Team In It to Win (Finish) It

So, I (Bunny) ran a relay race last weekend. Where, you ask? From Calistoga, CA to Santa Cruz, CA. 199 miles. I ran that. No, I didn't. There were 12 of us running the race and I ran the 2nd easiest 3 legs which were approx. 4-6 miles each. So, in total about 15 miles. That sounds like a lot but really not so much compared to my teammates who ran horrendous hills (I'm talking HORRENDOUS UPHILL- slow- in- a- car- type hills) and some seriously long legs (8+ miles). phew. It was really awesome.

My friends, Amy and Jen like to do these adventures and I somehow decided that it'll be fun and it's a good idea. A year and a half ago while I was pregnant with Hope we ran a half marathon and the following weekend hiked half dome (again, Jen and Amy's bright ideas). But, that too was such a great time and adventure. BTW, I had never done anything like that before that- never was much of a runner at all.

Anyhow, back to the Relay. I had been really sick several weeks before the race -had a bad case of stomach flu and a bad case of bronchitis almost consecutively. So, Grason and I thought, hm... maybe I shouldn't do the race. My body was just so worn down and I was not able to train. With the baby it felt hard to find time to train anyway. Luckily, I started to feel better and one of my great teammates agreed to switch her easier legs with mine which were 2 miles shorter and easier. So, it was back on.

The night before when Grason and I were talking he was like, " Wouldn't you rather be spending the weekend gone from Hope (Grason took care of her) doing something more fun and relaxing.?" At the time I thought, way to be supportive! I was feeling sort of anxious and stressed about the race in the first place. Like, why did I decide to do this crazy thing? We weren't going to be getting any sleep, I am running 15 miles, I am away from my husband and baby with mostly strangers... why oh why?

But, now in retrospect, I am really glad I did it. It was really a great time. And a once in a lifetime experience. Why? you ask. I will highlight some top moments from the relay (not in any particular order):

1. Calling Jason, our van driver, "Sarge" after he noticed another relay team (who were police officers) calling one of their teammates "Sarge". He thought that was AWESOME and wished he could be called "Sarge" too.



2. Jen Wei's fun phrases- "fuzzy" (for a fleece- she was VERY suprised to learn that other people didn't know what a "fuzzy" is). "Superstar" "WHAT in the world" etc.


3. Running through Napa county through rolling hills and beautiful scenery in general.


4. Fininshing my final leg of the race (4+ miles) and going all out at the end and seeing Hope and Grason there to greet me. Hope had a great sign. Here's a picture (it says, "Go mommy"):












5. Running on average less than 10 min. miles which I was pretty proud of given that I didn't train that much. And I wasn't that sore afterwards! So, my goal of getting back in shape post-baby was working! Plus, I make myself feel better knowing that I was THE oldest person on the team. By, like a whole 3 years..

6. I also really enjoyed cheering on the team together at every leg and the shower and quick nap we got to have at 3am. That felt sooo good.

So, would I ever do that again? No, no way. But, would be up for different adventure, Jen and Amy?? Definitely.