Ragnar So Cal: Part 1

Ragnar So Cal

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

It's a little unreal to think that exactly one week ago, we were already four hours into our Ragnar So Cal adventure. We had an ungodly 5:15 am (which really turned into 5:30 am) start time, and a 3 am alarm clock to go with that. One week has gone by way too fast -- it may or may not help that I just unpacked the rest of my stuff last night (have no fear, laundry went in on Monday night). But I digress.

Last Wednesday/Thursday were a blur. Wednesday night, HP flew into LAX, so I got to pick her up and then I went back to work for a meeting with student government. On Thursday, inbetween her needing to get some work done, we grocery shopped, cut tulle, made our tutus, I ran some last errands to make sure things were set for the weekend, made another tutu, went to Girls on the Run practice, got dinner supplies, picked up Trista, picked up the vans, picked up Bryana, and then headed home.

Ragnarians assemble! HP, Trista, and me.

I was so excited to meet all my teammates - for the most part, women who I've only communicated with via Facebook, sometimes text, but didn't actually know who they were. Here's our rundown:

So needless to say, the anticipation of bringing everyone together (and fitting all 12 of us in my apartment) was both nerve-wracking and so freaking exciting! I couldn't wait to see how everyone came together, and all willing, we'd click and Van 1 would be a happy unit and Van 2 would be a happy unit and we'd all be in a happy place for the weekend. Let's be real, it can really try your patience with people (whether you know them or not) by being stuffed into a van with them for 36+ hours, amiright?

Thursday night was a huge shuffle of last tutu making, dinner for those of us that hadn't eaten, chatting, gabbing, and of course... van decorating! The fun stuff has begun - Adventures in Runderland is upon us and we are ready to rollllll...

And then... cue bed. We all pretty much passed out shortly thereafter, after getting the vans beautified and food supplies loaded, we all crashed hard for a few (re: four?) hours' sleep.Van 1 was departing at 3:30 am to get to the start line by 4:15 am for our scheduled 5:15 am start. We got there at 4:15, and thankfully got there as early as we did, as the start was a sort of cluster. SO many teams were starting that early, so Ragnar seemed a little behind in getting everything sorted, organized, and ready for team pick up.

I was runner #1 - nerves and excitement abound, as I got to kick off this whole thing! And in the dark, no less. Per our pace calculator, all three of my runs were scheduled during nighttime hours, so I'd never run without a vest. Lame. (Foreshadowing: I got one run without one). Also luckily, I knew everything about where my first leg was, as it was on the beach path of the last 5-6 miles of Surf City. Win.

And just like that... 5:15 passed us. They didn't start the 5 am teams until 5:15, so luckily we were ready to go, team photo and all, for the 5:30 am start.

Team Adventures in Runderland.

And then we were off! San Diego or bust...

Did your team start on time? Do you think it affected you?

Wordless Wednesday

More Ragnar love coming this week!

Ragnar So Cal: It's Here!

IT’S HERE!

I can’t believe that after six long months of trying to put together a team, having so much interest, people finally committing, and losing one runner and finding another, over details and team names and colors and decorations… Ragnar So Cal is upon us!

 Team shenanigans begin tonight when Heather finds her way down to LA. All the rest come in at various points. I'm really excited to pull this team together and see and MEET everyone for the first time! 

Curious how we all came together? Check it:

• Me - I mean, duh.
• Heather - also a duh, if you pay attention to this blog at all (Bay Area)
• Kasey - sorority sister (Phoenix)
• Trista - sorority sister (Phoenix)
• Katie - sorority sister (Los Angeles)
• Beth - we found via the Facebook event page! (Bakersfield)
• Jackie - friend of Kasey's (Phoenix)
• Vanessa - Facebook event page (San Diego)
• Bryana - Facebook event page (Las Vegas)
• Lindsey - Kasey's friend (Phoenix)
• Kim - student affairs runners Facebook group (Los Angeles)
• Jill - Kim's colleague (Los Angeles)

So we literally have quite the assortment, but via Facebook, email, text communication, we have an amazing team put together and I could not be more excited! Sure, sometimes it's fun to know everyone you're doing such shenanigans with (especially in close-knit van quarters for 36 hours), but I'm genuinely excited to pull together people from all kinds of places.

