Friday, May 21, 2010

Ragnar was a Norse god.

Today's the day - some friends and I have been preparing (mentally, emotionally, and physically) for the craziest of races. It's a 12-person team, running 191.3 miles from New Haven, CT to Foxboro, MA. We run straight through the night, straight through the states, on to the end. This will be my attempt to bring you through it with us!

3:45am - alarm goes off, I clocked a total of 2 hours of sleep, thanks to ongoing panic in my head!

5:15am - van 1 has all it's passengers and is headed to new haven.

7:38am - van 1 arrives in new haven to meet our other van and head to the start line.

8:20am - one of the main things that kept me awake all night was this vision of our team showing up at the start line and being unable to check in. At this point, we're registered and have gone through our safety training, and we're waiting for our start time.

8:53am - holy crap, I'm super scared.

8:55am - Super. Scared.

Sometime later - Live blogging this thing is not going to work at all. Stay tuned for a thrilling recap.



It's now Thursday, a week after the Ragnar insanity started, and I wonder if I've still got some residual adrenaline coursing through my veins. This last week has been killer, physically and emotionally, and is truly something I will never forget.

We arrived at the start line a wee-bit frazzled (ok, maybe I was the only frazzled one) I had been up the entire night before with visions of our team being unable to start - maybe we showed up late, maybe we forgot to register, maybe we didn't have all the things we needed to have, maybe our vans broke down, whatever it was, I was positive we'd have trouble. And as one of two coordinators, it would be my fault. This was all for naught. We checked in, underwent safety training, and then had about 20 minutes to kick around the start line extravaganza before we start. START. Oh my gosh, did I get nervous. I love the starts of races, they are probably what keep me going back for more - it's so exciting. This one seemed just terrifying. After much hoopla, I was off. It was probably about 6 minutes later that I realized I was running. It was terribly hot, much hotter than I expected. I was also having some technical difficulties - problems with headphones, sunglasses, my running belt. Nothing felt right. Nothing was the way it normally is when I run. I can't quite place it, but being that I'm something of a mental-case, I think my head just wasn't in it yet. After about 12 minutes of running I'd managed to separate myself from the pack (read: I was at the end!). I pushed through, but mentally I felt defeated. What's worse, this was the teams first of thirty-six legs, and the first of my 3. I was supposed to feel the best during this one. I was supposed to turn it on, start us off well. My initial 3.8 mile leg felt horrendous. When I finally arrived at the exchange point I felt embarrassed. I was ashamed to see my team, wondering if they were ready to ask me to leave and replace me with whatever rando they could find along the course. I couldn't have been more wrong - the 6 other people in my van could not have been more supportive and enthusiastic. They were waiting for me with cheers and shouts and excitement. They had water for me, and had decorated the van while I was running. They were amazing. Their enthusiasm carried on through the next 5 legs, while each runner battled the grueling hot sun, and we drank more water and G2 than I thought possible.

We had some time to kill while van 2 started their runs, so we set off to find some food. This proved much more difficult than anyone thought, and by the time we'd found something acceptable everyone was pretty much done with being inside the van. We headed to the next major exchange to relax for a bit. There was a large grassy area along side a river, and we (attempted) to sleep there. I think everyone else got a little rest, but I was again restless. Being the first runner in the van proved stressful. I had to rely on the other van getting me the message that I should prepare to start - and I was nervous about that. I know in our van I was never really focused on the other van and when they might need to start. I couldn't have blamed van 2 if I wasn't foremost in their thoughts. Between this, and my second leg being the most difficult of my set (questionably, the entire race...I mean, right?!), I spent a lot of time trying to get my head in the game. I think it worked. This leg was pretty awesome. I'm not sure whether it was the bridge where I almost lost my life 3 times, the wonderful people seated at an outside restaurant who cheered me along, the video camera I had strapped to my head, or the insanity of some major (MAJOR) hills! This run was thrilling - if not difficult. Everyone that I met (who passed me) along the way was very encouraging, and generally stopped to chat for a bit. At the very end, when I was unsure if I could keep running, I met a friend. She and I ran together for a bit. But, I was slowing her down. I hurried her on her way, and promised I'd be right behind her. I was...behind...her. When I was in sight of the exchange, I decided I had some gas left. So I turned it on. I sprinted my way through the exchange, and enjoyed the cheers of everyone who was milling around there. Once I regained my sight, I spent the few minutes we could chatting with my dad - who was a wonderful volunteer at exchange 13. And then, we were off - to find Lisa's half way point.

