Another awesome weekend is officially over and when I wake up tomorrow morning Mike and the girls will finally be home from New Orleans! Friday nights 81 on 81 relay race finally caught up with me today and I feel pretty wiped out. I slept for maybe 40 minutes total throughout the race and didn't go to bed until late Saturday night. Don't get me wrong it was well worth it but I feel worse today than I did yesterday. My short workday was very difficult to manage but thankfully I was able to take a nap when I got home.
I planned on attending a friends wedding Friday night so I figured since I'd already be in the Fargo area for that why not throw a team together and race the inaugural 81 on 81. For those who don't know what this event is I'll fill you in. 81 on 81 is a relay race that takes place on highway 81 from Fargo to Hillsboro, North Dakota and back to Fargo for a total of 81 miles. A team can consist of 6 or 12 people and start times are based on the groups average minute per mile pace. The slower paced groups started at 9 p.m. and then teams were released every 15-30 minutes after that with the last groups starting at 2:30 a.m. Our start time was at 11:45 with an estimated 9.30 minute per mile pace.
The event registration was actually closed when we tried to register but Nico emailed the race coordinator and asked if they would be willing to take another team. They were very quick to respond and give us the ok to enter but we were down two team members and only had a few days to find replacements. It wasn't easy but we ultimately found crazy people like ourselves to join us. The Procrastinators name was thrown together for very obvious reason but really none of us fit the title.
Decorating the van with that name was a bit difficult so Dave and I (well mostly Dave) just wrote random quotes on the windows and tied safety tape in random spots. I wrote "The Procrastinator" across the back windshield- I ran out of room for the s to fit on the end. We knew we weren't going to win any "Best Decorated" award but at least we had something for people to look at. It was pretty embarrassing driving back to a wedding with a decorated vehicle. The groom told me to go clean it off but really what could I do? I got strange looks up until yesterday when I finally got home and washed it off. I didn't get a picture but really there was nothing funny or interesting about it. The worst part was finding out I didn't even need to drive in for the vehicle inspection. Dave was told by an official that as long as the lights all work we were good to go and no one would actually be checking it over. We could have decorated it as a group when we all met later that night and then it would have been way more interesting.
Thankfully the wedding was less than a 15 minute drive away and I was able to drive back for some of the dance. I did have to miss the supper and I'm sure that was why my stomach was in so much pain after my first leg. I did snatch some candy for the road from the candy bar they had set up. Yeah no stomach issues with that. I would have loved to have been able to stay and dance the night away but my team was waiting for me. They told me I should run in my dress.
Our running order was Chris, Dave, Jarod, me, Nico, and Kolby. We had to assign each leg ourselves and according to the mileage breakdown listed online it showed two legs that totaled 14.5 miles and the rest totaling 13 miles. I gave the two longer legs to Dave and Nico since they seemed to be the fastest on our team and then we drew names for the other 4 spots. We estimated that if each person took an hour for each leg then we'd finish in about 12 hours, so we were hoping to have it completed by noon.
It was really cool running at night and the temperature dropped significantly which helped a lot. My first leg was sometime around 2 a.m. and boy was it dark out there. The only light was the one at the water stop halfway through my leg. It was really hard to see runners on the road and there were a few I barely saw until I was within a few feet behind them. Their lights were out in front of them and I could only see a very faint glare from some of them. I had to count how many people I passed since Nico insisted I catch up with the ladies that left my exchange point long before me. I just wanted to get back as quickly as possible because there was nothing to see but black and you never know what's lurking around. Nico joked about hiding in a corn field and jumping out as I ran by- so not cool.
After my first leg I ate a bagel and then my stomach turned into a twisted mess. I felt super bloated and I couldn't go to the bathroom. I tried sleeping but that only lasted about 10 minutes. Then I tried drinking lots of water but that made me have to pee and the lines for the porta-potty were soooo long. I finally decided to pull out the sleeping bag and lay on the ground in front of the van. I covered my head, snuggled in, and before I knew it I was asleep. 20 minutes later Nico's watch alarm was going off in my ear and it was time to move to the next exchange. Slowly my stomach started feeling better and some Gatorade helped perk me back up. For about an hour I really thought I wouldn't be able to run my second leg but thankfully things turned around. Dave and Chris both said their stomachs were hurting too so I'm not sure what that was all about. I was more worried about having to go to the bathroom while I was on the course.
