Running from Responsibility: April 2013

Since it took me seven months to blog our last Ragnar, I thought I'd try blogging this one while I"m still high on crazy. What a great weekend! What a great group of friends! I love every person with whom I was blessed to spend two days in a stinky van. Well, actually a Suburban. Here is Team 1: Running from Responsibility, Van 1, pictured after our final legs, before we showered and slept, and while Van 2 was running in the heat of the day.

Let me say just a little about each of these people in picture order.

* Wade (Runner 2) is David's BFF. He started running about 4.5 years ago and hasn't missed a Monday-Saturday run since. Well, maybe a few. He is so funny! I have lost it during Ragnars most often because of one of his stories. He has run every Running from Responsibility Ragnar I have run. We have loved their family since they moved here almost 5 years ago.

* Mike (Runner 5) is not a runner. He does Ragnar for the experience and because his wife makes him do it. :) He is often our driver and he is the most amazing parker! He easily gets our giant van into any little space. Mike is a really great guy and a lot of fun to hang out with.

* Amy (Runner 1) is my BFF. She is a true runner, one of those runners who has always been a runner and runs because it's just in her to run. And she's fast and she loves to compete. Amy and Mike moved here nine years ago (is that right Amy?) and I'm so grateful for her constant friendship. I just love Amy.

* Me (Runner 6) I'm awesome.

* David (Runner 3) is amazing. He started reluctantly running 5 years ago to run a 5k here and there. Then 3 years ago he went nutso and went from training for a 5k to a half marathon and then a full marathon. He has been running consistently ever since and he just keeps getting better and faster. He is so inspiring to me! I am always jealous of his natural athletic abilities, but I am also proud that he's mine. He is a huge support to me and keeps me motivated to keep going - in running and in life. Running together is good for our marriage.

* James (Runner 4) is another true runner. I don't know how long he's been running, but I think forever? He has run every Running from Responsibility Ragnar I have run, and has been our captain for the last four. He travels for work a lot so he's been able to run in many different continents, countries and U.S. states. He has had a lot of physical issues that have slowed or stopped his running over the years, but he does the work to heal and come back better and stronger. He's been a great support to me as I've struggled with my own stupid knees and wonky form. James and Christine have raised four great kids, all very close in age like ours. I have always looked to them as a glimpse of our future. Their whole family is really into being active outdoors and together, which I admire. I hope our family will be known for the same.

All six of us are experienced relay runners. The first year we all ran as Running from Responsibility three years ago (Is that right?!), I was the only one out of all 12 on the team who had run a relay race. This year was James' 8th, my 6th, David's 5th, Wade's 5th, Amy's 3rd and Mike's 3rd. (Mike was "just a driver" one of those years.) That's a lot of relays! Thirty to be exact. And that's just in our van. There was something different about this year, a relaxed vibe, I think because we've all done this so many times. I enjoyed it so much.

But let's back up to Friday morning. Well, actually, Thursday night. We had a pre-Ragnar pasta party at our house. We ate food, watched our two movies (SoCal Ragnars 2011 and 2012) and got a little excited for what was to come. Later Thursday night Grandma W arrived to take on the crazy at home while we ran away from it. She is the best. I think the kids enjoyed their break from us as much as we enjoyed our break from them. :)

Friday, April 19

Wade and James pulled up to our house at 5:05am. I thought they weren't coming until 5:10 so I was not prepared! We threw our stuff in the van, then picked up Mike and Amy, then we were off to Huntington Beach. Safety briefing, swag bag, etc., start line. I have run Ragnar six times now, and this was my first time in Van 1! It was fun and thrilling to watch the 8:00am start. Go Amy!! At the first exchange, where Amy passed off the slap bracelet to Wade, it fell to the ground and the entire crowd said "Awwwww" with much disappointment. Like everyone around had invested so much into that hand-off, only to witness failure. It was hilarious.

Mike and Amy, one run down, 35 to go.

Now, we must take a moment to appreciate our Runner 3, my very own husband, David. He had been growing his hair for months in preparation for his best mohawk yet. He likes to stand out in a crowd. To add a little extra something, David and Wade ran in a variety of obnoxious shorty shorts. Only Ragnar can transform my husband into this:

David just before his first run.

David and Wade just after David's first leg. I don't know what to say.

