On Friday and Saturday, I ran my 8th Reach the Beach Relay - a 207.51 mile race that starts at Cannon Mountain, NH and meanders thorough the White Mountains, around Lake Winnepesaukee and finishes at Hampton Beach. We had an 11-person team (most teams are 12), and even though our primary goal was to have fun, we still managed to finish 50th out of 190 in our division ('Freestyle Standard') and 212th out of 518 overall.
I can barely move today - I am sore in so many places. Being the 8th fastest runner on our team meant that I had only the 8th hardest set, but I still ended up running 4 legs. Ran my first leg, 4.8 miles, at 7:30 PM after sunset. It was dark when I finished. I was glad to finally run after having watched my teammates run all day. Much of it was along the highway, not my favorite thing. My first leg on Saturday (2nd leg overall) was at 3:30 in the morning - a 5.5 mile run, mostly downhill. It was a beautiful night, calm and clear, mid-40's, a starry night and a half moon, crickets. The sound of your footsteps. Another runner came up on me slowly and then ran next to me for a little bit.
Him: "Nice night out here"
Me: "Yes it's a beautiful night for a run"
Him: "So peaceful"
Me: "I love the stars"
A pause
Me: "Think we're getting close?"
Him: "Another couple of miles I'd guess"
Me: "How you feeling?"
Him: "My quad's a little sore, you?"
Me: "The achilles soreness is slowly going away, It's great to be out here"
Him: "Oh yes, it is isn't it?
Me: "I'm really, really happy to be running"
Him: "It's good to be alive"
We ran together in silence for a little bit, then he started pulling away.
Him: "Have a great rest of your run!"
Me: "Thank you, you too!"
My second run Saturday was at noon or so, only 2.4 miles! I need a new pair of racing flats, so I made this my farewell run in my old pair. My fourth and final leg was the last leg for the whole race, 4.1 miles along the Hampton boardwalk, including the stretch along the beach to the finish line that includes deep sand for half a mile. I took my shoes and socks off and ran barefoot to the finish line - pretty sure that helped.
Anyway, I got maybe 3 hours sleep the whole time but I'll do it again. I did not see caito's or Wu's teams out there. Here are some pics:
