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~Monk

Gnomish memories

Hello my fellow relay teammates. I am now back in Colorado and am happy to see the sun is still here. I enjoyed my travel time with the team and seeing sunny California. The whole team was great, the sites, the sounds, the wisdom that was bestowed upon me. I will forever remember those days on the run.I saw so many sites, some memorable like the Golden Gate at night, some less memorable like a certain team member losing his pants.

Anyway, the whole team was so hospitable and welcoming to a gnome like me. Don't believe any stories that you hear about me at the Pre-race dinner, I think that Mark is working on photoshopping some pictures to make it look like I was a drunken gnome. Gnome's can hold their liqueur, it is the little trolls and tree elves that are little hellions.

The energy was tremendous, I watched as the team worked like a well oiled machine. I saw primal screams - not sure if my primal scream was recorded or not. I saw passion, I saw drive, I saw the wackiness of the vans. Everyone finished their run and passed on to the next runner.

At first I was apprehensive about the whole deal of being stuck in a van with these sweaty, stinky runners. My thoughts wandered on how I would be treated and if I would be forgotten somewhere on the long and winding road. Would I be a burden to the team. In the end all of my fears were squashed and the fun began. I saw places that I would never have dreamed of. I visited the beaches, wooded areas, far off cities, and even Inns that my cousin hadn't heard of. I saw all sorts of people, and I gained a new found love of running as I watched my team at work and play.

I tried these things called red bull - WOW good stuff, I had food that I never heard of, at least they told me it was food. The way the snickered when I ate it, makes me wonder now what they did to it... I saw so many teams enjoying themselves, it made me question why people talked about running as boring. The other gnomes would not believe if it wasn't for the pictures.



Then I told them about seeing Dean, and that even I, a little gnome from the mountains became a celebrity. Oh yes, People flocked to me and requested pictures with me and I had my little cheeks pinched and the looks. Oh, the looks were fabulous, they really loved the gnome. Oh, I got so much attention from other runners. I think that some even missed seeing Dean at an exchange because they were enthralled with me.



I spent hours talking with Alex and bestowing gnomish wisdom upon him, I told him to seek the hills and to conquer the inclines. I told him to complete the VH legs and that he could do it. Noel & Dan gave me pointers to smoke 1mile in the straight-aways and helped me with my running form. I was in awe with the maps that mawz put together and how everything was laid out. The Foos told me stories of Foo and how Foo was fast for a Foo, did that make sense? I posed for Mark in all sorts of interesting locations (again, beware of any photoshopping) & Robyn gave me pointers on running endurance races. wondermom made me fell at home and safe in van 2 while I was with them. Susie listened to all of my gnomish tales and stories with intrigue, her attention to detail must be gleaned from partaking in LOST.

There was one member in particular, that really took great care of me. She fixed my shirt, she geared me up in Nike goods and was my traveling companion for alot of time that I spent with the team. I lower my hat and give thanks to the kindness of Mystery Runner. May our paths meet again.

I also learned the art of using the Porta Potty.



I saw so many colorful vans and runners, and I heard about these roadkills that were sought after. I'm still looking into that one. So, being back in the highlands, I think that I will start training, maybe I can run the next relay alongside my mates. Maybe I can run with 1mile somewhere, or even scale a mountain. I hear that the view from the top is gorgeous.

Until next time, this is Gary the Gnike Gnome

The Next Team Waiting for Runs Relay?

Here is a short list of a few relays I found maybe our next one is in the list. Let me know if you have seen any others that should be added to the list.

Relay Del Sol - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/delsol/index.php - February - Arizona - 181.7

The Relay - http://www.therelay.com - May - Calistoga to Santa Cruz - 199 Miles

Green Mountain Relay - http://www.greenmountainrelay.com/ - June - Jeffersonville to Benington Vermont - 200 miles

Madison Chicago Relay - http://mc200.com/ - June - Chicago - 200

Ragnar Relay Utah - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/index.php - June - Logan to Park City - 178 Miles

Ragnar Relay Washington - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/index.php - July - Blaine to Langley - 189 Miles

Ragnar Relay Great River - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/greatriver/index.php - August - La Crosse to Minneapolis - 198 miles

Wild West Relay - http://www.wildwestrelay.com/ - August - Ft Collins Colorado to Steamboat Springs Colorado - 199 miles

Hood to Coast - http://www.hoodtocoast.com/ - August - Oregon - 197 miles

Ragnar Relay Washington DC - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/dc/index.php - September - Cumberland to DC - 182 miles

Colorado Outbound Relay - http://www.outwardboundrelay.com/ - September - Colorado - 170

Reach the beach relay - http://www.rtbrelay.com/race.php - September - Cannon Mountain, Franconia, NH to Hampton Beach, NH - 200 miles

Ragnar Relay Texas - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/austin/index.php - October - San Antonio to Austin - 196 miles

Ragnar Relay Florida - http://www.ragnarrelay.com/florida/index.php - November - Tampa to Daytona Beach - 191 miles

In Search of Dean

UPDATE 4/24: The results show that Team Dean completed 147.6 miles solo for a complete time of 28 hours 18 minutes finishing at 11:18 AM.

We all looked forward to seeing Dean at the Pre-race dinner, and we were all bummed when he had flight problems and couldn't make it in time for the 7:30 speaking engagement at the Calistoga Inn.

Van #2 got a rare treat as we were driving to the start of Leg 8. We passed Dean as he was tredding along. We stopped and turned around and snapped a few pictures and a little video as he passed. We then continued to the exchange for Leg 8. As we waited, I imagined that I might have a rare chance to run with Dean or try and catch him for mega bonus roadkill points.



Dean then came up to the exchange and entered his motor home (The mothership). He didn't come back out, but his dad continued on as I waited for my team to handoff. I didn't see Dean's dad on that run but talked to him later.

At the end of leg 9 we were waiting for wondermom to hand off to Alex and low and behold we see Dean again. People were cheering as he passed and headed to the hills of the next stage. I hadn't passed Dean's dad on 8, but somewhere on 9 Dean had passed wondermom. Soon wondermom had passed off to Alex and we went on to the next runner exchange.

We waited at the end of leg 10, and the mothership pulled up. Dean's Dad got out and he talked with Robyn, Mark, and I for about 10 minutes. He mentioned how he got off course on leg 8 and used a phone to call and tell that he was off course. He mentioned that he tried to get another lady on track (a lady that I had passed while I was on 8 myself) but she didn't believe that she was going the wrong way. Dean's Dad also mentioned that they were going to run Big Sur next week. Overall a very enjoyable conversation with his dad.



Soon Dean came into the runner exchange and continued on through the cheering and high 5's of the crowd. About 10 minutes later, Alex came into the exchange, he had survived the hardest leg of the relay. Mark took off out of the exchange into the gale force winds chasing after the great Dean.

Halfway through the course we waited for Mark to supply some water for him. Along comes Deans Dad, it seems that there was a substitution somewhere along leg 11. We waved and cheered him on as he started to climb a small hill. We continued on to leg 12 to prep Susie for the last set of legs before the van exchange.

As we sat at the exchange, low and behold here comes Dean again, he is being paced by a few female runners as he came through the exchange. He got the usual high 5's and cheers as he continued on down the road. We made our runner hand off and headed to the van exchange.

It was starting to get dark at the van exchange and soon, Dean came trotting down the road. ne of the volunteers was wondering why he wasn't handing off to another runner and someone shouted, that's Dean, he is running the whole thing by himself, he isn't handing off. This caused a bunch of people to come down to the exchange area and cheer Dean on as he ran down the road. That was the last time anyone from van 2 saw Dean during the 2008 Relay.

His blog at http://dean.runnersworld.com/2008/04/the-relay.html has some info leading up to the relay. His finish time is not on the 2008 results, so I am unsure if he finished or not.

Monk's Nike+ Relay Runs

Overall the Nike+ was very close! My Garmin seemed to report that the legs were not exactly dead on, either, because the course was not exactly set in stone.

My first leg was around 2 pm on roads along side the vineyards. Beautiful and a bit breezy! This is the run where I had to kick at the end to beat the guy running with me! Very fun. I handed off to 1Mile and he took off on a dirt trail into the vineyards. There were a couple of hills and you can see that in the graph!



