Our previous relay team had won a video contest and we chose Seattle Northwest Passage as the next Ragnar Relay to run.
My teammates picked me up from Seattle airport and we traveled to the Westmark hotel we were staying at near the starting line. It was beautiful on the water and had the coffee I wanted for race morning.
Friday morning we went to the starting line and saw Tracey off to run the first leg. She is our Captain and has put timeless effort into organizing and coordinating our accommodations, rental van, seeing that we won't go hungry or dehydrate and numerous other tasks. She had also organized who would run and which relay leg as she needed to leave early Saturday morning to catch a flight, but still wanted to complete all three of her legs. Tracey was my co-worker at Santa Barbara County years ago and she had a terrier named Adam that was the coolest goofy drug dog ever. This is also the same weekend that he passed onto doggy heaven two years ago. It is no small feat that Tracey was able to be here. This was her dream ragnar as she had done many others previously.
Tracey passed the snap band off to Mikey. He was my Sargeant that worked with Tracey as well. He used to joke that he was the 400 pound fat man with a bad ticker. He's not that guy anymore he's lost weight, taken a new job and is tackling relay races and triathlons and living life. He's pretty awesome! He was also the only guy in our van bless his heart he kept us all laughing and also drove the van a big part of the time.
Tracey was up to run again. She would jokingly ask who the idiot was that planned that. I love her style. It turns out later on I'd be doing the same thing running two legs with only a short rest in between. Half way into her 8 miles her knee got aching and she let me fill in for her. I ran that first mile at a faster pace than I ever have. It turns out I can run less than an eight minute mile with the right support and motivation. We finished that leg 3 as a team. I was so glad for my Fluid Cinammon Vanilla Vegan Recovery drink I put on ice earlier that morning. I passed off to Marie for leg 4 and it ended at the business of Superfeet. They are a shoe insole company who sponsored that leg and Marie got a hat she would later let me have. I gave I Marie the vegan fluid after her run to try and she loved it too.
We had three more legs to go Lisa, Marie and Leah finished their legs and we handed off to Van 2. We drove on down the road and got some lunch at Varsity Inn a little bar and grill and then rested waiting for Van 2 to pass off to us.
I was the first runner on the next leg and had 4.5 miles to run. I wanted to run a consistent pace and do well. I was running and someone had written on the sidewalk in chalk,"your dad is proud of you." I am an emotional runner and that brought out the best in me and watery eyes. My dad was a track and field coach but I never ran when I was younger. I barely remember walking the mile in pe class. In Ragnar when you pass a runner it's called a kill. I passed 2 more runners and crossed a big road only to have another team van pass me and cheer. It was team livestrong. A guy George from the ultra running community has stage 4 cancer and surgery scheduled for this upcoming Tuesday. This leg is becoming emotionally tiring. As the run went farther and neared the end I had passed 4 other team runners. On the last hill climb I slowed to a hike but saw a young lady in front of me I wanted to pass as lucky kill number 7. I sped up on the down hill only to see a small uphill to the transition area. That runner paused and I knew I had to sprint up the hill. Tracey took a picture shortly after I checked off lucky number 7.
I passed off to Marie and sat down I was exhausted.
After Marie passed off to Lisa we drove to the next leg where Lisa passed off to Leah. It was dark by then and we went to the next major exchange snow goose produce. Some of us got ice cream. I got black licorice flavor that colored everything smurf blue. I also found a cooling balm from island thyme that I rubbed on my sore calf muscles.
We drove to a hotel shortly after showered and got some rest while van 2 ran their next six legs.
It was my turn again and I did a short 3 mile run. We needed to have legs run simultaneously in order to finish before the course closure so our van dropped off Mikey and came back to get me. This part of the course doubles back so I got to high five Mikey as he was running down the hill. I turned and snapped his picture as he rounded the bend. That was a little boost and I jogged up the hill and to the finish.
We dropped off Marie and waited for Mikey. Then dropped of Lisa.
It was my last and longest leg of 8 miles. I came to a downhill with a picturesque view and called my mom to check in.
I hiked the hills and ran the flats and downhill. I took pictures and at the end made sure my watch ended at 7.77 as there was no formal exchange in this section of the relay. My hill climbs weren't fast, but I arrived right at scheduled pace.
Leah ran her last leg very well. She works for a company that has awesome sunglasses and cycling helmets. We got some sunglasses from her that we all love. We stopped at a little house with kids selling lemonade while supporting her. That was the best huckleberry lemonade ever.
Leah finished her leg looking amazing and fast and passed off to Kien in Van 2. Kien is the one who made the winning video from Las Vegas and we met each other at a previous endurance event.
Van 2 finished their legs and we all crossed through the finish arch together and collected our medals to form a phrase.
To leave the event we boarded a ferry with the van. It ended at land and a lighthouse.
We all got a good nights rest and made our way to the airport. I started to read a book called Running With a Police Escort while on the flight home. So far I'm relating a lot to this author and her running journey.
My legs are sore, I had a great time and I learned more about teamwork and running. I also just learned about Sunday being a day of rest and slept 6 hours.
The most important thing in life is taking time to find improvements where weaknesses are or once were. I've learned to get better being on a team and I've also learned it's taken a long time to run a mile pace I once thought I could never achieve.
Challenge yourself to change you'll like the results!
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