6 runners, 196 miles from Miami to Key West
February 6-7, 2015
Quick recap of a fun, long weekend. Roxy, Carolyn, Gina and I loaded up the van Thursday morning and then headed to Miami. We picked up Sondra and Holly at the Miami airport, before going to the Ragnar start village. This is the first time I've checked in the day before. Made it so much less stressful to get it all done the day before. We then headed to our hotel to check in, then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Early to bed. We had a 6:30 am start time.
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| Sondra, me, Holly, Carolyn, Roxy and Gina |
It was still dark when we arrived at the start area. I waited near the start line with Holly, our first runner, while the others stood over by the area the runners would head past after the start. With a lot of cheering, the runners where off! We all met back at the van and got right on the road. Holly was running leg one and two. So we had a bit of time before we needed to meet her. We found a Starbucks on her route, so stopped there to get coffee and use the bathrooms. We waited on the sidewalk for a while, but didn't see her. We worried maybe we had missed her. So, we decided to go ahead and get to the exchange. Carolyn got ready, as she was the next runner. We didn't have long to wait, before Holly came running in, passing the slap bracelet to Carolyn. Carolyn ran two legs, then passed off to Sondra, who ran two legs. This took us to the first major exchange, where 12 person teams would hand off from van 1 to van two. This is were I started my first run. I got ready, did a little shopping at the Ragnar booth, then waited for Sondra to come in. We saw a few other Sarasota teams there, which was really fun. Finally, at just before 10 am, Sondra came in and it was my time to run!
Run 1: My first of 5 legs, was 5.4 miles long. Thankfully, the weather was perfect. 68 degrees with low humidity. I took it easy, often being passed by other runners, but my plan was to conserve energy, since I had so many miles to run. Every time someone passed me, I would have to tell myself that the runner wasn't running an ultra, I was! This run was pretty uneventful. Not much to see, as we were running down busy Miami streets. I had to stop at a few lights, one of them had me stopped for about a minute and a half. But, I finished my run in 52:02, which I am happy with. Pace: 9:38; Splits - 9:15, 9:28, 9:29, 9:28, 10:29, 3:50.
Gina ran one leg next, then Roxy and then we were back to Holly. While Holly ran, she had a long run, we stopped at a Publix to get food and ice. I made a big mistake here. While the others got sandwiches and salads, I didn't get anything! Big mistake, that I would feel later during my midnight run. We rushed to get to the next exchange before Holly, but unfortunaltly, she got there before us. We dropped of Carolyn, then pulled over and waited for Holly to jump in. Sondra ran after Carolyn, finishing at the Homestead Speedway, were she passed off to me at 3:40 pm.
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| Sondra hands off the slap bracelet to me. |
Run 2: This was my second time running this leg, which is 8.8 miles long. Last year, I left the speedway closer to sunset. This year, I was so happy to be leaving much earlier, since it takes you through a rough section of Homestead and then down a dirt road, that is completely dark once the sun goes down. This year. I got to run down the dirt road while it was still light. So happy! I took it easy again, knowing I needed to save something for my midnight 10 miler. Even though it was late afternoon, the temperature was still wonderful. Low 70s. The one more mile sign was on the road next to the Everglades Detention center. Other runners said they heard prisoners yelling at them, but I didn't really notice anything. Didn't see anyone in the yard, either. The last quarter mile or so was on the grassy shoulder of the road. So happy to see Gina up ahead, passed of the bracelet to her. Time: 1:29:50; pace - 10:17; splits - 9:43, 9:52, 9:51, 9:58, 11:31, 10:00, 10:41, 10:21, 7:47
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| Dirt road section. Lots of discarded furniture. |
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| About to hand off to Gina. |
Gina ran the first tough section of the dirt road that is part of the water management's property. This is part of the everglades and will take us straight to Highway 1. She hands off to Roxy, just before sunset. Roxy has the toughest part, since her run is around 8 miles, all on this rocky road. Roxy ends up running faster than we thought she would. After finally finding a parking spot, we start to walk to the exchange, when we get a text that she is there already. I rush up to meet her, while Carolyn goes back to get the van and meet us at the exchange. She finds Holly, passes off the bracelet, then we pile into the van. Even though we are very close to Key Largo, we have to drive North, to Florida City, to turn around as there is a barrier between the north and south bound lanes. When we leave the exchange, we are on the north bound side. We stop at a gas station for snacks and a bathroom break, before heading back south, to Key Largo. We get to the next exchange in plenty of time, getting to hang out and cheer on other runners. There is a brief rain, but thankfully it moves past, before Holly comes in and passes off to Carolyn. Holly was lucky, never getting hit by the rain. Carolyn's run is long, so we stop at the Starbucks in Key Largo for some coffee. It's going to be a long night! Sondra is next again, and has a rather long run. I get really nervous about my run, but try not to freak out. We hang out at the high school, the location of the next exhange. Lots of people are sleeping here or taking advantage of the showers. Roxy waits with me at the exhange point. Sondra takes a bit longer than she thought, but eventually, just after midnight, I set off on my third, and longest, run.
