Hood to Coast Day One! Our start time was 4:45 this morning. We arrived in the pitch black darkness at Timberline Lodge after getting maybe 2 hours of sleep. There were some magnificent lightening storms we were watching from the mountain. It headed our way. Kevin started leg one and as the other 5 of us drove down the hill to the transition point it started pouring. It is the end of August people! Dora ran leg 2 and then it was my turn.
Leg 3. It was 3.93 miles mostly downhill and the rain had let up a little. It still rained. Just not as bad as it was when we started. I finished with about a 8:30 pace. I started off training at a 10 min mile. I did interval training and was able to get it down to about 9:30. It is only 30 seconds and doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it is. I ran leg 3 a whole minute less than where I had been at pretty consistently the past few months. I was full of adrenaline which helped I'm sure. It was cooler and downhill which probably also helped me run faster.
Leg 15. 7.25 miles mostly UPhill in the early afternoon in 88 degree sunshine. No shadows or break from the sun. I had put on sunscreen but my left arm felt like it was burning. I just wanted to cover it. I wore my tank top for this leg and next year I know to wear short sleeves. To go from such weather extremes in such a short amount of time is pretty crazy. My time went back down to about a 10 minute mile which was disappointing for me at first. But then I thought about the conditions, the length, and the fact that I didn't stop at any point. I passed many people to stopped to walk and I kept trucking along. Everyone added about a minute and a half to their second leg so I was actually right in line with other people so that helped. I'm hoping to improve that time for next year though. Tomorrow it will be my third and final leg. What a kick this thing is.
I am thankful I completed my first two legs of the Hood to Coast Relay!
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