A couple weekends ago I was very blessed to participate in my second Ragnar Relay. Four years ago I ran one with many of the same people in Tennessee. This year we connected in Colorado. I think it means so much more to me because in the beginning, I didn’t know if I would be able to participate. Between airfare and logistically leaving my family for a weekend, I didn’t know if I could swing it. Until. . . Jamie, my sister-in-law that I ran the previous Ragnar with, called me up with a plan. She wanted to know if she and Ben (my brother, her husband) bought my ticket to Denver for my birthday present, if I would be able to come. After using my own birthday money to cover the cost of the entry fee, I couldn’t see a way NOT to go. And can I just tell you, after thinking that I wasn’t going at all, I was ecstatic!! I cannot remember personal that I looked forward to more than this.
Of course that was not the end to the challenges. After signing up, I was super motivated to train, but carving out the time with an almost 2-year-old and busy family, and the sultry Georgia weather proved difficult. I soon found out that I needed to get up and run before 8:00 am or I would regret it. During school, two days a week were usually run from 7:30 to 8:00 with Carly in the stroller, and on Saturday, I would try to get up before the sun came up for my long runs. I decided that based on my lack of knowledge of how many miles combined I would be running, I would just train for a half marathon and that would cover the miles.
I am grateful I trained for a lot of miles because in the end, I would need those miles to step up for my team. A couple of weeks before the Ragnar, my sister Mary, who was recently married and planning on running the Ragnar with Graham, her new husband, said that Graham had injured his foot and would not be able to run. He would still come as the driver. He was the runner from our van running the longest, most difficult miles as he normally does mountain running for fun. We were blessed to find a replacement runner, my cousin Clarissa who lives in the Denver area, but I would be the one stepping up to do the difficult legs.
My training paid off in a few different ways, although looking back, I think I could have been a little more prepared. It was pretty hot, even in Colorado and a couple of my legs were during the hot part of the day. Here is a picture of me finishing the last climb of my first leg, feeling a little more motivated with my team at the top cheering me on.
One of the amazing things for me about running a Ragnar is the comradery of the team and the van I was a part of. There is something about doing something hard and having at least five other people cheer you on and help you. Especially people that love you. This year in our van we had my dad, Ben, Jamie, Mary, Clarissa, and me as runners, and Graham as our driver. We were all family. So that for sure added to the awesomeness.
All of us chilling at Red Rock after finishing our first legs. We did a tailgate dinner out of our cooler.
Me on my last leg. I had no van support for either of my previous legs. I sure needed it and appreciated it for this last leg.
After we finished our last leg, waiting at the final finish line for the last runner of the second van. We girls sporting out temporary Ragnar muscles. Trying to beat the heat.
The final finish line with our complete van
Our complete team, both vans after finishing. We finished 34th out of 161 teams. We ran a total of 198.3 miles in 1832 minutes equaling 9:14 average pace for our team. Not too shabby.
The traditional pickled okra, which was forgotten until after I was taken to catch my flight. Until next time Dream Team and pickled okra! It was a most fantastic weekend and wonderful memories made!!
