Doesn't this picture inspire you to do the ragnar relay next year? He happened to start about 20 seconds before me and he actually was pretty fast.

I woke up at 6:15 on Friday morning, fed Saku, got dressed and ate breakfast before we drove to Mesa to meet at the Jarvis' house. Christina, Sharon, Spencer, dad and I loaded all of our stuff into the van and Mike (the driver of our van and Spencer's dad) got us on the road toward Prescott. Mike took a great care of us and navigated us through the night. He said he enjoyed the experience, but wasn't sure if he would do it again; the drivers didn't really get any sleep. We got to the start line about 10 minutes before our first runner Tyler started to run.

Since the team was split into two vans, we didn't get to see the other van very much. Everyone was looking fresh and excited at the start line. As the first van runners completed their runs, our van ate lunch at a park in downtown Prescott and walked around the town. My dad made a comment "Ragnar isn't so bad after all". I think he spoke too soon at that point:)

Van #2 runners sporting their official ragnar shirts. I loved hanging out with these people during the relay. Our team name was rocking relay team, which supposedly sounded like a middle age woman team name according to some young single adults that Christina talked to. Sharon said that we have included something about pumping in our name since Christina, Camille and I took turns pumping in the backseat. Poor Mike probably heard more about breast milk and pumping than he ever wanted to.

I was so ready to start my first run, which was 7.1 miles of nice rolling hills. I felt so fabulous. It was hard, but it wasn't too hard. I felt strong and enjoyed the darkness around me. About three miles into the run, I passed another runner and we ended up running together for the rest of the race. She was about 5 steps behind me, which was a great motivation to keep a constant pace. My average pace was 8:40 per mile. Troy surprised me and drove to Congress to meet me at the exchange 12. Saku was sleeping in the car, so I even got to see my little boy. After I finished my run, our van found some food at Safeway and paid two dollars to sleep on a gym floor at an elementary school. I only slept for hour and half and I actually felt terrible when I woke up. I was exhausted and stiff and wanted to keep sleeping. Fortunately, my attitude changed before it was time to run again.

My dad is amazing. He had some crazy hills and I knew that he was hurting. At one point, I almost wanted to cry when I saw him struggling during his first leg. He did a fabulous job and had a great attitude. I know he was very sore the next day, but how lucky am I to have shared this experience with him. How many dads would fly across the world to do a relay with their daughter? Thank you isi!

Due to the accident, the race was on hold for three hours or so. My van was supposed to run from exchange 18 to exchange 24; instead, the race officials made everyone drive to exchange 24. This brought changes to our distances and we ended up doubling up for several legs to make sure that everyone could run three times. We continued our run around 6 am as Sharon took off to conquer an 8.5 mile leg. Camille and I ended up running together for our second leg that was 6.3 miles. We had trainer together, so it felt good to run together during the race. We had some rough hills(just like everyone else) and I told her that walking wasn't an option so we just kept running and encouraging each other. We even passed a guy right before the finish line. We ended up running an average pace of 8:56 per mile.

We had to wear reflective vests and headlamps when it was dark outside for our safety. I did not like running with the vest on since it kept bouncing up and down and side to side. Thanks to the Jarvis' family for providing all of our gear.

Troy was one of our volunteers and ended up working at the last exchange before the finish line. It was nice to see him before I started the last easy 3 mile run. It was so nice to know that it was only three miles and completely flat. I tried to keep a pace of 8:30 per mile and I think I was able to keep up with it. My watch died after 1.6 miles so I don't know how fast I was running for the last little bit.

Camille was the one to hand off our relay bracelet to me. She made it look so easy.

Most of the team was able to come to the finish line. The team made a human tunnel for me, which was fun. We also did this for Spencer as he finished a seriously difficult run earlier.

Everyone ran toward the finish line. I know my dad said that I was being so competitive that I wouldn't wait for the team; however, I wasn't sure if they were running behind me and I was too tired to look back. Camry and Chad are leading the pack.

Camille still looking strong!

Spencer, Sharon, dad and Christina and Sam's leg. Christina looks like she really isn't sure if running is really worth it. She ran up (and down) some crazy hills and I am so impressed by her.

Christina, Camille, Camry, Sam, dad, I, Spencer and Sharon.(we missed Becky, Tyler and Dani who went home to spend time with their families)

I kept telling people that this wasn't "my relay" or "my team", but I sure am grateful for these fabulous people for joining me for this relay. I know few of them said they would do it again:) We'll have to see what's going on next year. I would definitely do it again. This time I would add some fun costumes and decorations for the vans and train little harder:)

Honestly, I don't feel like I was really able to capture the experience of relay in words. We were less stinky than expected, pretty much as tired as I thought we would be and I loved hanging out with these people just as I knew I would.