2011 Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Back

I told myself I'd only sign up for this if I was feeling good after Squaw Peak.  Since two weeks isn't necessarily ample time to recover, I didn't want to waste my money by signing up in advance.  Turns out my legs were ready to run again two days after Squaw, but my feet were not.  I had a couple blisters that I wanted to make sure were healed over before I started running again.  So I took 6 days off.  After a few runs I could tell that my legs were still quite tired, but felt like I could run a few easy relay legs.  So I began my search.

One week before the race I found an ultra team that needed a runner.  It was a co-ed team consisting of several out of state runners.  I was excited for the opportunity so I emailed them and told them I'd take the spot.  I was also excited when I found out I had a choice in which leg I was going to run.  I chose to be Runner 5 for two reasons: the 17 mile 2nd leg, but more so for the 3,000 foot climb on the 3rd leg.

Friday morning came and I met up with the group.  The team consisted of: the captain, George, who completed an Ironman last year and regularly competes in half Ironman events; Dennis, who also does triathlon events; Hana, also into triathlons, is a regular age group placer; Ken, an avid runner, ran 4 different Ragnar events last year and was previously CEO of Ragnar; And finally Marianne, who ran a sub-4 hour marathon last year.  Our team seemed to be pretty solid.

My first leg was scheduled to be just over 7 miles on relatively flat terrain.  On an ultra team, you run two normal legs back-to-back.  So Runner 1 would run legs 1 & 2, then Runner 2 would run 3 & 4, etc.  Well, the runner before me, Marianne, was struggling on her first leg and asked me to run the second half of that leg for her.  She obviously hadn't trained much since her marathon last year, but I know she was also working on no sleep the night before due to a graveyard shift at work.  This turned into the theme for the day, where she'd run the first part of her leg and someone else would run the second. 

So my 7 turned into 10.5.  I tried to keep it at a moderate pace and not get too caught up in catching people.  Things basically went according to plan and I finished it in 1:16:32, or a 7:17/mile pace.  A little bit faster than I'd wanted to go, but it felt good so I went with it.

My second leg started at 3:07 in the morning.  I knew it would be a slog, especially since I hadn't slept yet and since it was in the dark.  The conditions were nearly perfect though and most of the run was on a graded trail, so it was just what I needed.  The first portion of the leg, 9.3 miles, went well.  I felt good and was alert.  At the transition to the second portion, I had George grab me a pancake since they were serving them at this station.  It tasted amazing and I just kept taking little bites for about 25 minutes while I was running.  But I started having doubts about running.  What was I thinking?  Can you really do this?  Then my brain kept telling me it was ok to walk and to just stop for a minute.  It was a constant battle for nearly an hour and my tired brain just wanted to quit.  But my body kept moving.  I didn't stop but kept the pace really easy.  I finished the leg just as it was getting light out.  Total leg was 16.9 miles, 2:28:19, or a 8:46/mile pace.  I passed the baton to George and went to the van.

I arrived at the van to find everyone asleep.  Looks like I'm driving!  I ended up driving for awhile til I was finally relieved of my duty.  I tried to sleep, but it just wouldn't come.  I didn't end up sleeping til 12:30 Saturday afternoon, and it was only for about 45 minutes.  I felt much better after I slept though.

My "final" leg was 7.2 miles up Guardsman Pass.  Over 3,100 feet of climb.  I was excited.  My legs felt fatigued, though (as you can imagine.)  Two weeks isn't enough time for me to recover in order to put forth a hard effort.  So I stayed at a steady pace.  Based on how I felt, my goal was to do the climb in 90 minutes.  I also wanted to attempt to run the whole thing.  The first portion went well, but I found that it was quicker to power hike in some places, so that's what I did.  I passed a lot of people while I was doing this!  I ran through the transition and about halfway through the second portion I had nothing left in the tank.  I wasn't bonking, but my energy was low and my legs were fatigued.  I powered through it though, and even had a few moments where I was able to run hard, trying to give myself some motivation.  I finished the leg in 1:22:54, or a 11:31/mile pace.

Man, it felt good to be "done."  However, George ended up getting "dead quads" on his 2,000 foot descent coming down Guardsman.  He ran through transition, but then we pulled up to him walking about a quarter mile out.  He was done.  So naturally, I pulled off my jacket and jumped out to finish his final leg.  I was slow though!  I gutted it out and came through the finish with my team waiting.  We ran it in together for a finishing time of 28:36:46.  I forgot to start my watch since I had to get out so suddenly on this last leg, but I would guess I was right around a 9:15/mile pace or so.  Like I said, really slow but I had nothing in the tank so I just had to gut it out.

Overall it was a fun experience!  Not sure if I'll do it again, though.  Not enough bang for the buck when it all comes down to it.  I ended up forking out about $300 to run 41.5 miles.  In contrast, I paid about $240 last year to run 100 miles at Wasatch.  You do the math.