Brew to Brew day!

Got up bright and early this morning to be on the starting line of Brew to Brew at 6:30 am. Husband was wonderful enough to get up and take me to the Boulevard Brewery, which lucky for us is only a few minutes away. We milled around a bit and DH & I watched with amazement the hundreds of people drinking beer... now granted, free beer is a wonderful thing, but at 6 in the morning, before a race? I guess I'm just getting old! There was lots of merriment & picture taking going on, I guess the benefit of having a big relay team means lots of people to hoot & holler before hand.
Because of construction, we had to be bused over to Kemper arena where we actually started the race... it was pretty nonchalant... "umm, line up over there, does everybody know where they are going?" A resounding "NO!" from the crowd, and the guy laughs and says "you can't get lost... GO!" Off we went... it was pretty chilly at the get go, I was in a skirt, team Mud Babe tank top and arm warmers, but I knew I would warm up quick. We ran along a levee for awhile, which we had to jump up a wall to get to, it was gravel and flat as a pancake. I'm sorry to say it was also some damn ugly scenery... grey dirty river on one side and huge warehouses on the other side. I tried to talk to the people around me a bit, but no one seemed to want to chat and before I knew it we had hit the first transfer point which meant a whole new group of people to try and talk to, but they weren't having any part of it either. I was kinda sad.. I guess I've gotten too used to running with trail people who seem to always be friendly and talkative.

I brought along the iPod, so I just zoned out to my bad 80's pop & punk. I made sure to turn off the music and thank all the volunteers as I went by. I don't think many people were thanking them 'cause they all seemed pretty surprised. I was pretty much running by myself for good chunks of it, every time I got behind someone with a good stride they'd peel off at an exchange point. I was feeling pretty good and running about 9 minute miles and texting updates to Sophia and the husband so they knew when to expect me.
Honestly I can't say that I really enjoyed the "race", I'm looking for something else in my runs and this was not it. Too flat, too paved, too boring. I like the quietness of being in the woods, the terrain change, and the encouragement of the other trail runners. I think it's a great idea and I'm glad I did it, but I didn't get my customary "high" afterwards. Next year maybe I'll just donate money & volunteer... unless Sophia can talk me into it again.... but if I do it again, I want the leg that has the boat ride!
After my half was done, we drove to the Trail Nerds relay station which was the last one before the finish. I was supposed to help out, but all we really did was cheer for the runners as they went by and shot the shit with the other Trail Nerds that were there. Bad Ben does a great job of taking care of the runners and he put out a great spread for the solo people. It was great to see him greeting each solo runner and making sure they were doing OK. Kansas City really is lucky to have him around... and I count myself a lucky recipient of his knowledge and kindness. I would not be where I'm at with my running if not for him and his Trail Nerds. Thanks a billion Ben!!

After Sophia finished up her legs we headed into Lawrence and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Local Burger, a tasty local, organic restaurant. After that we had to head for home since husband had band practice for the other band that he plays bass for. I was kinda sad not to go have beers and hang out with everyone at the Free State brewery, but after I got home I realized how tired I was. I'm not used to having quite so much excitement in a weekend. I also had to tend to my blisters (grr!) and bruised wrist from my stupid Garmin. I'm not sure why but the bruise is a doozy, I ordered a velcro replacement strap for it and I'm hoping that will help take care of matters. It's bugged me before but never bruised like this. My right ankle is also killing me from what I'm assuming was the off camber-ness of the road. At one point in the race I heard a girl bitching about how much the gravel made her feet hurt and all I could think was how much the road made mine hurt!