I forgot to mention during the first leg of my race (5.4 miles in the heat) I was having technical difficulties withmy iPhone and the music I had planned for that leg of the race. It played the same song over and over. For 5.4 miles. Not annoying at all.
Second leg of the race was at night. Approx 230AM or so. It was a beautiful night. I had a short race of 3.8 miles. My teammates didn't have to stop. They could've gone straight to the next exchange. Much to my surprise, they pulled over just in front of me. ALL of them cheering for me as I powered up a hill. These people are amazing.
I killed that leg of the race. My fastest pace and fastest 5K time ever.
When we were done we headed to Torrey Pines to get some rest. We sprawled out in various parts of the van and "slept". Abby and I couldn't sleep so we were texting back and forth, planning the next portion of the day.
My stomach was not happy for the entire morning on Friday. I was extremely nervous about my final run of the day. It would be the longest and most difficult. 7.4 miles in the middle of the afternoon. It included a lot of turns, a steep hill and my team wouldn't be able to stop for me. Not to mention only having about 30 minutes of sleep in 36 hours. It was all part of the Ragnar fun though.
About 3 miles into the race I passed an adorable black and white puppy. I HAD to stop and pet her. I actually wanted to take her with me but I have a feeling her owner would've said no. I texted Abby when I was half way and I was right on pace. Then I got to Newport Ave.
I didn't see a sign to turn so I started up the hill. I could see another runner in front of me so I thought I was good. Until I got to the top. Here came that other runner. "This isn't right way" she said. Great. Anyone who knows me knows I am slightly directionally challenged. Long story short, I found the right hill. I ended up doing 8.6 miles instead of 7.4 miles. At the start of the second hill (the correct one) I met a woman named Linda. She wasn't sure she could make it so I told her we would do it together. We made it to the top and took a picture together. I remember thinking "this is what racing is about". Her teammate handed me a gatorade then I was off to finish the rest of the race. Later I handed another runner the rest of that gatorade when his legs started to cramp. I stayed by him and his teammate for the remaining mile and a half.
After I handed off to Abby, we headed for the finish line. The entire team met up so we could run into the finish line together. We wore Boston FD t-shirts to honor the first responders in Boston and pay tribute to everyone effected by the bombings. The finish line was emotional. I know Abby got choked up. I did as well. I am sure others did. We accomplished so much more than running a race. We pushed ourselves physically and emotionally. We stood for Boston and against terrorism. We survived Ragnar.
No comments:
Post a Comment