How do you know if a runner is training for a marathon?

Every time I run a marathon I tell myself at mile 20 that it will be my last. Just signed up for marathon #9, I'm beginning to think I'm not a very good listener. 

Running a Ragnar Relay, Better than a Pit of Snakes – My Ragnar Race Guide

Ragnar Lodbork may or may not have been a Norse Viking king whose many conquests in France and England made him legendary. He was allegedly killed by being thrown in a pit of snakes.

The Ragnar Relay conquers the challenge of running a 24+ hour relay, in two vans with a dozen of your craziest running friends, and a couple of even crazier drivers. While I wasn’t afraid of being thrown in a pit of snakes, I was afraid of no sleep, smelly runners & being thrown out of a van at 2 a.m. to run. I vowed to never run a Ragnar, but as anyone who knows me knows, I’m more susceptible to peer pressure than a thirteen-year-old. Yes mom, if all of my running friends were doing it, I would jump off a bridge while running too.

Looking to talk your friends into running a Ragnar or have you been talked into running one yourself? Here are a few of the things I learned on during my 27 hour, 200 mile journey.

Location, Location, Location

One of the reasons I was never interested in running a Ragnar was the less than glowing reviews I’ve heard of the So Cal Ragnar course. Plus I live here and run here all the time. Paying to run here and getting no sleep while doing it didn’t seem very appealing to me.

But when my running friends:

and 

said "let’s run Ragnar Northwest Passage, I double dog dare you", how could I resist? Washington State is beautiful, green, not in the middle of an extreme drought, my mostest favorite uncle lives there, and yes, all my running friends were doing it.

So pick your location wisely. While I’m sure you could have fun running a Ragnar Relay pretty much anywhere, you’ll have more fun if it’s somewhere you’ve never been. 200 miles of places that look like this? Count me in!

Not too shabby right??

Captain O’ Captain

Make sure you pick a team captain early, one who’s organized and cracks the whip when necessary. Thankfully the aforementioned "This Guy" volunteered.

Other than the general coordination of finding 12 runners, getting us signed up, and assigning our legs*, here are some additional things our captain did that made for a smoother race:

1. Rented a giant house the night before that slept our entire team so we could do a little team bonding over leg maps, gear checks and van decorating.
2. Had us submit team names, and then made everyone vote until there was a winner.
3. Designed tshirts so we could all pass the finish line in matching outfits.
4. Had his first mate create a closed facebook group so we could communicate pre-race about what to pack, where to meet up, etc. and share photos and updates during the race with the other van and our families. 

Drivers? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Drivers

Think since you have six runners in your van you don’t need no stinkin’ drivers? Think again. Despite the fact that you may have 7-8 hours between your runs the last thing you want to be doing is driving. So recruit a couple of people just crazy enough to drive you and your sweaty friends around, but sane enough to navigate a ginormous van to 18 or so exchange points.

In our case we had two amazing drivers, one just happened to be my uncle, who as a Boy Scout leader, Washingtonian & eternal optimist was uniquely qualified for the job. The other was a good friend who made us laugh just as hard on our last leg as our first, and as an added bonus, was willing to get paid in coffee. And not the foo foo fancy stuff either, just a plain ol’ cuppa joe.

JStew, still wicked smilin' after 27 freakin' hours!

"Druncle" Doug in his natural habitat.
Love this guy.

Scope Out Meals At The Major Exchanges

There are plenty of Ragnar blogs out there (like this one for instance) that will tell you what kind of food you should pack in your van, but consider that your snack food. At some point you’ll be wanting real food, not another bagel or granola bar. Yelp your restaurant options at the major exchanges ahead of time, and for goodness sake, when Uncle Doug tells you to get the potato burrito, get the potato burrito.  

Now that's a good potato burrito!

Designate a Texter in Each Van

Those few hours when the other van is running are precious; you don’t want to squander a single minute of them. Text the other van when your next to last runner starts running their leg, then again when your last runner starts their leg with an estimate of when you think they’ll be arriving at the exchange. That way you can make sure no one is left holding the baton at the exchange point, and you can sleep, or eat or just rest for as long as possible.

Cheer Your Runners

This may seem like a no brainer, but when I say "cheer your runners" I mean "really cheer your runners like cheering is your job." This doesn't mean just meeting them at the exchanges and patting them on the back after they've finished their run, this means stopping along their legs every couple of miles, pulling over, getting out of the van (provided it’s not a "no van support leg") and clapping, yelling, hootin’ and hollerin’. Believe it or not, this helps the runner as much as it helps the non-runners stay awake.

No one says you can't cheer your runners while also eating ice cream.

Why Stop at Decorating Two Vans, When You Can Decorate ALL THE VANS?

