Spokane 2 Sandpoint: The RR (race report)

We SODDO n’t Run!

What do two Bankers, an ambulance chaser, a software salesman, a stay at home mom, a concrete pumper, a cleaner, an HVAC installer, two elementary school teachers, a nurse and a juvenile corrections officer have in common? We SODDOn’t run!

But once again, we’ve come together to run for a good cause. Our team name honors those who serve at the Soddo Christian Hospital in Soddo Ethiopa.

You can identify our team through our black SODDO Shirts and our common language: Sarcasm.
And while we may act bitter during the race, we know that we are truly blessed to live in a place where we use vacation days and pay an entry fee to endure a small hardship like this race. So when we are hot, tired, hungry and thirsty maybe we’ll remember how fortunate we really are and that we are called to help others.

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1-2

 

That was the intro for our team as we were introduced before our 10 a.m. start time. Five other teams were in our heat and once their introductions were read, the starting horn blew and our relay adventure began.

First up was Nick. He had the pleasure of not only running the first leg, but also participating in the first contest...The Wild Wig.

I don't know what kind of clips he used to keep that wig on his head for the whole 5 miles, but he arrived at the exchange point with wig and cape on. He passed the baton off to me and I was off for the first of my 3 legs.

I also had a 5 mile run. My leg was from Bear Creek Lodge to the fire station. I was fortunate that most of my run was shaded and along the creek so even though the temperature was approaching 80 degrees, I wasn't too bothered by the heat. Of course, it did help that my run was downhill the whole way.

Feeling good and cruisin' down the mountain

Getting ready to pass the baton to Sandy

I knew I was going pretty fast (for me) but I wasn't sure how fast until I finished and realized that I had covered the 5.1 miles in 40 minutes. That was pretty sweet and the icing on the cake was that I passed two guys in the last mile. I had had one of them in my sights for at least the last 2.5 miles and steadily closed the gap. I can't remember when we picked up the other guy, but I do remember thinking that I didn't want to pass them too soon because I knew that would provide them some motivation to go faster because they wouldn't want to be passed by a girl. And in fact, one of them did pass me back after my initial pass, but he couldn't maintain the pace and I passed him again and picked up the pace just a little to put some distance between us.

Once I passed the baton off to Sandy, I was ready to cool down any way I could. Fortunately for me, the creek ran right behind the fire station and I sat down on a rock, put my feet in the water & took a few minutes to cool down. It was bliss.

Sandy had a 3 mile leg and passed the baton to Jen. Jen was amazing! She had the longest leg, 7.8 miles, in the wide open, absolutely no shade, and the temperature close to 90. But she just gritted her teeth and got it done with average pace around 9 min miles.

Jen still smilin' and killing this leg

Jen finished up and then passed the baton to Roy. We made a couple of rookie mistakes while Roy was running. First, we stayed too long at Jen's exchange point after she passed off the baton and Roy had to wait at the portage point for 3 minutes (runners are ported across Highway 2 by their support van). The second mistake was we turned right when we were supposed to go straight. Fortunately, Roy kept going the right way, but because we got off course we weren't there to keep him doused with water. I realized our mistake after about 10 minutes, but Roy covered about 1.5 miles in that amount of time. By time we caught up to him, he was pretty hot and ready to be sprayed down.

Roy finished up his leg and then it was Marv's turn. Marv not only drew a hard leg, he also was supposed to wear the "brightest outfit". By this time it was in the 90's and even though the rest of us were trying to talk him out of wearing all his garb, he was insistent that he follow through on what was asked of him.

Nick helping Marv get ready

Marv had a crazy hard leg. It was 6.8 miles of hills and heat. With 1.5 miles left, there was a couple who lived along the course and had set up a hose so the runners could cool themselves off. We insisted that Marv stop and spray himself down.

Marv was a trooper and finished up the leg with his full costume, including wig and sunglasses.

Marv passed off the baton to Van 2 after we had been racing for about 4.5 hours. We headed back to my house for some food, showers, and sleep. We had about 3 hours before we got the call that our turn was coming up again.

We started our next leg at Mirabeau Park and ran along the Centennial Trail to Coeur d'Alene City Park. Marv led the way, passed off to Jen (who ran 8 minute miles for her 3.8 mile leg), Jen passed the baton off to Nick, and Nick passed the baton off to me.

I won't lie, my second leg was the hardest one for me. I think it had more to do with the time of day (9:00 at night) than anything else. It was another 5 mile stretch along a pretty familar route. I didn't love that it was pitch black and I was running on the Centennial Trail through Post Falls all by myself. I didn't see one other runner while I was running this particular leg. I have to admit that I had mixed emotions about my teammates being able to stick close once I got on the city streets. On one hand, I was glad to know they were close and that made me feel safer. But on the other hand, I was feeling pretty tired and I just wanted to walk, but I couldn't walk with them right there. So, I just kept plugging along and finished up the 5 miles with a 8:45 pace.

I handed off to Sandy, who then handed off to Roy. Once Roy finished up (around midnight) we were done with our second set and it was time for some food and rest. We headed up to Roy's house and enjoyed the buffet that his wife had set out for us. After a shower and starting some laundry, it was time to hit the sack. We thought we would probably have about 3 hours before van 2 called us, but at 2:30 in the morning they texted us to say that their runner was only 60 minutes out. Ugh, that was 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Oh what I wouldn't have given for just another hour of sleep!

We arrived at the exchange point and it was go time again. Marv, Roy, Jen, Nick, me and then Sandy. It was so good to be done with my final 5 miles! After we finished up our final stage we headed to Jen's cabin on Spirit Lake for a little relaxing on the deck and dock.

Getting ready for my last 5 mile run

Jen, Me, Sandy, Nick, Roy, and Marv enjoying the lake.

Van 2 finished up the last 33 miles and after 26 hours 49 minutes and 52 seconds our Spokane 2 Sandpoint Adventure was completed. We finished 13th in our division (open mixed) and 19th overall. It was a blast and I would totally do it again, even though my quads were trashed from all of the downhill running I did (how crazy is it that 2 out of my 3 runs had a significant elevation decline?)

Even though the sign says "Start" it really was the finish.

Me and the 2 ladies who talked me into this crazy adventure. Thanks Jen and Heidi. I loved it!