Once upon a time, not too long ago, I ran in the 2012 Wasatch Ragnar Relay. It was crazy awesome and fun. Be prepared for a long play by play because this is something I don't ever want to forget.
Thursday I took the day off of work to "prepare" for Ragnar that weekend. My selfish clients however did not care that I was on "vacaction" and all decided to contact me with ginormous issues that were out of my control. I then went to pick up Beal from girls camp up at the very tip top of a mountain that I had never been to and was fortunate enough to have my gas light come on. This was not helping my stress levels. Lets just say I was super worried that we would get stranded at the top of a mountain and would miss Ragnar. (I was about to start my period, thus the worry and the stress. And ya, that is gross, especially after not being able to shower for two days.)
The time finally came where we made the voyage up to our hotel in Logan. We stopped by Mimi's on the way and had one of the most unusual waitress experiences of my life. We hoped back in the van and went to meet our team mate at her hotel. I had never met Suzy before, so I was kind of nervous about having her on the team. She ended up saving my trash though with her fast pace and quick times. I hope to be like her when I am older.
After a grocery run, we finally headed to our hotel and slept for the night, mind you that means we slept from about 11 pm to 3 am. We met up and went to the check in. After getting our packets and shirts, we waited for the race to start. Beal was runner #1 for our team and she kicked booty. It was so fun sending her off and then hopping back in the van to support her if she needed it. The first exchange went smoothly and now Callie was running leg 2. She made it look so easy! It was fun being able to meet up with our runners along the way and offer support and encouragement. Hilary and Suzy ran next, both proving that they were much more hard core runners than I am. Then it was Nicki's turn. She ran UPHILL 6 miles on a dirt road, and had to follow a man running in a speedo the majority of the time. Ew. My nerves were driving me crazy as my leg was the next one coming up and I had no idea what to expect. It was downhill for the most part, but it was a soft, dirt road. I was not prepared for it and overall was just happy when the dang thing was over.
Oh, did I mention that Michael was our driver and drove the majority of the time? He is the best. I was so happy that he was able to enjoy Ragnar with us and to have his support. I am kind of a baby and have to be with him whenever I can be, because he is just that awesome. It would have been a long booty weekend if he had not been there.
Being as I was runner #6, at my exchange we switched over to our Van 2 runners. I was so worried that I would miss the girl I was supposed to hand off to and I would ruin the race for everyone. Thankfully, I found her and we were able to go get some food at a yummy restaurant Michael and I had tried up in Wolf Creek for our anniversary. We then drove to the next exchange and rested up. I got heat stroke and threw up quite a bit and had the worst headache. A kind nurse runner came and gave me an alcohol wipe to help settle my stomach. It worked wonders and I was able to rest some more.
Beal had a non support leg so once she started we drove straight to the next exchange. Then Callie, Suzy, Hilary, and Nicki ran their legs. By this time we were probably in Ogden County and it was GORGEOUS. Ya, who knew that Ogden could be pretty. I was getting ready for my leg coming up. I was playing it cool, just telling myself I needed to finish. I am not a competitive runner... Let me rephrase that. I am selectively competitive and it is not something I can just switch on and off. I either am going to kill the run or just get it over with. I knew this was going to be my harder leg being as it was 8.2 miles uphill. Nicki slapped the wrist thing on me and I was off. I felt great. I decided that this run was going to be a good one, even though I had to run in dorky night guard stuff. I ran the first few miles without stopping, which is a huge deal because I don't run for time, I run to say I went running. I then saw my support van and walked while I had a drink. I repeated that every other mile, run until I got to my peeps, start walking so I could digest my drink and use my inhaler (I am cool and have exercise induced asthma.) It was probably around mile 6 that I met up with my van and was screaming with glee about how well my run was going. I may have said that I wanted to have that runs babies, it was that good. (Why do I say weird things?) I had never felt so pumped or proud of myself as I did at the end of that run. At the very end, probably mile 7.5 there was this crazy hill, and I killed it with the help of 50 cent. I got to the exchange and actually ended up getting there before Van 2 was ready. It ended up being the best run of my life.
This is why I love running so much. It proves that anyone can do anything they put their mind to. Most importantly it reminds me that we can all do hard things; that I can do hard things and come out a better person in the end after learning through the trial. Life takes dedication and preparation, just like running. If we are not willing to put in the work, how on earth do we expect to be blessed and better our situation? DAH! The church is true.
Anyway, we went to some podunk town and had some mexican food before heading over to the local highschool to sleep for the night. By this time, the lack of sleep and stinkiness was getting to all of us, and I think we were ready for it to be over. We finished our last legs eventually (I may have gone super slow for my really long 2.5 miler....) When I finished, it was shower time in Heber. Even though that was the coldest shower of my life and I saw more boobies than I ever wanted to see in my lifetime, that shower was heavenly.
We waited for our Van 2 at the finish line in Park City. Mooder and Jerry came to cheer us on; so did Micah and Jon. I ran into my old young womens leader from our Orem ward and it was great to catch up. We met right outside the finish line to meet up with our runner 12 to cross the finish line together as a team. That was one of the coolest feelings of the whole race. There we were, finishing this amazing feat together. Once we crossed the finish line, it was time for pictures and medals, which come on, that is the whole reason you run races. I was so worried that we would get disqualified for some reason. There was a 3 strikes and you are out policy, and some of the rules were a bit silly. Who knows if someone on the other team was a Nazi and made up stuff to get other teams disqualified.
We finished! We completed the Ragnar Relay! What makes it even better is that we got 10th in our division! Yahoo.
There was talk of our family doing the San Francisco Ragnar this September, but that fell through. Instead, our entire family is doing the Wasatch one next year. I cannot wait to do it with all of my siblings and their spouses. It is going to be EPIC.
The End.
(Funny story: Every morning we have a team meeting at work to go over what everyone is working on that day. I always say my little blurb and then finish with The End to make it so there is not that awkward silence while they wait for the next person to start. Needless to say, everyone makes fun of me now for it BUT they themselves say it as well. I am a trend setter.)
