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.

Lists for May

It's been a while since I've done a monthly list, but my love for them remains strong! Here we go!


Stuff I did:

1. Ran. A lot. I had my highest monthly mileage ever (which is sad, because I did a marathon in 2004 and I'm sure even that month I didn't run this much!) I topped out at 75.75 miles.
2. Worked. When Shane lost his job in April, I picked up some extra hours at work. Instead of having 2 days off each week I only had 1. I know, boo hoo, but it really made the month busy to have to cram all my mommy-do's into one weekday.
3. Started eating lunch by myself again. I had a great lunch partner on my days off because Shane had been coming home for lunch at his old job. This isn't possible at his new job, so I'm back to eating all alone (cue violins.) At first, the boy quite cramped my style, but by the end, I looked forward to our lunch dates. I was way less grumpy at noon than at 5 (the presence of children at 5 might have had something to do with the grumpiness.)
4. Pondered getting a swimming pass for the local rec center. Our BFFs are leaving us and moving to Spokane, and I don't know what we are going to do with our time. Just to go swimming for one visit costs $20.50. The monthly pass is $24 per month - yeah. It's kind of a no brainer, and as long as we go one time a month every month it will pretty much pay for itself.
5. Replaced our laptop battery. Amazon is the coolest - I found a name-brand replacement for $20. If I had known it would be so cheap, I wouldn't have waited so long - it would last all of 23 minutes by the time we got the new battery. It is so nice!
6. Walked to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple with the ladies from my relief society. It was my favorite church activity ever! 
7. Randomly skyped with our friends' parents, who are on a mission in Nauvoo, at a barbecue. It was fun. I'm probably the only person in the world who'd never skyped. Welcome to technology!
8. Upgraded Shane's phone. He has an iPhone now with Siri, so my kids spend all their time trying to facetime with their dad from their iPods and trying to get Siri to talk to them. I still like my dumb phone, thankyouverymuch. But now everyone wants me to have an iPhone too. Maybe I'm like the grandma who refuses to have a computer because it's too much technology. Me and my friend Isabel were emailing about that yesterday. Is it lame that we don't want cool phones?
9. Bought Shane's Father's Day gift. The past 2 years I have forgotten to get him anything, so it was a big improvement. Although, he makes me crazy. I told him, in separate conversations, that I had bought him a FD gift and that I'd been to the Nike store. When I got home that day, he said to me, "So where are my new headphones?" I freaked out and yelled at him and thought he had peeked at his gift, because I didn't even know I was going to get him headphones when I went in the store, but still decided on them in the end. It is incredibly bratty for him to know me that well. So he already has his gift - they will be great for Ragnar.
10. Helped my friend Melanie get ready to move. Although, I should have been secretly sabotaging her efforts because I am crying that she is leaving me. We had a great Friday afternoon together scrubbing and painting and sanding.

9 things I need for a good run:

1. My blue hat. My head got really sunburned one day at the park, so I started wearing a hat to run. It really is amazing how much better you feel when the sun isn't in your eyes.
2. My favorite Puma socks. I have 6 pairs, but am currently crushing on the 3 I bought with my shoes back in March.
3. My iPod. The last few months I've been throwing caution to the wind and putting it on "shuffle songs" instead of running to a playlist. I like to listen to playlists because then I associate a time period of training with certain songs. However, I also tend to put the same songs on my playlists over and over so it isn't that effective. I've heard a lot more music on my runs lately. And I don't seem to skip them as often.
4. A water bottle. I have to hold it in my right hand, because the sloshing bothers me if it's in my left. Weird, I know. This also means I have to have my iPod on my left so my Nike+ will calculate accurately.
5. My running shoes.
6. My Nike jacket. Although, now that it's warm, I've weaned myself from it. But I swear, this jacket is my security blanket. I always know I'll be warm enough in even the coldest weather when wearing it.
7. No soda for at least 3 hours. Just makes sense, really.
8. Headband. In the absence of my hat, I'll go for a headband. Anything that keeps the sun off my forehead.
9. Running skirt. I haven't had a run in anything other than a skirt in months. Even in the cold, I wear one. They just make me happy, you know? My running friend Breana just got one. I'm converting people, one by one...