Silly us. We came up with a team name, bought matching t-shirts and decorated our van. We thought we were doing pretty darn good in the team spirit part of the competition. But little did we know we were woefully unprepared.

When we arrived at the start and left our van to get our bibs and do safety check, we came back a few minutes later to find that among other things we’d been Wet Willy’d, Quacked and our Kills turned to Kilts.

So if you want to tag your competition (and believe me you do) buy lots of magnets with your team logo, and be prepared with your window markers to have your best artist tag the vans around you.

Caught in the Act - Even the Undead Can't Resist a Little Van Tagging Fun

Hydration Stations

This isn't your standard "every 2 miles there’s a water station" race, on the majority of this 200 mile course there are no volunteers holding out little cups to quench your thirst. So bring your own bottle of water, or have someone in your van hand you a bottle while you’re running (again provided van support is allowed for your leg).

Stay Happy & Hydrated

Kill, Kill, Kill

This may seem a little morbid. But "I’m just out here to have fun" you say, "do I REALLY have to kill someone???" Yes, yes you do. A "kill" is a runner you pass during your leg. And believe me, during parts of your 2nd and 3rd leg, it may be the only thing that’s keeping you going. The last thing you want to do is go back to your van and tell them you had zero kills. On my 2nd leg it felt like 90 degrees out, I had a huge hill at the final mile but luckily I had at least one kill in front of me to motivate me to keep running to pass her. As my van passed me I was passing her, and let me say it was glorious.

Unfortunately or fortunately we had just under 200 kills, which meant by the end of the race there were only four teams ahead of us. While it was nice to be so far ahead, it was a bit lonely and a bit scary for those brave teammates who had to run at night when there was no one around but a few coyotes. True story, actual coyotes followed one of our runners!

Marking Kills, In Red of Course

Don’t Fear the Night Runs

Okay so maybe there were a few coyotes, abandoned quarries, and scary shipyards, and most of the time our runners were running all alone in the pitch black. But really the night runs are one of the best parts of the whole race. Night runs are when you say to yourself "oh yeah, THIS is why I’m a runner." Alone with your footsteps and the blinking red Ragnar lights to show you where to go, you will wish the run could last forever.

Okay, so maybe not forever.
 I was a little bit happy that this was the last mile of my 2:30 a.m. final leg.

Find a Quiet Place to Sleep

You’ll have about 4 hours during the major exchanges (when the other van is running their legs) to eat, possibly shower, find a place to sleep, and actually sleep. Bring a sleeping bag and an inflatable sleeping pad. You may only get two hours of sleep, better make them count.

Finding a place to sleep is key. With hundreds of other people finishing their legs at different times it’s best to find a place that’s as quiet as possible, as far away from people as possible, and preferably not in the rain. We went to the back of the gym, away from the front door and when we awoke, voila! We were blissfully unaware that the gym had filled up with hundreds of stinky runners because we were in the way back. 

To quote JStew, "Zombie Apocalypse or Ragnar Runners?" You be the judge.

Well, What Are You Waiting For?

See? We’re all still smiling after 27 hours of racing. While it took a little convincing to get me to run my first Ragnar, I’ll be the first person to sign up for the next one. Hope to see you out there cheering on your friends and enjoying those 2:00 a.m. runs. But just remember, if I see ya, I’ll kill ya.

* Each participant runs three times, these times are called a "leg" with each leg ranging between 3-8 miles and varying in difficulty.

Rave Run - Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire UK

The canal a day later,
after the storm had passed

On day 3 of our trip we headed up to county Staffordshire for a motorcycle jumble (in American that means swap meet). We stayed in Stoke-on-Trent at a friendly Travelodge that included a carvery (in American that means tasty all meat buffet).

Since my marathon was less than a month away I very reluctantly decided to go for a run. Reluctantly because it was storming outside, and not showing any signs of letting up. And not some wimpy California storm, like a real "oh yes now I understand why this place is so green and they drink a lot of hot tea" English storm. I asked the desk clerk if she could recommend a place to run and she pointed me to a path along a canal less than a block away.

Those Brits sure do have nice manners

What an amazing running route. The Worcestershire Canal (commonly known as the Staffs & Worcs Canal) is 46 miles long, and includes views of wooded paths, quaint English backyard gardens, horses and these really cool live aboard narrowboats. 

The freezing rain pelted me from every direction, I had a terrible cold and had to stop more than once to cough up what felt like one if not both of my lungs, and not long into the run I could no longer feel my fingers. But it was one of the best runs I've ever had. The few brave souls that I encountered and the dogs they were walking looked at me like I was crazy. And of course I was, but the pain and agony was worth every crazy mile. 

Narrowboat tied up to someone's backyard.

 See the rest of my Stoke-on-Trent pictures. 

My Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Run (AKA Let's Burn Some Calories to Make Way for Pumpkin Pie)

My favorite time to run is the hour before sunset. So in the winter when sunset is at 4:30 it's rare that I get out of work in time to run when I really want. Which is why I LOVE the day before Thanksgiving. We close the office at 3pm and I head out the door to get a nice long run in before sunset.

Today I did a loop from the Shores to UCSD and to have an excuse to rest, I decided to take a photo at every mile.

Mile 1: New Lifeguard Station.  Lovely isn't it?  Look ma, no filters needed on this photo.

Mile 2: Bridge Over (River) Shores

Mile 3: 5 MPH Not a Problem, That's My Favorite Pace!

Mile 4: Power Lines.

Mile 5: Just in Time - Finished at Sunset

Running by the Numbers

12 months ago I started training for my 5th marathon

9 months ago I made my marathon playlist

100 songs to inspire me to put one foot in front of the other for a grueling 5+ hours

8 months ago I took a 5 minute dirt bike ride that ended with 1 broken collarbone

6 months ago I took my sling off and discovered that my bones had healed, but my shoulder was frozen solid

50 hours of physical therapy later...

1 hour ago I laced up my running shoes, put on my headphones, hit play on my ipod and started training again for my 5th marathon.  As I ran listening to my marathon playlist the songs were both familiar and new just like my run.  5 months from now I sure hope they inspire me to run another 26.2 miles.

Watch Out for that Tree!

As a long distance runner you're always prepared for the inevitable injury that pounding the pavement for hours at a time can bring.  Plantar Fasciitis, shin splints, giant blisters, lost toenails, aching knees.  Luckily for me over the years a few blisters and a sore lower back have been my only running related injuries.  Although I have tripped a couple of times and scraped my knees, my injuries have never been anything that a little neosporin and few ibuprofen couldn't heal.

So with only 2 weeks left until my 5th marathon I was totally unprepared for a non-running related injury. 

I got my motorcycle license a year ago and although I passed the safety class I still don't feel comfortable on a bike.  So when a friend offered me to ride his son's 80cc dirt bike on some dirt roads with no traffic I thought it would be a good "safe" place to practice.  I was wrong, I hit a tree, I broke my clavicle. 

Luckily that was all I hurt.  After being thrown to the ground I was thinking three things:  s**t,  I just broke something and I won't be running the marathon on June 6.

It's hard not think that with one wrong turn I just wasted 6 months training for nothing. But I'm trying to remember that I had some great runs, ran faster than I ever have before and recovered faster. I know that 8 weeks in a sling means starting over, but I can't wait.  Hopefully I'll be more appreciative of every run, I'll be better prepared to achieve my goal, and most of all I'll be watching out for those trees. 

20 Days - 20 Miles!

Saturday was our longest training run before the big day - 20 miles around Mission Bay.  I felt good for most of the run until mile 18, I started slowing down and feeling every painful step.  2 more miles seemed like a lifetime. 

Luckily my running pal sensed me going to the dark side and started telling me why mile 18 was the best of all.  The fresh air, the yellow flowers, the cool breeze, he told me to listen for the cheering fans and the big band waiting at the finish. 

It worked, I picked up the pace and felt like I could actually make it to the end.  As we ran towards the finish I thought could actually hear the fans cheering, and to my astonishment I could.  The people who had finished the run earlier were waiting at the end, cheering us on, they put their arms up and we ran under through the ribbon "finish line".  The best part - they had a cooler with otter pops!  Best otter pop I ever ate. 

After 4 marathons I feel the most prepared for this one, I know it won't be easy but if I can pick up the pace at the end I may make my 5 hour goal, and while I won't have time to stop and smell the flowers just thinking of them will make me smile.

23 Days! There are no limits

If you've never listened to WNYC's Radio Lab you're seriously missing out.  I actually enjoy my daily commute on the days when I have a new podcast to listen to. 

It seemed that the last podcast was produced just for me - it was all about pushing yourself to your limit and how much the body and brain can endure. 

As I prepare for my 20 mile "training" run this Saturday, 21 days before the marathon, I'm inspired by Julie Moss collapsing and then crawling the final yards to finish her first triatholon and the cyclists who bike across the country as fast as they can.  I'll be doing my best to trick the voice in my head that tells me I'm exhausted and keep pushing on.

30 Days - Like Waves Crashin' on the Beach

People ask me how I can run long distances, my standard answer is "you put one foot in front of the other".  I have a difficult time explaining that the long distance runs are the easy ones.  The half marathons that you've paid $80 for, told all of your friends your going to do, thought about and trained for months, those are not so hard.  It's all the runs in between that are hard. 

