Reach the Beach - Post Race Report

Who would think that cramming 12 people into two vans and then running thru the night to travel the 207 miles from Cannon Mt to Hampton Beach would be so much fun. I'm sure that you think I'm crazy for doing it but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe it was the excitement of everything or the fact that I hadn't sleep and my brain wasn't functioning fully but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Here is a picture from the start of the race at Cannon Mt in Franconia Notch, NH.

I was part of an amazing team of 12 people. Five of us have never run Reach the Beach before and a few of us didn't sign on until last week. The weather wasn't the best at the start of the race, but the weather in Fanconia Notch never seems to be very nice. As our second runner started his leg of the race the sun started to come out and the rain stopped.

I was in the second van so we didn't start our first portion of the race around 6pm. So my first 7.5 mile leg was at 9 PM. This was the first time that I had ever run so late and at and you really are pretty much running by yourself because there are only about 400 teams and they stagger the start so I only saw on average 6 to 10 runners on each of my legs. My first leg was the toughest of the three. It was 7.5 miles will mile 2 being a 300ft climb. I was able to finish the leg in 1hr and 46 second at 8:02 miles. Here are some of the crazy pictures of the gear we at to wear at night.
Our van finished our first section of the race at 10:30. We traveled to our next transition point to rest for a while. It wasn't the warmest night but I got to camp out under the stars. Not that I really sleep with all the active and bright lights, but we tried. My next section of the race was 6.5 miles down Rt 28 thru Epsom, NH and I covered it in 51 1/2 minutes. At least at this point of the event the sun was up and I was just running to finish and get my Dunkin Donuts coffee and some breakfast. It was really hard to have any sort of normal diet in that van. I lived on protein bars and P90X recover drink after my runs.

The final legs of the race went thru Exeter and down into Hampton Beach. I had the second to last leg of the race. It was a total of 3.4 mile down to Winnacunit High School. My legs were a bit sluggish and I had gotten a bad blister on my toe during the last leg. I think the only thing that carried me thru was the adrenaline almost being done. I covered that last leg at my fastest pace of the race in 7:55 miles. I don't know where the energy came from but it felt amazing. The most welcome sign of the weekend was the entrance to state park at Hampton Beach.

Our team Van Heelin' finished the race in 28hrs and 8 minutes at a pace of 8:08 miles and finished 154 out of 400.

I was an amazing 28 hrs. It only goes to show what you can accomplish with a little training and determination. That and the support of 11 amazing teamates.

Vicky

Reach the Beach - Pre Race

I got a facebook message yesterday morning from Pat's cousin Corey. The two of use have done a few road races together this summer. She had a team she was on that is running the Reach the Beach Relay and they had a team member cancel two days before the race. So as of yesterday I'm running the Reach the Beach Relay, which just happens to start today. Am I crazy? Probably a little but this is something I've always wanted to do. Right now I'm in the middle of training for a half marathon at the end of October. So I believe that between that and the Insanity and P90X Beachbody workouts I should be able to concur anything!!!!!

The race is a total of 200 miles over 36 legs. I will be running 3 of the legs and still only hours before the start I don't know which of the legs I am running or exactly how many miles I'll be running. Okay this really is starting to sound a little crazy, but it also sounds like a ton of fun. I'll be posting the results as soon as I get some rest on Sunday.

For most of you that probably haven't hear what the Reach the Beach Relay is here is a description of the course from their website (http://www.rtbrelay.com/):

"The Reach The Beach (RTB) Relay is the longest distance running relay race in the United States. The RTB Relay will take place in picturesque New Hampshire during the start of the New England foliage season. The event will start at the Cannon Mountain in Franconia, NH.

Cannon is located in beautiful Franconia Notch State Park and is right off of I-93; an easy two and a half hour drive from downtown Boston, MA. From there, the course will take the teams through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, past fields, lakes, mountain top vistas, and the occasional covered bridge; ultimately finishing along the Atlantic coastline at Hampton Beach State Park NH.


Hampton Beach is located 1 hour from downtown Boston off of I-95 and is just 10 miles south of Portsmouth, NH. Its beautiful beaches and many state parks make it a major three-season tourist destination. The finish area at Hampton Beach State Park will host a post race party for all competitors, sponsors, volunteers, family and friends. There will also be provisions made for massage, music, food and fun."

Well I better finish packing so I can head up north. I'll be back with pictures and video Sunday.

Vicky

Patience Hummingbird

One of my favorite workouts from Tony's first One-on-One series is Fountain of Youth yoga. It is a great 48 minute yoga workout that has you feeling better when you finish than when you started. Yoga is one of my favorite workouts and Pat and I have been patiently waiting for our copy of Patience Hummingbird. We just got it in the mail the other day and it is on the books for this week. We are going to try to get some video for the review but for those of you that are wondering what Patience Hummingbird is please check out the video below.



We'll be back in a few days with a full review, that is after we recover.

September Fit Club

We had a great turnout for out September Fit Club. We did a Kenpo X from P90X. It is always fun to introduce people to a fun and different workout. The kids spent some time making some crafts while the parents worked out. After the workout we had a sampling of Shakeology and Recovery Drink for all that attended.

We had a great time and the Shakeology was enjoyed by all. Our next Fit Club will be on October 10th at 9am at the Girls Inc in Manchester, NH. We hope that more of you come out to join us. We can help you get on the right track with a fitness routine before the holiday season. Why wait until the 1st of the year when you can start now.