There were two ladies that left right before I did and I saw one of them moving at a good pace. I could hear Kolby saying, "Uh oh, uh oh...look at her go." So off I went to try and catch up once again. I easily passed the first lady and then caught up to the next gray shirt. I got ahead of her and then just told myself to keep a steady pace. I glanced back at mile 2 and noticed she was pretty close behind me. Then by mile 3 we were side by side at the water station. I noticed a few porta-potties behind tables and made a quick decision. No one seemed to be coming from behind so I darted for the bathroom to relieve my bladder. I couldn't go fast enough. I had to get caught up to the gray shirt lady and I knew I could do it. Well after downing some warm water I was off again. The sun was so hot and there were no clouds to provide any relief. It was tough! I left a 200 meter gap between me and gray shirt and strategized for another 3 miles. We passed a man who seemed absolutely beat but gray shirt kept chugging along. Then a FRC guy came from behind (not sure where or how because I never saw him) and blew right past me. All I could say to myself was Seeyaaaaa. I also had a group of bicyclists blow past me and I think I even jumped a little because I wasn't expecting them. The last mile I started doing sprint spurts. I slowly closed the gap between gray shirt and I but she saw me because she was on the opposite side of the road. Crap- I should have snuck behind her. By the time I had a clear view of the exchange point I picked up the speed. And so did she. I had my Ipod on so I couldn't hear the people yelling at us but I could see their mouths and see clapping. We were in a race! I thought I was going to pass out before I could get the slap bracelet to Nico. It was so hot and I was really breathing heavy. I knew Nico would make up any distance I lost but really it didn't matter who beat who because the exchange points weren't timed. I was just thankful she pushed me to keep going and catch up. Our team just needed to be done as quickly as possible so we could get out of the heat.
The Procrastinators finished 81 on 81 in 11:14:56! I'm so proud of us for participating (with only one weeks notice) and exceeding our goal of 12 hours. There were 94 total teams that signed up but the final results stated- 58 six person teams and 33 twelve person teams (we heard a few dropped out). We placed 10th with the 6 person teams and 12th overall.
Most memorable line: "Don't pants your poop."
Fastest leg: Dave's 6 miler in approximately 40 minutes
Funniest moment: Kolby got "goosed" by a male FRC (Fargo Running Company) team member and got a motivating, "Let's go big boy!" during the last leg.
Most improved: Chris! Kolby said the farthest he's run is 5.5 miles. He did awesome in his newly bought running shoes!
I planned on attending a friends wedding Friday night so I figured since I'd already be in the Fargo area for that why not throw a team together and race the inaugural 81 on 81. For those who don't know what this event is I'll fill you in. 81 on 81 is a relay race that takes place on highway 81 from Fargo to Hillsboro, North Dakota and back to Fargo for a total of 81 miles. A team can consist of 6 or 12 people and start times are based on the groups average minute per mile pace. The slower paced groups started at 9 p.m. and then teams were released every 15-30 minutes after that with the last groups starting at 2:30 a.m. Our start time was at 11:45 with an estimated 9.30 minute per mile pace.
The event registration was actually closed when we tried to register but Nico emailed the race coordinator and asked if they would be willing to take another team. They were very quick to respond and give us the ok to enter but we were down two team members and only had a few days to find replacements. It wasn't easy but we ultimately found crazy people like ourselves to join us. The Procrastinators name was thrown together for very obvious reason but really none of us fit the title.
Decorating the van with that name was a bit difficult so Dave and I (well mostly Dave) just wrote random quotes on the windows and tied safety tape in random spots. I wrote "The Procrastinator" across the back windshield- I ran out of room for the s to fit on the end. We knew we weren't going to win any "Best Decorated" award but at least we had something for people to look at. It was pretty embarrassing driving back to a wedding with a decorated vehicle. The groom told me to go clean it off but really what could I do? I got strange looks up until yesterday when I finally got home and washed it off. I didn't get a picture but really there was nothing funny or interesting about it. The worst part was finding out I didn't even need to drive in for the vehicle inspection. Dave was told by an official that as long as the lights all work we were good to go and no one would actually be checking it over. We could have decorated it as a group when we all met later that night and then it would have been way more interesting.
Thankfully the wedding was less than a 15 minute drive away and I was able to drive back for some of the dance. I did have to miss the supper and I'm sure that was why my stomach was in so much pain after my first leg. I did snatch some candy for the road from the candy bar they had set up. Yeah no stomach issues with that. I would have loved to have been able to stay and dance the night away but my team was waiting for me. They told me I should run in my dress.
