Market to Market Relay

Market to Market is an 86 mile relay race that is run from the Old Market in Omaha Nebraska, to the Haymarket in Lincoln Nebraska.  This is the 4th year.  About 200 teams of 6-8 runners run 2 or 3 stages of an average of four miles each stage.

Lynn, Chris, Aaron, Mark, Shaun, David, Myself, Dave

Our team was named the Southview Striders after our church Southview Baptist Church.  We were in the first wave that began at 6am from Omaha.  I don't know how the other six participants slept the night before - but combine nerves with a sick 2 year old - and David and I didn't get much sleep.  Our alarm was set for 3:30, and coffee was a must.

I didn't get any pictures of the first two exchanges due to it being dark and heavy fog.  The temperature was about 40 degrees and there was little to no wind.  A perfect day for a race!  My husband, David, was runner #3 and had three legs of the race.  I was runner #7 with two legs.

David takes off on his second leg of the race just outside Omaha

Don't let anyone ever tell you that Nebraska is FLAT.  Those cornfield lined, country road miles were brutal.  Just when you crest one hill, there's another one staring you in the face.  My first leg was 4.5 miles and was rated Moderate/Hard.  I averaged a pace which I was pretty disappointed in, frankly.  After a month off for an injury, I had my pace back down to what I had reported for this race.  I didn't get enough time to train on hills, and had two terrible nights' sleep in a row...so, I did my best with what I had.  I feel badly that I didn't perform like I had reported that I could.

My first hand off in Springfield, NE.

It was quite the adventure!  As soon as you hand off to the next guy, you grab a snack and a drink and hop in the van to the next exchange point.  We had some fast runners on our team, so we had to haul to the next point.  I was pretty sure that everyone got to take a nap during my legs. You're welcome, team!

Fun in the van

David and I don't get a whole lot of time away from the kids.  I admit, I was pretty concerned about the both of us leaving all day.  My Mom was watching the kids, and our 13 year old son is responsible with a Capital R, but it was still hard for this Momma.  It was really nice for us to be together and doing something that we love with people that we love, all day.  Our church family is the BEST - and these guys on our team represented the heads of some of my favorite families.

Hubby and I having The Best Day Ever!

I was happy that all of my previously injured areas held up so well.  My hamstring was bugging me a little, but ever since the pull of a lifetime back in July, it just hurts sometimes.  My second leg started out okay. It was my last run, and I was so irritated with my previous run, that I decided to run this one as fast as I could.  I was doing okay until some jack-ass passed me and gave me false info - "just over half left!" - when really the finish was around the next bend about half a mile away.

A happy start to leg 2.

I realize this was my own fault, I didn't have a Garmin, and my GPS in my phone is jacked - so I had no way of knowing if this was true.  I felt I was running hard enough to be nearly done, but wasn't sure.  I was so deflated by this info that I walked for about a minute to recover my breath.  I rounded the corner, saw the exchange point, and sprinted.

Dang, was I ever happy to hand that one off!

I averaged a better pace on the second run, but still not what I was shooting for.  I was tired.  Really tired.  I did my best, but still am not proud of what that best ended up being.  My husband is irritated at my bad attitude.  I guess I might need a few more good nights sleep to sort it out.  I'm probably being silly.

Hubby ran the second to last leg of the race (#19) which is on the trail that we run/bike on a daily basis.  He handed off to our awesome friend and Pastor, Aaron, who ran to the end where we all joined up and ran the last quarter mile together to cross the finish.

Almost done!

And now for a little stage #19 dancing:

We all crossed the finish line as a group at Haymarket Park in Lincoln.  It was a great experience...something very different from what I'm used to.  I'm so glad for what I have learned about pacing strategies during my Half Marathon training.  I, at least, knew better than to burn myself out on the first leg.

All done! I am calling to order a pizza...

I was glad for the time with David, and had a fun time with "the guys."  Being away from the kids for that long was too hard, though.  I think I'll stick to my 5k, 10k, and half Marathon races.  Next stop - first Triathlon in 2012!