This was my leg at 2 a.m.-ish. I got the hand off from texas after he crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. I was wearing my head lamp, reflective vest, flasher light and I added a glow stick to my water bottle. I ran through a bit of suburbia and could see the city sprawled out below on my left. The course was uphill the first part and then peaked at a cliff-side view of the ocean. The moon shining on the waves was beautiful and I thanked the big guy above for the view as I ran down the big hill to the flat 3 mile stretch alongside the waterfront. I slowed down a lot here and sort of lost all sense of time. But I finally made it to the exchange and handed off to 1Mile again.



My last leg was entirely downhill. After texas ran up and handed off the replacement baton to me, he let out a might primal scream that inspired me to enjoy my last run. Now you'd think this would be my fastest leg but it isn't. My left knee started to scream bloody murder about 3 miles into it and I had to take it easy. You can also see in the graph a big dip when I lost my hat and had to turn around and run back uphill about .25 mile to find it. It was a beautiful run but I was happy to be done and see 1Mile for my last baton pass (which had to be a wonder twins knuckle punch because somewhere along that mighty hill I had lost the replacement baton, sorry guys!



I am so proud of this team! I cannot WAIT to run with you all again.

~Monk

memories of a van exchange

the biggest challenge seemed to be how to make the best use of time when your van was off. well, i can't say we made the best use of our time, but we certainly filled it. after getting a bite to eat at a local cafe (not nearly as good as mr. pickle's) we made it to a restaurant called mr. cheese's at the top of mountain in the middle of nowhere that had no cell reception, so we were forced to amuse ourselves. which we did by observing the other runners and making "social commentary". after a rousing game of name that tune from texasbuckeye's iphone we saw the following events, in no particular order...
a) a few ppl attempting to hacky sack, but the after the girl tried to stall the hack on her chest and the guy she was playing with tried WAY too hard, nearly splitting his pants we decided to focus our attention elsewhere
b) we was all manner of running gear like flannel shirts with knee socks
c) the van next to us locked themselves out of their van and had to call the fire department
d) smllbtmty claimed to see "the fattest man she ever saw walk" get out of a tiny blue sports car
e) the Foos lost everything they brought with them, but luckily found most of it
f) noel found the shirt he was looking for in mawz's running bag
g) a different van next to us walked in on a half dressed team mate and accused them (loudly) of taking a "Puerto Rican Shower" [note: the entire team loves Puerto Rico and do not endorse such ethnocentric comments]
h) the most animated story teller ever tells a tale of woe with a dr. pepper can as his main prop while wearing orange crocs
i) 3 ppl completely wiped out while trying to run on the gravel parking lot
j) we found out what happens when you honk your horn at a vans that have specific promises to the person who honks at them
k) we were serenaded by a runner who is a fan of the band Kansas
l) ate junk food
m) realized we were all about to run in the cold, windy, dark of a place we were not familiar with and tried to mentally prepare
n) saw dean run by, hung out with van 2 and had an all around good time bonding :)

good times.

Other teams experiences

I stumbled across a few blogs from other teams. I haven't fully checked them all out yet. One has a few videos that I will need to check out soon. Here is a list, if you find any more I can add them to the list here.

Whine & Cheese - http://365ultra.blogspot.com/2008/04/video-is-even-better.html & http://jessicafewless.blogspot.com/

Team 911 - http://www.weruncodethree.com/

Sweetcheeks 2 - http://www.jmoe.com/ & http://littlesnoopy.blogspot.com/

Fat Kids Always Go For Seconds! - http://no-wimps.blogspot.com/ &
http://tntmarathon.blogspot.com/2008/04/relay-2008.html

Runaway Jury - http://flickr.com/photos/runawayjury08/

travel here and beyond - http://here-beyond.blogspot.com/

Yo… Taxi - http://arunner.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/199-mile-relay/

International Used Parts Dept -
http://runonearth.com/uncategorized/international-used-parts-department-relay-team/

texasbuckeye garmin data

below is the garmin data for my 3 legs. the run up to the bridge in leg 18 was a challenge, but check out the elevation change in leg 30!

leg 6
leg 18
leg 30

who else has garmin data? nikeplus data? it would be cool to recreate as much of the course as we could.

Priorities

So, I got home from the Relay with two days of PTO ahead of me. Why two days of PTO after the race? you ask. Well, because I was signed up to do this little race in Boston on Monday, and to fly home on Tuesday. I still have the Boston Marathon bib number pickup card stuck up on my fridge. Many of my friends have Boston stories to tell. They watched the trials, ran the race, experienced that one-of-a-kind Boston experience that they say no other race can replicate.

I've been running for many years now, but I've never run the Boston Marathon. I'd like to, of course. I'd like the experience and (yes) the bragging rights and the cool jacket. And when I got the chance to run the EAS Santa Cruz Relay on the weekend of Boston, I was really torn. I even tried to figure out a way to do both, but eventually financial reality and common sense prevailed.

I'm not the least bit sorry about not going to Boston. I wouldn't trade the weekend I had with my team for anything. Streets lined with screaming spectators could never compare to pitch-black California back roads. I'd take the mountains of Napa over the Newton hills, without hesitation. And I'd take cheering on my fabulous teammates, primal-screaming their way through the finish of a last hard leg, over watching Deena Kastor run in the Olympic Trials.

Thanks, all of you. I'm still flying high three days later. I expect the high is going to last for a good while.

And maybe I'll run Boston next year . . . but only if it doesn't conflict with this race!

Thank you for NOT smoking!!!

So after my final leg late on Sunday morning, I let Van 1 in on my secret.... My last cigarrette had been early Friday morning, before driving up to wondermom24's house for the drive up to Northern California!

I've been a half-pack-a-day smoker for the past 14 years and have tried three times in the past 4 years to quit. I've tried to quit for my kids, I've tried to quit for my husband, who stopped smoking himself in 2006.

I knew I wouldn't be able to do it until I was ready. I felt like this trip up north for The Relay would be the perfect opportunity. I'd be away from the normal stressors of my everyday life, around people I'd never met (except for wondermom24). I was hoping that no one on the team smoked, because that might have spelled disaster for me. Luckily, no one did, at least not that I saw. Actually it wasn't until the finish it Santa Cruz, that I saw a man smoking near the beach. By then, I was two days smoke-free and it was bearable.

So here I am, on the other side, with 5 full days under my belt. I have tried and failed before, but I feel good this time. I am doing it for me and for my running. Watching my other teammates kicking up the dust and 'smoking' all those road kills out there!... was hugely inspiring and at times a little humbling for me!

So thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU to Team Waiting For Runs for being there for me when you didn't even know it. For replacing my cravings with laughter and showing me that I can take this running thing only as far as I'm willing to allow it!

And as wondermom24 suggested on our drive home on Monday... If I can make it 2 weeks without smoking, I will be rewarding myself with a registration into the Disneyland Half Marathon this August. I had previously decided against it because of the pricey entry fee. But hey, I'll be saving that money on cigarrettes!!!

Thanks again everyone!

mawz76

Garmin Data links and Google Earth

Here are my links to the Garmin Motionbased.com site to see what the most difficult set of legs (runner #10 ) looked like. If you click on Google earth beneath the map you should be able to transfer the garmin track to your Google earth site???

Leg #1 = http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5474922

Leg #2 = http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5474921

Leg #3 = http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5474920

I will also post some pics I took along the way but they just don't do justice to both the gradient and the duration.

Leg 33 - Almost there!

The night run had been amazing.  I had felt so great to be running under the full moon in the cold air that I hardly noticed the hills and felt like I could fly.  The next day, though, we'd had an adventure getting lost in the mountains and arrived at the exchange point to find... nothing.  No food anywhere in sight.  We were not going to hit those winding roads again, so we stayed put to wait for van #1 to arrive.  We munched on the snacks we had in the van that we'd kept in our really special cooler.  I wasn't really that hungry, so a little peanut butter on a slice of bread and some nuts would do.  It was exciting to see Tex come in for the final run of van #1 and do the hat slamming primal scream!  He passed off to Monk_Monkey and it was our turn for the final legs of the relay.  My last leg was #33 on Sunday afternoon.  It was supposed to be an easy run of overall downhill and I wanted to make it good.  We were still ahead of our projected finish time, and I wanted to keep that going.  Started running and felt pretty good, but every downhill seemed to be followed by a rise before the next downhill.  The lack of sleep, not having had much breakfast or lunch, forgetting to drink much water, and the hours of driving started to hit me.  I wanted to run faster, but couldn't seem to do it.  Oh, no, I was turning into roadkill heaven for the other runners that 1 Mile had passed in his quest for roadkill leader!  They came back at me, but all had a really positive comment as they passed.  We were all feeling the end of the relay coming close.  I hadn't wanted to check my pace cuz I didn't want to be disappointed, but took a quick look with about a mile left.  What?  I was still ahead of my expected time and hadn't been moving as slowly as I had felt I was.  That was so great - it gave me the energy to pick it up and finish that last leg strong.  Made that last turn and saw Alex there waiting for the hand off.  A little left for a final sprint and I was done!  My goal had been to finish all three of my legs faster than my scheduled time, and I did it!  I had not had a Diet Coke since before I left for the Relay, but now it was time for a little celebration!!  

