RAGNAR
Two posts in one week! I'm really turnin my life around!
I feel compelled to write again because this was a life changing weekend. Maybe. I guess I don't truly know yet if it's life changing. Okay nevermind, it probably wasn't life changing, but I know I'll want a reference for when I participate in this thing again. So here we go.
The past two days I did an overnight running relay called Ragnar. The short of it is 12 of us (all coworkers) packed into two airport shuttle-type vans and ran a total of 200 miles, starting in Cumberland, Maryland and ending at Nats Park. Each of us ran 3 "legs" of the whole thing, ranging anywhere from 2-12 miles. Runner #1 runs his leg, passes the baton (an "80s style slap bracelet") to Runner #2, who runs to Runner #3, and so on. Runner #12 passes it back to Runner #1, and the whole thing starts again. I was Runner #4, and all of my legs were ~5 miles each. (Mad props to Runner #12, who only had legs over 9 miles. Nine, then 10, then 12, I do believe. In a day and a half. Pure craziness!)
Since I was Runner #4, I was packed into van 1, who all happened to be coworkers that I know fairly well, and that I really like. I didn't really know anyone in van 2 very well, and due to the awful, nasty weather this weekend, we all stayed in our vans whenever we weren't running and didn't mingle too much. That probably would've made the whole thing different, but I digress.
Van 1 started everything off Friday morning at 4 am. Seriously, we all met at the Shady Grove metro stop at 4, and off we went to Cumberland. We got there around 6:30, went through an orientation and safety guideline type thing, and then set Ty (Runner #1) off on his first leg at 7:30. Ty CRUSHED it. He's pretty new to running and has been busting his butt every week for the past few months training for this thing. I admired his work ethic and attitude about it all - he was fearless and jumped right in. His first leg was hard, too! He passed the baton off to my boss, Demetrius, who ran 6 miles up (and I mean up) a highway to pass off to Shay, who also ran 6 miles STRAIGHT UP A MOUNTAIN. This leg was so incredibly tough that he got a medal just for finishing this particular stretch. Props to him. Goodness knows I couldn't do it.
He finally passed off to me, and away I went. I guess I forgot to mention a little thing called Hurricane Joaquin that decided to pop into town right as we started the race. Joaquin inspired fear in the hearts of all of us - running in the cold is one thing, running in a torrential downpour is another. Virginia declared a state of emergency because of this bad boy, people were texting and saying we should drop out, everyone was kinda hoping it would get cancelled - but nope. It was on.
Ty, Demetrius, Shay and I all made it through our first legs without getting hit by the rain. I stayed very dry, and luckily my leg was along a road so there wasn't even a chance to get muddied up. My leg was "Very Hard" according to the race classification. I figured that would mean hills - and hills aren't too big of a deal in my humble running experience, but I wasn't prepared for The Hill of All Hills. It must've been a mile long. I won't even lie, I walked a bit of it. I had to, I had to save myself! I still managed to get a good time regardless (and even got 6 kills! Kills are when you pass someone. Kills are the best part of Ragnar. Everyone jumps in the van after their leg just bursting with pride "I GOT SIX KILLS!! It so fun). Basically the second I got into the van after I finished, THE RAIN BEGAN. I passed off to Jen, who got back after her leg just covered in mud. Megan ran after her and had the same experience. Rough.
When Megan finished, we had a bit of time to kill, so we rolled to Target to pick up some more rain gear, went to Noodles and Co for dinner, then wandered off to the next exchange, where our Runner #12 (Marisa) would pass off to Ty. This ended up occurring around 8:00 pm. Everyone runs more or less for an hour, so I finally got the baton at 11:20. I had 5.2 miles to complete. In the dark. With no street lights. All I had on was a headlamp and a reflective vest. Leading up to it, I was completely terrified. I kept mulling over it in the van, thinking this was it. I was going to get hit by a car and that was going to be it. Ragnar would kill me. It wasn't the running part, I could've cared less about that. Or the threat of rain (which, by the way, had turned down to a light misting by this point). It was just the thought of being hit by a car.
Shay handed the baton to me and I took off like a crazy person. This night leg was out in the country side, passing through corn fields, estate houses and neighborhoods. And to be honest, I had nothing to fear. I saw only a few cars (mostly passing Ragnar vans), and had devised an emergency-escape-jump-into-the-woods if a car was going to come too close. None ever did. I also only saw one other person the whole time, so only 1 kill. Womp womp. Anyway, I have never had a better run. I ran 5.2 in 38 minutes, so something like 7:40 a mile? I dunno. I felt so good that I didn't want to stop at the end! But I had to, I guess. It was that leg that rejuvenated my love for running.
I loved the run but I was also completely delirious and loopy by the time I got to the van. We all were. We were laughing so hard about everything that by the time we were done with Megan's leg and we could have a nice long sleep, we couldn't. I probably got 2 hours of super uncomfortable, squished sleep. Ty and I shared the very back seat of the van and I think we both kicked each other multiple times. Fun right?! Let's just say I am much closer with these coworkers after this weekend - haha!
