Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Rebecca's Really Really Ridiculously Long Recount of Ragnar 2011
This is copied from my personal blog for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! -
Oh Ragnar. How I love you! This year's Ragnar was my third and it was so. much. fun. If you care to read about previous years, here are the links. If you care to read about this year, get cozy because it got really long. :) It's all here for my own memory's sake so feel free to skip the boring parts. But of course none of it is boring because it's Ragnar!
SoCal Ragnar 2009 - I ran on a team made up of 12 women who I didn't know at all. We won first place in our division in the inaugural SoCal Ragnar. Pretty cool, but definitely not as fun as running with David and our friends.
SoCal Ragnar 2010 - I was the team captain for Running from Responsibility's first year. I loved the entire experience from the planning to the finish. David ran with me and I fell in love with him all over again! And we had such a blast with some great friends. This year will always have my heart.
SoCal Ragnar 2011
My training (or lack thereof)
I had been looking forward to Ragnar all year, but once again, my knee was a worry. On a training run on March 5, after an injury-free-so-far running season, I felt that familiar twinge in my knee. I stopped running immediately. Agoura was only 3 weeks away so I decided to not run again until then and hope my knee would be ok. About one mile into the race I felt a twinge. I ran slowly for another half mile or so while I debated with myself. I finally decided to drop out of the race to save my knee for Ragnar. Ragnar is my favorite and I wanted to give myself every chance to finish it without problems. I went to my MAT guy four times, traded my spot for the shortest total distance in Van 2 making me Runner 11 and held my breath. I showed up for Ragnar under-trained (I hadn't run in six weeks besides my attempt at Agoura) but with hope (and David's faith) that our family's sincere prayers and fasting would bring a miracle. Not to give away the end at the beginning, but I did finish all three of my legs without knee pain. A miracle. I wasn't fast, but I did it and that's all I wanted. I am so grateful.
My team
Ragnar 2011 has been in the works since about the moment we crossed the finish in 2010. This year I gladly stepped down as team captain. James, who was practically my co-captain last year, took over and did an amazing job! I admit it was kind of nice to not worry so much about the details and just show up. Returning from last year and in Van 2 we had David (Runner 7), Wade (Runner 8), Amy (Runner 9), me (Runner 11), James (Runner 12) and Mike (driver). Also in Van 2 we had Ragnar newbie AnneMarie (Runner 10) replacing Danielle, James' other daughter who ran with us last year. Van 1 runners and new to SoCal Ragnar were (in Runner # order) Nikki, John, Trevor, Tom, Michael, and Laura with Chad behind the wheel and Tiffany as van assistant. This year we rented 15 passenger vans so we had room for dedicated drivers and tag-alongs. :)
Van 2 2011 - Wade, David, Rebecca, James, Mike, Amy, AnneMarie - at some crazy hour of the night, ready to start our 2nd legs.
My 12.5-ish miles
I felt so much anxiety/anticipation waiting to start my leg in Corona. Waiting for AnneMarie almost gave me a heart attack. I shouldn't have been quite so excited because my first run was horrible. It was for sure the hardest 5.5 miles of my life. When AnneMarie slapped that bracelet on my wrist at 3:08pm it was 92*. I was worried this whole time about my knee when I guess I should have been more worried about the weather. For the first little bit I was ok - I kept a slow and steady pace - but eventually the heat just killed me. The first time I stopped running at about the one mile mark I won The Soggy Shorts Award. I share this award with AnneMarie who had earned it during her leg just before mine. He he! From there I started taking more and more walk breaks and ended up walking most of the last four+ miles. I couldn't run. I had NOTHING. My awesome team met me about every half mile to cheer me on and David gave me water or beans or whatever I asked for. I tried drinking some Coke at one point, hoping the caffeine would give me super powers. All it did was make my mouth taste nasty. :) Thank you Amy for the cutie orange after that mistake. In my exhausted state of mind I started wishing for some kind of accident resulting in a broken leg to put me out of my misery. At about four miles I made the decision to call it good and have a teammate run the last mile and a half or so for me. I planned to ask the next person who passed me to please let my team know that I needed Mike to put on his running shoes because I was done! When someone did pass me though, I didn't have enough energy to give her the message. When I saw David again I almost lost it. He just pushed me along and didn't let me suggest stopping. He knew I would regret it forever if I didn't finish, even if I had to do it walking. My team was so great. They cheered me on as I slowly shuffled my way to the exchange. My leg was supposed to be 6 miles, but happily it ended up being only 5.5. Hallelujah! I literally cried when James took off and I collapsed into David's arms. That was hard. But I did it. Barely, but I did it.
My second leg at 2:22am on Saturday felt so great compared to my first. I had been able to sleep a little at Tom's cousin's house so I had some energy back. The weather was cool and the night was clear and quiet. I ran without a watch or music - just me in the middle of I had no idea where (San Marcos). I only had 2.1 miles to run on a flat course so I just enjoyed it. I ran the whole time, feeling so grateful for the cool temperature and no knee pain!
I started my third run at 1:31pm on Saturday in Chula Vista. James had told me he would take over for me if my knee failed and he'd just run to the end. I was happy to have him ready just in case, but I really hoped to make it. It was pretty hot, but not nearly as hot as during my first run. I was near the ocean so I had a nice breeze most of the time. My team checked on me a few times, but I was often on trails where they couldn't follow me. At two miles to go David asked me if they were ok to go to the exchange. I remember saying something hard core like, "I got this," then confidently ran (and occasionally walked) to the end. I was able to run most of the time which felt great. I felt redeemed after such a terrible first run. I was so happy to see James at the exchange! I did it! I finished! I hugged him and cheered him off to run the last leg. Hooray! My final 5 miles earned me another team award - The I'm Just Going to Do This Award.
When I wasn't running
An event like Ragnar is the perfect excuse to literally run from responsibility. If the 15 of us had taken off to party in Vegas for two days, surely we would be viewed as irresponsible. I don't think spouses and friends and parents would be as willing to hold down the fort back home in that case. But since we were running, which is "good" for us, and contributing to a worthy cause at the same time (well, and to the millionaires behind Ragnar), we were in fact supported and possibly even admired by our loved ones. It's guilt free irresponsibility! Sure, we all have to put in our hours on the road, but it's worth it for the crazy fun hours in between. It's an experience like no other. It's hours and hours together with great friends all working toward a common goal. And all functioning on little sleep which makes for some fun/funny/uninhibited moments and conversations.
