Run.Drive.Sleep?Repeat

That was the promo tag for the Ragnar del Sol relay of the past weekend. Sleep was indeed iffy; I probably got in one power hour of snooze sometime after my second leg, probably around 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

First, thanks to all of you for all of your support, cheers and good vibes (thanks for all the zaps, Paul!).

Here's the short version. Our team, Running With Scissors, came in 109th out of 150 or so odd teams. And some of them were truly odd, or at least their names. UnNatural Selection and Knights of the Buffet Table were a few favorites. The Knights were the winners of the van decoration prize last year, and we hoped to beat them this year. Once we put on all of our decorations and strapped some gear to the roof, we realized we should have been the Griswolds. Our minivans were a little out of place with all the rented 15 passenger deals out on the course.

We finished the 182 mile course in a time of 28 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds. It was a blast and I had a great time. Our team was fun and it was amazing that a van full of six sweaty, tired, stinky people got along as well as we did for that long. Having a sense of humor and getting loopy goes a long way.

I did as well or better than I hoped. I'm tired - and inspired to do it again next year. (Those crazy endorphins!)

Van #1 started out on Friday morning to make it to Wickenburg for our 1:00 p.m. start. Teams started according to their speeds on the hour starting at 11:00 a.m., possibly earlier. This was to make sure the slower people had a chance to get off the course at a decent time. Some teams, filled with Olympic qualifiers and other elites, started at 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. There were also a few Ultra Teams - six runners instead of 12. Insanity!

I started out around 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

My first leg was a long straight away along Highway 74, filled with heavy traffic headed to Vegas. That part wasn't terribly fun but the scenery was gorgeous. It took me about a mile to settle down my nerves and get into a good pace. A pace at the tempo my jazz band will be taking for "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". The tune popped into my head around mile three and kept me company for the rest of the leg.

We met up with Van 2 and after the handoff, we were off to Cave Creek for dinner and to try and spend the night.

Van 2 is an old, little used vehicle that was actually rejected from the car wash. Quote, "You can't take that van into my car wash." The guy was afraid more paint would peel off and clog up the works. Ha.

Sleep would not be had at the next major exchange point. We decided to try for the parking lot instead of the school gym and it was a zoo. A few team members got a little snooze, but I stayed up for four hours taking in all the action.

Midnight came and so did Runner 12 from Van 2. So we were back on the road. My second leg found me running on dirt roads at 3:00 a.m. with only a puny little headlamp to light the way. I already don't see well in dim light and there was minimal moonlight to help me out. Every so often a team van would pass me, giving me a good glimpse of the road until the dust brought the visibility back to zero. It was a beautiful evening, the stars shining brightly and no sounds of coyotes or other critters. It was a bit scary to be out in the dark, alone, but I tried to concentrate on the serenity.

I had a lot of turns, marked with signs topped with a red blinkie. The second turn wasn't terribly clear as to were the road was, so I pulled a Moses and wandered lost through the desert. I decided the course probably wasn't going through the desert wash so I double backed to the last blinkie I found. Another runner was coming through so I followed her to where I was supposed to be going. I lost maybe 5 minutes, but it was more important to actually come out alive, so it was still a good run.

Our next runner hit an unpainted speedbump and crashed down on her chin and skinned up her knees. Luckily she's not seriously hurt, but now we were down to five. (Props to you, Dave, for doing extra!) This is also around the time the elites started blowing past us like we were 'painted on the fenceposts', as Teammate Dave would say. Even though you KNOW these people are exceptional, it's still demoralizing to be left in their dust.  

Morning light shown through and found me catching some zzz's at the next major exchange point while we waited for Van 2. All the teams seemed to be in good spirits.

Finally, my last leg was near. My hip was screaming at me but I tried to ignore it. I used some of the pain reliever the race sponsor handed out and downed some Ibuprofen, but none of it made any difference. I wish I had some of the beer from the other race sponsor instead. That probably would have helped a lot more.

My legs felt like lead, but it was time to go.

And then I was done. Done, done and done. I left it all out there on the road, pushing hard for my last mile. During my runs, I kept thinking, "This sucks. What the hell am I doing?" 

Then after I finished, I thought "I did it! I really did! I'll have to keep training so I can do better next year."  

We ran through some beautiful country in our trek across the desert. We probably ran through some beautiful stretches during our second legs but we couldn't see it.

All in all, it was worth it. I made new friends and got to know others better than I had before. This was a great kick in the pants to start getting back in shape. Now I have to stay motivated and keep it up.

Thanks again for being my cheering squad. I couldn't have done as well without you!

UPDATE: For more craziness, check out the team video from our run.