Make Yourself Monday

Determined. To nail my next goals.....

For the first time since I started Make Yourself Monday, I missed last week. Boo...I was in such a daze...lack of sleep, total and complete runners high, post race let down....soreness. Pretty much all of the above. I was also pretty focused on getting all the recaps done...I know Ragnar is something I won't ever forget...but I also knew all the funny details and best parts would slip my mind eventually. So capturing them all was really important. That is a long excuse! Sorry peeps....I know you missed it. 

So....I Might be Crazy...

Scratch that. I am crazy. The day after finishing a 200 mile relay and I join a team for Ragnar Las Vegas....and not just any team, either. An ultra team. Gulp.

Seriously. What am I thinking?

As my super speed teammate April said, "I don't know whether to vomit or jump up and down...or vomit."....Pretty much fits my frame of mind. As if a regular relay isn't challenge enough...let's do an ULTRA....And to make it extra challenging, I'll be doing one of the harder legs. Over 30+ hours, I'll run 3 half marathons. NBD....Ha!

Ultras are run with 6 people instead of 12. We are an all ladies team of badass runners - 4 of us from the NW Passages team - Deidra, Jess, Me and April, along with D's friend Lourdes and her sister Bernadette, who I believe both live in CA. The funniest part is that D is the one who got asked by Lourdes and coerced all of us to join. And she was the one who had the hardest legs at NWP and she may have said, more than once at the finish, "That sucked so bad. I 'm never doing this again. Ever." One day later...she's recruiting us to run LV with her. Love it. That is exactly the kind of crazy I need in my life!

For an ultra, you can choose to run 6 legs over the relay (instead of 3) and change runners at each exchange as if you are a regular team. But that it way too much warming up/cooling down for these old bones. So we are doing what most ultra teams do and run two legs at a time.

Not quite 200 miles...but close enough!

This one will be different in a number of ways, besides the obvious half-the-size-team part. First, it's in Vegas...and typical weather there in November is pretty much our summer here in the pacific northwest--but desert summer. Lourdes did it last year and said it was hot. So there's that. Second big difference is the elevation. There were plenty of hills on the NW Passages course for sure, but it didn't start at a high elevation and go downhill for a lot of it. 

From the event description online: 

 Source

"This year’s Ragnar Relay Las Vegas course is even more scenic and runner friendly than ever.  Teams start at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort on Mt. Charleston and run down from 8500 feet into the valley below, taking in the views and conquering the challenging terrain."

8500 feet of elevation loss. Doh. But....there are 'luxury exchanges'...where we can 'lounge around by the pool'....except we won't have much time to do that, being an ultra and all...But still way cooler than high school gyms, for sure!

Source

"As teams make their way through the night and into the early morning, you will encounter an oasis before you as you run above Lake Mead."

 Not a bad view....Source

 

"Running through Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, you may catch a view of jack rabbits and exotic cacti as you make your way to the finish at Lake Las Vegas.  The finish line party will be held at this spectacular resort where you are welcome to stay the weekend and make a vacation out of your 200 mile adventure."

 Source

So to recap...It's 6 runners instead of 12; there is over 8500 feet in elevation loss; it's in the freaking desert so it's going to be H-O-T; I run 3 half marathons over the course of a 30+ hours; and oh did I mention that this is only 3 months away?

I am seriously crazy, since I have no idea both how I am actually going to afford this (way more $$ than NWP, with airfare, hotels, etc) and if I will be able to run that much in that short amount of time. So as I am switching my focus to training for my first full marathon in October, one month before this crazyness starts, I will also be incorporating some two-a-days into the equation...and then really go crazy after PDX to get totally ready. This is going to be so awesome!

Team: Make Me a Sammich is a go! Game on bitches!

Ragnar: Odds, Ends, and Awesome Stuff

The Unicorn head got a lot of mileage.....and so did our 'spirit duckies'.

 This was one of the ultra teams....Risky Business. Brave souls those ones. They ran the entire race in those shirts and undies. Hilarious.

Some of my other favorites--the villians, the polygamists, the control freaks, and my favorite favorite-- the BARBS got a Ken....the Barbs + 1 whore ken. And they had barbies and a ken tied up on top of their suv. Totally awesome.

