RAGNAR...Las Vegas! **Go Team SPARKLE**

Last Thursday I hopped on a plane and headed for Vegas. Let's just say I was pretty much running around like a chicken with my head cut off. This was a new adventure for me and I was worried that I was going to leave something major at home, but I didn't and I had an amazing time!
Quick introduction on what a RAGNAR race is (www.ragnarrelay.com).
You form a team. Our team had 12 Ladies. But you can form any type of team; male, female, mixed, 3 person, 6 person etc. Then you pick which runner number you are going to be. I chose number 7. Then you train, train, train and get ready for the day that the race starts. For our team starting day and time was last Friday at 12:00 (noon). You are divided up into 2 Vans. (6 team members in each van). I was starting off Van #2. So we drove to my starting point and waited until Van #1 met up with us. Around 3:30 or I looked out in the distance and I could see Sam running my way! It was my turn to head out for the first run! I was so stinking excited I think my heart rate was at 172 just standing there!!! She handed off to me and I was off!


I finished my first leg (5.7 miles) easily and not to tired. The race had finally started for us and I was loving every second of it!

Now, since we started pretty late it only took a couple of runners until it was PITCH BLACK outside. There is something about running in the BLACK of night without anyone around you besides the wild animals living in the desert that is a little creepy. So what did I do? Turned up my headphones REALLY loud, and ran a little faster then normal!

This is Andrea running her leg. You may get just a vague idea of how BLACK it really was!

My second leg was at 2:59 am. And it was so dark and my leg was so poorly marked that I had to stop and have a talk with HF upstairs! I thought for sure I was going to get lost and wind up some animals breakfast. So I stopped and prayed and immediately a thought popped into my head that if I was supposed to go a different way then what I was doing that I would be made aware, by signs or people or something. So I kept on running into the dark abyss with my Van nowhere to be found. It continued like that for 6.3 miles until I met up with my girls at the end.

My last Leg was around 11:00 am. It was only 4 miles and I had decided that I was going to SPRINT the whole leg and run as FAST as possible. I was excited because my body was holding up well, and I wasn't sick like a lot of the other girls and I couldn't wait to see what time I could get.
So I take off! I am running as fast as I can (of course keeping in mind I have 4 miles left) and as I am running probably around close to 1 mile...a lady from another van honks her HORN at me and tells me to stop turn around and go down a different road because I was running the WRONG WAY! I was still ok though because I wasn't that far off course so I continued sprinting. Sprinting, sprinting, sprinting until I got to the bottom of a very long road that I just ran. When I got down there, there was not 1 sign that told me where to go from that point. That is when I realized, that lady told me to go the wrong way.
Now at that point I was probably closer to almost 3 miles and had to turn around and go up the long road that I had just sprinted down. NOT GOOD! Let's just say I didn't mentally prepare for a longer run then 4 miles at that point, and not only that, I had exhausted pretty much all of my energy storage by sprinting. So I ran half way up the hill, my van picked me up and took me back to the road I should have been on and I finished it off. Cory had found me at that point and ran out to me to give me some support.

My team giving me some much need support after my last run.

At that point I was done with the my 3 legs and it was up to the rest of my team to finish theirs and lead us to the finish line. We all crossed the finish line together, some with injuries and some not feeling so hot, but after all was said and done every single one of us was so happy to be there together as TEAM SPARKLE!!!!


My medal for completing the 171 miles.


My team of 12 and the 6 in my Van. LOVE YOU ALL!!

I can't wait to do this again! Every night since the race I dream about the race! I'm such a nerd but I can't wait to get out there and do it again...Anyone up for being on my team? I need 12 and I know you all are itching to do it! (Really I'm not kidding...I need a team before October 31 because early registration is 80/person instead of 100!)
It is June 18-19 2010.
AND I can't wait!
Loves,
Jill