It was sometime during the night that I first qualified for my third team award - The Most Entertaining Psychiatric Break-downs Award. Apparently I do not function well on little sleep. :) Just like last year I lost touch with reality by midnight and found pretty much everything to be absolutely hilarious. My giggles turned to uncontrollable laughter which turned to tears and then a strange sadness and sick feeling in my stomach. This phenomenon has happened to me several dozen times over the years since I was pregnant with Matthew. At least a half of those events occurred during these last two Ragnars. It's weird. It's not just tears but an actual feeling of sadness. Diagnosis? Thanks to Wade for nominating me for this award and for capturing one of my break-downs on camera.
Here's a sample of the moments I found so hilarious:
At a major exchange in the middle of the night, Mike plowed his way through a coned off area of a parking lot, hitting a cone in the process. He said, "Don't worry, Greding Precision Striping will replace that one." I guess you have to know that was the name of David's previous business. And it's still not very funny, but I lost it at 3:30 in the morning.
Later on, during David's last leg, we watched him turn a corner with a couple other runners. One guy started going the wrong way and David called for him to go the right way. Apparently the guy didn't believe him because he ran back to look at the sign he had missed. While this was happening, Mike narrated David's instructions. Something like, "I'll go this way and you go that way. Meet me back here in five minutes." See it's not even funny, but I was dying!!
By the way, David ran 25.2 miles of our 200+. He started off with a 7.3 miler, followed by an 8.2 and finished things off with a nice, easy 9.7 miler. Here he is looking pretty hot (and pretty hot) after his last run. I'm proud he's mine! I think he's amazing.
The End
The parking situation at the beach was a crazy nightmare. We had to leave Mike to deal with the parking and get to the finish line so we wouldn't miss James running in. Thankfully he parked and met us in time to run to the finish as a full team.
Our victorious run to the finish on the beach!
Running from Responsibility 2011!! James, Nikki, Tiffany, Rebecca, David, Amy, Laura, Chad, Trevor, John, AnneMarie, Tom, Mike, Michael and Wade. Aren't our shirts so great?! Our shirts were sponsored by Dole! Not our team, just our shirts. :)
I can't tell you how much I love this picture. It's one of my absolute favorites of David and me together of all time.
We didn't stick around for long after the finish. We were tired and ready to shower at home! I haven't really mentioned Mike's driving talent yet, but let me tell you, that man has serious skills. And he proved his skills on the Coronado Island bridge as we traveled home. A cop car nearly caused a massive accident by making a sudden U-turn across every lane of traffic. It was ridiculous. Thanks to Mike and his awesome driving, we all lived to be really annoyed about it. :)
We stopped at Chipoltle for dinner (yum) then headed home. So bittersweet to be done. I seriously love Ragnar. I was high on Ragnar for days and days. Still am a little. It's all we talked about for awhile there. We'll just have to hold onto the memories until next year!
The Timeline (thanks to James' iPhone app)
Friday, April 15
7:30am Van 1 starts in Huntington Beach, Van 2 leaves Moorpark
11:13am Van 2 starts in Anaheim,
5:36pm Van 1 starts in Lake Elsinore. Van 2 rests at Tom's cousin Sarah's house. Shower and sleep and a mini-box of Cheerios. I need to remember to bring Cheerios next year.
11:21pm Van 2 starts in Fallbrook
Saturday, April 16
3:33am Van 1 starts in Carlsbad. Van 2 sleeps at Amy's sister Carol's house. That shower felt so great! We had plenty of floor space to spread out and get some sleep. And she provided us with breakfast! Thank you Carol!
8:46am Van 2 starts in La Jolla. I was super grumpy at this hour of the day. Due to a little miscommunication, Van 1 woke us up an hour earlier than we wanted. Sleep is precious. But really, is there much difference between 2 hours of sleep and 3 hours of sleep? It took me until we got to the next exchange to get over it. Sorry for any angry vibes, Van 1!
3:31pm Finish on Coronado Island
Official total running time - 33hours 3minutes 28seconds
Oh Ragnar. How I love you! This year's Ragnar was my third and it was so. much. fun. If you care to read about previous years, here are the links. If you care to read about this year, get cozy because it got really long. :) It's all here for my own memory's sake so feel free to skip the boring parts. But of course none of it is boring because it's Ragnar!
SoCal Ragnar 2009 - I ran on a team made up of 12 women who I didn't know at all. We won first place in our division in the inaugural SoCal Ragnar. Pretty cool, but definitely not as fun as running with David and our friends.
SoCal Ragnar 2010 - I was the team captain for Running from Responsibility's first year. I loved the entire experience from the planning to the finish. David ran with me and I fell in love with him all over again! And we had such a blast with some great friends. This year will always have my heart.
SoCal Ragnar 2011
My training (or lack thereof)
I had been looking forward to Ragnar all year, but once again, my knee was a worry. On a training run on March 5, after an injury-free-so-far running season, I felt that familiar twinge in my knee. I stopped running immediately. Agoura was only 3 weeks away so I decided to not run again until then and hope my knee would be ok. About one mile into the race I felt a twinge. I ran slowly for another half mile or so while I debated with myself. I finally decided to drop out of the race to save my knee for Ragnar. Ragnar is my favorite and I wanted to give myself every chance to finish it without problems. I went to my MAT guy four times, traded my spot for the shortest total distance in Van 2 making me Runner 11 and held my breath. I showed up for Ragnar under-trained (I hadn't run in six weeks besides my attempt at Agoura) but with hope (and David's faith) that our family's sincere prayers and fasting would bring a miracle. Not to give away the end at the beginning, but I did finish all three of my legs without knee pain. A miracle. I wasn't fast, but I did it and that's all I wanted. I am so grateful.
