Have you ever began something wondering why in the world you agreed to it?

I was right there this past weekend. Four months ago I accepted an invitation to participate in the Texas Independence Relay (TIR). Four days before the event I wondered exactly what I had gotten myself into.

I didn’t know it, but I had some lessons to learn and pass on.

What exactly is this TIR?

The Texas Independence Relay is a continuous 180-mile relay beginning in Gonzales, Texas, and ending in downtown Houston. The 36 legs averaged five miles each but ranged from 2.5 to 6.82 miles.

Most of our team of eleven ran three legs. Three generous people ran an additional one, God love them. The race began with our entire team running the first mile. Once the running began, it continued until we reached Houston. Our two vans took turns “sleeping” in the middle of the night while the other ran. (Sleeping is relative when it’s done on a high school gym floor surrounded by a hundred strangers.)

Did it meet my goal?

My 2018 goal is to try one new-to-me fitness regimen. Running certainly isn’t new, but this type of running is. In the spirit of a busy March and new experiences, I decided this qualified. Just as January’s Bounce Fit Club and February’s HIP Fitness varied from my routine, this did, too.

One of my runs began at 9:45 pm, past my normal bedtime. As I traveled the 5.5 miles, I realized the experiences from this race could be translated to a broader health scale.

What I learned on a dark shoulder of Highway 90 and how it applies to your health journey

Find a Support Crew. Each time a runner was on the course, he or she received a stop from the van offering water or other fuel. We shared our snacks and did everything we could to help each other out. It was like each one of us had our own support crew. I felt a little famous.

Application: Find your own support crew – someone to send you healthy recipes, introduce helpful products, or recommend a type of exercise.  Have a friend who is great at meal prepping? Pick her brain. Want to swim but don’t know where to start? As your friend who swam in high school. People love to share their knowledge. You just have to ask.

Leave the germ-o-phobe at home. Racing can be disgusting. Least offensive is the multiple high-fives and the sweat and germs that accompany it. I cursed my blood pressure meds and their diuretic effect. Port-o-potty bonanza. Snot rockets flew. (If you don’t know what that is, then stay in your blissful innocence.) You just have to get over it and focus on the charge you get from the high-five or be grateful you actually had a place to relieve yourself. (I do wish I had invested Skirt Sports’ Gotta Go skirt.)

Application: Sometimes you have to set aside your normal safe space to experience something fantastic. Staying in your comfort zone keeps you from finding new joy.

Ask for help. One of my legs required me to cross the Colorado River on a shoulderless bridge at 10:30 p.m. I was slightly nervous. Race rules allowed us to utilize our vehicle if we felt unsafe. My van lovingly stopped at the beginning of the bridge so we could assess the situation. Because it was well lit, manned by police on both sides, and had slow drivers, I traversed on foot. But knowing my team had my back gave me peace and confidence.  

Application:  Admit when you’re struggling. Your people will help in any way they can. Others want you to succeed and most will do anything they can to help you across your own bridge.

Just keep swimming.  Or in this case, running. As I’ve mentioned before, my competitive drive has waned. My body is used to walking breaks. It wanted to continue doing so in the relay. My pride resisted. So I just kept going, incorporating strange mind games. I would count down from 10 to 1, then start again. (I never said it made sense.) Or I’d pull out my mantra: God gives me life God gives me strength.

Application: Dory from Finding Nemo really captured it all. Just keep moving. Keep putting nutritious foods in your body. Keep lacing up your shoes. One step will lead to the next, even if you’re miserable, hot, tired, and cursing on the inside. The step might be slower. That’s OK. Just don’t stop.You’ll get there.

Rest. I’m not a distance runner. Covering 15ish miles in one stretch is challenging for me and causes more anxiety than I’d like to admit. Breaking that down into three legs? Much less intimidating. But I could only do that by taking breaks.

I found myself surprised at how good I felt during my second and third run. Sure, the cooler weather helped, but having several hours to give my muscles rest and carbs made a huge difference.

Saturday night I got 2.5 whole hours of shut-eye – and that was on the high end. Brazos High School in Wallis graciously offered their high school gym floor and locker rooms. It wasn’t the Marriott but it was a place to rest our head.

Application: Whatever your journey is, you need to factor in rest.  Get enough sleep. Take a break from cooking for a night or two. Intentionally miss a workout. Give your body and brain a respite so you can start again refreshed. Ideally, find a bed rather than a gym floor, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Fuel well. I packed enough snacks for a family of ten on a week-long road trip. It’s just what I do. Most of us brought our own version of optimum food. I enjoyed seeing and hearing everybody’s go-to foods. One of the girls in my van was a master bulk-prepper/freezer. She inspired me to try some of her methods.

Application: Exchange recipes with your friends. Talk about what is successful or what isn’t. Try something she loves. If it works, great, you’ve added to your war chest. If not, nothing lost.

Be prepared. Whether it was training runs, bringing snacks, or reviewing individual course maps, we tried to be ready for our legs. Or ready enough. God bless our team captain and the effort she made to prepare us. It really did make everything smoother.

Application: Schedule your workouts. Have snacks ready for when you’re short on time and long on hunger pains. Meal plan so you can easily prepare dinner. Prepare ahead of time to set yourself up for your version of success. When in doubt, eat trail mix. I may have eaten my weight in trail mix throughout the weekend.

Embrace encouragement. My first leg began around 2 pm somewhere in the middle of the state. I literally had no idea where I was. The mid-80’s temperature combined with hills and heavy sun made that section challenging. No less than 6 vans from other teams stopped to ask if I needed water.

Throughout the race, my van stopped at least once to hydrate each runner. And every time we passed a teammate on the course, we’d hang our head out and cheer. That’s encouragement. (Well, in full disclosure, the nighttime runs were more of a half-hearted “woooooo.” But we tried.)

Application: Accept the encouragement your friends and family offer. Smile and say, “thank you” rather than an “aw, shucks” and blowing it off. Give it away as well. Tell someone you can see how hard she’s working. Praise her efforts and cheer her on. It will uplift you both.

The Relay Takeaway

The Texas Independence Relay gave me an experience I’ll never forget. I can’t believe we traveled 180 miles between 11 people.  My sleep deprivation and tendency to cry at Hallmark commercials caused me to get pretty emotional at the end. My Goodrs hid my tears pretty well, but I’m not afraid to admit how touched I am by the experience.

Unbeknownst to me, each team submitted a theme song. We left in Gonzales, Texas, to “Today is the day” by Lincoln Brewster. And as we finished our eight-story parking garage climb, we emerged at the top with the same tune.  My final lesson from the relay that can be applied in every area of my life:

Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad. (Psalm 118:24)

PS – Love the outfits I wore? Find them all at Skirt Sports. Use code 166 Conn at checkout for 15% off your full-price items. Items here were the Gym Girl Ultra, Lioness Skirt, and Pocketopia Capris on bottom; Kelly and Wondergirl Tanks. Remember – I don’t sell it but I want you to buy it.

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