Yoo 631 - Capital to Coast 2014, Part 2

The night running was awwwwwwwwesome. Cool temperatures and much easier to focus. I began my second leg on the shoulder of a busy highway just as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful 15 minutes until complete darkness. I felt a lot stronger than expected at that point in the day, too. 

My pace held up pretty well for all 7.77 miles. I handed off thoroughly spent after 1:05:51 with an average pace of 8:29. There was a nice gas station at the transition so I took a quick baby wipe bath and got cleaned up for the next few hours.

Onward supporting the next runner!

The next couple runners went by quickly. I drove the van and got out every couple miles to hand off fluids. It was after my "shifts" ended that fatigue set in. NAP NEEDED.

I got maybe 15 minutes of sleep? An off-road leg and adventure to retrieve a lost cell phone that was actually still perched on the van's bumper woke me up.

Around 2am our last runner finished and we drove to Beeville for some rest. At a Whataburger. I jealously watched everyone down their burgers while I munched on a Cliff Bar. As first runner, I did not have enough time to digest a burger before my next run!

We tried to sleep in the van. It was a lot warmer than it should have been outside so all the doors were open for venting. Three grown men sprawled out on each bench seat, a couple trying to sleep in the captain's seats, and me on the floor. Not the most refreshing shut-eye. And garbage trucks are SO LOUD.

At 5am we headed further south to Skidmore where I'd take over from van 1. My calves were so tight I could barely walk. We waited at a gas station right across from the transition and I hobbled into that bathroom at least 4 times before my run. Caffeine happened. So did BUTTer. There was chaffing and when I finally got the gel applied it stung SO BAD! I almost cried. It was like doing the splits over a thousand angry beehives. Though it only lasted a few minutes and I survived. Better prepared for the oncoming friction, I set a stretch goal of 9-minute miles and tried to loosen up.

Last leg!

It began with the van fending off loose dogs about 2 blocks in. My first mile was just under 10 minutes. I wasn't moving too swiftly. But I caught my first road kill! I sped up a bit because I didn't want them to pass me.

The rest of the 7.35 miles were gorgeous as the sun was rising off to my left. They were also uncomfortable as I was really pushing myself, certain the person behind me was going to make a move and pass at any moment. It was about 5.5 miles into it that I realized there wasn't anyone behind me...

I set my sights on the horizon and counted paces just trying to gut out the final miles. It finally ended after 1:04:07, an average pace of 8:43/mile. Stretch goal met!

Same story, third verse. We kept running/supporting.

Pit stop.

Hours later, after the day got really warm and many more runners had finished their legs, we got to Corpus.

We waited around the corner from the finish for our last runner to appear. During this time I watched a man shove his entire arm between two parking meters. It was a big arm. After that and much twiddling of thumbs, our runner rounded the corner and we all hobbled to the beach together.

Woohoo!

Last runner cooling off!

Such a fun relay and an awesome team. I had a blast with these guys! I've known several of them for years. They're like big brothers. But others I'd just met that weekend. The camaraderie happened fast and the whole two days were hilarious. Secretly hoping there are more injuries next year so I can fill in again...

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 630 - Capital to Coast 2014, Part 1

Capital to Coast is a 223-mile relay with teams ranging from 1 person (yes, there was a lady who ran this by herself!) to 12 persons. The route starts in downtown Austin and follows back roads and small highways all the way to the beach in Corpus Christi. There are 36 segments ranging from 4ish to 9ish miles that must be completed in team order. Rain or shine, day or night, someone is running while everyone else takes turns supporting them.

I was asked to join a team formed by a couple of my coworkers last-minute when injuries kept bringing their original numbers down. It was really last-minute (about a week ago) and I was really last-resort (only girl on the 11-member team).

I'm so glad it happened though because it was an absolute blast and now I've seen parts of Texas I would never have traveled on my own.

It looked like every other part of Texas, but still.

We had a twitter account with live updates, if you're really interested in the whole play-by-play. Click here for the twitter account. I'm copying a few photos from there with my own captions!

Friday morning. I was stupidly nervous. Woke up way earlier than my alarm. Didn't want to miss the van leave time! I also was worried about how my running would go. I've been putting the miles in but haven't been training for speed. And as the only girl on a team with 10 guys, the competitive side of me didn't want to be the slowest runner!

The first van of 5 runners drove up to Austin the night before to start the race at 6am.

The second van of runners met up early Friday morning to take over the run from van 1 around Lockhart, TX.

Last runner from van 1 finishing. I took over as the first runner from van 2. It begins!

The adrenaline was pumping and I took off really fast! PROVE IT Teagan. The first mile I ran a 7:11. Which was stupid because I haven't run a mile that fast in YEARS. I slowed down from this murderous pace to a slightly more manageable uncomfortable pace in the lower eights. It was warm out and a bit windy but mostly flat.

Mile five came and I knew I was getting close. Less than a mile! I turned around and saw another runner gaining on me. "I can hold her off!" I thought as I started up a dirt road hill. "This is my home turf!". 

But then my body was like NOPE and I found myself grasping my knees while dry heaving the contents of an empty stomach. Not pleasant but I kept trucking between those "breaks". The girl passed me though. I was someone's road kill! Argh.

I made it and passed off to our next runner. First leg of 5.79 miles in 47:46, average pace of 8:15/mile. That was a LOT faster than I had expected to run so I was pleased. I got to sit in what was deemed the "stank seat" in the van while I cooled off.

Late morning turned to early afternoon turned to late afternoon. We kept running along, handing off every 5 to 8 miles. It was HOT outside so we stopped along the route at least every couple of miles to check in on our runner and provide fluids. It was such a chill, fun time.

The whole team, minus van 2's last runner. We met up while waiting for him to finish and hand-off back to van 1. It was almost dinner time and even hotter.

