Ragnar Relay Leg 10 -- 6.9 Miles (trial run)

Well, per my last post, I was supposed to go to bed at 8pm and get up at midnight to run by 12:30am.  It didn't quite turn out that way. 

I got home from a friend's at 7:45pm or so and I decided that I could nap from 10pm-12am and that would be ok.  I watched the rest of The Bachelorette on my DVR and eventually made it to bed by 10pm.  When I woke up at midnight Robbie told me it had been raining and to check the radar before going out.  So I did, and it did not look so good but it looked like it would get better in a few hours, it was also lightning outside; so I went back to bed.  I got up at 2am and it was still lightning but I decided I had to suck it up and get the 6.9 rolling. 

So...off I was with my head lamp and reflective "vest"...I am sure I was quite the site, but it kept me safe.  Although at this time in the morning the only traffic was on HWY 61, but with the light on my head I wasn't tripping on any sticks or rocks on the ground.  Well, I tend to do that when it is daylight but I guess today I paid more attention since it was dark!  It was my first time using these two new items and I was pretty excited to test them out before Ragnar. 

I was out the door at 2:30am; it was a tad muggy...but bearable.  Everything was fine until a big flash of lightning came.  I counted to myself (one - one thousand, two - one thousand, three - one thousand...) I got up to 15 before I heard the thunder.  "Good," I thought to myself, "Maybe I can beat the rain."  Also around mile 2 or so but for sure at the turn around point of 3.45 miles I started feeling a pain that I hadn't felt while running in quite some time.  It was the pain of having to go to the bathroom (and I don't mean #1).  Usually I take care of that before going on my run but since I was running at this odd time that didn't happen.  The only thing open on my side of town is Hy-Vee and I was far from that, and since Hy-Vee is close to my house it would be dumb to stop there on the way back.  This was one part of running I always disliked; especially when there is no bathroom around.  When I trained for my first marathon I would stick to the lake trail because there were bathrooms and water available whenever I needed them...that got so boring and I eventually got over it. 

Well, the pain would leave and come back, but I got through it.  Another huge flash of lightning, and my counting (one - one thousand...), this time I only got to 4.  CRAP.  Well now instead of praying for no rain, I prayed for light rain.  Luckily, I was granted this and only tiny droplets of rain started coming down.  I kept thinking of places I was going to be running by that I could hide out if it happened to come down hard like it has been the last few weeks.  The old Econo Foods building, JC Penney, Kwik Trip (not open but has the over hang), Hy-Vee (if I detoured from my route back), etc.  But, luckily it never came to that.  There were a few other big flashes of light, but I got to 15 with those again, so I knew the storm was passing.  Whew, now the only thing I had to worry about was the rest of the miles! 

I went down a road I had never gone down before and when I was on my way back to that road (since I did an out and back run) I saw two deer in a person's yard.  I was actually surprised it took almost my entire run before I saw any...they are usually everywhere around my area!  Anyway, they stopped and stared (Stop and Stare by One Republic is now in my head) and as I glanced at them my light made their eyes gleam.  They let me pass and I am sure they went back to eating the poor person's flowers.  Anyway, I am on this little road that connects to another bigger road when all of a sudden I see a light behind me.  I am thinking, "Wow, I hope this reflective vest really works!"  The car turns into a drive way behind me after getting almost right up to me.  I could tell the driver saw me because there was no sudden breaking or anything.  Well I kept running and then I saw the lights behind me again.  It was the same car...I started freaking...what did I get myself into...no one knows where I am....etc.  Well the car slowed down almost to a stop and I gear up to turn around and run fast in the other direction if needed when an old man rolls down his window and says, "Wow, that reflective stuff is really easy to see."  It was the paper delivery man!  I smiled and said, "That's a good thing, that's what it's for," and he laughs and keeps moving on.  Well after this is when I hit the home stretch...I couldn't wait to get home.  I finished in 1 hour 25 minutes; which isn't too shabby considering!  Now, off to nap before my run at noon since I can barely keep my eyes open while typing this.  At least I have a lunch date with a few friends to get me through the next 3.6 miles!