SoCal Ragnar 2014

SoCal Ragnar 2014

One of the highlights of the year for me was running Ragnar this past April!

So the day after Ella's Birthday with the help of Grandma Tresa and Lance I took off with these amazing ladies to run a 200 mile relay race with a 12 person team...you keep going all through the night until you are done! 

Ever since our first half-marathon back in Indiana I've been trying to keep up with running but between babies, nursing, and more babies, and injuries it's been hit or miss... but I decided this was my year and I realized a few key ingredients for me personally in the process. 

1: I NEED people to run with...I am not a solo runner and I definitely find no joy or satisfaction from running by myself. It just feels like work...and I like even the hard things I do to feel fun therefore...I need someone to talk to while I run! :) My friend/newfound running buddy Lindsey got me through my training for Ragnar (and actually come-to-think-of-it it was different friend named Lindsay that got me through my half-marathon training...we ran on treadmills next to each other all winter long!) 

2: I need motivation...like I paid lots of money...people are depending on me...kind of motivation to push me through all the hard parts of training, and so I will make time for it. 

When I heard some of my friends were running Ragnar back in November I told them, "Okay I would love to run it...if a spot opens up (there's always at least someone that has to bail for one reason or another)...put me down!" I was nervous to even commit this much because Ragnar seemed so crazy to me from what I had heard (You run straight through the night?! I need my sleep! And you run in the dark at night...kinda by yourself?! I am totally scared of the dark...and of getting kidnapped!). But I knew I needed to just jump in...plus I figured that I would have at least a couple months to test the waters before a spot would open up...and maybe there wouldn't even BE a spot! Well the NEXT day my friend Rachel called and said, someone backed out...you are in! Ahhh I wasn't expecting it to be that fast! So probably a couple weeks after I committed officially 2 or 3 other people (including two of my good friends) had to back out of the race! There went half of my motivation but I knew I had to do it anyway and it ended up that my friend Lindsey the only one left on the team that I knew, went on a recruiting spree and was able to find people for our Van who were almost all mutual friends of ours! Huge Relief to know we had a team and filled with really great people! And that was it. No one in our Van had run a Ragnar before except Lindsey so I picked her brain incessantly while we trained so I could wrap my head around it all and calm myself about the fears of sleeplessness, and running alone in the scary dark! And it all worked out amazingly well! Afterwards I told people it was Horribly, Wonderfully, Awesome! And I would totally do it again! :) 

Van 1 took off Thursday Night to start their legs at 6 am the next morning. My Van (Van 2) left at 6 am the next morning to drive to Irvine where we would meet up with Van 1 to start our 6 legs....all the way to San Diego where the race would end Saturday Afternoon. The logistics of this race are kind of crazy and since we were all newbies we were nervous about finding our way, and getting to the exchanges on time but I think it was a good thing because we ended up being super over-prepared and on top of it...at least most of the time! 

The Whole Team the Night before the Race. Everyone paints the Van and takes pictures beforehand! 

Team RunAmuck

Shoe wings donated to us by our "sponsor"/friend, Emily! :) 

Van 2! 

We got to our first exchange super early and lots of time to pick up our shirts, walk around, eat, nap etc. When does a Mom just get to sit around for hours on end?! I enjoyed this! 

My first Leg was only 3 miles...piece a cake right? I didn't anticipate the fact that whole thing would be straight uphill! I was the second to last runner so on our other runner's legs we had energy and were cheering like crazy, and were able to follow along in the Van, but on my run the Vans couldn't follow and as I mentioned earlier running by myself and all uphill is not a good combo for me! Thankfully it was not very long and I got through it fine!  On to rest up for my second leg (the middle of the night run!) 

Little out of order but this was day 2, beautiful beach views! 

Our first Runner comes in! Yay Annie she had the longest legs of the race and was so cheerful the whole time. :)

I love this pic...she had just completed her last run! Wahoo

Helping each other out! 

Hanging out before the Race Begins

Day 2 in the morning! 

Ready to do our Cheer. I think Annie was running at this point and she specifically requested that we do a "Cheer" complete with a rhyme and movements! haha...we all know what motivates us! We did our best! :) 

Loved getting to know these girls better! Couldn't have asked for a better team. :)

The Finish Line!!!

So my two biggest fears going into this race (No Sleep, and Running alone in the dark) ended up being the easiest parts of the race. As for sleeplessness: I guess you forget this after spending almost a decade having children but there is nothing more draining than taking care of little ones, so when little ones are out of the picture it's amazing how much energy you suddenly have. Now I know why I had no problem pulling all-nighters to write essays or study for exams in college! And as for running in the dark...I would say my favorite leg of the race was my middle of the night run! It was nice and cold, so peaceful and calm, I was running through a nice area that felt really safe, my van was able to follow me really well, it even rained for most of the run (just lightly) and while the first part was uphill the last part was almost all downhill! I discovered that I LOVE running downhill. :) Also one of my sisters was texting/ calling all through the night to encourage me! She even set her alarm in the middle of the night so she could wake up and see how things went! Now that's support! :) 

My last leg of the race was my longest (8 miles) and the first part was all flat, so I thought it would feel easy but it ended up feeling really monotonous, really hot, and by the 5 mile mark I already felt done (my Van wasn't able to follow me the first 5 miles) and thats when I saw my HILL!!!! My teammates started driving up it ahead of me and couldn't believe how steep it was so they started texting pictures of it to send to Lance. Think San Fransisco hills...it was really bad...the kind you can hardly walk up let alone run! I was determined not to walk even though walking would have been faster, I tried running backwards up it...forwards..anything and it just kept going and going for at least a mile...wow! Thankfully there was a good half mile of downhill to get me through the last little bit and then I was done! Such a great feeling! 

So happy to be done! I think one of my favorite parts was the 3 hour drive home...I thought I would want to sleep but after trying to follow directions, and check points, and mentally prepare to run it was so nice to just relax and get to talk the whole way home! 

Mexican Food to Celebrate! 

One of the hardest parts of this race is eating enough to keep you going but not so much you feel sick so eating a normal meal was nice. :) 

WhooHoo!!!

I kept pictures of the leg maps in my phone so I could refer to them while running if needed! Thankfully things were pretty well marked and I barely had to use them but we did have one runner who went a mile in the wrong direction along with some other runners due to a sign being turned around! 

Well anyway an all around wonderful experience! So glad I got to be apart of it!