My 1st Ragnar Relay Great River Experience...

Friday, August 20th at 5:00 in the morning I rolled out of bed.  Having had only a few hours of sleep the night before, (that's a whole other story) I was exhausted.  However, I was pretty excited to start my new adventure that would last 33 hours, 33 minutes, and 28 seconds (hey, who sped up 5 seconds to cost us the best time ever)??

Winona, MN at the levy; there were so many people from all over!  It was fun to see all the different teams; there were even two from Mexico!  There were a total of 306 teams in this Ragnar Relay (there are 12 other Ragnar Relays in the country). 

We saw our first runner off and the two different vans went their separate ways.  Van #1 went to the next exchange, while Van #2 (the van I was in) went to buy some last minute things and get ready to leave town.  We didn't have to be at the first major exchange for hours so we weren't in a rush.

My new friend Stephanie posing with me while waiting almost 5 hours in Modena, WI for the first runner in our van to start her first leg.  Thinking back on it, this is where I should have napped!  Ahh well, who needs sleep?

I was runner #10 of 12 and my first leg was 6.8 miles at 4:30pm in the heat.  I started too fast and I paid for it later.  The experience was good though, when I stopped letting my head tell me how dumb I was for wanting to do this relay (haha).  I ran over a lot of bridges along my miles, and I kept thinking, if a car comes towards me, I will have to jump in the river (and it would have felt great)!  Luckily though, I was not in any danger even though the cars kept whizzing by me at what seemed like alarming speeds (of course, I was running my slow 11 minute per mile pace so it would seem that way).  I passed a woman from a team that we had been neck and neck with and that felt good but then I started to feel the pain in my tummy around mile 3.  Oh no, 3.8 miles feeling THE urge (you know the one) and there was no way I was going to try to go #2 on the side of the road.  On the bright side, one pretty awesome thing I noticed on this run were all the little yellow butterflies around.  Whenever I thought I couldn't make it...I looked and there were the butterflies!  It really took my mind off running (and my tummy) a few times.  At one point I think there were like 20 butterflies...it was pretty cool. 

One of my teammates caught me around mile 4.

When I saw this sign:

I was so happy; I was ready to be done!  I finished that last mile and went straight for the bathrooms.  And at our next exchange I really could have used a bathroom...but there were none.  Of course it was one of the only exchanges without the porta potties!  I think I was just really dehydrated because I didn't drink enough water before running; another lesson learned!  I drank more water and ate one of my Clif Bars about an hour later and I was feeling human again!

We made our way to the High School in Prescott, WI.  After showering and eating this:

REAL FOOD!!!!

I felt great. And exhausted. And ready for sleep. We grabbed our stuff and went down to the basement to try to sleep on wrestling mats. I was laying down for about 3 hours. I have no idea how much sleep I got, but it wasn't much...and it wasn't enough. We woke up in time to send Ruth off on her 2nd leg at 1:30ish in the morning. All our reflective vests looked really cool as we waited for Amy to come in and hand off to Ruth.  And just

like that, we were off on our second round of legs!  We were all going to "get" to run in the dark. 

When it got to me, I wasn't worried.  My leg started at about 4:20am and since that was close to the time I ran during my training, it felt normal...even on little sleep.  It was slightly cooler, although very foggy.  People passed me and I was running on my own most of the way.  It was only 3.7 miles and I pushed myself a bit because I wanted to get back to the van and nap for awhile.  I didn't have any stomach problems and the run seemed to go fast.  I thought I heard a raccoon or other wild animal in the wooded area to my right while I was running on a sidewalk, I just sped up a bit.  At the very end of my leg I ran through a park by the Saint Croix River in Hudson, WI.  There was a slight hill that I really could have done with out, but when I saw Stephanie there waiting for me to hand off to her, I felt great!  Luckily I didn't have to use the bathroom because this was another exchange where there were no porta potties (poor Stephanie found that out before running)!

