K-100: Chafing the Dream

This year marked my second time in the K-100 relay, my fifth time ever running on a relay team (ah, how I miss the Endeavour 500!!! ... if only I could get back to Australia to run it again!), and my first time organizing the team myself.
Our team this year was - by popular vote of 5-4 "Chafing the Dream".
I pulled Team Captain privileges and selected my first choice to run on, which was Leg 6. 9.4km of downhill madness. Downhill running - non-steep downhill running, that is - appears to be a strength of mine. Or at least, something I find rather easy and enjoyable.
Plus, it was the shortest leg I could run. With a new puppy in my life and (let's be honest) little motivation to get out and run this spring, I knew I could pull off a sub-10k without hassle. Some of the more uphill longer legs of the race were not going to be a good idea. But fortunately in a team event there is always someone willing to volunteer and make that sacrifice!

 Team Photo right before the start of the race: 10 runners, 2 mascots, and 1 fantastic driver support

 Brizzy (one of our two team mascots) waiting attentively for the next runner to round the corner

I was tagged off by my teammate who ran the notorious Leg 5. And off I went.
Big surprise here...It was great! I loved it.
Since I don't train a lot on downhill running, I went by effort instead of time. I tried to keep the first few kms at a 'moderate' effort level with the goal of either maintaining or stepping up after the first 5k.

Ready...

 ...Set...

 ...Go!

The scenery was gorgeous, and my team awesome in their cheering and support. Relays are one of the few times in running where getting honked at by passing cars as people roll down the windows to whistle and shout is actually a compliment.

 The fun and energy of the "support crew" is what keeps bringing me back to relays year after year.

Admittedly, it was also a bit of an ego booster for me to pass a few other runners along the way. I think a lot of teams make the mistake of putting their "non-runners" on this part of the race since it looks so easy, but downhill running is a lot harder on the knees and I know a lot of the people I passed were feeling the strain. That being said, I would be running at my fastest pace ever (4.12min/km! Woohoo! I will never be this fast again!!!) and next thing I know a speeding bullet runner would zip past me effortlessly. More often than not this would end with a high-five and/or words of encouragement from one to the other.

 Always stunning scenery in the K-100

Tagging off to a teammate marked the finish of my run.

Total distance: 9.48km

Total time: 48.58

Average pace: 5.10min/km

I like being a faster runner every once in a while, even if it's because I am running downhill. It's fun to be able to reflect, "oh, so this is what fast feels like!"