What's New, Pussycat?

Have I gone a couple of days without a Ragnar post? Why, yes, I have! And so without further ado I have another post centered around running that I have chosen to share with all 12 of you!

First off, this is SUPER important!! Thanks to the help of family and friend, donations, cans, a silent auction, corn hole, race volunteering and so much more... Lady Storm Squad has exceeded our $12,000 fundraising goal (with more donations coming in!) and we are officially going to be running Hood to Coast in less than a month!!

So now I will give my shout out list to those that helped me in my $1,000 quest!

Emily Allwardt, Rebecca Allen, Theresa Bartlett, Becky Cotterell, Debi Davidson, Sharon Ferguson-Fels, Ronnie Fox, Bobby Hatcher, Jessica Johnson, Jim Maciariello, Lucy McCollough, Kathy & Kenny McGinnis, Karen Miltner, Mike Noel, Molly & Steve Perkins, Bob Powell, Matthew Tew (and Sutherlin Dutch Bros), Ray Tew, Ginny Wilborn and Ronda Wynne.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I am terrible at fundraising, and every donation made me so darn happy! I can't believe together we hit $1,000! And I still have bags of cans left to return to help our overall team donation get even bigger. Hot dog!

Also, THANK YOU!

Where do we go from here? To the street! Hood to Coast is in August, which is proving to be a very busy month. But even busier is September ... did someone say comic con with awesome friends, a wedding, football games and the Prefontaine Memorial run? And all of this leads to bigger things. An unnamed person texted me an unknown question about an unspoken goal of an unspoken distance for an unnamed race. This person and I already made a pact to help each other out with training for Hood to Coast, so why not extend that training a little lot longer and do a freaking marathon together?!?

So between now and undeclared date for unnamed race you can find me following my training plan while pushing a stroller around town, running more half marathons, and brainstorming ideas for good running outfits!  

Ragnar 2019 By The Numbers

I know that most of you haven't done a relay race and the whole idea of it is confusing -- confusing as to WHY would anyone want to do this, and confusing as to HOW it all works. Thanks to my 1,000 plus photos with time stamps, I thought I'd share how it all goes down and maybe help it all make sense!

It really is a crazy idea -- 12 runners (for most teams - 6 for ultras - 2 for those couple of legit crazy teams) split up a 200 mile course. Each person runs 3 times. Van 1 sets out first with each person running once, then we hand off to Van 2 for their 6. We repeat this until we are done. It is non-stop action. Sleep is very minimal, bathing is pretty non-existent, a lot of us can be found brushing our teeth in the parking lots in the early mornings. You live out of a bag. You forget to eat and drink. You have the absolute time of your life! You make new friends that you didn't even know existed before you lived together in a van! So here is how Glory Daze did the 2019 Ragnar Northwest Passage!

For Heather and I, our Ragnar adventure began Wednesday evening around 7:30pm when she arrived at my house for our pre-relay sleepover. We made sure our bags had everything packed. I finished off preparing 2.5 batches of Rice Krispy bars for the team. Heather had a tea party with Katura.

THURSDAY 

I had Katura at school extra early Thursday morning, and by 7:45am we were on the road with Shawn heading to Beaverton, Oregon - via Subway and Dutch Bros. Priorities! Around 10am we were picking up Sara in Albany, and continuing on our first leg of this trip!

11:24am: We have two roomy 15 passenger vans in Beaverton and are on our way to Amber Dawn's house to take out a row of seats in each van and get loaded. While Shawn and Sara drove the vans I made a detour to steal Jenn away from her kitties.

1:19pm: Van 2 (Hope, Amber Dawn, Sara and Heather) is on their way to pick up other Shawn and Savannah, while Van 1 is not 5/6 of the way full with Shawn, Michael, Dustin, Jenn and Ronda. Washington here we come!

6:02pm: 1 hour behind schedule now, Van 1 has Jack in the Box while waiting for Dan to arrive at the post-race hotel across the street.

7:50pm: Van 1 is having the mandatory safety briefing at Bellingham High School - and shopping for Ragnar souvenirs!

9pm: The vans are reunited at Boundary Bay Brewery for pre-race dinner -- that didn't seem to really consist of all that much food. There was a cool little music group playing though. And beer. I'd like to have stayed longer and hung out with the team, but knowing I was runner 1 and we had to travel in the early morning, my nerves were running too crazy to sit back and relax. Part of van 1 left early to hit Target for some last minute food and drinks for the race, with the rest of the team reuniting together at Motel 6 around 11pm. Teammates, I humbly apologize for Motel 6. I'll do better next time!!

