The trio that ran a marathon....

So after forming a 4-member relay team to run the Silicon Labs Relay Marathon, and having one member drop out, then adding a new member, then having that newly-added member drop out, then adding another member, then having one of the original members drop out, and adding a replacement for that member, and then finally having yet another member drop out.......wait hold on....I'm confused....ummmm.....:)

ANYWAYS....yeah...we finally went to the race yesterday morning as a 3-member all-gals group all set to run 5 legs of the relay - consisting of a 12k, 10k, 10k, 5k, 5k - which together make up a full-marathon!! Our team consisted of the 2 G3s and of course yours truly!

The weather was DECEPTIVELY gorgeous yesterday morning...it was slightly cool, cloudy and there was a hint of a slight breeze....I use the word "deceptively" however because when we actually started running the race, we realized how unbelievably HUMID it was - humid to the point that it was actually very uncomfortable when I started running the first 12k leg. I also had not hydrated well before the race and forgot to carry my gatorade with me.....and was dying of thirst within the first 2 miles....The usual hydrating at water stops doesn't really work for me....I usually need to have my liquids handy to keep sipping on a regular basis rather than down cups of water at intervals...I figured I'd be fine since it was just a 12k distance but then was soon missing being able to have a drink handy whenever I felt like I needed it....

The run along Congress was fun though....there's always a lot of interesting things to look at on both sides of the roads, and then of course there's the Capitol building, which is always a pretty sight....the last 5k of the race was an out and back along Cesar Chavez....running parallel to the Town Lake trail....and this part of the leg consisted of quite a few ups and downs which were a little tiring and all I kept thinking was "Where the heck is the turnaround???"...it was pretty funny later to discover that the other 2 had the exact same thought when running this part as well!!....

Amit bhai crossed me in the opposite direction 3 times during our 12k leg and each time cheered me on - it was always fun to see him cos it made me pick up my speed!! His team - The IndoChinese Dudes and AfroBritFrench Babes - did an amazing job yesterday and finished 152/373 overall and with an overall time of <4hours!!!>

Following my 12k, G32 ran her 10k....then handed over the "baton" to G31 for her 10k....both these girls did an amazing job yesterday....For G32, this was her first race EVER, and she ran her first 10k effortlessly like she has been running 10k races all her life....G31 aka Areille...barely trained for this, had the misfortune of having the sun show up as she started her leg and her shin started hurting within her first 2k...but still got to the finish line w/o giving up!! Bravo G31!!! I was very proud of both girls!!

G32 and me ran the last two 5ks...we were familiar with the course now and knew what to expect...but the weather had deteriorated since the first 2 legs we ran.....which wasn't fun...we did have some crazy volunteers at the very last water-stop pour water at us to refresh us which was pretty fun....one of the guys in particular was having waaay too much fun throwing h20 at all the women and his friend had to remind him that this wasn't a wet T-Shirt contest!!! :) This made all the women at the water-stop crack up....and we all ran the last mile of the race in high spirits!!

Overall....it was a tough, tiring, but fun race....it made us all realize how much harder it is to run alone than with running partners/friends...BUT that it's not impossible either - as long as you still have their moral support!! This is definitely a race that I would love to do again next year!! I'm pretty sure both the G3s agree as well!! :)