Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay!

Well, the day finally came, and it's hard to believe that after all that hard work and training, it has now come and passed!

The Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay!!!

My amazing team "Gu'd 2 Go" !!!  They all did such a great job!!!

The experience and the atmosphere really was so much fun.  Although if you were to ask me during the race if I thought I'd do it again, I would have given you a crusty and said heck no!  It really was the physically hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life thus far.  It was HARD!!!  But looking back on it now, it really was one of the best/most rewarding times I've had!  And I am definitely looking forward to doing it again next year...  This time I'll be more prepared! 

Super pumped! Let's do this!

Since I was the first runner in Van 2, my first run wasn't until around 11:30AM on Friday morning.  A much better time than 5:15AM, when our Van 1 started running!  But it was beautiful and I was super pumped to start my first leg!

From Becky to me, starting my first leg!

It was pretty chaotic at this "exchange" since it was the beginning of all the Van 2 runners, but the atmosphere was so much fun!  You could tell everyone was pumped to get their runs on!  

My first leg was 4.0 miles and it was a perfect temperature.  I felt like I did pretty dang good on my first run even though I got pretty hot at times and ended up with a pretty awesome sunburn.  Ouch.

HOTTTTT....

First leg... CHECK!

After my legs, I passed off to my cousin Spencer, and he rocked it!  He was so much fun and I hope we get to run together again next year!  We need another speed demon on our team!  ;)  

Next up... Jared!  

Of course Jared freakin' flew...  He's a machine, I hope I can one day be an amazing athlete like he is!  Sheesh!  He made up for my slacked runs!  Poor Jared's first leg was around 1:30PM and it was pretty hot to run in!  Could've been a lot hotter, but luckily we were at a higher elevation that cooled it down quite a bit.  His first run was only 3.2 miles, a walk in the park for him...

My brother-in-law, Kelly [also our co-captain and Van 2 driver] was next up after Jared.  Of course he did amazing as well!  I can't believe almost my whole family are such avid runners...  Hopefully that means it's in the blood, right?!  I must have some of that in me somewhere!  But during Kelly's first leg, we saw some pretty crazy people!  This poor guy [their team's name was The Wild Kingdom] was running barefoot and you could tell he was in a lot of pain, given they were running on a dirt road!  Needless to say, the next several times we saw him, he had running shoes on!

Me and the boys! (minus Mike, who was running)... This was after my dad's brutal uphill run. He had to run up Trapper's Loop, and can I just say, that hill did not look fun. But he did so good, leave it to my dad to make a steep hill look like nothin'!

Our Van 1 (left) and Van 2 (right)

My second leg was around 8:30PM on Friday night and it was starting to get pretty brisk outside.  Probably around 50-55 degrees or so.  Pretty good for running though!  Since it was after 7:30, I had to wear all the night gear [head light, vest, etc]...  Sexy, for sure!

It was 3.8 miles and "moderately uphill"...?  Um... no.  Moderate, my butt!  That hill freakin' SUCKED!  I turned a corner and straight ahead of me was this monstrosity of a mountain I had to climb and I wanted to cry!  It was pretty painful.  I feel like I did pretty well, I definitely pushed myself to my limit [which you will see I probably shouldn't have done].  But one thing did make it worth it...  Halfway up the hill, there was some jokester dressed up as a bush chasing runners.  When I say dressed up, I mean completely covered.  You couldn't see an inch of this person, all bush!  It was awesome!

I must've just seen the hill... My expression says it all!

My support team! Jared was so amazing, he made sure I was doing okay and that I didn't need anything. I love you honey, thank you for always supporting me and making me feel cared for!

Jared's second leg was around 11:30PM and was 10 miles!  It was pretty crazy!  Most of it was on a dirt trail, and luckily he had to have the head lamp because he said he wouldn't have been able to see at all where he was going!  Even though they added a mile at the last minute, he totally rocked it.  10 miles is nothing for Jared.  How sick is that.

After all of our second legs were finished, we finally had time to relax and try to get some sleep.  We drove to a local high school that was selling showers and sleeping space in their gym, but let me tell you, I got absolutely no sleep.  By the time I got out of the car to walk into the high school, I literally could barely walk.  My hip and my knee were absolutely killing me from pushing myself so hard up that hill.  I knew I had to run my third and last leg in a few hours and I was so nervous about walking, let alone running!  Plus, since I hadn't eaten much and had gotten no sleep, I felt more nauseous than I have felt in a very long time.  I thought for sure I was going to throw up!  :(  

Obviously... my third and final leg was a rough one [the reason I have no pictures].  It was around 6:30AM on Saturday morning and I had to go 4.2 miles.  It was supposed to be a pretty easy leg--mostly flat with some gradual downhill.  But since I could hardly walk, I limped my way through most of it.  It was extremely frustrating trying so hard to run and having to stop myself after 10 yards because I was in so much pain.  UGH!  But hey, I got through it, even though it was pretty dang pathetic.  And knowing that I was finished was a huge relief!  This is why next year I have to redeem myself!!!

Jared's third and final leg was BRUTAL!  I felt so bad for him, even though he absolutely killed it!  It was 3.2 miles, but the description reads:  "severe uphill climb."  That says it all!  In 3.2 miles, he ascended almost 1500 feet!  Sheesh!  And on top of that, since he was sweating so much, sunscreen kept dripping in his eyes [hence the sweet picture above].  Even though it was a hard one, I can't believe how well Jared did.  He's a rockstar!

Immediately after Jared's crazy run, Kelly started the "ragnar" leg...  the hardest leg in the relay.  It was 4.0 miles and climbed over 1600 feet.  Kelly was the perfect candidate to run this leg; he did awesome!  I really don't know if I could have walked that steep of a mountain for that distance!  

Next up was my pops, who descended basically everything that Jared and Kelly had just climbed.  It was so steep downhill!  Anyone that knows my dad knows that running is his life...  Therefore, he did pretty amazing.  He is such an inspiration to me, I really don't think there's anything he can't do!  I love you Dad!  I hope one day I'll be a good enough runner to be your running partner!  ;)

Finally..... THE FINISH LINE!!!  Although I could still hardly walk, running across that finish line as a team was incredible!  It definitely made me want to become a better runner so that I can do these things more often!  I still don't know if I would call myself a "runner"...  I am very hard on myself and if I'm not good enough for me, then it's hard to view it as an accomplishment.  But I am extremely proud of myself for being able to do something like this!  And I hope that one day I can run a marathon, like everyone else in my family!  

Like I said, it's gotta be in the blood, right?!