Accuracy check - on all three of my runs, my iPod came within .05 of the actual leg distance!

The Last Leg!!!

LEG 29

This was the leg of doom, what I began at some point over the weekend to call my "3 miles of hell". This was the leg I dreaded for the weeks and hours leading up to it, the one I was pacing back and forth over while waiting at the exchange. I will break it down for you below...

A 3 mile course winding up into the densely wooded Santa Cruz Mountains.
Starting Elevation (compliments of noels71): 589 feet
Start of Leg to Mile 1: rise of 148 feet in elevation
Mile 1 to Mile 2: rise of 300 feet in elevation
Mile 2 to Mile 3: rise of 465 feet in elevation!!!
Ending Elevation: 1502 feet
Hill training in preparation for this leg : close to nil! I know - Dumbass, right?


If you click on noels71's primal scream video you will see him passing off our replacement baton to a oddly large woman in a green sweater... that's me at the start of the leg!

I tore off from the exchange (tearing off for me is like a 10 min/mile pace!) thinking that the ascent would be just around the corner. But no, around it were a couple of small easy inclines which I would have been embarrassed to walk. They were followed by a couple of equally small declines which I ran as fast as possible. The first of the horrific hills caught me by complete surprise. I had expected some crazy hills, but not walls of concrete stretching and winding up and out of sight, ending who knew where!

I walked these as quickly as I could and at times I felt like I was struggling through pits of tar. With every step on these monsters, I was jerking my knees up as high as possible and to a passerby, I have no doubt I would have looked as though I was attempting some strange type of combat march. And combat was what it was, between myself and this mountain that I had chosen to take on.

I never expected to run it and believe me, I wasn't the only one forced into a submission crawl by it. But, I kept going, knowing that if I stopped I'd be giving up on myself and my team. I expected to finish those 3 miles of uphill in an hour.

I reached a point in the climb, just when I thought it might never end (I didn't bother to look at my iPod this time since it had been so far off during my previous runs), when I heard cheering. For a split second my spirits jumped, then I reigned them back, thinking it was perhaps just a runner's support vehicle up ahead rooting them on and not the exchange/end of my 3 miles of hell.

A minute late, after suddenly after coming over a rise, the road leveled out and began a small descent. I could see the glimmering of what looked like glass from van windows through the foliage ahead and could hear shouts and laughter. I picked up the pace again and when I saw the beautiful orange traffic cones around the bend, I went once again into my mawz-sprint and passed the baton to texasbuckeye for the last time. If I weren't so tired, I might have cried! I finished it in 50 minutes and texasbuckeyed took his 3.1 mile similar ascent in 27 minutes, the closest we'd be the entire weekend! Since I gave many runners during the relay the pleasure of being their roadkill, I'll take that for a moment I wasn't SO far off from the rest of my team!

Thanks to all of Team Waiting For Runs and who woulda thunk I'd ever call traffic cones beautiful?

The link to my second leg is...
http://waitingforruns.blogspot.com/2008/04/leg-2-began-for-me-around-1134-pm-on.html

Do it for the team...

What an amazing experience.  After a little time away to really think about it, WOW!  Like everyone has said, things went so smoothly, everyone supported each other so well, and the teamwork was super.  We really did it!!!  It was so much fun and everyone just pulled together to make it all work.  In conversations with different team members, I heard people say that they actually pushed harder and ran faster because they were running for the team and not just for themselves.  No way would we let down our teammates.  After Foo had that great first leg, it energized everyone, in spite of winds, cold, and crazy hills.    

Thanks, everyone, it was so wonderful to spend the weekend with you and meet you in person!  

Thanks to GGPRunner for amazing support, beyond the call of duty - can't wait to see you again in Oct for the Nike Women's!     

Thanks, tex, for being a great team captain.  Mawz76, you are amazing!  Your organization and preparation made this all work.  1 Mile, the shirts were totally cool!  This shirt joins the original Quad shirt at the top of my list!  Thanks to everyone who pitched in with whatever was needed, down to safety pins and peanut butter!

My Night Run!

Leg 2 began for me around 11:34 pm on Saturday. I took over from noels71 outside a bank and coffee house in the town of Corte Madera. This night run was the one I'd most been looking forward to and was actually a little dismayed that it didn't seem that it would be taking place in a more remote area.

About a quarter mile into the run, I turned a corner and saw two rather steep but short hills up ahead. I slowed to a walk during these unexpected inclines and, determined to make up for the time, I decided not to stop again until the end of this leg. If you know how I train and how I've run both of my half marathons, I follow a running with walk breaks plan. I will run a mile then walk for a tenth of a mile, then run a mile, then walk for a tenth of a mile, etc.

So I brought my running pace down about 30 seconds per mile and kept going and going and going. My course went onto a bike path alongside a freeway and I enjoyed coasting a bit of downhill before I left the path into a residential area. There were a couple of runners gaining on me and I was just focusing on maintaining a pace that would get me to the end without my usual walk breaks when I heard a rustling to my right.

When I brought my head up I was stunned by the sight of at least two dozen horses, some white and others black or brown grazing in a pasture on the other side of a chainlink fence. They had to have been no more than 8 feet from where I ran past. They kept on eating and payed no mind to the wild woman running out of nowhere, past them and off down the street.

I don't know how to explain it other than to say seeing that many horses so suddenly, under the full moonlight, while running at night in a place I'd never even heard of was... surreal, to say the least, and emotional and breathtaking! I wished I'd taken my camera for the night leg!

About a mile beyond that a bike path took me most of the remainder of my leg, along a few wooden bridges over small waterways and the smell of the ocean was invigorating and helped me focus on getting to the end of my run...

Right past the 4.9 miles on my iPod which is when my Leg should have been over. I went on and it wasn't until it read 5.6 miles that I could see texasbuckeye waiting for me at the baton exchange in Sausalito. Again, I did my little mawz-sprint (which I imagine is probably only about a 9 minute mile) to the end! But just the joy of having set my mind to finishing without walking and being able to do it, was enough for me!


My first leg description can be found here: http://waitingforruns.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-first-leggggggg.html

1Mile's photo album

Well, I uploaded my photos. I wish that I would have taken more, maybe with an iphone I would have... Anyway, here is my link: http://s260.photobucket.com/albums/ii30/1miletogo/The%20Relay/ It appears that 30 images is the max for a slideshow, so the above link will allow you to see all 68. I'm sure when everyone has their photos posted, that we will have hit almost every aspect of the weekend.

Don't quote me on that....

I was thinking today about a couple of memorable quotes heard over the course of the relay adventure. Here are just a few.....

I 'Aspire' not to own that car...
Do the squiggles on the map match the squiggles on the GPS?
It's almost like a bloodlust, I want those kills!
And it'll have a one-piece extruded aluminum tube to drink the beer with, but you can upgrade to a titanium tube...

And here's a photo that just about says it all!



I already miss everyone...

~Monk

P.S. Big Kudos to GGP!

Good friends and noble gestures

Sometimes we don't know who are real friends are until we are in need. This happened during this Relay. GGPRunner proved to be a great friend and host for our team and must be given "major props!" She not only opened her house but fed us and let us store things in her house. And we (van #2) were able to crash at her house near the Golden Gate Bridge exchange.

And 1Mile did a very noble thing. When one of our team members got sick on the run, he stepped up and ran that person's leg, giving himself 4 legs! His first 3 legs were run at a fast pace , so this wasn't a walk in the park. That's what teammates do - they have each other's back and step up without being asked! That's what you call a "stand-up guy". 

When I was suffering on my last leg other teams offered me help w/water and gels. They didn't have to since I wasn't on their team, but they did. I appreciated that and realized that runners are basically good people especially when we all are sharing in the same pain and effort.

