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2012 Las Vegas Ragnar Relay

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Location:

Mesa,AZ,USA

Member Since:

May 12, 2008

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I started running again in 2007 after 14 years of not running.

Mile - 4:59 (high school 1992), 5:57 (9/21/2010 ARR Open Mile)

2 mile - 11:10 (high school 1992)

5k - 21:54 (11/18/2010 Tempe Road Runners 5k)

10k - 48:29 (5/9/2009 Race for Hospice)

Unofficial 10k - 47:11 (1/27/2011 Red Mountain Park)

1/2 marathon - 1:49:00 (4/4/2009 Havasu Half)

Marathon - 4:33:09 (11/21/2009 Mesquite Marathon)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Run a half marathon in under two hours.

Run a marathon in close to 4 hours.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Stay healthy long enough to live through the millenium.

Personal:

I am married and have six kids. 

Blog title explanation

Bloggers I've met in real life: 1MileToGo, Aaron Kennard, Andrea North, Arizona Desert Monsoon, auntieem, Bec, Ben, Benjamin, Bonnie, Camille, Cari, Collin Anderson, David Holt, DooneEight Kid Mom, Erico, Flatlander, Gary, Jake Krong, JamesW, Jose, Josse, Julieesplin, JunKelli, Kerri, KP, Kyle Dion, Lightitup, Little Bad Legs, Lybi, Marthon Dreamer, M, Mary Ann Schauerhamer, Misty, Nan, Peds Endo Doc, Rachelle, RADRhett, Riley Cook, Rossy, runningafterbabies, Sasha, Scott Hughes, Scott (Kelli's husband), Scott Wesemann, Slow Joe, Spencer Simpson, Stephen, Steve Piccolo, Susie, The Rookie, Toby, Tracy, Twinkies, TylerS, Walter

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Mizuno Wave Inspire 7 Lifetime Miles: 803.99
Asics Gel 3030 Lifetime Miles: 204.85
Saucony Hurricane 13 Lifetime Miles: 149.22
Asics Gel DS Trainer 17 Lifetime Miles: 87.49
Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 Lifetime Miles: 800.59
Brooks Ravenna 4 Lifetime Miles: 88.83
Mizuno X10 Trail Lifetime Miles: 180.06
Mizuno Wave Inspire 10 Lifetime Miles: 802.77
Asics Gel Kayano 21 Lifetime Miles: 56.47
Mizuno Wave Inspire 11 (blue) Lifetime Miles: 800.75
New Balance 1260v5 Lifetime Miles: 9.19
Reebok Floatride Lifetime Miles: 8.23
Race: 2012 Las Vegas Ragnar Relay (12.2 Miles) 02:02:00
Total Distance
12.20

Well, 13 is not a lucky number.  Especially in Vegas.  

I finally ran my 13th Ragnar on a team from my ward.  I've wanted to do it for quite some time.  My Bishop likes to run the Ragnar relay.  He captained up the team.  Unfortunately, a couple of days before the race, his boss told him he could not miss work.  So he ended up not going.  He was runner #3, and I was runner #2.  I decided to run his first leg which would give me a total of 10.1 miles and 3140 feet of downhill.

We had a 6:30am start time.  The course this year started up at the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort which is at an elevation of 8659 feet.  It was COLD and the wind was blowing hard.  In fact, it was snowing and the snow stung our exposed faces.  I'm kind of glad I wasn't the first runner.  My neighbor Mike that lives behind me was.  He did pretty good as he got us down the first 2079 feet of elevation.  Then he handed off to me at elevation 6490.

Remember that wind I was telling you about?  Luckily it was a tailwind.  No, wait.  That was unlucky.  I knew I needed to take it very easy going down the hill, but the first two miles were so steep and windy that I couldn't.  I managed to injure myself, but didn't know to what extent at the time. 

Mike ran the last mile of his leg so fast that I didn't have time for my Garmin to locate satellites.  I didn't know how far I had gone, but I did see a sign that said "ELEVATION 5000" and later another that said "ELEVATION 4000."  My calves and feet started to hurt bad.  Mike asked if I was okay and said he would take over for me.  Thinking I was about 2.5 miles away from the exchange and knowing I still had another 13.2 miles to go, I conceded to him.  When I got down the road in the van I realized I only had about 1.3 miles to go.  Had my Garmin been working and I knew that, I probably wouldn't have stopped. 

My calves continued to be sore, but I knew I could run through the pain of sore calves.  My next run was 6.2 miles of rolling hills.  As soon as I started running I felt some serious pain in my right knee.  I think I strained my ACL.  Or something.  I could barely run.  I was wearing my compression sleeves.  I pulled them up and wrapped them around my knee.  That helped a little.  But it wasn't long before I couldn't run at all.  I tried walking as fast as I could.  I did that for as long as I could.  I felt like once again, I was letting my team down.  I didn't want to quit.  But after 3.5 miles, I had no choice.  We were already down a runner, and now I was out.  Once again Mike picked up the slack for me.

