Splits, Stats, and Afterthoughts - David Ploskonka

First off, unofficial splits and stats for my legs of the relay (with actual time of day when I ran the leg as exact as I can remember; as you can see, my memory overnight isn't that good :) ):

Leg 1 (0900-0922, 9/5/08) - 4.0 miles in 22 minutes, 5:30/mile average pace

Leg 7 (1417-1453, 9/5/08) - 5.4 miles in 36 minutes, 6:40/mile average pace

Leg 13 (1818-1905, 9/5/08) - 7.5 miles in 47 minutes, 6:16/mile average pace

Leg 19 (2300 hour, 9/5/08) - 4.3 miles in 27 minutes, 6:28/mile average pace

Leg 25 (0400 hour, 9/6/08) - 7.2 miles in 49 minutes, 6:48/mile average pace

Leg 31 (0900-0953, 9/6/08) - 6.5 miles in 53 minutes, 8:09/mile average pace

Total official running time: 235 minutes
Total official running distance: 34.9 miles
Total average per-mile pace: 6:44
Total unofficial mileage: 12.5 miles
Total mileage: 46.5 miles
Total orange Budget Saver Popsicles consumed: 6

So those are the numbers, and you've read brief recaps of each leg of the race, things that I wrote during the race, on the rare occasions that I could access the internet from my phone. So now that I've had time to reflect on the race (on my 7+ hour drive back to Baltimore), I have a few more coherent thoughts in my head:

First off, I want to thank the other five runners on our team for their efforts. I'm not sure that anybody realized how difficult it would be to effectively run 6x10k hard, with about 5 hours rest between reps, and no sleep. I know that I was surprised at how difficult it became by the end, and so I am very thankful that all of my teammates gave it their all throughout the race. Seeing Janie actually run up a steep hill in her last leg (when Kristi and Kandi were convinced that she would walk it), and watching Eric haul into the finish line . . . and really, those are just a few memories, but the point is, seeing five other people put forth the kind of effort that my teammates did is truly inspiring.

Second, I want to thank Kristi's mother and brother for driving our van, finding stuff in the big mess that the van became, and not complaining a bit. It takes a very special kind of person to provide support on such a ridiculous trip, and for that, I am truly thankful.

Third, I thought this was going to be more coherent, but then again, my thank-yous never seem to be, so with that out of the way, maybe I can be more coherent about the experience itself. This will be a lot of stuff that non-runners probably won't understand (and which may come off as "sappy" at times), but bear with me anyway:

The way I see it, this race was amazing for two main reasons. One, the feeling of being out there, not just for yourself, but for your teammates, is totally unique. Most of the time, I'm out there running because I feel like running, and I run as fast as I've decided to run, and I stop when I decide it's time to stop. To be out there at 4 in the morning, running in the dark through a cloud of dust on a gravel trail, knowing that in spite of the difficult conditions, if you stop and walk, you're disrespecting the effort that five other people are putting forth to finish this race, is something that I've never experienced before. To run as a companion with Kristi overnight, knowing that she wasn't feeling well and needed the moral support, is something that I've never experienced before. I feel that I can take great pride in knowing that I was there for my team when they needed me.

And two (because when there's a one, there has to be a two), because the legs were very specific, discrete events, this race, more than any other that I've run, had that ability to "etch" things into my memory. One thing that keeps me running (and which non-runners will probably not understand) is that many times when I run, for some reason (or often, for no reason at all), a moment of a run will stick in my head permanently, whether it was remarkable or not. I can still remember running down a road near my parents' house during the spring of my freshman year in high school, on the evening of the Spring Fair, looking up to the gray sky, seeing the treeline in front of me . . . and that's it. That's the memory. And it's beautiful to me, in my head, but probably means nothing to anybody else. I have a memory like that from each and every leg of this race. From my "sprint" to the finish at the end of my first leg, to my climb up the "monster" hill in my second leg, to hopping up to the sidewalk at the end of my third leg . . . I can go on and on, but the point is, I came away with a lot of lovely little memories that I will cherish (for whatever that's worth).

So thanks to everybody for being there and for reading this; can't wait for my next big adventure!