I've wanted to do Beach to Bay ever since I started running. I have brightly colored memories of this race from when I was a kid in like 1987, cheering for my dad and his corporate team. I remember the pre- and post-race parties, the free-flowing beer, and the good times had by all. But even though I've been a runner for 10+ years now, I've never participated.
This year, Shelly and I surprised ourselves by saying "yes!" when Bobby from work asked if we wanted to take the 2 remaining spots on one of his teams. Bobby coordinates several Beach to Bay teams every year, and the last couple of years, he's asked me if I wanted to run. There's always been a reason not to. This year's reason was that CapTex is just one week after Beach to Bay, but Shelly and I decided to do it anyway.
About a month before the race, our team captain dropped out, and I became the default captain. To our delight, Stephanie agreed to fill the spot as our 6th runner. Stephanie, Shelly, and I started planning a fun girls' trip down to the coast for the race. We didn't know the other 3 runners on our team; they were Bobby's friends' wives, or something like that.
The ride to the coast was super fun! We took the day off on Friday, crammed all our stuff into Shelly's car, and gossiped our way to Corpus Christi. I don't think there was even one minute of silence during the 2 1/2 hour car ride. When we arrived, we found our hotel (nice), went to get lunch (Chilis, delicious, we were starving), went to a Target to get supplies (water and bananas), got sidetracked at a James Avery (each of us bought jewelry; I bought a cute pair of tiny flower earrings, which are now my "lucky race" earrings), and attended the expo (it was tiny, but there were cute pets for adoption!). Intermittently, we talked and texted with Bobby about planning for the race the next day.
Let's just say that organization was not the name of the game this weekend. We never met the other 3 team members. We were on our way around Corpus at 9:45 p.m., scoping out the drop-off and pick-up points when Bobby called to say that they were going to dinner. We were tired and went to bed by 10:30. I hear that the rest of our team stayed up til 2:30. I think jello shots were involved.
We got up at 4:30 to get me to the shuttle for the first leg by 5:30. The race started at 7. I had the first leg, Shelly had the fourth, and Stephanie had the fifth. I got on the shuttle out to North Padre Island. It dropped us off at a beach in the dark. Groups of quiet runners walked towards the beach, and I followed. I met a few nice ladies in the line for the restroom, but otherwise, I was alone and quiet in the crowd. It was weirdly peaceful and I felt very calm.
The race started as the sun was coming up. We ran 2 miles out and 2 miles back along the water on the sand. As the race started, I aimed for an 11:00 min/mile pace, because I wasn't sure what it would be like to run on sand. But it was fine, and my pace steadily improved. To my surprise, I started passing people consistently starting around the half-mile mark. Tons of people stopped to walk, people who didn't look like they'd have to.
I felt strong running. It was hard having to look at the ground the entire time, especially with the beautiful scenery around me. But I was afraid I would trip and fall on the sand. There were holes and dead jellyfish to dodge, and even a washed-up dead stingray. Gross.
I had negative splits and finished my leg in just under 41 minutes. However, it took me 2 minutes to find my teammate (who I'd never met before) in a makeshift chute in deep sand that was full of runners looking to pass the baton. I also saw Art Avila in the chute. I don't know how he recognized me in all that chaos, but it was nice to see him, and after I finished I circled back to say hi. Then he took off running.
The rest of my morning was spent waiting. I waited in line for a shuttle (1 hour). I sat on the bus and waited to arrive back at the HEB where Shelly had parked the car (2.5 hours). Then, I waited for Shelly to arrive at HEB after her leg was finished (30 minutes?), and we waited in traffic while we went to pick Stephanie up from her leg (I have to say it was another hour).
We were exhausted when it was over, but not from running! We picked up Stephanie, decided to skip the post-race party, and headed back to San Antonio after a stop at a Subway for lunch.
I looked up the race results before I started writing this entry, and our team wasn't listed. I guess our 6th runner either didn't make it to the finish line or got disqualified. Sigh.
The race was kind of a disaster, but my run was really good. I enjoyed hanging out with my friends on the trip. Shelly and I talked all the way home in the car about our plans for the next couple of years. But that's another post.
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