Ragnar! 2012

How sad that Ragnar has been over for almost a week. Although, much like Christmas, I am always anticipatorily sad that it will be over before hand and then a little grateful when it is over. It's a lot of work - but it so worth it!

Ragnar 2012 looked like this for me:

First leg. Trail run at Snowbasin. Time: 21:36. Started at 4:46 pm.

Finishing!! My least favorite leg of Ragnar ever.

I really enjoyed this year. Since I did the same leg as last year - 12 - it was nice to know what to expect from 2 out of 3 legs. I did not love my first run - a beautiful but way too short trail run in the mountains above Snowbasin Ski Resort. Ragnar seemed to be stretching a bit to come up with somewhere for person 12 to run. Had it just been longer I think I could have reached my stride better, but the first (uphill) mile taxed my lungs, and then the next (downhill) mile on the trail seemed to short to get into a rhythm. I did pass a few runners, which made me happy, but I still didn't feel that the running aspect of Ragnar really started for me until Saturday morning.



Second leg. Run from Rockport Reservoir to Oakley Fairgrounds. Time: 1:07:26. Started at 4:54 am.

 I look silly. But I loved getting to rock my stripey tights again. Love the mismatched gloves?

The hand off from Amy to me.

Handing off to Sam after running my best Ragnar leg ever. Ever!!

My second run from Rockport to Oakley is my favorite Ragnar leg of all time. It was identical to last year and I enjoyed it every bit as much. It was already fairly light when I started so I was able to see some of the landscape that I ran past last year in the dark. It was cool - maybe 45 degrees - perfect running weather. I donned my striped tights and skull running shirt a la the Halloween Half Marathon and my sparkle skirt and ran nearly 7 blissful miles. I even made the perfect playlist just for the run while waiting for....Amy? Dave? to finish their night run. It was heaven. In fact, a little bit of heaven was trailing me; around mile 2, I felt my dad so strongly it nearly took my breath away. I took a moment to look around at where I was and think about what he might have loved about that particular stretch of highway. I passed 9 people - almost 10, but the girl I tried to pass right before the exchange didn't want me to pass her and we battled it out to the finish. Kind of fun, really.

Playlist:

It is heavy in the Xanadu soundtrack because it was pretty much running through my head non-stop the whole week before Ragnar due to buying it off of Amazon for $2.99 (I know! The whole album for only $2.99!) The other songs are there because:

• Jar of Hearts to emind me of last year's Ragnar while driving to East Canyon Reservoir,
• Breathe in Breathe Out by Matt Kearney because it is what got me through my very first leg of Ragnar in 2010, 
• Adele because I listened to her all through May and early June,
• Prince to remind me of training for last year's Ragnar
• Florence _+ the Machine because she always gets my blood going, 
• Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Janice Joplin to remind me of my rebellious teenage years.
• Breakthrough because my kids love it and I wanted them to be along on my run with me.

Last leg. Run in foothills of Park City to Park City High School. Time: 1:22:05. Started at 3:54 pm.

 The outfit. I wanted to rock my socks again, but it was toooooo hottttt. Hottest Ragnar leg ever.

 

Finishing with all of Team 319, Still Chafing Tail.

I sort of dreaded my last run. It was really warm on Saturday afternoon and I wasn't looking forward to the dusty trails near highway 40 that I would be running. I ran the whole thing, but I wasn't fast. I think that I did most of that run out of sheer spite due to 4 runners who passed me (running) only to start walking once they were ahead of me. Then when I would, you know, RUN up to them, they would hear me and start running again. I was cursing all of them in my head and I determined that I would eventually pass a few of them, which I did.

Songs I listened to:

• Zoo Station - Nine Inch Nails
• America - Neil Diamond
• Listen Like Thieves - INXS (reminded me of using Amy's mp3 player last year for my final run)
• Down In It - Nine Inch Nails
• 
  

By the last mile, I was tired. My legs were done from the hilly trail. I tried to enjoy that last mile, to soak in all of the Ragnar goodness but all I wanted to do was turn the corner and be at Park City High School with my teammates waiting for me. Last year, I embarrassed myself by getting this surge of energy right at the end when we were finishing and I ended up finishing way ahead of everyone else. I was determined not to do that again so the minute I got to my team I turned off my iPod, gave a few high fives, and ran with them. One of the guys from Van 1 kept trying to get me to go ahead of everyone but I wouldn't. It was so fun to finish with my team. They gave me the medals and I handed them to all my teammates. Then we went off to get a team picture. Then: it was over. So sad.