Jess tagged this van with 3 people inside it....ha!

The ladies of Van 1...and Jess and Aaron hanging out....

From our sister Ultra team, the Fast Attacks.....

Love these crazy ladies....so glad I met them.

Deception Pass - in the daylight.....

Stretching it out....

 Jess, "Always be Batman..."

Big ups to our van driver, Juliet's husband Rob --who drove the entire way 

so we didn't have to....what a guy!

Nice hardware....

Best experience ever...can't wait for next year!

Ragnar NW Passages - The Big Finish

We started this race as mere runners and ended it as Ragnarians!

The Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies finished 200 miles in 32:08:50. Not too shabby for a bunch of old folks. This part was the most stressful for me....my sister was on her way down to the finish with the Girl and they were running late....so they didn't get to see us finish. Van 2 stopped midway through Deidra's last leg to give her water since it got super hot after the fog burned off. And since getting in to the fairgrounds was full of traffic, I was worried that they wouldn't be able to park and make it to the finish in time. They ended up making it just in time and we got ready to make a tunnel for D to run through....

She came along about 3 minutes before our projected finish and we followed her across the line. My sister and girl arrived shortly after.....and missed all the fun. But that's ok....there's always next year!

Victory! 

So, we are doing this again next year, right?

Aaannnndd that's how you finish a 200 mile relay....make out with a unicorn.

Ragnar NW Passages: Recap Pt 3

Deception Pass - Source

We left off at the beginning of our 3rd and final leg. After catching a couple hours sleep on a high school gym floor, we were ready for our final set of legs. At this point of the relay, we'd traveled 134 out of 200 miles. On foot. "Overnight" hours were extended to 8am and then again to 9am because of rolling fog over Whidbey Island. Deception Pass, above, is the gateway to the island, and our Van 2 runner traveled over it at 3:45am, in fog so thick she could only see about 2-3 feet in front of her. So much for the awesome sunrise view Jess was hoping for! Oh well...maybe next year! 

 The girls getting ready to run their toughest legs - for Frank....

 The overnight leg for Van 2 was the toughest....very limited visibility 

and narrow shoulders. I'm glad they survived!

Van 2 completed Legs 19-24 and rolled into the exchange about 6am or so. We were coffee'd up (thanks again Baked Potato people!) and ready to go...despite no sleep and on/off rain.

Deidra to Aaron - Final handoff for Leg 25 - 3.1 miles

Our third set of legs took us through Oak Harbor with some very pretty farmlands and beach scenery. But still very foggy....and hilly.

Aaron to Juliet for a final time. Leg 26 - 3.1 miles

All of us had pretty short last legs...except for Norman's leg. It was only 6.4 miles but it had some of the steepest hills.

Ready, set, last run!

Last one - 4 miles for Leg 27

Still wearing our night gear....headlamps and taillights had to be worn until 8am....I finished just before, about 10 till, and they wouldn't let me pass off to Norman without it....he'd left it in the van and I finished a bit earlier than anticipated....so he had to take my very sweaty one off me...thank jebus he was wearing a hat and could wear it over that! I finished going down this rather steep hill...and watched in horror as a stream of runners started coming up the hill on the other side...I was all...'please let that be new runners, please let that be new runners....' And it was. Sorry Norman!

Aaannd he's off - Leg 28 - 6.4 miles

Norman trucked up that hill and made very good time. There was a fine misty rain but it felt warm and humid....not a bad morning to run in...but one where you start out with one layer too many and have to dump it....

Jason's last run - Leg 29 - 4.5 miles

Jason's last leg was pretty hilly as well...but we were almost there! We were done and exhausted....and really really hungry.

Final handoff to April - our speedy mcspeederson...Leg 30 - 3.5 miles

And that was it....we were racing from one exchange to the next in a pretty speedy fashion since everyone just had shorty legs. Last major exchange until the finish was Coupville High School.....a town so tiny that the middle school was also housed in the same building. This one had showers....but I skipped the line in favor of finding food. Baby wipes do wonders if you can fully strip in the bathroom, wipe down and put on clean clothes immediately. 

