Full Metal Lunchbox

 
Well folks, it's been a week and a day since I ran River to River with the Buffalo Warriors and I'm just now getting around to posting a race report.  The delay has mostly been due to my incredibly busy work schedule (which is about to get worse), but also a bit to my embarrassment at not having performed better.




I was privileged to be invited by Shea to join the Buffalo Warriors (a running club in the vicinity of Champaign, Illinois) as a ringer at this year's River-to-River Relay.  Here's a photo of some of my teammates the night before the big race.  While other teams practice their wind sprints in front of the hotel, we're sitting out back drinking beer.  Later that evening we would march down the street for a pre-race dinner of BBQ meats and friend pickles.. and of course more drinking. (See the photo from my earlier post.)









Fried pickles!!!














Followed by a team meeting where race strategy was discussed for a few minutes, followed by poker.. and of course more drinking.  (See a pattern here?)






Now let me step back a minute and tell you about this particular relay race; without a doubt the weirdest running event I've taken part in so far.



The expo almost blew my mind for its utter weirdness.  Hundreds of people milling about, but nothing in particular going on.  Dozens of oddly painted vans in the parking lot.

Note this charming pair of signs next to the signup table.  One reads, "No socializing in this room," while the other promises, "Free Beer."   Unfortunatley, the free beer was some particularly awful fruit-flavored concoction.








Here's Shea, Kevin, and Eric posing outside the expo with our official registration bags.

Contents: assorted fruit and a roll of toilet paper!









Here's Shea & I in the back of the van on our way to the starting line.  The look of confidence on my face stems from ignorance of my true capabilities and what I'll be facing that day.

I don't really know what I was expecting.







Our team of 8 each had to complete 3 legs of 2-4 miles each.  None of the segments were flat, but all were primarily on pavement.  Shea volunteered for slot #6: the most difficult.  As the newest and least experienced Buffalo, I was assigned slot #4, which nobody else wanted.  It was not one of the harder slots, but it was the second longest.







Here I am about to take my first hand-off.

The first of my three segments was undoubtedly my worst, and at a time of 41:17 over 3.65 miles (11:19/mile) the most embarrassing distance I've ever run.  My teammates were supportive, but I could sense the frustration in the air; everyone else would have to run faster to make up for my slowness.









I realized at this point that my complete lack of hill training--as well as my general out-of-shape condition--did not make me particularly suitable for running this kind of a course after an evening of beer and barbequed meats.

Fortunately my remaining two slots would be at least a little better.




Eric ("Captain Pickles") hands the baton to Brian ("Devil Dog")

By the end of the first round the hardworking Buffalo had managed to regain much of the time I had lost.

Now on to the second round..













Shea at the end of his second leg.

Not content to coast through his "easy" leg, Shea burned rubber through 2.5 miles with a time of 18:23.  Kick ass!














I don't have any photos of my second leg, but I have to say it's the only one out of the three that I'm not completely ashamed of.  It took me 39:16 to run 3.8 miles (10:20/mile) -- the second longest segment anyone would have to run that day.  Nowhere near as good as the rest of my teammates, but definitely good for me over hilly terrain.




Unfortunately that second leg tapped what energy I had, and my quads were killing me (my muscles unaccustomed to downhills).

Fortunately the van was equipped with plenty of Sparks.











Shea was also nice enough to let me use his electrical stimulator.

It didn't numb the pain, but it did make my legs feel nice and tingly.

(Actually that might have been the Sparks.)






I ran my final leg at exactly the same speed as my second, averaging a 10:20/mile pace to finish 3.25 miles in 33:34.  But I should have been able to go faster given the shorter distance and fewer hills.

I was out of shape and unprepared.  I've got no one to blame for that but myself... and a lot of work to do out on the running path this summer!





Here I am in the van, wiped out after my final leg, eating kabanosy and drinking wit beer.

This photo definitely does not show me at my best, but it is a good public reminder to myself that I need to get in shape and train year-round; even in the springtime when it's cold and rainy.











We reached our finish line at the Ohio River just as the sun was setting.  Our total time was 11:00:35, ranking us 117th out of 227.  Overall, not bad.

My fellow teammates did a phenomenal job, all of them running their hearts out.







But two of my teammates particularly stand out.  Kevin averaged an amazing pace of 07:04/mile over 10.2 miles of hilly terrain after having just recently run the Boston Marathon.  And Shea, our team's MVP, amazed us all by running at blazing speeds on the most difficult uphills.  Way to go guys!



As the sun set over the Ohio River, it was time to celebrate our long day of hill running...






Corn dogs in the Golconda town square













Jaeger shots at the local hillbilly bar (served in paper cups)













And a nightcap back at the hotel










Next weekend I'll be running the half marathon in Indianapolis, and as you might assume from the tone of this blog post I'm definitely not ready.  But at least the weather is finally nice and I can enjoy myself.

I'm going to go right now and run six miles.

See you outside, everybody!




--


Postscript: Just ran 8 miles along the lakefront.  My goal was to make myself feel better, and I succeeded.  Managed 8 miles in 1:17 (9:38/mile).  Not enough of a long distance to assure I'll be ready for Indy, but at least it's reassurance that I can still put one foot in front of the other.