Ragnar del Sol Leg One

This weekend, I spent 33 hours traversing 200 miles from Wickenburg, AZ to Fountain Hills, AZ as part of a relay team completing Ragnar del Sol.  As we enjoyed beautiful desert vistas and dusty sweaty runs, we also enjoyed a camaraderie that one can only experience when doing something epic with friends.  I was a member of Van 1 and we made up half of a 12-person team – 4 men and 8 women – Team Jalapenos Make Us Run.

Running is Like a Jar of Jalapenos…...What you do today can Burn your @$$ tomorrow!

At 5:30 am Van 1 left Chandler,AZ in our decked-out van, sporting Mr. Jalapeno with his handlebar mustache on the front bumper and our loyal cactus holding onto the roof for dear life.   We were in good spirits and excited to start our adventure.  Our amazing van captain, Ms. D.F. Flower, provided us all with tutus and tiaras so when we got to the start line, we were ready to have some fun.  Of course, in typical goofball style, my husband became Mr. Tutu very early in the day.

I was runner number two so as soon as our first runner started out the gate (and went on to complete an amazing first run by the way) we took off to exchange 1 where I would take the baton and begin my run.  My adrenaline was getting going.  I have been training hard for Whiskey Basin and that naturally involves lots of trails and hill climbing, but also includes lots of slow easy runs to build endurance.  I was curious what I could do if I threw down on the road.   At roughly 9 am, I got to find out.  I took off for a 5.5-mile leg and within minutes, I could feel my hips opening up and my legs turning over.  I ended up averaging 8:31 min/mi and felt like I could have pushed even harder if knew I didn't have to run two more times with little to no sleep.  Wow, it felt great.  I was very pleased with that first run and my pride soared even higher when I saw the look of admiration on my husband's face.

The next two runs were completed by amazing women that really tackled the heat and finished in style. Finally, Mr. Tutu started his legs. He was picking up an extra leg for a teammate that couldn’t join us until a little later in the day.  With double legs ahead, he started out excited and playful, sporting his tutu of course.  He ended up being the talk of the town and no doubt cheered up many miserable runners that were suffering through the inferno that the was quickly descending on them all.  Once his run was completed, we handed off to van 2 and got a respite for the next several hours.  

After some food, we found a nice shady spot in a community park and relaxed.  It was at this time, that we discovered some hoodlum had stolen our friend the cactus.  Call out the investigative squad – we were pissed and wanted him back! While we never found our dear friend and mourned his loss the rest of the time, Leg One was fabulous and indicative of how the rest of the adventure would unfold.