It was in Arizona and it was a really neat experience running in a different state. The idea of a cactus as a symbol for Arizona is not far fetched, since I saw countless ones during the four days I was there.
Personally, I am really proud of how I performed. I expected to maintain a 9:40 minute mile pace. My first leg, about six and a half miles, I started out with a 9-9:15 pace, but wore myself out too fast and ended with an exact 9:40 average pace (adding in my too slow last couple miles).
My middle of the night leg was slow, bleh. However, I know why- I screwed up my eating schedule and really should have eaten more before my leg, but it was really approaching my time to run, and I didn't want to have digestive issues while running. Plus, I never napped that afternoon, which meant that after getting up before 5am, running 6+ miles and starting this leg around 11pm... I was just tired. Oh well. I got to sleep in a high school gym while the other van ran, and felt great by the time my third and final leg started.
I finished this last leg five minutes faster than projected! I was so stoked! Plus, I forced myself to run the entirety of the last mile, plus sprinting to the hand off.
Lots of great memories were made on this Ragnar, just like all the others before, and I think it is safe to say that it won't be my last.
I've been asked, many times, why? Why choose to be in and out of a van, lose sleep, be away from family, etc.?
This highlights a lot of the big reasons, like having that support. My favorite single phrase, repeated often in our van by multiple people was, "What do you need?" Many times it was said as someone is trying to figure out the last location of their gear (which got moved multiple times as seats were shifted countless times). Sometimes it was said in reference to what food we were looking for, or what kind of support we needed on our legs.
It is an amazing feeling to hear your van cheer for you as they run by, or to see how far you have come from the start line when you finally get to the finish.
I had my Ragnar "mom," Tabitha, who took care of me and Olivia (both the same age) as the "babies" of the group, and helped us avoid dumb mistakes, open packages for us, rubbed in sunscreen spots, and made sure that I didn't leave my pillow at the hotel (a narrow thing).
Olivia and I had lots of great conversations throughout the course of the four days, and kept getting in trouble for our talking. At one point, we were a bit more awake than our vanmates and literally had the door closed on us for our conversation lol!
Stephanie had the best handle on where exactly all of our stuff was, and was so good at finding everything for us as we were digging around for it.
Cindy did a great job getting us where we needed to go as she was frequently the driver, and even when she wasn't driving, she was using her gps (and we never got lost!).
Esther was great at encouraging all of us, as well as being the person always there for me (as I handed off to her). This was especially huge to me as she made sure to be there early for me on that last exchange and made it so that my fast finish wasn't wasted. :-D
I was able to challenge myself to be my personal best, while still on a team, and constantly surrounded by support. There is really nothing like it. Sure it is long, and you are running on low sleep, infrequent real meals, and lack of a real bed, but when it ends, there are so many memories and moments to look back on. You also get to see a really significant portion of the area, and get to experience it more than a typical single race could do.
Thank you to both sets of parents for watching the kids while Blake was at work. Thank you especially to Blake, who not only let me have this adventure with my friends, but took care of the kids as a single dad for four days, including taking them to the library, to visit my grandma, and to a birthday party. When I got home the house was picked up, clean, all but one load of wash was done (saving it for my dirty clothes), and a lot of it was folded too. I am extremely thankful for everyone's support, even if you don't get why these are so much fun for me.
At the end of this race, I look forward to future Ragnars with these fine ladies, and have a new goal for myself. I hope to break a 2 hour half marathon, and plan on starting to train towards that (as well as future Ragnars).
No comments:
Post a Comment