Packing is in full-force, but thankfully I have a few days to get that together still! As captain-ish, and sharing duties with HP but my apartment is sort of serving as headquarters, so there's not only MY stuff everywhere, but the starting of our team food supply, decorations, other supplies and van necessities. The dog's bed is now my supply storage center... sorry pup.

 We're Team #470, Adventures in Runderland - feel free to follow us on Instagram/Twitter at #RagnarRunderland. And otherwise, we hope to see you out somewhere between HB and SD!

Will I see you out at Ragnar So Cal?!

Spring Adventures

Despite being fairly quiet here lately, there's a little bit coming up on my plate that I'm pretty excited about. I'm feeling a little more on the ball than the last few weeks, but given a 4-day trip to Florida, and then a 5-day trip to San Diego thrown in the middle of all that, training was the last thing on my mind. But that's okay.

One of the things i'm loving most about being back in California is that there are plenty of races going on at all times. I had plenty in Georgia, but I feel like I've got even more out here to choose from and can't be more excited about all the opportunities there are! Of course, I'd love to add more states but I'm not sure that'll be happening this year!

So here you have it:

Ragnar So Cal - April 4-5

Team Adventures in Runderland

Ragnar DC was a blast in 2012 and I'm so freaking excited that I get to do it again! I'm captain-ing our team with HP, naturally, and we've got a hodge podge of lovely women. There are five of us that are sorority sisters, two are friends of one them, and the rest are women we've picked up via the Ragnar site and other random connections. I'm excited to have our team finally come together. More on that on Wednesday! 

Carnival Cruise - April 17 - 20Because this doesn't have to be all running, right? :) We're taking a family cruise from Long Beach to Ensenada and back. My parents, sister is flying out from New York, grandparents, and my uncle and I are all hanging out for a few days on our way to Mexico and back. I'm pretty excited to spend some family time together, and most significantly for some extra time with my sister!  

Run Through Redlands Half Marathon - April 27

This half is not entirely flat, though apparently flatter than in recent years (though I have no reference point). But it runs through some really gorgeous areas of Redlands, so I'm excited to check it out. And what better than another fabulous local race to add to my collection?

Fontana Days Half Marathon - June 7

This half is is known as the fastest Half Marathon due to the gradual downward slope of the course - there is an elevated drop of 2,125 feet from start to finish! I think this is an appropriate time for #sub2orbust, don't you?

I'm looking for a few more spring races to add to the collection. I'm really looking forward to finally getting back in this groove and that I'm actually making some leeway already! Bring it on!

What spring races are you looking forward to?

The Great Tutu Debate

 Like many, I got pretty fired up at the distasteful BS Meter column SELF released in its April issue. The brief blurb mentions that tutus have become a ridiculous fad, stating that "A racing tutu epidemic has struck NYC's Central Park, and it's all because people think these froufrou skirts make you run faster. Now, if oyu told us they made people run away from you faster, maybe we would believe it."

I'm sorry, WHAT? First, yes, I would say the prominent issue is that they had no idea they pulled cancer warrior Monika's photo (let's go back to my journalism days where you're supposed to know your sources and where they come from, shall we?) but TWO: let's look at SELF's motto:

Being fit, strong and active means feeling great, being happy and looking your most beautiful. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that for a lot of us, feeling great is embracing the quirky, fun-loving, goofy side, especially while we're working on our fitness! Who says a tutu is not a necessary running accessory, just like your Garmin is?

I asked a few of the Sweat Pink lovely ladies to share their favorite races or memories of races in a tutu and their thoughts on what that meant - was it empowering? Did it help remind you that running is supposed to be fun, and sometimes silly? 

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I've got more thoughts, but mostly on my own personal reactions to attire I see at races too - and realizing that though not to the degree that SELF promoted via this BS Meter, that I'm almost just as guilty. I've got an attitude check to do too!

What are your thoughts? Is racing/running/fitness in a tutu a totally silly fad? Or do you rock that tutu with pride?