FRIDAY

4:45am: My alarm went off. I quickly got ready for our Van 1 departure.

5:30am: Van 1 leaves Bellingham and heads to Blaine, Washington - the last spot in the US before crossing into lovely Canada.

6:18am: We officially have the slap bracelet that will be passed from runner to runner.

7:15am: Our race begins!!

You can find me in the hot pink shirt off to the right!

10:01am: The first phone call to a locksmith as we figure out how to get back into our van. EEK!!

10:39am: Donnie the locksmith arrives!

10:55am: Jenn, Dustin and Ronda are back on the road. Michael has finished running. Shawn is out for his run, Michael and Dan are catching a ride to the next exchange to meet Shawn when he finishes.  Meanwhile, van 2 is having breakfast!

1:24pm: Bellingham High School for our first major exchange -- and our first sighting of the Colonel! Attention Ladies!!

1:45pm:  Jenn hands off to Shawn in Van 2. Van 1 gets to rest, Van 2 is on deck and running!

2:30pm: Van 1 gets their food on at Red Robin. Some may have enjoyed adult beverages. Some may have also colored the kid's menu and made a paper airplane. All may have gorged on French fries and campfire sauce!

4:56pm: Van 1 Shawn gets some rest. He started out sleep deprived and was our main driver. Let the man sleep!

6:45pm: Savannah finishes her run, handing off to Ronda. Van 1 is back on the course while Van 2 gets to rest.

SATURDAY

12:58am: Jenn finishes her second run, handing off to van 2 Shawn. Van 2 is back on the course for those crazy, awesome middle of the night runs. Van 1 is heading to Oak Harbor High School. Dan and Michael will sleep in the van. Shawn and Ronda got sleep in the cafeteria. Jenn and Dustin found another place inside to rest.

5:00am: People are stirring in the cafeteria. The sound of zip lock bags and plastic-ish sleeping bags being rolled up annoys Ronda, so she is officially up and heading back to the van to brush her teeth and get ready to run.

7:00am:  Savannah hands off to Ronda again, with Van 1 now on their final runs of the relay.

8:36am: Michael finishes a smokin' 25 minute uphill 3.1 miles with an injured ankle - beating the van to the exchange. #Goals 

12:09pm: The final major exchange, Jenn hands off to van 2 Shawn. Van 1 is DONE! Van 2 is heading out for some final, hot miles!

3:19pm: After initially being mortified when Shawn told the guys "this lady over there wants a photo with you" .... I got my photo with The Colonel Angus! Only 3 years waiting for this!  

5:41pm: The vans have reunited and are crossing the finish line together!

7:08pm: A final good bye to the bunnies, the vans head to the infamous line to get on the ferry back to the mainland.

9:01pm: We are on the ferry!

Family shot!

10:24pm: We are at our hotel in Everett, Washington. Some go to sleep. Some go to Buffalo Wild Wings. Some hang out at talk. Some shower!!

SUNDAY

6:15am: Ronda is obnoxious and pounding on the door to the boys' hotel room. Departure time is in 15 minutes!!

7:15am: Space Needle sighting on the way home.

Some time prior to 12:00pm: Vans are reassembled.

12:15pm: Both vans have been returned. Everyone starts to head in various directions.

12:16pm: We already miss each other.

1:21pm: The last grouping officially leaves the Portland area on our final stretch home.

And there you go.... awesome, right?!?! It probably seems scary before you've done one, but once I did my first relay in 2014 I recall saying I could just stick to relays from now on (skipping standard races) and be happy. I still hold to that! So Ragnar 2019 is done ... what do you say we start to think about something else? Something like the Mother of All Relays... HOOD TO COAST! Only 30 days away!! I need to go pack.

Ragnar NW Passage: Leg 25 - Now That's A Downhill!

That final leg. It's always bitter sweet. Exciting to be done with the running aspect, and able to focus on supporting my teammates. But that also means my relay running is over until the next relay comes along. My last leg of this year's Ragnar Northwest Passage was, like the first two legs, a mystery to me. I knew I was running my shortest distance and I would end at a church. That's it! After getting a little bit of sleep on the floor of the Oak Harbor High School cafeteria I was up, re-braiding my hair, brushing my teeth and getting my compression socks on so I could go knock out 3.2 miles. This was also the first time I used a porta potty the entire relay (the second time being at the finish line party). Who clearly wasn't hydrated? Me!

Anyway... I found Shawn of Van 2 and chatted with him while we waited for Savannah to come in for the exchange. Eventually more of the teammates from each van arrived, and again like clockwork in came Savannah. She ALWAYS had on such a big smile. I mean every single time I saw her she was smiling! That got me all revved up and ready for our last hand off. And boom, I was off and running!

