Running Ragnar Great River

As soon as I finished my Tennessee Ragnar, I knew I wanted to do another one. One of the women on my first Ragnar team, told me they had spots left on her Ragnar Great River Team, which is a relay from Winona, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, that follows the Mississippi River. Since Adam has family and friends in that area, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to take a little trip together. I could run the race, and he could visit with his people. 

We drove from Alabama to Wisconsin over two days, spending the first night in Champaign, Illinois.  The second night Adam dropped me off in Winona to spend the night with my team, and he went on to Minneapolis to hang out with friends.

I was nervous as I didn't know anyone on the team but one other person, who would be in the other van. But I bonded with my team, by going to dinner with them the night before the race. Everyone seemed so nice, and I started to relax a little. 

We (Van 1) got up bright and early to head down to the start line. It was a beautiful venue on the river bank. Once our first runner was off, we started the process of leap froggin' with our runners to get to the next exchange point.

I was  runner number 4, and my first leg was 6.6 miles. I was happy when I took off to find that my pace was right where I predicted it to be. My leg ran by the riverbank and also through beautiful farmland. And I snapped a few pictures as I went.

I was happy when I finished my leg, and after all our runners had finished their first legs, we had some downtime as Van 2 was out running.

We stopped at a little restaurant called The Pickle Factory for lunch, and we then headed to our next exchange point in Stockholm, Wisconsin. We were there a few hours waiting for Van 2 to catch up with us.

Stockholm was this itty bitty town with the cutest little shops. I took time to explore them before catching a quick van nap. This exchange spot also had s'mores. I hadn't had a s'more in so long, and it felt like such a treat. 

It was dusk when Van 1 set out again. By the time it was my turn to run, it was pitch dark. My second leg was a little over 3 miles. I started on a big hill, which gassed me for a little bit, before I could calm my breathing. This leg was so dark at times, that I would feel a little nervous until I spotted another runner or van. 

At one point, I grew concerned because it seemed that a directional sign was leading us to run through a corn field. Another runner behind me was just as perplexed, we talked it over, but we decided to keep going straight (which was correct). I was so happy when I saw the lights and orange cones of the exchange point, since I was worried I had taken a wrong turn, which is my biggest fear during these events.

After our 2nd legs were complete, all my vanmates spread out where ever they could find a place, and we all tried to catch a couple of hours of shut eye. Although I never slept too deep, and I woke often, it was better than nothing.

As the sun rose, it was time for us in Van 1, to complete our third and final legs. Day 2 was noticeably hotter than the day before, so I was happy we got to run before the hottest part of the day. My last leg was my shortest, at a little over 2 miles. It was definitely more of an urban route than my last two runs, as we inched closer to Minneapolis. 

Once our entire van was through running for the day, we had breakfast at IHOP, as van 2 was completing their last set of runs. We took this pic to tease van 2, as earlier in the trip they had posted a picture of their selves eating a meal, but they had no food in front of them (obviously they were waiting for their food). So we said at least we all could afford our breakfast!

The finish line was in a park near the University of Minnesota. We had about two hours to kill until all our team would meet up at the finish line. Adam got to the park to hang out with everyone while we waited. We had blankets, and we just laid out under some shady trees to stay cool.

Finally our last teammate rounded the corner, and we were able to run across the finish line together.  It was another great Ragnar experience. 

Even though I was extremely tired (and probably smelly), I still wanted to hang out a little with Adam at the Mall of America after the race. I had visited there a long time ago (maybe 15 years ago), and I really wanted to go back. We did a little shopping, and we had dinner at the Melt Shop in the food court.

The next morning I caught a flight home, and I picked up my Linky from my mom's house, which he had been staying with (terrorizing her pet rabbit). Adam stayed on in Wisconsin for another week, visiting his family, before driving home.


It was a quick but fun trip all in all. And I'm still down for another Ragnar!

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Ragnar Relay Tennessee

So last weekend I completed a Ragnar Relay in Tennessee. A ragnar is a 200 mileish relay race. It takes place over 2 days and 1 night. You have a team of 12 people (in two vans), and someone from the team is always running. Every runner has 3 different runs (ours were about 12 hours apart).

