During the Ragnar, I regularly sent messages from my phone to Brandon's phone to let the other van know exactly what time the exchanges were occurring. In fact, it was one of the first things I always did right after each exchange. He was doing the same back to me, so I always had a good idea of what was going on and if we were behind or ahead of predicted times. I also was trying to post info back onto our Facebook page with pictures to let people know and see what we were doing.
As we arrived at our next major exchange around 8pm, we had estimated I would start my next run from this point near 11:30pm. We proceeded to get out our required night-gear, which includes a reflective vest, a headlamp, and a butt-LED blinking light on our rear for safety purposes.
I was trying to figure out how to attach the red blinking LED to my behind. I tried clipping it to the waistband on my shorts, but I was concerned it might bounce off. So to find out if it would bounce off or stay snug, I decided I should jog around a little and have someone watch to see if it looks like that would work or not. I asked out loud "could someone watch my behind while I try the LED out?". Of course, the immediate response was giggles mixed with "no way!" by the ladies. So I clarified "Jason - could you watch my butt while I run around...". Well, there just wasn't going to be a good way of making this request...
We decided it was time to get some sleep if possible, so we pulled out our sleeping bags and made our way to the designated sleeping area - on a golf course.
There weren't too many sleeping bags out on the grass, so we just found a more-empty spot. It was really nice just to lay down and relax in cool weather after so much excitement and activity in the heat all day long. However I had a really hard time getting some sleep because I was so anxious! I was running next from our van! It was one of those times when I'm thinking "I really really need to get some sleep" - and because I really want to fall asleep I can't. Then my phone bleeped with a message from Brandon about an exchange, so I had to check that. When I finally calmed down and was about to actually fall asleep - sprinklers start to come on in the golf course only some 100 feet away! Great (sarcastic tone)! I laid there waiting for them to turn off and see if we would all of a sudden get drenched by the next sprinklers in the cycle. Alas - they just went off and we stayed dry.
It felt like I practically blinked my eyes once, then all of a sudden I noticed that the parking lot near us that was completely empty was now completely full of vans! I remember thinking - "that was weird!" And then, I looked around me. When we were previously nearly by ourselves - we were now among what looked like thousands of sleeping bags all over the golf course! I checked my watch and only some 30 minutes had actually passed. But I got some sleep! About 10:30pm or so we all got up for good.
It was absolutely amazing how quiet all these runners were - there must have been thousands all over this golf course and it was very quiet!
We got all packed and ready for some night running!
[caption id="attachment_1345" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Ready for some night running!"]
[/caption]And then our van 1 teammates arrived at the exchange! Yay! We all wait for our runner to come in.
Here I am waiting at the actual exchange, utterly anxious!
Just after midnight, we make the exchange and I get going! It felt so good to run again! All the anxiousness left! It was really neat to run in pitch-black darkness. There was heavy brush & trees to the side and I could hear all the crickets and coyotes and I ran by. The temperature was nice and cool - near 55 degrees from what I recall. Just perfect temperature for a night run and amazing after such a hot day!
I only saw a few runners on this shorter leg of mine - almost 4 miles long - and all uphill once again. I of course passed them all - until I arrived at an overpass over the freeway. There was a traffic light, and I waited for my signal (there was traffic here too) - when I see this runner from behind me just run right through the intersection around the cars driving by! I was so upset that he "killed" me - and had done it illegally - that as soon as I could safely cross the street I sprinted after him as fast as I could and I "killed" (passed) him back! I didn't want him to be able to catch back up to me no matter what, so I kept sprinting as long as I could - which meant I had a slower finish into my exchange, but worth it if you ask me:)
That was the only time I was every passed the entire time - and I publicly admit I'm wicked proud of that! I'm even more proud that I passed that one guy back and buried him from the dust in my wake:)
The rest of the night runs were rather uneventful and enjoyable for everyone else in the van. We kept seeing the same Ragnar teams over and over again at each exchange. We also really started loosing the ability to do math. We were always trying to calculate how long it would take someone to run a given distance at a given pace. I knew it was getting bad when I was saying things like "what is 30 minus 10?" and I seriously didn't know the answer!
As we finished up our van's runs - we had to decide if we would go to K8's husband's hotel and get a shower - or go straight to the next exchange and get a few moments of sleep. Since stench no longer mattered to any of us - and we were now used to the salty flakes on our skin - we choose sleep over showers.
We arrived in a fog-ridden field at the next major exchange - I believe around 4:00am. When we asked where the sleeping area was, we were told anywhere in the field, but don't go over the cliff. I don't think I could see more than 10 feet in front of me. So we just walked out a little bit, not falling off a cliff, and set out our bags.
[caption id="attachment_1348" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="Sleeping field in La Jolla"]
[/caption]There was this strange noise when we got there. I thought it was a generator. Until I woke up as the sun started to light up the world and I could see it was someone mowing the grass in the field next to us. Seriously- who mows a field in thick fog at 4:00 in the morning?
We were also hounded by the constant sound of latrine doors slamming shut. "Bang... bang bang.... bang" - non-stop banging (there were a lot of port-a-potties). Ashby-A and J couldn't stop talking about how much they loved that noise.
When we started actually getting out of our sleeping bags after some 1 1/2 hrs of sleep - max total that night - I was thoroughly impressed with Ashby-A's hairdo. I told her this all reminded me of camping: - stinking - sweaty - salty - grimy - and awesome hair! I tried, but wasn't able to capture a picture of the hair:(
As it turns out, there were showers at this exchange. I didn't know that until I heard some lady say "hey dude, the showers are not for getting nude - you need to wear something". There wasn't much more than a see-through tarp to give somebody privacy while using the outdoor shower. None of us showered - it just wasn't important to us anymore:)
As we got ready to run again, I was even more anxious than before my previous two runs! Which was giving me the runs! Not cool!! And right before my last leg of the Ragnar Relay!
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
Sorry to keep deferring stories, but I'm sure I will eventually tell you why 203 miles wasn't enough for our Ragnar team!
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