2021 Ragnar New England Recap

I did some research and while I still don't know the exact first time I learned of "a Ragnar", it was probably late 2015.  Nevertheless, in July 2016 I finally made my desires public about doing a Ragnar.  Wut is a Ragnar you might ask.  LET ME JUST TELL YOU (again, kinda).  

There are now several varieties of Ragnar race, but my ultimate goal was to run a Ragnar road relay; 200 miles covered by 12 (or 6) individuals over a 36 hour period, preferably in the northeast in the fall (during leaf season).  In my July 2016 post, I literally described running the Ragnar Cape Cod event and I didn't even realize it.  Ragnar Cape Cod doesn't exist anymore, but Ragnar New England replaced it and that was the race that I signed up for in August on a whim.  

I did an obnoxious amount of research before this race.  Obviously, people have done it before me and I wanted to be prepared in terms of what to bring and how to be the best teammate.  I was also researching for our NoVA Sunset at the same time, so 2 birds, 1 stone deal.  

So here's how this went down.
In late August I looked at my schedule and assessed that I was free Oct 23/34th and maaaayyybbeee I could find a run to fill my time.  At the time, I was starting to gear up for the Sunset Ragnar so I looked at the upcoming race schedule and saw that the New England event happened to be during my open weekend.  Convenient, one might say.  But I needed to find a team that needed a runner.  To the social medias I go!

I joined a "looking for group" Facebook group for Ragnar and other relay races and posted that I was looking for a team for my first road Ragnar.  I got a few responses, but mostly for ultra teams.  An ultra team is a team of 6 instead of 12.  So instead of running 3 legs, you run 6, but still all 200 miles.  It seemed like a big challenge for my first race, so I communicated that with the people who had messaged me and waited.  I saw 2 women post that they were looking for teammate and I contacted one who was in Delaware, but I took to long to pull the trigger with her and she filled the team before I could confirm.  Shit or get off the pot, so it was totally fair.  Then I contacted the other woman who had posted about needing teammates.  They were still looking and actually had 3 available spots.  I told her I'd take one.  

There was some Venmo shenanigans where I almost lost $350 to a ghost account (the race fee twice because the app sucks), but through a fucking miracle, Venmo refunded me my dollhairs.  I got money to the right person and was good to go.  Obviously, I was telling Teh Bestie about all of my drama plans and then she was like, you want me to go with you?  When would I ever say no to that?  SO THEEENNN, Teh Bestie said she'd run with me/us and she joined the team.  Then we had 1 more spot available in our van.  On a whim, I messaged Matilda and was like, "Yo, you wanna run a Ragnar with me and Teh Bestie?"  And she was like, "When? I'm in."  Our trio was going to reunite!  We hadn't run together since Feb 2020, so it was the ultimate excitement.

Teh Bestie and I had a zoom call with the rest of the group (prior to Matilda's commitment) to essentially get to know each other before we just showed up and spent 48 hours together (thanks to 2020 for making a zoom call a not weird way to meet people, lol).  Thankfully, the meet and greet went very well, the other 3 runners seemed to accept Teh Bestie and I and my/our craziness, so that was good.  In the week/s leading up to the race, we had a group text where we were able to ask questions and make sure we were all on the same page, which was very helpful.  

THEN FINALLYYYYY, it was runcation time!

PRE-RACE ADVENTURES

On Thursday, I picked up Teh Bestie at 0430 and we headed to the Amtrak station to catch our train to Westerly, RI.  We opted for the train because it took just as long as a flight but was $75 roundtrip for 2 people instead of $500.  It was a super early train because Teh Bestie wanted to do some touristing in Mystic, CT and get pizza at Mystic Pizza (yes, like from the movie (I've never seen)) for lunch.  We didn't realize the train actually stopped in Mystic, so instead of going all the way to Westerly and getting an Uber to get there and back, we hopped off the train at Mystic and just walked the 10 minutes into town (yes, with our luggage).  We did some window shopping as we made our way to the pizza place.

NYC

We were having a whale-y good time!

Perfection = brownie with pumpkie pie ice cream

The pizza was pretty good and then we followed it up with ice cream at the bridge, as was suggested.  After noms, we got a Lyft to Westerly where I outjoked our driver like a fucking boss.  Our hotel was right on the water, which was a nice surprise.  While I really wanted to go to the beach (my annual beach excursion) and make my snow-sacrifice (snacrifice, if you will, where I go to the beach (which I don't love) as an offering to Mother Nature so I receive some snow, it's a trade-off), I really needed a nap... which is what ended up happening and it was glorious.  I knew I was about to fuck up my normal routine, so it didn't matter too much.  

We woke up shortly before sunset and finally made our way to the beach, just in time for sunset which was PERFECTION.

As we were coming in from the beach, the rest of the team arrived (with Matilda, who they'd picked up on the way)!  We all met in person finally and after they got settled into their room, we headed out to dinner at Hoof's.  We literally popped into Connecticut and back into Rhode Island for a minute before dinner.

