SNAPSHOT
Bonding time within 24 hours, 12 friends, 2 vans, 200 miles, and a win!
DIGGING DEEPER
The answer was always, “No, I don’t want to join your Ragnar team. You don’t want to be around me when I am sleep deprived.” Seriously, it is not pretty or fun for anyone when I don’t get enough sleep. My boycott held strong until last spring when the leader of Baba Yaga, an award-winning women’s team of 25 years, asked if I wanted to pass the team’s snap bracelet. The invitation peeked my interest; the opportunity to learn from fast wise women. This team has gathered once a year to support, encourage, and run fast together. They are serious. Thankfully, they didn’t pour on the pressure, I could take care of that myself.
My training for the June Utah Ragnar race included hills and tempos. I had already started my fall marathon training cycle so my long 3-legged portion (total of 18.5 miles) fit right into the scheduled miles. I would for sure walk away from the experience mentally tougher since most of the race miles would be run at a higher altitude by myself. I felt ready enough as I walked onto the plane.
If I were to share every detail, this post would get way too long, so I will give you the best of many great moments.
Genuinely kind and fast running team. “Seriously, you know who?” “You ran on what professional team?” “Wait, did I just hear you say you are the record holder for the 4x800 master relay team? And now you are going for the fastest 50+ team next month.” Humble and impressive women.
Utah’s mountainous terrain and sunrises/sunsets melted my heart. I could totally live near Salt Lake City, Utah. I don’t mind the 5000 feet elevation level and the burn in my lungs!
I was super proud when I would finish under my captain’s projected pace for my leg. I couldn’t breathe in enough oxygen but I could belt out, “17 seconds under, save those seconds for my next leg, I will need it!”
A shout out to my running companion, Corey from SKRT SKRT EAT OUR DRT DRT, on my dark midnight 9.61-mile leg. High school sprinters, who are untrained in endurance, should NOT be able to run 18.5 fast miles in less than 24 hours and at this pace. I begged him to join his Utah cross country team, he obviously had talent! We had a fun reunion as our two teams joined together for a team picture after the race.
Long roads without a finish in sight can really test your fortitude to finish your third leg strong. Yet that obstacle was a treasured gift as it was easier to preserver when I returned back home to my marathon training.
SOLUTION
Alrighty, I learned my lesson. I can survive a Ragnar. The gained memories were worth the night of lost sleep.
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