In June, we participated in the Ragnar Wasatch Back, and it was amazing, as always. This year's team name was "It's Business Time," and we had quite a bit of fun with the theme overall. Especially with the window chalk on the vans.
All 4 of us were in Van 1 this year, and we elected to try for a slightly later start time to allow us to sleep in our own beds on Thursday night instead of staying in a hotel in Logan. That part worked, but it added a couple of new timing challenges for us, but it wasn't too bad. We decorated our van at the Team Dinner on Thursday night (doesn't everyone look super stoked?!), and Lacy and I worked on the food prep for both vans Thursday afternoon/evening.
I also realized that I need more dining capacity in our kitchen. But that's an issue to be solved another day.
We got the van all squared away, everyone headed home for one more quality night of sleep, and then it was time for game on. Friday morning, I woke up at 2:45am to get the rest of the food for the vans prepped and packed in time for a 4:45am departure from my house to go to Logan. Just to back up for a quick second, Kevin (my husband, who was running with us, and running his first Ragnar ever) asked me if I would pack his bag for him since I knew what was needed for a Ragnar, so in addition to having all of my stuff staged on the pool table, his was all there too. And it really didn't take me that much longer to pack both of our bags than it would have taken me to do just mine. I just grabbed two of everything as I was checking things off my list (which was front and center on the table).
We stopped in Clearfield to pick up Chris (teammate), and Tracy (our Van 1 driver for the weekend) on the way to Logan, and made it with plenty of time to spare. We milled around the start line for a few minutes, grabbed some bread from the Great Harvest booth, took a team picture (and one of us goofing off a little bit), and then it was time to send Matt off on the first leg of the relay.
I always feel like the relay creeps up on me so fast, and this year was no exception. It takes forever for relay weekend to arrive, and then it's actually happening before I know it. There is such a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air when a wave of runners start out on the course. It is so fun to just be beginning what is sure to be an amazing weekend, and at the same time knowing the exhaustion that is to come is kind of daunting. At any rate, we cheered Matt across the start line, and headed back to the van to go to the first spot on Matt's leg where we would be able to support him, which was about 3 miles into a 6.5 mile leg. When Matt got to us, he informed us that he had been vomiting pretty much the entire time he was running, and wasn't feeling any better.
Our main concern was keeping him hydrated at that point, and hoping that he didn't get any sicker. He wanted to keep running, so he left us and kept running. We checked in with him frequently, and although he was still puking fairly often, he felt like he could keep pushing through. It was with about 1.5 miles left on his leg that his body finally changed his mind for him. Lacy was next up to run, and she offered to take the additional distance left in his run and keep going for her leg. Way to push through, Matt, and thanks for picking up the extra, Lacy! We got Matt into the van, gave him some Phenergan, kept him hydrated, and he quickly fell asleep on one of the back bench seats (thank heavens for 15 passenger vans!). Lacy killed what ended up being about a 10 mile leg for her.
Then it was my turn. My first leg was 6.7 miles, and it was difficult for me. Although it was mostly flat, it got really hot by the time I was out there, and I was not used to running in the heat. I got through the run with the help from my van mates, as well as other teams and locals who were out misting runners or full on spraying us with hoses. I also shouldn't have worn capris with as hot as it was, but I thought I had packed a running skirt in my bag and couldn't find it, so I didn't have much of a choice (I later found the running skirt tucked away in a safe place in my bag and kicked myself for not looking harder for it before this run).
My handoff was to Kristen, whose first leg was 4.3 miles. She did awesome on her run, and even took a moment to pause and give us a gun show with a beautifully scenic backdrop. Go Kristen!
Kristen's handoff was to Chris, who had a gnarly 7.4 miles up the dirt road to Avon Pass. It was hot and dusty, and I don't envy him that leg. He did a great job and got us to the top of the hill, though! And if you can forget about all the dust getting kicked up everywhere, this is actually a really pretty route.
Chris handed off to Ami for her first leg, which was down the other side of Avon Pass and into Liberty where we would turn over the slap bracelet to Van 2 for their first set of legs. I have to give a special shout out to Ami, who ran this year's Ragnar 7 months pregnant with her second daughter. Isn't she a bad ass!? And did I mention she was passing people left and right?
While Ami finished her last couple of miles of that leg, the rest of us high-tailed it to the park in Liberty where the first major exchange was. We met up with the other van, and I got to see Kevin and tell him good luck as he was about to embark on his first Wasatch Back. Doesn't he look thrilled?
Once Van 2 took over, it was our turn to go rest, eat, and stretch our legs. I'll pick back up there on another post. I'm exhausted just recounting the first portion of that day!
~Linsey