Swordfish with some stuff.

After dinner, we headed to Walmart to pick up van snacks and then we headed back to the hotel to try and get some rest.

LEG 1

In an unfortunate turn of event, van 1 lost 2 people the week of the race.  So they were down to 4 people, which caused some kerfluffles.  Actually, inconsiderate teammates caused kerfluffles, but we managed.  First off, Van 1 started too early and our team received a warning.  You get 3 strikes and you're out of a Ragnar race, which means you're disqualified (which means no medal, go home).  Strikes are given for safety violations and time violations.  They try to keep everyone on a schedule so people don't arrive too early at stops that haven't been set up yet or arrive to late and miss the amenities.  There is a LOT of calculation that goes into arrival/departure times in consideration of the current runner's pace/distance, so it is a science.  Because Van 1 was down 2 runners, that mean the recovery time for van 2 (our van) would be less, which fucking sucks.  Van 2 was not allowed to start until 10:15 on Friday morning, so at least we got to sleep in.  We all commented about how glad we were to not have to be waking up at 0530 to get to the start line by 0630 for a 0700 race start.  #runnerproblems lolz.  We got to our exchange (area where your team switches runners) and poked around.  We picked up our bibs/shirts and checked out the store (same stuff as at the Sunset race) and started to get set up for a group photo when the last runner from van 1 came into the exchange and our first runner, Abby, was off... (in the wrong direction because the person directing runners told her the wrong direction and it took a half mile for those runners to figure out they were going the wrong direction).  We loaded up into the van and headed for the next exchange where I would start running.

"Start line" selfie!

We were lucky that we had a driver for the van, instead of us runners having to navigate/drive.  We stopped ahead of Abby to offer her support if she wanted and also took the time to decorate the van.

At the exchange, Abby passed on the slap bracelet to me, and off I went for my first leg!

LOOK AT THAT PACE!
That's adrenaline for you!

I passed off the slap bracelet to Teh Bestie and off she went!  We headed to the next exchange to pick her up then Matilda would start her leg!

More Snacrifice

Why hello Air Force, didn't expect to find you here.

Then we headed to pick up Matilda and Monica set off!

Teh Bestie on flag duty so Matilda didn't get hit by a car.

So fast! Much fasts!

Then we headed to the next exchange, then finally to the major exchange where van 1 would start running again.  Another kerfluffle with van 1 when we asked them to take a water cooler we couldn't use from our van since we didn't really have room and they only had 4 people and they told us "not our problem".  I almost lost my shit.  The back of the van was re-Tetris-ed, but we were still extremely cramped.

All the vans!

Octopus is my new favorite critter.

Since we didn't have anyone running, we found dinner on the way to the next major exchange.  For me, it was a flop, but everyone else said the food was good.  I ordered steak (medium) frites, and my steak came out charred and extremely well done and I had to send it back.  I tried to be cool about it, but I felt like we had to wait an extremely long time for our server to take our order then for our food and then for my food to come back out, our glasses stayed mostly empty, and then it took forever to even get to ask for checks.  I was over it.  I knew I was tired, but I also was not impressed with the place.

LEG 2

Finally, we were on our way to the next major exchange, a school, so we could maybe sleep.  The school was open (bathrooms and the cafeteria), but there didn't seem to be an available sleep space, which kinda sucked.  So we set up on the grass outside (#RagnarStyle).  I had my pillow and a blanket, but had opted not to bring a sleeping bag to save on space.  It was all fine until the wind started blowing and the temp dropped and I got cold and woke up.  I relocated to the van.  Before Abby set out, I changed into my running outfit so I could be ready and brushed my teeth.  Once she started her leg, we headed to the next exchange.

Leg 2 was our night run.  I was excited about this because I enjoy night runs.  Because it's almost Halloween, there was some creepy shit about, but it was fine.  I was tired, but still kept a good pace, which I was proud of since I was worried my first leg burned me out (#overachiever).

This creepy guy with the glowy eyes at the door took me off-guard since it was 2-something in the middle of the night.

LEG 3

With my night leg complete, it was a matter of waiting until the next major exchange for more sleeps.  Thankfully, the next major exchange was a school with an open locker room and gym, which was perfection.  Matilda took the opportunity to shower.  Teh Bestie, Abby, and I wiped down and stretched.  After, a few of us fetched our sleeping stuff from the van and headed back to the gym to try and sleep.  I was torn on this because I really wanted something to eat before my last run, but the rest of the team wanted sleep more, so I prayed snacked would be sufficient (they were not, but the sleep wasn't so bad).

things I can talk to: sleeping in a unicorn onesie on the floor of a school basketball court.
#askmeanything loool

Again, because of being down 2 runners, van 1 was done in a short amount of time and we had to start rolling again.  Abby set off and we stopped to offer support (water/needs) about halfway, where I made some new friends.

