Ragnar Relay Florida Keys - RunOther


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Miami to Key West, Florida
United States
Ragnar Relay Series
70F / 21C
Sunny
Total Time = 27h 46m 24s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = Open Mixed
Age Group Rank = 11/241
Pre-race routine:

I flew into Fort Lauderdale with my friend, also running, and took a taxi to meet up with the rest of our group. We didn't know any of the other teammates other than exchanging e-mails. Most were from Tampa and knew each other from running groups and a few others from elsewhere knew the group from previous Ragnars. We had two mixed open teams and there was a good competition brewing. My team was set up to finish about 45 minutes behind the other team if all went well.

We went to dinner as a VERY large group and got to know several people better. Our roommates for the night ended up being really fun and we stayed up WAY too late chatting and having champagne in our room after dinner.

The next morning we went to the start to see off Van 1 for a 10:30 start. Our van didn't start until about 2:30, so we went to the Publix for snacks and decorated our van in the parking lot. We got a lot of strange looks for this...

We finally got situated and heading to exchange 6, where we would start. We had to do a safety briefing and have our gear checked. Ragnar requires reflective vests for all teammates and the van driver, headlamps and blinkie lights for our backside during nighttime. Nighttime for this race was 4:30 to 7:30, so many runner had to wear nightgear for more than one run. The joy of running in the winter! We also applied our Ragnar fake tats, applied sunscreen, and waited for our team. Since the first set of runs tend to be a bit longer, and it was HOT, our team was already a tidge behind. While being on time would be great, this is not unexpected. Finally, we saw our first runner off!
Event warmup:

We headed back to the van and started driving to the next exchange where I would start my run. Unfortunately the afternoon Miami traffic was tough and I honestly thought we wouldn't get to the exchange in time. My warmup consisted of a raised heart rate, worrying about losing time by making Christina wait. We pealed into the parking lot, I jumped out and hit the potty, and I was there with about a minute to spare. Phew!
Run
  • 1h 53m 42s
  • 11.55 miles
  • 09m 50s  min/mile
Comments:

Run 1: 3.5 miles, 34:11, 3:30 pm

My run was around a shopping mall and through a residential neighborhood. I lucked up with being able to run on a shaded sidewalk for the majority of the run. This was a hard segment because of many stoplights. I was trying to haul ass, so I vacillated between being happy for a break at a light and hating losing time. There was one very long light and I'd bet I lost a minute overall at minimum. I finally made it to the exchange and I was beat from the heat and effort. Unfortunately the next runner was fast and had a short run, so we jumped in the van and hauled it to the next stop. I tried to cool off and then later was able to stretch a tiny bit while waiting at the next exchange. The opportunities to stretch and cool down are few and far between at Ragnar.

Our van proceeded down the course and everyone had hot icky runs. My friend Carrie, who traveled with me, had to run in some serious redneck county and was chased by dogs. Fortunately when she stopped they lost interest and ran away, so I am glad she thought to do that. Our last 3 runners had to wear the nighttime gear and by the time our last runner hit his run it was dark. This segment of runs ended at Homestead Speedway, including one lap around the track. It was a shame it was so dark because I am sure that was cool to watch. All we could see were little lights in the distance. After we picked up our last runner we headed to dinner at a sketchy diner and drove to exchange 18 where our runs would begin in a few hours. This was at a high school in Tavernier, the first "Keys" stop, and offered showers (for a fee) and indoor sleeping. Despite needing a shower, we opted for a nap. Carrie and I laid on the gym floor and managed to catch about an hour of sleep despite snoring and other noises in the night. Others slept outside, but you would need a warmer sleeping bag to be comfortable. Finally our time came again to run, so we went to the exchange chute (inside the high school stadium on the track) and watched Van 1 come in and cheered for Christina again.

