Ragnar

*Be warned friends: This one's going to be a doozy!  Picture and text heavy...

Ragnar.

This one word defined my summer.

The beginning of May (a few months after I started running again) my good friend Molly came to me with an idea.

She had heard of this crazy 12-person, 200 mile relay race that was going to be held in DC at the end of September, and she wondered if I'd be up for it.

I said, sure!  Provided we could find 10 other girls who were crazy enough to do it (thinking that NO ONE was crazy enough to!)...  HA!

Shortly after we had our team of 12 and off we were!  Sometimes I really wondered what I had gotten myself into.  I had never even run an official 5k before! But 12 women, most of us new runners, were going to run day and night and day (three times each) from Cumberland, MD to Washington, DC.  Wow.

Ragnar provided a 20-week training plan to prep us.

The first week included running or run/walking 3 times for 15 minutes.

Each week increased the time.

Week 10 hills were added.

Shortly after we were to run 2x a day, one day.  Then 3x a day one day.

On week 17 were supposed to run 120 minutes one day.  No joke.

Everyone was really good about training.

I loved running with Molly, and I loved getting bigger groups together and going somewhere to run.

I even liked running by myself...sometimes...

After about 8 weeks, when I was feeling pretty good about myself, disaster struck.

I tore a groin muscle, picking something up.  Ridiculous, huh?

I was sitting on a high stool, holding Colten and I leaned way over to pick up something he had dropped, using my leg to balance myself (so I wouldn't fall, or drop the baby).   Not a good idea, but I didn't realize that I had hurt myself until I ran 4.5 miles later that night.  It hurt right away, but I attributed it to something else, not an injury.  By the time I finished the run, that whole area was numb, and I could barely lift my leg to walk. 

Holy moly.

I still didn't think I was injured.  I don't know what I thought.

I limped around for 4 days (while we were driving to Colorado) and then tried to run again.

I soldiered through that run (3.5 miles in like 45 minutes, yikes), but paid dearly after. 

I hobbled around for weeks, and I could barely lift my leg.

Every week I'd try to run again, and just couldn't make my leg work.

After I got home from Colorado, the docter confirmed a tear, but there really isn't anything to do for it.  Just rest.  Ugh.

I lost 6 weeks, by the time I was able to kind of run again.

Oh man.  That first run back was ROUGH!

I had lost so much endurance and speed.  I just couldn't make my legs work to go faster.

But I was committed.  I didn't want to let my team down, but mostly I wanted to do it for me.

I seriously kind of panicked when we only had 6 weeks of training left.

I had no idea what I was going to do.  Molly, our team captain, was going to give the runner position with the least miles - 12 total, but one leg was 6 miles long, so still serious business, to me so that I could still do it.

I was disappointed, but glad I could even do that.

Well, I don't know what happened (yes I do - lots of prayers), but I got better.

I could still feel my leg aching a little, but it didn't affect my running. (I can still feel that darn injury!)

After the first few weeks of really sucky running, I started to make headway again. 

I could run 7 and 8 miles.  It was stinkin' hard, but I could do it.

And it worked out that I was able to get a little bit harder runner position, which I was glad of.  From the beginning I had really wanted a challenge for myself. 

So now we're finally ready for the race!

Our team's start time was 7am, 250 miles away in Maryland, so the first van (Julie, Kami, Denise, Corina, Brittany and Mary) went and stayed the night before.  Van 2 (Me, Molly, Doree, Jill, Debbie and Tammie) left early the next morning.

We had gray, dreary weather, with lots of rain predicted.

I was glad not to run in the blazing heat and humidity, but rain brought it's own challenges.

On the way up, we stopped at McDonald's for some food (oatmeal: carb-loading!) and to decorate our van.  Tammie and her husband, Ed, were generous enough to let us use their van.

L-R: Tammie, Deb, Jill, Doree, Molly and me.

Spirits were high, and we were having a great time, everyone excited, when we got some bad news from van 1.  The directions were confusing and hard to follow, so they had gone to the wrong exchange (runner pick-up point) and left poor Denise (who had just run the absolute HARDEST leg of the entire race) waiting for 45 minutes.  THEN their van had a flat tire!  Oh my goodness.  What bad luck!  But they still made it through, and did awesome!

