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8 Tuff Miles 2011 TR- Part 2
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SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
8 Tuff Miles 2011 TR- Part 2
Part 1 here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... 552804dd9f
Part 2: Race Day and BB Gathering!
The alarm rings at 4:30 am. Race day!! 8 Tuff Miles- here we come!
Our friends in the benchill group had arrived on island the day before. What an awesome group! More on them later. Most of them were runners, but a few were not, so we were able to arrange transportation before and after the race. Meeting at St. John Market at 6:15 am: check. Trade off of cars: check. Drop off of the runners at the start line by 6:30 am: check. Cars immediately driven to Coral Bay: check. My iPod with me, and not left in the car…. uh oh.
I discovered, after the cars had been gone for about 20 minutes and were already at Bordeaux, that, in the rush, I left my iPod in the car. No chance to turn around before the race started. This is the iPod that I spent MONTHS working on the perfect playlist for, that had a new arm band and new ear buds, that I NEVER left for a run without. In. The. Car. In. Coral. Bay.
No iPod for me. YIKES! After hubby talked me off the edge and all the group assured me that I would survive without my music, off we went!! I’ll tell you, that first mile listening to myself breathe was AWFUL. After that, I kind of got used to it. Kind of.
Here's my friend Wendy with Kentuckygirl and me at the start line:
Thank you to the Love City Pan Dragons for the great music at the roundabout!
The first hill… of many… notice most of us still running here.. ha.
One mile down!
Hey- that’s Sue Brandi at the Westin water station- thanks Sue, and thanks to ALL the water station volunteers!
Yes, please…..
I’ll agree
Ben Chill’s wife, Lynn, sponsored this very appreciated port-o-potty at the half way point- thank you Lynn!
Yea- made it to the highest point! But it’s a trick, it is NOT all downhill from here….. grrrrrrr….
Such great entertainment all along the course- all local. Loved it!!
Yea!! NOW, it’s downhill! Some people say running downhill is really tough. After the first 5 plus miles going mostly up, I'll take the down ANY day
Less than ½ mile to go!
The sign, the sign, the sign! That last tiny incline between the sign and the ball field is a KILLER, but we made it!
Medals, celebrations, Skinny’s burgers, painkillers, and a dip in the pool. What a great ending! We all survived, and everybody ran a fantastic race. I was so proud of everyone. And, believe it or not, WITHOUT the iPod, I beat last year’s time by 17 minutes! But, I WILL remember the iPod next year
After the race and chowing down at Skinny’s, we headed to the villa and TOOK NAPS.
Once we somewhat recovered, we headed into town to enjoy the awards ceremony. Alas, we did not win but it was fun to watch the ceremony. Great sense of community, as was the whole race.
OK I’m getting on my “8 Tuff Soap Box” here. I am not a major athlete. I’ve got about 15 lbs I need to lose. I try to workout and eat healthy, but with work, an addiction to Killpainers/Painkillers, and 2 kids under 10, it doesn’t happen all that much. I try to train a lot before the race, but again, kids and work (and painkillers)- you know how it goes. If this sounds familiar, this race is for YOU!! It is also for the mega athletes among us too- there are plenty of really impressive athletes running this race as well as us regular folk of all ages- finish times are anywhere between 46 minutes (!!) and up to around 3 hours. What I love about this race (after doing it twice) is the major community support. I have never felt more a part of St. John than when I do this race or walk the doggies at the ACC. This race is awesome. It is so well organized, so well supported. People come out and stand on rocks and play guitar and the harmonica for you. Some park their truck on the side of the road and blast Pat Green’s “Southbound 35” at just the time a girl with no iPod REALLY needed some Pat Green. There are tons of water stations with people cheering you on. And if you love St. John, and I know you all do, there is no better feeling than when you round Bordeaux on foot and start heading down into Coral Bay. Makes me cry every time (yes, I’m a crier). Although, not sure I am crying because of the experience, or because my legs hurt so much But the feeling you get at the end, knowing you made it from one end of St. John to (almost) the other, on foot, can't be beat.
So if you’re thinking about it, or if you want to cross off a “bucket list” item that you didn’t even know was a bucket list item, DO IT! They max out entries for non-islanders early, so “friend” 8 Tuff on Facebook and check out their website often to make sure you get your entry in early. I know there are several forumites who have talked about doing it next year- let’s do it- maybe we can make t-shirts! OK, stepping off now. 8 Tuff, I’ll see you next year!
After an extremely active day, it was back to the villa for leftovers that night. We had to rest up for BB gathering day…
Day 4 dawned l…a…t…e… (but we still saw sunrise)
We hung out and enjoyed some villa gravity in the am, then took a leisurely tour of the North Shore, including the short hike to Peace Hill, before heading into town for some shopping.
Hey, that's us!
