Ragnar came and went and it was one of the most amazing experiences in my life! I learned a lot. I learned that I could actually be excited to find a portapotty. I also learned that I find public bathrooms to be luxurious! I learned that after spending 36 straight hours in a car with the same group of people, you learn a lot about each other and it feels as if you have known each other for years! I learned that when you are stuck out in the desert, sometimes you just got to change your clothes out in the open. I learned that sometimes, I am my best Cheerleader! I learned that I can do it, if I put my mind up to it, I can achieve my goals!
Well, Thursday arrived and we all hoped in the car and drove on down to Vegas arriving there late Thursday night. After a quick little meeting, a few hours of girl chat in our hotel room, we were sleeping in preparation for our race! The next morning we ate breakfast as a team and then Van one had to leave to get to the check point on time! I was in Van two and we had a lot of hours before we needed to be at our exchange point, so we went to the mall so Sarah could get her Zara fix! After shopping for an hour, we made our way over to our check point! At about 5:30, Melissa came running into the check point and Kristopher, the first runner in our Van took off! It was time, we finally were running in the race! We would leap frog him, cheer him on and give him some water! Then Sarah Rayner, got ready for her first run! Sarah M,. followed after and and then Andrew took off. Shea followed after and then it was MY turn! I was so nervous, 6.5 miles is a lot of miles! We played some pump up music and I danced as I waited for Shea to come into the check point. Dancing always calms my fears down! Then Shea came, slapped that bracelet on my wrist and I was off! It was in the dark, on a bike trail so my van couldn't even cheer me on! I was all alone! But it was amazing and scary! Since it was night time, we had to wear headlamps, but it still was really hard to see! And I was running on a very rocky trail. I kept hitting rocks left and right and became extremely terrified that I was going to fall and break something, be out in the middle of nowhere and have no way to contact anyone! But, no worries, I made it to the exchange point! I did 9:30 minutes miles! I am so amazed that I ran that fast!
Well, at that point we had a few hours before it was our vans turn to run, so we drove over to the next big exchange point and tried to get some shut eye. I probably got tops of 30 minutes of sleep. It wasn't easy to sleep in the grass of the big theater, with people walking and talking all around you, cheers happening for the runners and it was freezing! But then it was our vans turn, Melissa came up to the check point and Kristopher was gone! We made it through all the runners again and it was my turn to go once again! This time I had about 3 miles to run. It was down a straight road, no hills or anything. So a super easy run and I did this one with about 7:45 minute miles!!!! And I thought I was going extremely slow, but I guess not! Then we rushed to next extreme check point so we could get some sleep. But what we weren't expecting was to hit major traffic. So, the driver and I remained awake as the rest in the van fell asleep. We finally made it to our location, in the middle of the desert with no portapotties! It was a fun couple of hours. Once again, I attempted to get some sleep but I think it was about ten minutes and then I couldn't sleep anymore. Its hard sleeping in a van.
Finally it was our turn for our last legs! This time, most of our runners were running in the heat of the day. Causing two of our girls to get pretty sick! It was really scary! By the time I ran though, it was sunset and the heat was gone! Thank goodness! My stomach was struggling super bad so I don't think the heat would have gone over well with me at all! My turn for my last leg came and I was off. I knew that if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to go again so I told myself I was not allowed to stop running! I kept running, even when I hit three lights that took FOREVER to change! So, I ran in circles as I waited! While I was on my last run, at about 5 miles I saw two friends waiting there to cheer me one! Something, i was NOT expecting! Even when one of them was texting me all day asking me weird questions, like send him a picture of our team shirt. I was very confused with why he would want that and didn't send him a picture. But there was Christine and Curtis waiting there at a Gas Station and that was exactly what I needed at that moment! My muscles were screaming at me but having friends there to cheer me on was amazing! Also, in my last mile of my run, a random Van drove by three times honking and cheering me on! I loved it, it was that support that got me to the end of my leg! We crossed the finish line as a team!
Team Jog 041
Andrew and Sarah R waiting for Kristopher to be able to start his first run!
Sarah R., Me, Sarah M., and Shea as we were still waiting for Kristopher to start his run
Cutie Sarah getting ready to start her first run!
My sweet Tattoo. Don't I look legit?
Sarah getting ready for her run!
Sleeping in the car
We were little twinners! And we are amazing!
The girls in my Van!
Kristopher did the Ragnar leg. He had an elevation change of almost 1000 miles, which was uphill for the first 7 miles and then he had a dramatic downhill for the last three miles! But he is a rock star. This is him at the summit of that huge climb!
Ragnar was HARD but it was amazing and I want to do it again! I pushed myself and I achieved a major goal! I found my self to be a lot stronger than I have ever realized!