Other members offered significant monetary support. All in all, the team concept brought out the best in people! 

Alex's Photobucket album

Here's the link to my album. Lots more pics to come!

http://s133.photobucket.com/albums/q79/aebelisle/The%20Relay/

Moonlight Run

I think the hardest thing about the relay was waiting for runs.  It was exciting and wild running from one exchange to another, trying to estimate when your teammate would be finished with a run so we'd be at the exchange in time, scouting out places to park, scouting out porta potties, trying to stay warm, but it seemed like a long time between runs and it kept getting colder and colder.  My second run was anticipated to be between 3 and 4 am.  I usually don't get cold easily, but this was COLD.  About 1 am, I started wondering how I was going to make myself get out there to run and what I should wear when I run.  Jacket or no?  Tired, sleepy, cold, I stayed in the van until about 5 minutes before 1 Mile was scheduled to come in.  I usually heat up quickly when I start running so I decided to trust experience and run with my team jersey, long sleeve shirt, and gloves.  I forced myself to get out of the van just in time to see 1 Mile come tearing around the corner.  He was moving so fast he didn't even seem to see me and I had to yell to get his attention.  I started up the street to the first turn, and it was amazing!  Before I even got to the first turn, I was warm and feeling GREAT to be running.  I felt better than I had in hours even though it was 3:30 am.  It was my first time running with a headlamp.  It was pretty cool and 1 Mile and Monk had told me to shine it ahead of me so I could see the ground. There was a lot of brush and debris so I was really watching to not trip.  I was so intent on looking at the ground at one point, I looked up just in time to see a huge branch coming straight at my face.  I ducked down barely in time to avoid getting smacked in the face.  The rest of the run was along a bike path that was below the level of the road.  There were trees on both sides of the path with a big  reservoir on the right side.  A full moon lit the night with the reflection  shining off the reservoir.  I saw very few runners on that stretch so it was peaceful and beautiful and a fantastic run.  My finish time was a little faster than my anticipated time and I recorded 1 roadkill.  (We won't talk about the negative roadkills :) )  

Leg Two-It's dark out here

So leg two was part of the "night running" portion. I expected that I would run at dark at some juncture, but never sorted it prior to starting.
My second leg was the night run. The run started at the San Geronimo Presbyterian Church. They had some homemade soup that runners could buy. It smelled really good, but unfortunately my time was short, so I could not partake.

I was not sure what to wear for the run. The night was really cold and the wind was viscous. It seemed a bit better where we were, but I was still feeling the cold. Even up to the last minute as I waited for mysteryrunner to come in. I settled on wearing the pants and a long sleeve shirt. I was also outfitted with a vest and a red blinking light attached to the vest in the back. I also had on a headlamp, and carried a small flashlight. I also was wearing a pair of gloves. Noels asked if I needed anything else. I was a little thirsty, and remembering how parched I was on my first leg, I said a gateraid would be great. He said he would pass it to me as the drove by.

I was very excited to start. I was really looking forward to getting out there. I do a lot of my running during the evening, so running in the dark was nothing new. But I also run in a city with a lot of street lamps.
The leg was #15, it was 6.5 miles and was listed as hard. It started at 79', and hit a high of 471' feet. But I didn't really know that, so mentally I wasn't worried. It also was a straight shot and ended in the town of San Anselmo.
I made the exchange with mysteryrunner and headed out. It was just wonderful being out there. At one point there was no traffic or other runners. It was just me the moon. The wind died down, so it ended up being warmer. I wish I had stuck with a short sleeve and shorts. But it is hard to judge.
The relay van stopped as they were passing me and I grabbed a gateraid out of an outstretched hand and kept running.
I felt really great and hit the hill. It wasn't until I was nearly done that I registered that I was climbing a pretty steep hill. I could really start feeling it, but pushed on and hit the top. The downhill was just wild. I was flying down! I thought I was going to tumble and had to work hard to slow down. It was a thrill though.
I hit the town and knew I was getting close, but I wasn't sure how long the leg was. I just kept at it. Back in the van I started to feel the effects of the run and the long day, I was ready to get some sleep. But that would not really happen.

Whatcha Got to eat?

Here is a semi correct account of what I consumed during my time of the relay. This may be just filler or someone may find it interesting. Don't know. (I'm trying to recall all of this, so...)

Friday Night - (Pre Race Dinner at Calistoga Inn)
Chicken with Mango salsa, roasted Potatoes, Corn, bread, (not cornbread) Strawberry/Rhubarb crumble with Ice cream, Ice tea

Saturday Morning -
Before Relay (6 AM) - banana
At first Van Relay (10 AM) - Apple Chicken Sausage omlette with potatoes. Muffin & Diet Coke.

Saturday Afternoon-
pre run (1PM) - mixed nuts & GU (not together though)
After first Leg (3 PM) - PowerBar Recovery bar & 8 oz gatorade
Afternoon Snack (5 PM) - Granola bar

Saturday Evening -
Dinner (7PM) - Ham & Cheese Sandwich & Minostrone Tortollini Soup, Diet Dr Pepper.
Sometime in the evening - more granola bars, more mixed nuts, and an energy drink with a funny name.

Late Night - mixed nuts, some dark chocolate pieces, more granola bars, some kind of chocolate mint thing, 100 calorie pack of something, it was there and I ate it :)

Sunday Morning -
After 2nd leg ( 3:15 AM)PowerBar Recovery bar & 8 oz gatorade

Late Morning - Peanut Butter sandwich, mixed nuts, more granola bars, another of those energy drinks with a funny name that makes your skin glow :)

After 3rd Leg (12:30 PM) PowerBar Recovery bar & 8 oz gatorade

After 4th Leg (4:00 PM) Ate something, probabably granola bars & mixed nuts :) and a diet coke & water

Finish Line ( 5:00 PM) Chicken sandwich, salad, fruit, soup & PIE!

I know there are some missing things in there, I guess just add granola bars and mixed nuts in those locations along with water & gatorade.

1Mile's Relay Race Report

I posted a Relay Race Report on my blog. I grabbed my leg descriptions, sprinkled them with Garmin Graphs and then tossed in some stuff that happened in between. Viola, the new and improved race report.

New and Improved race report

clover primal scream

noel's primal scream

texasbuckeye's primal scream

Van Exchanges - sometimes like finding a needle a very annoying needle

Most of the Van exchanges that Van 2 witnessed were not too bad to get to. Then there was Exchange #5. Which started innocently enough disguised as a nice little drive through the mountains and ended as the never ending winding ride. Props to Mark for getting Van 2 to our destination while maintaining Sanity and to his copilot Robyn who expertly handled the garmin GPS and the TOM TOM to save the day!

So, we left the canada college in the quiet region of Redwood City. After handing the running reigns over to Van 1 we decided to start the trek to the next van relay and get some sleep and eat whatever they had there. We followed the instructions and could not find Highway 35 (Skyline Blvd). We drove for a little while and ended back where we started.

We asked some people sweeping outside the store where Skyline Blvd was and they just looked at us and shrugged. Perplexed, Mark entered the store and inquired. They directed us down the way we had just adventured. Hmm, maybe we missed it, so it turns out that the instructions failed to mention a step about following HWY 85.

So, we are now on the right track, we figure, OK, we should be there before long... The road was the windiest thing ever invented. about 13 miles of the winding road seemed closer to 100. After this turn was another and then another and then....

So we finally popped out on a somewhat non windy part of the road and we thought wow, we have to be close, nope, another 20 or so minutes and we finally end up at the van exchange and then found out that there was not any place to eat. Luckily, we had an huge supply of Peanut Butter and Bread. So our 2nd Breakfast of the race consisted of Peanut Butter sandwiches and granola bars. Not quite the pancakes or the awesome breakfast from the day before. But that is the way to rough it!

After the grub, some of the members napped while the rest of us mulled around, checked out the area, and found out that we had no Internet Service. So no updates came at that time.

The cops at the leg 30 exchange were very picky about your tires being completly off the road. We later heard that van 1 actually got a ticket for the tires being just inside the white line.

1Mile's Leg Reports

Well, I have some time so I will post about my legs that I ran. I will post nice graphs and charts and the such on my blog under my full race report at 1miletogo.blogspot.com.

