Several months ago a group at my office was forming a team to run the Ragnar Relay. If you're not familiar with this race, it's a 192 mile relay race starting in Logan and ending in Park City. It goes over 5 mountain passes. While beautiful from the car, it's absolutely terrifying when on foot. For me anyway. Every year XanGo (the awesome company I work for) forms and sponsors a team. And every year they ask me if I'm interested. And every year I tell them they're crazy. "No, I don't want to run insane distances and get no sleep and kill myself running up those mountains. Not my idea of fun, thank you very much". For some reason this year when they started asking, I actually considered it. Not sure why the change of heart. I wanted to get into shape and I knew this would force me to exercise. But I'm not a runner, never have been. I don't know what came over me, but when they asked, I agreed.
The training started slow. I just walked for 20-30 minutes a few days a week. The sad part....I got sore from walking!! I was so out of shape. Eventually I started adding short runs into my routine. I'd run for a minute or two, then walk several minutes, then run again. I very slowly started increasing my running time and decreasing my walking time until I could run for 30 minutes consistently. But I had many obstacles along the way. First was the horrible side stitch I'd get while running. So bad I couldn't stand up straight. I pushed thru and eventually that went away. Then I started having problems with my ankles. I was expecting this...I've always had weak ankles. I tried to convince myself that I could push thru the pain and eventually they'll strengthen and I'll be okay. But they got worse and worse to the point that I couldn't walk without a limp, let alone run. I was devastated. I felt so defeated. I quit running for two weeks to let them heal. I went to the running store to ask for advice. They suggested shoe inserts. They were pretty expensive but I was determined so I bought them and went back to training. And it worked!! I was stoked! So from there I just kept adding distance and worked on increasing my speed. Before I know it I was running 5 miles at a10 minute/mile pace. This isn't too impressive to the avid runner but it was so exciting for me. I do have to admit, I've never loved running. I still hate it. But the sense of accomplishment when I'm finished with a good run is so worth it. Shin splints and all.
Race day finally arrived. We had to be at the starting line at 5 A.M., but it's two hours away which meant we had to be on our way by 3 and that meant I had to be up by 2! I was so nervous about the race and so nervous about sleeping thru my alarm that I hardly slept at all. Maybe about an hour and a half. I was exhausted going into the race, how was I possibly going to finish it? Luckily adrenaline kicked in. My first leg of the race was UPHILL FOR 5 MILES!!! I'd trained running hills but never for that distance. And it turned out to be even steeper than I had anticipated. But the excitement of the race really kept me going and I finished at a 10.5 minute/mile pace. Way better than I had expected. I was pumped! By the next leg of the run absolute exhaustion had set in. It wasn't as steep of a run but it was hot outside. I gave everything I had and actually did pretty well. But my body had given all I had to give. I had never felt exhaustion like that, more from the lack of sleep than running. And I still had to run again. I didn't know how I was going to do it. I had a few hours to eat and try to sleep. I slept on the van bench for about two and a half hours before we were off again. The sleep definitely helped. I was still tired, but not as bad as I had been. Luckily my last leg of the race was downhill so I just let gravity take over and ran fast. The finish line was the most welcoming sight my eyes had ever seen. YEA!! I actually did it!
I called Mike on my way home to tell him that I HAD TO SLEEP! I felt bad cause I missed him and the kids so much, but I knew if the kids knew I was home they'd be all over me and I'd never get any sleep. Being the great husband that he is, he took the kids in the basement so I could sneak in and shower and lay down for a nap. I had only slept about 4 hours the previous two nights, not to mention all those miles I ran. I fell fast asleep and didn't want up until 8 hours later. I couldn't believe I slept all day. I got up and hung out with the fam for a few hours, and some dinner and wondered if I'd be able to go back to sleep that night. Sure enough I was asleep again in no time and slept for another 9 hours. If felt so good to finally be rested! I woke up to some seriously sore muscles but they didn't last long. My knees still aren't back to normal, a week after the race but they're getting better every day. I think I'll try running again tomorrow.
All in all, it was a great experience. I hope Mike can join me next year. I'm afraid of getting out of shape again with no race to keep me motivated. We'll see how that goes. I'm hoping to sign up for some sort of race in the fall to keep me going.
Here's a pic of me and my awesome teammates. They were so much fun, even after being stuck in a van with them for about 30 hours, I still consider them friends! I was the only rookie in our van and they were so patient and helpful. I was lucky to have them! Keep in mind that in this picture I had not showered, put on makeup or hardly slept in a day and a half. And I was all sweaty and gross.
Looking forward to Ragnar 2012!!