 We shuffled runners around some more and even had runners from van #1 run a couple of legs.  We managed to cover all the ground on foot.  Kudos to my team. 

Some of the fun things were seeing a bunch of people I knew including RAD, writing, "WE DID NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA" on our back window and driving that through a very democratic area, and eating at Red Robin after the race.  Yum!

Mizuno Wave Inspire 7 Miles: 12.20
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Pron8r on Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 12:47:20 from 67.177.34.108

Sounds like quite the adventure. That weather is not all that unusual for LV (lived there for 29 years before moving to Providence). When we started at 9am, the wind was still blowing and the snow was still falling. The legs you ran were a lot of my former training routes. Mt. Charleston can definitely take a toll on your legs (knees, quads, etc) if you are not used to it/expecting it. Hope we meet up one day (are you running the Wasatch Back Relay?) so I can be added to your 'Bloggers I've met in real life' section.

From SlowJoe on Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 18:13:45 from 69.131.141.92

Nothing that ends with a burger at Red Robin can be all bad. Congrats on #13. Hope the injury is starting to heal. Hard to imagine NOT getting injured on a hill that steep.

#14 will be better. Where are all the pictures?! Is this really Burt?

From Burt on Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 19:05:07 from 72.223.86.148

Pron8tor - I do not have plans on running Wasatch Back any time again soon. It's soooo crowded! But you really should aspire to get on my list of Bloggers I've met in real life. It's a prestigious group :)

Joe - Can you believe I only took 1 picture??? After 13, maybe the luster is coming off.

From Hamdog Alum on Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 04:55:01 from 71.87.124.223

Congrats on finishing another one!

From RAD on Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 20:52:34 from 67.171.119.50

It was great to see you Burt! Sorry the knee gave you such fits...and I'm glad you didn't get jumped with that on the back of your van! Who would've done such a thing? Only some mean-spirited person, I'm sure ;)

From Rye on Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 16:28:06 from 71.220.175.47

Nothing like a bishop backing out at the last minute. Nice report.

From Burt on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 11:02:24 from 70.34.6.51

Erik - Thanks!

RAD - it was one of those "I dare you to do this" type of things :)

Rye - Haha Rye! You know all about that!

Dale - The knee feels fine when I don't run on it. And I haven't been running on it, so I guess you could say it feels great. My crummy back is starting to bother me again. The chiropractor says it may be time for an MRI :(

From The Quiet Pirate on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:31:10 from 71.49.55.78

Burt- Sorry your #13 wasn't lucky- especially in Vegas where luck is the only way you can win. The 13th was an unlucky day for me this month too...or maybe it was lucky, just depends on how you look at it.

I just wish you could have found something clever to write on the back of RAD's van. Good luck with the back and knee, and get yourself a dozen donuts. Not a baker's dozen, just 12.

From Burt on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:34:16 from 70.34.6.51

Pirate - I was just reading that entry now. Geez! And I couldn't write anything on RAD's van because she was on a sign language team, and they wouldn't have understood it.

From The Quiet Pirate on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:38:54 from 71.49.55.78

I'm laughing so much that lunch chunks flew out of nose. AARRRGGHH! The letter "i" in sign language is with the pinky finger Burt, not the middle one!

From Burt on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:41:42 from 70.34.6.51

I hope that wasn't too offensive. Scott Ensign's not going to read this, is he?

From The Quiet Pirate on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:44:05 from 71.49.55.78

The bishop might. He's not deaf too, is he?

From Burt on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:46:10 from 70.34.6.51

Like most bishops, he has selective hearing. What?

From ACorn on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 12:50:13 from 24.2.76.146

Your determination is inspiring. Those Ragnars look tough, I think I value my sleep too much to participate.

From Burt on Thu, Nov 22, 2012 at 17:57:02 from 70.34.6.51

Acorndogelius - I think a Ragnar would be tough for you because whatever team you would be on would give you the toughest set of legs. But you would probably dominate. So do it!

From julieesplin on Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 15:07:06 from 75.169.177.89

So happy I belong to a prestigious group.

From Burt on Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 17:18:38 from 72.223.86.148

You are the cream of the crop Julie.

From Tara on Mon, Dec 03, 2012 at 18:30:45 from 69.171.178.76

.

From runningafterbabies on Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 20:36:37 from 71.195.219.247

Nice to see you are up and running again.

From SlowJoe on Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 20:52:34 from 69.131.141.92

Hi Burt!

Hope all is well. Have a merry Christmas, my friend.

From Burt on Sun, Dec 16, 2012 at 21:43:12 from 72.223.86.148

RAB - ohhhh, you mean my blog is up and running. Yep. But I haven't run in over a month.

Joe - Thanks. You too. I'm running tomorrow. I promise.

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