RAGNAR

So what is Ragnar?  I've been asked that question a lot over that past few months.  And when I answer the question, the response is usually, "Are you crazy?"

Ragnar Pennsylvania is a 12 member, 200 mile relay race that began in Lancaster and ended in the Poconos.
I signed up for this challenge almost 8 months before race day.  I was so excited to get back into something after doing a few triathlons.  My cousin's wife had run the race in Utah and my sister-in-law had ran in Arizona so I sort-of knew what I was getting myself into.

I was team member 11.  So here I am just about to start my first of three legs.  I had trained for this race and knew I was ready.  But I will admit now that I had NO idea what I was in for - especially here before my first leg!

The weather was unusually HOT that Friday afternoon.  When my leg began the heat index was 94 degrees. I prepared for this race, but NEVER did I run 6.2 miles at 3 o'clock in the afternoon with the temperatures in the 90's.  (Lesson learned for next time: do some runs in the middle of a HOT and HUMID day!)

So off I went.  6.2 miles near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, or more famously known as Amish Country.  I started my run with the Glee Cast version of "It's Time".  I loved that I ran listening to my Ragnar Playlist on my iPhone because I had to quickly get it out of its running case to take a picture of this:

Amish Country is beautiful!  It's winding hills were breathtaking (and torturous)!  And how often do you get to see a hoarse and buggy on a run?

I made it!  It was tough, but I made it!  And word to the wise: DO NOT eat the gel energy packs without having water to wash it down with.

My second leg was at 1:30 in the morning.  This was my favorite leg of the race!   Maybe it was because I'm so used to being up and functioning at 1:30 in the morning, but I felt my best for this 5.8 mile run.  

This is Jenny Kimball, our relay captain

and her sister, who came in from Tennessee to run with us.

Jenny was so great at keeping us all organized and motivated for months on end.

This is Alicia Conners.  This was her last, but most grueling leg.  She was FABULOUS!

Here we are at the end of Jenny's 3rd leg and where Alicia took off.  It's Siri Henderson, Jen Andelin, Me and Jenny.  We are all going on LITTLE sleep! He had slept for a few in a high school gym and I paid $3 to take a shower.

Here is Siri handing off to me for my final leg of the race.  The day before, the race organizers changed my last leg.  They took off a mile from the 10th runner and added it mine.  So what I thought was going to be a relatively easy, flat 4.3 miles became a HORRIFIC 5.3 miles.  The mile they added was a mile long climb!  Siri's look of exhaustion was what I feared.  She said later that she had never been so excited to see someone in her whole life as she was when she saw me.  You can sort of tell from the picture, put my first mile was the completion of this mountain trail.  It was a lot steeper than it looks!

This was probable 1/4 way into that first uphill mile!  I could still muster a smile at this point.  But not for long!  My music was helping me get through this, but I soon found myself ignoring the music as I mentally endured this last leg.

I didn't want to post this next picture because while it shows my legs barely moving and leaving the ground, it doesn't show my face or what is going on inside my head!  What was going on inside my head was a mash-up of thoughts.  I was mad at my legs for being so tight I could barely lift them off the road!  I was mad at myself for not training just a little harder!  I was mad at those stupid runners who passed me!  But after all the mad thoughts I came to the realization that I was going to need help from above to finish this leg.  I have never prayed to literally give me the physical strength to move my legs one in front of the other before, but I did that day.

Prayer can really change your mind.  It changes the way you look and think about things.  All my anger and disappointment I had felt at the beginning of this leg soon changed to love.  I love that I had this opportunity to set a goal and accomplish it.  I love that I had great friends to cheer me along the way (this is Jenny at the "1 mile to go" sign).  I love that I have a husband and children who have supported me 100% of the way.  I love that I live in this great country in which I have the freedoms I enjoy not only as a human being, but also as a woman.  I love that I can enjoy the beauty of the Pocono Mountains that were created by my Heavenly Father.  Thinking about these things and all my other blessings is what helped me finish this leg.

So while this is one the hardest things I have ever done in my WHOLE life, I am glad I was able to set an example for my kids.  WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!  You can do anything you set our minds to and there are no limits you can set for yourself. 

GO RAGNAR!