#49 - Run a Ragnar

When we were strangers.

I don't know what to say about this experience.  Mostly because, if you're not Van 2, does it even matter?  But here are some forced words about it:

We make good decisions together.  Sometimes.

Ragnar SoCal was 194 miles this year.  We ran from Huntington Beach to San Diego (the convention center), skipping Camp Pendleton (though driving through it on our way there).  12 people, 2 vans.  

I wanted to do a Ragnar.  Somehow Vanessa was easily convinced.  We tried to form our own team.  We failed.  We followed the Ragnar SoCal facebook page and found a nice, young gentleman named Terry looking for a couple more runners for his team.  So we joined them.  So 30ish hours in a van with 4 people we wouldn't know and another van of 6 people we also didn't know.  Then more people dropped out.  So Vanessa invited her friend Alex.  And then some magic happened and everything was eventually covered.

The leg lengths kept changing, so I expected something around 14/15 miles but ended up with around 12 spread out over 3 legs.  That was probably good because I'm already slow and I did not train appropriately.  I had that half-marathon attitude of "whatever, I know I can finish, so training just makes it hurt less," which was not the best tactic in a team event.  In team events, I tend to push myself a bit more, and that meant a bit more hurt.  And I still loved it.

Van 2 for Life

So back to the timeline.  I picked up VV and Alex around 9:00am on Friday.  We drove up to Encinitas to meet the van, arranged by our fearless captain Terry, and were introduced to our teammate AJ.  Much of the conversation for the next 20 minutes was about the movie Frozen, which Vanessa, Alex, and I had not yet seen.  We packed up then picked up our 12th / 6th of our van, Wes, at Pendleton.  He hadn't seen Frozen either.

Terry gettin' tatted up.

Inked

We got to the first major exchange around noon and hung out until our 6th runner, Lydia, from Van 1, arrived.  We mulled around, listened to a painful safety speech, saw some weird costumes, and confirmed we were just Not That Kind of Team (NTKOT).  We applied tattoos.  Some came off.  Some were reapplied.  Some more went on.

Van 1 coming in hot for the first major exchange.

Eventually around 2pm Wes took off for the 7th team leg of around 10 miles.  He killed 23 other runners and then passed off to Vanessa who passed off to me who passed off to AJ who passed off to Alex who passed off to Terry who passed it back to Van 1 at Doheny State Beach.  Somewhere in there I had a perfect life moment: We were in the van; I was already loving being part of a team, had had a nice first leg, then my favorite song came on the radio, then the view of strip malls melted into the hills and the ocean.  Beautiful.

Then we ate some Chipotle, drove to Oceanside, decided to sleep, failed, decided not sleep, had a total tease of a bedtime story, didn't sing Journey at the top of our lungs, learned some facts about the Paleo diet, learned some Disney theories, put on reflective equipment, and then Wes started us off again around 12:30am.  Then Vanessa (with guest star AJ).  My leg was through Vista at 2:30am.  It was sketchy and dark and lonely and had a few sprinkles.  Then AJ.  Then Alex.  Then Terry.

Second major exchange.

My night exchange.

Then we drove to the Gliderport in LaJolla.  And we slept.  Super uncomfortably.  For what, 2-3 hours?  Still without a bedtime story.

Waiting.  Again.

I was SO HAPPY to see AJ.

Then we meandered around.  Hung out.  Stretched, foam rolled, Tiger tailed.  Then Wes took off again.  Then Vanessa.  Then me (through PB, mostly on the crowded boardwalk).  Then my fav pics of the event happened during my hand off to AJ.  Then there was a pause for the not-currently-running folks to stretch and chill in Tecolote Park with Special Guest the String Cheese I Forgot I'd Brought, which ultimately earned me Saint status.  (Yes, women can be saints.  I learned so much this event.)  Then Alex, who had to run that flippin Narragansett hill from OB to Point Loma.  So mean.  Then Terry finished the whole team from Liberty Station to the Convention Center.

Last hand off!

We searched for our team.  Found them.  Fake finished as a group.  Took some photos.  Eventually had some beers.  Drove back to Encinitas.  Cleaned out the vans.  Drove back.  I dropped V & Alex off and then went out to Stone Liberty Station for some not-at-all-needed drinks.  Then Jessica & Elizabeth came by to finally bust open that scotch my bro sent me since I hadn't found a good-enough excuse for it before.

We finished 57 out of 510 Open Mixed Teams and 106 out of 724 total teams with a time of 29 hours, 18 minutes, and 10.6 seconds.  That includes the hour-ish van delay at one of the checkpoints that didn't have enough parking.  30 hours and 194 miles from Huntington Beach to San Diego: I am so proud of NTKOT.  

I'd try to convince you all that this was all way more fun than I can explain, but you'd never believe me if you aren't Van 2.  Van 2 4 life.

Winners (at Life)