I have always wanted to do a race wearing a tutu. I finally got my wish for the 2012 Cape to Gate 44-mile relay, which was held last Saturday, Febrary 25.
Running in a tutu was every bit as awesome as I thought it would be–even more so because I had the opportunity to run with an entire tutu train of women.
Last year, I ran this race as part of my Boston Marathon training, along with my sister-in-law Tracy and at the time, newly found friend, Carole (report from 2011 can be found here.) Because we were running 20-mile segments last year, we didn’t get the true feel of the relay race. So, I knew I wanted to put together an all-female team to go the distance for the 2012 race.
The Tutus the thing and we’ll wear tiaras for bling.
From the very start, everything about this race was a great time. We decided during our New Year’s Eve party that we would run in tutus and tiaras. The theme was inspired by the New Year’s Tiaras we were wearing at the time, as seen in the picture to the right.
It’s possible that the New Year’s libation also helped with our imagination.
With our team theme in mind, we set about getting our gear together. Joanna suggested we try to make the tutus ourselves. So, I went to Michael’s and purchased rolls and rolls of tulle, along with some ribbon.
Thanks to a clever trick Joanna had figured out from one of her daughter’s dance costumes, there would be no complicated sewing for us. We simply cut the tulle into strips and then tied the strips around a ribbon, which served as the waistline for the tutu.
We completed this project in just an hour or so at Courtney’s house about a week before the race.
From Cape to the ‘Gate
The race course is a point-to-point north-bound adventure, that winds up the coastline from Cape May, NJ to Margate, NJ. It ends right in front of a local watering hole, Robert’s Place. How convenient. For more information about the race, you can read this article by @jerseyshorejen.
Less convenient were the 25-35 mph winds that were whipping about on race morning. It made for quite a chilly start. Despite concerns about the wind, it was a cross-tail wind for most of the race. Talk about luck!
One notable exception came when I had to run the Ocean City Bridge. The wind was HOWLING straight into my face. I got a sand facial for no extra charge. Nice.
We all packed into Courtney’s minivan (minus whoever was running) and so much frivolity and laughter ensued. My goodness, did I laugh. I mean, what’s NOT funny about 7 grown women, running their arses off in tutus and tiaras?
And, the conversations we had in Courtney’s minivan? Well, they aren’t g-rated, so I shouldn’t share them here. But, trust me, my cheeks still hurt from laughing so hard.
I wanted to run during the last sections of the race, and the rest of the team was okay with that. But, after sitting in the car for several hours, watching my fellow team members run, I was itching to get going. The plan was to run at a tempo pace, but not all out.
Well, I didn’t run at maximal effort, but let’s just say I may have been a tad above my tempo effort.
The good news? My leg held out. No cranky ITBS. No problems. This is the first race in over a year that the ITBS did NOT flare up.
Relief doesn’t quite capture the feeling.
For the first time in a long time, I saw a sub-7 minute mile. And, I wasn’t even anaerobic. I was at my threshold for sure – but not anaerobic. Just goes to show, all that time pounding the pavement and running trails at a zone 2 effort is building strength and speed I didn’t even know was in there.
But, I am VERY happy to know it’s in there. I told my coach, “I don’t have to run that fast again. But, I just like knowing that I can.”
It felt so good to run fast. My tutu fluttered and flipped in the wind, and I felt so free, so alive, so happy. There is no other time when I love my body as much as I do when it’s running. For a woman who has been tortured by disordered eating and body image issues, this is no small thing.
My fellow team members each had stellar days of running as well, bringing us to the finish line as the second place all-female team, in 5 hours and 57 minutes. We earned our celebration at Robert’s Place, and we are already plotting our return for next year.
Get ready, ladies, because the Tutu Train’s a-comin’!