1st Leg - Leg #8 7.4 Miles
starting - deep in the vineyards
ending - Roadkill Highway
MAP
Start Time: 2:05 PM
End Time: 2:59 PM
Running Time: 54 Mins
Kills: 11
Difficulty: Moderate
Clothing: Shorts & shirt
Splits: 8:20, 7:06, 7:33, 7:57, 7:34, 6:57, 7:07, 1:49 (.26) - Average Pace - 7:29

Right before starting this leg we passed Dean! He was coming up to this leg, and I though "Oh Boy, I will have a chance to pass Dean!" He soon got to the check point and stepped into the MotherShip. His father ran this leg for him, I talked to his father later (Very Nice Guy) at Leg#10 and found out that he had gotten lost on leg #8 along with numerous other runners.

This leg started off as a great tranquil run through the vineyards, there was a steep hill at the beginning, but it was over quickly. There was some gusty winds that started to pick up during this leg that continued throughout the rest of Van 2's legs. I ran through the countryside and passed a house with a lot of barking small dogs. I only saw 2 people in the vineyards. Soon after I exited the vineyards and entered the highway, there was a little bit of an incline and soon I started seeing more and more people. Not much more to report other than a few actual roadkills.

2nd Leg - Leg #20 (5.9)
Starting - the chilly beaches with a full moon and tranquil crashing waves
ending - a closed gas station after endless hills
MAP
Start time: 2:27 AM
End Time: 3:14 AM
Running Time: 47 minutes
Kills: 11
Difficulty: Hard
Clothing: Running Pants, long sleeve & short sleeve tech shirts, gloves, beanie.
Splits: 7:26, 7:56, 7:32, 8:39, 8:24, 7:10 (.92) -Average Pace - 7:57

We waited along the beach for Monk_Monkey to finish her leg. There was a slight breeze and a chill to the air. I was pumped, this would be my hardest leg with alot of uphill running. I was looking forward to it and I was also fearing it. I saw Monk coming from some distance since she put a glow stick in her water bottle. Then I was off. At the beginning there were a few sand dunes across the road. About one mile in, I had my only pass of my original 3 legs, team google came from nowhere looking easy and said something and he was gone into the night, disappearing into the darkness. I am still not sure that he passed me at all, maybe I need a recount...

The moon was reflected out on the water and the waves crashed, it was a great start of the run. Soon I left those great sites behind and the hills came, and I ran on. One after another I racked up the roadkill and I felt great. I never felt great on hills, but tonight I did. I continued on and so did the hills. I passed one guy and he asked if he could hook a rope up to me. I passed a lady and she asked when the hills would end and I said soon. But then the biggest one hit as we ran through a neighborhood.

I slowed my pace a little, but kept on going never stopping to walk. I came screaming down the other side of the hill and picked up a few more kills. All right 11 now. Then I saw 12 & 13 and my pulse quickened as well as my pace. They were still about 400 meters out and they must of sensed the predator coming, for their pace also quickened. I bridged the gap to under 100 meters and they turned a corner and found safety in the runner exchange - Dang, next time...

3nd Leg - Leg #32 (4.7)
Starting - A sunny run down the hills under tree cover
ending - The street on the way down
MAP
Start time: High Noon
End Time: 12:30 PM
Running Time: 30 minutes
Kills: 10
Difficulty: Easy
Clothing: Shorts & Shirt
Splits: 6:09, 6:13, 6:46, 6:53, 4:34 (.69) -Average Pace - 6:31

I stood on the decline waiting for Monk to come down, I was told I needed a bunch of kills to take the lead, 16 in total -things looked grim. I saw some people pass and I itched at my oppurtunity to run on a course that I knew would be fast, I had no idea on just how fast.

Soon Monk came around the corner, we did a quick wondertwins knucle punch and I was off screaming down the hill. the whole leg was downhill, there was a slight incline somewhere, but it was a blur. I ran fast and it felt good, I passed someone early, but then I didn't see anyone for a few miles, a high kill count didn't look good. The scenery was great, large trees, shade, but not any people. My stride was long and fast and I felt great. I passed a few vans and they cheered me at my pace and yelled encouragement. the first mile whizzed by - holy &%$#! 6:09, a new mile PR and almost sub 6! The second mile flew by 6:13, wow, this felt good! I knew it was a combo of my recent training, the elevation, and downhill.

When I passed my 5K at a sub 20 I was ecstatic! Now that I knew I could do it, I envisioned an upcoming 5K with an easy sub 20.

Soon I started to see victims and wracked up the numbers. I had 9 and saw one more in the distance and also the runner exchange. I emptied the tank and took off after, she sensed me and hurried her pace, but it wasn't enough. In the last few seconds before the exchange I had her and 10 for the leg. Little would I know at that moment that 10 was enough to beat out noels by 1, but 1 shy of passing Tex. oh well, a mile PR and 5K PR on one run and I felt great!

4th Leg - Leg #35 6.5 - ran 5.9
Starting - Slowashell was not feeling well and I picked up this leg for him. (he felt better later)
ending - the Streets of Santa Cruz (sounds like a cop drama)
MAP
Start time: 3:10 PM
End Time: 3:55 PM
Running Time: 45 minutes
Kills: N/A
Difficulty: Hard
Clothing: Shorts and Shirt
Splits: 8:47, 7:52, 7:27, 7:23, 7:10, 6:40 (.85) -Average Pace - 7:44

At the start of this Leg Mark did not feel well at all. Like a trooper he started the leg with the heart of a true waiting for runs team member. We caught up to him at the top of the killer hill .6 miles into the run. He did not look good at all and we had him get into the van. I took over the leg and continued on to meet Susie at the final runner station.

The beginning of the run was through a peaceful wooded area. There was a lot of van support as other teams offered up water. I felt good and continued on, opting not to stop. I passed one lady and told her she was doing great. I saw another lady in front and decided to try and reach her and pace her. I couldn't do it, she was doing my same pace. I was taking a pretty easy pace and soon found my legs wanting to open up. I let them go and each leg got increasingly faster.

I broke out of the woods and saw the ocean open up in front of me. WOW is all I could think we are so close to the end of this. I continued on down a hill and saw masses of people walking slowly. At first I thought I was stuck in a PMag gauntlet challenge, but the just walked past me, I still don't know where they were all headed. I continued on, the lady was still about 300 yards in front of me. Then I heard the footsteps behind me around mile 4 and I thought not today, I increased my pace and looked back, he was a little way behind me.

I kept the guy at bay, the vehicle traffic was getting heavy and I was weaving in and out of people. A guy opened his car door and I had to jump out of the way and run up on the sidewalk. The guy shouted sorry, but I was already gone. Then I came up to a stop light and my hunter stopped with me. There went the lead. Then we were off again, I regained my small lead and looked at my watch 5.25 miles, I wasn't sure of the length of this leg, I knew it was something over 6, but that was all.

Dang another stop light. Again we both sat there waiting, then it turned green and he took off and dusted me. Crap, I couldn't catch him, I saw the exchange and ended strong and watched Susie bring us home!

Everyone Heading home

Well, the relay has come and like all great events it was over too fast. Everyone is heading home, a few left last night. A few are leaving today, and the rest are staying a few extra days and enjoying California.

It was a great adventure, it is amazing how well everything went with all of us not having met each other and traveling into the city. We had a great support group and team members really stepped up and ensured that we had reservations, map books, food items, and everything else that we needed.

Now that the event is over, we are all looking forward to the next time that we can all get together and run as one! I will be updating the blog today with some of my recollections, I couldn't get my camera to upload my pictures, so I will be uploading those at a later date. Hopefully we will be able to get all of the pictures in one online location.

I'm also sure that the Gnome's exploits will be well documented and videod somewhere! I raise my bottle of water to Team Waiting For Runs - you were all great company and a great team. We came and conquered!

