Ragnar- Wasatch Back Relay 2010

John here.

Tiffani asked me to do a little write-up about the Wasatch Back Relay I participated in over the weekend.  About 2 months ago my department manager asked if I wanted to race with the NordicTrack team in this year's Ragnar race.  I said "Sure....what's Ragnar."

So after two months of running I found myself ascending Avon pass in the first leg of this 188 mile, 12 man relay.  My first leg was 7.4 miles with 1200 feet elevation gain.  It was hot, dusty, and really really difficult.  Probably the hardest thing I've ever done.  I hit a wall at mile 5 and just about wanted to die. Somehow I made it to the top and was able to hand off the wristband to the next runner on our team.  We leapfrogged with the other vehicle in our 12 man team and 7 hours later found ourselves doing our next leg.  My next leg was 4.2 miles, flat, and in the cool of the evening.   Thank goodness.  By the time we all finished our legs, we got a chance to go to our hotel and catch about 2.5 hrs of sleep before we had to leave at 2:30AM to start our 3rd legs.  Luckily my 3rd leg was only 3 miles.  It did have a steep incline, but the uphill portion only lasted a half mile or so, so not bad.  Running with 4 good sized blisters wasn't fun, but I survived it and kept it in the ballpark of 8 min mile pace, so I was happy about that.  Our van handed off to the other team van to finish the last 6 legs of the race while we headed to McDonalds to pound some McGriddles. Mmmm.  

We finished the race at the Canyons resort in Park City.  It was amazing to see the NordicTrack Elite team pass us during the last few legs of our race. The Elite team was composed of several all american collegiate runners from around the state.  They ran so fast and so effortlessly, it really put everyone else to shame. At any rate, our team met at the finish line and we all crossed together.  It was fun to have Tiffani and the kids there to watch.  I think Alexis, Drew, and Maddie liked riding the Gondolas up to the finish line there at the Canyons.  We didn't stay for the post-race activities since the kids were with us and Tiffani and the kids had already had a pretty long day at that point.  

Overall it was an enjoyable experience even though the race legs were pretty exhausting I think a little more time preparing would go a long way, but all in all I think our team did pretty well. We beat the time from last year apparently.  I enjoyed the camaraderie in our van, cracking jokes, and cranking the Itunes playlists. We all work at the same company but in different departments.) It was good to represent NordicTrack in a fun, healthy event.

Our race leader decided to give us all nicknames.

NordicTrack incline trainer on display showing the Google Maps feature.  The incline trainer uses the Wifi module that I helped design.  Fun to see something I worked on being displayed for everyone to see.

Big tents set up for people to shop, etc.  There were over 1000 race teams with over 10,000 participants.  The race starts were staggered so we could fit everyone in our Corporate headquarters front parking lot where the race began.

Proof that Elvis is alive.

Here's our first guy starting leg #1

Proof I was there!

Trevor, Me, Jeff, Dave, Taylor, Drew

Jordanelle Reservoir Saturday morning.

1st major exchange (where van one hands off to van two) was at Snow basin ski resort

Crossing the finish line! 188 miles completed in 27hrs 53 mins.

Back to Tiffani

While John was doing all of his running and sleep deprivation, I had all 3.5 kids at home by myself. Lets not lie, they were really good on Friday and they didn't put up any fits at bedtime so it wasn't too bad without John. 

Saturday morning I had to wake up early to get everyone ready so we'd be there when the team crossed the finish line. I'd prepped everything the night before so it wasn't too busy that morning but we all know that when you prep there is always something that will go wrong. In the middle of the night Drew came into my room and told me he'd thrown up. I was so tired my response was: "Get in on daddy's side." The reason he'd thrown up was because he was coughing so much so I went and got him a piece of gum then went back to sleep. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I should've checked to see if he had any on him (he didn't). 

Saturday morning I started the washing machine so I could wash Drew's bedding and I made breakfast for all the kids and dressed them and collected everything we needed for our day. I was so proud that we were out the door only five minutes later than I'd wanted to be! It wasn't until I was filling the car up with gas that I realized that I hadn't put Drew's bedding in the washing machine!

The kids were doing well on the drive down until Drew says: "Mom, Madison is throwing up everywhere!" I was in the middle of a construction zone and I couldn't possibly do anything for her. I was finally able to get off the freeway and clean her up, luckily I'd brought an extra set of clothes, but only for her. I didn't put her in them for fear that she'd have a repeat episode. I drove to the nearest gas station and bought all the kids 7-Up and requested three extra plastic bags since the other two were complaining that they were feeling sick and then we got back on the road. Other than Alexis' soda spilling everywhere it was a fairly uneventful car ride until we pulled in to the WalMart in Park City and parked the car. As soon as the car was in park Drew threw up. I was prepared though and I caught it all in one of the bags I'd just picked up! And then I promptly spilled said bag all of the car! Yep, I'm as graceful as an elephant.

I took all the kids into WalMart to get some food for lunch, cleaning supplies for my car and a pair of shorts for Drew since his were nasty. The WalMart there is not a Super WalMart though. Ha. So I had to go to Smith's for the rest of the food items that I hadn't found. Then we were able to go to where they were finishing the race. Luckily, for me, the team was running slower than they had anticipated and John was able to come down and help me with the kids on the gondolas and getting to the finish line. 

The kids were not excited to ride the lift, Alexis had a fist full of Drew's shirt for the ride up and the ride down. She must have her mothers love of heights! They were excited to go to Toys 'R Us when we were done to get Madison's gift and they were hoping for something for themselves as well.

When we stopped at Toys 'R Us to get Madison's birthday gift this is what we found. She'd pulled her arm rest covers off and was using them as gloves! She thought she was so clever!