Gotta add, also, that it POURED all night. Not on me, the Ragnar gods were very kind in that regard, but it definitely poured on van 2. They got just SLAMMED. Poor guys! I hear they all thought it was fun though.
We arose around 6 terribly groggy but somehow chipper and ready to go. Ty got the baton around 7. Now we were in Gaithersburg – civilization! – and Ty had to do his leg AND Demetrius's leg, due to D getting hurt. So basically Ty is a monster.
Finally, it was time for my leg 3, through Rockville. It was a "Moderate" leg, with the moderate-ness coming from 2 miles of gradual incline. Kinda sucky but nothing I couldn't handle, I did my 4.5 miles in 35 min. Being done has never felt so good.
Everything about the experience went so well, it was a little unbelievable. Van 1 had a bit of a hiccup during Megan's leg - she ran the wrong way and ended up at the wrong exchange, sending everyone into hysterics for a few minutes, but beyond that, it was smooth sailing. Thinking back on it, we covered the 200 miles by running, complete human to human contact, kinda cool. We all gathered at Nats Park to watch Marisa finish her final leg (and we all ran across the Yards Park Bridge with her to cross the finish line), took a bunch of pictures, and went our separate ways. By the time I got home, I was no longer alive. I was a zombie, but a very happy zombie at that. I passed out almost immediately and slept for 12 straight hours...unheard of! Now I'm laying in bed and feeling sore all over - and my runs weren't even that crazy long! I can only imagine how Marisa is doing today.
What would I have done differently? Not too much. Maybe trained a little more? I ran about 3 times a week (sometimes less...like a lot less....oops) for a few months leading up to this, not ever really "training", mostly just light jogging, so I guess I would've put more effort into that. But even with what I did, I felt great and never felt behind or slow. I packed enough warm things (and packed each outfit in its own gallon size ziploc bag, I've never been so organized and it was awesome. I'm doing this for all trips I have from now on) and had enough food. Everyone needs a Camelbak! They're lifesavers.
Ragnar probably isn't for everyone, but if you want to have a weekend you won't forget, forge strong bonds with a group of people, feel like a team and have an adventure, I think you should go for it. I loved it.
I feel compelled to write again because this was a life changing weekend. Maybe. I guess I don't truly know yet if it's life changing. Okay nevermind, it probably wasn't life changing, but I know I'll want a reference for when I participate in this thing again. So here we go.
The past two days I did an overnight running relay called Ragnar. The short of it is 12 of us (all coworkers) packed into two airport shuttle-type vans and ran a total of 200 miles, starting in Cumberland, Maryland and ending at Nats Park. Each of us ran 3 "legs" of the whole thing, ranging anywhere from 2-12 miles. Runner #1 runs his leg, passes the baton (an "80s style slap bracelet") to Runner #2, who runs to Runner #3, and so on. Runner #12 passes it back to Runner #1, and the whole thing starts again. I was Runner #4, and all of my legs were ~5 miles each. (Mad props to Runner #12, who only had legs over 9 miles. Nine, then 10, then 12, I do believe. In a day and a half. Pure craziness!)
Part of Van # 1. I added this photo in an attempt to blind you, dear reader, with Demetrius's shirt.
Since I was Runner #4, I was packed into van 1, who all happened to be coworkers that I know fairly well, and that I really like. I didn't really know anyone in van 2 very well, and due to the awful, nasty weather this weekend, we all stayed in our vans whenever we weren't running and didn't mingle too much. That probably would've made the whole thing different, but I digress.
Van 1 started everything off Friday morning at 4 am. Seriously, we all met at the Shady Grove metro stop at 4, and off we went to Cumberland. We got there around 6:30, went through an orientation and safety guideline type thing, and then set Ty (Runner #1) off on his first leg at 7:30. Ty CRUSHED it. He's pretty new to running and has been busting his butt every week for the past few months training for this thing. I admired his work ethic and attitude about it all - he was fearless and jumped right in. His first leg was hard, too! He passed the baton off to my boss, Demetrius, who ran 6 miles up (and I mean up) a highway to pass off to Shay, who also ran 6 miles STRAIGHT UP A MOUNTAIN. This leg was so incredibly tough that he got a medal just for finishing this particular stretch. Props to him. Goodness knows I couldn't do it.
Chillin at the starting line. Not "netflix and chilling", just chilling. Having to explain what Netflix and Chill is to coworkers is something I'll never forget.
He finally passed off to me, and away I went. I guess I forgot to mention a little thing called Hurricane Joaquin that decided to pop into town right as we started the race. Joaquin inspired fear in the hearts of all of us - running in the cold is one thing, running in a torrential downpour is another. Virginia declared a state of emergency because of this bad boy, people were texting and saying we should drop out, everyone was kinda hoping it would get cancelled - but nope. It was on.
Here's a nice candid shot of me passing off the baton to Jen. I am yawning, or in shock, or perhaps that's just my resting bitch face. No one knows.