I did not like being Runner 6. I didn't like being Runner 12 last year for the same reasons. I had to wait and wait and wait for my turn. The anticipation and excitement just kept building and the anxiety kept flowing. I'd like to be Runner 2 or 3, please. Maybe even Runner 4. Next time. As my anxiety level climbed, so did the temperature. Still I wan't too worried about my first leg because it was my shortest and started with a nice downhill. Most memorable moment of this run was when Mike slapped the bracelet on my wrist and the sweat splashed everywhere. Oh my gross. I quickly looped it onto my tank top strap instead.

Leg 6 stats: 3.8 miles in Anaheim, CA at 11am, 85*

With my Sugar Daddy after my first leg.

Our first stop after round 1 was Michael's so we could buy window markers to decorate our van. See, we're very chill. Then we headed to James' cousin's house around noon. We relaxed, showered, watched reports of the Boston Marathon bomber hunt, ate a delicious chicken and pasta salad and homemade guacamole (thank you!!!) and slept. We all passed out on a couch or chair except Wade who passed out on the concrete slab front porch. Whatever works.

(Insert picture here. I don't know why it's not working at the moment.)

After a few hours of rest, we headed out again to the next major exchange. Traffic was terrible! We took side roads to skip several miles of freeway traffic. Amy, Wade, David, James, Mike. Somewhere in there we added lights to our van and I remembered to put moleskin on my right 4th toe so I wouldn't lose a toenail.

My anxiety was pretty high as my night run approached. I had been kind of dreading this run all along because it was 7.5 miles with one nasty uphill to start. I didn't think I could run the whole thing. I hadn't run 7.5 miles since last summer. I hadn't run more than 5 miles since Napa Ragnar other than that one 6 miler last weekend. And that hill. I was scared of that hill. I kept reminding my team how much they appreciated the sacrifice I was making for them by taking on this leg. You're all welcome!!! Look at this thing!

Leg 18 stats: 7.5 miles in Escondido, CA at 11pm, 54* (Thankfully)

So I was freaking out a little, waiting for Mike to come in. Finally we saw him emerge from the darkness and started cheering him on. Then, without warning, and reflected by his headlamp he . . . how do I say this tactfully? . . . he lost his Gatorade. Not many feet from me. He handed me the baton with wide eyes and the craziest smile on his face. I wasn't sure if I should start running or call 911 and stay with the ambulance! I started running, knowing my team would take care of Mike. (He was fine by the way.) Thus began my journey of 1 hour and 33 minutes. So grateful for cold temperatures! It was long and it was hard, but it was kind of awesome. I started running, assuming that at some point I would take a walk break or two or many. But all the way up to the peak at mile 2.5, I ran. I was not fast, but I ran. I did not walk once. I even passed a few people (and was possibly passed by others). My van cheered me on at the top where I was high on my accomplishment. I was so pumped and so proud and surprised that I didn't walk! I felt awesome! The downhill was my reward. It felt so good to let gravity do a lot of the work. Then I hit mile 5. The whole time leading up to Ragnar I was so focused on that first nasty hill, I didn't really notice that the last 2.5 miles were uphill as well. It wasn't as steep, but it was still definitely a difficult hill. At that point I wasn't going to start walking for anything. I just kept running. I felt so proud and grateful. That run was a highlight of my running career. I killed it. My team was just awesome, cheering me along. David called me every so often to check on me and encourage me. And Wade had given me a great pep talk before the run that gave me just a little more confidence that I could do it. Thank you team!! I'd also like to thank Spring Road, Moorpark, CA for training my legs to run up and up.

Saturday, April 20

Phew! We headed to the next exchange where we threw sleeping bags on the ground and fell asleep about 5 seconds later. It was a cold night and I didn't sleep soundly. Only a couple hours later we were ready to start again. I felt pretty terrible. My tummy was hungry (how many times did I say I wanted a Skewers skewer?) and I was anxious and sleep deprived. Other than that, my body felt great. (Read: no knee issues!! Have I finally figured it out? I think so! That's for another post.) We were all pretty lazy about cheering in/out our runners at this point, but when David was up, I willed myself out of the van to walk down to the exchange with him. When we reached the exchange, Wade was already there. He wasn't frantically looking for David, he just said, "Dave, I'm here." David said, "Oh, how long have you been here?" "Like 3 or 4 minutes." He casually passed the bracelet to David as David casually entered the exchange. That's how you know we were all taking this Ragnar much less seriously than in past years. Love it.