But, Ragnar looked like this, too:

 That mass off people? Waiting for a porta potty. Gotta love Ragnar. And Honey Buckets.

 So excited for Melanie to run her first Ragnar leg!

 Mel and Sheila exchanging the sweaty slap bracelet.

 Run Shane run!

 Shane is hot....in a lot of ways.

 Dave and Amy swapping some sweat!

Melanie running and sparkling.

 Dave was winning.

 Van fun...

 Amy and I ran up this road last year.

 The van.

 Dave asleep on a picnic table.

 Mel can't wait to run in the dark. For realz.

 Looks comfy. You take sleep whenever you can get it.

 Dave is happy at 3 am...

 Amy heading off to run her 5 miles in the dark.

Running aside, the other parts of Ragnar were awesome. Our van had a blast together. The chemistry was hopping, the swear words were flying, the tears were even flowing. I love Dave, Sheila, Amy, Melanie and Shane even more after spending 36 (more) hours with them. We had a blast together. My favorite moment was when we were at East Canyon Reservoir. The sun was just setting. The lake looked cool and calm. Amy and I almost peed our pants waiting for a Honey Bucket - not because we really needed to pee, but because we were laughing so hard. Later, all of the girls stood around in the brush above the lake, talking about babies and hopes and things that would never happen in this life. That moment the four of us were so close - it felt like we were all sisters. These are the things that I love about Ragnar - hours and hours of time to get to know each other in the real and important ways.

The sleeping sitution wasn't any better than it has been in the past. I drove all night, or at least sat in the drivers seat all night. I finished my "night" run at 6am only to drive for an hour in cow fields and around the wrong side of Jordanelle Reservoir until we got to our sleeping spot. I needed a moment on my own so I spent about 15 minutes in a bathroom stall, taking my time, changing every bit of my clothes, before I went and laid down on the wrestling mats the set up for us in the lunchroom. I took out my journal and wrote a few pages of memories while Amy and Melanie slept on either side of me. I fell asleep for 1.5 blessed hours and felt (almost) good as new. I even got to brush my teeth this year; miracles will never cease.

I signed up again on Monday - Team 36 for 2013. I love being the captain and putting my friends and family with me in my van. I learn something new every year both about myself and about how to be a better leader. I am already looking forward to June 21-22, 2013.

And now, for some pictures. Thanks for sticking with me this long!!

 Dave, Shane, Sheila, Melanie, Me (with monkey arms!), Amy.

 Amy, Sheila, Dave, Melanie

 Sparkle socks!! I love our team spirit.

 Yeah, you see all sorts of stuff at Ragnar....He was blasting Party Rock Anthem from his ghetto blaster. (Yes, the person in the pink leo is a man.)

 Sparkle skirts and Ragnar tattoos make you tough...

 Sisters...running and trying not to chafe our tails...

 Linda, Mel, Sheila, Me, Amy. People loved the sparkle skirts.

 Mmm, nothing tastes as good as dinner at Snowbasin. Although, the bathrooms are a bit heavenly, too....

 We saw the Halloween Half marathon hearse and got a little crazy...

I love the look on Amy's face!

 The girls of van 2.

 Like something out of Tron...so said one of the van 1 guys.

 The morning after.

 Not every day you get to take a picture of your BFF and your sister...can I get a collective "Ahhhh..."

 Me and Melanie. Mel rocked Ragnar and I can't imagine not having her with us!

Me and my hubba hubba husband.

 Van 1. Sam, Mike, Linda, Kelly, Tracy, Brandon. They rocked.

What van 1 wrote on their window. I'm pretty sure they were having a great time when they wrote this...

 The only time the whole team is together. Hopefully we will have a better copy soon...

It's here!

We are leaving to drive to Ragnar in 1.5 hours. Gulp.

I wish my first leg was going to be longer. It's only 2 miles, so I feel like I don't have much to prepare for today. A lot of hanging out, a lot of cheering only to run 2 miles and then wait until approximately 4:30 Saturday morning to run again. But, it will be okay. Part of what I love about Ragnar is being with my team, so I shouldn't let my sour attitude about my first leg get me down. I do admit I'm sort of jealous of Amy and her long uphill climb later today. Last year we shared that climb, which was perfect. We conquered the hill together. This year she has to do the whole thing by herself. Our van won't even see her, as she is running a different road than we are driving. She has a crazy leg this year and I know she's gonna do awesome. But I wish it was like last year.

