Ragnar leg 1: I rushed out of work Friday afternoon, caught the 5:30 p.m. ferry and drove north on I-5. Not the ideal way to prepare, but after hearing that most of the team had been up since 4 a.m. catching planes, I didn't feel so bad. No traffic, and I arrived in Edison at exchange 11 about 30 minutes before Andy arrived for the handoff. Enough time to dress and jog around to get a little warm and meet my new teammates. I took the baton from Andy as the sun was getting dim and took off on a really flat route surrounded by fields. Real quiet, no traffic and long straightaways. It took four miles or so to get into a groove; sitting at a desk and then in a car all day didn't help loosen my up and I wasn't in a groove. I passed one team on that stretch, a women's ultra. But that was it, kind of a lonely road in a real rural area. I didn't want to push too much too early but I hit the first hill (at 4 miles) and started to feel comfortable. I charged up that one and hit some rollers, started passing teams. The slight downhills were great and I was able to stretch my legs. A few little up and downs and I was moving, caught two guys with under a mile and hit Padilla Bay feeling great. Perfect temperature. Handed to Dale right at dusk and walked away from the first leg ready for more. By my watch it was 6.6 miles in 42 even (I think, whoever has the bible can correct that), about 6:21 per mile. | 