My team
Ragnar 2011 has been in the works since about the moment we crossed the finish in 2010. This year I gladly stepped down as team captain. James, who was practically my co-captain last year, took over and did an amazing job! I admit it was kind of nice to not worry so much about the details and just show up. Returning from last year and in Van 2 we had David (Runner 7), Wade (Runner 8), Amy (Runner 9), me (Runner 11), James (Runner 12) and Mike (driver). Also in Van 2 we had Ragnar newbie AnneMarie (Runner 10) replacing Danielle, James' other daughter who ran with us last year. Van 1 runners and new to SoCal Ragnar were (in Runner # order) Nikki, John, Trevor, Tom, Michael, and Laura with Chad behind the wheel and Tiffany as van assistant. This year we rented 15 passenger vans so we had room for dedicated drivers and tag-alongs. :)
Van 2 2011 - Wade, David, Rebecca, James, Mike, Amy, AnneMarie - at some crazy hour of the night, ready to start our 2nd legs.
My 12.5-ish miles
I felt so much anxiety/anticipation waiting to start my leg in Corona. Waiting for AnneMarie almost gave me a heart attack. I shouldn't have been quite so excited because my first run was horrible. It was for sure the hardest 5.5 miles of my life. When AnneMarie slapped that bracelet on my wrist at 3:08pm it was 92*. I was worried this whole time about my knee when I guess I should have been more worried about the weather. For the first little bit I was ok - I kept a slow and steady pace - but eventually the heat just killed me. The first time I stopped running at about the one mile mark I won The Soggy Shorts Award. I share this award with AnneMarie who had earned it during her leg just before mine. He he! From there I started taking more and more walk breaks and ended up walking most of the last four+ miles. I couldn't run. I had NOTHING. My awesome team met me about every half mile to cheer me on and David gave me water or beans or whatever I asked for. I tried drinking some Coke at one point, hoping the caffeine would give me super powers. All it did was make my mouth taste nasty. :) Thank you Amy for the cutie orange after that mistake. In my exhausted state of mind I started wishing for some kind of accident resulting in a broken leg to put me out of my misery. At about four miles I made the decision to call it good and have a teammate run the last mile and a half or so for me. I planned to ask the next person who passed me to please let my team know that I needed Mike to put on his running shoes because I was done! When someone did pass me though, I didn't have enough energy to give her the message. When I saw David again I almost lost it. He just pushed me along and didn't let me suggest stopping. He knew I would regret it forever if I didn't finish, even if I had to do it walking. My team was so great. They cheered me on as I slowly shuffled my way to the exchange. My leg was supposed to be 6 miles, but happily it ended up being only 5.5. Hallelujah! I literally cried when James took off and I collapsed into David's arms. That was hard. But I did it. Barely, but I did it.
My second leg at 2:22am on Saturday felt so great compared to my first. I had been able to sleep a little at Tom's cousin's house so I had some energy back. The weather was cool and the night was clear and quiet. I ran without a watch or music - just me in the middle of I had no idea where (San Marcos). I only had 2.1 miles to run on a flat course so I just enjoyed it. I ran the whole time, feeling so grateful for the cool temperature and no knee pain!
I started my third run at 1:31pm on Saturday in Chula Vista. James had told me he would take over for me if my knee failed and he'd just run to the end. I was happy to have him ready just in case, but I really hoped to make it. It was pretty hot, but not nearly as hot as during my first run. I was near the ocean so I had a nice breeze most of the time. My team checked on me a few times, but I was often on trails where they couldn't follow me. At two miles to go David asked me if they were ok to go to the exchange. I remember saying something hard core like, "I got this," then confidently ran (and occasionally walked) to the end. I was able to run most of the time which felt great. I felt redeemed after such a terrible first run. I was so happy to see James at the exchange! I did it! I finished! I hugged him and cheered him off to run the last leg. Hooray! My final 5 miles earned me another team award - The I'm Just Going to Do This Award.
When I wasn't running
An event like Ragnar is the perfect excuse to literally run from responsibility. If the 15 of us had taken off to party in Vegas for two days, surely we would be viewed as irresponsible. I don't think spouses and friends and parents would be as willing to hold down the fort back home in that case. But since we were running, which is "good" for us, and contributing to a worthy cause at the same time (well, and to the millionaires behind Ragnar), we were in fact supported and possibly even admired by our loved ones. It's guilt free irresponsibility! Sure, we all have to put in our hours on the road, but it's worth it for the crazy fun hours in between. It's an experience like no other. It's hours and hours together with great friends all working toward a common goal. And all functioning on little sleep which makes for some fun/funny/uninhibited moments and conversations.
It was sometime during the night that I first qualified for my third team award - The Most Entertaining Psychiatric Break-downs Award. Apparently I do not function well on little sleep. :) Just like last year I lost touch with reality by midnight and found pretty much everything to be absolutely hilarious. My giggles turned to uncontrollable laughter which turned to tears and then a strange sadness and sick feeling in my stomach. This phenomenon has happened to me several dozen times over the years since I was pregnant with Matthew. At least a half of those events occurred during these last two Ragnars. It's weird. It's not just tears but an actual feeling of sadness. Diagnosis? Thanks to Wade for nominating me for this award and for capturing one of my break-downs on camera.
Here's a sample of the moments I found so hilarious:
At a major exchange in the middle of the night, Mike plowed his way through a coned off area of a parking lot, hitting a cone in the process. He said, "Don't worry, Greding Precision Striping will replace that one." I guess you have to know that was the name of David's previous business. And it's still not very funny, but I lost it at 3:30 in the morning.
Later on, during David's last leg, we watched him turn a corner with a couple other runners. One guy started going the wrong way and David called for him to go the right way. Apparently the guy didn't believe him because he ran back to look at the sign he had missed. While this was happening, Mike narrated David's instructions. Something like, "I'll go this way and you go that way. Meet me back here in five minutes." See it's not even funny, but I was dying!!
By the way, David ran 25.2 miles of our 200+. He started off with a 7.3 miler, followed by an 8.2 and finished things off with a nice, easy 9.7 miler. Here he is looking pretty hot (and pretty hot) after his last run. I'm proud he's mine! I think he's amazing.
The End
The parking situation at the beach was a crazy nightmare. We had to leave Mike to deal with the parking and get to the finish line so we wouldn't miss James running in. Thankfully he parked and met us in time to run to the finish as a full team.