New frans.
Obviously I'm not picky.

"high"-five line!

Once Abby gave us her jacket and continued on, we headed to the next exchange which we had difficulty finding.  This was good for the runners because we got to nap some, but bad for the driver/navigator since they had to figure out where we needed to be.  Thankfully, it was a long leg, but unfortunately, we arrived shortly before Abby did.  I was pulling up my pants in the porta-potty when I heard people start cheering for her as she ran into the exchange.  Uhh.. cool.  So I exited the porta-potty and Abby passed off the slap bracelet to me.  I commented that I wanted to grab my shirt from the van and other runners (not from our team) were like, "You'll be fine!  Just go!  You'll warm up fast."  My teeth finally stopped chattering after a mile.  

For leg 3, I took a different approach.  My body was hurting and my hip was angry.  I was running on no sleep, not the right fuel/food, and adrenaline mostly and I knew we had PLENTY of time (what with van 1 ghosting 2 runners).  So I let myself mentally slow down.  My pace was already slow from the rest of the circumstances (and the fallen pine needles that covered 90% of the trail when I wasn't running on the edge of the road), but rather than focus on getting to the end, I focused on all the things around me.  I stopped and took photos to have memories of this, not just the silly stuff to share, but things I appreciate that aren't for sharing (it's weird how I fall into the trap of only taking photos of things to share and I don't allow myself to keep things that only mean something to me).

The road less traveled.

When I passed through the park gate (behind me) and I knew there would be no van support to deliver the long sleeve shirt I had wanted.  C'est la vie.

Everything I had been waiting on for my New England run.
Just call me a leaf peeper.  IDC.

I could have stood here for HOURS.

Look at this good boi/gurl.

Motherfuckin fall yall.

More on this photo in a bit.

IDK what this building was, but it said Constitution with the ship, so I thought it was cool.

A sundial!

LAST LEG COMPLETE!
(It says: I am enough!)

Feels talk for a minute.

When I was running my first leg, I was running through Charlestown and feeling the irony because it will be our 1 year MD anniversary in a week.  But I was also amused at the irony of Charlestown being my leg when I moved from CharlesTON, it wouldn't have meant anything to anyone else.  I was thinking about how much I miss our Neighbor Besties and the GLCK and the life we had there and knowing where things were and not having to use GPS to get to everywhere and knowing the traffic patterns.. because we'd lived there for a while and learned those things.  We will learn those things about our new area too (we already have) and we've made new friends, but a new chapter isn't always easy and it doesn't stop us from missing what we had.

But before I even got to Charlestown, within the first 1.5 miles, I was running on the side of a highway like a fucking crazy person, a crazy person who paid to do this, and thinking to myself, THIS IS IT.  I FINALLY FUCKING DID IT.  I'M DOING IT RIGHT NOW.  I'M RUNNING A MOTHERFUCKIN' RAGNAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  There were tears.  This challenge felt impossible 5 years ago and I let the logistics scare me for FIVE YEARS and this year I threw caution to the wind (literally, I found people on the internet that I would spend 48 hours with that I didn't know from Adam).  I wasn't afraid of the running, I was afraid of the logistics... and once I stepped around that, I FUCKING ACHIEVED MY GOAL.  There isn't a single way of accomplishing something and that was the reinforced lesson of this achievement.  I didn't HAVE to find 12 people, I could be the ONE person that 11 people needed.  Or in my case, less than 11, but still.  I know social media gets a LOT of shit because it's awful sometimes, but it's also good sometimes.  It brings people together and can help people.  

During my 2nd leg, I was focused on not tripping on loose gravel or getting hit by cars that might not see me and not having heart attacks from creepy shit like the Sanderson sisters hanging from a tree by the road.  Also, I started a new audiobook with one of my favorite narrators and it started getting good, so I was excited to continue listening.  While my hurting bits were glad the run was over, I could have kept ignoring the pain to keep going so I could keep listening to my book and enjoy the night run.

For the 3rd leg, I was challenged from the start.  I was cold, I was tired, I was in a bad headspace and knew I needed to fix my attitude before I finished so I could be excited for the team.  Did I mention that I fought a headache from a few hours after my first leg until after the end of the race?  I medicated, but I think that I was dehydrated and that was causing problems.  The no sleep and weird eating didn't help either.  So I was in a bad place and I knew that focusing on WHY I was there and all the things that made me WANT to be there would help set me straight.  

So I was trudging along, taking the leaf photos and people were passing me (don't curr about your #killcount, if you care about how many people you pass, we're not doing this for the same reason), hoping my teeth wouldn't start chattering again, sighing heavily over the slippery pine needles that would probably try to kill me if I tried anything other than gingerly treading.  I passed the one-ish mile left sign, texted it to the team so they knew I was inbound, with a comment that I was taking it slow.  I had a mile to get my head right, that's ~10 minute for me.  Kept trudging for half a mile and I was looking at the houses, nbd.  Most of the houses have stone walls in the front yard and I thought that was cool, but this one house had a weird pattern of rocks on the hill in front of the stone wall and I thought it was interesting.  Then I realized the stones had words painted on them, so I stopped to read it.

