Ragnar DC Recap-Day 2

We received a text message during dinner the previous night that leg 23 through Sugarloaf Mountain Park was closed. It was apparently flooded and dangerous, which made Alexis very happy. She had been dreading running that leg in the dark. This meant that we would proceed directly to the exchange for my next leg. We had some difficulty following the directions to get there and became slightly lost. Finally, we arrived and I checked in and was on my way. It was still dark and those rolling hills made it feel pretty lonely. I was so grateful once I saw the sun beginning to peak up over the horizon. I was also glad that this was my one leg that actually had van support. They were really there for me when I needed them! I grabbed some Clif Shot Bloks, which were in the bright orange bag that Ragnar gave us (yay!), and water from the van to get me through my leg.
I finished this leg a little after 7:00 am and was greeted by wonderful team. My hands were frozen. Lisa held onto them on the walk back to the van to warm me up a little. I wished that I had brought my gloves, but then realized that they would’ve just gotten wet from the rain and that would’ve been even worse. 
Stacy and I both live in Germantown. She had already offered up her house for us to use, so we headed there. Her husband had the house all set up for us, complete with towels, beds and coffee. It was amazing! I crashed for about an hour and then started getting restless. We left about a half hour later after everyone was up and ready to go.

I was having anxiety about getting lost on my last leg. There were so many turns and they even said to be sure to bring your phone just in case you got lost.

I didn’t want to get overheated so I sported my Girls on the Run t-shirt, even though it was still pretty chilly. Thankfully I didn’t get lost. I did at one point veer slightly off of the correct path, but I noticed it quickly and corrected. The turns were very clearly marked. Really my only complaint about Ragnar is the portion that I had to run through Georgetown. I had to run through the city streets because there were so many people on the sidewalks. This also meant stop lights, and lots of them. My last leg felt like it took forever! I would suggest an alternate route in the future that doesn’t go directly through Georgetown.

We each had to take a selfie at the one mile to go signs.

One of the volunteers warned me that the bridge to the finish line was slippery, so when I got there I just kept telling myself not to fall on my face. The rest of my team met me on the bridge and we all crossed the finish line together somewhere around 5:00pm, so I was still able to get home in plenty of time to see my daughter before bedtime.

This is what the back of the medals are supposed to look like.

Seriously this was such a wonderful experience and the fact that I ran it in support of Girls on the Run made it that much better. The weather was not nearly as bad as they had predicted so I was incredibly grateful for that. There is such an amazing sense of team work that goes on. I was so tired by then end, but I kept pushing myself for my team. I will never forget these wonderful ladies or the incredible running adventure that we went on together. It was worth every second and I had the best runner’s high ever! Thanks to the best husband ever, who had to play single parent all weekend to a toddler with strep. I’m so grateful for all that running has brought to my life, from building new friendships to showing me that I’m physically and mentally capable of more than I had ever dreamed possible. This is what running is all about and I love it!

What’s one of your favorite running experiences?