RAGNAR!

I did it!  I ran the Wasatch Back Relay and lived to tell about it!  It was exhausting and hard and hilarious and I loved every minute of it!  Our madness began on Friday (June 19th) morning at 9:00am when Andrea started off the relay with a bang!  We had spent all morning bedecking ourselves with black nail polish and temp tattoos.  We followed Andrea on her route and would yell and cheer for her - give her some water or whatever else she needed.  We parked at the exchange and Andrea slapped the  bracelet on Erica and away she went on her way!

Riding in the car with these girls was SO much fun, how I adore them all.   We would listen to music and talk and laugh and cheer on our runners...that's such a fun part of the race.

Of course it helps to mention the obvious fact that our car looked SO rad.  I filmed the whole car with the video camera, but this was the only good picture I got.  

We had people taking pictures of it and commenting on it, it was a smash hit.  There were stickers all over it with our logo and roses...it looked SO good!   Hopefully I'll get some more pictures of our smooth ride.  Here is Erica, Andrea, Michelle and I waiting at one of the exchanges...

Some of the beautiful scenery...

It really was one of the most beautiful places...we drove through tons of farm country and small towns.  It was breathtaking!  I am so grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

I was runner 5 and when it was my turn I was excited and terrified - that feeling never went away.  Let me tell you, I was NOT prepared for the road that lie ahead.  It was brutal, friends.  Dusty, rocky, hot and steep.  I had 7 miles of that mess and it about did me in!  I was determined to finish and finish I did, but it was rough.  Sweet Sara was a little worried about me (and rightly so), so she came looking for me when I had about a 1/4 mile left to go.  All the girls in the car were so nice to me, making sure I got water and food to recoup after the long haul. 

Once our first session was over we had a few hours to kill, so we ate a delicious meal at Snow Basin and relaxed before Andrea had to start it all again.  Here she is grabbing the slap bracelet and beginning her second round!  Doesn't she look great?  She's a fox.  A fit fox!

During our late night session, Andrea and Erica fashioned this 'shower-on-the-go' behind our car.  Is that fancy or what?  I personally didn't try it, but the others loved it and said it worked like a dream!  We ran through the night, ending around 1:15 am.  Can I be honest?  That run was terrifying.   I was running with a head lamp (that didn't do much for me) on a farm road with no streetlights.  Me being afraid of the dark did not mesh well with this experience.  There were a few times that I was all alone on the road in the pitch dark - freaky.  I will say, however, that it was the best run, too.  I felt great, I actually felt pretty safe and it was so pretty with all the stars.  My sister would park the car and let the headlights shine on the road so I could actually see where I was running.  I think I must have been running on adreneline the whole time, but it was a blast!

Once our second round was over we were able to sleep for a few hours.  Erica and Heather were smart and slept outside with sleeping bags while the rest of us (me, Andrea, Sara and Michelle) tried to catch a few hours of sleep in the stuffy car.  Humpf.  Needless to say, we woke up a little grumpy and stiff.  We grabbed some breakfast and got back just in the nick of time for Andrea to start her third and final run.  We got through our runs quick!  Erica left to join her family after her final leg and was going to meet us at the finish line, but Heather had a family wedding so she had to bolt right after she ran.  That left me, Andrea, Michelle and Sara to finish it up!  It started to rain a bit during my last run and poor Sara got drenched, but oh - the cheers and joy when we were all DONE!  We hooted and yelled and clapped and hugged - we were so happy to have finished.  We went over to Granny's in Heber and feasted on cheeseburgers, fries and shakes.  We were wobbly and sore, but still in good spirits.  We talked and laughed SO hard we were crying, that was the best time ever. 

After some rest and cleaning up, we donned our team t's and headed over to the finish line to run across it with our whole team!  Sara and I also put on our tie-dye leggings and some other rocker touches for the big finale.  Up until this point, we had been blessed with beautiful weather, but at this particular moment in time it was freezing!!  Icy rain and wind made standing outside almost unbearable!  We shivered as we waited for our last runner to come around the bend.  We all joined her for the last dash to the finish where we snagged our medals and many pictures - we did it!

I love ALL of these girls (Heather - we missed you!).  It was such a cool feeling and I love that I got to do it with my sister.  I fully plan on training more for the race next year, that way I can conquer that run with my head held high!  Oh yes...we signed up for next year.  Ragnar 2010 here we come!!