This weekend I ran in the Ragnar Relay, this was my first time and I had no idea of what it meant to really run Ragnar! If you are not familiar with this race, it consists of 12 people, 2 vans and 196.1 miles of running. So basically, we were in 2 vans, 6 runners a piece and we were all assigned different legs of the race with distances that ranged from 3 to 9 miles. We started at 7 AM and ran until we stopped, which ended up being 33 hours later. Oh yeah, we started in Chattanooga and ran to Nashville!!!
I was lucky enough to be runner #7, so I got to be the first runner of van 2. I figured I since I was coming off Ironman (Yes, I can work it into to any conversation), I figured I would be in great shape to run. Of course I really did not factor any recovery time into this equation, but I figured a 5.3 mile hard run, a 6.5 mile hard run and a 5.9 mile hard run would be that bad. I was really worried about my speed (which is gone), but I wanted to set the tone right for my van.
 |
| This elevation map is wrong, it seemed straight uphill! |
Like I said, it was a simple 5.3 mile run. I was starting it at around 11 AM in the morning and the temps were in the 40s. Perfect running weather. One problem though. It was straight uphill for about 3 miles or so. Very tough run. 1 hour and 2 seconds, so I was pleased with that effort, but man it killed my legs.
Run #2
It was not as bad as run one, it was longer (6.5 miles), but I started that run around 11 PM and it was in the upper 20's that night and dark! It wasn't a bad run overall and I actually felt pretty good for the most of it. It was just a cold, dark, lonely run. This run took me 1:05:56
Run #3
This was a 5.9 mile run, but it was the hardest. Factor in no sleep, not eating great and feeling queasy at the beginning, made for a long 5 miles. It had a lot of rolling hills on it which were not happening for me as far as running goes, so I walked more than I wanted to. This leg took me 1:06:52.
So overall thoughts on Ragnar:
- It was a lot of fun now that it is over!
- I got to be part of a great team with some great people. I had a lot of fun getting to know my "van-mates" and cheering them on.
- There were over 220 teams running this race!
- We did not win
- It was easy to tell the veterans of this race vs. the newbies
- Some of the van decorations were awesome
- I got zero sleep and I did not eat well enough either! My fault on the eating
- It was nothing like I expected.
- I made some good friends
My Ragnar Team Eric, Amy, Dwight, John, Mike, Heather B, Justis, Mel, Todd, Heather L, Handley and me
Amy
Dwight, Handley and me
Eric took a selfie on his run
Dwight and Handley
Me and Eric
Mel V waiting on me to get up that hill
john, Eric, Any, Todd and Handley
Me and Todd, He had a monster hill to climb as well
We all signed the wall once we conquered!
My cheesy Olympic medal biting tradition picture
While I've always wanted to do a relay event, I'm such a sucktastic runner that I'd never feel right joining a team where I was the dead weight. Sounds like a really fun time though!
ReplyDelete