We had a few hours to eat dinner and clean up before taking over again around sunset.

There was a Schlotzsky's run followed by a visit to Karnes City Junior High. They had graciously opened their gym and locker room to C2C runners.

This picture is from much later that night. At least 3 rows of cots set out, plus a row of mats. We got there around 5pm so it was still pretty empty. Just had enough time to shower and lay down for 10 minutes before it was time to meet van 2 again.

Getting geared up to take over! Our second leg would begin the night portion of this run. Much fun to come!

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 629 - That Thing and This Weekend

I drove a 15-passenger van for probably my first time ever today. It was just from the airport to work but I felt like I was in control of a MONSTER TRUCK. Out of my way baby cars! And then I hit a curb in front of a security guard pulling into work.

This is all in preparation for the Capital to Coast relay from Austin to Corpus Christi tomorrow. I was a last-minute recruit for a team formed by a few of my coworkers. At least 5 other people joined the team and backed out/got injured before me. Or something. I know where I stand!

The plan is to run 3 6-8 mile legs on the 223-mile course. It'll be my first "official" run in over 2 years.

Here's to hoping I'm not the slowest and also, that I don't have to drive that thing up there ever again.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 590 - Dream Life, Life

I went on a run this morning and it was pretty painful, to say the least. My left hip flexor was being all vocal about having to function and the ball of my right foot was especially complainy on the rocks and to top it all off my stomach became disgruntled. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the pop tarts and liter of Mountain Dew I consumed on my drive out to Government Canyon but in the name of being an adult I'll take responsibility for it. 

Being an adult is lame!

So I was in pain but I still had 3 hours of running ahead of me and I successfully forced my mind into thoughts about my dream life, spurred by a Colbie Caillat song.

It took it pretty far. 

In my dream life I was a child prodigy triathlete. I qualified for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and took the silver. Fueled by a quest for gold, I returned in 2008 to Beijing and won. Even in my dream life, I still couldn't palate Wheaties without sugar so my face was actually on boxes of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And Papa Johns boxes, but only when you bought the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken pizza. 

I turned down an offer to Dance With The Stars after and instead earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Chemistry, cause chemistry is cool. 

I was working on my PhD in New Zealand when NASA called and extended me an interview to join their astronaut training program. It was a pretty awesome interview and I was hired. 

(NASA wasn't dealing with funding cuts in my dream life. their budget was more like the debt ceiling...limitless.)

Then came a couple years of training (including flying a fighter jet!) and one thing led to another and suddenly I was the first woman on the moon. 

What up Neil Armstrong!

I stayed there doing research for 6 months and also ran the first lunar marathon and ultra-marathon. Heck, I actually ran around the whole moon with minimal support.

What up Dean Karnazes! First south pole marathon? I traversed the dark side of the moon!

When I got back I met Greg and we got married and adopted Roscoe and not much was different. 

Except I was still working for NASA and they wanted to research pregnancy and birth in space so I signed up for the mission. 

Do you think pregnancy would be easier in space? I have no idea but I imagine weightlessness could alleviate some symptoms and aggravate others.

But anyways, after having the first space baby I retired and started traveling the world. 

There were more kids and we road-schooled and saw all the things. Eventually space pregnancies became common and some commercial company hired me to be their space doula. I could stay on the ground and assist from anywhere in the world, or travel to space and spend a few nights with Earth floating outside my window. It was perfect. 

 ^^ magical dog ^^

Oh, also, Roscoe was magical and could morph into any animal I needed. Like a horse when I wanted to go riding or a tiger when I needed protection or a unicorn when I really wanted to mess with people's minds. 

Or a small dog when we needed to travel via plane. 

It was basically the best life ever. 

Eventually my mind was spent and the real life suffer fest could no longer be ignored. I still had an hour left when some big guy dressed in fatigues carrying a massive pack came breezing past me. We were at least 4 miles from any trail head so he took all the fun out of feeling sorry for myself and the run sucked even more.

Thousands of crappy seconds later, I arrived back at my car. But not before deciding that my less far-fetched dream job would be running to fuel innovation. Basically I'd just go on a couple long runs a week where I'd let my brain go wild and record all my thoughts and then some company like Google would pay me tons of money for the raw, crazy ideas. 

It'd be their engineers' job to make something of it but I'd probably be willing to consult a little during the process.

Wouldn't that be awesome?

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 586 - Jade Cove

This comes way back from our Pacific Coast Highway weekend road trip in November. I first heard about Jade Cove reading a Runner's World "Rave Run" article. Soon after I realized we'd be driving right past it..sort of. We actually drove a lot further south than originally anticipated and it took a while to find it. But it was a gorgeous drive and one awesome little stop.

Short and steep.

Plus there was a dog there, playing in the surf with his buddies, and I love dogs.

So these are my dorky running pics. My Runner's World wannabes. I had to prance around like I was a deer to get them to resemble running. And then Greg had to time it just right so he didn't get a leg landing with all the fat ripples and stuff. It took a lot of work but we got a few fun ones for the memory books.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 546 - Trail Running Rocks

True story.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 522 - Trail Run

I tired him out.

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 421 - Rainstorm Run

My poolboy can work as late as he wants.

Cause I be running. Friday night and a decent rain! I soaked it all up on a good run and hit every. single. puddle.

You would too, if you wore DryMax socks. I wish I got paid to say that. (i don't).

But honestly, running in the rain is my favorite. No one else is out. The city lights are sparkling. And puddles.

You're already soaked so it's kind of a duty to give every a puddle a good splash.

And then a spinach smoothie.

This health kick brought to you by a RUDELY placed box of donuts.

They were RIGHT behind me at work. ALL day.

Have a great day :-)