I don't know when I first heard about the Ragnar relay, maybe a year ago? But it was one of those things that filed itself away in my brain, as something I might want to do one day. And a few months ago, I decided to just go for it. 

But here is the catch, I didn't know anyone who would be willing to do this race with me. And I can be incredibly shy and socially anxious at times. So it was with much trepidation, I asked on a facebook group to join a team. And before I knew it, I was on a team with 11 runners I didn't  know called Run Hit Wonder. 

 

I was super excited, and then as it got closer I was super scared. I had so many fears. What if  I didn't get along with the people on my team? What if they were such better runners than me, that I was a disappointment?

So many insecurities.

Wednesday night I stayed up late packing, which was no easy chore. I had never attended an event like this before. I needed several different pairs of running clothes, lounge clothes, snacks, and all the other stuff that comes with running.

Link (he is such a good traveler), Adam, and I left for Chattanooga when I finished work on Thursday night. Since Thursday is my late day anyway (and we were traveling into the Eastern time zone) , we did not get to the hotel till about 11:30. I needed to be up at 3:30, I was finally drifting off to sleep around midnight, when I heard a screeching noise.

It was the fire alarm. 

Which led to me standing outside in the COLD for 45 minutes, while fire fighters swept the whole building. Which led me to not falling asleep till 1:30, so I got  two full hours of sleep before starting my big, stressful adventure, which was not optimal. 

Around 4:45a.m, Adam dropped me off, and I met up with the folks in Van 1, I was super shy at first, but according to them I hid it well. The people in Van 1 were Darryl, Bill, Maggie, Terrie, and Jeremy (Bill isn't pictured, and we borrowed Flora from Van 2 for a while). 

The start line was super pretty. We watched the cheesiest safety video, and we got ready to start. Bill was up first, so when the race started, he hit the road. We passed him and headed to the first exchange. I was runner 2, and super nervous! But when Bill rounded the corner, I was ready to go. 

It was pitch dark when I started, so I was required to run in safety gear (vest, head lamp, and tail lights). My first leg was 3 miles and marked "easy" by Ragnar. Bill told me he was runner 2 last year, and the first half of the run was completely up hill and not easy. Where I run, is fairly flat, so hills are totally not my thing.

And he was right it was certainly uphill, and not the easiest run of my life. But I kept truckin. At one point, I had to stop and wait for a raccoon to cross the street front of me, I was praying it wasn't rabid. 

The sun slowly started to rise, and I had a beautiful view of the Tennessee river. I also crossed back into the central time zone during my leg. 

I finished my leg, and passed the slap bracelet/baton to Terrie, runner 3. I got to put a check mark in my first box by my name on the van.

The exchange I was at after my run was very pretty, so I got to stop and take a quick selfie, before changing into lounge clothes in a porta potty (the only drawback of a ragnar, so many porta potties).

After all the runners in Van 6 had ran,  Van 2 of our team started their legs, we had about 6 hours of down time. Priority number one was getting some real food, so we grabbed some lunch at an Italian restaurant in some little town. We then headed to the next exchange point where we had a couple of hours to kill. I cat napped a little (but not much), but spent a good deal of time just chatting with my team. I really got to know the girls, and it was just so much fun. 

Time seemed to fly by and before we knew it it was Van 1's turn to run again. Again I put on my night gear, and I ended up running during sunset. My run was through Winchester, TN, which I was somewhat familiar with from a past half marathon. The run was nerve wracking at times, because it was on a highway during the dark. There wasn't much of a shoulder, and sometimes the corners would be blind, so I worried about getting ran over frogger style. But I survived my 5.0 mile leg, which ragnar deemed "moderate". I still think my first leg was harder. 

After our van finished our night runs, we went to the exchange point, and had another 4-5 hours of downtime. I managed to spread out in the van seat and sleep for about two hours. Some of my vanmates spread out on lawn in sleeping bags. There were birds that were super loud and annoyed at our presence and chirped all night long. We deemed them asshole birds. Ha.

Van 2 had some pace issues during the night, so by the time Van 1 was to head out, we were a little bit behind our projected pace. Race officials said they would just have the vans run the legs they were supposed to, but instead of waiting for our van to finish, we would be running concurrently, and we would meet up with them at finish line. 

