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.

On the second day of Ragnar...

I ran 3 miles in 95 degree weather today!! I told my running partner Breana yesterday at church that we should do 4. You see, I will be running in the afternoon for my first and third legs, so I can't use the heat as an excuse to not run. No matter how hot it is, I still have to complete a 2 miler Friday (it's almost insulting; the shortest leg in all of Ragnar. I shouldn't even dignify it with calling it a leg, but whatever) and a 7.4 miler to finish on Saturday.

Before we set out, I filled a water bottle with ice and water, slapped on a hat, and doused my running shirt in cold water. When Breana got to my house, I sprayed her with the hose. We set out, doing our first 2 miles with style and grace in the hot sun. I commented at 1.07 miles that it really wasn't that bad.

However....then things turned around at about mile 2. We hit my house again, doused ourselves in the hose (I kept hoping that no one was watching. Two grown women spraying each other with the garden hose tips the scale at both kinda kinky and really pathetic.) We ran around the neighborhood for another mile, neither of us wanting to admit that we didn't really want to keep going, and then threw in the towel. The wind was hot, the sun was hot, our shirts were dry, and my water was warm. Ick.

I was glad to see when I got home that our pace was roughly what it always is. Take that, 95 degrees! But I'm hoping and praying that it isn't 95 on June 15 or 16. A nice 70/75/80 would be nice. So pray for perfect temps, if you so desire. And no rain. Pleeeaaaassseee no rain. I know, I'm asking for a lot.

11 more days!!

On the first day of Ragnar....

So, you all know I'm a Ragnar Relay freakazoid. I mean, for me, the year has two Christmases: the one that happens in December that celebrates Jesus, and the one that happens in June that celebrates running and not sleeping. And since there are only 12 more days (12 more days!!!) until Ragnar, I thought it was only too appropriate that I do a countdown.

So, for the next 12 days, I'm going to celebrate the awesomeness that is Ragnar. And today, which is the first day of Ragnar, I'm going to celebrate volunteers. People who are willing and wanting to participate without actually running. This has got to be the hardest part of Ragnar - finding the required 3 volunteers. Everyone is busy, everyone has better stuff to be doing than picking up garbage and selling merchandise and pointing people in the direction they should be running. But, without volunteers, Ragnar wouldn't be possible. There are 37 different venues throughout the course. 37! Each has to be set up, taken down, and manned for 12ish hours.

Ragnar volunteers are wonderful. Amy had one help her with her safety vest last year on her night run. Shane once had one warn him of wild animals (as in "watch out for wild animals!") on the banks of Echo reservoir in the middle of the night. One of our volunteers from last year is on my team this year as a runner. They are usually happy, which doesn't make any sense because they are doing something that isn't very fun. But they know that someone out there on the course is their friend/cousin/neighbor/coworker and they want to help them out with their crazy Ragnar dreams.

Our volunteer experience this year has been challenging. Michelle, a friend in my ward declared herself a volunteer when she couldn't do the race - she has been wonderful and is happy as can be to help out. One of our volunteers from last year is manning up again and helping out at the starting line - thanks, Roger Loveless! But our third spot has been hard to fill. I had it filled by my visiting teacher, but then she couldn't do it. Amy's kids wanted to do it but they were going to be at youth conference. And another of my nieces was all set to go but got scheduled to work that day and couldn't get out of it. Luckily, the brother of my homey Dave (Dave who has been with me and Shane in our Ragnar van for 3 years running - I can't imagine Ragnar without Dave!!) got his brother to fill our last spot just tonight. What a relief.

It's amazing to have people willing to give their time. They are the ones who make Ragnar really great for the runners. I think their Ragnar experience is a lot harder than mine. I hope it's meaningful to them in the end, knowing that they helped thousands of people have an incredible experience, a Christmas in June, a sleep-deprived weekend of minivans scented with sweat, body glide, and baby wipes. Ah, you gotta love it.