Team 106 Carson's Crusade
Aprel, Paula, Minnie, Monica, Tiffany, Michelle, and Kati
Tishia, Jenny, Amber, Martha and Jen
There is not one specific word or words to describe the experience myself and 11 other women had this weekend. All but one of us went into this race blind-sided. Little did we know we would experience about every emotion a person possibly can in the matter of 36 hours. As I look back through the photos, it's really ashame we didn't soak more of the beauty up we were surrounded with. We bonded, we endured, we survived AND we did under the following conditions.....
Notice our huge stash of baby wipes.
Our car was packed full of energizing food (runners chews, water, gum, aqua 4, poweraid, trailmix, etc) not to mention a bag full of three changes of running clothes.
The highways were narrow, scary at times, tricky and a tad dangerous. We had to dodge a lot of cattle guards along the route.
We all had to use these WAY more than we would have liked. But, in circumstances such as this, you do what you have to do. Thank heaven for baby wipes we seriously would have NOT survived without them.
We also ran into a lot of rather interesting folk. This guy definitely caught our eye at Amber's exchange point.
Breath taking views of the state of Arizona.
As you can see the runners didn't have much room to run other than a couple of feet.
The other half of our team began running at 7:00am Friday morning. After going through 6 of their runners we met up with them at exchange 6. Here is a
chart of our milelage.
Tishia was the first runner out of our car. She was by far the one that came the furthest in our car. Just a few months ago she was determined she could not run over 4 miles. After convincing her this wasn't true, she finally broke out and ran up to 10 miles during our training. This just goes to show ANYONE can accomplish a goal. Tishia's legs ended up totally around 15 miles when it was all said and done. Tishia was also our mini mom. She came prepared with extra goods, medicine and we have her to thank for our hotel that first night. We are so proud of you Tishia!!
Thumbs up was we are doing okay signal and didn't need water.
Minnie was runner #8. She was the iron horse in the car. Just when we thought she was so exhausted to run, she would get out of the car with nothing but a smile and eager to do her best. She never complained and was always out there cheering for each of us.
If anyone could run this hill, Amber was our girl.
She did so great!
Amber was runner #9. Amber by far had the toughest runs in our car. She woke up with vertigo Thursday morning and I must say we were all a little stressed. Without Amber on our team, we would have had to pick up the legs of her run. After a trip to the emergency room, ALOT of faith, some medicine and a priesthood blessing allowed her to do the unthinkable. Friday she felt good enough to run. She was not 100%, but still was able to complete each of her runs with 8:30 pace times. Just look at some of the hills she had to endure.
Amber giving Paula some much needed water.
Paula was runner #10 and our speedster of the bunch. She gained our team an extra half hour lead passing about 10 people. She also joined our team at the last minute (within a week notice). We couldn't have done it with out her. And to think she had never ran a race more than a 10k. Impressive.
Tiffany was runner #11 and definitely kept us laughing at all times in the car. Tiffany was our amazing woman. I say this because when we asked her how she was doing on this run (you see above) she said "I am making amazing time, I'm amazing!" You had to be there, but it gave us a good laugh and something to tease her about the remainder of the trip.
I am most certain Tiffany didn't realize she ran by skull mountain.
I thought it was pretty cool.
She had an 6.5 mile beast on highway 74 in the middle of the night with nasty winds. She endured it all not walking once with even a sprained ankle on top of it. I know for a fact she doesn't ever want to drive the Carefree highway anytime soon. Perhaps next year it will be different?? Tiff we truly KNOW you are amazing.
I was runner #12. I can't say what personality I brought to the bunch, (my friends will have to fill this one in) but I did add in my own drama. I was the lucky runner who got to wear the headlamp and night vest, not once, but twice. There was a safety rule that if you started running after 5:30pm you had to place all of the gear on. Of course I complained, but I did get to see the sunset and my second leg (the following morning) I was privileged to see the sun rise. Other than a lost contact in my eye that I tried to retrieve for a mere 4 hours and some stomach issues, I think I fared pretty well for the most part. Other than a sore eyeball (from scratching all night) and another lost toenail I did it.
After our first run we headed over to Subway to try and freshen up, eat and recooperate for a bit. We had a few hours to spare so we headed over to the next exchange point which was an elementary school. Tiffany bought us all beds, if you really want to call them that. For $2, it bought you a spot on the floor and a clean bathroom. Good times. There were a bunch of mats all over I would hardly call that a place to sleep. But, sometimes desperate times, call for desperate measures.