Our victorious run to the finish on the beach!
Running from Responsibility 2011!! James, Nikki, Tiffany, Rebecca, David, Amy, Laura, Chad, Trevor, John, AnneMarie, Tom, Mike, Michael and Wade. Aren't our shirts so great?! Our shirts were sponsored by Dole! Not our team, just our shirts. :)
I can't tell you how much I love this picture. It's one of my absolute favorites of David and me together of all time.
We didn't stick around for long after the finish. We were tired and ready to shower at home! I haven't really mentioned Mike's driving talent yet, but let me tell you, that man has serious skills. And he proved his skills on the Coronado Island bridge as we traveled home. A cop car nearly caused a massive accident by making a sudden U-turn across every lane of traffic. It was ridiculous. Thanks to Mike and his awesome driving, we all lived to be really annoyed about it. :)
We stopped at Chipoltle for dinner (yum) then headed home. So bittersweet to be done. I seriously love Ragnar. I was high on Ragnar for days and days. Still am a little. It's all we talked about for awhile there. We'll just have to hold onto the memories until next year!
The Timeline (thanks to James' iPhone app)
Friday, April 15
7:30am Van 1 starts in Huntington Beach, Van 2 leaves Moorpark
11:13am Van 2 starts in Anaheim,
5:36pm Van 1 starts in Lake Elsinore. Van 2 rests at Tom's cousin Sarah's house. Shower and sleep and a mini-box of Cheerios. I need to remember to bring Cheerios next year.
11:21pm Van 2 starts in Fallbrook
Saturday, April 16
3:33am Van 1 starts in Carlsbad. Van 2 sleeps at Amy's sister Carol's house. That shower felt so great! We had plenty of floor space to spread out and get some sleep. And she provided us with breakfast! Thank you Carol!
8:46am Van 2 starts in La Jolla. I was super grumpy at this hour of the day. Due to a little miscommunication, Van 1 woke us up an hour earlier than we wanted. Sleep is precious. But really, is there much difference between 2 hours of sleep and 3 hours of sleep? It took me until we got to the next exchange to get over it. Sorry for any angry vibes, Van 1!
3:31pm Finish on Coronado Island
Official total running time - 33hours 3minutes 28seconds
Running Form Graphic
Here is a graphical display of perfect running form. It was developed by a new shoe company. I'm not trying to sell Newton shoes, but instead encouraging you to review the graphic and compare it to your own running form.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Shirt needs good home
Somehow i ended up with an extra gray ragnar shirt. Is anyone missing a size L shirt?
If we fail to push our body, we fail our body. James Sloan
Ok, so I'm still obsessed with Ragnar. I'm looking forward to the Hood to Coast in August and the Las Vegas Ragnar in October. While contemplating the So Cal Ragar, I started to think about my feet. As most of you know, I had pretty bad blisters from the half marathon many of us ran in Agoura a few weeks before. I tried to use moleskin, but because the blisters were so big, the moleskin wasn't really that effective. For the entire 20 miles I ran, the blisters kept getting worse so that by the time I was done, my feet looked like hamburger meat. I would have thought my time would get slower and slower the longer I ran, but I didn't. I just pushed through the pain and focused on my run. I love running. It is the only time where my mind just shuts down and I think of nothing except my body and the run itself. It is therapeutic for me.
I wrote an email to my niece who is starting to get interested in running. I included a few of my favorite quotes and thought you all might enjoy them too.
You don't stop running, because you are old, you get old, because you stop running.
Dipsea Demon
Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.
William James
BTW My feet are starting to look normal again. Hooray for normal looking feet! Boo for orthodics that don't fit. I finally have a pair that fit my feet. I have been running with those poorly fitted orthodics for three years. I need to throw them away now. BAD ORTHODICS! BAD! BAD! I never had blister problems until those stupid things. Hopefully, I will be blister-free going forward.
James
I wrote an email to my niece who is starting to get interested in running. I included a few of my favorite quotes and thought you all might enjoy them too.
You don't stop running, because you are old, you get old, because you stop running.
Dipsea Demon
Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.
William James
BTW My feet are starting to look normal again. Hooray for normal looking feet! Boo for orthodics that don't fit. I finally have a pair that fit my feet. I have been running with those poorly fitted orthodics for three years. I need to throw them away now. BAD ORTHODICS! BAD! BAD! I never had blister problems until those stupid things. Hopefully, I will be blister-free going forward.
James
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
POSE method of Running
I've shared this with Rebecca, because she has had knee issues in the past, because her running style is not mechanically sound. For many of us, we were never taught how to run, we either just did it or we have been taught incorrectly. There is a method that was developed several years ago that the USA Triathlon team adopted as part of their training regimen. CHI running and barefoot running are additional methods that have gained some traction lately too. All of them really emphasize one thing and that is helping the body to run the way it was mechanically designed by taking full advantage of your joints, bones, muscles, and tendons and reducing impact to the body. Running properly also increases speed while reducing effort.
I have a POSE DVD in Moorpark (currently Rebecca is borrowing it) and I have a POSE method book.
The following are some YouTube videos that Rebecca has found to help describe POSE.
The first is POSE 101 by RunnersWorld.
Here is a video to show you bad form and proper form.
This is a guy named jhuffman52 that has posted several YouTube videos showing training techniques to help you improve your running. These are all POSE exercises. Once you click on the link noted, you'll see several other of his videos that show the training techniques. This is Rebecca's favorite.
I hope you find this useful.
James
I have a POSE DVD in Moorpark (currently Rebecca is borrowing it) and I have a POSE method book.
The following are some YouTube videos that Rebecca has found to help describe POSE.
The first is POSE 101 by RunnersWorld.
Here is a video to show you bad form and proper form.
This is a guy named jhuffman52 that has posted several YouTube videos showing training techniques to help you improve your running. These are all POSE exercises. Once you click on the link noted, you'll see several other of his videos that show the training techniques. This is Rebecca's favorite.
I hope you find this useful.
James
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Vegas October 21st-22nd
Call me crazy, but I am totally in for Vegas in 6 months. Who is with me? We can pair up with another team of 6 from Vegas if we want, or if we have enough people we can do a full team of 12. Early registration, for the best deal, expires June 30th. So that will give you time to forget about the pain from LA.
