The aftermath of RFL
Well, this was once again a crazy Relay For Life. I don't think that overall, it was quite as good, organization-wise: the prize structure left little motivation for people to walk a lot of laps, and the side events usually had no reminders or just a reminder 5 minutes in advance. Also, food wasn't technically allowed on the track this time, so all the food vendors / bake sales had to leave the track and serve from the courtyard between the UC and West Wing, and you also couldn't eat and walk. Lastly, the event started late for no real reason as far as I could tell (6:40 or so instead of 6:00), and it made people stay still to listen to some speeches where people could have just as easily walked during the speech (perhaps the organizers wanted to make sure people were being respectful, but I wanted to have time on the track while I was still energetic).
It was pretty cool to have bigger turnout from APhiO for the event. We set up a small canopy for our stuff, and I eventually took a short trip home to get a blanket and chair to put under the canopy (both proved quite helpful). I think 10 people joined the team online, only 1 of them was a no show, and while another one didn't really do any walking, she coordinated making a celebratory breakfast for people after the event. (I'm going to go to that momentarily.) Fewer people were there for the later hours of the evening, but there was a nice group around especially before 10pm, and furthermore a member of the APhiO National Office ended up having changes of plan in Pittsburgh and joined us for the first few hours. We didn't have enough manpower to run a small card-making table for service, but I think it was still a good thing to see a more cohesive team.
I did very little in terms of events at RFL, other than walking. I did catch an AntiMotion concert (an anime band that one of my friends is in). I did not participate in the eating contest this time.
In the end, three of our team stayed until the end. I got on a very regular walking schedule, with plenty of extra jogging when I had the energy. I tried to lose myself in the music from the DJs sometimes to get myself to jog in a more excited state. I do believe I hurt my legs more than last year... I nearly sprained something in the back of my left leg twice. That also comes with taking fewer breaks... I think I had only two or three breaks that weren't already scheduled events (like the Luminaria ceremony), and except for the AntiMotion concert, those breaks lasted at most 10 minutes. After going about 60 laps or so around the track is when the pain started getting bad enough to really hamper my walking style, and I definitely slowed down afterward.
However, in the end, I have some cool news. I did beat last year's record. I beat it by only one lap: 102 instead of 101 (plus the closing ceremony lap, I guess). However, I was significantly faster this time, despite the late start of the event, and I finished my 101st lap at 4am, with the 102nd about 5 minutes later. I took a big break afterwards to sit in the UC and lie in a chair, but I overdid that break and gave myself pins and needles in my legs (not to mention making my body forget how to get used to the cold temperatures of 4am). When I finally came back outside 45 minutes later, I heard the event was cleaning up early. Hence, I didn't get a chance to go for more laps (if I hadn't overdone my break, I probably could've done 10 laps an hour or so, for a total of around 115 or 120... and it turns out the largest number of laps performed by anyone that Relay was 120... oh well). I think that a goal of 100 was a noble goal, and I'm glad I had the focus to achieve it.
I want to especially thank my parents and grandmother for their donations and support; they will totally get a nice letter from me later, possibly including "souvenirs" (like a picture of me at the end of the event and some of the stickers I collected for doing laps). I want to thank the team captain, Adam, for staying until the end and being willing to provide support at the end when I needed occasional pick-me-ups. And I want to thank the brothers who wished me well or who made my Relay more fun. Thank you guys!
And now I need a good nap, after breakfast. I also wish I didn't have to work on stuff tomorrow/today.