Little Fruit Fly in Rainbow Colored Socks: Ragnar Northwest Passage

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Ragnar Northwest Passage - Run #2

After hours of downtime while Van 2 ran their first leg and we ate (and failed and sleeping), it was time for my second run. The biggest debate I had on this one was "Do I wear my sunglasses or not?" In the end, I opted to skip them, and that was the right choice. What wasn't right was that I completely forgot to pack a visor or hat. We'll get to that....

My second run was 6.6 miles and started while the sun was still up. By the time I'd be done it would be dark, meaning I had to set out in my reflective vest. I also had to wear my headlamp and flashy light thing on the back of my body. Once I started running my headlamp kept moving and that's when I remembered I always wear a hat of some form to hold it in place. Dang it! It was probably a good 4 miles or more before I got it in a spot where it would just stay put -- or maybe the sweat helped it stick to me?!

Let's back up again! The hand off from Kari to myself was nice and smooth, and I was easily on my way for one of the most beautiful runs I have ever done in my life, maybe second only to the entire Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon in Vancouver, BC. For only a short distance I was in a small city and neighborhood. The rest of my run I was in a living postcard. The sun was setting, giving the sky the most beautiful array of colors. The fields I ran by were immaculate. These people have money!! I saw barns as glamorous as the homes they belonged to. Everything was just perfect. Like a Better Home and Gardens magazine article or something.

I had my same plan of "Keep running until at least our team van passes me", then I can be lazy and walk. As in the first leg, I never saw my van. So after 2 miles of moving I decided it would be okay to pause to grab a still photo of the area I was running through, versus all the action shots I had been taking. The elevation was as flat as can be, which was very welcome after the 8.25 miles of non-stop climb. There wasn't much of a shoulder, however, so when cars would approach I'd be running in the gravel on a slant. No biggie, it was too pretty to even complain. Runners were very spread out, but I did get encouraging words from those I did encounter, and that always makes me smile!

After those first 2 miles I decided to "Do the Galloway" and mix it up with walking/running intervals. I basically ran .4 then walked .1 for the most part. My body was happy with this, since, again, there was zero training and I haven't run this long of a distance since the end of 2014. Before I knew it my time in the country was coming to an end. I did have some Meniere's issues to deal with during the last mile, but I wasn't going to let any vertigo stop me. The biggest challenge was the last stretch over a small river. Running on bridges isn't easy anymore since I inevitably have those vertigo feeling start.

In the dark I had a hard time figuring out the exchange point. Volunteers told me "Just keep going straight. It's right in front of the church!" Simple enough? I kept running straight and saw the church, but never saw hand offs happening. Our tiki guy with his eyes all lit up was a relief, so I at least knew the Rum Runners were there waiting for me. Now I just had to find Amanda. Right when pure confusion was about to hit the last volunteer told me to take a hard right. I did, and there was Amanda ready with a big smile on her face. Hallelujah! (Get it, Hallelujah - I was at a church....)

This time I finished with no bad words coming out of my mouth like at the first run. Woohoo!! I'd run this stretch again any time. It made that first leg worth it, by letting me be the 3rd runner and able to do this section. Absolutely glorious!