Reflections of a Slow Runner: 500k Relay: Beached Pirate Day 3, Race #6: The Final Champion Run

A very fantastic team mate agreed to swap races with me in the afternoon to allow me to do one last "champion" run. I was thrilled!
The day was hot & humid. Really hot and really humid. A wise runner recommended I dunk my shirt in the eskie (cooler) filled with icy water and then stick it on me. I did that and d'you know what? I can't even say it felt cold. It just felt rather refreshing and helped to off-set the sensation of stinking hot.
As a final huzzah for us beached pirates, we played "pass the baton" with one of our pirate swords. So I tagged off, grabbed the baton, and set forth!

Do beached pirates have a theme song? I think at this point I was humming Star Wars to myself, but it's not quite pirate-themed.

Land Ho!

In next to no time I was passed by a runner who flew into the distance.
Then another runner passed me. This one I knew, as we occasionally trained together on Tuesday morning. I knew that pre-injury I was faster over short distances but she was able to out-endurance me. So as she passed I focussed on not getting too far behind.
And then a third person passed me. And man, I know it's hard to predict who's on what leg of the race and when they've tagged off, but one of my goals has always been to be that runner that passes others along the highway. And I was getting passed like a car in the slow lane.
But in a sense I was lucky. With all these runners around me, that meant their water trucks were around me, too. And did I mention it was hot?!

I took advantage of every offer for a spray and a drink of water. My water truck kindly sponged me with water but it was a mixed blessing. On the plus side, it was refreshing and kept me from over-heating.
On the minus side, my shorts were swimming in so much water I had to check to make sure they hadn't fallen off (I didn't want to give the follow cars too much of a show!). I don't know how it looked, but I felt like my butt had been surrounded by a water bed.
The second sponge down I accepted was even more risqué than the first, and once again I had to do a check to make sure my shorts were not sinking, since all I could feel was water. I wizened up by the third time and refused the sponge down, knowing that I was sufficiently saturated to last the final few kms.
As I was amongst the friendly water trucks, I watched the third guy who passed me also pass my friend ahead of me. He made that look really easy. I thought. I bet I could do that!
I checked my watch: I was 3k in to a 4.8k race (if the distance could be trusted). I knew it would be tough to pick it up enough to pass my friend, who had gained 30m on me at this point.
And yet, I couldn't help but remember this is my last chance!

I'm moving back to Canada before Christmas and it is unlikely I'll be able to do this relay again. It was - to use another cliché - now or never!
So I pulled out my inner speed that I always leave for the last 1k of the race and zeroed in on my target. It wasn't long before I'd passed her, but that wasn't enough. What if I passed her only to fail at the end? What if she sprinted the last 1k and passed me with 50m to go?
I knew two things:
1. That she would likely pick up her speed when I passed by her to keep up with me.
2. The only way I could beat her to the change-over was if I pulled so far ahead that she wouldn't be able to close the gap before the finish line.

I wanted to cheer her on as she went by, but winning was more important (sorry!). So I saved my breath for the race and kept pushing through.
I never looked back to see how far behind me she was. I just didn't want to know. But I imagined she was right there and that if I slacked off for a second she would over-take me. So for once I ignored the pain, ignored the lungs crying out for oxygen, and ignored the smarter part of my brain telling me to slow down, stupid.

Total distance: 4.8k
Goal time: sub-27min (see race #4 where I ran the same distance!)
Total time: 25.25
Average pace: 5.19min/km

I tagged off at the finish line well ahead of my friend. (Later I was told I was ahead by at least 30m). After I'd stopped gasping like a fish, I went over to thank her. I would never have pushed so hard if it hadn't been for her.
And that's all well and dandy, but there's something else I feel the need to mention. My personal best in 1k repeats is 4.31sec. In the last 800m of this race, I was running at a 4.29min/km pace. Now it's not quite 1k so I can't quite call it a PB. But wow, was I steam-rolling!
I've done this relay for three years and every year I have found it challenging but amazing. I will sorely miss this run in future. But who knows? Maybe I'll do it again some day...