When we last left off I had finished my first leg (the toughest, longest and hottest one of my three) but I was not feeling so hot. I was trying to drink but I was not feeling well. We had some downtime while van #2 took off on their runs so we went for a bite and a beverage at Boundary Bay Brewery in Bellingham.
We grabbed a table and everyone looked over the menu proclaiming what beer they were going to try. If you know me then you know I love a delicious micro-brew, particularly after a run, but there was no way I could think about drinking a beer at this time. Even reading the menu was making me feel nauseous. At the end of the day I ordered a simple green salad with some chicken on top even though I wasn’t sure my stomach could handle anything. I even hit the bathroom but I had nothing. I had been stopping at the porta-potties at every exchange thanks to my stellar hydration but now I was completely empty. I ate a few cucumbers while my teammates scarfed some amazing looking fish tacos but at the end of the day I boxed up 98% of my salad.
(photo from my van-mate Sarah’s Facebook page)
It was then time for us to hit the road to Burlington, the sight of our next major exchange. I dozed off in the van but awoke with a start…and a burp…as we exited off the highway. That was a very dangerous burp…one that nearly came with an unfavourable bonus. I took a few deep breaths but it didn’t help. I quickly had to ask if there was any way we could pull over.
Nicole sprung into high gear and threw the garbage bag near her right at me, but there was no place to stop. I couldn’t do this to these people! I couldn’t be that person that barfed in the van!! Colleen told me to press on the space between my lip and nose and hold it for ten seconds, release the pressure for 10 seconds and repeat. I don’t know if thinking about something else was what did it or if this is a special pressure point but my nausea started to dissipate as we pulled into the parking lot for exchange 12. Thank goodness!!
With a bit of downtime I scoped out some of the fun relay vehicles in the parking lot.
We also decided this was a good time to hit up a grocery store to get some more water to make sure we wouldn’t run out of things to hydrate us! As time passed I felt better and better and I was ready to eat the salad I had taken with me from Boundary Bay Brewery. It was very delicious!
And I tried one of Kim’s (Nuun runner in van #2) legendary brownies! I have no idea what she does to those brownies but boy those things are delicious!!
Van #2 showed up at the exchange so we knew we’d be back running soon. Time to grab a team photo!
Before we knew it Sarah (runner 12) was there and passing off to Nicole!
Nicole rocked her leg despite missing a turn and soon she was running towards Jenny.
We were now hitting night hours so we had to don the reflective vests. Despite Jenny’s second leg being billed as easy she had a heck of a lot of uphill, yet this girl kicked some butt! Sarah was ready and waiting for her at the next exchange.
Sarah’s leg had her leaving town and running into the countryside. The sun was going down and the bugs were coming out. Oh my gosh were the bugs coming out!! Luckily the awesome Oiselle team had bug spray in their van and they were happy to share at the next exchange. I think they may have been the most popular van! As darkness took over I think it did something to our team. I’m not sure if it was because we were cooling off, or if it was because we were running in the middle of nowhere in the dark, but we were rocking our runs. All of sudden we were parked at the exchange where I would be taking over. Luckily my stomach had improved and I felt pretty well back to normal. It had been a long time since my salad and in all the excitement I had forgotten about setting up my nutrition for my run. I hurriedly ate handfuls of gummy bears, figuring these may work just as well as some sport chews. I got my night gear on and was ready to go.
I don’t normally listen to music on my runs but I really felt like having some music at Ragnar. After Casey had passed off the slap bracelet to me I ran away from a crowded exchange and into the quiet night. There were so many people waiting on their runners at the exchange I figured I’d be passed right away but I was on my own for a long time. The cooler temperatures definitely played well in my favour and I felt amazing as I headed out on the run…not to mention speedy! It was a nice and flat 5.6 mile run.
As I ran along I just about stepped on something that scurried out in front of me…a teeny tiny field mouse!
I took the opportunity to try and look around despite the darkness. My headlamp illuminated sleeping cows in the fields beside me. It was a serene and wonderful experience.
I was definitely running faster than my team figured so they were parked on the side of the road to cheer me on, but hadn’t been looking out for me yet. I whooped at them as I ran past…feeling awesome!! Nicole ran out and caught up to ask if I needed company in the dark but I was enjoying my run so much I was happy to keep running alone. I certainly appreciated the offer though!
I ran strong and before I knew it I was running through the charming town of La Conner in the middle of the night. Avicii’s Wake Me Up was playing in my ears, setting up my sprint to the exchange.
This song now reminds me of those last few blocks into the exchange and feels somewhat epic in my mind!
Being runner #6 is pretty cool since you have both van #1 and #2 at your exchanges cheering you on. I slapped the bracelet on Tasha’s wrist and she took off. Our team was now off the hook for few hours. It was the middle of the night so we should probably get some sleep…
It has been awhile since I’ve been able to run a sub 10:00 mile pace! Pretty happy about that!
Nice job on the pace. One of my legs in a relay once (100 on 100 in VT) was in the dark. I was surprised at how much I liked it. The other teams were really cheering all of us “dark” runners on. It was great.
That sounds like so much fun, awesome job! And you just reminded me I have to get more Nuun 🙂
I am sorry you weren’t feeling very well. Glad that it went away so you could eat that famous brownie. I could have eaten a whole pan of Kim’s brownies. They were to die for! I think our van ran faster during our night legs too. I think the combo of darkness and red tutu made me faster. I actually got to the exchange before Kim was ready for me.