 |
| Photo Courtesy of Wim Schalken |
What did I just do?! I just had one of the most memorable weekends of my life, that's what. While Boston still remains #1 on my bucket list. I just checked off another that I didn't even know had made the list. I was one runner in a twelve member team that competed in the Texas Independence Relay (TIR), a 200 mile road race from Gonzales to the San Jacinto Monument just outside of Houston.
 |
| Our map! |
 |
| Firing the Cannon |
 |
| First Leg of our 200 mile journey |
So I will admit that I don't know a lot about Texas History. I'm not a native of the state nor do I claim to have gotten here as fast as I could. So doing this race was more about seeing how I would endure it than about following in the footsteps of the brave men that fought for the State's Independence. I say this, however I was inspired by what the Mayor of Gonzales, Bobby Logan said to each team before the cannon fired to start their race:
Gonzales Mayor Bobby Logan's inspirational TIR send-off speech, Saturday morning, March 28, 2015:
"Good morning and welcome to Gonzales where the first shot for Texas independence was fired. In a few seconds when that cannon fires you will begin your 200 mile trek of the Texas Independence Relay. I know for many of you it is merely a walk in the park. But on your journey to San Jacinto I want you to remember about the 32 men from Gonzales that answered the call to help defend the Alamo. These brave men were the only ones to respond to Col. William B. Travis' plea and some were as young as 16 years old. They gave their all to make Texas the greatest state in this nation. Good luck, God speed and remember the Immortal 32."
Gotta admit, this non-Texas felt a little proud to live in this great state after that! So, off we went to spend the next sub-24 hours (we hoped) in 2 vans, running 200 miles through the countryside.
 |
| Leg #1 |
 |
| My first hand off! |
We started at 12:16 on Saturday but I didn't run my first leg until 7pm. I was secretly thankful for the later run and the sun at my back. I don't think I could have survived the afternoon runs on gravel roads with the dust from passing cars choking me. My teammates that covered those legs are stronger than I and I was in awe of all of them! I was happy with my time on that first leg and I got one "kill"! No blood was shed and my kill was a "road kill" although I did see plenty of those! Passing a runner from another team was considered a kill & it helped to push me to run harder. Its what I focused on. Over the course of the weekend I had a total of 6 "kills". Pretty proud of myself.
 |
| Finishing up my night run |
Did I mention I spent 2 days in a van with 5 other people that were running anywhere from 4 to 7 miles at time for at least 3 legs, sometimes more? Can you imagine the aroma of our van? Thank goodness there was a high school in a town along the way that opened up their locker rooms so we could "freshen" up. After a hot shower, our van was on rest and we tried to get some sleep. I've always been able to sleep in a vehicle but apparently that only applies if the vehicle is in motion. Oh well, who needs sleep anyway, I was too wound up thinking about my middle of the night run. This was the leg I was most worried about. I do most of my running in the dark but with people. This would be the first time I ran solo, in the dark, on a road, in the middle of nowhere, with who knows what in the bushes! Apparently, the "what" was a spectator cheering runners on from their dark lawn where NO ONE could see them. I about came out of my skin! While I appreciated the encouragement, shine a light for goodness sakes!
So now I have to brag on my team for a minute. I have said before that I am truly blessed to have met this group. They got me through my marathon training, believed in me and were my cheerleaders!
Some background first though. For 2 weeks leading up to the relay I had a lot of restless and sleepless nights. Besides making sure the kids were taken care of, I needed to figure out how to get to church on Palm Sunday during the race. I had come to the conclusion that the only way to make it happen was to rent a car on Sunday to go to an evening mass and then head back to DFW after. Well, our Team Captain was not having that. He found a 6am mass in downtown Houston and worked out the leg assignments so that I could attend church and not have to drive home alone. They waited on me and then off we went to finish our portions of the race. What a team!
 |
| Exhausted but spiritually full! |
So the goal was to finish in less than 24 hours.....mission accomplished! Finish time, 23 hours 52 minutes, 4th team to cross the finish line. What an A-MAZING weekend, with a wonderful, fun loving, prank pulling, super fast group of people I am proud to call friends. Until next year, my friends. And as far as that other item on the Bucket List, one of my teammates & new friend is headed to mark it off her list this month! Wish her luck!
 |
| Girl Power on Team BCRC! |
 |
Our Bling!
Photo Courtesy of fellow teammate, Wim Schalken |
 |
| 2015 Team Bear Creek Running Co |
 |
| Complete! |
