Ragnar Miami to Florida Keys Relay Race Review

How do you fit an amazing time, 32 hours of travel/runs and laughs into a blog post?! I will try to do my best with words and pictures to bring you up to date quickly and without boring you. It's mostly from my perspective and my runs. There are a total of 36 legs split up between 12 runners and each runner has three legs to run. I will sum it up as best I can from my own experience and my runs. 

Our Ragnar challenge, 198 miles beginning in Miami and ending at Key West. Long before I became a runner, I heard stories from my husband about this crazy relay challenge and how he wanted to do it. Leave it to me to become a runner and put us on a team a year later. And boy what a team! Some things you make happen, some just happen. This team happened. An old friend from high school (Chrissie) had done Ragnar and I had seen her in pictures (thank you facebook). I happened to mention to her that I wanted to try it and might need some help/pointers. She mentioned she was actually putting a new team and wanted a 10:00 minute pace. Done! She let my husband and I in and asked if we had anyone else. I asked a good friend of mine and my husband's best friend. Both jumped at the opportunity and that is how the first 4 runners from Van 1 came to be. Chrissie told me she had 2 runners for our van and boom, Van 1 was complete. Now we just had to wait about 8 months.

Those 8 months passed and Chrissie asked me to be co-captain of Van 1. I was excited as we prepared what we needed and spoke often of things for the vans, etc. Van 2 runners offered to have a pre-race pasta dinner and we finally all met and got together to decorate our vans. It was brief and quick as Van 1 had to be in Key Biscayne at 4:30am for our start time of 5:30am.

The night before!  Van 1 ready in my driveway and it's time to get packed up and try to get some sleep.

Hubs and I went to bed at 1am and woke up at 3am. BRUTAL but this would set the pace for the next 35 hours or so. Sleep was something we would not get a lot of.

You'll see us wearing these reflective vests a lot. They are mandatory between the hours of 4:30pm and 7:30am. I knew this was going to be a very interesting day when I had to go to the port o potty (nerves) and I emerged to find a welcoming committee cheering me on and hoping I had a good time in the port o potty before the race. This team was going to rock! 

SO READY! My first leg, 5.7 miles out from the key to Coconut Grove. A run I do every week-end. This was very cool and symbolic for me. Hundreds of times I have been out there and here I was on this great adventure. I took off. Little did I know that there was a cloud with a rain storm waiting about 1 mile from the end. I got to the Van soaked and everyone was wondering why I was sweating so much and if I was ok. I told my husband I was fine and that it was pouring rain. Wouldn't you know it, they didn't get one drop. It's okay, I was having a blast.

That speed demon you see is the hubs taking off. He's fast and is in the midst of training for an ultra. He said he would take it slow. You an tell from the pic, that was not happening!

Different runners from our van coming and going. (Top middle pic is Will, one of my husband's best friends.)

Peter, another fast runner and the Ragnar pro in our van.

Victor and Melissa (my partner in crime for Van 1).

The VAN - many many hours were spent here!

We finished our first legs, #1-6 and handed off to Van 2 at Tamiami Park. The next time we would all see each other would be at the Homestead Speedway and little did I know what was coming!

The entire team - NO EXCUSES (-1 runner who had just gone out).

We were all hungry and off Van 1 went to eat.

That thing you see on my husband's plate is supposed to be "Swedish Pancakes". It was a blanket! We still don't know what it was but he claims that it was very good. 

We went to Peter's house to relax since we had some time to kill. It was a nice break and we got showers in. Thanks Pete! We set off and got to the Homestead Speedway and my heart sank. It was a brutally hot day. Not one cloud in the sky, the sun was out and Ragnar starts sending warning texts to my phone about a high heat index and how Vans need to support their runners. I was next. Leg 13 was listed as a "very hard" 8.8 miles and it would be accompanied by ridiculous heat. I am used to running in the Miami heat but it was 2pm and you could feel the heat radiating from the ground. Needless to say, as runner 12 came around the corner, I was nervous and not looking forward to being out in the sun for 8.8 miles. I checked my weather app and it read 88 degrees with a "feels like 94". NOT GOOD! 

