Ragnar Relay. Check.

June 18-19, 2015

This weekend Jeff and I both ran the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay, a 200-ish mile run over 2 days with a 12 person team. We were on separate teams (mine was all women, his all men). We actually ended up being the same runner (runner #8) so we got to run a few minutes together.

I signed up on a bit of a whim about 8 months ago and put together a team of friends and neighbors. I think I had a total of NINE people bail out so we ended up having to drop down to a “six pack” or half a team and join with another half a team. It ended up working out since you are really on your own most of the time with your six team members in your van anyway. But the only bummer was that the other half we were with were a little bit slow so we had to wait around a little longer than we’d hoped and the race took us a lot longer to complete.

Each runner has 3 different “legs” or runs over the course of the race. Jeff and I ran  a total of 14.2 miles: leg #8 (7.2 miles – hard); leg #20 (2.9 miles – moderate) and leg #32 (4.1 miles – moderate).  Our first leg was during the hottest part of the day on one of the hottest days of the summer. It was about 95 degrees and I started my run at 4:45pm. I had trained and felt totally prepared for the race even though I’d had some pretty serious knee problems (torn meniscus, baker’s cyst. I had a steroid injection in my knee 1 week before the race and I felt like a new woman. It was awesome!) I started running and within 2 miles, I was sluggish and really starting to struggle. My van was stopping every half mile or so giving me water but by mile 3, I had to start walk/running. Jeff caught up with me and we ran for a mile or so together. I was embarrassed that I was struggling so much. Jeff went on ahead and ended up running it at an 8:45 pace, despite the heat. I was starting to tingle all over my entire body and was worrying a little about passing out. I ended up running more than walking for the last 2 miles and actually ended up around an 11:10 pace but it was a seriously hard run for me. I had trained but never in the heat. I always run in the mornings or inside if it’s too hot. I was just not prepared for how much harder the heat would make it!

I knew my next two runs would be much easier so I really felt like I had to make them good ones so I could feel good about the race. My next run was the next morning at around 6am. It was only 2.9 miles and it was nice and cool. I was excited to do better. I don’t really know how fast I ran but it was a good run and I felt like I ran fast. I LOVED the temperature! ;)

My last run was going to be all downhill. It started at the top of Guardsman Pass where Janice (one of our teammates) finished her TEN MILE UPHILL run in 2 hours! I had just talked to Jeff and he had told me about his run (which was the same as mine) so I knew it was a steep downhill (On the Ragnar website it listed Leg #32 as “You’ve Got To Be Kidding!”). Sometimes it was so steep that you felt out of control. Jeff ran his leg in 32 minutes so I wanted to try and match that. I just leaned forward and let gravity carry me down as fast as I could handle. I felt awesome as I passed dozens of people on the way down. Only one guy passed me on this leg. I ran as fast as I could and ended up doing my run in 33 minutes! (8:05 pace). That is really good for me! I was glad I could end feeling good but that pounding took it’s toll and I was a little sore for the next few days.

It was a great experience and I’m really glad I did it. It was a ton of fun to have Elena on my team and I loved running another race with her. We also had Sherrie Anderson (from my ward), Maria Nielsen (fellow soccer mom), Maria’s sister Janice and Shauna Whiting (from my old ward). The ladies were awesome and we had a great time supporting each other on our runs and hanging out, trying to catch a nap here and there while we were waiting for our other van. I also loved running through so many beautiful parts of Utah that I had never seen before. Some of the scenery during the runs was breathtaking! I’m still debating whether or not I would do it again, but if you ask me today, I’d probably say yes! Either way, I’m glad I at least did it once. Ragnar Relay? Check! J