Kara Runs

All I’ve wanted to do the past week is sit down and re-live/think about/write about/talk about Ragnar. And drive back to Saratoga and do it all over again.

There we are, running up the mountains…

It was an UNBELIEVABLE experience. One of the best weekends ever. I feel so much more confident about my running and have been on a running high for the past week. I literally feel like I can do anything. Ragnar magic, I tell you! (Plus the company and inspiration from the seven lovely ladies I journeyed with!)

Let’s start from the beginning.

We arrived in Saratoga on Thursday night, organized all of our awesome sponsor gear, planned our outfits (#1 priority, duh) and headed to bed.

Stole this photo from Dayna…shhh…

(Special thank you and a big high five to Running Skirts, Bondi Band, Injinji, Under Armour, PRO Compression Gu, Chobani, and ShowerPill. And of course to Lora for fashioning some fabulous tutus.)

Approximately 4 hours of tossing and turning later, we excitedly walked out the front door and BAM. Monsoon-style pouring rain. Great. It wasn’t letting up as we drove to the starting line, listened to the safety briefing, and collected all of our race materials. As Ashley toed the starting line, it was still pouring. And chilly.

Good thing you have that headlamp…

But naturally, the Maids of Dishonor pressed on. Off they went, and Laura, Erin and I headed to the Rav, our mini-home for the weekend.

Destination: LAKE PLACID.

Being runner number five, I had some time on my hands before I was up. We drove. We cheered. I intently studied the map for my first leg…a measley 3.2 miles! I was terrified of missing a turn, so we all came up with the genius idea of taking a picture of the leg map on our phones. (No, I never needed to use it thankfully.)

Lame 3.2…

So after Erin finished, I was finally up. It was still raining. I had my Running Skirts pink skirt on over my pants. Very attractive.

Oh hello Laura, fancy seeing you here!

For future reference, 3.2 miles in a Ragnar Relay is way too short. I was itching to get out there right away and eat up some miles…which is one reason why I NEED to do an ultra relay next time (two runs each leg instead of one). I would love that challenge and was a little jealous of my 4 teammates (Lora, Ashley, Dayna, and Erin) who knocked out the ultra-length legs like it was no big thing. Instead, I finished before my body could probably even begin to digest  the massive amounts of candy corn I was eating. This isn’t to say I’m a super fast runner, it’s just that a 5K is so freakin’ short when your adrenaline is pumping.

Due to the pounding rain, my Garmin had a slight malfunction. AKA it was under my shirt sleeve and I forget to lock the bezel, so at .10 miles in it stopped. No idea what my pace was. Leg #1 = uneventful.

After I finished, Laura headed out for leg #6 for Van 1. We met her at the “big exchange” where she handed off to Bride-to-Be Lora in Van 2, who was having a little fun of her own while waiting:

This team, “No Pants Dance” (I think) ran in these little numbers. I was concerned for their chafing safety.

The rain slowed to a drizzle right when Lora started (lucky lady!) so we decorated our sweet Rav.

TELL US WHERE YOU’VE HIDDEN THEM. (I mean…just kidding Brendan!)

Hey girl hey!

Leg 1. Check.

Yes, it started raining about 8 minutes later. Goodbye beautiful artwork.

We drove to beautiful Lake George where the next exchange from Van 2 to Van 1 would occur, and hung out/ate/foam rolled/ate/didn’t sleep/stick’ed  for about 5 hours.

Did you girls run a 5K or something?

Normal exchange activities.

Ashley was up next…

So ready for the handoff from Dayna…

…and THEN, the real fun began.