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| Sondra slaps on the bracelet. |
While Gina was running, I ate a little something, drank water and stretched out on one of the longer seats. While Roxy was running, I tried to sleep, but she was having a rough run too, and kept sending me text message updates. I wanted her to know we were thinking of her and keeping track, so I replied to her the 3 times she sent me a text. Still, the hour long light nap seemed to help. By the time Carolyn was out running, we decided to stop for breakfast at the same place Gina and I had gone to the year before. Roxy slept in the car, while the rest of us had a great breakfast. Just what I needed. The food and coffee helped a lot. By the time it was my turn to run again, I felt so much better.
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| Running next to the old Bahia Honda Bridge. Wish we had been running agains traffic, so I could have seen the bridge better. |
Run 4 - 4.74 miles, starting at 9:32 am finishing on Big Pine Key. The sun was up, but thankfully, the temps were still on the coolish side. The wind was pushing from the north, So, I had a nice push at my back for the entire run! I was feeling pretty good, stopped once to take a photo of my favorite bridge at Bahia Honda State park, before finishing off my run. Instead of passing off to Gina, I passed off to Holly, who was taking on this longer run. Roxy was going to run it, but her foot was really hurting. She wanted to skip her next run, but try to finish off our journey with her last run, which would take us to the finish. Time - 45:31; Pace - 9:36; Splits - 9:18, 9:28, 9:38, 10:16, 6:49.
Run 5 - 4.73 miles run in the Lower Keys, starting at 1:44 pm. My last run! We had to drive to the next stop fast, to get to it before Gina got there. She had taken over Sondra's last run, so she would be passing the slap bracelet to me. She had just over 2 miles and traffic was backed up. We were sitting in the van, in traffic, when we saw her run by us. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait very long. I jumped out of the van, running up to meet her, and then setting off. I didn't even have time to turn on my Garmin! But, I got a signal right way, so only lost a minute or so. The wind was still pushing me along, which I was really happy about. I did manage to pass a couple of people, which was cool. This was my one and only double leg, so when I finished this leg. I had to stop and wait for the police officers to let a group of us cross the road, and then continue my run. That sucked! I got there, but then he made us wait for the 3 runners that were way behind us. Meanwhile, the other two guys that were standing with me, got to watch their runners do a virtual exchange and then take off. Oh, well. Lost a minute or so. I really enjoyed my last leg. Tried to give it all that I had left in the tank. Finished with a nice strong push, to hand off the bracelet to Gina. Time - 44:31; Pace - 9:24; Splits - 9:40, 9:25, 9:18, 9:26, 6:41
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| Keeping cool with our ICEpodz while drinking our Whatt-ahh. The BEST water! |
We drove down to the next exchange, were I was able to change into dry/clean clothing, then watched Roxy take off. We were on our way to the finish area. Not long after we found a parking spot, we got a text from Roxy saying she was a mile away! We all jumped out of the van and fast walked it over to the meeting area. We would all run in together. Once we saw Roxy, she pulled on her team tank top, then we all ran in to the finish together. What an amazing time!
So, would I run an Ultra Ragnar again? YES! It was fun. For the most part, I liked running more and I know now that I need to eat, as well as keep hydrated. I need to catch a nap, whenever I can. I probably won't run this Ragnar again, this was my third time, but I would love to run another one as an ultra team. I'm really looking forward to Ragnar Atlanta Trail run in April.
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| Sporting our Gold first place medals! |
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