Is the glass half full or is the glass half empty?  For me it’s both and generally has something to do with lack of sleep and/or hormones in it’s possibilities.

Ragnar Rocks:

My very good friend Connie called and invited me to join her and some other friends to run the Wasatch Back Ragnar race. We’ve both been so busy that we haven’t hardly hung out for the last year, so I thought it’d be super fun!  If you don’t know what it is – it is a 198 mile relay race from Logan to Park City with a 12 member team, split into two vans of six.  Our team was called “Glitzy Girls”.  Our team captain, Tiffany is the girliest girl I’ve ever met. They needed another runner so I invited Cami to join us.  We were beside ourselves with excitement!  What a great girl bonding adventure – AND – we won the lottery getting the two most difficult legs.  Our 1970’s far-out conversion van was totally decked out, painted with our names in neon, we had swag bags complete with headbands, necklaces, rings, body jewelry, glittery tank tops, teal running skirts, knee high socks, the list goes on and on.  People really get into this race btw.  Some of the names of teams were hilarious painted on their vans/suburbans/trucks etc.  The girls in my van (I didn’t end up in Connie’s van since Cami joined they switched things around so Cami and I could be in the same van) were awesome young 30ish running moms, that spending 35 hours in a van I am sure made my ‘real age’ much younger.  My first run was 3.8 miles at 4:00 pm slightly uphill into a head wind – allowing me to test my physical strength and stamina.  Then 12 hours laughing, talking, hanging out at beautiful Snow Basin ski resort for the van exchange and eating delicious pretzels (everything else had sugar in it), then I started my second run at 4:00 am with so much energy that I had not needed any sleep.  7.5 miles slightly uphill on a dirt trail with a headlamp & an ipod, no van support and the sun just barely lighting the sky as I finished. I loved that run – it was really peaceful and pleasant, hearing my footsteps on the trail. One long beautiful hour of sleep and then more laughing, talking and hanging out in the van until my last run at 4:00 pm for four miles uphill for an elevation gain from 7000 ft to 9000 ft.  I got to hike that one! All the vans were supporting their runners and I got multiple “good job”s, “way to go”s, “you’re doing awesome”, “woohoo”s, “way to conquer the beast” and spray downs with water bottles. Cami totally rocked it with an 11.8 mile just before my 7.5 and a 4.4 same elevation gain before my 4.0, she is amazing!!! Runner’s highs all around and lots of attention for our snazzy matching outfits.  They were already planning next year’s name and outfits!

This is Connie & I – at the end with our huge medals – I am just a little tired.

This is Cami and I at the end – Why do I look so short? We are now sole-sisters – bonded in running Ragnar Hill (the 8 mile straight up) for LIFE!

Here’s the GLITZY GIRLS team right after we crossed the finish line. Front Row L-R Connie, Sheena, Heidi, Tiffany, Natalee, Kathy.Back Row Me, Cami, Megan, Melanie, Jenny, Emily & Angie.

This is our Van 2 gang in front of our rad van

Melanie, Kathy, Megan, Natalee (our driver), Cami, Me and Angie – Van 2

Ragnar Sucks:

I was totally conned into joining this group. I have these moments of insanity where I forget that I don’t really want to run anymore because I feel like it beats up my body too much.  I should be only biking, pilates and yoga! I would rather run 15 miles straight, than break it up 12 hours apart, so I can totally stiffen up and be stinky for 12 hours and then get stinkier and then be even more sore in order to run/walk straight up a mountain for 4 miles in the middle of the afternoon. It seems to be a theme that I am the OLDEST person in the vicinity, which I am convinced the older I get I am rotting from the inside out because I used to NEVER have B.O. (connie is officially older than me but she was in the other van).  I am a diagnosed sleep-phobic, can’t sleep well anywhere but in my own bed and hate camping. I rarely wear tank tops and never wear running skirts to work out. Most of the girls had known each other since high school and they all graduated in the 90’s.  All I could think was “what the h$!! was I thinking signing up for this??”  I told B that he needs to remind me that I never want to sign up for something like this again.  He is not allowed to tell me “you can’t do it” – he just needs to open up this blog post so I can remember how tired I was and how much my IT band hurt.   I really just want to be HOME for awhile enjoying summer vacation with my kids!

Ok it was a little of both…..I am extremely proud of my times for each run, which greatly improved since Moab; I am not nearly as sore today as I expected; I slept 11 hours last night; I still love Connie & was glad I did it; I am totally inspired by & grateful for Cami; but I. Will. Never. Do. Ragnar. Again.