Ragnar 2014 #1

 We got up at 2am on Friday morning to do this crazy thing.  Yes, you read that right, 2am.  By 3, we were on the road to pick up Kristen and Rich.  Gigi and Nick had arrived the night before and were staying at our place.  It made things super easy in the logistical sense.  We arrived shortly before 4am for our safety briefing and check in.  Ragnar was running behind, and we didn't actually start until 5:10, ten minutes after our assigned start time. 
Our starting rotation looked like this:
Nick - 5.7 miles (including the Rickenbacker Causeway)
Brad - 4.4 miles (through Grand Avenue)
Me - 2.4 miles
Rich - 4.0 miles
Gigi - 3.6 miles
Kristen - 2.7 miles, handing off to van 2 at Tamiami Park
Here is everyone at the start, getting ready to go.

I knew Nick was fast, but I really hadn't rectified in my mind exactly HOW fast. The man has a 1:28 half marathon under his belt.   When they started, he was off like he had been shot out of a slingshot.  He was in the lead leaving Key Biscayne.  He was IN THE LEAD.  I'm a 11-12 minute miler on an average day, so this whole in the lead thing was pretty foreign.  We watched him in awe.  Here he is, looking like a flash.

 

Nick handed off to Brad in Coconut Grove, and we stuck close.  It wasn't even six am, the sun wasn't up yet and Brad had to run through a pretty shady area.  So we would go a few blocks and wait for him, then go a few more.   Once he crossed US1 we headed to the next exchange, which was right behind the University of Miami.  I was up next.  My 2.4 was pretty uneventful--my legs felt heavy, and I think I was finally warmed up by about the time it was over.  I ran a 10:45, which was on pace for what I was expecting. 

Next up was Rich.   Rich is also a super speedy guy.

 

 Gigi was up next--love this girl, we had such a great time.  Here we are before her first exchange.

 And here are the guys while we were waiting for Gigi to come in.

Next to the shower pill magnet.  We really did love our shower pills.

 AAnd last, but not least was Kristen, who brought us in to Exchange 6, where we handed off to Van 2.

The really GREAT thing about doing this race, which literally runs through our back yard, is that once we were done, we went home.  We dropped Kristen and Rich at Kristen's house and then went to my house. We ate real food and slept in real beds (or at least tried to sleep).  That paid off later.  We were done and headed home by 10, looking forward to a solid four hours before we needed to meet back up.  Meanwhile, Van 2 ROCKED IT despite the heat.

To Be Continued!!