Leg Reviews

I finally thought I would break the silence and post the first leg reviews from the Craziest Ragnar Yet.  It was an adventure, to say the least.  I loved it and wish it wasn't over.  We had a freakin' awesome team and the course was as beautiful as ever.  So here are the legs I ran:

Leg 1 - 3.5 miles - Easy

This was a fairly straightforward, short leg.  It was a really nice day, the sun was shining.  It was a little warm out though and the runners before me had to contend with the heat, but fortunately it was later in the day and sun was  heading down so it was somewhat cooler.  This was a short leg and pretty flat so it was a quick run. 3.69 miles, 7.33 pace. 

Leg 2 -  7.7 miles - Hard

This leg was a lot longer than my first and it felt like it.  It was about 4:45 am or so when I started the leg so the sun was just starting to peak over the hill.  But not only was this leg longer than my last one but was rolling hills the whole way.  Nothing too major, but I didn't really sleep after my first leg so I was feeling a little tired.  The conditions were great though,   cool outside, a little cloudy and  nice and early.  7.78 miles, 8.22 pace.

Leg 3 -  4 Miles - Very "Freakin" Hard

This was the big boy, the Ragnar Leg.  This was the one that was on my mind.  A 1600 foot elevation gain in 4 miles.  This thing was a beast.  Leading up to this I was a little worried because the conditions weren't great.  Before all of us in van 2 started it was starting to rain off and on at the major exchange.  Then when Paul came running in to hand off to us in van 2 he was soaked from the rain.  It was cold outside too.  But when Dennis and DeEtte ran their legs he rain let up a little bit, so there was hope.  Mason took off on his killer leg and was rolling.  I started to get pumped, then before I knew it here he came and I was off.  He came in so fast my Garmin wasn't locked in yet.  But this was probably the craziest, most difficult run I have ever done.  The rain was coming down for the first two miles, so I got nice and wet, but it did keep the dust down.  It was a little muddy but not two bad.  But this leg was a beast.  The hills were so steep it was almost impossible to run up them.  I definitely used up everything in the tank though.  I found that power walking and big steps up the hills helped me keep up the pace.  The crew in the van sure kept me pumped, stopping every couple of hundred yards and cheering me on.  So props to the van, the helped me get up the hill.  Just when I thought I had nothing left I came around the last corner and there were Chasqui Mason and Dennis to run the last couple hundred yards with me.  That gave me the last bit of energy I needed and they pushed me up the hill.  It was a crazy run.  With the clouds at the top of the hill and how green everything was it looked like we were running in Hawaii, except colder.  Needless to say I won't forget this run.  I ended up posting a decent time and was proud of having made it up the hill.  4 miles in 48:15 minutes.

So if your not asleep yet,  and still reading, it was an "epic" Ragnar, the craziest to date.  The team was awesome, I had a great time and loved it, so sad it's over.  Now it's on to LV baby.