The Kindness Rock Project
Take one for motivation, leave one for inspiration.

I thought to myself, that's a cute idea and turned to keep running on and before I could even start up running again, this rock, to the left of the design, caught my eye.

I AM ENOUGH

If you've been here for a minute, you know that "I am enough" is significant to me, to the point that I even have it as a tattoo.  I have struggled with not being enough and I've struggled with being more than enough.  But I should never have to quantify what my enough is, because as I am, I am enough.  

I am enough to want to do this race. 

I am enough to DO this race.

I am enough to complete this race.

I am enough to be a member of this team.

I am enough to be the captain of a team (NoVA Sunset).

I am enough to dress like a unicorn for most of the race (when I wasn't running).

I am enough to be the friend that motivates others.. (to want to do this race too).

I am enough.

I.

Am.

Enough.

I had to walk until I was done crying (because I didn't want to slip on the pine needles or trip on a broken spot in the path from a root emerging while I was unable to see) but once I stopped crying, I picked up the pace and made it through the finish line to the Cookie Godmother (a stranger who was handing out chocolate chip cookies at the exchange point) and my vanmates who were cheering me on (with a sweater in hand to give to me in case I still needed it, because they are the best (and had guilt, lol)) and to Teh Bestie who was waiting for the slap bracelet.  

This is why I wrote "I am enough" for my final leg checkbox.  I had been reminded.  I needed to be reminded and the Universe delivered.

I was finished with my race and from that point on all I had left to do was cheer on my vanmates and cross the finish line with the rest of the team.  I was hurting and exhausted and exhilarated and excited.  

We trekked on to the next exchange point to pick up Teh Bestie and for Matilda to start her final leg.

Since we had time, we made sure to get some group photos.  We only considered Van 1 our team based on technicality.  There were 2 rotten apples in Van 1 that really ruined it for us, that I'll make sure to never run with again, but the other 2 women were really nice and I'm kinda sad they had to deal with those other 2 individuals.  Anyways, we took our vanmates photos at this exchange because we knew the finish line area would be chaos and the background at the exchange was perfect.

2021 Between a Walk and a Snail's Pace Van 2!

2021 Between a Walk and a Snail's Pace Van 2 but tired.

We got lucky at the exchange point for our last runner.  What had happened was, the exchange was at a YMCA.  Know what YMCA's have?  Locker rooms.  Know what locker rooms have?  SHOWERS.  Captain Abby, Teh Bestie, and I snuck in like sneaky-sneaks and showered quicklike while we waited on Matilda to come back for our last runner to leave.  Ya'll, I've never appreciated a shower more than that one.  It wasn't that I felt all that gross (I mean, I was, but not the point), but we had planned to shower at the hotel of one of our vanmates after the race, but we kinda got the hint that they didn't want that to happen.  So when we discovered a shower opportunity, we took advantage of that.  Especially Teh Bestie and I, since we didn't really want to have to shower on the train.  I have no regrets.

Matilda opted not to shower and we packed the van back up and headed towards the finish line.

Tribute Time

Also, because this post is already 900 years long, I'm just gonna go ahead and throw in my Bestie tribute here.

To this woman who really does complete me (and my sentences and my thoughts and sometimes my actions when I forget what I'm doing), Teh Bestest Bestie,

What the fuck would I do without you?  I mean seriously.  You joined me on this crazy adventure with STRANGERS because you have listened to me go on and on and on about doing a Ragnar for years.  In fact, I didn't even have to ASK you to join me, you were just like, ok, so when is it so I can put it on the calendar and tell the Husband.  I literally could not ask for a better Bestie/not-wife-Wife.  I don't even have the words for how grateful I am every.single.day that you are my person and that I get YOU in MY life (and now the 8 hours closer version).

#TeamBrokeAsses
#MegNey4Eva

I'm also gonna give a shoutout to Matilda who joined us at the last minute because she thought we were in pickle so she joined us at the last minute despite a having minimal available time off and having homework due.  I'm so glad I chatted you up all those years ago and that you continue to tolerate my/our shenanigans and I've missed your face since Feb 2020 and I'm already ready for our next race.  Thank you for dealing with my attitude and I'm sorry that I'm kind of a bitch sometimes and I'm glad you're so awesome because you make me more awesome.

Ok, enough of the mushy stuff.

THE FINISH LINE

As is Ragnar tradition, the entire team crossed the finish line with the last runner.  Based on past experience with the runners of Van 1, the captain knew that they would probably leave as soon as they got their medals, which was fine, since we planned the same thing, AFTER medal photos!!!

