Overall feelings at approximately 2:30 pm on Saturday"
Mentally - happiness, relief, success, pride
Physically - sunburnt, dehydrated, surprising awake, alert and almost pain free!
Leg 1 Stats:
8.63 miles. Started at 5:24 pm. Warm at the start, saw the sunset and almost dark by the end. Ideal temps. Slight incline first half, slight decline last half. Gorgeous scenery. I got passed at the beginning by a few Ultra dudes and passed several dudes at the end. Sorry boys. Slight pain in the IT band the last few miles. Average Pace: 9:02
Leg 2 Stats:
4.05 miles. Started at 4:03 am. Cold as balls. Major pain through this run. Like I almost cried, pulled over and sat on the curb and pretty much pouted to myself the whole run. Flat the first 2 miles, uphill the last 2. Average Pace: 9:09
6.49 miles. Started at 1:24 pm. Hot as balls. The course was really pretty but through a golf course/bike path and had a ton of little hills...which normally I wouldn't mind, but the downhill really hurt my knee. I was in a lot less pain on this run surprisingly. I passed a lot of bikers and leisure walkers who smiled and helped me along the way...and few fellow Ragnarians. I passed a young guy near the end who had cruised past me in the beginning and he gave me "knuckles" and a few words of encouragement...that helped. I almost cried when I got to the crew directing us up onto the major roads towards the exchange. And again when I saw Ann's face at the exchange. Average Pace: 9:36
My goal going into the race was to stay right around 9:00/mile for the first 2 legs and whatever I could muster up for the last leg...hoping for under 10:00/mile given my potential IT band pain. I was pleased with what I did. I wasn't trying wasn't to be super fast, but to run pain free and comfortably. Achieved. Kind of.
*MY BODY
Overall....this race was 100 times easier on me mentally and physically than Ragnar Vegas. Maybe it's because I knew what to expect...maybe it was because there was no travel involved in getting there. Maybe I was better prepared as a runner? I was in SEVERE pain after my 2nd leg and was really worried about finishing my 3rd leg. Fortunately we finished near Ann and Marcel's house and got to go back to shower, take a 2 hour nap and get doctored up a bit. I was among 2 nurses who hooked me up with ice, ibuprofen and instructions to lay off the stick/rolling. I think all of that really helped because after 3 icings, I felt like a new woman. My hamstrings are a bit tight from the hills and bracing against my knee on the downhills and my IT band is still tight...but everything else feels good.
*MY TEAM
Awesome. Funny. Prepared. Relaxed. We had a good mix of newbie runners and experienced runners which made it pretty cool. And of course, no one was running for time, just fun, so it kept things light. We laughed a lot, slept very little and encouraged each other throughout the whole race. It was so nice to see my other van/teammates between legs as well as other running friends along the course. No one got lost, injured or was too grumpy to handle. There was a lot of farting and stinky bodies though...which was to be expected.
*THE COURSE
Pretty damn good. Super volunteers. Spirited runners. A lot of skin, costumes and nutty people along the way. A love of running, camaraderie and laughter make this race what it is. FUN.
*OTHER STUFF
We didn't stop and have meals this time and instead ate at one major exchange and snacked along the way. This was WAY better for me as it gave us time to rest, relax, stretch, change our clothes and do whatever instead of wasting time at restaurants. We brought tons of snacks and drinks. A lot of baby wipes, sunblock, cowbells and of course...our cameras.
Sorry for the photo bomb...
One last photo for you which pretty much sums it all up. Last leg. Yup. Ignore my man thighs please.
Will I do it again? Absolutely.
