running and will walk when I see fit to give myself a break. After reading what one man, Dean Karnazes, put himself through on a daily basis just to test his own strength and endurance- my own pain didn't seem so big. Words that stuck with me through my race were "if you feel good, you're not pushing yourself enough.... pain is just weakness leaving your body."
Cheesy as it sounds, I did tell myself several time this during my Charlotte half marathon, and as a result its one of the best and most consistent races I've run yet!

I actually finished the rest of the book on the road trip back and the last 2/3 were equally as inspiring as the first 1/3.  I can't do it justice by describing all his accolades, so if you are looking to have your love of running strengthened or renewed I highly recommend picking it up, or checking out his website Ultra Marathon Man