2021 Between a Walk and a Snail's Pace!

Sooo maybe it should say "Together we can... We are Ragnarians.
Whatever, we do what we wawnt.
Each medal has a different line on the back.  The captain tried to give them out accordingly.
You can guess which one I got and then I'll show you. 

My WTF face when Cousin Eddie photobombed us.

HIGHLY recommend grabbing booties to get the BEST laughter photos.
#secrettrick (it works on Teh Bestie every time)

Van 2

So I forgot to explain something, the elephant unicorn in the room.  I am a morale booster and I'm not afraid to do silly shit.  Teh Bestie and I have this unicorn thing going on.  They are magical beasts, much like we are, so we are into that shit.  You're never to young for things that make you happy, so don't come at me with, "Unicorns are for kids."  Fuck off.  

So anyways, these unicorn onesies popped up on Woot a few weeks before the race and I sent the link to our Van group text and was like, "CAN WE PLEASE ALL WEAR THESE?!?!"  There was debate about the fact that our name has snails, so maybe a snail costume would be better and I did look for a snail, but then realized the whole shell thing and having something on your back being annoying and explained that and the captain said, yeah I get it, and approved the unicorns.  Only Teh Bestie and I purchased them though and with Woot, if you don't get it that day, it's likely not available later.  THENNNN, when we were at Walmart picking up our van snacks for the race, we went through the Halloween section to view the candy selection annnnddd there happened to be unicorn onesies, so Abby the Captain purchased one to wear with us.

The unicorn was the BEST silly idea I had for the entire race because it was rather chilly for the entire weekend and I was SUPER warm in the onesie.  It was slightly annoying when I needed to pee, but otherwise, I was extremely happy with the purchase.  Also, we got a lot of fun attention because of the costume.  We didn't run in them, having learned our polyester lesson in Nov 2019, but I wasn't sad about that since I knew we'd have enough challenges to deal with.  Several people asked for photos/a selfie with the unicorn (me).  I also may have pretended to milk a guy in a cow costume since it had utters.  #RagnarAdventures  The best though was a lady who came up to us and asked for a photo of the 3 of us in our unicorns because she had just had a conversation with one of her teammates where the teammate had said, "I'm so exhausted I'll probably start seeing unicorns soon."  Then, there we were so she HAD to send the photo of unicorns to her teammate.  

the unicorns three.

Oh yeah, and my medal?

...keep things weird.
How fitting, looool.

POST RACE THINGS

After we dropped off 3 vanmates at their car, Matilda, Teh Bestie, Abby the Captain, and I went to dinner.  Teh Bestie and I didn't have to be at the train station until 9:20pm, so we had time since we finished around 4pm, which was way earlier than we had anticipated (thanks to ghosting two runners).  I found a mexican place not far from the Amtrak station (which was where the we had to drop off the others anyways) and then we went and grabbed ice cream for dessert.

THIS TOILET.  OMG.
IT IS A TINY TOILET!
The seat of this toilet was maybe at my knee level.  I definitely had to break 90° to sit on this toilet, which was AGONY after sitting in a van for 36 hours with breaks to run 15 miles.
AGONYYYYYYY.  I should have stood beside it for reference.

#earnedit

After dinner, we were dropped off at the Amtrak, Matilda was dropped off at her hotel, and Abby headed back home.  Our train came and we had upgraded to the sleeper car and it was the best $75 I spent for any race amenity ever.  To be vertical on a cushioned surface... I cannot describe the bliss.  I was finally able to sleep for more than an hour and I woke up in a confused, but peaceful, trance.  We didn't realize it until after we'd shuffled out of bed and rearranged the beds back to the sitting space, but our train was delayed for over 50 minutes somewhere and we could have slept for another 50 minutes.  Oh well.  

I highly recommend Amtrak now.  Cost is significantly cheaper than flying, less baggage restrictions/no cost, and that sleeper car for a "red-eye" was absolutely worth every cent. 

So uhhh, TL;DR*:

I RAN A RAGNAR RELAY!!! Dream achieved.

I ran 15 miles in 36 hours.  Whew. 

I endured 6 other people for 48 hours.

6 other people endured ME for 48 hours.

I proudly wore a unicorn onesie in public (to include in restaurants). #NoShame 

I met some awesome people. YAY!

Yet another medal for the rack (actually 2, but they didn't have the 2nd one (yay shipping delays) and will mail it).  BOOM.

UniMeg!

*Because this post became more of an event recap, I will create another post for the race details.  

2021 Ragnar Sunset NoVA Recap

In the beginning...

I'm not sure the first time I heard about Ragnar races, but I remember it was soon after I fully accepted and embraced the runner life.  I decided I wanted to do a Ragnar, I told everyone I knew about it.  It's a 200 mile relay completed by a team of 12 people.  Each person runs 3 legs (of varying distance) and ultimately the team will cover 200 miles.  Insane, right?  I KNOW.  