Last night as I headed out for my run after work my iPod died.  It took everything in me not to get in my car and drive home.  I was hungry, I was tired, and more importantly the only person who would have noticed that I didn't run was me.  But when you start thinking "I can skip this run", then you start thinking you can skip every run.  And pretty soon you're sitting on the couch watching back to back Real World episodes until you've seen them all (not that I'm one to get sucked in by really bad reality tv, no, no, not me). 

And really I should clarify, once I'm running I love it.  It's motivating myself to take that first step that just plain sucks.  For me putting my shoes on takes way more effort than a 5 miler.  But once I'm out there, listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, in this beautiful place I'm so fortunate to live in it really is easy - I just put one foot in front of the other, and repeat.

41 Days - Hills, Big Hills

I didn't see this trio at my race today - in fact I know this will sound odd, but I didn't see anyone running in a red one piece bathing suit. 

LJ and I arrived at the La Jolla Half Marathon in time for the obligatory porta potty warm up.  This is where you stand in line for a 1/2 hour stretching and bouncing around trying to warm up while you wait with 6500 runners for one of 20 porta potties. 

After the national anthem the gun went off and the race was on.  It was definitely one of the most challenging races I've done, riddled with hills from start to finish, both big and small.  Thankfully I had run every part of the route, so I knew what to expect.  I knew that if I could just make it to the top of the hills a beautiful Pacific ocean view was always waiting for me on the other side.

I run most of my races alone, and I've gotten pretty good at keeping my mind occupied and using it as a way to push my body beyond what seems physically possible.  But today I never felt alone.  There were many people along the way that helped me get to the finish line and I'd like to thank just a few of them.  The 5 year old kid at the bottom of the Torrey Pines Hill yelling "come on guys, you got this, you can run that hill", the friendly woman in del mar who instead of sleeping in - stood in the alley making sure we didn't trip on the hidden speedbumps, the woman holding her 2009 triple crown medal telling us to remember why we were running, the SUPER hairy guy who inspired me to run faster to pass him because his sweat soaked pants were falling down, the two ladies ahead of me with the shirts that said "these shirts are filled with awesomeness", the paramedics and police helping the two people that had collapsed on the side of the road, and most of all - my friend LJ, she finished THE GIANT HILL ahead of me, and I could swear I felt the positive vibes she sent my way to help up the hill because all I could think of was "I bet she's already done with this freakin' hill, I want to be done with it too!"

41 short days until I'll be wishing I was running a few hills instead of running 26.2 miles - but I can't think of that right now, I'm just going to sit back, have a steak and a beer, and admire the trio of runners on my shiny new medal.

43 Days Left - No Dead Ends

I've found in running that there really is no such thing as a dead end.  Dead ends usually lead to a shortcut or even better a dirt trail and even better a dirt trail with a great view that's also a shortcut. 

The other day I was running my usual route up the hill towards La Jolla Cove and saw a fellow runner turn down a dead end road.  I figured he lived on that the street (lucky bastard), but as I finished my hill climb I saw him reappear up ahead of me.  All this time I was missing the most amazing trail that hugs the La Jolla coastline because I never thought to turn down that dead end road. 

Which leads me to why I'm even writing this post on what was my dead end blog.  A few weeks ago my friend Jenn invited me to attend the I Am Bossy's San Diego (No) Book Tour get-together.  The "what" you ask?  Yes, that's what I said too.  Jenn said "you have a blog, and you're funny (thanks Jenn!) and you should come with me".  "But I don't ever write in my blog" says I.  "Doesn't matter, lurkers are welcome" says J.  Jenn's enthusiasm was contagious - how could I not go? 

Basically it was a get together of a group of creative, smart, people (with sexy shoes) who have two things in common - they are bloggers and they love Bossy.

Maybe it was the margaritas, but it really energized and inspired me.  Maybe, just maybe people will want to read the thoughts I feel compelled to get out of my head, and if they don't maybe I just want to write them down anyway.  So thank you Jacquie, Christina, Matthew, Debbie, Kelly, Melanie, and our wonderful hostess Jenn, of course my pal lurker Jenn for leading me down the trail with an amazing view down a road I thought was a dead end. (we'll just have to wait and see if it's a shortcut too). 

Next up - Katy and Jenn get ready to run the La Jolla Half Marathon on day 41!

48 Days Left - Let the Countdown Begin

Since I'm attending a soirée with bloggers this week I'm feeling a little pressure to actually post something on my blog.

Also since I'm training for my 5th marathon I'm feeling the need to document the final days to d-day, mostly so I remember the pain and agony when I'm thinking of signing up for a 6th one.

Ran 18 miles this weekend from Oceanside pier down the bike path along San Luis River. Two things about this run amazed me:

1. After 6 years of running marathons and running all over the county there are still so many beautiful places in San Diego that I've never been to.

2. That I ran for 18 miles and enjoyed it (well, I enjoyed most of it). How is that even possible?