The Las Vegas Ragnar Relay was last weekend. We had trained for it for months. In fact, we probably could have trained a little more and a little harder. BUT... time was up. Ready or not, it happened. Thursday afternoon, we drove to Lehi to help pack up stuff with the Denneys, then we switched vehicles with Cory B, snagging the suburban version of Black Sabbath. Then we drove to pick up Todd (Birthday boy). His parents were fabulous and let us stay at their place in Cedar City the night before the race so we wouldn't have to drive the whole way all at once. Everyone but the Blomquists made it. We were able to spend some time together before splitting into 2 vans! Friday morning, we woke up super early to get to the Start of the Race. We got there with just enough time to check in, get our bibs and go through the safety training.
Yes! We were the special event ahead. Well, at least we participated in it. :) I can't get over how much fun we had. Our "van" consisted of Brett & Krist Denney, Todd Utterback, Emily Bussey and us! We cheered on each other and random people, like CRAZY! Honking. Yelling. Whistling. Making any noise we could. We were a rowdy bunch, but everyone loved it. We loved it and so did all the runners we passed. So great!
I was SO nervous! I had legs 1, 13 and 25... so that meant, being #1, I would start the race. So many emotions. Excited. Nervous. Terrified. You name it, I felt it. Here I am pre-race, standing behind the finish line. We started at 8:30am sharp. The guy with the microphone called out the team numbers with that start time and prepped us for the race. Quickly. There was a huge clock showing the time, and he had us off right at 8:30am. I was impressed, because I doubted we get going right on time.
Leg 1 was 5.6 miles and it was so scenic. Seriously so beautiful. I jogged along on this main road in the Valley of Fire Nat'l Park and just looked up at the Red Rock and incredible landscape that surrounded me. I loved it. One of the coolest parts about the race, too, is that everyone cheers for everyone. So, random vans would pass and honk and yell! It gave me, and every runner really, a huge burst of energy. I looked down at my Garmin Watch and my pace had changed from about 9:15min/mi to 7:00min/mi. I had to consciously slow down so I wouldn't kill myself. The cheering was awesome and so much fun.
OH!! One of my funny experiences: I turned down a road for my last straight-away to the finish line after my first leg and I sprinted my hardest, trying to run as fast as my little legs would go. I totally underestimated how far that straight-away actually was. I handed off the snap bracelet to Emily (Kristy's friend who ran with us) and came to a halting stop. Not a good idea. I think you're supposed to jog it out with a little cool down. Ya, I missed that. So I was all smiles after finishing my first leg, it was so much fun. Then all of the sudden, I started to dry heave. Haha! Sorry about the graphic details. Luckily I didn't throw up, but it was a close call, for sure. Here's Collin, being the sweet hubby he is, holding my hand as I dry heave, times three. So funny to me, I don't know why. And everyone had to get decked out for any legs run between 5pm and 7am. Head lamp. Tail lamp. Reflective Vest. I'm ready to go.
Emily was runner #2. Legs 2, 14, and 26. She was amazing. She's a trainer in Las Vegas and dominated this massive hill. I was so impressed and so was everyone else who saw her. Rockin' bod. I hope I can be as fit as her some day. Check her out! We had so much fun with her. It's funny to think that we just met her right before the race. But spending 30+ hours straight with her, it felt like we had known her forever. She's great.
After Emily, it was Collin's turn. He ran legs 3, 15 and 27. He did so well. He had a super gnarly hill for the first leg, but looked so calm and collected as he ran it. I am always so impressed with Collin and all of his talents. He does everything with ease. I was so proud of him and I'm so glad that we could train and run this race together.
After Collin, Brett ran legs 4, 16 and 28. Boy can run. We all knew he was athletic, being the BYU football player. He's always been fit, and now we know he's an awesome runner. With Kristy as his trainer, he dominated his legs. He did such a great job.
Fittingly, after Brett, Kristy was up. She had the next legs: 5, 17 and 29. Wow! A few years ago, I saw her run the Top of Utah Marathon. And now, after having Owen, she's right back at it. Look at her! She's amazing. Since we had the watches to track our pace, she had mentioned one of her legs was 7:43min/mil avg. Are you kidding me? She rocks. Seriously! Once we started the race, we came to understand one of the race "ism's." The concept of "The Kill." Whenever you pass someone, it's a kill. Whenever you get passed, it's a death or you get killed. Anyway, on one of Kristy's legs, we asked her how many kills she had. Her response: "15 or so." WHAT? She's a machine!
The last runner in our van/suburban was Todd Utterback. He was in the dorms with Brett their freshman year and then we got to be friends after they got back from their missions. So we've been good friends for a few years. Todd did a great job too. He had just finished the St. George Marathon at the beginning of October.
We had so much fun. I mean, check out these boys. As we went to give Todd some water, Collin and Brett gave him two options. No, that bottle Collin is holding did not come from our van... it was trash on the side of the road. But, luckily, as you can see, Todd made the right choice. Good job, buddy. :)
Most of us ran 2 of our 3 legs in the dark. Mine were at 8:30am, 7pm and 4am. The weather was amazing all day long. A bit toasty in the early afternoon. Sorry to Todd for getting the brunt of the heat. The rest of us relished in the perfect weather. It was upper 60s to lower 70s for the majority of the race. It only got to the mid 50s, and that wasn't even that bad. Here is our group sans Rothey's. Yes. It was super dark. And yes. At any given time through the night, someone from our team was running.
Operating off of 2 hours of sleep during the 30 hour race, I think we did pretty well. We didn't anticipate winning any awards. And we didn't win any. But I think we did well for being amateurs, and it being our 1st Ragnar. Such a fun experience, and we can't wait to do it again next year. Yes. I just said that. We want to do it again. The fun, the cheering, the smiles, the good times all outweighed the tightness and stiffness in the legs and the sore, the tired and the running. Come on! What team lays you down and rubs out your sore hammy? That's right! Ours does!
Here's our whole team at the finish line!! Our van: Collin, Traci, Brett, Kristy, Todd and Emily. Van #2: Cory & Bree Blomquist, Taylor Zmoos, Arrin Manning, Steve & Aubreigh Guynn.