Van 1 is DONE! 158/200 miles.

And with that, Van 2 was off for the last 6 legs and 41 miles. We got cleaned up and then headed out in search of breakfast. We didn't get a real dinner the night before, just van food and the midnight baked potato.....so we were ready to grub big time. Stopped at the first diner/restaurant we saw and it turned out to be the longest meal ever. There were two other teams already there, along with the entire town of Coupville...all being served by two waitresses, a bus girl and a cook. It took forever....literally. We were there for nearly 2 hours and it took us about only 10 of that to actually eat. 

We finally got out of there....and headed straight down to the finish in Langley, WA at the Island County Fairgrounds. So exciting to finish this thing and move on to important stuff. Like rehydrating. 

Even unicorns like Fireball....way to start and  

end the race for us Aaron! Such a team player.

Aaannnnd that's it for Part 3....The finish and my favorite random moments to come! Stay tuned....

Ragnar NW Passages: Recap Pt 2

Nice scenery....Source.

When we left off, Van 1 ended our first set of 'legs' at Bellingham High School in the early afternoon. This was also the first exchange selling merchandise. So we promptly went and dropped some $$$ getting geared up.

The Ragnar merch 'store'....which was nearly knocked over with a
huge gust of wind right after we finished buying our stuff.

We passed off to Van 2 and got a little break. After traversing our first 6 legs, we were hungry and set off in search of a hot meal.....at Bob's Burgers in downtown Bellingham, where the waitress was kind enough to hook me up with a bag of ice to sit on. After refueling, we decided to head straight down to the next major exchange, Burlington High School, about half hour away. We got down there, cleaned up a bit and took some short naps, while waiting for Van 2 to finish their legs. 

 Zzzzzzzz.......

They made it it down there by dinnertime and it was time for Leg 2. Deidra finished the first double digit leg (rated as very hard) like the champ she is. NBD.....

 Aannd here she is.....

Passed off to Aaron and there he goes....Leg 13- 6 miles.

This was the beginning of our 'night leg'....but it didn't actually get dark until my turn....Ragnar nighttime rules require everyone outside the van to wear safety gear...so pretty much after Aaron's leg, we all had to don the required shiny stuff.

Handoff 1 - Aaron to Juliet for Leg 14 - 5.7 miles

The first two legs of this set were pretty light. And Juliet got to run on some trails and she made some awesome 'kills'....

 Dusk set in right before it was my turn for Leg 15. This one was a little shorty through Burlington and by the time I was done, it was very dark.

Handoff for Leg 15 - 3.5 miles. Slap me baby!

 

The exchange where I handed off to Norman....

Norman is off - Leg 16 - 3 miles

Here's where it started to get scary. Most of these roads through the night in Burlington were on two lane, no shoulder roads, much like our first jaunt through Ferndale. At night, that posed an additional issue-- visibility. Not just for the drivers on the road, but for the runners. We were running against traffic unless directed otherwise, which meant that you were running with headlights in your eyes. So you do what they teach you in drivers ed-- look down at the white lines on the road to stay on it. Pretty dicey for Jason and April, our last runners that night.

Hand off a go! Jason was off for Leg 17 - 5 miles

Annndd, she's done! April closed out leg 18 at 5.5 miles.

By this time, it was after 11pm and we were starved! But of course, nothing but bars, casinos or fast food was open at that time....we stopped and tried a couple places to no avail and just decided to head to the next major exchange and hope there was food there. This was a bit farther away....all the way across Deception Pass to Oak Harbor high school. We got there and boo ya! There were baked potatoes for sale. Best one I've ever had....although why they had chili as a topping was beyond me. We erred on the side of caution on that one, but others did not, unfortunately.....

As soon as we settled into the very quiet gym...someone
laid down not one but two very loud farts....which at that time
of night was hi-larious!

We spent the night 'sleeping' on a very hard gym floor...which all told, was about 2 hours of sleep. I don't think I actually fell asleep either....it was more of a doze. But whatever it was was short lived....we were up and getting ready for the final leg by 5am. 

Final legs - Game On!!

Stay tuned for part 3 to come, hopefully tomorrow.