I joined 83 other people in making up 7 teams to support Michelle and her family. Together, we made up the Funny Farm Fanatics: chickens, sheep, mice, turkeys, donkeys, cows, and pigs.
Go team Funny Farm Donkeys! 12 people, 36 legs, 200 miles!
After months of training, I felt pretty ready to tackle this thing! And surprisingly, tackle it we did. We did awesome! I couldn't have asked for a better team. Everyone did their best- there were lots of "kills" and "resurrections" and sore muscles and sleep deprivation and laughter and sweat. Here's us gearing up before the race, getting our tatts on!
(P.S. I still have a tan line in the shape of that Ragnar tatt - I call it my ghost tattoo)
I was runner 12, bringing up the rear. Leg 12 (Hard) - 2 mile trail run! I have to admit, I did not prepare myself enough for trail running. Not only is it a lot more physically demanding, but it is also very mentally challenging! You can't just put one foot in front of the other - it takes constant attention to detail and a careful eye to avoid tree roots, rocks, slick footing, etc. But it is also breathtaking, beautiful, and refreshing. Here's me at the end of my first run!
Leg 24 (Hard) - 7 miles, almost all uphill (some of it gradual, some of it steep), in the wee hours of the morning. That's right - I started at 2:40 a.m. and finished at 3:30 a.m. At first I was freezing, but once I got moving, I warmed up pretty quick! I was really proud of myself for keeping a consistent, fairly quick pace on this leg. I hauled butt and killed a lot of people on this run - and when I got to the exchange point to hand off to my teammate, HE WASN'T EVEN THERE! I can't even describe how furious I was. I had worked so hard to make up for some lost time for our team, and our van 1 teammates weren't at the exchange. 16 MINUTES LATER, they finally showed up. Oh boy was I upset. 16 minutes! Their excuse, you might wonder? Didn't have a good one. I'm not still bitter or anything ;) Because of how dark it was, and that it was a no van support leg, this is the only pic I got:
I guess that's me! Haha
After I finished that leg, we (van 2) had a bit of time to rest while van 1 was running. We went to a middle school that had hot showers and wrestling mats to sleep on - best $5 I ever spent! Got a good 2 hours of solid sleep and then it was show time again! Here's some pics of our wait/rest time:
Before I describe my last run, I just wanna give a shout out to my van 2 teammates. All of us had KILLER last legs of the race. 2 of my teammates each had to run 4 miles straight uphill. That 8 mile uphill stretch was NASTY. They were champs and rocked it! Couldn't have done it, so I'm glad I didn't have to. The view at the top was gorgeous:
Love my daddy :) So glad he was our van driver and there to support me and cheer me on!
When a team goes up, they must come down. Andrea, my cousin, was the runner that had the pleasure of running straight downhill for 8 miles. What a champ! She made great time, and I was waiting for her at the exchange to take on my next and final run.
Leg 36 (Moderate) - 3 mile trail run. Moderate? Yeah right! This thing should have been labeled Hard or Very Hard. The Ragnar Bible deceived me. I prepared for a 'moderate' 3 mile trail run, supposedly easier than my first trail run. But was it? Heck to the no! Not only was I tired and running on like 3 hours of sleep, peanut butter and celery, and rolls with turkey, but it was 12:30 ish and hot, hot, hot! Here's me at the beginning of the leg, ready to finish the race for team Donkeys:
So I follow this nice, paved path for a few minutes, getting "killed" by a few huge macho men flying by. It leads me to the trail head. And where does the trail go? STRAIGHT UP A MOUNTAIN. Not exaggerating. I ran it for maybe 5 minutes, and then had to walk the rest. I was feeling so weak and lame and like such a wuss! And then I saw these big macho men that had passed me before the trailhead walking up the mountain too, and I didn't feel so bad anymore :) HA!
Once I get to the top, now I get to run down the mountain on a winding trail. So refreshing to my poor legs that were on fire from speed walking up. Once I make it down the mountain, the path leads me back uphill into a neighborhood. After a short run through the neighborhood (when I say short, what I was really thinking at the time was, "I swear I've run more than three miles! Where is the stinkin' finish line?!"), I come back down into Park City High, where I know the finish line is waiting for me. Hallelujah! I come around the corner and there's my team, there to cheer me on! I slap all their hands and keep going, with them following behind to cross the finish line with me. What I didn't realize at the time was that I should've slowed down a bit so that we could all cross together. Whoops. I kind of left them in the dust because I wanted to give it my all until the very last second! There was no stopping me now! Evidence: (I'm on the right side of the cones)
I DID IT!
And I had a great support system waiting for me at the end. Thanks Colt, Mom, Dad! The first thing they did was put a medal around my neck, and it almost sent me to the ground. Man that thing is heavy!
I love my husband :)
Couldn't have done it without this girl, Andrea! She gets the Best Cousin Ever award fer sure!
The Funny Farm Donkeys
Overall, the Wasatch Back Ragnar was an awesome experience. It challenged me, and I love a good challenge. Was it hard? Oh, yes. But it was so worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
If you have trouble sleeping, just run a Ragnar. You'll sleep great ;)
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