B to the F to the E Relay race report

It was technically "Beverage Fun Exercise" but they thought they were really clever calling it BFE.  Central Nebraska is indeed BFE.  This is my second relay race, so I'm glad I knew what to expect.

Before we departed, here's what I packed:

I post this because I seemed to be the only person in the entire race who changed their clothes.  Like, people wore the same cotton shirt all day.  I...just...no.  No.  While I love being sweaty, I can't stand staying sweaty.  ::shudder::

The husband loading everything while I got the babies ready to go to bed in the car.

Race morning came very early, dark, and foggy the next day.  I had the first leg, so I was hard core spazzing.  (Although not enough to keep me from posing for a million pictures with my pocket-sized friend M in the fog.) 

Leg 1: 4 miles, 7:35 pace

The leg was mostly through town, and I felt like I was flying.  There were only 24 teams, and you could barely see people through the fog.  Very eerie to know you were among people but couldn't see them.  I hoped I didn't get lost.

T1: 1:30

Yeah, I'm calling it T1.  Fog=100% humidity, and I couldn't dry off and get out of those sweaty clothes fast enough.  Plus, I'm a girl, and we all learned in middle school how to totally change in and out of clothes without showing anything.

We passed the time between legs by taking pictures of ourselves in the van

and taking photos in the random small towns along the way.

(She's doing yoga.  Not dead.)

My second leg was three miles on a straight, flat, dirt road.  I wasn't a fan of the sandy terrain, but the scenery was amazing. It was so rural Nebraska, I loved it. Heaven.

Sunny, green, and hot. I could have run all day.

Leg 2: 3 miles, 7:45 pace

T2: 2:00.  We had to take an (almost) group picture during lunch. The attire change happened immediately after it was taken, don't worry.

My final leg was pretty much more of the same: Farms. Dirt. Sun. Smiles.

Leg 3: 3.5 miles, 7:55 pace

It was getting pretty hot toward the end of the day.  Running past beans felt fine, but running with corn on both sides is tricky.  Unless the wind is exactly at your face or back, there's no cross-wind.  It's a very hot, humid, sunny sauna.  A corn sauna.

I got to that place in the last 5% of an 11 hour relay when you're just done.  Thankfully, I rallied to excitedly cross the finish line with our awesome Team Minivan team.   

All in all, I'm sooooo happy I did this.  My teammates were a hoot, the weather was perfect, and I felt great running much faster than my normal pace.

And while I was cruising around the country, The Husband and the boys played on the farm at my in-laws.

A perfect day.

Pre-race spazzing

(First, a huge thanks to everyone following me on twitter.  I was terribly self-conscious about posting to no one.  I feel much better now, and I'm loving this twitter business.)


Anyway, I'm racing in the aptly named "BFE Relay" race this weekend.  It's 60 miles around the dirt roads of central Nebraska.  Have you ever been to central Nebraska?  Not "flown over", not "driven through", but actually BEEN to central Nebraska?  We have a whole lotta this:

That will be my view for 10+ hours in a minivan.

HOWEVER, it's going to be a great time.  The girls on our team are a hoot, I've been running well, and any day that you get to spend doing what you love is pretty fantastic.

HOWEVER HOWEVER, since this is an extra long race, my pre-race spazzing has been in over-drive.

• I'm obsessed with the weather.  I have three weather apps on my phone and four websites bookmarked on my computer.  I cycle through them all several times a day.
• What the hell do I wear?  I'm running at least three legs in a corn sauna, so I'm tempted to just wear a sports bra to stay cool and save space.  Can't decide if that's obnoxious or not.
• What the hell do I eat/drink?  The info from the race director is as follows: There are a few gas stations along the route. In Roseland there is also Reggie's Bar.  Soooo, you're saying I should pack my own Larabars, right?
• The coordination of stuff/schedule for The Husband, two toddlers, grandparents, and great grandparents may be the death of me. Since my in-laws live 30 minutes from the race, The Husband and boys will be hanging out with his fam.  Nothing is ever simple.  There's a good chance we'll be switching car seats around at 5am before I leave.  Awesome.
• Will my blackberry battery survive?!  I'm not thinking it's going to last through 10 hours of twitter surfing.  Although, who am I kidding.  Like I'll get service out there anyway...

Despite my City Girl Snobbery and high maintenance race prep, this race has plenty of pluses.

1.Breaking in my pretty new shoes.  Ooooh, shoe porn:

2.Amping up my farmer's tan.  Nothing says "I'm a legit runner!" like the ever-present white summer shorts.

3. These two get to run around the farm chasing dogs, cats, and cows.  Pretty much a little kid's dream.

2.5 more days until race day...

Running, racing, and I joined twitter!

First: I JOINED TWITTER!  Which, as the only person on earth not have a Facebook page, this Twitter thing is kind of a big deal.  You should follow me. (Please)  I'll follow you too.  Just click on this little button here: 



I also promise that I'll tweet much more than I've been blogging lately.  Life's just been crazy busy but good.  I love summer so much.  It can't be hot enough or humid enough or sunny enough for me. 

I also have a couple races on tap that I'm excited/nervous about.  Up first is a 60 mile relay race around central Nebraska next weekend.  It doesn't appear to be nearly as well organized as Nebraska's other relay, M2M, but the girls going will make it a blast.  The pre-race spazzing has more than begun.

I also have the Omaha half marathon next month.  I have a sub-2:00 score to settle with that distance after three attempts.  Eleven weeks post twins last year was the closest I've come to 2:00 post-babies.  It's about time to get back to 1:5x:xx.

And in anticipation of all this racing, I've been running quite a bit.  (Did I mention I love summer?)  The boys and I go in the stroller 3-4 nights a week, and I've been doing 2-a-days on the weekends.  (One AM run with them and one PM run alone.)  Five runs in three days leaves me exhausted on Monday, but it's the best kind of exhausted.  The kind that leaves you with a wicked farmer's tan and a ravenous appetite when you go back to work.  Looooove.

Speaking of love, the boys are fantastic.  Everyone should have twins.  It's awesome.