Our van was running a bit behind our projected schedule, and after Lisa the rest of the van ran through the dark - honestly, I felt a bit jealous because I was rather looking forward to a run through the darkness. I love the early morning summer runs we make where we start off in the dark. Things just seem more awesome. We stopped just past midnight, and were able to pull off into a high school parking lot for the evening. The 7 of us simply slept in the van, amidst other vans full of people. Once again, though, I found it near impossible to sleep. I was restful, if we can call it that - I lay there with my eyes closed, but could not drift off. I quit trying to sleep somewhere around 4am, and made more space for the teammates who were actually able to sleep. I quietly began getting myself dressed and ready to go - and then I got the text from Van 2, their last runner had started. I was ready for the last run, my legs felt ok, but I was nervous for the distance. Seven-and-a-half miles could get old pretty quickly. As I got ready I told our trusty driver to come meet me at the 2.5 mile mark, just to see how I was doing. I was up and out of the van before most people had woken up, and headed up to the exchange to wait. On the way there panic set in, I hadn't even GLANCED at the map for this leg. I had no idea, were there 17 turns, was it straight, was I going to get lost? In panic mode I stopped at another van who had an open window and asked to see their map - a quick peek and it seemed ok, but I was still rather nervous. When I saw John coming in down the driveway though, the good old adrenaline kicked in, and I was ready. A few minutes in and I realized this felt great - maybe the best run yet. I quickly shot off a text to the van telling them I was good, and to come by around 4 miles. This hopefully gave them a little more time to relax before hauling off to come find me. The run started just before 5am, which happens to be my prime running time. The weather was coolish - I was in long sleeves - and the streets were quiet and peaceful. It was really a lovely run. It warmed up quickly, and I ditched my long sleeves when I met up with the van at mile 4. The last half of the leg was through some heavily wooded neighborhoods and ended in a state park. When I finally arrived there, around 6:15 am, I decided that the last mile was really one mile too many - it felt like 4 miles. But, I was exstatic to be done. I completed my 3 legs, a total of 16.2 miles within 21 hours. Definitely the most running I've done in that time frame in my life.

Van 1 finished strong, just as the heat of the day was setting in, and we were quickly off in search of a real restaurant with real food and real margaritas - we needed to replenish our salt afterall. We found a Chili's, and it seemed do-able for the group. It felt good to sit and eat, knowing there was no running coming up just around the corner. The food and margs did us all in though, as we collectively fell asleep on the grassy hill just outside the Chili's door - for nearly 2 hours. After a snooze, we picked up some pizza to go and cheer along Van 2, who were fighting with the heat and some gruelingly long legs!

A slight set-back, our second to last runner was lost and went a few miles off course, and John was taking Sole Survivors into Foxboro for the last leg. We feared finishing DFL at this point, but knowing that our whole team was safe, and with only a few minor injuries - I felt relieved that we had made it. To me the end of the race was very anti-climatic, after months and months of preparation I couldn't believe it was just over.

Now, a week plus later, I really look back on that race as one of the best and most challenging experiences ever. It was an awesome group of people, who really came together and formed a supportive and fun team - when really, we were mostly strangers to each other. The physical challenges were not unbearable, and the satisfaction I feel with knowing we all made it has been great. I'm just hoping that next year's Ragnar does not coincide with the UT graduation as it did this year. I'll not be happy to have to choose one or the other (yes, I will choose graduation - much like a marathon, graduation will be like the finish line. I hope they'll have a tent with bananas!) Thanks, Sole Survivors, for such an amazing 2 days. I hope we can all run again somewhere sometime!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Funny the way it is

Last night as I was changing into some running clothes, I tossed my pair of jeans into the hamper. They made a rattling noise as they landed and I thought, funny how I tossed them just so that the buttons clashed together like that.

This morning when I got to school I opened the main lab door with my ID, and reached for the zipper of my bag to get my office keys. I hadn't even tugged the zipper when I realized, you don't have your keys they are in your jeans pocket from yesterday and made a rattling sound when you tossed them into the hamper.

Many things happened between these two events - a 4 mile run, a kickball game, a few beers, and a full nights sleep. It's funny that I couldn't have been so insightful before i took my pants off, or as I heard them clinking. No, not until this morning was I clairvoyant enough to put it all together.

Oh, and I think I'm back....