RRR and 12 Pink tacos to go....

After doing the Red Rock Relay last year I told myself as fun as it was once was enough.  I found myself not only doing it again this year but in charge of trying to get the team together.  Clints work was amazing and sponsored us.  Then Haley, Ris, Sun and I put our heads together and came up with a team rather quickly given a bump in the road here or there and the 12 pink taco's were born.  To come up with a name was the first thing on the list.  An all girls team deserved an all girls name!  The Idea for the name came from Sun's husband and snowballed from there. We bought shirts then the Inkspot donated all the printing.  Ris came up with some awesome tattoo's!I might add that we were the most talked about team in the race said one of the race directors.  In a good way!!!  Here we all are before the race!!

Melissa*-Tasty taco*--Biz*-Tan taco*--Ris*-Dirty taco--*Sam*-Jersey taco--*Sun*-24 hour taco*--Shar*-Talkin Taco--*Jenn*-Weeping taco--*Haley*-"Run"-ning taco--*-Shan*-Never ending taco*--Cass*-Vegas taco*--Anne*-Twinkle toes taco--*Kristen*-Turbo taco***
Everyone came up with a name that in some way defines who they are or goes with there personalities etc... 

This is van #1

**Sun, Jenn,me,Shar,Ris,Haley**

This year we all went up together.  Rented 2 suburbans and all stayed at Haley's father in laws house in St. George.  It made it so so nice to have somewhere to go before and after the race to hang out and SHOWER!!  We all had a blast together. Staying up way to late (not smart van 1) eating, talking and doing what girls do!  Our suburbans looked so great by the way!!  Getting them cleaned after was not so great.  But well worth it!! 

First up Was Sun.  She rode the chair lift up Brian Head ski resort and ran down the mountain to hand off to Haley.  Coming down a rocky terrain and weeds and bushes up to your arm pits is not easy.  She "rocked" it!!  She was always geared up to start the next group of legs.  On the start of the second group of legs she was already up and going before I could snap pictures of the hand off.  Her third and final leg started out with a big hill. Not what you are looking forward to at 5 am!  This was Sun's first experience with this as it was for many of the girls!!! 

Haley is up next to do the "Diablo."  Last year this leg was 4.4 miles.  You really have to do this to understand what it is like.   It was the hardest leg in the race.  I automatically thought of my sister.  She is tough like that.  3 weeks before the race they changed the legs up and lucky her it got shortened to 2.8.  But still 2.8 miles at 11000 ft and gaining 1100 ft!!  If you could see this hill though its a KILLER!!  She ran it like she was taking an average stroll on the sidewalk.  As she did all her legs and the extra leg she ran when one of the girls got hurt as well.  She truly is so tough!  She endures to the end.  Even if it kills her.   She is truly one of the most inspiring people I know!  I love that we got to do this together!!

Haley got to hand off to me.  Haley's leg getting changed meant I picked up her extra.  My leg went from 7 miles medium to 8.4 hard miles.  My map also shows all downhill with only slight "rollers."  I do not know who maps out this race but let me tell you they are full of shit!  Sorry but it is the truth!  I do not like hills.  Truth be told its because they hurt!  I know they are my weakness.  So to start my leg I look up and there is a mother of a long hill.  And hills all the way through.  No rollers! To add to this run it has started to sprinkle.  Sprinkle that turned to rain, sleet, snow and eventually hail,  thunder and lightening!!  I don't remember listening to my ipod I just remember telling myself the faster you go the faster you are done.  I swear it helps knowing you have 11 other people that are waiting on you to finish.  You have to give it your all.  I ran it in 1 hour 9 minutes at an average pace of 8.20.

My second run started around 9pm.  It was 4.6 miles of  hell.  It climbed for 2.6 miles of a 500 ft gain and dropped for 2.  This for me was my hardest leg.  It took me 41 minutes and it sucked!  I got done and was looking at pictures and realized I Ris had to peel the band off my arm.  I am still wondering how I got done and where I was.  This is one leg I truly wish Ris, Haley and I were not back to back.  I for sure could have used a partner to help push me.

My third leg started at 620 am.  It was 2.56 miles.  Knowing this is it I wanted to get in and get done.  took me 20 minutes average pace of 8.10.   Yes thats me bent over "looking" for something in the bushes!! 

I handed off to Ris.  The weather had stopped and made for such a nice run.  Still only 39 degrees out.  Thank goodness she had her gloves to keep warm.  hahaha.  She killed her time as I knew that she would.  Her second leg was nothing short of nightmare run!  It is one of those things you truly have to see to grasp the whole situation.  It is 5.8 miles of hill and pure dirt in the air and on the ground.  One of those runs that test really how much you can push yourself.   You can hardly see its so bad.  She did amazing as I only knew that she would.   She smoked all of her runs.  Its so great to be able to look out and see her singing out loud to herself as she is grooving along!  We really do need to come up with a way to not run back to back so that we can help each other out when we need it!!  she definitely pushes me on some of our mountain runs and I am so thankful for her in so many ways!!

Ris got to hand off to her sister Jenn.  She did awesome.  Coming from sea level and going too 11000 ft above sea level is tough!  She got to run the legs I did last year.  They are not easy and she did amazing!  Her first leg is a solid winding uphill.  Her second run was midnight and hills and solid dirt on the ground and the air.  Her last run is early am and it overlooks the city of St. George.

Jenn handed off to Shar.  Shar got recruited a weak before the run because someone had dropped out.  So glad they did.  Shar was perfect!!!  She was so much FUN to have in the van and she did awesome.  She for sure will forever be a "pink taco."  She is such a positive person as well as a fabulous runner!!  Thanks to her we all now know words to songs I am sure we were mumbling to ourselves before!  We all came home thinking we needed to step up our cooking skills as well!!

I sadly don't have a lot of pictures of van 2.  All I know is that they were all amazing.  We were with them on the final legs of the race.  Seeing them run those uphills in the dead heat was crazy!  All in all could not have asked for a better team!!  It took us 28 hours to finish.  We ended up coming in 5th for the girls over all and 50th out of 212 teams. I think of this race kind of like child birth.  You are so excited and scared to start. Then comes the pushing, exhaustion, can I do this, no sleep, getting sick, dry heaving/throw ups etc.. Then when its all done you forget the pain and you are left with a feeling of accomplishment and "did I really just do that!" I always say that I won't run it again but I am sure I'll be in and ready to go for next year!  One thing is for sure I could not imagine doing it without my sister and best friends!  It makes the WORLD of difference knowing they have got your back!

This is probably one of my favorite photo's from the race.

For more insight go here and here!!!!  I love reading every one's different views from the race!!!