Ragnar Recap

It's so hard to put all the shenanigans and fun times in one post!  This post will be about the run itself and how I did.  My total mileage was only 14.2, which I was very grateful for.  I was quite nervous going in and afraid that my foot would either get worse or just be so bad I couldn't finish my legs.  I was lucky and my foot did great. I had pain, but not like the shooting nerve pain I had in Las Vegas Ragnar.  It was more of a dull ache after.  Once I iced my foot after each leg my foot was fine.

Starting line with my team, "Everybody loves a wiener".

I knew two people that were in the first van, Ken and Heather and happened to know one guy, Trevan from Van 2 (the van I was in) from the Hospital.  

It was a great team!

I was runner 9 in Van 2.

Leg One.

3.4 miles at a 10:40 pace. 

I started late afternoon so I had to wear all my reflective gear.  The heat and humidity was really getting to me and I just took it slow and watched my heart rate.  I was also careful to take salt tabs with all the sweating.  

Thanks to Lisa's husband Dane, for taking some sweet pics along the way! 

And after: Ice Ice Baby!

It was 12 hours later before I ran again.  Van 1 had some long runs for the second leg.  I had to wear my reflective gear again and was really glad I had invested in the reflective vest/belt.  I could hardly tell it was there.  

Waiting for Sheila at the exchange.  It's dark now, but right after I took off the sun started rising.

Leg Two:

7.99 miles (suppose to be 8.1) at an 11:07 pace.  My run started at sunrise and I ran over a bridge as the sun came up.  I wish I could say that I enjoyed every minute, but I didn't.  Maybe it was because I just came from 20 degree weather and snow, but I never did overcome the heat. 

Ragnar was sending out high heat warnings so I know it wasn't just me.  I was hoping for a little sea breeze but no.  The only wind was when the semi's roared by and I was grateful for that.  I drank all my water and refilled at the water station and was almost out when I finished.  The run itself felt good, but I was disappointed that I couldn't run faster.  I was at sea level and the humidity and heat totally negated that.  I was wiping my face off constantly on my shirt.  At least I was bright and colorful!

This picture was taken at the end.  See the wonderful porta-loo's!  It's definitely a love/hate relationship with them.  It may seem that wearing so much may make me hotter, but the capri's are Lululemon and I felt cooler with them on.   I don't know how they do it except magic.  

Caption:  I haven't been this wet since High School.

teehee

(posted on Facebook via Instagram)

Ice part Deux.

I tried a two pack ice deal and it went terribly wrong.  It still worked though.

Leg 3  

2.77 miles at 10:50 min/miles.   Well, sorta.  There was a virtual exchange which meant that as soon as I arrived to cross the street my runner took off before I did.  I had no idea and was kinda bummed I didn't get to hand off my pink feathers.  I stood with my Garmin on for about 5 minutes.  

Check out that glow!!  At this point I didn't care about my outfits.  Which means I must have been pretty miserable.  I didn't dare even take off my running bra because I knew it wouldn't dry and I'd probably never get it back on.  Everything was wet - I was resigning myself to it.

Virtual Exchange.  Busy street so the next team runner would take off when our number was called and there was no hurry to cross the road.  They had police officers taking us across.  

We finished up a few hours later.

 After pictures and getting to our hotels I went to the room, ordered in food, ate in bed and iced my foot.  It was a little sore but felt better in the morning.

Key Lime Pie was essential in my recovery!

A few things about the team.  It was awesome.  This was the first time I really didn't know anyone in my van.  I signed up on this team because Ken and Heather did and I wanted to try Florida.  The captains did a great job organizing and everyone was friendly.  Our van actually spent a lot of time laughing and helping each other out.  

The Race was pretty good too.  The start line and finish line were organized and roomy and the volunteers were really amazing!  I've never had SO many volunteers that were absolutely dedicated to their job.  We never missed a number call out!  If you've ran a Ragnar or Relay and you are waiting for your runner, they call out the number of the incoming runners 30 seconds to a minute before they get there.  Most Ragnars the volunteers (and I'm grateful for them all) sometimes don't get the numbers yelled out either on time or loud enough and chaos ensues!  Plus the volunteers I interacted with were pretty happy to be there too.  The police force of the Keys did an awesome job too.  I'm sure they get sick of yelling at people to get out of the road. 

I'll have a few more posts covering the team and fun stuff along with Vans and "overheards".  

Thanks to Angela and Paul!!  Great captains!

Big question for me - When you go to a race with a huge temperature difference what do you do to recover??

I hydrated, rested, hydrated, carb loaded with sweet plantains and everything!!

Blog on.................