Ragnar Leg 3

For leg 3 I took off around 6:00AM which is generally a nice time to run anywhere in the world, excepting equatorial locations, like Baton Rouge. Several factors combined to make this leg the best one yet: I got 2.5 hours of sleep, I ran solo through farmland, I watched the sunrise on the Olympic Mtns, it was mostly flat. Here is the map: http://ragnarrelay.com/race/northwestpassage/legs/31 This leg was by far the easiest of the 3 legs I ran.

Generally in these overnight relays there is precious little time to sleep, but I guess we got lucky and pulled into the van exchange first. I saw the soccer field and immediately grabbed my sleeping bag, therm-a-rest, and ground cloth and hopped in as soon as I could. The night was cool and clear and after gazing at the stars for a bit, fell asleep pretty quickly. My alarm went off at 4:45AM and, admittedly, could have been a little later. But why be stressed when you're trying to run well? No reason in my mind. I puttered around and took my time loosening up and checking on where the other van was and downing 2 Red Bulls. On my "warm up" jog (about 5 min, barely qualifies as anything) I noticed that the Olympics were catching some sun and looking quite beautiful. I was sad to turn around and head home, but had to as I had a team depending on me. Fortunately, the sight kept me company as I ran toward Admirality Inlet through some lovely farmland. To me there is a real romanticisim wrapped up in "The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner" and I had a fantastic time running the early portion of this leg. I was alone, it was early (not even the farmers were up!), and I had the most beautiful scene open to me. It was the kind of experience only a runner can get, which is why I love them so much. It's easy to push when you have something that beautiful to take your mind off the pain.

After cresting the peak of my leg, I knew it was all downhill and flat, so I really pushed hard and stopped the watch at 43:05, a 5:31 average mile pace. I was extraordinarily happy with this result, it shows that I still have some strength in me.

Miles: 7.8 for the day/53.8 for the week
Pullups: 0 for the day/ 29 for the week