The Ragnar Relay was named after a Norse King from the Viking Age. I don't know much about this Norse King, Ragnar, but he must have been really dirty, sweaty, hungry and tired. The term Ragnar infers toughness, courage, ferocity, and the physical and mental strength to conquer all. Should I change my name?
I was just one of Ricky's Dirty Dozen, an all-woman team assembled by my brf, Thelma back in January. The quest was a 193-mile, non-stop, foot race through towns bordering along the world-famous Mississippi River. We started in Winona MN at 9:30am Friday morning, taking turns tagging and running 36 legs, leapfrogging two vehicles, until the 12 of us jumped in for our slow motion, celebratory finish in Minneapolis at 29h:49m:55s later.
Immediately after completing my last leg, I wanted nothing to do with another 30-hour running fiasco such as this. I ran a total of 25.3 miles, in 4 legs, over the course of 21 hours, with 1-2 hours of sleep (on a shower curtain on wet grass), and lacking nutrition.
This was my longest adventure away from Taia, and this is what I chose to do with my vacation? Hell ya!
Besides losing 8 lbs in water weight this past weekend, I'm also lacking over 1,000 brain cells. I'm the kind of person that can live off and still function on 4-5 hours of mediocre sleep a night, but I could not for the life of me run AND talk or think simultaneously by 6:30 Saturday morning.
The very worst part of the entire ordeal was having to drive solo from MN to Omaha, NE on Sunday. Aside from drinking 3-4 cups of coffee with Ricky and Thelma that morning, I took a sport energy mint that advertised "6 hours of power" at 1pm, drank a 5-hour energy drink at 5pm, ate a package of GU chomps because I saw "with caffeine" on the package, and then washed them all down with a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew. The copious quantities of caffeine didn't seem to affect me for when I arrived home around 8, I was ready for bed.
By Monday, still extremely exhausted, I was ready to do it again.
Once you've conquered Ragnar, you just can't run away.
Things to remember for next time:
- Sleep is important, try it.
- Bring a camping pad, yoga mat, or something soft to lie on.
- Nights can be cooler, bring a blanket, sweater, or jacket.
- Eating is very important. Don't go to the Garden Pub & Grille in Pepin WI if you are in need of nourishment. If you do go, don't order a salad.
- Bring plastic bags of all sizes for trash and ziplock bags for sweaty running clothes and socks.
- A case of water is not enough, even if someone like me consumes all the opened, half-full bottles.
- Bring more large sweat towels.
- I cannot drive the Vanagon, especially in front of a big crowd of people with an officer holding back traffic.
- Perfect the Jody-Butt Massage with the Marathon Stick.
- When someone estimates their finishing time, be close to the exchange zone early. It sucks to miss your runner as she runs by you while you are trying to decide what to wear.
- Make sure you don't lose a shoe in the middle of the night.
- This is not a sprinting kind of race, at least not on your last leg.
- Running in the rain is nice. It can always get worse.
- Don't lose the Ragnar slap bracelet in the first leg.
- Don't lose your contact lens case in the vehicle.
- The $12 Claire's tutu is a fantastic deal and an ideal running costume.
- A shower curtain in the trunk of your car can come in very handy. It's not just for hiding/disposing of dead bodies.
- Remember what your last runner is wearing (and all possible costumes) so she doesn't run by without you recognizing her.
- Don't leave the mascot on your front porch after driving 365 miles with him. Someone will steal him.
No comments:
Post a Comment