A Little Motivation...

As you may remember, last February I participated in a 2-day relay race called the Ragnar Relay Del Sol. It was a fantastic and challenging experience and I look forward to participating in it again next year. Not only was the race itself really fun, but the goal of running in the race was great motivation to get my butt running!

The time has come to get on a team and get registered for next years race (February 26-27, 2010) and before I commit to running with my old team, I thought I would see if we had enough interest to have a BAR Fitness team. The race is from Prescott to Mesa and each runner runs three legs over the two days. The entire event costs about $200 per person (including registration and van rental) and we need 12 runners to make up our team. Unfortunately, we don't have too much time to decide. I would like to have a co-ed team in place by Nov 1st. If you are interested, please email me ASAP and I can answer any questions to help you decide. drtracie@thebarfitness.com. If you want to learn more about the race, visit the website at http://www.ragnarrelay.com/.

After the race this year, I wrote a blog entry to share my experience. I have re-posted that entry here so you can learn a little more about this awesome event. I look forward to running this year with a BAR Fitness team!

The motto of the Ragnar Relay organization is: Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat. I think you will soon understand why. The Ragnar Arizona Del Sol Relay started on Friday, February 27th up in Prescott and the course ran 202 miles south out of Prescott through Wickenburg, across the Carefree highway, across Northern Phoenix down to Fountain Hills and down to the finish line in Mesa. Our team, #157, was made up of twelve women and we were appropriately named “Are We There Yet?” We had an 8:00am starting time (start times were determined by speed of team with the fastest teams starting later). All the teams were split into two vans with runners 1-6 in van 1 and runners 7-12 in van 2. I was runner #6 and our van was departing from North Phoenix at 5:00am on Friday.

My friend Mary (who got me involved in the event) and I doubted our sanity for agreeing to do this as we picked up another teammate at a hotel at 4:20am. Her name is Jody and she joined our team via the Ragnar website and flew in from California not knowing anyone! In fact, I only knew Mary and another friend Kerry (who was in van #2) out of the 12 women. In addition to Mary, Jody, and me, Lauren, Sarah, and Lindsay (the team organizer) made up van #1. What a remarkable group of women! We ranged in age from 19 to 39, five of us were married, two of us had children, and we had careers that included physician, investment banker, medical sales rep, student, professor, and mom! I was so inspired and impressed with each of the women’s determination to complete the race and to push themselves to the limit. Only Jody had previous experience with any type of distance race, so we were all in for a new adventure!

So, at 5am on Friday morning with introductions complete, we all loaded up in the van with plenty of water, sunscreen, Advil, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and snacks to last us for the two day event. We arrived in Prescott, got checked in and before we knew it, the race began. The first two legs were 3.6 mile legs, followed by an unbelievably challenging 6.6 mile uphill third leg. This was followed by 5 and 5.3 mile legs and then I rounded out our group with a 6 mile run through Skull Valley. Brad and I have spent a good deal of time driving around Arizona, but I had never been to this area. My run was spectacular. The scenery was beautiful, and the first couple of miles were on a country dirt road before I merged onto to the main road. I felt great and completed the run in 61 minutes (I never claimed to be fast!). At the exchange point, I handed the bracelet (the baton for this relay was a “slap” bracelet that we exchanged) off to Beth, the first runner in van #2.

We had about six hours to rest before our van was due to run again so we drove to our next exchange point, which was Congress, AZ. You would not believe the scene! A huge dirt lot filled with countless vans and runners sleeping/resting on their sleeping bags in the dirt! It was a great environment and we soon joined right in. After refueling with some lunch, we all tried to get some sleep on the dirt.

