Moose on the loose relay

My sister put together teams again for the Moose on the loose 10 mile relay and I was looking forward to seeing how much ground I'd gained over last year.  In 2010 I'd hurt my Plantar Fascia at the Sapienza race and spent 6 weeks doing very little running and when I wasn't running I was in a walking boot.  The relay was my first attempt at anyting fast after Sapienza and I'd run 13:46...which was surprisingly fast.  My hope for this year was to run under 13:30.

I was teamed up with my brother in law John who would be running legs 2 & 3.  I'd run the first and last legs with about 42 minutes break.  My plan was to run leg one all-out then run the anchor leg in about 6:00 pace.  I headed out for a warm-up on the course and tried to come up with an estimate at about where each mile would be (they weren't marked).  At least that would give me an estimate of my pace.  After another mile with strides I headed for the start line.  Unlike last year (when I ran with Titus Mutinda for almost the entire loop) I was alone in front by 200m into the race.  I kept the effort consistent and kicked in pretty hard over the last half mile.  I was happy with the result, a 13:23 (5:21 pace).  I handed off to John and headed for the car to change shoes. 

Next up was a 2 mile warm-down.  I ran out to the water-stop then followed John as he ran in for his first loop (around 21 flat).  I changed into another pair of racing flats and headed out for another 2 miles (call that a warm-up) and had just enough time for a drink of water before John returned...running an excellent sub-42 five mile.

I went out reasonably hard and had a lot of fun as there were people to pass.  I kept thinking that everyone I passed moved us up in the results.  I was also thinking that if I pushed it we might come in under 70 minutes.  I hit the line in 14:10 (5:40 pace) and was pretty spent.  I headed out for another 2 miles as a final warm-down and cheered on everyone coming in.

It was a great day out with the Dunham Running Club (not named after me) and a 15 mile day for me.