Run 2: 6.2 miles, 1:00:59,

This begins for me the first of the runs along Highway 1. Very straight shot, on a path, parallel to the highway. I lucked out because I didn't have to cross the road and it was easy for my teammates to stop and help. I asked them to stop towards mile 1 of my run because I was worried I would be too cold. Despite the 60 degree nice temp, the lack of sleep and sweaty clothes were making me very chilly. Once I started running and I had NO problem it was very pleasant. My teammate Bryan appeared out of nowhere it seemed with my jacket and my water bottle, so I took a quick sip and said I was fine. I'd just see them at the finish. I knew they could use the time advantage to get situated and I was in good shape. I was wearing an awesome headband of light-up hair and received a LOT of cheering. What a cool thing to have! I will buy some for my next Ragnar for sure (my captain provided them for the girls). I was passed by 3 people but passed about 15 (including one of the 3 guys who passed me), which is a great feeling. This normally doesn't happen to me...ever. I felt like a rockstar through mile 5, but the fatigue hit me hard after that. When I would reach a very small rise at an intersection I shuffled painfully. I guess I hit my limit, due to not training as much as I wanted in November and December. I made it through and passed off to runner 9 and it was back in the van again. She had a longer run, fortunately, so I was able to stretch a little but the chills came again quickly so being outside was less fun.

We made our way through the night runs without incident. Unlike Ragnar Great River, most of us had our longest run during the night. I felt pretty awake and helped navigate when our Navigator was running. We had a driver who was the father of runner 10. Of course navigating here amounted to: get on highway, drive straight, pull off at exchange. After picking up our last runner we headed to exchange 30 to wait for our next assignment.

Exchange 30 was at another high school and this time we took showers. That was painful (super hot water, the kind like a camp shower were you push the button every 10 seconds) but necessary. They also had delicious pancake breakfast. Lots of folks slept here, but I struggled with sleeping in the daylight. I rested my eyes, chatted with my teammates, etc. We had a little miscommunication about how quickly our van 1 would be arriving and walked to the chute about an hour early. Now we were awake so we had the kind of stupid joking conversations that only make sense on 1 hour of sleep. It was fun and, all things considered, we were still getting along great. Finally we dropped off Christina for her last run and hightailed it to the next exchange. We had very short runs for this last segment so we agreed it was okay to drop people and go as fast as possible.

Run 3: 1.85 (advertised as 2.1), 18:13, 12:02 pm

I was dreading this in that it was very hot, sunny and exposed. But I told myself I could get through 2.1 miles. I was surprised when I saw the "1 mile to go" sign before my Garmin beeped for reaching 1 mile. So, lucky me, I was off the hook in 1.85 miles! My awesome captain gave me a baggie of ice, a fresh water bottle, and we were off.

We sped from exchange to exchange and finally set off our last runner for his 5-something miles into Key West. This kid is a college track runner and very fast, so we didn't have a lot of time. We found the parking lot and walked to the finish and met the rest of the team. Bryan finally showed up and we tried to run to the finish with him. I think he slowed to a 7 minute pace so us poor shlubs could at least be near him. And that was that!

Throughout the race we learned we had stayed ahead of the other team, who was supposed to beat us. They had one injured runner, and another who was sick (didn't get the details on that). They started 30 minutes after us, but we expected them to pull ahead about halfway. At the finish we sweated out waiting the 30 minutes until we knew we'd beat them. Their time ended up being about 11 minutes longer than ours, and we took 11th and 12th place in our category. I don't know how we finished overall, but that was great to me!

What would you do differently?:

I always warn people to get a lot of sleep leading up to the race, but I never seem to manage that. I should have gone to sleep much earlier the night before the race. Also, my training in November and December was less than half what I planned to do. That said, I am glad I managed to hold about a 9:50 pace overall compared to my 9:45ish this summer. I had planned on 9:30s but I think that would be hard for me at Ragnar unless I really improved my running a lot more. The sleep deprivation, lack of stretching and recovery, etc, take a big toll on what a person "should" be able to do.
Post race
Event comments:

Ragnar is an awesome feat of planning and I am amazed each time how well things are pulled off. It's not without problems, but overall very well done. It's an experience, that's for sure. I don't plan to return to the Keys race again only because it's so flat and boring. Also, getting from Key West back to civilization is difficult and expensive. There are many other cool Ragnars to try and I hope to do that!




Last updated: 2011-07-19 12:00 AM
Running
01:53:42 | 11.55 miles | 09m 50s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/241
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5