So Cal Ragnar 2012 - Ragnizzle Fo' Shizzle

Del Sol Ragnar, 4 weeks later 1/2 Marathon, and 4 weeks after that was So Cal Ragnar. Possibly THE most blogged about Ragnar ever! All much funnier and more timely than my own, Laura, Leigh, Kelly, Gay and Libby Lou have already told their stories about that weekend. The only regret from the whole race would be not putting us all in the same van together. We even threw a few strangers into the mix at the last minute due to some injuries and things could not have turned out better. I was likely the most annoying person on the team, which works out well for me because nobody got on my nerves and nobody dared yell at me for driving them crazy.

Although a race from Huntington Beach to San Diego would lead you to believe that the course is coastal, to get the 200 miles that this race requires it winds inland quite a bit and the further we got from the ocean the higher the temperature rose. Kirt was the first runner in our van with somewhere around 9 miles for his first leg and temps over 100 degrees. I should have clued in when it took him a while longer than expected to come in, but I was still sure I'd be fine with under 4 miles to run. I was wrong. Topping out at 104 degrees and a route that was completely uphill, I let myself walk a little when I started getting chills at 1.6 miles. I tried not to take too many walking breaks hoping that when my team passed they wouldn't see me falling apart. It was fairly miserable and I could not have been more elated when I spotted the exchange. As I approached another runner (walking) in front of me I urged her to jog to our finish line. I pointed out the finish and begged her to run with me. Feeling like I'm helping someone else always helps me keep going.

I was shocked when I got to the exchange and realized I had beat my team there! They made it within a minute or two and laughed at me as I made a fool of myself in my delirious state. Libby has some video of the moment that I would like to see, but would likely destroy upon viewing.

(Before the hallucinations began we were all smiles. Getting lots of use from the playground bull-horn we brought along and pumping the jams at every exchange. Check out homeboy's sunburn behind me. Ouch.)

Once our van finished our legs we were off to find something to eat. Just thinking of this dinner cracks me up. Gay just HAD to have a steak (what else is new?) and Applebee's was our next stop. Tony got some garlic chicken something-or-other but couldn't finish it. When he asked for a box I stopped the train right there. In no uncertain terms Tony was told that there was not going to be any type of smelly leftovers hanging out in the van with us. We were smelling things up just fine on our own. Tony and I had made acquaintance 12 hours earlier and he had let me boss him around all day. His leftover situation was no exception and we left with zero doggy bags. (As the manager took this picture he reminded us to say "CHILI'S"!)

We set out for our middle of the night runs about 1:00 am and life was good. The cooler temps and heightened senses always provide an awesome experience. I ended my run at an elementary school in the middle of a neighborhood about 2:30 am and once again beat my team to the exchange. There were tons of people but it was eerily quiet. Instinctively, I start yelling for my team and about 35 people "shh'd" me. I had missed the police officer responding to a disturbance call by about 30 seconds, I still owe those neighbors an apology.

Once those legs were done we found our way to a field for some camping (in a world where camping only lasts 4 hours.) We woke to thick fog and eery quiet. By now, lots of runners are walking with a little limp, there's a line outside the first-aid tent and a look of dread in most faces. There's only one leg left to run but it takes a little effort to get geared up for it.

 I can always spot Libby's head sticking out of a sleeping bag. I felt terrible waking everyone up that morning. Nobody wanted to get up at all, let alone to run some more!

 The sun came out just enough to brighten our spirits and we were off for our 3rd and final legs of the race. Kirt took off on his leg and it took us a bit to get on the road and we made a few wrong turns once we did. I started to get nervous that we weren't going to make it to the exchange on time and once again denied Tony's modest request - a flush toilet. I told him we didn't have time and the porta-potties at the next exchange wouldn't be that 'used' and he would be fine. (Poor kid, I wonder why I haven't heard much from him since the race?) We made it just in time for Kirt to hand off to me and I had a 7.5 mile run through La Jolla that would end at Mission Bay. I kept pace with another runner for almost the entire route. Every once in a while I would catch up with him at a light or something but if he could see me he'd run too fast for me. I figured out if I just stayed far enough back he would lay off the speed a little and let me pace with him. Too proud to let a girl beat him, but he helped me get through the distance. I almost thought my leg was ending early when I saw Mission Bay, but I was tortured with another mile and a half around the bay. Finishing that leg was euphoric. It was finally time to relax and cheer on my team. That's when the party elevated a few levels. We had the tunes cranked loud, everyone picked a theme song and we brought a fiesta with us wherever we went. Other teams showed visible disappointment when our runner would come in and it was time for us to go.

Finally, the finish line where we got to meet up with the rest of our team and run in together. Once again, Ragnar proved to be a favorite experience that I'll talk about as long as people will listen.

Ragnar was summed up by this realization, "So, the only part of Ragnar that is NOT fun is when YOU'RE running!" Exactly.