Due to the lights being on, some snoring surrounding us, and a weird man, (long story) Tishia, I, and Amber got a case of the giggles and decided the car would be a much better resting point. I can't say we got much sleep to prepare for our next set of legs, it later prooved to be the most challenging part of the race yet. Hills, darkness, highways, and unsettled stomachs don't really have a good combination. I would have to say encouraging and working together as a team got each one of us through this trying time. By the end of my 2nd 8 miles, I broke down crying and was never so happy to get in the car to crash at a hotel room.
I was the caboose runner for our team coming in at the 36th exchange. I truly believe I was running on endorphins because I was beyond exhausted for the last 4 miles. The greatest reward of being the last runner is everyone cheering you in for the finish. This was probably the most challenging task I have EVER done. Looking back and now having some rest behind me, it's crazy to think 200 other teams decided to take upon them the same thing as us. Some may and have asked would you do it again next year knowing how hard it was? As crazy as it sounds, I DEFINITELY would do it all over again. I not only learned so much about myself, but learned you can do anything you put your mind to! Ragnar 2010 or bust!
Oh, yah we did it!!
I have been hydrating like crazy for the past 48 hours. (note drinking water is extremely hard for me aka this means hardly any diet coke!)
Team 106 Carson's Crusade
Notice our huge stash of baby wipes.
The highways were narrow, scary at times, tricky and a tad dangerous. We had to dodge a lot of cattle guards along the route.
We all had to use these WAY more than we would have liked. But, in circumstances such as this, you do what you have to do. Thank heaven for baby wipes we seriously would have NOT survived without them.
As you can see the runners didn't have much room to run other than a couple of feet.
Thumbs up was we are doing okay signal and didn't need water.
If anyone could run this hill, Amber was our girl.
Amber giving Paula some much needed water.
I am most certain Tiffany didn't realize she ran by skull mountain.
I was runner #12. I can't say what personality I brought to the bunch, (my friends will have to fill this one in) but I did add in my own drama. I was the lucky runner who got to wear the headlamp and night vest, not once, but twice. There was a safety rule that if you started running after 5:30pm you had to place all of the gear on. Of course I complained, but I did get to see the sunset and my second leg (the following morning) I was privileged to see the sun rise. Other than a lost contact in my eye that I tried to retrieve for a mere 4 hours and some stomach issues, I think I fared pretty well for the most part. Other than a sore eyeball (from scratching all night) and another lost toenail I did it.
After our first run we headed over to Subway to try and freshen up, eat and recooperate for a bit. We had a few hours to spare so we headed over to the next exchange point which was an elementary school. Tiffany bought us all beds, if you really want to call them that. For $2, it bought you a spot on the floor and a clean bathroom. Good times. There were a bunch of mats all over I would hardly call that a place to sleep. But, sometimes desperate times, call for desperate measures.
Due to the lights being on, some snoring surrounding us, and a weird man, (long story) Tishia, I, and Amber got a case of the giggles and decided the car would be a much better resting point. I can't say we got much sleep to prepare for our next set of legs, it later prooved to be the most challenging part of the race yet. Hills, darkness, highways, and unsettled stomachs don't really have a good combination. I would have to say encouraging and working together as a team got each one of us through this trying time. By the end of my 2nd 8 miles, I broke down crying and was never so happy to get in the car to crash at a hotel room.
I was the caboose runner for our team coming in at the 36th exchange. I truly believe I was running on endorphins because I was beyond exhausted for the last 4 miles. The greatest reward of being the last runner is everyone cheering you in for the finish. This was probably the most challenging task I have EVER done. Looking back and now having some rest behind me, it's crazy to think 200 other teams decided to take upon them the same thing as us. Some may and have asked would you do it again next year knowing how hard it was? As crazy as it sounds, I DEFINITELY would do it all over again. I not only learned so much about myself, but learned you can do anything you put your mind to! Ragnar 2010 or bust!
Oh, yah we did it!!
I just noticed how aged my feet are looking.
Michelle
Don't you love the antenna? So cute!
Minnie and Tishia
April (Carson and Braden), Paula, Tiffany, Minnie, Tishia
Aside from my friends running the race I had three of my other sweet friends drop off a good luck bag. Thanks Carol, Denise and Natalie! Next up pasta for dinner and hopefully a GREAT night sleep. Next time I write I'll have close to 20 miles under my belt. Wish me (US) luck!