At this point in the relay your path is never congested like a typical race. You can go a long time and only see a couple of runners. That's exactly how this leg went. It was very early morning, so residents were still asleep as I went running through their neighborhoods. Not knowing where I would go or what I would see was quite fun! Our van passed by me early on and I signaled to just check on me once (knowing I was out there on an empty stomach and dehydrated.)  At the top of a hill I saw them again and I felt great. "I'll see you at the end!" I said, and continued on my way.

Then it happened. A beautiful thing I had no idea about. A loooonnnngggg downhill! If you have ever been around me in a race you KNOW I love to go downhill. My favorite part of the Prefontaine Memorial Run in Coos Bay each year is flying down the hills. I wanted to be runner 1 at Hood to Coast this year just so I could put my love of going down (haaaaa, that's what she said!!) to use. So once I saw this downhill I kicked it into gear and flew down way too fast. I say way too fast because that meant it was over too fast and I was back to normal terrain. Shoot! I hit an impressive pace for me - once that some teammates just always do naturally. You guys impress me so much! How do you do that?? I bow down to you!

Before I could even realize it I was at the 1 mile mark. I excitedly sent a text to Dustin. Get ready!! I was feeling awesome! I stayed in a zone, again having to pause at a couple of ridiculously slow stop lights. Some runners passed and one told me to just go. Nope! NOT gonna get our team a DQ!! I then realized that dang it, I had to send a retraction to Dustin. Yeah, I had less than a mile to go - but again another hill? What was I doing to myself?? But I made it. I can walk fast when I want to, so that's just what I did. And it actually did surprise me when I saw the volunteers watching us, and hear our team number called out. I was at the end??!! I did it!

And another bittersweet moment... at last year's Hood to Coast I handed off to Dustin. Unintentionally I ended up handing off to her again at this relay. At Hood to Coast next year we are in different vans and I won't be handing off to her. This was the end of our streak. So sad! But I still enjoyed the exchange and enjoyed all of this year's running! I'm ready for next year and a chance to run even better!

Ragnar NW Passage: Leg 13 - A Hill Climb?

I was more than ready when it was time for my second leg of the Ragnar Northwest Passage relay. I started at the Burlington High School, where I had plenty of time to relax, wander around tagging vans with our team magnet, and sit with Dustin while we talked about all sorts of top secret girl stuff. The lunch at Red Robin prior to this probably helped me feel re-charged as well, not gonna lie! 

This was my first time actually having the slap bracelet passed to me during this race, and my first time ever experiencing a hand-off at a major exchange where all vans are present. Thankfully I didn't let them idea sneak into my head or my nerves would have been out of control!! I really enjoyed getting to visit with van 2 as we waited for Savannah to finish her leg. We only get to see our other van teammates at these major exchanges, so I tried to really absorb every minute of it.

Like clockwork Savannah came into the exchange exactly when predicted. That girl is a machine! I tried to use my not-so-subtle outfit to get her attention as she slapped the bracelet on me and I set out for a nice run of 4.5 miles. My goal was to finish before "nighttime hours" hit and I'd have to wear my reflective vest. 

Side story on the vests! Each person needs one. We were short one - but got through the safety briefing with a reflective shirt. I didn't need one in the end. Dustin ended up wearing Shawn's and then I put Michael in my vest and headlamp, with Shawn wearing his own for his run. Meanwhile I had on Renee's (from Hood to Coast) vest that Dustin had borrowed when I was out of the van grabbing runners. If this doesn't summarize relay teamwork and sweat swapping, then I don't know what does!

I felt pretty freaking awesome at the start of this run! I saw one of the guys from The Colonel Angus team ahead of me and used him as a goal to try to keep in my sights --because why wouldn't you want to follow the dude running in orange shorts from Hooters?? But that plan was foiled when I hit the traffic lights. You are not allowed to run until your crosswalk signal says it is okay. People break this rule, but as the team captain I wasn't about to do that. I recall in 2014 at the SoCal Ragnar a text was sent out that people caught running on a "Don't Walk" would be disqualified. I'd rather stand and wait than be a big ol' fat DQ! So wait at the first light I did. Then I was immediately waiting for minutes at the next crossing. That set the stage for this leg of the being a solo one. There were many times I was hoping I didn't get off the path because I couldn't see any runners in front of or behind me. BUT I love that sense of loneliness sometimes, too. It was a really peaceful neighborhood I went through and pretty darn flat!