Our Van 1 is already cycling through their first legs. Runner 1 is done and runner two should be about halfway through his 7.6 miles. It freaks me out that I'm still at home in my jammies, puttering about while I wait for Sheila, Dave, Amy and Melanie to get here. But it will be okay, right??

Run. Eat. Sleep? Repeat. Happy Wasatch Back to everyone.

Ragnar Eve Eve...Wahoo!

You all know of my fondness admiration obsession passion love for Christmas Eve Eve. I now bring you Ragnar Eve Eve!

It's the best! You don't have to train! You don't have to decorate! You don't have kids who are so excited they open up their Christmas presents when they aren't supposed to! You don't have fancy food to make! You just soak in the excitement of knowing that Ragnar is a few short hours away.

So what am I going to do for the rest of the day?

• Get parking for the Ragnar team squared away. We have 2 passes and 12 people. You do the math.
• Finish laundry. All my clothes for Ragnar are ready, but the rest of the week's laundry needs to be done by tomorrow night.
• Grocery shop. Ugh.
• Start to gather all my crap. Packing for Ragnar is faciliated by gallon sized Ziploc bags. Outfits 1, 2, and 3 fit nicely in their own bag and you have everything you need, together, clearly marked, contained.
• Make some lists for those persons taking care of my children.
• Talk about Ragnar some more with my teammates who are also my coworkers.
• Remind myself of all the people I might see on the course. Squee! So excited.

I cannot wait.

And, sorry about not finishing my 12 Days of Ragnar series. It sounded fun, but you know, life happens.

But, I should introduce you to the team. We have:

• Amy. Second year Ragnarian/sister. Running leg 11.
• Brandon. Ragnar virgin/friend of friend. Running leg 3.
• Dave. Third year Ragnarian/friend. Running leg 10.
• Kelly. Ragnar virgin/coworker. Running leg 5.
• Linda. Ragnar virgin/coworker. Running leg 4.
• Melanie. Ragnar virgin/friend. Running leg 7.
• Mike. Third year Ragnarian (but first year on my team.) Is in my ward. Running leg 6.
• Shane. Third year Ragnarian/husband. Running leg 9.
• Sam. Ragnar virgin/friend of friend. Running leg 1.
• Sheila. Second year Ragnarian/friend. Running leg 8.
• Tracy. Ragnar virgin/person in my ward. Running leg 2.

Now you know us. My van is made up of people I've done Ragnar with for at least 2 years and my BFF Melanie. Van 1 is made up of my coworkers, ward members, and friends of friends. Everyone has worked super hard for this and I couldn't be more excited.

48 hours!! Let the wild rumpus start!

The third (and fourth) day of Ragnar...

...my true love (bought) for me 12 team shirts, 5 sparkle skirts, 95 degrees, and 3 fabulous vol-unnnnn-teeerssss...

To run a sucessful Ragnar, you have to have a team shirt. Or an attempt at a costume. Or both. (It's down in the rule book.)

The first year that we ran Ragnar, our team name was A 12 Pack of Chafing Tail. This name is an homage to a beer served at our local Squatter's Pub Brewery, Chasing Tail Golden Ale. Except we aren't chasing our tails, we are chafing our tails (aren't you glad I walked you through that one? You're welcome.) So, we had shirts made up with our very own logo. Wahoo! Instant notoriety. Instant camaraderie. We were homies.

Last year, I kept the team name of Chafing Tail because half of our original team and the captain decided to be bad-ass and do the ultra Ragnar (same distance, half the people.) We didn't do shirts, and we modified our team name to Still Chafing Tail. Our team bonding came through our lovely sparkle skirts and sparkle socks. We looked hott...

Now here we are in 2012. To celebrate our awesome team, we did both team shirts and sparkle skirts. Me and my girls Amy, Melanie, Sheila, and Linda are going to be rocking some silver sparkle skirts. The girls and boys in Van 2 (and one of the boys in Van 1 - brave Mike!) are all going to be sporting sparkle socks as well. (I love a man who isn't afraid to sparkle!!)

So, we are doing everything right this year. Costumes and team shirts will make us all bond. I can't wait to get out there and be running with this group of people. We might not be the grand prize winners, but we will look good, and that is all that matters.