We woke up at 5:30 am and we’re on the road to the Timberline Lodge for our 8:30 am start of the Hood To Coast Relay by 6:00 am. Before yesterday, I had never met a single person in my van or on my team (team name: Coasties and Ghosties); however, we were all getting along extremely well. It must be something about the running community and runners being able to connect so well just after meeting. On the way up to the famous lodge, it was raining a little and overcast, which was a welcome relief from the brutally hot weather of the past few weeks. I found out a few days later from my cousin Alli (who started on another team at 5:30 am) that we just missed an enormous thunderstorm that was lighting up Mt. Hood.
Once at the Timberline Lodge, the rain had stopped and the sky was starting to clear. The weather was just perfect for running. Running this race has been a dream of mine for some time, thus it was surreal to finally be on an awesome team (team captain Z did a tremendous job with organizing our team) and at the starting line where the excitement was building.
After decorating our van and getting a neat team picture on Hood Rock, we headed down to the starting line. At exactly 8:30 am our first runner, Julie, was off on a steep descent down the mountain to Government Camp. The weather stayed relatively cool and pleasant through Julie, Jesse, and Matt’s legs. However, it started to warm on Z’s leg then after a 0.2 of a mile warm-up, it was my turn. My first leg (Leg #5 of the race) was a 6.08-mile run from Brightwood along Highway 24 then just before mile 4 taking the Cherryville Road turnoff and finishing with a steep ascent. This leg turned out to be 6.12 miles and I finished in a time of 36:51, which equals a pace of 6:01 minutes per mile. My splits were as follows: 5:23, 5:21, 5:52, 6:17, 6:28, 6:44, and 0:46. As my splits show, I started out fast and I was hoping to run a sub-6:00 pace for this leg; however, my legs started to feel really heavy (strange, because I have not run much in the past few days) and the heat started to get to me. My eye sockets seemed to be filled with pools of sweat that was just producing a continuous burning sensation. Cherryville is scenic, but I was sure hurting over the last 2.12 miles; therefore, I was just glad to finish this leg.
I handed off to Dena then we headed to the Sandy Safeway’s which marked Exchange #6 to meet up with Van #2. It was so hot out that Dena ended up saving a runner that was suffering from some severe heat stroke. Less than a mile from Exchange #6, Dena came across a runner on team #25 that was weaving from side to side and in need of some help. While Dena was trying to help the runner out, a gentleman who drove by realized there was an issue and circled back around to help out. The runner ended up collapsing head first into the passenger-side seat of the car while the gentleman was calling 911. Just before Dena reached the exchange, we saw two ambulances zoom by to get the fallen runner. We all hope and pray that he is all right. Needless to say, the pleasant morning had given away to another brutally hot afternoon.
Taking a detour on the way to Portland, we headed to Matt and Z’s work to shower off. This was the first time that I had showered off during a relay and did it feel great! We then headed to the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland where we drove by Hood to Coast Royalty; that is, team Dead Jocks in a Box who were featured in the Hood to Coast movie (one of their runners is one of two runners to have run every single Hood to Cost Relay, so this was his 30th).
Shortly after seeing the start of the High School Portland to Coast race, Julie took the handoff from Nicole and we were on our way with our second sets of legs. For my second leg (Leg #17 of the race), it was the flattest leg that I have ever run in a relay race; that is, 7.13 miles (ended up being 7.18 miles) long with a very slight elevation gain. In addition, this was my first completely-in-the-dark of night leg during a relay. Somehow through four Wasatch Backs, I had ever run a leg that started and ended in the dark. Waiting for Z to run in at Scappoose Middle School with a group of fellow runners, the only light was from vans, headlamps, a street light, and the glow bracelets and necklace I was wearing. Following an exciting handoff from Z, I tried to push the pace. However, for the first half of a mile, I was slow and my legs were heavy (so much for tapering). Then I started to notice the neat fog/midst I was running through and how neat it looked under my headlamp. All of a sudden, I started to relax and all the commotion associated with a relay race started to drift away. My cadence started to get in perfect rhythm with my breathing. I was getting into The Zone. For my first mile I was able to sneak in a 5:59, and then I hit the following splits: 5:53, 5:57, 5:49, 5:51, 5:55, 5:57, and a 1:01 as I finished up at Saint Helen’s High School. I was able to complete this leg in a time of 42:24, which equals a 5:54 pace. This felt absolutely awesome!
After the first two legs of the Hood to Coast, I knew I had given myself a change to achieve my long-term goal of running a relay with an overall sub-6:00 pace. However, I knew enough not to get too excited about this possibility with a brutal ascent and descent for my third leg to come in the mid-morning. | 