Who Da Champion? April 27, 2009

I da champion!

Thanks to some crazy fast running*, Blue Steel was the women’s relay champion at the 2009 Kentucky Derby Marathon Relay.  Apparently, there is a lot more to life than being really really ridiculously good-looking.

(*Crazy fast is relative to Joe McAverage, not Kara Goucher.  Trust me, it is terribly ego-deflating that the four of us running each leg on fresh legs is still nearly half an hour slower than the female winner of the full Derby Marathon.)

After a carb-loading pit-stop at Molly’s Cupcakes, we drove nearly 7 hours from Chicago to Louisville.  You may ask, “But Kai, weren’t you only running the 5K leg? Why are you carb loading?”  While that is technically true, I prefer to think that I am getting a head start on all the future half-marathons and full marathons that I still have in my future.  With me eating so much carbs, my body is bound to become a superhuman, bionic, energy-churning machine.  This is the strategy that will eventually get me to Boston and the Olympics, I’m sure of it.

Pre-Race Strategy: Box o' Cupcakes

The shuttle bus got me to my exchange point extremely early on, so I had quite a bit of downtime to work myself into a nervous frenzy, which is a pretty typical pre-race routine.  I also had some time t size up some potential competition; while I jogged up and down a nearby hill and did a few warm-up strides, the majority of the other racers were napping in the grass or…smoking.  (I’m not kidding.  This is when I thought, Hm, we might actually have a chance of winning this.) The marathon leaders ran by, which was cool to see, and then a few trailing behind them.  By the time the main pack arrived, I felt like a loaded pistol.  The exchange zone was at the top of a small hill, and as soon as my relay partner ran in, I grabbed the chip and sprinted full-force downhill.

This promptly turned  out to be a very bad idea.  At the exchange zone, I could see that the rest of the road led downhill and turned into a wooded, park area.  What I could not see from that perspective was that as soon as the downhill curved away into the woods, the road immediately shot UP.  My momentum propelled me forward and I raced up the hill as fast my legs could carry me.  My Garmin beeped a 7:19 for the first mile, which explains why my lungs felt like they were going to explode.

I bolted past an official pacer with a group of tired marathoner around him, a few of whom looked at me incredulously, and I managed to wheeze out, “It’s ok!  I’m just doing the relay!”  I slowed my pace down for the second and third mile, knowing I’d pass out if I kept up a 7:19 pace.  It luckily flattened out for most of the remaining miles, and I also had the advantage of running in a mostly-shaded park (it was about 80 degrees that day).  People complained about the heat, which did suck, but there were a few points where I was hit by some sizeable gusts of wind as well.  The last quarter-mile of the 5K started climbing up a hill again, but knowing that I was almost done, I grit my teeth, climbed it as fast as I could manage, and handed off the chip to my next partner.  I PR-ed with 24:33!  One woman waiting for her relay partner looked at me, chuckled, and remarked, “You don’t even look like you’ve been sweating!”  Tired and breathless, I think my response came out something like, “Ugmm…mhfff…hrmmmgggg.”  I appreciate a simple “Good job!” or “Looking good!” or “Uh…water?”, but please, I can’t understand anything beyond that after a race.

I met up with my other teammates at around Mile 25, and we ran the last mile of the marathon in together, pushing the last relay person all the way since she looked like she was going to collapse.  We crossed the finish line together in approximately 3:40, and yes, we did end up winning the women’s relay division!  It was a great race in terms of views and crowd support, but considering the heat and the amount of brutal hills, I would NOT do the full Derby marathon by myself.  Props to those who toughed it out on a challenging course in hot weather.

We celebrated with some delicious Mexican food at El Mundo for dinner.  I had the chile relleno, stuffed with incredibly tender pieces of steak, and some chips with the smoothest guacamole I’ve ever had.  Their mango margarita is also especially fresh and yummy.  Afterwards, we stopped at Graeter’s for ice cream – I had a cone with the coconut chip ice cream, which had enormous chunks of soft fudge folded into the creamy coconut ice cream.  Before leaving for Chicago the next morning, our host’s mom made us a breakfast with French toast, eggs, and turkey bacon.  At the end of the trip, I forgot if we’d come to Louisville to eat or to run, which is not a bad way to end a racing trip.

Chile Relleno Stuffed With Steak

The Breakfast Spread

Blue Steel