8 People I saw or hung out with or made a difference in May

1. My mom, on Mother's Day and the Sunday before Memorial and on Memorial Day at the cemetery.
2. Gina and
3. her sister Collette, my old dance teachers. Well, her daughters, as the dance teacher died last year. We ran into them as we left the cemetery on Memorial Day. It was weird and kind of creepy. Standing in front of them, I felt like I was still 14 and really lame. Well, I'm still lame but considerably older than 14. They both tried to convince me and my mom to come to the Big Show the following Friday. I didn't go, and neither did my mom, although we both could have gotten up on the stage and joined in on some of the dances - they are that old.
4. My BFF Shelly and her kids. I miss Shelly and I wish she lived closer.
5. My mom-in-law, Vonnay. She gave my kids her old day bed and trundle bed so they can sleep next to each other and have some room to spare. The kids love it, I love it, hopefully Vonnay loves it. Thanks, Ma!
6. My friend Jenny in my ward. I'm probably 10 years older than her, but I just love her. We chatted the whole time as we walked to the temple. She's just so funny and saracastic. One Sunday in church she walked over to me in front of the entire relief society while the teacher was teaching just to offer me her sleeping daughter to hold. That is friendship.
7. Amy. We went on a fabulous run together on May 31st. It was up in the mountains on a beautiful spring morning. I had so much fun being with my sister while running. It is something we both do but very rarely together.
8. Went to a baby shower that was also attended by this person. I don't think that we are BFFs now but we had a very nice conversation. I was so nervous I could feel my heart beating in my eyelashes and my legs were shaking but it was okay and even pleasant. I was also very grateful I had some peeps there who were in my corner. Big sigh.

Songs from May that were played a lot at my house:

1. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem and
2. I'm Sexy and I know it (my kids love the LMFAO and I can't really stop them. It might be bad to let them listen to stuff like this now, but I figure if I try and be cool with the hip music, they won't rebel in other ways. Plus, even if I tried to stop them, they would still like the songs - not because of the words that make me cringe, but because of the dancey beat and the M&M commercial)
3. Thriller - don't ask me how this song came about, but Thomas likes to practice the moon walk to it.
4. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourn, again, thanks to the commercial.
5. One Direction - Beautiful and 
6. I Want. Which I don't mind - they seem like a teeny bopper band who make songs that kids like and can sing without making the parents cringe.
7. What I've done - Linkin Park. The kids love this one too. Ben likes to turn it on, take off his shirt, and do pushups to it. Whatever.

(Good) Songs I am crushing on:

1. Adele - Someone Like You (I also like the Glee mash up of Someone Like You/Rumour Has It)
2. Adele - Best for Last (I love the line - "just a filler in the space that happened to be free...how dare you think you'd get away with trying to play me." Just love the Adele.)
3. Florence + The Machine - Breath of Life (This is a video with scenes from Snow White and The Huntsman - which I want to see, despite my dislike of all things Twilight and Kristin Stewart. She's just so...expressionless. And yet dramatically so.)
4. Black Eyed Peas - Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night (really juvenile - but I still am listening to it over and over. The beat is really intoxicating and gets my feet a-jangling.)
5. Taio Cruz - Dynamite. I blame Just Dance 3! for my love of this song. It's hard not to love a song when you already know the dance to it. I love catching me and my kids doing the moves to it in random places like the living room or while driving in the car.
6. Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted. Love the lyrics - You tell me that you're scared that you're turning into your mother I feel myself turn into my father We could lie to each other like they do and say we're so happy It's easy when you're young  and you still want it so badly. The ATE feel like a 90's band - the angsty lyrics, the dark bass line, deep-voiced singer - love it.
   

Places I ate food from:

1. Red Iguana. Mmm. I love that they are in City Creek!
2. Chick-Fil-A. Ditto the above.
3. Cafe Rio.
4. Costa Vida.
5. San Sauce (our very favorite Chinese food in the world.)

4 Reasons I love May:

1. The sun coming in my window every morning. Sure, it's a little annoying, but I love late spring mornings.
2. Iris.
3. Coolish weather.
4. The feeling that it is the perfect part of the year - not cold, not hot, not too close to the holidays, and lots of good things in store.

3 books I tried to read: (reading hasn't been very successful lately. Must try harder.)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - I've read it before, but couldn't stay with it.
2. Home - Toni Morrison. I should like this more than I do, I LOVE T.M. but I'm not there with this book yet.
3. Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close - I think I'll get through this one eventually.

2 yummy things I made:

1. Strawberry cake. I finally got it down by putting it in a regular old 9x13 pan. It almost tastes as good as Amy's....
2. 7 layer dip. I saw one at the store one day and went home and immediately made one. I love me some 7 layer! (although mine only had 6 - beans, salsa, sour cream, olives, cheese. Okay, so I mean 5.)

Best part about May 2012:

Shane's new job! Wahoo!!

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.