I told myself that I needed to wait until I could recruit 12 people to run with me and that never happened.  I couldn't even get one other person to commit to doing a Ragnar with me.  I think Teh Bestie only committed out of sympathy for me and having listened to me talk about it for YEARS.  But then, there was a glimmer of hope, as Ragnar announced a new variation of the race, the trail version that started and ended at the same point instead of different start/end points with a team of 8.  The trail race included camping in the woods and running laps on the trails around the camping area.  Cool, except that I don't camp.  Or run on trails.  One of these I was more willing to budge on.  Then, Ragnar announced a Carolinas trail run and I was tempted mightily.  Could I gather 8 people to camp in the woods and run in the dark?  No, no I could not.. and I was disappointed, but I knew my day would eventually come.

Then Ragnar announced a NEW race: a team of 4 who run 8 consecutive laps (so 2 laps each) of 4.3 miles to "beat the sunset".  This, this might just be my chance.  I asked Teh Bestie if she was serious about running that Ragnar with me and she said yes, so I purchased a team entry on March 3, 2020 for the October 3, 2020 event.  Unless you live under a rock, you know where this story is headed.  The race was cancelled for 2020 because Covid literally ruined everything.  This probably wasn't the worst thing to happen, because if you were around for my October 2020, it was kinda chaos, so it was for the best that my schedule was free for other activities, like... packing.. and migrating.. 

Would Covid ruin another good plan?

In May 2021, I received an email that the NoVA Sunset Race was a go for October 2, 2021.  Teh Bestie and I managed to trick con find 2 more teammates over the summer.  Then there was the Delta variant and I was confident the race would be cancelled, but I also had faith that VA would continue to be the red state they usually are, which would allow the race to be held.  When we were 30 days out, I expected the cancellation email, but it never came!  We were on!  

The week of the race, I hit the internet searching for Ragnar Sunset reviews to see what to expect/what we should prepare.  There were only a few not-official Ragnar pages talking about the Sunset race and those that did discuss it, were from several years ago, which meant not affected by Covid protocols.  Nonetheless, I gleaned what I could from the reviews and did my captain planning thing.

Night Prior

Friday night, we met for dinner to discuss race day (we were all Ragnar virgins, but I tried hard to prepare the team as best as possible to what they could expect) and to go to the store to buy decorations for our tent.  We took advantage of the option to rent a tent that was already set up, which you had to jump on quick because tents sold out fast.  It was worth the $50.  After dinner and shopping, I headed home and stayed up late making decorations that I kept top secret from the team until their reveal.  

Race Day

We were assigned a 10:30 start time, which was calculated by our estimated pace the month before the race.  We arrived to the site at 0900 because we knew we needed to get checked in and pick up our bib/stuff and to get our tent set up.  Teh Bestie had some anxiety about the traffic/parking situation, but we managed to power through her the excitement induced anxiety.  

Team 4.5mph Couch Potatoes

Things we brought:

• a wagon.  Ain't nobody got time for hefting all that shit to the car before the race and I definitely wasn't going to feel like carrying it all back to the car after the race.  We also half joked that we could use the wagon to carry any injured individuals back to the car.  (I brought our gorilla cart which has a 1500lb tow capacity, so I knew whatever we threw at it would work, it was just awkward to load/unload, but SOOOOOO worth it.)
• a table.  Know what else I don't feel like doing?  Bending over to reach things all day long or worrying about bottles/cups toppling over when sat on the ground.
• a cooler with sodas/sports drink/gallons of water.  We weren't sure what amenities would be offered because Covid is really the cockblock of all great things so we made sure to take care of our business accordingly.
• snacks/food since Ragnar had informed us that no food would be offered but there would be food trucks.
• decorations for our tent.  We needed people to know how fun we are.  These decorations included garland and some fun dangly things and poster board and a white board for marking off our laps (although I saw some people that were using plain cardboard, which was clever).
• quilts for laying on the ground for stretching/rolling/napping.  My body itches all over after I roll in the grass, no thank you.
• camping chairs
• foam roller/attaday roller/lacrosse ball, if there had been electricity, I'd have brought my percussion massager.  
• popup changing tent (last minute, TOTALLY worth it, splurge)
• extra outfits since we endured multiple seasons throughout the day (I thought it was excessive to have 2 running outfits and only packed one and then ended up borrowing capris from Abi because my leggings were warm, we didn't end up changing into not-running clothes after the race because we had embraced the smell by that point)
• non-running shoes for between laps
• 2 pairs of running shoes and socks (maybe less necessary if it's not raining, but I wasn't sad about having a fresh pair for my 2nd lap).
• any normal run things (earbuds/gels/etc)
• toilet/face wipes.  I wish I had known what a satisfactory feeling it is to wipe the crusty sweat off your face after a run many years ago.  I'll be packing face wipes in my post-race recovery bag from now on.
  
• deodorant 
• emergency supplies: first aid kid, extra hair ties, itch cream

Getting set up

The first thing I did was get our tent situation sorted out.  Super easy process.  Once we had our tent number, I went and grabbed our race bib/stuffs while everyone else headed to the tent to get set up.