Peter who has done this before looked at me as I got yet another high heat index warning and told me not to worry, that they would be 2 miles from the speedway and they would take care of me. I didn't know what this meant. I remember thinking 2 miles was a short distance especially since I have been training for my first full (which is in 2 days by the way). Peter has experience running Ragnar and he knew what was waiting for me. I didn't. 2 miles in I found myself hot and breathing as if I was running at full speed yet I wasn't quite turning my feet all that fast. I saw the Van and felt so freaking happy to see them. They were waving me down with the red flags Ragnar gives us and smiling and Melissa was running towards me with something. What was it? I couldn't tell through sweat drenched eyes. It was a freezing cold mini towel she had soaked in our cooler. She threw it around my neck and it felt like heaven. The hubs looks at me and asked if I was ok and my only response was "this is pretty bad". He told me to sit and I waved him off and took off again. Peter tells me he'll see me in 2 miles. This didn't seem like a short distance any more. 

It was the heat against me and I had 6.8 miles to go. Along the next two miles, I saw people getting into their vans and taking a break. One man lay on the floor and I asked him if he needed help and he told me he had already called his teammates. I assessed how I was feeling. I was feeling weak and hot but I was ok. Mile 4 and there was my team, like an experienced pit crew. It seems each had something to do. Melissa with the towel, Peter with water, Will with words of encouragement and Victor telling me I was doing great. The hubs pulls a bag full of ice and I put half of it in my sports bra - now you have to know that I despise having icy cold things on me yet there I was opening up my shirt asking for more. It was that hot! At this time in the race, our team became solidified. As corny as it sounds, we were a real team and that was not going to change. This feeling of camaraderie and the spirit of working towards a goal together (getting me to the exchange without passing out or overheating) would last us the entire race. It would not waiver. Keep it going, Michelle. I said this over and over. I kept on and I knew they would be 2 miles down that road again. Along those next two miles I saw a girl being led to a first aid truck and 2 more runners sitting in vans saying they needed a break. The asphalt was on fire and my feet started to feel like they were burning. I thought of a story the hubs told me of Badwater and how runners run along the white line. I tried this when I saw a white line and kept reminding myself that I was halfway there. I kept going to my team, I knew they were out there somewhere at mile 6 or so. 

Mile 6.5 came and sure enough, there they were. More ice, another cold towel, water and keep it going. I had 2 miles to go. The van support ended at this point and I turned into a gravel road that then led into some fields. It was eerie but there was a tiny bit of shade and I was really grateful. The gravel also cooled off significantly from the burning pavement and I found my feet were feeling better. There was mud and puddles and uneven trails but it actually kept my mind of the heat as I jumped around the terrain. Soon enough, there I was staring at the finish line and I ran fast, I took off with what little energy I had because it was over and I had made it. I never stopped and my amazing team that had gotten me through my most challenging run were there screaming and cheering me in. I sat in the car for a good 15 minutes drinking water with the ac vents on me and I could not cool off. The feeling of accomplishment was huge though and I was damn proud of myself. I changed socks to reveal red, burned feet. It was that hot! It actually took like 3 days for my feet to look normal again. 

The Homestead Speedway - notice the sky. Not one cloud!

A nice little alligator waiting in the water.

Lunch - I was starving but there wasn't much around. 

Will heading off after Peter brought it in. Both runs on gravel, both difficult. 

The next few pics are of the sunset which Melissa and I believe to be the most beautiful sunset EVER!

The difference in my skin color after my leg under the punishing sun!