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| Not in my wedges- no thank you! |
Our running order was Chris, Dave, Jarod, me, Nico, and Kolby. We had to assign each leg ourselves and according to the mileage breakdown listed online it showed two legs that totaled 14.5 miles and the rest totaling 13 miles. I gave the two longer legs to Dave and Nico since they seemed to be the fastest on our team and then we drew names for the other 4 spots. We estimated that if each person took an hour for each leg then we'd finish in about 12 hours, so we were hoping to have it completed by noon.
 |
| The Procrastinators- (left to right) Nico, Dave, Chris, Kolby, Jarod, Lori |
It was really cool running at night and the temperature dropped significantly which helped a lot. My first leg was sometime around 2 a.m. and boy was it dark out there. The only light was the one at the water stop halfway through my leg. It was really hard to see runners on the road and there were a few I barely saw until I was within a few feet behind them. Their lights were out in front of them and I could only see a very faint glare from some of them. I had to count how many people I passed since Nico insisted I catch up with the ladies that left my exchange point long before me. I just wanted to get back as quickly as possible because there was nothing to see but black and you never know what's lurking around. Nico joked about hiding in a corn field and jumping out as I ran by- so not cool.
After my first leg I ate a bagel and then my stomach turned into a twisted mess. I felt super bloated and I couldn't go to the bathroom. I tried sleeping but that only lasted about 10 minutes. Then I tried drinking lots of water but that made me have to pee and the lines for the porta-potty were soooo long. I finally decided to pull out the sleeping bag and lay on the ground in front of the van. I covered my head, snuggled in, and before I knew it I was asleep. 20 minutes later Nico's watch alarm was going off in my ear and it was time to move to the next exchange. Slowly my stomach started feeling better and some Gatorade helped perk me back up. For about an hour I really thought I wouldn't be able to run my second leg but thankfully things turned around. Dave and Chris both said their stomachs were hurting too so I'm not sure what that was all about. I was more worried about having to go to the bathroom while I was on the course.
There were two ladies that left right before I did and I saw one of them moving at a good pace. I could hear Kolby saying, "Uh oh, uh oh...look at her go." So off I went to try and catch up once again. I easily passed the first lady and then caught up to the next gray shirt. I got ahead of her and then just told myself to keep a steady pace. I glanced back at mile 2 and noticed she was pretty close behind me. Then by mile 3 we were side by side at the water station. I noticed a few porta-potties behind tables and made a quick decision. No one seemed to be coming from behind so I darted for the bathroom to relieve my bladder. I couldn't go fast enough. I had to get caught up to the gray shirt lady and I knew I could do it. Well after downing some warm water I was off again. The sun was so hot and there were no clouds to provide any relief. It was tough! I left a 200 meter gap between me and gray shirt and strategized for another 3 miles. We passed a man who seemed absolutely beat but gray shirt kept chugging along. Then a FRC guy came from behind (not sure where or how because I never saw him) and blew right past me. All I could say to myself was Seeyaaaaa. I also had a group of bicyclists blow past me and I think I even jumped a little because I wasn't expecting them. The last mile I started doing sprint spurts. I slowly closed the gap between gray shirt and I but she saw me because she was on the opposite side of the road. Crap- I should have snuck behind her. By the time I had a clear view of the exchange point I picked up the speed. And so did she. I had my Ipod on so I couldn't hear the people yelling at us but I could see their mouths and see clapping. We were in a race! I thought I was going to pass out before I could get the slap bracelet to Nico. It was so hot and I was really breathing heavy. I knew Nico would make up any distance I lost but really it didn't matter who beat who because the exchange points weren't timed. I was just thankful she pushed me to keep going and catch up. Our team just needed to be done as quickly as possible so we could get out of the heat.
The Procrastinators finished 81 on 81 in 11:14:56! I'm so proud of us for participating (with only one weeks notice) and exceeding our goal of 12 hours. There were 94 total teams that signed up but the final results stated- 58 six person teams and 33 twelve person teams (we heard a few dropped out). We placed 10th with the 6 person teams and 12th overall.
Most memorable line: "Don't pants your poop."
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| Not sure whose team van this is but it was funny! |
Fastest leg: Dave's 6 miler in approximately 40 minutes
Funniest moment: Kolby got "goosed" by a male FRC (Fargo Running Company) team member and got a motivating, "Let's go big boy!" during the last leg.
Most improved: Chris! Kolby said the farthest he's run is 5.5 miles. He did awesome in his newly bought running shoes!
You guys did great! Keep up the good work.
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