Email subscription
Thanks to Rebecca, I have now added an email subscription to this blog. See bottom left portion of the blog.
For now, I will remove the automatic email updates you all have been getting so you can manage yourself how you want to follow this blog. I will also send an email to many of our running friends encouraging them to join our blog. I envision this blog being more than just a gathering place for Ragnar, but a place we can all share ideas and ask questions about running.
If you choose to subscribe to this blog, you'll get an email each day sometime between 5-7pm of any new items that have been posted. It will not publish comments to blog posts. If you still want to receive comments through email, let me know. I can keep that for only 10 people (dumb blogger limitations).
Dave, I'm thinking the Running Club can use this to post your weekly run locations, if you like. That way you don't have to manage the email list. It will instead be self managed.
For now, I will remove the automatic email updates you all have been getting so you can manage yourself how you want to follow this blog. I will also send an email to many of our running friends encouraging them to join our blog. I envision this blog being more than just a gathering place for Ragnar, but a place we can all share ideas and ask questions about running.
If you choose to subscribe to this blog, you'll get an email each day sometime between 5-7pm of any new items that have been posted. It will not publish comments to blog posts. If you still want to receive comments through email, let me know. I can keep that for only 10 people (dumb blogger limitations).
Dave, I'm thinking the Running Club can use this to post your weekly run locations, if you like. That way you don't have to manage the email list. It will instead be self managed.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Team Awards
Here are some team awards.
Difficulty Awards
Amazing Award for the longest and most difficult legs: Dave Greding 25.2 miles with two legs with an overall difficulty of Very Hard and one Hard.
Hills Award for the most combined elevation difficulty: Wade Altom with two Very Hard and one Medium elevation difficulty.
Distance Award for the second longest overall distance: John Stewart for running 21.8 miles with one Very Hard and two Medium overall difficulty legs.
Speed Awards
Speedy Gonzales Award for the fastest overall pace: Nikki Fenske who averaged 8:03 minute miles for her 15.7 miles that she ran. She also receives the Sandbagger Award for estimating a 9:00 minute mile pace, but cutting off nearly a full minute from the "estimate". "I'm not fast, why does everyone think I am fast?!"
Almost Made it Award for the second fastest time: Trevor Kavanagh for running 13.8 miles total at an overall pace of 8:35 minute miles. Just think what will happen if you train Trevor. :-)
Fastest and Most Difficult Award: Wade Altom for averaging an 8:39 mile pace while still running 17.8 miles of mostly hills.
I still can't beat Wade Award: Dave Greding who ran at an 8:50 average pace for all of his 25.2 miles with hills. Some day you'll beat Wade.
Other Awards
Best Van Slave for being all things to Van personnel: Tiffany Pratt. Yep, Van 2 was jealous we didn't have a van slave.
Mercy Award: Tied Wade Altom for switching legs with James Sloan to save James' achilles AND AnneMarie Sloan for filling in Danielle's spot at the last minute without training and then switching with Rebecca to save Rebecca's knees.
Spreadsheet Award for making a better spreadsheet than I had created last year. That says a lot, I was proud of my spreadsheet. Tom Omer
Get Out of My Way Award for sharp elbows hitting participants, spectators and friends: Amy Adams
I'm Just Going to Do This Award for gutting out her last leg, despite her anxiety about her knees and for having team members willing to finish for her. Rebecca Greding
Most Progress Award For making such drastic running progress in such a short period of time and for even tackling Hells Hill at the end of third leg to end her first Ragnar Relay. Laura Wright. Tom Omer is a very close second because of the amazing progress he has made in such a short period of time. I remember the first several times he would come to the running club, he would only do 1/2 or a 1/3 of the club run. Now he's running four times a week and keeping up with Dave and Wade.
Best Estimator Award for running closest to the estimate average pace. Amy Adams who was only 0:03 off her estimate.
Soggy Shorts Award for soaking their shorts naturally: Tied AnneMarie Sloan and Rebecca Greding.
Weird Science Award for 100+ science related discussions during Ragnar: Tom Omer, Tiffany Pratt and Chad Wright.
Nastiest Blister Award: James Sloan (nominated by Amy Adams).
Captain my Captain award to James Sloan for being the BEST 2011 Ragnar captain. Thanks for all your hard work. You made this event incredibly fun and we all had an amazing time. Thanks James!!! (Nominated by Dave Greding)
Best Police Avoidance for dodging a crazy cop who nearly caused a multi-car accident on the Corondo Bridge by making a U-Turn from the far right lane across heavy traffic in all lanes to get to the median. Stupid Cop! Mike Adams.
Run Until You Barf Award: John Stewart. Way to leave it all on the course, John (pun intended) (Nominated by Tom Omer)
High Jump Over a Dead Cat Award: Michael Barnett. Yuck!
Most Entertaining Psychiatric Break-downs: Rebecca Greding (Nominated by Wade Altom)
I updated Tom's spreadsheet, but here are the paces with distance in order. (Tom, can you think of a formula to create some sort of weighted average pace to better compare distance and pace, since shorter distances are easier to have a higher pace?)
1) Nikki 15.7 miles 8:03 pace
2) Trevor 13.8 miles 8:35 pace
3) Wade Altom 17.8 miles 8:39 pace
4) Dave Greding 25.2 miles 8:50 pace
5) James Sloan 20.0 miles 8:50 pace
6) Amy Adams 16.8 miles 8:57 pace
7) Tom Omer 16.0 miles 9:03 pace
8) John Stewart 21.8 miles 10:07 pace
9) Michael Barnett 12.1 miles 10:10 pace
10) AnneMarie Sloan 15.6 miles 10:53 pace
11) Laura Wright 12.4 miles 11:48 pace
12) Rebecca Greding 13.3 miles 12:31 pace
If you all have other awards you want to mention, please do.
Difficulty Awards
Amazing Award for the longest and most difficult legs: Dave Greding 25.2 miles with two legs with an overall difficulty of Very Hard and one Hard.
Hills Award for the most combined elevation difficulty: Wade Altom with two Very Hard and one Medium elevation difficulty.
