Massacre Marathon Relay Recap

This past weekend I ran in my first relay race. The Massacre Marathon Relay was held at Country Park in Greensboro, NC. The marathon consisted of doing 16 laps around the park.  I was on a team of 4, so we each did 4 laps. I ran last.

My running group, the RUNegades, had 4 total teams competing. We all set up our chairs together and cheered each other on. It was a really fun experience.

The teams were:

• Team Trust (my team)
• Team Believe
• Team Conquer
• Team Preserver

On my team we had Thad (our running coach), Margret, Karen, and Colin. Technically we had a team of five. Thad was having an open house at the studio and had forgotten it was the same day as the relay. So he ran the first 2 laps and Colin was nice enough to run the last 2 laps for his turn. It worked out really well.

Thad ran the first lap, which was the longest lap at 2.2 miles. Every lap after that was 1.6 miles. I was really nervous the first time I went because I was not sure about how to do the baton transition from one runner to the next. It ended up not being a big deal at all.

The baton was a hollow pipe. So the funny thing was that sometimes when I was running, I would naturally bring it up near my mouth. Every time this happen it would make funny sound when I would breathe into it. Kinda like blowing on a paper towel roll tube. It made me chuckle every time.

Country Park is pretty hilly. According to my Garmin I gained 935 ft of elevation during my 4 laps that totaled 6.2 miles. Going into the race I had no expectations of how I would do. I felt ok. Early on in the week I had been dealing with some pretty annoying calf pain. So I was a little worried about how my calves would like this course.

On my first lap I was nervous. It had been a while since I had raced and at a shorter distance. The whole strategy changes. You definitely put the pedal to the floor when you run one of these because you know you can rest in between your turn. I decided not to worry about my time and to only focus on how I felt. I would push it just past my comfort zone. The hills sucked, but I enjoyed the fact that through my training with RUNegades, I am becoming a pretty strong hill runner. Often times I would pass a good number of people on the hills. I would only look at my Garmin when it would signal I had completed another mile.


I could not be more ecstatic about my splits:

My Laps:
Lap 4: 12:22
Lap 8: 12:26
Lap 12: 12:30
Lap 16: 12:38

I cannot believe I went below 8 minute miles, let alone on this course.  I feel so excited, and so sore today, haha. I'm excited to see how much I've progressed in my running since joining the RUNegades.

I'm so proud of every team. We all did it in under 4 hours, which is so cool.

For overall teams this was our places out of 161 finishers: 

Believe - 23rd place in 3:12:56
Conquer - 68th place in 3:44:24
Trust - 76th place in 3:48:55
Persevere - 95th place in 3:59:29

This will definitely not be my last relay race!

Did I mention we got a medal and a hoodie too?!!!

Today I purchased my new best friend for when I have sore muscles, which I definitely have today. It is called the Gaiam Restore Pressure Point Massager. I bought it at Target for about $16, which included NC state tax. It targets pressure points to help increase circulation and alleviate sore muscles. It feels amazing! Why did I not buy one sooner? The foam roller is ok, but this really gets into the spots I need it to, like my calves.

Next up is the Tobacco Road Half-Marathon on March 15th. I plan to do another sub 2 hour half. My first sub 2 hour half  just  does not feel all the way right. My Garmin read only 12.83 at the end of the race instead of 13.1. So I want to do it and feel really good about it. The course was certified but I still feel like a cheater. That is just too big a difference.

Wish me luck!