Grand Teton Relay

      Back in May I committed to running the Grand Teton Relay, GTR. After running the Ragnar I was really looking forward to this relay and had a lot more time to prepare. Half of our team (those who were close enough) met two times a week and ran up part of the pass to Targhee, which was actually one leg of the race. I always wondered to myself why we didn't see any other runners. We weren't the only ones running the race from the valley. Tess of course reminded me that running Targhee was CRAZY. Oh yeah, how could I forget! Needless to say, I felt prepared for the race. I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be, but I had been running a lot. The afternoon before the race we all met together and decorate our cars. We mostly used the vinyl I had cut and it made out cars look pretty legit. I also cut out a bunch of runner girls that we used to tag others car with, like people did in the Ragnar. It was a big hit. All the other teams loved it! Hopefully it's a new tradition we brought to the GTR.
    Steve and Rachel came in Thursday night after a crazy and terrible road trip up. I felt bad she wasn't going to get much sleep that night. But it sorta turned out that way for everyone. Friday morning, we drove up to Ashton to be there by 5:30. We checked in, found the Sasquatch and got ready to race. The members of The Real Housewives of Teton Valley for the GTR 2014 were (starting top left), Rachel, Elizabeth, Tess, Heather (Sasquatch) Dayna, Summer, Maralee, Me, Miriam, Shelby Alesa, and Sydney. All super amazing people! Elizabeth was our first runner and she killed it with some crazy time. Heather was next and did awesome too. Those two sisters are hilarious and so much fun. Of course Maralee, runner 3, smoked everyone on her "very hard" run down and up Warm River. She was so fast that I was barely even ready in time when she came through the gate. But I was off and had a crazy little up hill right at the beginning. Unfortunately that little up hill and for whatever other reasons started a side ache for me. This was seriously my worst nightmare. Getting a side ache minutes into a run and then it lasting for the entire race...yep, the entire race. Oh well. I may not have ran any of my runs as fast as I would have liked to, but at least I did it. And looking back I am happy with my times considering the way I was feeling. Alesa and Rachel then finished out a legs for van 1. We were really happy they didn't get struck by lightening and even happier to have our first runs over with.
     We had a lot of time to kill before our second runs. We drove down to Ashton for a bit, then went and picked up the bike and bike rack that we were going to use and finally headed to our second transition point. We actually rushed there and got there way too early. There was a little miscommunication between our vans and so we had a lot of time to kill. We used the time to relax, tag other peoples cars (even a UPS truck, it had to drive by three times because we were successful in getting it on) and just waited. I tried to work out my side ache with stretching and we all tried to eat. After hours of waiting and hardly any sleep it was our turn to run again. If anything else, the first three runs were gorgeous and everyone did great. My second leg was 6.3 miles unsupported by my van. Thank the heavens we decided to send a biker for my leg and the next two which were also unsupported across rails to trails. It was super creepy. I started out the first couple miles by myself and then Elizabeth caught up to me on the bike. The sun went down on my ride and by the time we cross the bridge over Bitch Creek it was dark. Part of it was awesome running in the dark with literally no one but Elizabeth and I, but part of it was super spooky and crazy. Again the side ache kicked in and I couldn't get rid of it. So instead I just ran with my right hand shoved into my side ache for almost the whole duration. I definitely had some internal bruising from doing that for the few days after the race. While I still wasn't thrilled with my pace, it was my fastest pace for the race and I was proud of myself for working through the pain in my side and running on the rocky terrain.
     Alesa ran the next leg of rails to trails and Maralee road the bike with her. After her leg I jumped on the bike with Rachel which was amazing for me! After sitting in the car for the 40 minutes after my run I was SUPER stiff, especially in my hip flexor. So getting on a bike was just what I needed. Rachel did awesome and the ride was really dark and we only saw a couple of people. About half way during Rachel run I started cramping up in my neck and in my hand that was directing the light for Rachel. I figured it was just crazy Jerai, but after we finished I realized Maralee and Elizabeth were having the same cramping problems and riding problems. I think we all struggled to steer the bike with one hand and we even all just about crashed once or twice on the bike. The best part was that we all kept it to ourselves and just tried to focus on the runner. So it was funny to all talk about our woes when we were done.
     After we finished our second legs we rushed back to our beds to sleep for a couple hours. It felt like a blink of an eye and unfortunately we didn't really have a whole lot of time before we had to be to next transition. Rachel and I rushed out of the house at 2:20, went and got Maralee and then headed up to Targhee. Rachel and I were feeling pretty terrible, sick and very tired, but....but nothing. There wasn't much we could do about it. Elizabeth did her quick run down Targhee and then Heather set off on her 5 mile run down Ski Hill. While she was running we had to transfer cars because Elizabeth and Heather had to leave right after their runs to head to a wedding down in Utah. Phil parked my car at Three Peaks and we made the switch. Maralee cruised her 3 miles run down Bates and then it was my turn...my last run. 4:45 am. I started out pretty strong and felt good and then all of a sudden the nausea hit me. I really preferred not to throw up so I started run walking. I pretty much felt like I would just rather be drug behind the car. I think if I would have drank more water during my run I would have felt better. So I just carried on, waiting for the moment for my body to go numb. That happened with about a mile or 1/2 mile left. That run could have gone a lot better and was probably my easier run on paper, but it was the hardest for me. Crazy. After a little while in my heated seat I felt better and cheered on our last two runners. They both did awesome! Rachel finished it out for our van in Victor and we all went home to shower and slept for a bit before the finish line!
    Steve, Phil, Nate and the kids all drove down with us to Jackson to the finish line where we took some quick pictures, got our medals and then grabbed some lunch at the Merry Piglets. Later that day while Rachel and I sat on the couch laughed about how we paid money to do that. To torture ourselves. But we were laughing and ready to sign up for another race. There must be something to the comradery, the running high, and a medal that keeps you coming back for more.