Distance Award for the second longest overall distance: John Stewart for running 21.8 miles with one Very Hard and two Medium overall difficulty legs.
Speed Awards
Speedy Gonzales Award for the fastest overall pace: Nikki Fenske who averaged 8:03 minute miles for her 15.7 miles that she ran. She also receives the Sandbagger Award for estimating a 9:00 minute mile pace, but cutting off nearly a full minute from the "estimate". "I'm not fast, why does everyone think I am fast?!"
Almost Made it Award for the second fastest time: Trevor Kavanagh for running 13.8 miles total at an overall pace of 8:35 minute miles. Just think what will happen if you train Trevor. :-)
Fastest and Most Difficult Award: Wade Altom for averaging an 8:39 mile pace while still running 17.8 miles of mostly hills.
I still can't beat Wade Award: Dave Greding who ran at an 8:50 average pace for all of his 25.2 miles with hills. Some day you'll beat Wade.
Other Awards
Best Van Slave for being all things to Van personnel: Tiffany Pratt. Yep, Van 2 was jealous we didn't have a van slave.
Mercy Award: Tied Wade Altom for switching legs with James Sloan to save James' achilles AND AnneMarie Sloan for filling in Danielle's spot at the last minute without training and then switching with Rebecca to save Rebecca's knees.
Spreadsheet Award for making a better spreadsheet than I had created last year. That says a lot, I was proud of my spreadsheet. Tom Omer
Get Out of My Way Award for sharp elbows hitting participants, spectators and friends: Amy Adams
I'm Just Going to Do This Award for gutting out her last leg, despite her anxiety about her knees and for having team members willing to finish for her. Rebecca Greding
Most Progress Award For making such drastic running progress in such a short period of time and for even tackling Hells Hill at the end of third leg to end her first Ragnar Relay. Laura Wright. Tom Omer is a very close second because of the amazing progress he has made in such a short period of time. I remember the first several times he would come to the running club, he would only do 1/2 or a 1/3 of the club run. Now he's running four times a week and keeping up with Dave and Wade.
Best Estimator Award for running closest to the estimate average pace. Amy Adams who was only 0:03 off her estimate.
Soggy Shorts Award for soaking their shorts naturally: Tied AnneMarie Sloan and Rebecca Greding.
Weird Science Award for 100+ science related discussions during Ragnar: Tom Omer, Tiffany Pratt and Chad Wright.
Nastiest Blister Award: James Sloan (nominated by Amy Adams).
Captain my Captain award to James Sloan for being the BEST 2011 Ragnar captain. Thanks for all your hard work. You made this event incredibly fun and we all had an amazing time. Thanks James!!! (Nominated by Dave Greding)
Best Police Avoidance for dodging a crazy cop who nearly caused a multi-car accident on the Corondo Bridge by making a U-Turn from the far right lane across heavy traffic in all lanes to get to the median. Stupid Cop! Mike Adams.
Run Until You Barf Award: John Stewart. Way to leave it all on the course, John (pun intended) (Nominated by Tom Omer)
High Jump Over a Dead Cat Award: Michael Barnett. Yuck!
Most Entertaining Psychiatric Break-downs: Rebecca Greding (Nominated by Wade Altom)
I updated Tom's spreadsheet, but here are the paces with distance in order. (Tom, can you think of a formula to create some sort of weighted average pace to better compare distance and pace, since shorter distances are easier to have a higher pace?)
1) Nikki 15.7 miles 8:03 pace
2) Trevor 13.8 miles 8:35 pace
3) Wade Altom 17.8 miles 8:39 pace
4) Dave Greding 25.2 miles 8:50 pace
5) James Sloan 20.0 miles 8:50 pace
6) Amy Adams 16.8 miles 8:57 pace
7) Tom Omer 16.0 miles 9:03 pace
8) John Stewart 21.8 miles 10:07 pace
9) Michael Barnett 12.1 miles 10:10 pace
10) AnneMarie Sloan 15.6 miles 10:53 pace
11) Laura Wright 12.4 miles 11:48 pace
12) Rebecca Greding 13.3 miles 12:31 pace
If you all have other awards you want to mention, please do.
Post race party and movie screening
I had an awesome experience at Ragnar and I appreciate all of the work that went into our team - I can't believe the level of organization involved - and all the encouragement. It was so much fun I don't really want it to end. So I propose that we have a team party at the Wright's house to compare stories, review results, analyze strategies, and make awesome plans for next year's Ragnar (we've been talking about renting an RV. the benefits are endless, including showers whenever we want, sleeping along the way and not being called out of bed an hour early ;P). Also I can't wait to watch the vid, John, and thanks again for being the official editor! We need to plan it when James and Anne Marie can come too. Who's in?
Ragnar is...
Ragnar is grueling, fun, painful, and exhilarating. The race was full of laughs, flailing elbows, runners rabies, nervous poops, anxious pees, moleskin, pre-wrap and post-wrap, dissing fellow team members and other random Ragnar participates and cheering on more. Star gazing, wildflowers, smurf slippers, waking up to screaming people, sleeping drool, and waking up an hour too early. I see fields of dead people. Finding parking spots, deft maneuvers of a 15 passenger van, running up river banks, running through treacherous terrain, signing new waivers, running through mobs of people as if you were the original frogger from the game. Hot temperatures, chucking water bottles, perfect silent and cool night time runs. Hills, Hell Hill and glorious flats or down hill runs. Mountain lions, barely nude people who finished in 24 hours and biggest losers who we are not quite sure they ever actually finished the race, but we know we definitely beat both teams. Ragnar. There is so much to describe, but I can't do it justice.
PS Thanks to all of you for making Ragnar so much fun. From Tom, John, Amy and Nikki arranging places for us to shower and chillax to all of the energy (or sometimes lack thereof) cheering each other on during the race. Thanks to Chad and Mike for their incredible driving skills so that that we could just relax and focus on the race and not where we were. Most of the time I had no idea where we were, I just knew who was running, who was next and how many more runners were left until I had to run.
