Death by Running

I didn't really die but there were sometimes it probably would have felt better. I just completed the Wasatch Back relay over the weekend. It is an 180 mile race from Logan to Park City. The team consists of two vans with six people in side each one. Each person runs three legs which vary from 3 miles to 8.5 miles. I was the lucky one (thanks to Jamie) and got to run the 8.5 miler.

I was the first runner for my team, the "Spaceburgers." I was happy I got to be the first runner because I got to finish first. That sure was nice. We started at 11:40 am. My first run was 5.1 miles. It started to get pretty warm as I was running. I enjoyed the parts when I had a little cheering section so I want to thank my Mom and Dad, Carli, Peggy, Aunt Sue, Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson, and Alli! It sure helped a lot! I also was grateful for the texts from Joni. Those were nice! Anyway, I handed the little snap bracelet to Jamie after my first leg and got to rest for about eight hours until I ran again. The second leg was the 8.5 miler. It was pretty much all downhill except for the beginning and some parts throughout. You might think that running downhill is easy (which is was for the first 5 miles) but toward the end of my run, all I wanted to do was run uphill. My muscles were so tired from the hard pounding that comes from downhill running. But, I was able to finish and all was well for about another eight hours. That night, as the other van was doing their section of the relay, we were able to get about 2 hours of sleep. It was amazing how well I slept in the car. Then, it was time to run again. My last run was 5.6 miles. It was probably the hardest because my legs were shot. There wasn't much left it them and so I just sort of moseyed along. It took my longer to finish this one but when I finally did, there was much rejoicing. It was great to be done. Now all I had to worry about was relaxing. I slept for pretty much the rest of the time and then my Dad came to pick me and Jamie up to take us back to Logan. We got to stop and Chik-Fil-A on the way up, and that was awesome. It was good to get some food with substance into my fatigued body. I am so glad that it is done but I am also very glad I did it. It was mentally and physically challenging. I can barely walk, and I am very tired but I want to do it again. I would recommend it to anyone that wants an adventure. I'll put up pictures soon!