I went into this with no expectations, but came out feeling extremely inspired, happy and with a little hop in my step. It was seriously one of the best weekends I have ever had and I can't believe I'm going to admit that because it was all based around running...and who likes to run..Totally kidding. I ran the most miles I ever have in a ragnar..14.4. I felt like for me that was a lot...But you know, If I do another one I think I want to increase...Slowly, but I want to try and push myself. I was able to train on a regular basis, but for some reason I was more nervous about this one than I was about my other 2 Ragnars I have done.
The member in my van were; Me, Adam, Meredith, Grant, Diana, and Amanda...I only knew Meredith and Grant, but got to know the others real quick. Me, Adam, Meredith and Diana all drove to Vegas from California...they flew to California but then the flight filled up because we were all going to fly stand by so I ended up picking them up and then we drove...It was so fun. They were all such a blast.
We got n Thursday night November 7 at about 8 and met up with the other van for dinner at Denny's. Then we headed over to Bellagio to watch the water fountain show they have...I remember it as a kid and loved it then. After that I realized I forgot P.J's so Grant, Adam and I headed over to a store...Walked away with pink sparkle pants and a dinosaur shirt...Those pink pants became the funniest inside joke our entire trip.
We got up a little early, but being in Van 2 we didn't have to leave to early...We all got ready and headed to grab bagels and food for our van to eat thought the next several days. We met up at the 1st exchange and waited a little bit for our other teammates to come in.
Meredith was our first runner...She took off and it was BLAZING HOT! I was the next runner after her and my first leg I did was 6.6 miles in the dead heat of Vegas. But to be honest I didn't get hot until my last 2 miles..although I did suck back all my waters I took with me. It was even so Hot, my phone that was on my arm started burning me because it was sitting in the sun on my arm...needless to say I had to switch arms. I finished my leg feeling pretty strong...I did underestimate 2 miles of my run being through dirt and rocks. I guess I should have studied my race course better. Next, Diana went, then Amanda, Adam then Grant. (Adam totally wore the Pink Sparkle pants for his first leg)
We finished up and went and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Subway, went back to the hotel, cleaned up and went to sleep for a few hours because we knew our next run was going to be in the middle of the night.
We got the call and went and met up with the other van and the next exchange. Mer took off about midnight...Which made my night run of 5.3 miles around 1 am. It was a great run and I ended feeling strong again. Our van finished up running around 5 am and off to the hotel we went to sleep for a few hours again.
Our next set of legs began around 11:30 the next morning and these were our final legs of the race. My last leg was only 2.5 miles but it was by far my hardest and hottest leg for sure...I think by that point my legs were spent and I was tired.
We finished the race at the Red Rock Hotel and Casino. It was at the pool area of the hotel and they just had a giant party. Grant was our last runner and I have to say I am so proud of him. He had never run more than a few miles as of January of this year and for this run he just busted out 19 miles in this race. I was so incredibly proud of him.
Most of us did 1 or more Ragnar's this past year so most of us got more than one medal. I got the Dueces Wild for running Vegas plus one other Ragnar this year. The other medal they offered was the Saints and Sinners medal, for running Vegas and the Wasatch Back.
There were a lot of things I learned about myself this race and I am so glad I did it. I gambled for the first time AND we got all dressed up Saturday night and went to dinner. We had a TON of inside jokes that nobody else will understand. The one thing I will not forget the most was learning about something called RACE WITH REASON. Adam, one of the guys in my van who also happens to be one of the funniest people I have met is the founder of this organization. The purpose of it is when you run or ride you dedicate your race or run to somebody that is suffering from a physical or mental aliment. The reason he started this was because his wife suffers from some pretty severe crohns disease and it affects their lives every day. So on behalf of his wife and him I dedicated my last run to her.
I will never ever forget this race...They are talking me into putting together the So Cal Ragnar race in April. So stay tuned for that.
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