Granted, what I'd probably want are lo-res digital copies of the photos, but the photographers only sell hi-res digital copies for $25 each (or like, wallet size packages, which are like eh. what would I do with that??). RIP OFF!!!
So, once again, I've swiped the online samples.
Here I come! This is the last leg of Naito Pkwy to the finish line... so I'm cruising at about a 9 minute mile in these shots.
2 weeks Following Cinco de Mayo, I had the Pole Pedal Paddle in Bend, OR with a team.
The Pole Pedal Paddle is actually a large relay race starting at the top of Mt. Bachelor. It begins with a downhill ski (or snowboard) run, then an 8K cross country ski leg, then a 22 mile bicycle ride down the mountain into Bend, then a 10K run, then a 1.5 mile paddle around some bouys in the Deschutes River in a kayak (or canoe), and finally a 1/3rd mile sprint to the finish line. Some competitors can finish the PPP in about 1 hour 40 minutes. My team WAS NOT one of those competitors. hehehe.
Here was our results:
We got 819th place out of 835 teams/individuals. Yeah, some hard core people do the PPP by themselves and not in a team. Crazy.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was doing the 10K portion of the PPP. That's all. It was a touch intimidating as there was a heat wave at the time. 90 degree weather!!! I've not run in that kind of heat since MAYBE last summer... if ever. I spent the several days leading up to the event hydrating and slamming electrolytes in preparation.
Morning of the race, the rest of my team headed up the mountain for the start. We had a 10:55am start time. Brent did the downhill ski, changed skis (which Renee retrieved), and then did the xcountry leg. From there he tagged Anton to bike down the mountain.
Meanwhile I was sitting at the bike-run exchange down in Bend starting around 10:45 am. I drove Anton's car there. I decided to hang out at the exchange early just cause I was nervous so I had to do something. So bored, I went ahead and applied more sunblock. Renee was texting me the progress, like when Brent started the xcountry leg, and when Anton was tagged at noon and started his bike ride.
I was waiting at the exchange all ready to go for a bit, maybe seriously ready to run starting at 12:30pm.... thinking it would take Anton AT MOST 50 minutes to get down the hill. 35 minutes if he was riding like Armstrong, heh. The year I did the bike ride (3 years ago?), when I got into Bend I was going 45 mph... what a thrill!
More and more of the runners leave on the run, and less and less runners are waiting.
It gets past 1pm... where the heck is Anton?
The coordinator guy at the exchange with a radio gets a call about a woman who was unconscious on the 10K run route, and that they were sending in rescue vehicles for her. It was REALLY hot. I'm getting more nervous.
Oh, btw, I've decided to wear a white baseball cap, a performance polyester tank top, a running skort that leaves little to the imagination, a handheld water bottle, and my sunglasses. And loads of sunblock. Very little fabric. hehehe... this was not the time for dignity.
There is finally about 7 runners waiting at the exchange area. The guy is saying I should just go, that I probably missed my biker, but I was holding his car key, so he wasn't GOING anywhere. I insist that he hasn't come in yet.
at about 1:15pm, here comes Anton!! I hand him his key and start on my run... slowly and tentatively.
The first half of the run is uphill... after a short length on a sidewalk we switch to a gravel and dirt path. There are more water stations on the route than they originally had planned. I'm guessing they decided to add more due to the unexpected heat. I feel silly since I'm like one of the last runners. All the volunteers along the route were hiding in the shade while they clapped and cheered my progress. Some volunteers are near houses and have garden hoses in their hands... and are spraying me down as I run past... heaven!!! I notice immediately the worst part of this run is that my mouth is drying out really fast. It's a very uncomfortable sensation actually... and I start using my handheld waterbottle to swish with. I also use my handheld to dump water on my shoulders, front, and back. I'm drying off at an alarming rate, and since I know the body can only really absorb 8 oz of water every 30 minutes that you drink, drinking more water is only going to bog me down. I make sure water goes on the outside of me for the most part, and it's really helpful.
The turn around feels fine, and I'm starting to "warm up" cardiovascularly. The first mile was the worst. Now the rest is downhill onto the more-shaded riverside dirt trail. 2 runners pass me initially... they look hard core tho. One mentioned as she passes that she missed her biker, so she's just running to run. I see some other runners, maybe 4, ahead of me during a long out and back. On the trail portion near the river I end up passing 3 or 4 runners...
Some of the water stations are trying to offer me gatorade or orange wedges... I beg them not to. It's too hot to ingest anything besides water. The thought of it makes me think I'd be ill if I even tried.
I'm feeling pretty good, thinking I have about 1.5 more miles to go and I find myself emerging from the trees with the run/paddle exchange directly infront of me. What? I step it up anyway and sprint to the run finish. My garmin read 55:40 minutes. There is NO WAY I could run a 10K in 90 degree heat in less than an hour. I'm confused, but finish really strong anyway.
My teammates weren't expecting me yet. Anton didn't even have his life jacket on yet! My teammates cheered me on tho. No photos, cause they didn't even have a camera out! heh.
I tagged Anton, and he got into the water for the paddle portion.
I felt pretty good... not really tired at all. I was just confused as to how long the course actually was. My garmin said ~5 miles... but a 10K is more like 6.3 miles I think. I was wondering if they had shortened the run course due to it being late in the day or something. But, I also will admit, my Garmin lost GPS signal during the run, so it could honestly be about half a mile off... but not over a mile off.
Later Anton found somewhere in the packet where the run was referred to as 5.5 miles. EH? That's not a 10K! Ah well... if the run was REALLY 5.5 miles and I finished in less than 56 minutes and was feeling strong and running faster at the end than at the beginning, that's a pretty good pace! I bet if the run was a REAL 10K, I could have done a 10 minute mile average pace.
Oh yes, and later I found out the delay in the start of my run was Anton's bike chain fell apart and shredded his bike's derailer!!! He was sitting on the side of the road for 30 minutes!!! A van of bike experts just happened to be driving down the mountain and found him, and stopped to help fix his bike.
They took some of the links out of his bike chain and bent his derailer out of the way, so he couldn't use all of his gears, but he was able to keep biking atleast! He said he was at the very back of the cyclists, but then managed to pass like 3 or 4 people after his bike was repaired.
It was a REALLY fun day, and a fun evening celebrating our PPP finish!!
2 comments:
love to see the photo of you that leaves little to imagination
you'll have to imagine it. no photos were taken of this event. ;)
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