Go, you chicken fat, go away!

This is not the time for my back to be going out again less than a week before Napa Valley Ragnar.  :(

Enjoy this picture while I writhe in pain.

I love Ragnar.  Don't you?  Every race brings a new adventure and new friends.  But I must say.  When I first met some of these dudes for the first time, I was like "I just flew to San Francisco to run with these obnoxious loud mouths?"  Well, it turns out they were just drunk.  That's all.  They were a lot more fun once they sobered up.  Ay yi yi.

I was runner #2.  Runner #1 gets to run over the Golden Gate Bridge :(  Missed it by one leg!  But I did get to drive over it.  And that's pretty cool.  My first leg was 2.7 miles and mostly downhill.  My back had been bothering me all week.  I was really worried because I couldn't even bend over and touch my toes.  The hard motel bed didn't help much either.  But as I started running I found that I was able to put one foot in front of the other, and that's all it took.  I ran a 7:40 pace, but I was hoping for sub 7 if I wasn't hurt.

My next leg was 4.72 miles at night.  I felt great.  In fact, I thought I was cranking out some real fast miles.  But I wasn't.  Well, I did have a 200 foot hill to climb between mile 1 and mile 2, but still, I thought was flying.  I guess I don't remember what it's like to run fast.  Oh well.  I passed more people than those that passed me.

My last leg was right after the night legs end.  So I started without the night gear; reflective vest, headlamp, LED light.  After a mile my team caught up to me and said they got a text that the night hours were being extended due to the overcast.  So I threw the gear back on.  No biggy.  I was running through Napa Valley.  It was really pretty.  There was a vineyard at the foot of a hill.  A house was on top of the hill, and this hobbit hole was at the base of the hill exiting into the vineyard.  I'm sure it was connected to the house under the hill.  Pretty cool.  Anyway, I was running the best I could.  The hills were tough, but I was pushing through them.  I didn't get passed until 4.7 miles into my run.  That's about the time I started to crash and burn.  My legs were cramping up.  But I knew I could finish.  It was just time and pain.  Keep pushing through the pain, and it's only a matter of time.  I finally finished, and was glad to be done.  My legs are still sore as I write this report almost a week after running the race.  Would I run this race again?  I would if I was independently wealthy.  It was fun.

This is a picture of our team at the 2nd Major Exchange.  Everyone except JP who was running.

Alyssa, Jess, Jimmy, me, and Brian.  All the returning runners from So Cal who received the coveted Gold Rush Medal.

Here we are at the finish line.  Team 276 is My Number, so Pass Me Maybe.

What?  We were in San Francisco!  What do you expect?