We finished the American Odyssey Relay in 32 hours and 30 minutes– slightly better than I’d anticipated.  We averaged right at a 10 min mile over 202 miles and some pretty legit changes in elevation.  I did it.  I didn’t think I could but I did– we did.

My team, Shelby’s Foote-Soldiers (don’t know who we’re referencing, click here), was great.  All the angst about planning and schedules and itineraries paid off.  It went off without a hitch, a fact I still can hardly believe.  I find myself saying that and then immediately looking for wood to tap on.

I won’t go on and on about what a transformative experience it was here– that’s not what this space is for and as someone who is new to running I remember how it felt to have to listen to someone talk about their endorphin high and moments of running-induced transcendence (which, by the way I so get now).  Also, they’re not as poetic now that I type them and am not just thinking them at the edge of Antietam at 3 AM with a headlamp to guide my way… so, let me just say these three things:

1. This is one of the few things in my life I felt was genuinely hard: physically, emotionally, and even intellectually (let me tell you, planning one of these things is no joke).  I have the tendency to think that if I can do something, it can’t possibly be all that difficult.  Perhaps we’re all like that?  Anyway, this is not that– I’m still amazed I actually did it.
2. Running crazy long distances brings out the best in people far more often than it brings out the worst. I was amazed at how when other runners passed me (which, um, happened a lot) they always said something like “lookin’ good” or “see you at the finish line.”  When I really struggled on my first leg (I blame the Sudafed– not a performance enhancing drug) the folks who passed me offered me water and Gatorade.  By the third leg, when we were all tired and oscillating between cranky and euphoric, I traded jokes with a guy who I kept switching positions with.
3. There are not enough things in life that let adults cheer for strangers or stay up all night. We tell our friends we’re proud of them for all sorts of things, we applaud at events, but to really cheer and to know exactly how someone feels or what they’ve gone through is different.  Plus, runners are just some of the most relentlessly positive people I know (see number 2).

Anyway… I’ve actually done some crafting in the past two weeks.  I’ll share that soon.  In the mean time, I’m considering the next challenge…

P.S. I wore my race T-Shirt to the gym yesterday and felt super awesome.  I doubt anybody noticed that I ran 200 miles but I knew.

P.P.S. If you’re interested in running insanely long distances I cannot recommend the AOR enough!  It was well organized, a truly beautiful course, and had a great not-too-competitive atmosphere.

Way back in October, when I ran the Marine Corps 10k, I came across a booth for the American Odyssey Relay.  I think the sign said something like “run through America’s Civil War history.”  They had me at Antietam.

A week ago I thought it’d be the running that scared me.  Not any more.  I ran 8 miles in about 90 minutes on Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 3 mile run.  You know what terrifies me?  The planning.  My Lord there is a lot of planning.  Getting 11 twenty-somethings to show up on the same day, in reasonably good shape, injury free, and happy (er, not whining) is a much bigger undertaking than I’d anticipated.

So, it’s probably going to be quiet around here for the next week or two.  Between a friend’s wedding in Austin, TX this weekend and the race next weekend, I’m really not sure how much time for crafting there will be.  I’ve been keeping up with the swaps I agreed to, but don’t plan to do ANYTHING for a while that isn’t running, recovering from running, or herding cats my friends.  Do wish me luck, I suspect I’ll need it.

Yesterday I ran the Marine Corp Marathon’s 10k (ha! tricked you with that name– just six point two dinky miles for me thank you very much) in one hour, two minutes, and 41 seconds.  Yep, it looks like the 10-min-mile is my new standard pace.

Oorah!

I did it!  4 miles in 40 minutes and 26 seconds– even quicker than my goal pace.  I feel very, very proud of myself.  I can understand why people get addicted to running, I felt like I was beaming all day!  Nothing like setting a goal, meeting it, and doing just a little better than you thought you could.  I’ve got a 6 mile race in about 7 weeks and feel much more confident about it now.  I ran with two friends, both of whom did way better than they thought too– they’re out of frame right now, but also had huge smiles on their faces as we cheered them on.

The Runner
Walt Whitman

On a flat road runs the well-train’d runner,
He is lean and sinewy with muscular legs,
He is thinly clothed, he leans forward as he runs,
With lightly closed fists and arms partially rais’d.

Included in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and available online.

My first ever race is this Saturday.  I’m hoping to run right at an 11 min mile and finish the race in about 45 min.  Wish me luck!

I am not sure I’ve felt the so-called “runner’s high” yet but yesterday AM after I finished my 3/4 mile run I did have a a wee moment of enlightenment… or I came up with an aphorism or something.  Here is my great insight:

Running isn’t rewarding because you finished a race, running is rewarding because you started the race.

Of course, my friend Andy pointed out that this doesn’t exactly work since basically I’m saying you could punk out half way through and head to the bar like in that Stella commercial (which cracks me up every time, by the way).  What it means to me, though, is that crossing the finish line isn’t itself all that rewarding but the work it takes to get across a finish line commands my respect.  They put up with all the aches and pains and early mornings for something as simple as getting from point A to point B in a (comparatively) ineffecient manner.

I suspect that, come Sept. 5, crossing the finish line will be rewarding not becasue I’ll be doing it with good friends or for a good cause but because I’ll remember these days feeling like my heart might pop out of my chest or my thighs might give out from under me.

So, no runner’s high yet… but I must be getting close if I can wax philisophical on running at 7:45 AM.

Some readers of this blog know that I really, really want to be a runner but am, at best, a fast walker.  I have a lot of admiration for long distance runners– much of it because I’ve never been able to really push through that first mile of yucky, unfun, heavy breathing, feeling like a fat fish flopping down the street.  Now that I’m no longer in school and no longer have access to a gym (and an eliptical machine) it’s time to push through.

Last weekend while we were visiting family and friends in Charlottesville, Virginia a friend mentioned a 4 mile race in September.  I figure, 4 miles I can do.  No reason to set myself up for something like a full-on marathon.  So I’m going to start with this 4 miler, with excellent friends, that raises money for cancer research at UVA.  I’ve got two months to prep for a 4 mile race.  I. Can. Do. This…. right?  Today was my first day in “training”– just half a mile, and I’ve already learned a little and know not to do a few rookie mistakes (running downhill gave me a side stitch).

If you’re feeling generous and/or too lazy to run yourself you can sponsor me.  I hear that $1 a mile is fully acceptable.  I’m also considering trying to raise $50 to put my Mom’s name on the “motivational mile”– she did not have brest cancer (she had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma).  We’ll see.  For now, my motivational quote is:

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
~Edmund Hillary

I’m planning to share my training progress here as a way to keep myself honest and motivated– nothing like the spectre of public humiliation to make me get my lazy arse out of bed to run in 85 degree heat.  Oh, and my laptop is coming home tonight so we’ll get back to fun, photo-filled posts soon!