Ragnar Report, Part Two

Well, I am feeling mostly back to my normal self, so I figure I'd better get on with my Ragnar reporting, or I will forget it all before I can get it down! (I have such a short term memory nowadays. I think it's a coping mechanism.)

So, back to where I left off . . . I think I had just finished my first leg, which was somewhere around about 8:30pm on Friday. My cousin Darcy was the one who found me right when I finished my leg, gave me huge hug (which I appreciated a ton) and then pointed me in the direction of the bathrooms, which I appreciated even more. There I got the the fun experience of trying to use a porta potty in the pitch dark. I had a headlamp and a flashlight, which you would think would help, but no, not really. (No matter. By the end of the race I would be a super pro at tackling the porta potty, whether I could see or not.)

Speaking of lights, do you know what a pain it is to run with a headlamp? They are not comfortable. I found the only way I could stand it was to wear a baseball cap and then the headlamp strapped on top of it. And those pesky LED flashers that we had to wear on our back? They don't really stay clipped to those snazzy glow-in-the-dark vests we had to wear.

Ragnar Lesson #5: Try on your required night gear BEFORE the race so you can see if you need to make any adjustments ahead of time. Try running in it, not just putting it on!

Anyway, needless to say, my whole team was starving by the time I had finished. We had been snacking throughout the day, but the last real meal any of us had eaten was breakfast. Fortunately, we now had a break until about midnight or so, so we drove into Surprise and found a Pei Wei. I had never eaten at Pei Wei before, but I found the crab wontons to die for. Yum! I was smart though and stuck to only eating half of my teriyaki bowl. Some of my teammates did not show so much restraint and paid for it later.

Ragnar Lesson #6: Even though you are starving, take it easy when you finally make it to a restaurant! Remember you are going to be trying to sleep right after that, and running 5 or 6 miles again in just a few hours.

The next part of the race was the single hardest part for me. We reached the next big exchange at the Anthem Community Center. Here we were supposed to get some sleep and maybe a shower before it was our van's turn to run again. There were showers available to use for a $3 donation and I jumped at the opportunity. It was money well invested. My water was lukewarm, but it made my life so much better to wash off and be able to comfortably change out of my sweaty clothes, brush my teeth and wash my face. Also, I didn't have to wait in the horrifically long line for the ladies' restroom. (I loved it so much that I paid the $3 again before we left just to use the empty bathroom.)

But then I had to try and sleep. We all spread out our stuff on the floor of the gymnasium. Unfortunately, we were right next to the glass walls, so not only was it bright, it was noisy. (There were all kinds of people still up and either just coming in or leaving for their runs.) I put on my ipod and still couldn't manage to get more than a ten minute doze at a time. I was hating my life, cursing the Ragnar, desperately wishing for my bed, and when my sister and I held a whispered conversation (after it was clear neither of us could sleep) we were both swearing we were NEVER going to do this again.

I don't do well when I'm tired and I can't sleep. I was homesick for Terence. I texted him a few times (he was still up) and I think that just made it worse. Plus I was the contact for the other van-- they were to text me when they were getting close-- and I was slightly paranoid that I would doze off and miss the text.

Eventually, Amy and I just gave up and got up anyway. Lexi and her mom managed to sleep a bit, lucky women. Karen had brought her roommate's tent instead of a sleeping bag (yikes!) and she was still managing to sleep on that rock hard floor (miracle of miracles). But alas, for me it did not happen.

Ragnar Lesson #7: Make sure you have a foam pad or something to sleep on. This may mean that you need someone with cargo space to meet you at the sleeping spot. Whatever you need to do to be comfortable, do it! (Also, make sure your sleeping bag is actually a sleeping bag, not a tent!)

Sheer adrenaline kept me awake during the next few hours. Everyone had their night runs during this time. We actually expected these legs to be easy. At least, they were all somewhat shorter distances and they were rated "easy" in the race bible.

Hah!

Ragnar Lesson #8: The Race Bible lies. Don't pay any attention when they say a leg will be relatively flat and easy.

By the time we reached my leg I was terrified. I had just watched Amy and Lexi (whose legs both showed a barely perceptible incline) run uphill. Amy had some steep hills even! And my chart showed more hills than Amy's. (Though they still looked gradual.) It was freezing cold, about the coldest it was the whole race since it was getting near 4am. I was dancing around, just trying to keep from going stiff. I had my ear warmers on, my gloves, my running jacket and pants, along with all my night gear this time. I expected it wouldn't be so bad though-- it was my shortest leg, only 4 miles.

Wrong! The first stretch of my run was a gradual uphill incline. But when I turned the first corner and saw the pitch black road heading straight uphill, I knew I was in trouble. Trouble actually came more quickly than I anticipated. Apparently, my hat would not stay on with my ear warmers, and my headlamp and hat ended up falling off. So I did some readjusting (while still jogging along) and ended up having to carry my ear warmers. Oh well. This was a short run, right?

A short run UPHILL ALL THE WAY. Not little hills. Relatively steep hills. Every time I got to what I thought was the crest, I learned that I had a few flat feet before I was going to climb again. It really sucked.

Let me repeat that: it really sucked.

There, that's out of my system. I feel much better. Eventually, after what felt like six hundred years of plodding up a grade and periodically being blinded by stupid cars with the brights on, I stumbled around the last corner and found that I had finally reached my exchange. Tom had to call for my attention because I was so delirious by that point that I didn't recognize which runner was my handoff.

Now that was the hardest run I have ever done in my life. Including my seven mile practice run from hell. But the Ragnar still wasn't over. We all had one more leg to go.

To be continued. . . .