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Date/Location: |
December 8, 2019 - Sacramento, Ca |
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Distance: |
7 mi (Leg #3 of the 26.2 mi Marathon Relay) |
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Time: |
53:37 (Relay total: 3:20:46) |
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Place: |
2nd of 11 High School Co-ed Teams (even though they are Jr. High) |
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Relay Teammates: |
Hunter Glass, Leah Booth, Anna Soares & Holden Robertson |
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Other Teammates: |
Relay *FCA Endurance (Isaac Josifek, Troy Soares) *Catch Us If You Can (Robin Soares, Megan Sebra, Bailey Cossentine) *EV Cain Speedsters: *Old Man and the Lobster (Jason and Libby Shykowski) Track/Local Friends *Pacers: Jim Kepfer, Michael Cook, Tim Twietmeyer *Racers: Wyatt Hamilton |
I get ready for Leah to come and handoff. I see her in the distance and jump out into the running chute. As she gets closer I get ready. I take the chip off her ankle and put it on mine. I start running. I run around the corner feeling a burst of energy. Everyone's cheering making me smile. I feel good and try to run at the pace dad predicted, it's pretty fast.
After a while, instead of doing a 6:40 like my dad predicted, I’m running a 6:50. I start to feel a side cramp so I use breathing techniques to stop it. It kind of just stays there as I run.
Mile 1. 6:53. I get to an aid station and grab water. I'm at a mile and a half and I can't wait for 4 miles where I can take my new Stinger gel. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I see someone dancing around in gingerbread costume and I think that it probably is going to get pretty hot in there.
Mile 2. 6:57. I'm feeling good. I only have 5 miles left. I continue running and pushing hard. 6:50 mile pace is becoming hard to keep. After a while I come to another aid station. I grab water and drink some.
Mile 3. 7:00. I start to feel tired. I think about taking my gel a little earlier. At 3.5 mi I take my gel and hope it will give me energy.
Mile 4. 7:24. The gel makes my cramp worse. I try to take deep breaths, but the cramp gets worse. I start walking and take deep breaths. I try not to cry and focus on God. I keep feeling like I'm letting all my teammates down. I take deep breaths and try to run again. I begin to run and thank God for getting me through the cramp. I felt like it was a test for me and I passed because I didn’t cry and trusted Him.
I try to slowly pick up the pace. I'm now kind of running with the marathon runners not passing them any more. I grab water at the next aid station and drink some of it.
Mile 5. 8:57. I have only two more miles to go. 2-miles seem like forever, though. As I’m running I start to feel the side cramp coming back. I take big breaths like I have been doing. The side cramp makes me walk again but I keep my attitude up. I’m able to run again and I push on through the race.
I get to a mile and a half to go and I know I can't stop. I see another aid station far up ahead with a blow up arch .
Mile 6. 7:31. I feel the side cramp again but this time I don't let it make me stop. I‘m able to run and I grab some water. I run through the arch feeling good and I try to speed up the pace. I only have a 1/2 Mile to go and I know I’m almost done.
It begins to sprinkle on me but at least I'm almost done. It then starts to rain, but I don't mind. I begin to see people up ahead and know I'm close. I see the relay chutes and my teammate, Holden.
Mile 7. 8:34. Holden steps out into the runway. I get to him and he takes my chip. The chip falls off but we put it back on. He then starts running. The sprinkling stops.
I go with Holden’s family to the finish to watch him finish. Holden finishes and we all congratulate him. The whole team did a great job!
Praise The Lord For He Is Good His Love Endures Forever.
