Ragnar Relay 2011

After having so much fun on the Ragnar last year I couldn't wait to do it again this year! Five of us were returning vets and the rest were newbies. Our team name was C.T.R. (Choose to Run ...away.) This year I was in Van 1 and the first runner. It was fun being first but a little stressful. The race was from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island. My first run this year was exactly the same as my last run last year, minus one mile and about 20 degrees. Totally funny. I ran a total of about 17 miles (4, 5.5, 5.7, 2.) My second run was in Lake Elsinor. I was excited about that until I got to Lake Elsinor. Ever been? It's a beauty! From the map it looked like I was going to be running along the lake but not so. There were about a block worth of "houses" and then the lake. I was running on a two-lane highway at 4 pm and it was 90 degrees. I think my feet are permanently damaged. I was worried about getting dehydrated so I drank a ton of water before my run. Too much. I had to go to the bathroom soooo bad. And there was no where to go. So hey, i thought when in Rome... Yep I found a big bush and went. My last run was through Carlsbad at about 3 am. It could have gone a little better I think but there was some miscommunication and I got a phone call saying, "she'll be here in about five minutes. Are you ready?" I was still in my jammies. Unfortunately we were a little late but I dressed in the car and was running within about 7 minutes of that phone call and on about 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours. Not the best run ever but I got through it. My van was awesome. They followed me and made sure I didn't get lost or mugged. Here is our team picture before we left. Van 1 left the night before and Van 2 came down the next morning. I was so excited/nervous I didn't sleep at all that night. Major bummer but the adrenline got me through. I am just not a sleeper. I did manage to listen to almost the whole BOM. Bonus. We had a much stronger running team this year than last year. There were a couple other all-women teams from our city and we ended up beating them - not our goal but a totally nice bonus. They smoked us last year so we were pretty excited. A couple of hours into the race our team suffered a MAJOR setback. I got a phone call that Megan had been hit by a car and was on her way to the hospital in an ambulance. What?! We were all pretty shocked and wondering if we should continue and what should we do. A couple of the girls in the other van saw it and were pretty shaken up. Luckily they said she was going to be ok. She ended up with a broken foot and a broken pelvis but the doctor said she would make a full recovery. We decided we wanted to finish and we would just have to divide up her runs and do it. Ami took her longest run and the rest got divided up. I only ran two of her miles. After hearing that Megan was going to be ok we recovered a lot. Here is Van 1 all decked out.

Aaron, me, Debbie, Lindsey, Ami and Jill. The gals in Van 1. Love them all. I know it isn't the exact same but it is like going to war with someone. You are forever bonded to them.

Crossing the finish line! We ended up coming in 9th in our age division. We were stoked to be finishing in the light. Last year we finished in the dark when they were taking down the finish line! So that was our goal this year... finish in the light. We did it!!!

Tired and happy! Valerie Walker, Jill Hodges, Ditte Wager, Kirsten Kent, Catherine Blickenstaff, Becky Meline, Lindsey Bell, Ami Marchlik, Debbie Morris, Aaron Laskey, and me. Coronado Island. Debbie was our amazing captain. So much work goes into this she was amazing. Thanks gals! 2012 here we come!!!