Again, a hearty thanks to GGPRunner, who was such a great hostess and welcomed us into her home and helped us tremendously, to all of our Nike+ supporters and those who donated - a special thank you to Henk who donated twice for $180, to MightyWeezie, the supplier of the limited edition Relay WeezieWipes, to Texasbuckeye for all of his planning and legwork, to mawz for her awesome relay handbooks and minimaps and for her planning, challenge creation and donation setup, thanks to both Susie & Alex for kicking in more money to pay for van rental, gas, & shipping of our relay equipment, to all of my team mates for accomplishing an amazing feat. Sorry for anyone that I missed, (still working the cobwebs out :) )

It was great people, hopefully we will all meet again soon!

my leg reports

since my flight is delayed and I have some time on my hands I thought I would post a race report of sorts. The more I think about it, the more remarkable our feat seems to be. 199 miles in 32 hours!
leg #6 this was my first leg and it was flat and borning butmy later legs would more than make up for them. I pretty much ran on a service road next to a highway. It was listed as 4.5 miles but my forerunner only measured 4.3. My total time was 28:37 with mile splits of 6:14, 6:37, 6:47, 7:03, and the last .3 mile was run at 6:32. I went out fast because I was so anxious to run after seeing all my van mates already complete their legs. Nothing much of interest in terms of anything else, the 6 kills were cool and that really had me running some people down.
Leg #12 this was the golden gas bridge run which started out in town and then ran up to the bridge then accross. It was amazing, the 5.8 miles were run in 42:15 with my mile splits being 7:07, 6:59, 8:04, 7:36, 7:17, and the last .80 mile run at 6:31. It was amazing, the run felt great and it had lots of different challenges in it, the big hills during mile 3 was a nice climb. I ended up with 15 kills and they came from all over, mawz hooked me up by setting me up to take down a handfull right away and them the hills got some and the bridge slowed lots down. I thought this was going I be my best leg but...
leg #30 this was the monster that I had been looking forward to. The 12 kills that I had are hard to believe, see my previous post for detals. I ran the 3.1 miles in 27:15 with mile splits at 8:23, 9:12, 9:24 and finished the .10 mile at 8:12.
All in all I loved my job as runner 6 and I am very happy with the way I ran. I have a marathon next weekend so I didn't wantto overdo it and sitting here in the airport I dont feel like I did. More memories later.

Parting ways

As Tex said, we had some problems with keeping signals to update the blog and even keep contact between vans. We had planned to keep the site up to date with goings on during the run. I'm sure as we all return home, that there will be numerous postings on this site as we all record our thoughts here.

I just want to say that I had a blast! It was great meeting some more Nike+ peeps in person and being able to run with and challenge each other. I just wish we had more time. Some of our runners have already started the trek home. The rest of us will be leaving bright in early in the morning.

The experience was great and it was surprising how well everything came together. We had 12 people throughout the US coming together on one weekend to run 199 mile together. We came and we conquered! We had fun, and we were challenged. In the end we became the team Waiting for Runs!

We crossed the finish line on the beach and a sense of accomplishment filled everyone. We had just ran non stop as a team for 199 miles. The awesome thing is that we guessed our time would be 32:09 and our total time was 32:16, pretty close!

I would like to give a special thanks to GGPRunner for really showing hospitality to our team. She provided lunch and a meeting place when we first arrived, and she supported us all throughout the race. She gave van 2 a place to shower, sleep, & eat as we waited for van 1. She even escorted van 2 to the van relay late Saturday night so that we would be ready for the handoff from van 1.

I will write more tomorrow, I'm dog tired. I may have some time to kil as I wait for my flight tomorrow.

too much to report

I have no idea where to begin. We lost phone signal for the better part of the time between our second set of legs and the third. I think what I will do is go back later and talk about that, but for now I want to talk about van 1 and the third set of legs. After a long night of running that was spectacular in many ways the team was spent and we lost energy as the night went on. We committed to bringing back that energy and foo turned out a solid first leg, that guy can move and has an great sense of humor, he collected 4 kills to total 11 I believe. Mrs. Foo walked at a speed that I had not thought possible (fast!) and turned in a third gutty performance. Next smlbtmty threw down a phoenomenal leg with 17 kills to total 37. Noel's report can be read below this post and it was good to see him save the best for last, he totaled 30 kills. Mawz began the last two legs of our van and they were tough! I'm so impressed with how well she manages her runs, she really knows how to negotiate a tough run and finish it right, it was awesome being in her van. My last leg was nothing short of spiritual in the realm of my running career. It was 3 miles with a winding rise of 1100 feet. There was no flat and no downhill just a long struggle to the top. It was so gratifying to finish and collect 12 kills. It was like running under water; it was as if we were all fighting to jog against a greater force of gravity. I finished with a total of 33 kills to edge out 1Mile for 2nd place. More later. I'll post the primal screams video when I get home.

Primal screeeeeeaaaaaam!!

Much has happened inVan One since we checked in last. It seems as though far more than a day has passed since we last blogged.

So, after picking up a few calories and some down time yesterday afternoon, we headed up to the van exchange point, located in a wireless dead spot next to a cheese factory. We toured the cheese factory, sampling its wares, and then we settled in to enjoy a few hours in the van, getting acquainted. Mostly we played "name that tune" and made pointless but entertaining observations about strangers and consumed empty calories. It was quite enjoyable.

Finally, it was time to run. The hot topic was what to wear; we saw lots of people returning in shorts and short-sleeves, and they looked comfortable, but we'd been freezing out in the hurricane winds for several hours and were more inclined to layer up. I layered up and regretted it; the weather was quite pleasant, once I got moving. My second leg had significant uphill, and I was definitely off my target pace.

After our legs,we each returned to the van to get what sleep we could. I am never more grateful for my short stature than during a relay. I found a nice spot of the van floor, curled up in my bivy, and caught a few hours of sleep. When I awoke, it was time to pound a cup of coffee and get ready to run.

My third leg was exactly what I love: perfect sports bra weather and lots of kills. Thanks to a couple of ill-timed red lights, I just missed my target time, but I collected enough kills to earn a safe lead among my van-mates.

Texasbuckeye, noels71, and I somehow came up with the idea of ending our last legs by emitting a primal scream as we entered the excahnge. This proved very entertaining, and an excellent way to finish our part of this mad adventure.

Our team finished our rotation high in the mountains and let the other team take over. Our work was finished. We descended a terrifying one-lane road to Santa Cruz, where we devoured beer and pizza and are now chilling out in the van waiting for the big finish.

My gosh, this has been fun! We're already thinking about next year. I can't wait.

nap time for van 1

with two rotations on the shelf it is time for some well deserved rest and Canada college. I just came off an AMAZING leg which I ran over the golden gate bridge and collected 15 kills! It was awesome and the sights were majestic, getting ip some nasty hills to the bridge was tough but it was cruise control time as I crossed it, about 1.5 miles and finished strong. Looking forward to our last set of legs and the immense challenge they will bring. My last leg is a beast.

GNOME GNOME GNOME!

Hey all! This is Gary your roaming Gnome here. I must say, this is really shaping up in this adventure. I thought about shipping myself home at one point, but I have had so much fun now that I am going to stick this thing out and travel the 199 miles this most awesome of teams.

I have even reached celebrity status and have been requested for photo opps. My popularity has grown tremendously. The sites and sounds have been spectacular, the wind was a force to reacon with earlier and almost blew me away. I have not seen any other gnomes to swap tales with, but I hope to see one or two before the end. I have seen 12 individual legs so far and I am enjoying the cool night air. I have seen Dean himself and so many cheering runners. Soon we will hear chants of "GNOME, GNOME, GNOME" and all will be good.

I know that when other gnomes see my spectacular pictures that they will surely seek out teams in the future. I envision future races as great gnome gatherings with big tea parties and tale and picture swapping. More to come from your traveling gnome Gary. I must go and grab a picture over there!

My brutal, monster, masochistic first leg!!!!! LOL

Words cannot describe the difficulty of my leg. The steep climbs and constant increasing gradient forced me to wlak for 2.5 miles, breathing hard the whole way with a HR that equaled racing a 10K! But the longer downhill was treacherous in it's drop-off and rough rocky road surface. I managed to average 11 min. miles even though I did a lot of walking because I made up for the slower walking pace but bombing the downhill even braking to avoid disaster!

My teammates called me on the phone giving me encouragement and I stopped a few times to take pics. With this amount of pain, I wanted to enjoy myself! LOL Now we have to see how we recover and fare on our next legs at night and on our last leg? This is new to me and quite the adventure! Se you guys later with more info.

Alex ( I am way too old to be doing this, LOL)

Wow, so cool! It was great to finally be able to start running after the excitement of the day. My turn! Beautiful run with vineyards on the side. Felt great and had to work to not start off too fast. For the majority of the run, there was a cold, strong headwind - sometimes it felt like I was running and not making much forward motion. The cold is not a problem as I warm up quickly, but the headwind was the strongest I've run in. Saw another runner far in the distance and decided to try to catch him. It took a while, but I caught him and passed him with a mile to go. It was such a fun run and I finished minutes faster than my anticipated time. Yeah! This has been an awesome experience. The distance on my leg was 5.6 miles and the iPod showed 5.63 miles. How's that for accuracy! Next leg will be about 4 am in it will be cold!

