RAGNAR!!!!! I survived!

11 other friends and I ran in a relay that went across Florida! It started at Tarpon Springs (the gulf side), and ended in Daytona Beach on the east coast. It was a total of 202 miles of blood, sweat, and tears :) The way it works is that we are broken up into 2 vans. Van 1 starts and the 6 runners all do their leg of the race and then van 2 meets them at a switch point and then van 2 runners all run their first leg. I was runner #12 which ended up being a little difficult to sit and wait all day for my turn! Our first runner started at 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning and I didn't run until about 5:30 or 6:00 that evening. So it was an emotional roller coaster of getting the butterflies, hoping I was eating/drinking enough so I would have energy, and then sitting in the car. My turn finally came and it was dark. So I had to put on a head lamp, a reflective vest, and a light on my back. My first run was 8.8 miles, my second was 3.6, and my third was 7.6 miles. It was a little nerve racking on that first one because I was running against traffic on the shoulder and so cars would come and I would feel their wind and hope and pray that they saw my light. At times it was pretty dark and it was also very foggy and so it looked like I was running into a dark tunnel. It was so exciting to see my team as I came in.



My second leg was only 3.6 miles so I was expecting it to be pretty easy but it was actually very difficult. It was not along the road and so my van could not follow me. I had it easier then the rest of my teammates that had to run along dark paths. My poor friend Brittany was the leg before me and her whole length was on this PITCH BLACK path, and she had to go 9 miles! 4 miles of it she didn't see another runner or race marker. So she was in the dark by herself! Everyone that came out of the woods after that leg were all very freaked out! She passed the baton to me and I started on the pitch black abyss trail at about 5:30 am. I only had to run on the dark path for about 2 miles. It is so weird to have just your head lamp. I was praying that the batteries wouldn't decide to die!!!! As I came off the trail I saw my van drive past and I was so tired I wanted to flag them down and catch a ride! :) Right toward the end of the run I had to run up a little bridge that crossed the road and was surprised how much effort that took. The sun was coming up by the time I reached my team at the switch point.


We were a little behind by my last leg and so I had to run in the dark AGAIN! I shouldn't complain because some of my poor teammates had to run in the heat of the day with the sun glaring down on them! But I had to put the lamps and vest on again and off I went for my 7.6 miles. Little did I know that I had to run across the CAUSEWAY!!!! The causeway is a huge bridge that leads to Daytona Beach. It was pretty brutal and when I reached the top I put my hands up and gave a little breathless yell! It was fun to see both vans pass me and hear them honk while I was chugging up the causeway. It was funny because I was so concerned with getting all the night gear on that I forgot the bracelet/baton. So van 1 met me at the bottom of the causeway and gave it to me. The whole time during my last leg I could see a guy ahead of me about a block away. I noticed he was stopping every once in a while to walk and I tried with all my might to speed up and pass him (or road kill him as we were calling it). I was only about 20 yards behind him at the very end and he was able to kick it in gear and speed up. By that point I was too exhausted and let go of that little goal. :) I felt famous because van 1 kept parking in front of me, getting out and taking pictures and then driving off. I pretended it was the paparazzi :) My van stopped a couple of times to give me water and I knew if I stopped I wouldn't get my legs to go again and so I would take the water bottle, drink and then throw it to them. The BEST was when I came to the beach sidewalk and as I ran up to the finish line I could see Matt and the kids!!!!!! Luke and Emma started running with me, each holding one of my hands, and I started to cry! My team met me just before the line and we all ran in together!!!! Talk about an accomplishment!!!!! It was the best feeling ever!


Another fun little thing was that before the race my friend Beckie talked about how gross we were going to be sitting in her car all sweaty. She wondered if there was some way to rig up some kind of shower. Well her neighbor is quite into building things and he heard her idea and built upon it and we had THE COOLEST SHOWER EVER!!!! It attached to the trailer hitch and ran off that. It had a pump and a switch and he also welded a hoop that attached to the top and had a shower curtain hanging off! It was amazing and we were the most popular people in the race. EVERYONE was coming up and taking pictures of it. It was nice until some how we burned out the motor and it stopped working. The worst part of it was that it stopped working RIGHT before Beckie could use it!!!!! So not cool! It still came in handy when we wanted to change our clothes.


We saw all kinds of crazy teams with funny names like Road Kill, Normal People Would Drive, Blazing Blisters, We Thought this was a 10K, Are We There Yet, Dude Where's My Van, and it was so fun to meet the team Run Like a Mother because they were LDS ladies from Georgia! So they were our buddies that we would see at each switch point. Our team was CTR - Chicks That Race. What a fun experience with GREAT friends!!!!


I was so sore the next day that I had the kids take my rolling pin and go up and down my legs! Feeling much better now!

Coolest shower EVER!!!

Van #2!!!!! Jessica Martinez, me, Brittany Pratt, Amy Lopez, Andrea Rediske, Beckie Lowe


Hanging out in the hotel before the craziness began (we were all on our phones texting...thought this was a funny picture)

After 1st leg

This is the Daytona Causeway I had to run across.