I got a much needed nap in the back of the van while we were making our way to the next two exchanges.  By the time we got to Stillwater, MN I was feeling very energetic and ready for some more "real" food.  After seeing Jana, the #1 runner take off for her last leg Stephanie, Angie, and I went to the gas station to see what we could find.  The guy working there did not look happy as I brought my items to be rung up.  I smiled and asked him, "Rough morning?"  And he looked at me like I was crazy, "Yes, well I have been working since last night and I had to deal with the bar rush, and then you people...and no one told us there was a race going on so we could prepare and get more help."  I thought about how all of us had been running for miles and miles on little to no sleep, but decided against saying that and instead I told him I was sorry and hoped that he got to go home soon.  I then went and enjoyed my Otis Spunkmeyer Banana Nut muffin, roast beef sandwich, and orange Gatorade in the van on the way to the next major exchange.  The sandwich wasn't all I had hoped it would be, but the muffin hit the spot and reminded me of some good old High School days!

While at the next major exchange in Woodbury, MN we got to eat some more!  There was this great coffee shop and they had these awesome crepes (I had the ham and cheese one, they also had fruit ones which I would love to go back and try)!  Stephanie, Angie, Lizzy and I all sat down and relaxed in the coffee shop for a bit, besides my crepe, I also had a Banana Mocha that was very yummy!  It was nice to have some conversation in the midst of this crazy relay; I really got lucky with all the cool people I met on this adventure!

As I anxiously awaited my last leg I was hoping to really do my best and push myself farther than I had in my other legs.  It was around 1:30pm when we were waiting for Jen to come in from her last leg.  I hadn't really looked at the map closely, but I did know that I would be running on trails for the entire 4.5 miles.  I took off and right away noticed the heat, but it wasn't as bad as my first leg.  The first half of my run was on a trail that was right in between a busy St. Paul road and the Mississippi River.  It was a rough start but then as I entered the wooded trail everything seemed to get easier. 

There was a runner behind me and I was determined not to let her pass me.  Everything just seemed easier with the sun being hidden by the large trees around me.  I looked at my watch and I was running a little over 8 minute per mile pace (which is crazy fast for me)!  I knew to watch myself and make sure I wasn't pushing myself too hard because I didn't want to lose steam at the end of the run.  There were hills that I wasn't expecting, most weren't that bad, but there was one in particular that I remember just pushing as hard as I could so as not to slow down too much while going up the hill.  I loved the trail too; a lot of big beautiful trees.  The one thing I didn't like was how crappy the actual trail was at times with the old, broken up tar in some spots.  I made sure to watch my feet during the rough patches, the last thing I wanted was to fall and hurt myself. 

I wish I would have taken pictures of the area since it was so beautiful, but since I was trying for a PR (which wasn't originally the plan) I didn't want to stop to take a picture.  There were a lot of people biking on the trails; I waved at them as I passed, making a mental note to come back to this area when I could just walk the trail and take everything in.  Finally, my watch beeped and I was at mile 3.5.  I text my team to let them know I had just one mile left. 

Then I saw it, the finish line!

It was glorious to be done; it felt great!  I finished the 4.5 miles in 47:20 which was probably my best time ever for that mileage!  The hills slowed me down to average my speed to about 10:30 minute miles, but I felt great!  To top it off; that runner that was behind me never passed me!  Afterwards we jumped into the Mississippi River - it was amazing!

We went to our last exchange to get Stephanie going on our big FINISH to this awesome experience!  We had decided to meet Stephanie at the end of the race and run with her to the finish like most (probably all) teams do.  Stephanie let us know when she was at the last mile and we started gearing up to be officially done and get our medals.  My teammate, Amy and I went to get Stephanie when she text that she was having a rough time and couldn't wait to be done.  And just like that, it was over!  33 hours 33 minutes, and 28 seconds later, it was all over.

Ragnar Relay 2010 -  Better Than Bond Girls

Finisher's Medal (also doubles as a bottle opener)!

This bib went through a lot!

Going into this I only knew one of the people on my team.  I met a few others because we ran a few times during training, but we only met because of Ragnar.  Now, I can honestly say that I have made some friendships that will last beyond Ragnar, and for that I am thankful.  Although we had a rough start and had to find some people to run a the last minute (and one being two days before the race), we got through it as a team.  It was a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything; and I would do it again in a heartbeat!  Thanks to all my teammates; you made this possible and I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you!