Palmetto 200

Zack's family started talking about how much fun it would be to do a family relay race in December.  Basically, you rent a van and as a team you run 200 miles from Columbia, SC to Charleston, SC.  You hand off a bracelet (remember those slapstick bracelets that were popular in the 80s?!) and someone is running continuously from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon.  That's right... someone is always running meaning that you are running at all hours of the night as well.  I anxiously volunteered to join the team since I had never done anything like this before.  I knew I had three months to get myself prepared for some mileage.  My sister trained with me every Saturday for my long runs.  I had a BLAST!!!! Let me give you some of the highlights.....

We had an eight person team.  Typically, it is a twelve person team but we were able to run the extra distance to get the job done.  People in our team picked up "legs" when needed and we definitely ran more miles than we originally anticipated when we signed up for this adventure.  Zack's cousin, John, was our team captain.  One of our eight had to drop out earlier in the week and we picked up another teammate's sister-in-law who happened to be a FAST long distance runner... thank goodness! In the picture below, Jay is currently running and I am up next.  We wore reflective vests during day and nighttime runs since we were running on mostly two lane 55 mph roads.  We wanted to make sure on-coming traffic could see us!  Since the runners start at different times, you are typically running by yourself with no one in front of you or behind you as far as you can see.  (They stagger start the teams).  

Shortly after everyone finished their first leg of the race, it started pouring!  And it kept raining throughout the night and into the morning hours.  Three of my four legs that I ran were in the rain.  I was soaked! I was able to switch out running clothes after each run so I could stay dry until I was up to run again.  Some of my favorite memories of my nighttime runs were accidently running into puddles ("ponding" as we like to call it) since I could only see what was right in front of me with the use of my headlamp.  For the nighttime runs, I would wear my reflective gear (vest and flashing lights) and a headlamp because the back roads to the beach have no street lights!  Our van would periodically check on each runner as they were out on their route to ensure they didn't need any water, etc. 

 This picture of Ashley and I was taken prior to our second legs.

 We also took a "selfie" after I had finished my LAST leg!  John and Ashley still had one leg left. 

 I took this picture to show my excitement that my part of the run was OVER! ;)  I always loved seeing the signs that would say "exchange zone ahead" at the end of my run.  I knew I was handing off the bracelet to someone else and one of my runs was completed.

 Auntie A is up next to run!

 John was able to cross the finish line for our team!

Due to the stagger start, you will need to subtract 32 ish minutes from this end time.  Our team had been running for a total of 31 hours and 2 minutes.  (I forgot to take a picture right after John crossed the line!)  Our team pace was 9:18 min/mile.  I ran 26.61 miles for my four legs (7.99 miles, 8.83 miles, 2.32 miles, and 7.47 miles).  I ran for 4 hours and 19 minutes for an overall pace of 9:43 min/mile.  I am so proud of our team for making this happen despite having a smaller group of runners and the weather conditions.  We did say that the rain helped us not sweat as much or stink as much since we didn't have a place to take showers during the time period of the race.

The Family Picture at the Finish

The Team Picture at the Finish

We ate at Shem Creek for dinner..... I just loved coming over the bridge into Charleston while Ashley was running and seeing it again later that evening when the eight of us were sitting in the van rather than one of us out on the road running.  I have changed the bridge's name to Ashley's Bridge after seeing her conquer the HUGE hill to get up to the halfway point on the bridge!

Daddy and Grannie took care of Zander while I was gone.  Zack sent me this picture to let me know that Zander was taken care of.  He put the caption "Daddy is the best!  I can do anything!" when he sent it!  (Don't you love how it looks like he is electrocuting himself?!.... I might not leave them alone again!;))

I had such a great time hanging out with family and trying something new.  I am equally excited to be home and enjoying the comforts of warm showers and cozy beds.  I got about one hour of sleep throughout the whole race so I am hoping to catch up on my rest this week!