This picture was taken the first time we arrived at Exchange 29. We thought we were there waiting for James so Mike could start running, but James called us from Exchange 28 as he finished his run and where we were supposed to be. Oops. So we all got back in the van, drove to drop off Mike and pick up James, then returned to this spot for the start of my run. In past Ragnars this would have been a stressful event, but this year, it was no big deal. There were a couple other exchanges that didn't go smoothly, but it was all good.

Leg 30 stats: 4.2 miles in Torrey Pines State Park, Del Mar, CA at 9am, 71* (but it felt a lot hotter to me)

My last leg started with another crazy hill. It wasn't quite as long or as steep as my previous run's hill, but it felt a lot harder. Heat makes all the difference. I was determined to not walk again, but I admit I walked for a few seconds whenever I drank water. Totally justified, right? There were tons of bicyclists flying down the hill and I really wanted to join them! I had nothing left by the end of this run. I just wanted to be done. David called me every 10 minutes or so over the last half to check in and my team formed a tunnel for me to run through just before the exchange. Love them!! I was so happy to be done. My hips were angry!! There was an 18" high wood barrier that I had to traverse to get off the path and into the parking lot. I was trapped. I had to wait for a teammate to assist my wobbly self over the obstacle. Thanks, Wade.

Sleepy runners after lunch.

Ahhhh, finished. We headed to IHOP for lunch, then to Amy's brother's house for showers and sleep. Never enough sleep though. After not enough hours, we woke up to drive to the finish line to meet up with Van 2 and finish the race all together!!

Running from Responsibility SoCal 2013

Wade, Rebecca, David, Amy, Mike, Chris, Tiffany, Kambria, Danielle, Nikki, James, Shannon

Loved it! I just loved sharing this experience with my rockstar runner husband and some great friends. We didn't stick around for long, just piled into the van again for our long drive home. We stopped off for Subway and some Thrifty's ice cream, watched a short controversial documentary, told stories, laughed a lot and some of us slept a little. We also did the math. David and Wade's pace over all those miles was exactly the same at 7:37 per mile. And Amy and James tied with an average pace of 8:15 per mile. What are the chances?! Mike and I did not do the math, but we all know it wasn't a tie and 6th place was all mine. Did I mention the hills? Yeah.

In the days since, I don't think we've talked about anything else. That's why I keep doing Ragnars. There's nothing like the post-Ragnar runner's high and all the stories that start with, "Remember when . . . "

"Official" totals for SoCal Ragnar 2013

Rebecca 15.5 miles

David 22.4 miles

Running from Responsibility 31:36 for 192 miles (give or take)

Team,
I'm not sure who actually reads this anymore, but I'll make a note of some to dos.

Reflective vests: Everyone will be responsible to bring their own running reflective vest. Each van will need to show six reflective vests at check in.
Headlamps: Each van will need to check in with at least two headlamps. I have one, Danielle has one, but because we are unsure about the battery life, we will keep those for our own use.
Rear blinking lights: I have blinking lights. Danielle will have one in the rear of her reflective vest and I will have one on the back of mine. We will still need one more for each van (at least).
Coolers: Each van should have two coolers for drinks and food. I will bring two for van 1.
Water & gatorade: Van 1 : Wade is bringing one case of water and one case of gatorade for van 1. Amy will bring one case of water as well. Van 2: Please coordinate.
Food: Each person is responsible to bring food you want to eat for snacks or whatever. See the exchange detail tab of our spreadsheet so you can get an idea of what is available food-wise.
Sleeping stuff: Depending on your desire, willingness, or ability to sleep during Ragnar, I suggest you bring a pillow and light weight sleeping bag or blanket. There will be limited review, so be mindful.
Clothing: It is always best to bring three sets of running gear (shorts, short, socks and underwear) in separate gallon ziplock bags. It makes it easy to put the sweaty stuff away and keeps the odor down in the van.
Finally, only Amy and Tiffany has paid me. Please bring a check for $135 to the race and make sure I get it. We expect each van to split the cost of fuel during the race.

See the spreadsheet for other packing and food related tips.

Call with any questions.
James
805-990-2975

Running from Responsibility

Friday, April 26, 2013

4/27 Run. Moorpark Wash. Early Start time.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Rebecca's really long version of SoCal Ragnar 2013

Saturday, April 13, 2013

SoCal Ragnar Items to Bring

Friday, April 5, 2013

saturday morning run, 4/6, 7:00 a.m.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

SoCal High level Timeline

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

SoCal Ragnar Start Time Posted