Rubber Side Down

The Relay

This is my "morning after" two days and one night of running and sitting in the van. This is also my third day after returning from Switzerland. As you can tell by the time of this post, I am not in perfect condition (brainwise) to run in to work and dive into the details... so, how was it?

We met at Arnon's on Saturday morning. In typical Amir-ican fashion, we were treated to breakfast, including excellent cappuccini. Yummy. Needless to say, we required a little coaxing to leave the comforts of this nuturing environment to pile into Terry's van, loaded with extra clothing, shoes, bottles of water, gatorade, snacks, cameras, blankies, pillows, sunscreen and, well, you get the idea. Some of the perhaps unexpected items to note were Erin's teddy bear and Arnon's "Wall Street Journal".

Well-nourished and caffeinated, we got on the road maybe 1/2 hour later than predicted and booted it up to Calistoga. We arrived in time and, due to the brilliance of the organizing committee, flew through the registration with peerless efficiency. Erin was off in a flash, wearing the latest in female running apparel: a running skirt! (I put this in to appease the "hair and nails" community).

As to the day, it too was brilliant: sunny, still cool, but warming up rapidly. As a newbie to the relay, I was entertained by the other vans: each displaying the team name with accessorizing props. Some examples: "Twinkie", "Texas Starbutts" (with that familiar green circle and the lone star of Texas on the back of their running shorts), "Nice Assets" (you can imagine the prop - if you can't, go look around the Hallowe'en costume stores). People were supportive and enthusiastic - cheering all the runners as they ran past.

Inside our van, the atmosphere was unwinding from the earlier tension and we were settling in to enjoy the day; the warm weather helped, too. Sailing through the first legs, things began to heat up. En route, we visited some cute little towns, Yountville and of course, got some strange looks. We got to the church in the middle of the afternoon for the shower and pasta lunch. To add the element of danger and precariousness to this tale, it should be noted that we were among the last people (Arnon was the last, in fact) who managed to shower before it was closed by the city due to an overflowing sewage problem. Hmmm, time to leave (and step carefully in the parking lot).

Now we were free! Van#2 was "on" and we could power down for the interim. Blissful, right? Like all good 'mericans, we were unable to turn off, and reached for... Starbucks! I think we were in Petaluma, at this point. Our rendez-vous point with van#2 was conveniently scheduled at a place - the cheese factory - without cellphone coverage, so it was one of those "hurry up and wait" deals, where you have to be "ready" but also "patient". Darkness fell and with it dropped the temperature. People were dressed in everything imaginable at this point: towel-wrapped shorts and t-shirts, pseudo-ski wear - ski hats (tuques to any Canucks), fleece, warmup suits, reflecto-wear, electro-wear (that means lights on their heads, backs, fronts, and feet (Gary), chemico-wear (glowsticks).

The combined jetlag and cold temp made this a tough stretch for me. During a moment of reflection with Arnon, we both came to the same conclusion: this was insane. We were waiting for a runner we couldn't recognize, at a place without phone service, in the dark of the night. The mood picked up once we transferred the arm band and were off down the road, following Erin. Once again, we sailed through the legs. Ok, there was an identification problem when the rest of the group picked someone else out as me and tried to get the armband from her at the transfer point. But no harm was done and the luxury of the carpetted bathroom facilities at this intersection quickly became the hot topic of conversation.

The peak of the experience was not far off at this point - it was Arnon's run up to and across the GG bridge. The perfect night: cool but not cold, clear, windless and le coup de grace - a full moon. The city twinkled in the background. Arnon's pace was not one of the whimsical romantic, however. He rose to the challenge of a nearby runner and the competition surged. With a strong finish, we handed off to Paul and now it was naptime. Getting to naptime was a little drive, so next year we need someone on the team to have a place in Daly City... (note to selves). And so it went: a little soap, a little soup, a little sleep, a little ... RUN! The next day was here and our last leg was about to begin: ~Redwood City to Hwy 9/Skyline. Our resolve was strong - people made heroic efforts pulling out reserves of energy from any hidden stores to advance our cause. Our victory was close at hand as we went to Arnon's for a final shower and celebratory lunch.

It was all smiles and hugs on the beach at Santa Cruz, sore muscles mellowed by beer, as we crossed the finish line with Lynne and all the van #2 crew. The setting sun drew our adventure to a close, but many were already talking about the next relay (in April). See you there! Thanks to all for a great time, especially the van #2 folks - we didn't get to know each other as well as the intravan folks, but we sure depended on you to be there.

posted by Iron Dayle @ 9:46 AM