Saturday, April 8, 2017

Team(work)






































CT really is after the insurance money. I know it, my friends know it, it's no secret. How do I know? She keeps signing me up for marathons, but it's blatantly obvious how desperate she is when she signs me up for ultra-marathons. With as much ID TV she watches, she really should cover her tracks better. No insurance company out there is going to believe it's an "accident" that my heart exploded or my legs fell off.

The plan, she was going to kill me with another ultra. The problem, that plan got derailed (keep in mind this ultra takes place along an old railway path, so that's damn funny!) when I lost a good month plus to the stupid flu. She training suffered too, so combined it made sense that we both better team up and do the race together as a relay team instead of us both dying. No point in even having insurance, if we are both gone!

Anytime I've done a relay in this race, it's always been the second half, the sixteen mile section. CT was all set to do the first leg with a friend, even though it's a bit longer at eighteen miles, she's tougher anyway. Yeah, yeah, I know, she wears the pants. Last minute her friend got hurt, looking at the weather report, knew it was going to warm up. The fact by some miracle I've been putting in slightly more miles than her, it made sense to switch. I'd take the first leg, she'd do the second leg. Going into this thing, mentally my game plan is surviving, knowing neither of us have prepared very well for even doing the half we are doing. CT on the other hand, she's checking stats and thinks we have a good chance to win the M/F team relay award.

Go Teeeeeeeam, goes the gun! What I'm expecting is a bolt of runners going past and there goes any thought of winning anything within the first couple minutes. Instead, I not only see both runners in front of me, granted they are going at a fast pace, but I can hang here for a bit. A couple miles in, I'm still waiting for somebody to pass me, but it's not happening. As the miles keep going by and it isn't happening, doubt is dwindling and confidence is building. At one point crossing a side street where CT was waiting and cheering me on, I yell out "we are winning this babe" confidently.

Mentally preparing all week for sixteen miles, I made it. The second I made it one step past that, my body began to ask questions. With how everything has gone this year, honestly, I was kind of surprised how well I did, for as long as I did. There is a positive here, but this last mile is going to be tough! So glad to see CT, but also knowing my day is done, I get to become the cheerleader.

We pass the baton. Really, there isn't one, but in this case it was kissing CT to which the crowd gave an "Awwwwww", to letting her run a few steps before I couldn't resist announcing "I don't even know her!". CT knows me well, probably too well (she is planning on killing me), but she had a HUGE donut waiting for me. Which I almost inhaled before she was even out of eye-sight.

As I sat there, recovering, by smashing that donut down my throat, proud of myself for the lead I built up for CT, my eyes focus in on a young kid standing there in a singlet, basically looking fast. Oh, he's on a relay team that is going to win, based on his body style, I'm sure he's part of a six man team that is going to throw down a seriously fast time. No sooner did I think that, this young girl comes in and tags him. Oh no, we are racing against THEM? Skin and bones, who hasn't been stuffing his face with a donut, is going to catch CT in only a few minutes. The BIG lead I gave CT (barely beating out his young female partner) isn't going to amount to jack squat, this isn't about winning anymore.

Figure at this point, I'll go find and spectate CT. Mainly to tell her at the very least, don't worry about pushing too hard, because we have no chance. As I found her, her comment was "I'm done". "You're done, what do you mean? There's fourteen more miles!" I didn't say that, but I sure thought it! As she went by, she said something like "you take over at the next crossing". Um, I just did eighteen, it about killed me, then I shoved a huge donut in, girl you crazy!

Next crossing, she's out, I'm in. The surprising part, there is no part of this story that involves donut being sprayed, spilled, wasted along any part of this trail.  As I ran, I couldn't help but attempt to do math and figure out if she's out, how many miles do I have to do? How many are left? This is beyond bad. Before I got myself worked up too much, there she is at the next cross street, then she was back in. Not sure if it was surprise or praise, but thank you! Granted we are breaking the "rules" of this relay, but it's obvious to me we aren't going to win and now it's all about finishing with however unorthodoxed this race becomes for us. That pattern continues for the rest of the race, we switch places every cross street and it worked. We did it and we survived.

Everybody knows, CT is tougher. There isn't a second, since I've known her where I've ever thought different or wondered. It's simply fact. This is the course that cemented that for me a few years ago when I saw her do the whole thing, in horrible conditions, and look like she could still do more carrying me if she had to. Also the moment I thought to myself, don't ever fight this girl! On a day neither of us were really prepared, it felt good to step up and help out when she wasn't feeling it. 9 out of 10 times, make that 999 out of 1,000 times it will always be her, but today was my day to help the team of us.

 Yeah and team youngsters crushed us, but we bonded more and appreciated what we accomplished more today.