Ragnar: Don't Be a Wimp

I've never run Ragnar before.

I've never had any intentions of running Ragnar. For those of you who don't know, Ragnar is a relay race typically run overnight.

I happen to really like sleeping. And I also happen to be very grumpy when I don't sleep, or when I get woken up. So I never planned to run a Ragnar.

But months ago, my friend Kristen invited me to run a Ragnar Sunset race, which is during the day with the goal to beat the sunset.

I was irresponsible and didn't train adequately. I should've been running hills a few times a week, but all I did was run 3 miles two weeks before, 5 miles one week before, and two miles on Tuesday and Thursday. Not a great training plan.

Coming from Park City after my work's overnight retreat, I went straight there and arrived at about 11:30.

We shared a tent with another team from Kristen's Orange Theory gym. They brought enough camp chairs for everyone to sit on; it was really nice. I'm not sure what we'd have done without a tent since it rained most of the day.

Our team went in this order:
Misha
Me
Kristen
Julie

The course was supposed to be about 3.34 miles, but it ended up being about 3.5 (I ran it twice and got two different distances).

This was the alternate course. The original course was going to be 6.5 miles with a much bigger hill to climb. It's not incredibly fun to run in the rain, but had I run that longer distance and bigger hill, I don't know if I would've made it. The shorter course was still really hard (I'm still sore, and today's Tuesday).

We started at 12:30 and finished 28 miles total around 5:45pm.

I ran about a 10:30 pace in my first leg and 11:00 in my second leg. I'll take it, considering how much uphill walking I had to do.

As the day got colder, rainier, and windier, we were freezing because our sweat was stuck on us.

I think the first lap was easier in general. I feel like races are easier when you don't know what to expect. You just get through it. Plus, you're fresh and have energy. The second lap, you have less energy, and you know what to expect, which I think makes it harder. The only advantage you have is that you know you can do it because you've already done it.

I felt this run the most in my hips in the following days. You know when you're holding a baby and you stick your hip out to the side? That's a stretch I've had to do endlessly because the side of my hips were (and still are) so tight and sore.

It was a really long day. I didn't end up leaving until about 6:15pm, after taking pictures and stuff.

I had fun, and I'm glad I did it. I love running because it reminds me how strong and capable I am, and how awesome my body is.