SlowAsHell

I can't remember my log in, so I'm taking over Monks. My first leg as great, even though I was hit by gusts of winds that brought me to a stop. I had three kills and extra points for not stopping to help a little old lady that got a flat tire as she was driving past me. There is probably a place in hell for me because of that.

About six miles into it I was starting to feel bad, slowing and cramping, then I caught up with Dean's dad and starting to talk with him. We ran together for probably five minutes, and it was awesome. That was the kind of moment that makes all the pain of running all worth it.

On the flip side, there was a man in a fish net tank top and fake hair extensions that was mooning people, and I got an eye full. There is probably a place in Hell for him for that.

That's all for now.

Pekingese Puppy Palace?

We are currently on the way to the 3rd van exchange. We had a nice soup and sandwich dinner at the Cheese factory after leg 12. The wind has been blowing pretty good since somewhere during Monks leg. The Gnome has been traveling and people are now requesting to get pictures with him. He has obtained celebrity status!

Leg 8 was great and I ran it a little faster than my projected 7:30 pace, I can really feel the elevation difference. So when we were driving to the 8th exchange, we saw Dean for the first time, it was great. Since then we have seen him at every exchange as he leaped frogged us. His father actually ran the first part of leg 8, but some runners took a wrong turn and ended up going a wrong direction. It was great to see dean and his support team.

The first 3 miles of leg 3 wove through the vineyards, very scenic, there was a pretty quick and steep hill about a mile in. About 2 miles in I passed a house with a lot of yapping little dogs. It sounded like what a Peruvian Pekingese Puppy Place would sound like. The vineyards were great, but I didn't hear any harps and there weren't any grapes to taste. The vines were small and not the high walled and mazes that I had envisioned that the vineyard run would be. The markings were well displayed that showed which direction to take. Within the vineyards I only passed 2 people.

Then I went out onto the freeway and onward I went. I soon saw many chances to rack up Road Kill points, and I tell you, it was almost a Primal feeling, seeing a runner coming up and knowing that I would get some roadkill points. Very motivational to run hard & Fast.

Before I knew it the leg was over, 7.4 miles in 54 minutes. A pretty good pace and time was had. I saw wondermom and readied the baton, there was another roadkill possibility, but he was too far ahead!

Wondermom's son met us after her leg, and Alex was off on the longest and hardest leg of the race, and the wind was blowing hard. As we waited for Alex we captured some more Gnome shots and van photos. We chatted with Dean's Dad, and he told us his story of Leg 8 and how he got off track. A very nice guy!

So, all in all, the adventure is going well and I will release the laptop to the next person to fill you in.

1Mile out for now!

Monk Updateaoonie

Hello listeners, we have been in a 'black out' zone of some kind, unable to post! So much has happend. Van 2 is on its way to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and wait to begin our next set of 6 legs. We are stinky but happy.

My leg was the 7th. It was bright and sunny and I was nervous and ready to go. A bit of panic when I couldn't get my Nike+ to work. But I relinked the sensor and was ready for super team captain, texasbuckeye, as he sped around the corner and passed me the 'baton' bracelet.

I recalibrated my Nike+ with my Garmin the first .25 miles for accuracy. I started the run at the same time as another team's runner and shadowed him. He got quite a lead on me and my chances for road kill seemed slim until he slowed down to sort of throw up. I thought, "this is my chance! No mercy!", but he kept going once I caught up with him. We shadowed each other the entire run. Up that first big hill and through the vineyards. We chatted a little but I could tell this guy didn't want me to pass him.

We both had garmin's and both knew when there was only .50 miles to go. I sped up. He sped up. I kicked. He kicked. I started sprinting and so did he. It was neck and neck! I think we tied, but my team says the other guy looked like he was about to die. I will count him as a well earned road kill. I hope I can pick him out on the next leg where I will meet texasbuckeye as he finishes crossing the GG Bridge.

See you later readers! Thanks for all your support!!

~Monk

Gnews from the road

It's been the most amazing day of my life.

Iwas awakened early, and powered up with some Red Bull before hitting the road with the Van 1 half of the team. We drove through lush, beautiful wine country to the race start, where for some reason everyone wanted to take my picture. I posed with the team at the start and at various interesting waypoints, and hope to share some of those shots with you soon.

The van smells funny, but everyone has been very nice to me. I'm hoping I'll have a chance to run, but even if I don't, I know that I'm experiencing things that few gnomes have experienced. Even if I do wind up living out the rest of my years in a garden somewhere, I'll always be grateful for the memories of this weekend.

my first leg done

it was great to finally get to run after cheering on my team for 5 legs. I knew I had a short run and I wanted to collect some kills and combine that with the fact that I wasn't able to run the past 3 days I came out fast, but under control. I'm looking forward to my next leg over the bridge. Having a blast.

My first Leggggggg!

5 miles - Beautiful area, beautiful weather! I started out feeling good and tried to enjoy the scenery sans headphones (not allowed) for my iPod. My route had 4 turns, all clearly marked! I ran through a quaint little town before my last turn after which was the final 3.2 mile stretch to pass the "baton" to texasbuckeye!

At a point I see two port-o-johns coming up and according to my Nike + they are at a little over 5 miles. I'm think that is the baton exhange, but to my dismay as I get closer the runner's are still about half a mile down the road. I mawz-sprint the last 100 meters or so to a 5.5 mile reading-on-the-Nike+, red-faced, hyperventilating finish, but HEY I finished it!

See you at Leg 17!!! Go Team Waiting For Runs!

1 down 2 to go

Got the shortest leg done... the next two is longer and harder... taking advil and keeping a smile... the views are beautiful.......wish me luck!!!!!!
mrs. Foo

Leg one is in the bag.

Today is proof that God loves runners and wants them to be happy. We have full sun and mild temperatures and cross-breezes just where we need them. And we have miles of gorgeous, gorgeous wine country to cover in a (so far) well-organized event.

I love relays. I ran my first one probably around eight years ago (the WSU 100k) and have made Hood to Coast a must-run event for the past four years. This is my first trip to the EAS Santa Cruz Relay.

I have to admit I didn't look closely at the map. I wanted to be surprised, to get out and run without knowing what I'd see around the next turn. And so I didn't know to expect the endless views of vineyards, just beginning to green, or the bucolic estates.

But I did expect the runners! I reeled in eight road kills on my first leg, and hit a 7:15 pace. And I got to run in the California sunshine in my sports bra! It doesn't get much better than that.

Now the team and I, having handed the wristband and the Gnike Gnome to Van 2, are in hot pursuit of food. Food . . .

FooRunner First Leg report

I ran the first leg! It was pretty incredible. The scenery was absolutely amazing. It was near perfect running conditions, although the sun was pretty warm.
I did pretty well, finishing quicker than expected. I felt pretty good overall. I hit a nice pace at one point, but unfortunately it didn't last long. I felt great after, and hope it lasts for my next leg.

First leg

Its coming1! I made all my teammates promise to phone me on the run. I need all the encouragement I can get. Nothing like 9 miles with 1000 feet of climbing in the first 3 miles!

Lets see what happens? Like they say - "Just do it!"

Alex

Van 2 prepped and ready

We are waiting to run here at the first van exchange. We had a big breakfast and are good to go. Van 1 is scheduled to arrive here within the hour, so it is go time for van 2!

Breakfast of Champions!

We just got done with breakfast, very filling and tasty at GillWoods Cafe - http://www.gillwoodscafe.com. Van 1 has a fire lit under, it has the be Gary he is driving them along with Gnome Power

See our breakfast items below and try and determine who had what.. I will give you what I had. A tasty Apple Chicken Sausage omlette with potatoes and muffin. Look at the interesting French breakfast of French Toast and French Fries.

Breakfast #1



Breakfast #2



Breakfast #3




Breakfast #4



Breakfast #5





1Mile's Breakfast

Noel is on the road

Mrs Foo came in 6 minutes quicker than projected so our team is now 17 minutes ahead of schedule, we'll see if we can carry that energy through the rest of our legs. Killing time at the exchange points has been easier than expected for me, our first few legs aren't very long so by time we let the runner cool down a bit, drive to the next exchange, unload and readjust it is time to get ready for the runner to come in. Good times! Be sure to click ok the texasbuckeye slideshow on the right to see all the photos I have uploaded.