Lunch was Sun Dog. YUMMMM! This place is always great for lunch. I had the pesto chicken sandwich, and my girlfriend had the fish tacos. Can’t remember what the boys had, but it was all fantastic. Food porn!
Then it was on to the Westin pool. We have spent most of our trips at the Westin (thanks to the points hubby accumulates on business trips- you can’t beat free!), so we wanted to show our friends where we hang out on when “villa gravity” strikes at the Westin. We enjoyed some time at the Westin beach bar and in the pool before heading to THE Beach Bar for the forum gathering. I am happy to report that the Westin is fully recovered from all the mudslides from last fall. Everything looked great and they were as friendly as ever.
See my other thread for more BB gathering pics here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... =gathering
This was a GREAT night! What a turnout! I think we had about 23-25 people there. We had a ball hanging out with old forum friends and meeting new ones. There were also a lot of non-forumites and lurkers among the group. Great times had by all. I identified everyone and have lots more pics in the link above.
Inner Visions was fantastic- the bar was packed!
Beautiful sunset- just for us
And the SpiceCam shot!
After the gathering, our group and the benchill group decided to continue the party at Casa Sonodores, the GORGEOUS house where the benchill group was staying for the week. It is in Virgin Grand and is a beautiful villa.. We had a BALL with everyone there. Lots of grilling (Marty is a MEAN griller), a little dancing and singing… just a great night!
Ben and his beautiful (and fierce) wife Lynn- aren’t they cute?
A little food porn and drink porn. Looks like a good villa night, huh?
The rest of the pics are after way too many painkillers, so I’ll keep them off the TR
Back over the hill to Coral Bay and another night of falling asleep to the sounds of the island at night- can’t beat it.
Next up, the final installment- day 5 (beach day) and 6 (boat day) and the walk of woe…
Part 2: Race Day and BB Gathering!
The alarm rings at 4:30 am. Race day!! 8 Tuff Miles- here we come!
Our friends in the benchill group had arrived on island the day before. What an awesome group! More on them later. Most of them were runners, but a few were not, so we were able to arrange transportation before and after the race. Meeting at St. John Market at 6:15 am: check. Trade off of cars: check. Drop off of the runners at the start line by 6:30 am: check. Cars immediately driven to Coral Bay: check. My iPod with me, and not left in the car…. uh oh.
I discovered, after the cars had been gone for about 20 minutes and were already at Bordeaux, that, in the rush, I left my iPod in the car. No chance to turn around before the race started. This is the iPod that I spent MONTHS working on the perfect playlist for, that had a new arm band and new ear buds, that I NEVER left for a run without. In. The. Car. In. Coral. Bay.
No iPod for me. YIKES! After hubby talked me off the edge and all the group assured me that I would survive without my music, off we went!! I’ll tell you, that first mile listening to myself breathe was AWFUL. After that, I kind of got used to it. Kind of.
Here's my friend Wendy with Kentuckygirl and me at the start line:
Thank you to the Love City Pan Dragons for the great music at the roundabout!
The first hill… of many… notice most of us still running here.. ha.
One mile down!
Hey- that’s Sue Brandi at the Westin water station- thanks Sue, and thanks to ALL the water station volunteers!
Yes, please…..
I’ll agree
Ben Chill’s wife, Lynn, sponsored this very appreciated port-o-potty at the half way point- thank you Lynn!
Yea- made it to the highest point! But it’s a trick, it is NOT all downhill from here….. grrrrrrr….
Such great entertainment all along the course- all local. Loved it!!
Yea!! NOW, it’s downhill! Some people say running downhill is really tough. After the first 5 plus miles going mostly up, I'll take the down ANY day
Less than ½ mile to go!
The sign, the sign, the sign! That last tiny incline between the sign and the ball field is a KILLER, but we made it!
Medals, celebrations, Skinny’s burgers, painkillers, and a dip in the pool. What a great ending! We all survived, and everybody ran a fantastic race. I was so proud of everyone. And, believe it or not, WITHOUT the iPod, I beat last year’s time by 17 minutes! But, I WILL remember the iPod next year
After the race and chowing down at Skinny’s, we headed to the villa and TOOK NAPS.