The afternoon went quickly and before we knew it, Kerry was bringing in leg 12 ready to hand off to Lindsay (our first runner). It was now 8pm and really dark. With only a sliver of the moon, we depended on headlamps, reflective vests, and a flashlight to keep us safe and on track. Our night runners did awesome! Sarah (our third runner) even had to run up a freeway off-ramp (we ran the entire race against traffic, which took some getting used to!). It was about 1:00am when I started my second leg, which was a 3.3 mile run down highway 60 out of Wickenburg to the Carefree highway (Lake Pleasant cutoff). I finished shortly after 1:30am and my body was hurting. We were all exhausted. While our van #2 runners spent the remainder of the night running absolutely brutal legs across the Carefree highway, we drove to Cactus Shadow high school to get some sleep. You would be surprised how well all six of us slept snuggled up in the van! I woke up shortly after 6am feeling very thirsty and stiff. I got out of the van to stretch out thinking that there was no way I was going to be able to run another leg!

By 9am, Kerry was once again approaching the exchange point after a long night and a long run. Once again, Lindsay was off, marking the start of the final legs for our van. She had an 8.7 mile run and she was awesome! At this point in the race, we all needed some extra support, so we ended up dancing on the side of the road as our runners went by; doing everything we could to provide motivation and support! Not only were our bodies tired and sore, but it was hot! Finally, at 1:30pm on Saturday afternoon, I started my final leg. It was 6.4 miles into Fountain Hills. Shortly after I started, Brad drove by with Kate and Taylor in the car. I was so happy to see them! They parked on the side of the rode and cheered with my team as I ran by. My course was tough, mostly uphill, but my teammates were great. They kept me running and all I could think about was handing off that bracelet. At last, I saw the exchange point ahead and I ran with every last ounce of energy. As soon as I handed off the bracelet to Beth, the other girls in my van and I celebrated our accomplishment. The next thing I knew, Kate and Taylor came running up and tackled me on the grass! It was so great to see them after a tough, but fun, couple of days!

After getting some food and a much deserved beer, Brad and I and the girls and Mary and her husband Joe headed down to Mesa to the actual race finish line. Kerry crossed the finish line just before 7:00pm; finishing the race that team #157 had started 34 hours, 58 minutes and 49 seconds earlier. We were far from being the fastest team on the course, in fact we finished 201st out of 214 teams. I should note that most of the teams were coed and a lot were made up of competitive runners. Nevertheless, we finished and we finished with a lot of determination and sweat as we had battled narrow highway shoulders, pounding sun, gusting crosswinds, road kill, very little sleep, treacherous hills, and a really dark night.

I learned a lot in my two days. I have never been so proud of a group of women in my life. For most all of us, this was a new experience. For some of us, it was a time to do something for ourselves. I am a busy mom who for the last three years has done very few things just for me. Mary is a new doctor who spent the last eight years in medical school and residency, rarely finding time for herself, and Kerry, who also turned 32 the day before the race, is a very busy working mom to six month old Parker. For each of us, we took time away from our families and jobs for us. We pushed ourselves to the limit and then some more. We committed to training for the race and we committed to running the race. We allowed ourselves the time to experience true accomplishment, and in the end, we were all surrounded by our families who support everything we do. I also learned something new about one of my closest friends. At about midnight in Wickenburg, AZ, I learned that Mary, who has been my dear friend for the last 13 years, is a fierce competitor. Not only did she keep track of her pace during all of her legs, but she was angry when race officials told her that the van would have to shuttle her for ¾ of a mile during her 7.5 mile leg because the road wasn’t safe to run on. She wanted to run the full 7.5 miles and she let it be known. At that moment, she became a runner and I became so proud of my long-time friend!

I hope that my race story inspires you to take the time to achieve something for yourself. Don’t underestimate your ability or the power of your determination. I am not a runner. Trust me, I saw runners on this course and I am not one of them. I would have never thought I would run 15.7 miles in a 35 hour race. I would never have thought that I would thoroughly enjoy spending two days in a van of women. But I did, and that is my lesson.

I feel lucky to have been part of team #157. I am inspired by each of my teammates and will never forget this experience. I made new friends and we will be forever bonded by this challenging race. I already received an email from one teammate wanting to run in another Ragnar Relay…who knows, maybe my racing days aren’t over. Maybe next year, some of you will join me on a BAR Fitness team…any takers? Until then, go for it: you never know what you might accomplish!