Our team name was the 4.5mph Couch Potatoes as a nod to our greyhound connected friendship.  So one side of our tent had the 4.5mph Couch Potatoes and the other side had photos of our 45mph couch potatoes (photos of all our (current) greyhounds).  Not many people understood until we explained that greyhounds are called 45mph couch potatoes and our greyhound group is what brought us all into each other's lives.

The Race

We had debated who should go first, me (the fastest) or the slower runners.  It was decided I would go first so I could scope out the trail for everyone so they would know what to expect.  I was glad to do this because I knew that sitting around waiting to start would ramp me up even more and I was reaching obnoxious excitement levels.  

Lap #1

Ok so, I don't do trail running.  I'm a road runner.  I'm good with fairly flat, smooth surfaces.  Trail running is a different beast.  I don't actually remember much of the course because I spent the whole time watching the ground making sure that I didn't trip and bash my skull open on a rock and die from a brain bleed.  Thankfully, our walkers got some photos along the way.  Due to a shitty volunteer situation, at the first water station, I ended up going the wrong way (towards the very smooth, very beckoning road) and 3 other women followed me and we ended up going about a quarter of a mile out of our way.  We lost the flags and eventually turned around and when we got to the water station the (teenagers who had been scrolling on their phones when we'd all come through the first time) volunteers were like, you're coming from the wrong way.  YES BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T FUCKING TELL ME TO TURN WHILE I WAS GUZZLING DOWN THIS LIFE GIVING WATER WHICH WAS IMPEDING MY ABILITY TO DEDUCT THAT YOUR STUPID FLAG WAS INDICATING A DIRECTION.  I did actually say something to the volunteers about having to DIRECT people if there were options.  The 4 of us who had went the wrong way were super pissed.  There ended up being a lot of super pissed people because I heard other people complaining about the same issue.  

For the NoVA race, there were lots of hills (very reminiscent of my first half marathon in "wine country" VA), lots of gravel on said hills, and plenty o roots along the fairly well packed trail.  Other runners who had done other Sunset Ragnars said that NoVA was a difficult course, so I'm going to take their word on that.  It wasn't for the faint of heart, that's for certain.

Teh Bestie and Jess went down and there were scraped up knees and a gnarly twisted ankle.  

Photos from the trail (taken by not me):

Accurate representation of feelings going on here.

What 85% of the trail was like but add roots.

As a heads up that a runner was almost to the transition zone, we made sure to message our group text so everyone would be aware and we could go to the transfer tent and be there to cheer on our incoming/outgoing runner.

Coming in hot...

There are transition tents for swapping runners.  They are labeled with numbers, so if your bib/team number falls within the range posted on that tent, that is your transition zone.  We were team 155 and we happened to be directly beside the start/finish line inflatable.  This was optimal for extended cheering.

I might have been holding back tears a little bit as I finished my first lap.

When a ridiculous cheering captain (me) gets in the way of your photo of the dressed up staff.

Dressed up staff and Teh Bestie comin' in hot (and EXTREMELY disgruntled about a scraped up knee).

The joy was a mask for the scraped up knee and sprained ankle....

HALFWAY!!!

While you're not running...

During the not running portion, you just get to hang out, which was actually way cooler than it sounds.  I figured I'd be doing some scrolling, but also stretching and snacking and rolling.  But instead, I chatted with my peeps as well as our neighbors, who happened to be experienced Ragnarians who were excited for our upcoming New England Ragnar race.

For my not running shoes, I brought my Clawz because they are hilarious and also good meh shoes.  They got so much attention.  People wanted photos of the shoes, of me wearing the shoes, photos of me, photos with me.  It was bizarre.  Is this what it's like to be a celebrity?  I shared the shoe fame with Teh Sister who informed me that our "lazy" shoes can no longer be purchased online and if you do find them, they are $90 used.  NINETY DOLLARS FOR CROCS WITH TOENAILS.  Sweet christ.  I have 3 pairs.  I'm sitting on a gold mine.. and I leave a pair outside for poop scooping!

"Fancy" charcuterie board

Thanks to the GLCK, I was prepared to cheer with my clappers from my graduation ceremony!

MEDALLLLLSS!!

Lap #2

I was concerned about timing so we switched up the order/situation for lap 2.  Teh Bestie went first, I went second, and then Abi and Jess went at the same time (referred to as "doubling up").  To beat the sunset, the last runner had to leave the transition zone by 5:45 and I was fearful our 2nd to last runner wouldn't make it back in time for our last runner to leave by 5:45.  There isn't really a penalty for doubling up, your team still gets the medal and glory, but your time is counted as an "unofficial" time, which was fine since we are participators not winners.

There she goes!

I had to borrow britches and I got so hot that I took off my shirt for Lap 2.  #YOLO

Look at that FOCUS!