PS Thanks to all of you for making Ragnar so much fun. From Tom, John, Amy and Nikki arranging places for us to shower and chillax to all of the energy (or sometimes lack thereof) cheering each other on during the race. Thanks to Chad and Mike for their incredible driving skills so that that we could just relax and focus on the race and not where we were. Most of the time I had no idea where we were, I just knew who was running, who was next and how many more runners were left until I had to run.
A few more random favorites
Van 2!! Ready to run through the night. (Note Papa Smurf's moon boots. Yes!) 
Amy couldn't get enough of the peanut butter M&Ms
Exchange 31 - David to Wade
David after rocking 9.7 miles
Waiting for James . . .
Running to the finish
Victorious finish on the beach!
LOVE you Ragnar!
Gredings are adorable.
We laugh in the face of pain!
Amy couldn't get enough of the peanut butter M&Ms
Exchange 31 - David to Wade
David after rocking 9.7 miles
Waiting for James . . .
Running to the finish
Victorious finish on the beach!
LOVE you Ragnar!
Gredings are adorable.
We laugh in the face of pain!
Aaaaaand CUT!
Congratulations to team 4! Awesome job to all runners, drivers and van slaves! And before all the movies and pictures we took get lost, forgotten or scattered to the four corners of our houses, I'd like to grab everything and store it on my computer so I can start to edit something together.
I'd be more than happy to download the movies or photos directly off the device but If you're anything like me, you probably had a few personal photos/videos on your camera before Ragnar. If you want to download the media to your computer, let me know when you have done so, and we can arrange a time that I could come by with a portable hard drive and copy the Ragnar stuff off. If it is just a few pictures, email works best - stewartvfx@gmail.com
James, I am not sure if you or AnneMarie took and photos or video but if so, let me know and I can point you to a place that you can host the media and then I can download it.
Thanks, and again, great job to everyone!
John
I'd be more than happy to download the movies or photos directly off the device but If you're anything like me, you probably had a few personal photos/videos on your camera before Ragnar. If you want to download the media to your computer, let me know when you have done so, and we can arrange a time that I could come by with a portable hard drive and copy the Ragnar stuff off. If it is just a few pictures, email works best - stewartvfx@gmail.com
James, I am not sure if you or AnneMarie took and photos or video but if so, let me know and I can point you to a place that you can host the media and then I can download it.
Thanks, and again, great job to everyone!
John
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Van 2
Ditto what Laura said. We'll keep track of all of the van rental and gas costs and then I'll communicate what everyone owes later. AnneMarie and I are planning to bring our own food.
Van 1
A few things:
Chad and I will be keeping track of the $$ spent on van rentals and gas, and then dividing it up at the end. We'll let you each know what your share is after the race.
Like James said, let's all just bring whatever food we think we will need for ourselves (but if Amy O wants to bake cookies to share, I will happily take them anytime!). We will have an ice chest available and also one of those huge drink coolers full of ice water. I'll bring plastic cups too. If there is anything else that you think we will need, please let me know ahead of time so we can figure out how to make everything fit. We should have plenty of room but I'm trying hard not to pack my entire closet. You think I'm kidding?
I forget whose house we are showering/sleeping in during our overnight portion - can we bring some kind of thank you gift?
Is there anything that I am forgetting?
Chad and I will be keeping track of the $$ spent on van rentals and gas, and then dividing it up at the end. We'll let you each know what your share is after the race.
Like James said, let's all just bring whatever food we think we will need for ourselves (but if Amy O wants to bake cookies to share, I will happily take them anytime!). We will have an ice chest available and also one of those huge drink coolers full of ice water. I'll bring plastic cups too. If there is anything else that you think we will need, please let me know ahead of time so we can figure out how to make everything fit. We should have plenty of room but I'm trying hard not to pack my entire closet. You think I'm kidding?
I forget whose house we are showering/sleeping in during our overnight portion - can we bring some kind of thank you gift?
Is there anything that I am forgetting?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Final Leg Changes & Starting addresses
They posted what they say are the FINAL leg changes. The website has been updated. They will provide maps at the race start. I have re-printed the bible, so I will also bring a copy.
Leg 9 – changed from 6.0 to 6.1 miles (Amy)
Leg 10 – changed from 5.5 to 5.4 miles (AnneMarie)
Leg 28 – changed from 5.7 to 6.1 miles (Tom)
Leg 29 - changed from 4.0 to 3.0 (Michael)
Leg 35 – changed from 4.2 to 5.2 miles (Rebecca)
Leg 36 – changed from 7.1 to 6.1 miles (Wade)
New distances for those that had a change.
Tom 15.6 to 16.0 miles
Michael 13.1 to 12.1 miles
Amy 16.7 to 16.8 miles
AnneMarie 15.7 to 15.6 miles
Rebecca 12.3 to 13.3 miles
Wade 21 to 20 miles
Starting Line Address: 22 Huntington Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648.
Exchange 6 Address - 6362 E. La Palma Ave. Anaheim, CA 92807
Team Captain Meeting Minutes (in case you are interested).
One additional word of advice about food. Don't plan on waiting for your team to eat a meal while on Ragnar. You should instead manage your own food intake as you need it. If you wait for your team, it will never be a good time and you will crash.
I added phone car chargers to the checklist.
John and I tested the Ragnar App last night. While not that pretty and with a few quirks, it seems to work pretty well.
Leg 9 – changed from 6.0 to 6.1 miles (Amy)
Leg 10 – changed from 5.5 to 5.4 miles (AnneMarie)
Leg 28 – changed from 5.7 to 6.1 miles (Tom)
Leg 29 - changed from 4.0 to 3.0 (Michael)
Leg 35 – changed from 4.2 to 5.2 miles (Rebecca)
Leg 36 – changed from 7.1 to 6.1 miles (Wade)
New distances for those that had a change.
Tom 15.6 to 16.0 miles
Michael 13.1 to 12.1 miles
Amy 16.7 to 16.8 miles
AnneMarie 15.7 to 15.6 miles
Rebecca 12.3 to 13.3 miles
Wade 21 to 20 miles
Starting Line Address: 22 Huntington Street, Huntington Beach, CA 92648.
Exchange 6 Address - 6362 E. La Palma Ave. Anaheim, CA 92807
Team Captain Meeting Minutes (in case you are interested).
