ragnar del sol relay 2013

My race was last weekend.  The boys made the sweetest cards for me.  I crawled in bed with Tosh on Thursday night to visit with him before bed and he told me, "I hope you win the race, Mom!"  He couldn't understand how I just knew that I wouldn't win.  I promised him that I would do my very best and that was all that mattered.  

I was in Van 2, so we were lucky enough to get a better night's sleep and later start.  I had major nerves for a good 24 hours before I started racing.  Waiting ALL DAY to run made for an anxious day.  I was runner 11 out of 12.  Our van consisted of Alecia and Rob Lundell, David Cope (Alecia's brother--the guy that goes all out for our roller skating party), and Paul and Briana Dommer.

We got all checked in a met up with our Van 1.  This next photo was taken right after Paul started his first leg.  Van 2 included Chris and Christy Berereton, Christy's sister Hayley, Chris's sister Jessie, and Jen Maclay and Sue Yocum.  Tara Reading was the driver for Van 1.

We would generally 'leap frog' with each runner and would drive ahead a few miles, cheer each runner on, and then drive ahead until we met up at each exchange.  Doesn't running in the desert look fun?!

We did  A LOT of laughing over the weekend.  The 'being really tired' was only part of it.  David and Rob are too funny and kept things entertaining.  Here is David stretching out for his run as we waited for his exchange with Paul:

Alecia had the longest leg of anyone on our team.  Her FIRST leg was 13.5 miles!  That is over a half marathon--and it was mostly all uphill.  She rocked it!
About an hour after her run, right as I was about to run my first leg, Alecia started feeling really sick and almost passed out.  I had a moment of panic as she lost color, but good thing that Paul is an ER doc and stayed super calm. Between the hours of 5pm and 9am all runners are required to wear reflective vests, head lamps, and blinking lights on our backs.

On my first leg (7.5 miles) I watched the sun set and then ran in the dark for about 40 minutes.  I was feeling really great and was probably running a little too fast to begin with.  Unfortunately for some reason, my right knee really started hurting around mile 3 or 4!  It was the only problem I had for the entire race (I stayed very hydrated, and never had any cramping).  I was so bummed about my knee, but still did very well and averaged around 10 minute miles over all legs.  After we had all finished, we exchanged with Van 1 (they were about 20 min. late--woops!) and then headed to grab some dinner and we went to a hotel to sleep for a couple of hours.  We were back up around 1:15 to get ready for the next exchange.  It was very cold (high 30's) and dark for our second legs.  My knee was so cold and tight and it took about two miles for my knee to warm up and to start feeling a bit numb and better while running.  The second two miles of my four mile run were uphill, so I was grateful that running got a bit easier once I felt warm.  The sun was just starting to rise as I finished my second leg.

So happy to have completed two out of three!

After Leg 2, we grabbed some breakfast and went to the hotel again to sleep.  I wasn't able to sleep at all which was so frustrating!  My right knee was a little swollen at this point so I iced it and at least rested for a few hours.  Saturday was a gorgeous day (high 60's) and felt very warm while running.  At the end of the race we were running through Scottsdale and ended in Tempe.  There sure were quite a few hills!
 

One of my goals was to stay hydrated.  My team laughed at how much I used the porta-potties (every single exchange and often twice!).  I never quite got passed the nerves, but it got better.

Briana, Alecia and me right after Alecia's last run:

Our 'baton' was a wrist band that you would snap on the next person to go.  My last exchange with Rob:

And I'm off (with a little limp):

My last run was about 5.5 miles.  I was really hurting on the first mile and was doing this crazy shuffle any time I had to go downhill so I wouldn't have to bend my knee.  The team stopped to give me water with about two miles left and I was feeling better (numb knee) and running strong!

Aww, cute married couple.  Briana on the very last leg!  


Our entire team was at the finish line and jogged in with Briana at the very end.  It felt like a great accomplishment, and so fun sharing it with awesome friends!

My first medal--ever!  :)

Twelve people, 202 miles!  Team "And I ran...I ran so far away" at the finish!!!