Thankfully, no one went down on the 2nd lap.  As Jess came in, she tossed on her "uniform" and we all crossed the finish line together!  For our team "costume" we purchased greyhound "silk" shirts while we were at Greyhounds in Gettysburg, after I'd made a comment about what an awesome group halloween costume the shirts would make.  Since we were the slow couch potatoes, we chose 5, 6, 7, and 8 as our "silk" numbers.

In the end....

WE MADE IT!!!  We beat sunset!!!  We actually had a gorgeous sunset as we were packing up and taking medal selfies and trying not to collapse.

All done!!!

MEDALS!!!!

For all the times I talked about running a Ragnar over all those years, I almost cried at the sheer joy and excitement and feeling of satisfaction/completion of a goal as many times on Saturday.  It might have also been a tinge of PMS, but also, joy.  The best part though?  This was just the WARM UP!  In 2 weeks, Teh Bestie and I will be headed to New England to complete an original Ragnar race (the 200 mile relay) in New England, from Groton, CT to Boston, MA.

To completely acknowledge all my feelz though...

I have to give a shout out to Teh Bestie for helping me make this long-time dream come true, as well as Abi and Jess who were really good sports and joined us even though neither of them really felt prepared (although I'm not sure any of us really felt prepared for what we did).  Also, it was AWESOME to be the El Captian.  It wasn't 12 people, but I feel like I did my best to prepare my little team and ensure that we had all the equipment we needed to spend a day in a field with strangers while we intermittently ran around in the woods kicking up dust.  Also gotta give a shoutout to the home support team, Husband, who manages the children dogs while I'm out traipsing around in the woods/going random places to run for a silly medal.

I've been running for a while now and I might just be a Ragnar convert (I'll research this and get back to you in a few weeks).  There is a huge feeling of accomplishment after I finish a half marathon or a 10k (or shorter distance) I probably didn't really train for (it's been over half a decade of running, at this point my body is just like, mkay we're doing this? Alright, Sparky).  There was a feeling of accomplishment after this race (what with the trail and the roots and the hills and the loose gravel and getting lost that one fucking time, oh and did I mention that right before you got back to the transition area was this super steep ass 70+° hill?  No? Oh well, there was a steep ass fucking hill that made me feel like I was going to die and then you get to the top and everyone can see you gasping for breath and wanting to die but you CANNOT let those strangers see you struggling so you have to just pretend like you aren't fucking dying by smiling and being cool, when you definitely are NOT cool, as you run back into the transition area) but there was also a feeling of community.  You're near other people all day long and you're likely to interact with them and that was awesome.

When I run a half marathon, it's just me running.. and maybe yakking to someone along the way if I'm not interested in my music/audiobook and the person near me is also suffering and not listening to anything.  It's boring, to be honest.  It's challenging.  It's lonely.  With a Ragnar, you're suffering on a TEAM and your team is suffering with other teams along the way.  I enjoy the running part (weird, I know), but I also enjoy the social part.  It's why we go on runcations and why I pulled Matilda (who will be doing NE Ragnar with us!) into our run club.  Ok, that was kinda an accident, but I've never regretted it.  You never know who you'll meet when you're on the run and THAT is why I keep doing it... oh and the medals.

PS those holes in the medal are for the challenge medals you can earn if you do multiple Ragnars in a calendar year.  So for our NE Ragnar, we'll be getting the 2x medal plus our race medal.  :D

Are You Not Entertained!?!

You know how sometimes people LURVE this one thing and you just don't?  That's me with podcasts.  It's been this way for years and I could not figure out what my problem is.  WHY can't I like podcasts?  So many things I'm interested have podcasts.  People I respect have podcasts.  I could learn things from podcasts.  I don't mean like true crime type of podcasts, but something like Adulting or Stuff Mom Never Told You or We Can Do Hard Things or Scale and Bail.  

I listened to 2 episodes of We Can Do Hard Things before I gave it up.  I made it through 10 minutes of Scale and Bail before I switched to an audiobook.  It's not a matter of attention span, I am interested in the subject matter, but...

I'm not interested in listening to a conversation I cannot participate in.  I want to interact, I want to be part of the conversation.  I want to ask questions.  I want to explore something that isn't in the podcast.  Also, I fucking hate ads/sponsored content.  HHHAAAATTTEEE.  

This doesn't just apply to podcasts, this also applies to talk radio and talk tv.  You won't find me watching a TV show with people just sitting around a table chatting about whatever.  I am overly-aggressive when it comes to radio stations that aren't playing music, worse if it's a commercial break (on every single channel I have programmed as a favorite).  

If I can't be involved, I need to be entertained.  Thus, how I consume media has become very intentional for me.  If I can't interact, I need to be entertained, otherwise, I will find something that I can either interact with (my stupid game) or entertains me (an audiobook or particular streaming shows or Instagram reels (my weakness)).

Anyone else have this issue?  
Just me?  K, cool.