Thayer's Post Mortem

My first leg, leg 6, was about 5.7 miles. Ran it in reasonable time even though the conditions were crappy. It was 90 degrees and very humid, sun was at my back (6 PM) and I was running on a bike trail through a prairie with no road crossings, so no chances for water or encouragement from the team. It was rough.

Second leg, leg 17, was about 3.6 miles, but through the Brookfield/West Allis (older suburban) area of Milwaukee. Started this leg around 12:30 AM and it was still mid-80s and humid. City streets, and it felt pretty good.

Third leg, leg 25, was another 5.5 mile leg starting north of Racine and ending at the Racine harbor. Started it around 6 AM and this was my strongest run, probably because that’s when I am usually out running and it fit into my personal rhythm pretty well. Zero sleep that night probably didn’t help, though. Weather was close to ideal for a run, though—60 degrees and foggy.

Fourth leg was supposed to be leg 33, but leg 32 was canceled because of lightning, so I ended up running leg 34. It was my longest leg, 5.8 miles, and not good at all. The signs for the course were unclear, and I think I was off course for a good part of it...the sleep deprivation caught up with me...my legs locked up...I had convinced myself during the weather delay that I wouldn’t have to run again...my stomach was very sour...and on top of that I had to stop to do what a bear does in the woods halfway through. Semi-disaster--I came in at a 10 minutes/mile pace. I was hoping to average 8 minutes per mile overall, and I was there until the last leg. At least the weather during that leg was still perfect for a run—cool and drizzly, even thought I started around 1 PM.

I am excited to do it again next year. It was a ton of fun-—lots of logistical variables, both individual (sleep, food, hydration, towels, dry clothes, safety equipment) and team (who runs which legs, how often do you interrupt a runner for support, who goes in which vans and when, staying in contact), as well as lots of mental energy required in addition to the obvious physical effort. I just hope the team will keep me next year after my leg 34 death march, because it’s a really strong team—we finished 10th—and I know I can do much better managing myself differently. It was an amazing learning experience, and a ton of fun getting to know everybody on the team.