Whew, finally a few minutes to sit down. The girls are coloring, dinner is in the oven cooking, James is getting ready for work so I'm jotting down my final thoughts on Ragnar I while I have a rare minute.
The memory of the excitement and fun I had at Ragnar will never fade but details already are. Ooops. I have a clear memory of hanging out at the final major exchange waiting for Van 1 runner Krissy to pass off to Tim. We had a good couple of hours to kill so most of us showered. Thank you Coupeville HS!! Everyone was really courteous took quick (hot) showers and kept moving along so the lines were pretty short and quick moving. After we got changed into our running outfits for our final legs Rosanna went off to find a spot to nap, Mike and Tim rested in the cab, and James and I crawled in the back of the truck and got comfortable amongst the piles of sleeping bags and blankets. I have no idea what Tyler did to be honest. I didn't really get to sleep but it was nice to just lay down and shut my eyes for awhile. After awhile I climbed out and made a turkey sandwich and attempted to organize the bed of the truck- a futile effort. I think I took about 5 bathroom trips since there were real bathrooms to utilitze. I also hit up the Brooks tent and got myself a free pair of sunglasses. I have to say they have been a life saver these past few days while I've been super sick. The lenses are super dark. Van 1 messaged us that Krissy wasn't too far out so we gathered for the final transition. It was bittersweet.
Tim's last leg was BEAUTIFUL. He got to run along the water for a big chunk of his route if not all of it. Don't get me wrong though, better him than I, it was 8+ miles and I planned for the distance of my legs to DECLINE. LOL.
I don't remember much of what Tyler's final leg looked like, but I do remember that he had a few more hills....poor Ty.
Mike's final leg was a ton of fun because his family was staying on Whidbey Island that weekend so they came out to cheer. He had about 15 cheerleaders and was all smiles. Oh, yeah in true Mike fashion..."Penis."
James took off with a huge smile on his face too. His final leg was the longest of his three - not the way I would choose to do it but he didn't let it stop him. Such a proud wifey :) We did see snow white at his exchange- she offered us an apple but I mentioned to my van-mates it might be poisoned.
My turn! Of my three legs this last one (leg 35) was my least favorite. It was only 3.8 miles so I was looking forward to a shorter distance and thinking that I was going to be able to fly through it. Didn't exactly happen the way I imagined it. So from the beginning; James finished his leg on wheels. He heard a runner coming up behind him and was NOT going to be road kill in the last 50 feet so he powered it out and finished first. It was an awesome finish everyone was cheering. Rosanna got an awesome pic of them afterward.
Since James had such an amazing finish and beat the Where's Waldo runner I wanted a strong start. I took off at a comfortable but not easy pace because I knew there was a pretty big hill coming up- we had to drive down it in order to get to the exchange. I felt the Where's Waldo runner on my heels to start but then as we started up the hill she slowly fell behind and I got a road kill as I passed another runner. I'd say the first 3/4 miles were uphill and then it kind of leveled off for a 1/4 of a mile before turning into rolling hills? This is all an estimate since I didn't have my Garmin. I have no idea what my pace was up the hill but I tried to push it without over-exerting myself. I guess stripes had held back a little more than I did because she overtook me at that point and charged ahead. The sun was beating down on me and as far as I could see we were just running on a highway with no shade in sight. I dumped so much water on my head- I was glad I had the handheld. I got a second road kill but stripes was still ahead of me and she stayed that way until the end. I started getting really tired and walking on and off. I was mad at myself and kept thinking that I was going to end up with a 11-12 minute pace :/ After a long straight stretch I saw a volunteer and she told me I was only 1/4 mile away. Whhhhaaat? I hadn't seen a mile to go marker!! I was psyching myself out because I thought I still had over a mile to go but yet I was almost done. I picked up the pace a little and saw Rosanna waiting for the final handoff. I know I came in smiling but I think I screamed, "Take it!" as I handed her the slap bracelet.
The girls' bringing it home! Turns out my pace was still under a 10 average. How that happened I'm not sure, it didn't feel that way but I'll take another 9:50! I worked for that pace baby! Rosanna had a pretty hard final leg. She had a long brutal hill but was still smiling...or at least had enough energy left to fake it for the camera :)
The remaining 5 of us drove ahead to the finish line, parked and met Van 1 where the runners come in so we could all finish together. It wasn't too long before Rosanna came barreling in and we fell behind her to finish. She apparently was all amped up because she came in at like a bullet and we had to yell at her to slow down so we could cross as a team. Crazy lady!
There it is. Team NOM NOM NOM. Official finish 33:50:16.
Can't wait to do it again next year! :)
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