Who knew....

I'd be crazy enough to be talked into running the Ragnar del sol relay?

I borrowed this tag line from my cousin Stephanie because it fits this post more than anything else I could think of. What is the Ragnar relay you ask? The Ragnar started in Utah but has spread to other parts of the country (you can read about the history here). The Ragnar del Sol (Arizona) is a 202 mile race on foot from Wickenburg to Mesa. The realy is run as a team and each team consists of 12 individuals and two vans (unless you're a pro and want to run it with only 6.). Each van contains one driver and 6 relay members. Each team member runs three legs of the race, ranging between 3 and 8 miles. Van 1 members each run their first leg and then van two takes over and they run the next 6 legs and this leap frog pattern continues for 36 legs! However the legs are not equal, some are short but are but are up hill and some are long and and straight (well sort of). Doesn't sound so bad right? Well I left out one tiny detail...the race last 24 hours which means some team members will be running in the middle of the night and the rest will be sleeping in the vans until it is their turn. Gulp!

So why am I doing this? Do I love running...eh...not really (The farthest I've ever run in my life is 4 miles...on FLAT ground.). Do I love staying up all night and exercising? I don't think I even need to answer that. I am doing it because I NEED to. It has taken me a long time to realize that I am a "self-defeater". I've always chose not to do certain things (even when I wanted to) because I thought I wasn't good at them. I hated to try things that I was certain that I wouldn't excell at for fear of failing and looking dumb. So this is my challenge to myself. It will be mental and physical! The race takes place February 26th & 27th so fortunately I have time to train. The best part is that I am running with 9 amazing women from my ward and two friends who are SO supportive and like me have never taken on a challenge like this (except for our team captain). I super nervous even writing this post because now I am announcing it to the world and you are all my wittnesses. So if you see me eating differently and exercising a lot more in the next few months you'll know why. I'm not on some crazy crash diet I'm just in training. Am I crazy? Maybe. Will I feel amazing if I accomplish this? Definately!

P.S. Dad, since you're the only one crazy enough to do something like this (even if it was on a bike) I am going to need some serious mental support for this. As a matter of fact, if I am chosen to run during the middle of the night maybe you'd be willing to ride that bike along with me to keep me going.

HERE'S TO DOING THINGS YOU'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE! HERE'S TO LIVING ON THE EDGE! (OR AT LEAST AS CLOSE TO IT AS I'VE EVER BEEN) ;-)