SoCal Ragnar Relay (Part 2)

Did you read Part 1 yet?

Obviously one of the first things I did was put on the magic pants from Aspaeris. Aren't they stunning?

I just LOVED the chaos of this race. Hurrying to get from one exchange to the next, waiting for the next runner to come in. SO. FUN.

Sandy was an adorable nerd

And SO pumped to run

Our last hand off of the first leg from Sandy to Madison:

We headed to our first major exchange point, where we would finally meet up with van 2 for the first time. It was getting CRAZY hot, and we were happy to be finishing up. We were getting hungry! Madison came in for a hand off to Ashley:

Every van got a FREE BOX OF KRISPY KREME donuts. I could hardly wait to eat them all.

Did I mention my van was the best? Because we all agreed that In-N-Out was the ideal place to refuel. So delicious. Not to mention, it was a super fantastic place to change clothes for the our next leg. (As opposed to trying to do it in the back seat of a van).

By the time we arrived near our next exchange point, it was STUPID HOT. We stopped at the grocery store to buy popsicles to hand out and to buy iced lattes from Starbucks.

We remembered to give popsicles to the awesome volunteers too:

I remembered that I hadn't shaved my legs lately and decided the parking lot was OBVIOUSLY the best place to do that:

Made friends by giving out popsicles. Then they were willing to share their shade with us:

It was at least a billion degrees by the time Shannon headed out for her second run:

We stopped at a Rite Aid along the course and handed out more popsicles and wrote some messages on the sidewalk:

Shannon still looking strong

Sandy and I were experts at properly using the orange flags to safely cross the street:

With the crazy heat, we knew people were going to take longer to finish. We were concerned that Shannon was going to miss the turn for the exchange since there was no sign, so Heather and I were dropped off (since I was on deck), and Madison and Sandy went to find her. During that time, I realized I forgot practically everything I needed to run (iPod, safety pins, vest, headlamp, blinky light). It was still crazy hot and I was getting panicky and tense. Luckily, Heather talked me down off the ledge. Sandy arrived in time to drop off all my things, and Shannon came in safely.

I headed out for my run, the longest of all my legs at over 9 miles. I almost immediately got stuck at a traffic light, but at least for only a minute or so. My legs were DEAD. The course went down a "street" - which was more like a barren, dirt packed, ATV course. There were "pot holes" (more like sink holes) that were big enough to swallow a car. I was moving slowish, and got passed a TON. I at least wasn't needing to walk as badly as the last leg, and I was psyched when I saw my team around 2 miles in. They told me they were getting gas and they would see me later.

Not too long after they left, the course moved onto paved roads. I was glad the course was well marked because I couldn't keep up with any of the other runners. But the temperatures dropped and it was finally bearable. There was a slight breeze even! There were some hills, but nothing too awful. I even had a few (very few) raindrops fall on me. Somewhere around mile 6 or 7, there was an AWESOME downhill that I was able to coast down at a crazy speed, averaging 8:15ish pace. And I *finally* passed some people. It got dark the last couple miles of the course, and running along the side of the road, I had a hard time seeing where I was going. I ran about 10 minutes faster than I had expected, which is probably why Heather wasn't ready at the exchange when I got there. Oops.

Leg 2 - 9.19 miles, 1:35:51 (10:27 pace)

Stay tuned for Part 3...