Ragnar Relay SoCal Leg 1 Recap

Last weekend I ran and participated in one of the most fun and challenging (both physically and mentally) race.  It was Ragnar Race Series So. Cal.  There are many locations for this epic endurance race… myself and my team of 11 other runners ran from Huntington Beach to San Diego.

Last week I shared with you a brief recap of my experience, That’s What She Said.  Today (and over the course of the next week) I am going to share with you my experience on the three legs of the race.

Bright and early, our team assembled in the lobby of our hotel.  We began decorating our van, getting to know each other, and shared our excitement for this epic race weekend.  Where most people start their day with a cup of coffee… we started our day with a run.  We are not most people… we chose to begin our quest to become Ragnarians.

Our team’s start time on Friday was 8:30.  It was a sunny, beautiful morning.  Our team was giddy with excitement and nerves.  We let out some of our energy by doing handstands by the starting line.

Stephanie was runner 1 and started the race off for us with a bang.  As she started her first leg, we made a mad dash for the van to drive to the relay exchange point.  I thought I would be helpful and navigate for Julie.  Unfortunately, my morning coffee had not kicked in and I got our van lost.  On the first trip in the van!  Yikes.  Needless to say, Julie was familiar with the course and quickly navigated us to our exchange point in time.

With just enough time to use the lovely port-a-potty and double check my essentials, we get a text that Steph is on her way.  She finished strong and passed the slap bracelet (baton) to me.  I began my first leg… starting my quest to become a Ragnarian.

It was already getting warm.  The sun was beating down on the trail and runners.  I have to admit, this leg was my least favorite. It was boring.  Even though (before my run) I thought it was going to have rolling hills… the only hills I encountered was when I went under a street and back up over to the other side of the trial.  The trail was sandy which made the traction a bit slippery… but I quickly adjusted my gait.

I think leg 2 was listed as moderate because of the distance and boring factor.  There also was no van support, so you were out there running all on your own.  Mentally this leg was the most challenging for me.  Although, physically it was probably the easiest (if it wasn’t so darn hot).

There were moments when running this leg where I thought I was lost and took a wrong turn.  Or didn’t turn where I was supposed to.  I saw no runners on my leg until the last mile.  One of my fears for running Ragnar was getting lost while running.

The route wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t memorable.  I ran along a viaduct and experienced many smells.  I smelled something burning and moments later I smelled sweet pastries as I ran past CostCo.  I smelled musty stagnant water and the occasional dog poo.  You know… memorable moments!

Doing my best to enjoy the run, while not pushing myself too hard because I knew I had to run two more times I kept trucking on.  It was boring, but I chose to dance to my music and run for the love of running.  Thankfully I saw the 1 mile to go sign and knew I was on the right track.

I was a happy (see the smile on my face Steph took in the photo above) sweaty hot mess when I slapped the bracelet to Janice. We sprinted to the van and made a dash to the next relay exchange point.  Where we continued the amazing race style adventure until our last runner was finished for the first leg of the race.

My main focus was to stay hydrated during race weekend.  I had only used Nuun a handful of times, from the recommendation of my girlfriend Tammy.  I liked it.  Yet, I had never drank it is such mass quantities as I did this past weekend.  It was in every other water bottle I consumed.  I ran with a tablet of nuun for each leg of my race.  I am thankful for nuun because it replenished my electrolytes helping me stay hydrated.

Check out what my van mates had to say about their Ragnar experience by reading their recaps below:

Stephanie, Janice, Lauren, Julie, Dre

I am thankful for Ragnar for contacting me and providing me with this amazing race experience.  They took great care of me and my van mates.  Come back in a few days where I will fill you in on the nitty-gritty details of my second leg… my night run!

How do you stay hydrated when the temperature rises?
How do you keep your run interesting to beat the boredom on a boring run?
Are you following any other Ragnar So. Cal recaps?