My 3rd and final leg was 6.1 miles, deemed "hard", and it was during the sunrise. I loved that I literally had ran during the last two sunrises and one sundown. The run was hard, but just felt like the last few miles of a long race since I was so sore. 

The relief I had at being done with all my legs and having performed at the pace I wanted was indescribable. I could just relax the next few hours and not worry about a thing.

We finished the race about 2:30 in the afternoon in Nashville. When our last runner, Anna Lisa, got near the finish line, we all ran together. It was a wonderful moment.

Our medals are puzzle pieces that when joined together as a team make a quote.

I was so happy to finally head home to get some real sleep and take a shower. That shower was the most glorious shower of my life. After 60 plus hours, and three sweaty runs, with noting but baby wipes and deodorant to clean up with, how could it not feel amazing?

Pushing myself not only physically but mentally (having to be social) was such a rewarding experience. And I'm already planning my next Ragnar in August.

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W Girls Do Disney 2017 Trip Report: Part 1

Yes it is that time again, I'm finally back from my annual trip to Disneyworld. And yes, I know I haven't been blogging much, but I feel like blogging about my trip, so here I am. This was the first year that our friend Anna joined us for the trip! And she was a Disney virgin, and there is nothing better than being with someone on their first Disney trip.

Not only had she never been to Disney world, she had never flown before. But she did well, and she never showed any anxiety at all, which I was worried about! 

Anna and I had flown in from Huntsville and Jana from Pensacola,  so we met up at the hotel. We stayed at Port Orleans: French Quarter this trip, and I loved it. The New Orleans vibe was so fun, plus it is quiet and compact, and catching a bus to the parks is super easy. Plus, they have beignets in the food court! I think this may be the resort I stay at always. 

We got dressed up  and headed down to dinner at Disney Springs. We were so busy, catching up and chatting, that we were got on the wrong bus, and we did not realize it, till we ended up at the Animal Kingdom. So we had to hop off and get on a totally new bus. But we were able to shake that inconvenience off, calling it an adventure.

Dinner was at Art Smith's Homecoming restaurant. A Southern style restaurant, which had a whole moonshine menu! I had the chicken and donuts, which was so good. And we all got dessert to go, which was the biggest piece of cake ever! 

Early the next morning, was the Enchanted 10k, which was the reason for the trip. My friend Jana was supposed to run with me, but she didn't ended up going, which made me a solo evil step sister. But I still loved my costume. It was a beautiful foggy morning, as we ran through Epcot and the Boardwalk. I was so excited to see Dopey out on the course, I had to stop, because he is a hard character to meet, and I was so glad I did. It was so worth it.

I finished, got my medal, and I was so excited to shower, and get ready to hit the parks!

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Memorial Day Weekend & The Cotton Row 10k

The week that we got back from Europe was one tough entrance back into reality. On the way home from the airport, our car started shaking and the check engine light came on. We had to replace some ignition cords, which cost a lot of money and was one big inconvenience. I was dog tired with jet lag for a couple of days, and I could not seem to catch a good night's sleep no matter how hard I tried. And then I came down with my first ever case of food poisoning, and I literally thought I was going to die. Thankfully, Adam talked me out of going to the hospital, and Adam went on a late night run to Wal-Mart for Gatorade and stomach medicine. He is the best.

So believe me that after a week of that nonsense, I was more than glad to have a three day weekend, where my bestie Jana came to visit.

We spent time floating around the lazy river and ate yummy gelato on Saturday. On Sunday, we got together with a group of friends, and we did the Escape Pod game. It was so fun. We were "locked" in a room, and we had to follow clues to bust out! Unfortunately, we got really close to solving the puzzle when our time ran out. <whomp, whomp>. I blame math, but I'm looking forward to trying again another time!

On Memorial Day itself, I did the run I do ALMOST every year, The Cotton Row. However, this year I upgraded from the 5K to the 10k.  It was an enjoyable race, truly one of my favorite courses. There is one BACK-BREAKING hill, but once you get up it, the race is literally all down hill from there. I will happily do the 10k again next year!

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