2005 Marathon Relay 5k

My First Race

This is my account of my very first race - a 5k portion of a marathon relay.

My morning started at 5 AM. Yuck. I got ready and drove over to Apple to meet my other teammates at 6. The 5 of us divided into 2 cars and headed down to the race, which started at 7 AM.

The first leg was a 12k and the runner taking that leg, Laura, was an experienced one, having run in several half marathons, among other races. She told us she was running a 10 minute mile, so she anticipated finishing in about an hour and ten to an hour and fifteen minutes. (The first team to complete the first leg finished in about 38 minutes. Scary!) After an hour and twenty minutes, she still hadn't crossed and we were beginning to worry a little bit. Finally we heard the announcer say our team number and name ("Team 34 - Need Air"). Laura came in at 1:22:52. When she arrived back, she said it was hot, humid and brutal. I started to get worried.

Next up was Sherilyn. This was her first race too. She was a braver soul than I and tackled a 10k leg. She told us she would be slow, alternating running and walking. At around 9:45 I warmed up and headed over to the handoff area. The way the handoff worked is there was a spotter about .1 miles from the finish chute. The spotter would radio the number of the racer to a guy with a bullhorn at the handoff area who would announce the runners that were coming.

A little before 10 AM, the guy with the bullhorn called my team number. A minute or so later Sherilyn came running down the finish chute looking unbelievably tired and hot. At this point, it was probably around 85-90 degrees outside by my estimates. There was a little breeze, but no clouds to speak of.

I cheered her on and she handed off the "baton" (it was a little rubber bracelet, sort of like those Lance Armstrong bracelets) and I took off. I probably took off a little too fast, but I was excited to get going. Just before she reached me, I started my heart rate monitor and my iPod. The guy with the bullhorn said, "nice hair!" (I guess he liked my fire engine red hair.)

After running for about 5 minutes, my heart rate was around 185 - much higher than normal (5 minutes into a run, I'm normally at around 155-160). I felt tired already and I knew I had to conserve my strength so I started walking. After a minute of walking, I picked up and started running again and ran until I reached the first water station. The volunteers cheered me on and handed me a cup of water, which I proceeded to pour down the wrong pipe and cough and hack for the next few steps. I finally got some water down the right pipe, tossed my cup in a bin and started running again.

As I passed the one mile mark, I glanced at my watch, 11 minutes. No way. I kept running. I hit another water station and slowed to a walk to grab another cup of water (drinking it without incident this time). This water station also had a archway you could run through that was spraying water. I ran through that, then worried about my iPod, but it kept on playing - it was only a light spray. I slowed to a walk around 1.5 miles, then I saw some police officers guarding the race way (they had the roads closed). They yelled, "come on, you can do it!" I started to run again.

I ran through almost to the second mile marker. I glanced at my watch again - 22 minutes. Somehow I was making an 11 minute mile, even with all the walking I was doing. The next half mile or so I ran and walked at about 1-2 minute intervals. My heart rate was up around 190-195 - really high for me and I was feeling really hot. I was keeping pace with another runner. She would walk and I would run past her, then I would walk and she would run past me.

With about .2 miles to go, the finish was in sight and I was walking. I turned around and I saw the runner coming up behind me. "Come on! Let's run in together!" So I ran. At around .1 miles, the spotter got our numbers and radioed ahead and my new partner seemed to falter a bit. "You can do it! We're almost there. Let's go!" I told her. We both ran with renewed vigor. She began to sprint. I kept pace and she finished just slightly ahead of me. I looked at my heart rate monitor - 205. My lungs were on fire. My next team member was there waiting for me. Cynthia was also an experienced runner and was taking a 10k segment. "Good job!" she shouted as I handed her the bracelet.

I ran the rest of the chute in a daze. I slowed down and someone cut the timing chip off my shoe and handed me a bottle of water and a bottle of green Power Ade. I managed to look at my heart rate monitor. 37 minutes.

I passed through a tent full of bagels, bananas, Clif Bars, cookies, and orange slices. I took a Clif bar and an orange slice and headed back over to the area where my team was.

At 11:30, they called our team name over the speaker and our final runner, Todd, went out for the last 5k. Todd teaches my spinning class at the gym and this whole thing was his idea. He isn't really a runner, though so he said he would be running slow and walking a lot. At this point it was really really hot. I went into the locker rooms at Austin High School (the high school track was serving as the start/finish) and took a cool shower and changed into dry clothes. At around 12:10, we headed over to the finish to cheer Todd in. He came running in at around 12:15.

They have the official times up on the website from the timing chips we had on our shoes. I did even better than I thought I had - 36:09 an 11:38 minute mile. I'm not sure how I managed to beat my training time in that heat with all the walking I did - but somehow I did it. I still feel a little strange from the heat, though I've worked really hard to stay hydrated. I think today I've had 6 or 7 bottles of water and 3 bottles of sports drink.

So, when's the next race?