11 minutes ahead of schedule :)

with a blazing first two legs the team is ahead of schedule for now, we'll see how it all unfolds. Van 1 is on fire with 13 kills and counting. Mrs. Foo is on the road and noels71 has promised a time we will all sing songs about to our children.

Off to the 1st exchange

Well van 2 is on the road to the first van exchange. We passed Foo on the road and he was toward the front of the 8:30 wave. We are driving through vinyards and enjoying the scenary. We will soon be at the first van exchange and will have another 4 or so hours to kill. Sounds like a good time to grub it up. More to come as the first runner exchange comes up.

The vans, let the roadkill begin:

waiting for the first exchange

foorunner is off onthe first leg and the anticipation of seeing him come around the bend is crazy! Its been fun watching runners make the first exchange, our van is ready to go. Noel is into the peanut butter sandwich and the sport of people watching is at an all time high, some these teams are crazy/funny. I'll update when foo comes in.

The meaning of THE

Well we are off, we were introduced as Team Waiting for THE Runs, so that got some laughs at the start! Foo went out strong and led the pack. The start was a little chilly, but soon warmed up. So it begins, the trek for 199 miles.

Here is a picture of Foo taking off at a 4 min/mile pace:




Team waiting for Runs!




Team Waiting for Runs - screen names:

its freaking freezing in here mr bigglesworth!

we had to scrape ice off the windows this morning! Foo is ready to lead the team shortly, updates to follow...

T-minus 2 hours

Well, it is finally the morning of the Relay. We are all preparing to go. We will be leaving the hotel at 6:30 and are planned to arrive at the start by 7:30. More to come as the team assembles.

Dinner with Dean?

We made our way up the very winding road to the Calistoga Inn. We passed the peruvian horse stables and thoughts of PMag's version of Apoc from Nike+ Tales. Later we arrived at the Inn and we were seated in the beer garden section, the section that was scheduled to be near Dean. Other teams soon filed in, some teams had a runner-isc feeling to them, others like the biker gang, well we are not sure about them.

Soon there was an announcement that Dean was still on his plane and would not be joining us for Dinner, which was a major bummer. Many of us had bought his book to get it signed. Gary the Gnike Gnome took it the hardest and started hitting the bottle pretty hard, he soon finished off a couple bottles and a basket or two of bread to drown his sorrows. I'm sure that photographic evidence will surface soon.

Even without the guest speaker, we enjoyed each others company and talked throughout the evening as more bread and dinner and desert arrived. We all enjoyed the meal of either beef, salmon, or chicken. The mango pineapple chicken was rather tasty.

Soon, it grew dark and a slight chill formed. Some members of the team huddled around a warming device that also acted as a bug erradicator. Then it was time to hit the road and return to the room. We had to make preparations for the start of the relay tomorrow and get some sleep. We scooped up Gary and we headed back down the windy road. Soon, it will be time to get the party started. Hopefully the Gnome will be recovered by then.

in Santa rosa

Its hard to say that I had any expectations going on, but its safe to say it is different seeing nplus users as real life ppl and not just names and posts on a screen. We made the trip to Santa Rosa from SF without incident and it has been fun getting to know the other runners in my van. Check out my photo feed for some early pics. I hope to get time to speak to the runners in the others van at dinner, I fear leaving this trip not having had the chance to get to know everyone here. Everyone has been great so far, more updates to come.

On the road as a team

So, we have met at GGPRunner's house, and she very graciously provided us a meeting place and provided a very tasty lunch that really hit the spot and gave us some carbs. Thank you Kerry for everything! You have made the first part of the trip go very smoothly!

The computer was passed around and everyone posted to the blog. The GNIKE GNOME got a makeover and got a very nice pair of GNIKE's. I handed out the team shirts and the very special limited edition version of WeezieWipes.



Everyone has now split up into the two vans and we are making the trek to the hotel to check in. We will then head to the dinner with Dean. I am scribbing this from the back seat of wondermom's van and we just passed over the golden gate bridge, spectacular views all around.

More to come after tonight's dinner with pics :)

flyin foo's land in San Fran....

Well, we got in from Boston a couple hours ago and met up with everyone !!!! YEAH finally here...Mrs. Foo's back was a challenge on the long flight (sitting is no fun). Taking advil and hoping to be able to walk as fast as possible.....and try not to be embarrassed that I can't run....(sob)...but happy to be among such a nice group of people who love to run and excited for the adventure....also met "gnike gnome" what a handsome little guy!!!!!!!!! He is just slightly taller than Foo.....

Getting to Gnow Everyone

It's been a very confusing few days for me, and I don't think life is going to calm down anytime soon. "Deep breath," I keep telling myself, "deep breath."

When I was a young gnome, my mother said that when I grew up I'd live in a garden somewhere, and I've always prepared for that fate as I sat among the other gnomes in the store.

But it appears that I'm headed for a different fate. Last week, a man bought me and took me home. Rather than putting me in the garden, he dressed me up in funny clothes. Then, he wrapped me up in plastic, stuffed me in a bag, stuffed that bag in another bag, and handed that bag off to an official-looking stranger with a stern manner. The bag containing the bag that contained me was thrown into a dark, cold place full of strange smells. The air seemed thin. I struggled to breathe.

We seemed to be traveling for quite some time, although it was difficult to gauge the passing of time. At last we came to a standstill, and the shrill sound faded to nothing. I heard movement, voices. The bag containing the bag containing me was lifted and tossed.

I landed on a stable surface, but it seemed to be gliding along. There was another stop, and another lift and toss, and another moving surface.

I was lifted and carried, and then I was taken for another car ride (I recognized the motion).

We stopped in a mild place where the air smelled salty and damp. The bag was carried somewhere. I heard the zipper being unzipped. Then I was removed from the plastic bag, and unwrapped. I was in a room full of strangers. They passed me around and looked at me, one by one. They laughed, but not unkindly; I sensed that they were laughing with me rather than at me.

I have a feeling I am not headed for the garden. I have a feeling that my mother hasn't adequately prepared me for what's coming next.

SlowAsHell & Monk are in da house!

Wow! After our 13 hour drive from Bellevue, WA, we hung out in San Fran all day on Thurs and saw part of the famous Golden Gate bridge (the rest was hiding behind the equally famous fog). We hooked up with texasbuckeye and The Foos at the airport on Friday and are now hanging out with the team at GGP's beautiful house!

We are so excited to be here and meet everyone in person. I hope my knee holds up, it has been giving me a little pain just walking around so..... Not a good sign! But I'm gonna run no matter what!

Mrs. Foo has a full ski mask she uses on her walks in Boston and I'm going to try and get her to wear it for some photo ops! Stay tuned!!

Signing off for now....

SlowAsHell & Monk_Monkey

Waiting to run for Team Waiting For Runs . . .

We're all gathered in GGP's lovely house in San Francisco, getting to know each other.

One thing I've always loved about groups like this is what I call "the brotherhood of the road." It's a takeoff on "the brotherhood of the rope," a term that climbers use to describe the kind of instant bond that exists among people of one's own kind. We've come from California, Idaho, Colorado, New York, Oregon, Texas, Illinois, but we speak each other's language. We belong to the same tribe.

We've attended to the big details. We have peanut butter and Red Bull and band-aids and warm clothes and cool clothes and maps and GPS units. We know who's doing which leg, and what time we need to hit the road. Now all we really have to do is hang out and get acquainted.

1Miletogo is asking if any of us have heard about Dean Karnazes' next proposed stunt: to cross the ocean in a giant floating Liberty Ball, like the ones used to let gerbils run around the house. True? Not true? Who cares? This is running geekery at its best. We actually find this entertaining. These people are my own kind.

This is going to be good.

YAY!!!

After about an hour of sleep each last night, wondermom24 and I have made it to San Fran!!! It's been awesome to meet noels71, 1Miletogo, and mystery runner. Now we await the rest of our wacky and wonderful team. Hurry up and get here!

I'm hoping to get to our hotel and take a nap before heading to Calistoga to hear Dean K speak at the pre-relay dinner. Tomorrow the adventure begins... someone help me get over that mountain!