And then it hit me. That smell. What was that?? It was awful. That motivated me to keep my feet moving!! Naturally I took a short walk break and that is right when my teammates went by. Embarrassing. I swear I was running!! I signaled I was feeling good and I'd see them at the end. They surprised me and I passed by as they cheered me on -- this time during a side stitch I was working out. I swear..I DO run!!! I got rid of that side stitch and got back into the zone, until I had a moment of horror. 

The signs pointed for me to go to the right. From where I was when I saw it, to the right looked like I was going up a freeway on ramp. That can't possibly be correct?!?! I even asked another runner I encountered if I was seeing it right, and then she showed me we actually turn and go on a sidewalk over a bridge. Phew! And going over that bridge was so nice, what a view!

Once across the bridge I saw everyone's favorite sign.... "One Mile To Go"!! Awesome! I texted Dustin to get ready, that I was on my way.

I had NO idea I had to scale a mountain in the last mile. Arg!!! All The Jazz came on, so I switched into power walking mode and tried to get myself up that ridiculous hill (and I really enjoyed the hill I ran down!). As hard as it was, I eventually ran in to the finish, desperately searching for Dustin's smiling face so I would know it was all over. I was soooo happy to see her!!

It was a nice run. I really enjoyed it, I just wish I didn't have that side stitch hold me back a bit in the middle. Part of me wants to be runner 1 next year just so I can tackle these courses again and try to improve on my performance. I guess we will have to wait and see!

Ragnar NW Passage: Leg 1 - Hello, Canada!

As captain, and having this being my third year in a row running the Ragnar Northwest Passage, I decided I could have first dibs on which runner I was. I didn't really even look at the legs before choosing. I remembered in 2017 that the first runner got to start pretty much at the US/Canada border, and I LOVE Canada, and there were views of water - so I just decided I'd be runner 1! It wasn't until probably 11pm the night before the race started that I even found out that I was going to be running 6.4 miles. Yeah - I hadn't run that long since maybe November when I was training for the half marathon before my brain started leaking! But 6.4 lovely miles it would be!

We got to Blaine with plenty of time to get our slap bracelet and take oodles of photos. The start line, race attire, the US/Canada border. You name it, we had photos of it. It was actually a great way to help me calm my notorious pre-race nerves! Soon enough it was time to actually head to the start line for the 7:15am wave of runners. The announcer got the crowd and runners hyped, saying off the name of each team that was lined up. Pretty cool to hear Glory Daze said over the loud speaker! And after a countdown we were all off and running!

I started out mildly hard for that initial burst out of the park, but knew there was no point in killing myself. I had a long run ahead of me and two more runs to go later in the relay. I managed to pass a couple people in the first half mile and then enjoyed pretty much being alone. I couldn't stop staring at Canada. So close to Tim Horton's and getting some Tim Bits. So close...

Blaine was really cute. It was like running through a scene in Murder, She Wrote. I made sure to enjoy myself and take it all in. This could be the only time I was running in this area and I didn't want to miss it. I was running pretty strong, too, which felt like a great way to kick off our relay.

At one point I rounded a corner and looked over to see Vancouver, British Columbia looking back at me. That was enough distraction to get me to start walking a bit. From there it became a mental battle. I was at the point where I was running longer than any of my training runs, so my body was re-experiencing those long run feelings. Another woman passed me and told me that I was doing awesome and had been pacing her and to keep it up. Well that was darn flattering!

Hello, Vancouver!

For the rest of my run I paced off of her and never let her get too far ahead of me. It was nice having her as a steady sight since it was at 3.7 miles when the first runner (a woman!!) of the 7:30am wave came flying by. She was so far ahead of the next runner - which was also a woman. Those speedy ones are so impressive! Some of those fast runners even took the time to compliment me on my outfit as they passed by. It might seem silly, but it is nice to even be acknowledged as a person out there versus a non-existent slow runner.

Around mile 4 it stopped being a physical battle and instead a mental fight - Me versus Meniere's Disease. I could feel the vertigo starting to come and I fought so hard to just not let it win. I had a couple shaky moments, but as I got down to another spot right along the water I could tell I was near the end. Suddenly I saw a man in green bouncing around and realized it was Shawn being silly and letting me know I was almost done. I needed that! I zeroed in on him and ran a strong finish to Dustin and the exchange. Shawn did have to hold me up because once I stopped running the vertigo did kick in, but I still consider this one a victory!

It was a really enjoyable run and I'm so glad I chose it! The insane humidity that I had to deal with, on the other hand? Yeah, that I could have lived without!