In order to keep my mind off my latest running predicament, I figured I’d finish up my report on my last adventure. I left off last time right after I had finished my first of four legs which had gone really well. My leg was the last one before I switched back to the rest van so I had time to take a nice cool-down jog. I jumped in the van and we headed up four legs to Columbus, Texas where we were supposed to try to catch some rest. By that time it was completely dark. On the way there I cracked open my Livy’s princess lunch box and snarfed down a PB&J sandwich which I washed down with some Gatorade. Livy insisted that I take her princess lunch box for good luck but it also helped to make sure my lunch box didn’t get confused with anyone else’s.
When we got to Columbus we found that the transition was right next to the county court house. It reminded me of the small county seat towns in Nebraska with an old court house with big trees and nice lawns. It felt like it might rain so I broke out my el cheapo tarp, rolled out my fleece sleeping bag liner, and pulled the tarp over the top. I was just about a sleep when I heard a big crash which sounded like cymbal falling over. That happened about every 5 minutes. Later I figured out that it was a road closed sign that kept blowing over. No problem though, I just pulled out my ear-plugs which I had made sure to keep handy. After about an hour or so of rest, not sleep, it was time to start it up again. It had sprinkled a little bit but thankfully no real rain. It was about 10 PM at this point so I called Jenny to check in on the girls while I walked around the court house square. That’s when I spotted Governor Perry’s “entourage” (a black Lincoln towncar, and three black Suburbans complete with security detail). No he wasn’t waiting for the court house to open (the next day was Sunday remember). He was actually running on a team. OK, so I never actually saw him running but there is evidence. His team had started about 30 minutes before us so we were anxious to see if we could pass them. The Governor is no slouch if he can complete this race, but his team did have some ringers on it so it made things interesting. I walked past the Govenor’s entourage and got a “What’s up?” and some suspicious looks. I didn’t take offense since I was actually mildly worried about one member of our team who was obsessed with getting his home-made iron-on t-shirts with funny comments seen by the Governor. The only reason I worried was if he got arrested, I’d have to pick up more miles. But our runner came in before the Governor’s team so it was back into the active van.
My second leg was #19, a flat 5.5 mile leg at about midnight. I can’t say that I’ve ever run at night before and man was it different. Everyone had blinking red lights on their backs so you could see if someone was in front of you. We also had headlamps so you could see if someone was behind you, but I honestly never looked back. This was open country so you could see for a long way, or at least you could have if it was daytime. I could see three or four light blinking up ahead, but the darkness really messed up my sense of distance and speed. Until you got close it was hard to tell if you are catching up. And in the darkness, the miles seemed really long. I probably would have been better off without my GPS watch at that point. I was able to pass a few people which lifted my spirits, but about half way I got smoked by some guy who was really hauling. Soon I could see the transition point which was well light with type of lights you see on road construction sites. Almost there, I thought. Not quite, yeah, you could see it from a long ways out and the last mile really drug out. But I finished well and my team was ready and waiting. Oh, yeah, remember that guy who smoked me? It turns out his team wasn’t there. We don’t know what happened but I was glad it wasn’t me.
2nd Leg complete. Distance: 5.5 miles. Time: 42:23. Pace 7:42.
Stay tuned to hear just how smart I am and how I managed to get a shower.
