Team Running on Empty was really running on all cylinders. (I was just trying to be cliche for allie.) Well, last year I totally fell in love with the Vegas Ragnar. This year, the honeymoon is over. There were just too many non support legs. There were too many out and back dangerous areas for running. It was very hot. They changed the finish line location from the Red Rock Resort to a park. Despite all that, it's still a good time. Nothing like spending 30 hours with five other sweaty people in a van.
My van consisted of two time former teammate Michael Cottam, one-time former teammate Nate Jacobs, his wife and two-time former teammate Bethany, one-time former teammate Marci Young, and first time teammate Shannon Downs. It was cool to be in the same van as Michael since he usually uses his suburban, and I use my van when we run Del Sol. It was also cool to be in the same van as the Jacobs. Even though they've both been on my teams in the past, they've never run it together. Anyway, everyone did great, and I'm so proud of them. My van stayed at my uncle and aunt's house the night before. It was nicer than a hotel. They bought us donuts and milk. I also got to sleep in my cousin's old room complete with a poster of a bootylicious girl draped over a car. The caption read: 'Race Hard!' Very ominous. We were able to sleep in and fill the gas tank up in the morning so we wouldn't be Running on Empty. Then we decorated the van windows with our red and yellow window markers while we waited for Marci to get there. (She didn't stay the night with us because she's highly allergic to pets.) We had no problems getting to the first Major Exchange and completing our safety training. I was the first runner in our van. I started at 1:45PM. Remember when I said it was hot? Well, it was hot! I knew that every single run I had would not be easy. I had one goal. No walking. To do that I had to play it smart from the get go. Luckily my training has been perfect. I've been running slow, which is exactly what I needed to do. I carried my Camelback Quickgrip filled with Gatorade. I knew there was supposed to be a water stop along the route, but I wasn't sure where it was. There was a total of 708 feet gain and 413 feet loss in 6.2 miles. Most of the gain was in the first four miles. It was a slow climb, and the water station wasn't until the top at mile 4. I was getting passed by men, women, and children of all race and creed. But I didn't let it bother me. I was saving myself for marriage, by which I mean my third leg. It was around 90° and miserable. I kept telling myself to stick to the game plan. And race hard. My splits on the first leg were 8:55, 9:54, 10:56, 11:19, 10:13, 9:53, and 2:03. I don't like being the first runner simply because I sweat a lot. When I sweat, bad things happen. First of all, there's the stink factor. Second of all, I get a rash in the crotchital region. I hope that's not TMI. But why hide it? We're all runners. I did get to shower in my shorts when we were all done running, but I was already a little raw. But something glorious happened. I got to meet the blog's very own Rachelle (rhymes with Michelle). I would not have guessed that she was that cool in real life.
My second leg was 10:00PM. This was a 6 mile climb of 850 feet gain and 226 loss. Sounds like it should have been harder than my first leg, but not having the sun beating down on me made all the difference. My splits were 9:46, 9:38, 9:37, 10:24, 10:53, and 10:42. It was tough, but I felt good, and my virtue was still in tact for the third leg. The final leg, and toughest leg was a 6.4 mile climb up 1283 feet followed by 3.8 miles of 1230 feet descent. They call my legs the 'Ragnar Legs.' I wanted this leg all for selfish reasons. People, be careful what you wish for. After being passed by so many runners earlier in the race, I wondered if all of these runners would burn out, and I would pass a bunch of them on my last leg because of my wise game plan. Well, here's the thing. When you pick the hardest leg, you go up against the best runners. I love having easier legs because you pass so many more people. But my last two Ragnar relays, I've chosen the hardest legs. Anyway, I only passed three people. Everyone who did this leg was really awesome. I settled into my pace. Then I settled into a slower pace. Then a slower pace. I did stop at the three water stations to drink a couple cups of water and stretch out for about 5 to 10 seconds. But I never walked. I kept telling myself that all I had to do was run 6.4 miles up. The downhill would be a piece of cake. The real victory would be at the top. I ate 4 chocolate energy chomps every two miles. I don't know if they helped, but they tasted good. It was 8:30 AM when I started the run, so after a while it was starting to heat up. I again carried my water bottle filled with Lemon/Lime Gatorade. I would sip on it whenever I felt the need. At one point I saw a water bottle right in the middle of the shoulder where we were running. I bent down and picked it up. It was cold! I proceeded to dump it all over my head. It was divine. Shortly after that I saw my van parked on the side of the road. It was non-support so I tossed my water bottle to them to have them fill me up with more Gatorade. All we had left was Fruit Punch, but it made a good mix. Then some lung on a stick passed everyone up like we were running backwards. He was part of the ASU track team. He must've been going at about a 6 min. pace. It was incredible. I decided not to hate him and just be happy for him. I was finally getting close to the top. It was a good feeling. There were a bunch of people from other teams standing by the road. I told them I needed some love. They were all happy to give me five. Then I was at the top. I told myself it was over. The rest was just time. I would easily get to the finish line, but it would be a matter of time, not effort. At the last water station they asked if they could top off my water bottle. I said sure. Now I had watered down Lemon/Lime/Fruit Punch Gatorade®. It was good. It kept me alive. I got passed by a 13 year old Boy Scout about a half mile from the finish. He was cruising. I don't hate him either. The best part was coming into the finish line. None of the other runners had to go through what we did, but they were very appreciative of it. They cheered as if we had just finished the entire race. It was AWESOME! And I felt good that I stuck to the game plan and never walked. My splits were 10:09, 11:06, 11:18, 12:00, 12:37, 13:28, 10:46, 9:12, 9:36, 8:55, 1:22 (7:28 pace for the last 0.2.) Kudos to the rest of my team. Even though their legs weren't as tough, they all had to run in the heat of the day. They all survived and did great. As we were waiting for our last runner to come in I saw this guy that was 11 feet tall. I knew right away that it was Rossy. We didn't get to talk long, but we finished right behind his team. I also saw Ty, but didn't know it was her until later. So I won't put her on my Blogger's I've Met in Real Life list because I technically didn't meet her. But she was cute in all her pregnant glory. So to wrap up, not as glorious as last year, but still fun. I met two more bloggers. I had three hard legs. I love running. Why didn't I just say this for my report?
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