6 + 4 + 4

That about summarizes what I did on Saturday!

As I have mentioned before, I have signed up to run the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage with team "How the West Was Run" which will take place on July 22nd and 23rd.  I have never been part of a relay team, but I am looking forward to trying something new!  Our team will be running 187 miles starting in Blaine, WA and ending on Whidbey Island.  There are 12 runners and 2 vans, so basically van 1 will start (that is my van) and each of the 6 runners inside will take a turn running their "leg" of the race, then van 2 will take over while we rest.  Then it will be our turn again, then van 2.  Then our van will run a third time and van 2 will finish it off!  So each person has 3 "legs" of the race to run.  Sounds FUN right???  Well, I think so anyways.  I am lucky runner number 6- my race portions are 6.5 miles, 6.6 miles and then 5.5 miles for a total of 18.6 miles all together.  I will be running the most miles in our van (runner number 1 is close with 18.5) and the second most for the whole team! 

Our Ragnar van! 

So my training plan for Saturday had me running 3 separate times throughout the day to get my body used to running several times in a short period of time.  I was scheduled to run 6 miles, 4 miles and then 4 more miles.  Sounded easy enough, except when I added the numbers together and realized I would be running 14 miles for the day.  Farther than a half marathon!  I knew I was more than capable of the mileage and was kind of excited to see how my body would handle it.
I woke up Saturday morning to our standard weather these days- grey, drizzly skies and chilly temperatures.  I ate a cliff bar really quick, drank some espresso and geared up for my first 6 miler.  It was really raining at that point so I threw my hat on and headed out the door.  I also wore my arm sleeves instead of a jacket- love those things!  I felt a bit sluggish during the entire run, and I also didn't want to go all out knowing I still had 2 more runs to complete for the day! 

Run #1= 6 miles, 59 minutes, pace of 9:45

When I got home I layed out all of my wet clothes hoping they would dry so I could wear them for the next run (don't judge) and had a protein drink, a gatorade and some chicken with rice.  Then I hopped in the shower which seemed kind of pointless but I do have some hygiene standards!  I ran to Target for a bit, then came home and relaxed for an hour or so before gearing up for run #2.  I ate a banana, put on my running clothes from earlier (which were still damp by the way, including my shoes) and headed out for run #2, about 4 hours after finishing the first run!  It was not raining this time and my legs felt really good for the first mile, not so good for miles 2 and 3, then pretty good for mile 4.  Not sure how to explain that!

Run #2= 4 miles, 38 minutes, pace of 9:32

This time when I got home I tossed my running clothes in the dirty hamper.  They were feeling kind of crunchy and there was no way I was going to wear them again!  Although I joked that people around town would start to wonder if I had been running non stop all day long if I didn't change.  I can just imagine "Honey, didn't that girl run by our house about 6 hours ago?"  Haha!

Yummy granola and coconut milk! 

This time I decided to have a bowl of granola with some coconut milk and a couple of hard boiled eggs.  It was kind of tricky eating at the right times and keeping hydrated with all of this crazy running!  I changed into some comfy clothes and entertained myself by playing some 'words with friends' on my phone and attempting to take some photos of myself.  I decided that my new favorite things in the world are my calf sleeves- they felt so good, like a hug for my leg.  Then I decided to lay down in the recliner with my blanket and read my book Once a Runner.  I don't think I ended up reading too much of it :)

Entertaining myself. 

I think I need to work on my self photography skills a bit

Reading my book.  Ok fine- I guess I took a little nap!!

After my power nap it was time to face the music.  I really didn't feel like gearing up AGAIN and heading out for those last four miles.  But I changed anyways and decided to eat some energy jelly beans to get me going.  Devan decided she wanted to ride her bike with me- yay for some company!  She is a good pacer and would help keep my mind busy making sure she didn't get run over.  Four hours after my second run we were out the door.  I was going to do the exact same route as before so I could compare my times.  I assumed I would be slower with each run, but I was wrong!  My energy level was great and I found myself able to push the pace pretty easily.  Devan did a great job and I was glad to have her along for my final 4 miles.

Run #3= 4 miles, 37 minutes, pace of 9:09

I was a tired girl after this last run!  I made myself some Nuun and stretched/foam rolled really well.  I fixed myself some chicken, rice, cucumbers and hummus for dinner.  We had been out to dinner with some friends at a place called Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue Friday night, and I ended up eating my meal 3 seperate times and never finished it all.  That is a large portion of food!   

Love nuun!  Tastes better out of a candy cane striped straw too! 

Dinner!  Leftovers from the Mediterranean Kitchen in Bellevue.  I was starving but there was no way I could finish it all.

I think the hardest part was mentally getting ready to run for a second and third time.  I am used to just going out for my run, then being done and free to enjoy the rest of the day!  This was very time consuming but I am glad I did it and I know that it will make my Ragnar experience more enjoyable.  At least now I am confident that I CAN run 3 times in one day!