Running the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay

Running the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay

I am happy to report that I survived the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay Race.  The team consisted of friends and family, many of them more consistent runners that me. Nevertheless, I assumed role of Team Captain (in charge of nagging, mostly) and took the set of legs with the highest mileage.  What was I thinking? I was most concerned about the stress fracture on my ankle – which had been feeling great as of late, and my IT band which has been a consistent problem as of late.  With the high mileage and some very long stretches of steep downhill, both injuries had opportunity to act up.  Thankfully – neither did!!!  Every muscle and joint was sore and has been since, but those injuries have been ok.  In any case, here are the 3 legs.

1st Leg (Nr. 11)

7.5 miles in 1:24:40 @ 11:21 min/mile and 1,823 ft elevation

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The leg was absolutely gorgeous. The leg climbed from the Pineview Reservoir up to Snow Basin ski resort. The climb was exhausting and I ended up power hiking portions of it.  There was a 1 mile downhill section in the middle that felt amazing. I just opened up and bombed down it, getting a 1 mile PR and a couple shorter PRs too.

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Off I go. Feeling great about 10 yds into the 7.5 mile run
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Panorama looking back down towards the Pineview Reservoir
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A couple miles in, tired, but feeling good enough for selfies showing off my pearly-snap thrift store wrangler shirt. Funny story – a guy stopped me to ask where I got it. “Is that a Nike?” he asked. The same guy passed me again during my third leg and saw me wearing a different pearly snap shirt and got a kick out of it. Nice bloke.
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At mile 2.8, looking down a 1 mile stretch of glorious downhill.
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Shortly after this our van had a couple hours to rest, so we set up our sleeping bags on the grass at snow basin. Supposedly my wife is in the sleeping bag next to me.

2nd Leg (Nr. 23)

5.6 miles in 55:06 @ 9:53 min/mile and 301 ft. elevation

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 This was my night leg. I ran it from about 2:30-3:30. I started out a bit cold, but by the end was as hot as ever. I’m glad that I didn’t over dress.  The leg went along Rockport Reservoir and would have probably been gorgeous in daylight. It was a slow steady climb for most of it.

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I wore my max-cushioning trail shoes – a pair of Altra Olympus – for the duration of the race. I figured they would save my feet and joints.

3rd Leg (Nr. 35)

10.0 miles in 1:34:59 @ 9:28 min/mile and 498 ft. elevation (and 2,636 ft. elevation drop!)

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Before this leg we were able to crash at a teammate’s cousin’s house on the floor and get a hot shower and breakfast. Wow – it made a huge difference.  By the time I started it was about 2:00 and although it was only 70, it felt hotter.  My last leg was 10 miles and dropped a total of 2,636 elevation over the course of about 7-8 miles of it. Had this been my first leg, I think I would have loved it – just bombing down. But, I had already run 13 miles the previous two legs and I was already beat sore. At a number of points on the descent, I had to stop and walk for a bit. There was about 500 ft. of climbing as well – almost all of which I power hiked. I was just spent. Towards the end, there was about a 1/2 mile of trail. I hit that and blew past a bunch of people who were carefully picking their way down the trail. I was in my element and made good time.

By the finish I had hit 9.9 miles, so I did the hand off and went an extra .1.  I hit PRs for 10 mile, 15 k, 10 k, 2 miles, 1 mile, 1 k, and 1/2 mile.  So, that made me happy.

I was also relieved that my dreaded IT band, which I was afraid would rear its ugly head on all of this downhill didn’t hurt AT ALL.  Wow.

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A view from the top.
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Done. So so sore.
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Team Awesome! finally finished!

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In the end it was a very good experience.  I ran 23 miles, which is more that I usually do – way more. Will I do it next year? Honestly…probably not. I think I would rather train for a trail race. But who knows . . . maybe.

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