Once we somewhat recovered, we headed into town to enjoy the awards ceremony. Alas, we did not win
but it was fun to watch the ceremony. Great sense of community, as was the whole race.OK I’m getting on my “8 Tuff Soap Box” here. I am not a major athlete. I’ve got about 15 lbs I need to lose. I try to workout and eat healthy, but with work, an addiction to Killpainers/Painkillers, and 2 kids under 10, it doesn’t happen all that much. I try to train a lot before the race, but again, kids and work (and painkillers)- you know how it goes. If this sounds familiar, this race is for YOU!! It is also for the mega athletes among us too- there are plenty of really impressive athletes running this race as well as us regular folk of all ages- finish times are anywhere between 46 minutes (!!) and up to around 3 hours. What I love about this race (after doing it twice) is the major community support. I have never felt more a part of St. John than when I do this race or walk the doggies at the ACC. This race is awesome. It is so well organized, so well supported. People come out and stand on rocks and play guitar and the harmonica for you. Some park their truck on the side of the road and blast Pat Green’s “Southbound 35” at just the time a girl with no iPod REALLY needed some Pat Green. There are tons of water stations with people cheering you on. And if you love St. John, and I know you all do, there is no better feeling than when you round Bordeaux on foot and start heading down into Coral Bay. Makes me cry every time (yes, I’m a crier). Although, not sure I am crying because of the experience, or because my legs hurt so much
But the feeling you get at the end, knowing you made it from one end of St. John to (almost) the other, on foot, can't be beat.So if you’re thinking about it, or if you want to cross off a “bucket list” item that you didn’t even know was a bucket list item, DO IT! They max out entries for non-islanders early, so “friend” 8 Tuff on Facebook and check out their website often to make sure you get your entry in early. I know there are several forumites who have talked about doing it next year- let’s do it- maybe we can make t-shirts! OK, stepping off now. 8 Tuff, I’ll see you next year!
After an extremely active day, it was back to the villa for leftovers that night. We had to rest up for BB gathering day…
Day 4 dawned l…a…t…e… (but we still saw sunrise)
We hung out and enjoyed some villa gravity in the am, then took a leisurely tour of the North Shore, including the short hike to Peace Hill, before heading into town for some shopping.
Hey, that's us!
Lunch was Sun Dog. YUMMMM! This place is always great for lunch. I had the pesto chicken sandwich, and my girlfriend had the fish tacos. Can’t remember what the boys had, but it was all fantastic. Food porn!
Then it was on to the Westin pool. We have spent most of our trips at the Westin (thanks to the points hubby accumulates on business trips- you can’t beat free!), so we wanted to show our friends where we hang out on when “villa gravity” strikes at the Westin. We enjoyed some time at the Westin beach bar and in the pool before heading to THE Beach Bar for the forum gathering. I am happy to report that the Westin is fully recovered from all the mudslides from last fall. Everything looked great and they were as friendly as ever.
See my other thread for more BB gathering pics here: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... =gathering
This was a GREAT night! What a turnout! I think we had about 23-25 people there. We had a ball hanging out with old forum friends and meeting new ones. There were also a lot of non-forumites and lurkers among the group. Great times had by all. I identified everyone and have lots more pics in the link above.
Inner Visions was fantastic- the bar was packed!
Beautiful sunset- just for us
And the SpiceCam shot!
After the gathering, our group and the benchill group decided to continue the party at Casa Sonodores, the GORGEOUS house where the benchill group was staying for the week. It is in Virgin Grand and is a beautiful villa.. We had a BALL with everyone there. Lots of grilling (Marty is a MEAN griller), a little dancing and singing… just a great night!
Ben and his beautiful (and fierce) wife Lynn- aren’t they cute?
A little food porn and drink porn. Looks like a good villa night, huh?
The rest of the pics are after way too many painkillers, so I’ll keep them off the TR
Back over the hill to Coral Bay and another night of falling asleep to the sounds of the island at night- can’t beat it.
Next up, the final installment- day 5 (beach day) and 6 (boat day) and the walk of woe…
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Tracy in WI
- Posts: 1624
- Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2006 8:39 am
- Location: Wisconsin
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Heather-in-MA
- Posts: 78
- Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 5:12 am
- Location: Central MA
What an awesome report! I am having so much fun being there through your trip. It is such a great feeling to share a place and feeling that means so much with those you love. I am so glad they "got it". I will be there in June with a group of 18, only 5 of which who have ever been on island and 2 of those 5 were just day visits from a cruise. I hope they feel the same as your friends. I look forward to the rest of your report. Thanks so much for sharing and great job on doing the 8 Tuff Miles.
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SOonthebeach
- Posts: 1707
- Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:01 am
- Location: Texas
Sounds like we have Team VIOL forming- this is great!! I'll start a thread in the next few months so we can plan t-shirts- I am happy to design them! Might have to see if Anthony will let us borrow the forum logo like on the regular t-shirts and we'll put it on running shirts, with something fun on the back.
Make sure to check the website: http://www.8tuffmiles.com/ and friend them on Facebook to stay up to date about when to register- I believe it's in October.
And for those unable to do next year, I am sure we'll be running again in 2013, and 2014, etc, etc.....
And Heather, that first hill really isn't that bad, it's the next 20-30 that really suck
Make sure to check the website: http://www.8tuffmiles.com/ and friend them on Facebook to stay up to date about when to register- I believe it's in October.
And for those unable to do next year, I am sure we'll be running again in 2013, and 2014, etc, etc.....
And Heather, that first hill really isn't that bad, it's the next 20-30 that really suck