I was first up to run in van 2.  Runner #7: 15.1 miles total.  My first leg was my hardest.  It was 7.9 miles long, with a steady 4.5 mile climb up 600 ft. right at the beginning.  I was scared.

I didn't want to be late and miss Mary at the exchange point (the baton was a slap bracelet that you passed from runner to runner, so that a runner on your team was continuously running), I was scared about my leg, and I just wanted to get it over with.  And it started raining.  A downpour, actually.

(Seriously, my heart it racing, just thinking about it again!)

BUT, it was so exciting, meeting up with the other half of our team at the exchange point, and waiting for Mary together.  I was ready!  I had my required night gear on (reflective vest, headlamp and led lights) since it was dark, raining and foggy, my shoes laced, my hat on and my ipod ready to go.

It was so exciting to see Mary come down that road, grab the baton and take off myself.

So exciting that I really don't know how I got up that first set of hills.

I remember thinking that it sucked.  It was brutally hard.  But that it was going fast.  I have my ipod set to tell me when I pass each mile, and I kept thinking "already?".  Thank goodness for that.  Then it stopped raining.

Oh, and vans kept coming up the hill at a steady stream.  They would all encourage everyone.

That is probably one of the best things about this race.  Constant encouragement, and hearing "good job, runner!"  Awesome.

My van passed and I was so excited to see them!

When I reached my half-way point at the top of the hill, there they were, cheering me on.  They left to go meet me at my exchange, and my dad called!  So I answered my phone, while running. I thought it would be fun to say hi.

Before I knew it, I was done.  That was the shortest 8 miles I've ever ran.  But so hard.  Whew!

Molly was up next, and she had an insane mountain to run up and down.

3 miles, straight up, with absolutely no relief.

She rocked it!

This is one of my favorite pictures.  Molly passing the sign that said 2200 feet until she could go downhill.  She ran up the whole dang mountain.

Here's Doree in action.  She wanted no attention or cheering while she ran.  We just couldn't help ourselves, though.  It was just so exciting to see our team!

Ed (our driver/pacer extraordinaire) had to go home before we ran our 2nd legs, but his friend Keith came up to replace him.  He kept us laughing and awake through the middle of the night.

What a great group of guys we had!

I really enjoyed my nighttime run.  I was a little nervous about it, since I had had no sleep, and ran 8 miles earlier, but it was beautiful.  The fog had cleared up, and the stars and moon were out.

I could see other runners in front of me, and could hear them behind me.  I felt totally safe, wide awake, and completely peaceful.

And look at how I glowed!

Keith ran Debbie's second leg with her, as a pacer.  Deb was amazing.  Her first 2 legs were over 9 miles each.  She did such an amazing job!  Everyone did!

My last leg was fairly ridiculous.  It was 2.2 miles.  I felt like I had just started, and it was over.

I ran through a rather unexceptional part of Bethesda.

Mentally and physically, 2.2 miles at the end of the race was great!  Nothing to worry about.

But it was just kind of weird; Mary, right before me had 8.5 miles, and Molly right after me had 6.5.  Everyone was exhausted, so I felt kind of bad that mine was so slight.

But, that's the way it was set up, and I was done.

What a great feeling!

It was so fun to cheer everyone on, and get so excited for them when they finished.  We had such a great time, but everyone was relieved when their last leg was finished.

 Molly was a great team captain.  She had so much work to do!  She worried about, and set up things that I don't think I would have even thought about.  She really made this race successful for us, and a great experience.

Her husband met us at the end.

All of our husbands really sacrificed a lot for us, while we were training.

Andy would regularly get home from work, and then take over with the kids while I went off running for hours.  He never complained, and always was excited for me.  I appreciated that so much.

Tammie was runner #12, so she got to finish the race off for us, at the National Harbor.  Ed came back, and ran the last 1/2 mile with her, then our whole team ran to the finish together.

What an amazing, amazing experience.

I will do it again.

Our team of 12 girls ran 198 miles together, from Rocky Gap State Park in MD to the National Harbor in DC in 34:51:05.  There were only 9 all girl teams.  WOW.

I'm still on a high from this.

And as for my next running adventure:  I just signed up for this.  I'm so excited!