One additional word of advice about food. Don't plan on waiting for your team to eat a meal while on Ragnar. You should instead manage your own food intake as you need it. If you wait for your team, it will never be a good time and you will crash.
I added phone car chargers to the checklist.
John and I tested the Ragnar App last night. While not that pretty and with a few quirks, it seems to work pretty well.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Race Checklist
I put together a checklist for everyone. Each van may want to coordinate food purchases or other common items, or you can decide to just bring your own stuff or bring stuff to share. I also created a link on the left hand side of the blog for quick reference. The checklist is editable, so feel free to add anything you think I might have missed. Only a few more days. This week should be more of a recovery/low mileage week as we get closer to the race. For some of us battling injury, we'll just have to manage the best we can.
Here is the url, just in case you can't follow the link noted above.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sPXVUnydNcsEl-WoWm9mNV7EyUA0zO5Jt7mCRIyVG64/edit?hl=en&authkey=COaSu8wC
Here is the url, just in case you can't follow the link noted above.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sPXVUnydNcsEl-WoWm9mNV7EyUA0zO5Jt7mCRIyVG64/edit?hl=en&authkey=COaSu8wC
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Team Captains Meeting Notes
One more week people! I'm so excited. I hope you are. It's going to be a blast.
Tonight there was a team captains meeting. They will email notes out on Monday, but here are some highlights.
Tonight there was a team captains meeting. They will email notes out on Monday, but here are some highlights.
- Course changes. Their will only be minor course changes that will be handed out with the RagMag (a book similar to the race bible). The minor changes will address areas of the course where there may be road construction, so a runner may have to go only slightly further than what is noted currently.
- Start & Exchange 6. Vans must be at their respective start (Van 1 - Start, Van 2 - Ex 6) 1 hour before their scheduled start. At the respective start, each group will receive their race packet, van placards, flags, etc. All shirts will be given at the start. Van 1 must collect the shirts for Van 2 and give them at Ex 6.
- Start. Someone from Van 1 will need to provide a credit card number. The credit card will be charged if the Ragnar flags that are handed out are not returned ($15 per flag). Also, one cell phone number from each van must be provided to Ragnar as a contact. Those numbers are as follows: Van 1: John Stewart 805-338-5211, Van 2: James Sloan 805-990-2975. BTW It would be a good idea for us all to have each other's cell phone number. I think I have everyone's except Trevor, Michael and Tom's. Post on here or text me your numbers (Trevor, Michael and Tom).
- Flags must be used anytime you cross a street, otherwise the team can incur a safety violation.
- PACE. We need to double check that each runner pace is correct on the Ragnar website. It looks as though some of your paces are not correct. We corrected one blaring error (you know who you are and I won't mention your name here). The following are the paces as listed on the official Ragnar Site. They were not consistent with Tom's spreadsheet. If they are wrong, we need them updated immediately and we need Tom's spreadsheet to also have the correct time for our estimates. Our start time may have to change as a result. Nikki 9:00, John 9:00, Trevor 8:45, Michael 10:00, Tom 9:45, Laura 10:45, Dave 9:00, James 9:00, Amy 9:00, Rebecca 10:45, AnneMarie 10:00, Wade 9:00. I put in bold those paces that were inconsistent with Tom's spreadsheet. If you change the website, let me know so I can change Tom's spreadsheet too.
- Van placard provided at your van start must be visible at all times. It is your entry pass to the exchanges. There are no parking fees at all on this course. Hooray! Last year we had to pay to park at the finish.
- Vests are required on anyone outside of the van between 6:45pm and 6:45am, no matter if it is light or not.
- Running pacers are allowed on any leg between 6:45pm and 6:45am. Bike pacers are only allowed on trail routes.
- Bikes. They STRONGLY discourage bikes. There will be a full moon, so visibility should be great during the night time. Bikes are only allowed on small portions of legs 12, 14 and 17.
- Slap bracelet must be worn at all times. If lost, we need to notify Ragnar staff. They will think we are disqualified if we run without it.
- NO VAN SUPPORT legs simply mean that only runners are permitted outside the van on these legs. This is for safety reasons. The van is still permitted to pull off the side of the road completely (meaning all four tires must be off the road) during that leg to cheer the runner on, but no one can exit the vehicle.
- Food will be for sale at the start, ex 12, ex 30, and finish.
- Sleeping is permitted on designated areas (grass fields) at ex 12, ex 18, ex 24 and ex 30. If you want to do that, bring a tarp and sleeping bag.
- Showers. There are no areas on the course where we can take a shower. They will try to arrange for that next year.
- Starbucks hot chocolate will be offered free at several exchanges. Hooray for that.
- Finish. There will be plenty of parking (so they say) at the finish line. They will take a free team photo at the finish and allow us to download it after the race. Free cup of noodles at the end of the race.
- Whew! We are almost there. Wahoo!
Monday, April 4, 2011
iPhone App for Ragnar
We will be using the "Relay Tracker for Ragnar 2011" app during this year's Ragnar. It is an iPhone app that can also run on the iPad. The cost is $1.99, but John and I have already paid for it and we will be in separate vans. If you want the app yourself, the app has the ability to sync between multiple devices. John's app will be the master and mine will track the Van 2 progress. There is a website where our loved ones (if we have any after leave them for 33+ hours) can keep track of our progress. Here is the website. You'll some data on the website, but it looks like test data of people trying to figure out how to use the app. John and I will test the app a few times before the race.
http://www.runningescapes.com/relaytracker/RaceMap.aspx?RaceName=Southern%20California
If you do download the app, you'll need to enter the team key "A92CFD1F" under the multi-device setup and then under Race Set up, select the "Sync Data" button to get the data from John's phone.
The app doesn't have the best graphics and isn't always intuitive, but it looks like it is the best app out there for now and it sure beats the process we had last year.
http://www.runningescapes.com/relaytracker/RaceMap.aspx?RaceName=Southern%20California
If you do download the app, you'll need to enter the team key "A92CFD1F" under the multi-device setup and then under Race Set up, select the "Sync Data" button to get the data from John's phone.
The app doesn't have the best graphics and isn't always intuitive, but it looks like it is the best app out there for now and it sure beats the process we had last year.
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