When Will gets back, my husband is missing... If you guessed port o potty - you win a prize! ok, not really, but you are right. I'm screaming for him, he's screaming he's coming and then he forgets his watch. Will handed his off to him and off went hubs into the night. He was then followed by Victor and Melissa who both had pitch black runs. Normally I wouldn't like that but the weather had cooled off and boy was I jealous of their cool runs! We laughed about this and I joked with them. Before Melissa went on her run, we stopped at a Subway where we had the best turkey sandwich EVER! You will see this word over and over. Melissa and I were so delirious and tired that everything became the best EVER!

We stopped at a pizza place and picked up pizza which of course, Melissa and I thought was the best pepperoni pizza EVER! We devoured that pizza and stopped at a high school where you can pay to shower. I walked with Melissa and told her I was just going to wash my face since I didn't have a towel.  She was like "whatever, just use mine". Now, Melissa and I would never really share a towel but in the midst of Ragnar and being so close for so many hours, it seemed like something perfectly normal to do. She went in and showered and changed while I watched our bags, then I went in and showered and changed while she watched our bags and wouldn't you know it, as we walked back to the car, we realized that this was the best shower EVER!

We drove to Marathon and parked our car at a designated overnight parking lot where we could get some rest before runner 12 would come in and I would take off on my last leg. This was going to be my last run in this entire crazy day. A small run of 2.4 easy miles that I began at 5:20am. Almost 24 hours from the first time I took off. I ran them hard and loved every minute. I soaked it all in for my running was almost over. I came in and you can see how happy I was.

Runner 1 - DONE

Melissa and I shooting pictures of the sunrise - the most beautiful sunrise EVER! (Remember Melissa and I are now going on 2 days with about 4 hours of sleep) Also, here is Peter on the 7 mile bridge.

The most beautiful clouds EVER - Melissa and I have had many laughs thinking of how sleep deprived we were that we actually stood and stared at these clouds for 5 minutes reveling in their beauty. We were convinced we had never seen anything like them. Prettiest clouds EVER!

Runner 2 - DONE

Runner 3 - DONE

Florida Key Deer

Melissa and Peter stealing electricity. :-)

Runner 4 and 5 - DONE

Runner 6 and VAN 1 - DONE

You see the slap bracelet I'm holding??? Yeah well, we messed up and forgot to give it to Van 2 so after reaching Key West, we had to drive back out to give it to them. Luckily they were not held back and we almost were when we got pulled over by a police officer that was nice enough to tell us to slow down and let us go without a ticket. Mel and I thought he was the nicest police officer EVER!

The finish line area and waiting for VAN 2!

VAN 1 - best teammates EVER!

TEAM NO EXCUSES

A great lunch was had by all and off we went to get some naps in before dinner time and celebrating. The happiness and adrenalin lasted straight through the day.

A shirt we saw at Key West - and yes, this is the joy you feel when you can fit this in during a relay race. Everyone you are with will know and you won't care because you all cheer each other on when it happens. You get that close!

This seemed to wrap up a lot of this relay into a statement.

Time to drive it back home and say bye bye Ragnar! Thanks for the memories.

A sadness swept through me as I returned our van. It seemed like months of planning and waiting for this great race had ended way too quickly. In the midst of laughs and great times and rough times, people that had never really spent all that much time together created a kinship. You miss each other right after. The funny quirks of each person that you got used to over 32 crazy hours. And the inside jokes that still make us laugh and the inside secrets that will be kept... So when people ask me should they do Ragnar, I say yes, BUT, and it's a great big BUT, make sure you have the right team with you. It can make it a horrible experience, or it can make it the best experience (you guessed it) EVER!

Team NO EXCUSES is meeting for happy hour in a few weeks to discuss next yr and how to better our times. We ended up ranking 12th in our age group. Yeah, we will be back for more! So when you see our van, stop by and say hi!

As for me, I have a date with 26.2 this Sunday (my first full) and thanks to that second leg from Ragnar, I know I'm ready. It's my turn to cross that line and cross it I will because, I can.