Ty, Demetrius, Shay and I all made it through our first legs without getting hit by the rain. I stayed very dry, and luckily my leg was along a road so there wasn't even a chance to get muddied up. My leg was "Very Hard" according to the race classification. I figured that would mean hills - and hills aren't too big of a deal in my humble running experience, but I wasn't prepared for The Hill of All Hills. It must've been a mile long. I won't even lie, I walked a bit of it. I had to, I had to save myself! I still managed to get a good time regardless (and even got 6 kills! Kills are when you pass someone. Kills are the best part of Ragnar. Everyone jumps in the van after their leg just bursting with pride "I GOT SIX KILLS!! It so fun). Basically the second I got into the van after I finished, THE RAIN BEGAN. I passed off to Jen, who got back after her leg just covered in mud. Megan ran after her and had the same experience. Rough.
When Megan finished, we had a bit of time to kill, so we rolled to Target to pick up some more rain gear, went to Noodles and Co for dinner, then wandered off to the next exchange, where our Runner #12 (Marisa) would pass off to Ty. This ended up occurring around 8:00 pm. Everyone runs more or less for an hour, so I finally got the baton at 11:20. I had 5.2 miles to complete. In the dark. With no street lights. All I had on was a headlamp and a reflective vest. Leading up to it, I was completely terrified. I kept mulling over it in the van, thinking this was it. I was going to get hit by a car and that was going to be it. Ragnar would kill me. It wasn't the running part, I could've cared less about that. Or the threat of rain (which, by the way, had turned down to a light misting by this point). It was just the thought of being hit by a car.
Shay handed the baton to me and I took off like a crazy person. This night leg was out in the country side, passing through corn fields, estate houses and neighborhoods. And to be honest, I had nothing to fear. I saw only a few cars (mostly passing Ragnar vans), and had devised an emergency-escape-jump-into-the-woods if a car was going to come too close. None ever did. I also only saw one other person the whole time, so only 1 kill. Womp womp. Anyway, I have never had a better run. I ran 5.2 in 38 minutes, so something like 7:40 a mile? I dunno. I felt so good that I didn't want to stop at the end! But I had to, I guess. It was that leg that rejuvenated my love for running.
Here's Shay, Megan, and I just having bundles of fun!
I loved the run but I was also completely delirious and loopy by the time I got to the van. We all were. We were laughing so hard about everything that by the time we were done with Megan's leg and we could have a nice long sleep, we couldn't. I probably got 2 hours of super uncomfortable, squished sleep. Ty and I shared the very back seat of the van and I think we both kicked each other multiple times. Fun right?! Let's just say I am much closer with these coworkers after this weekend - haha!
Gotta add, also, that it POURED all night. Not on me, the Ragnar gods were very kind in that regard, but it definitely poured on van 2. They got just SLAMMED. Poor guys! I hear they all thought it was fun though.
We arose around 6 terribly groggy but somehow chipper and ready to go. Ty got the baton around 7. Now we were in Gaithersburg – civilization! – and Ty had to do his leg AND Demetrius's leg, due to D getting hurt. So basically Ty is a monster.
Finally, it was time for my leg 3, through Rockville. It was a "Moderate" leg, with the moderate-ness coming from 2 miles of gradual incline. Kinda sucky but nothing I couldn't handle, I did my 4.5 miles in 35 min. Being done has never felt so good.
A kind stranger took this photo of me before my last run. I'm smiling, because its almost over.
Everything about the experience went so well, it was a little unbelievable. Van 1 had a bit of a hiccup during Megan's leg - she ran the wrong way and ended up at the wrong exchange, sending everyone into hysterics for a few minutes, but beyond that, it was smooth sailing. Thinking back on it, we covered the 200 miles by running, complete human to human contact, kinda cool. We all gathered at Nats Park to watch Marisa finish her final leg (and we all ran across the Yards Park Bridge with her to cross the finish line), took a bunch of pictures, and went our separate ways. By the time I got home, I was no longer alive. I was a zombie, but a very happy zombie at that. I passed out almost immediately and slept for 12 straight hours...unheard of! Now I'm laying in bed and feeling sore all over - and my runs weren't even that crazy long! I can only imagine how Marisa is doing today.
Dane ran with a different team and was their leg 12...aka the crazy leg. I stumbled upon him at an exchange. He is a beast.
What would I have done differently? Not too much. Maybe trained a little more? I ran about 3 times a week (sometimes less...like a lot less....oops) for a few months leading up to this, not ever really "training", mostly just light jogging, so I guess I would've put more effort into that. But even with what I did, I felt great and never felt behind or slow. I packed enough warm things (and packed each outfit in its own gallon size ziploc bag, I've never been so organized and it was awesome. I'm doing this for all trips I have from now on) and had enough food. Everyone needs a Camelbak! They're lifesavers.
The team! Look how radiant we are.
Ragnar probably isn't for everyone, but if you want to have a weekend you won't forget, forge strong bonds with a group of people, feel like a team and have an adventure, I think you should go for it. I loved it.
Comments
Post a Comment