Ragnar and Running Recap 2015

This is one of many posts that I've been meaning to write.

Back in October, I headed up a repeat Ragnar Relay from Chattanooga to Nashville. It's always a fun challenge to run a 12-person relay for almost 200 miles, but I also wanted to do something to remember Stacy, my running buddy and friend who passed away Christmas Eve 2014.

Eight of us ran together last year, and we added four newbies to the mix. The first van consisted of the oldies: Sara, Jeff H., Seth, and Jon - plus Nyk and Jeff K. My van consisted of the oldies: Brent, Tony, and me - and we added Alfred and Patricia to the fun.

The afternoon before the big race, we got our rental vans only to realize that ours was just a little too small for 6 smelly folks and our gear. After a huge fiasco with Jeff K. from the other van trying to help us out, we ended up getting a new van later that evening. After carbing it up with a pasta dinner, we partied it up decorating our van to our liking.

The next morning, Justin and I woke up to texts and messages from Patricia saying that she's in the ER with severe back pain. Despite her trying to tell us that she could join us later, we encouraged her to get her rest and stay home.

It was an interesting morning trying to figure out how to cover her miles, but we managed to figure it out by having Jeff K., Justin, and myself run additional legs. Justin, however, at the last minute, decided to err on the side of caution (probably smartly so), and Brent ran one of his legs instead.

Our van had a lot of fun - Alfred may have been new to the Ragnar races, but he definitely added a lot of laughs and good cheer. He had such a positive attitude that it made running a tad bit easier. Brent, as usual, was a powerhouse who didn't complain at all about his extra miles. Tony made good on his legs this time around and was a lot more relaxed and upbeat. Justin is now a self-proclaimed runner and has been convinced to run a half-marathon (his first) next year. And I enjoyed being along for the ride.

My first leg had an elevation gain of over 1100 ft.!

Future Ragnarians? These two cheered us on!

This all made for an interesting race, and one that was a little more challenging. Of course, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. And, given that I'm now a "pro" at taking on extra legs, I kind of am thinking that my next Ragnar should be on an Ultra team (a team of 6 people instead of 12 running the 200 miles). Anyone wanna join me???

Also, as an aside, my 2015 New Year's Resolution was to 1. run 900 miles, and 2. run another marathon. Apparently only 8 percent of people actually follow through on their resolutions, and I am proud to say that I am one of them. I am actually now at 910 miles (some of them walked, elliptical-ed, or BodyAttacked, etc.), and I'm now in my first week of training for my next marathon.

Next year's resolution? The same. But this time with a faster marathon time. We'll see what 2016 will bring - I can't wait to find out!

Oh, and here are a few pics from one other race that I did this year that hasn't been documented on the blog: the Firecracker race on the Fourth of July. Justin and I ran a 10K while the kids tore it up during the one-mile fun run.