Go, you chicken fat, go away!

2015 Zion Ragnar Trail Race

Recent EntriesHomeJoin Fast Running Blog Community!PredictorHealthy RecipesBurt's RacesFind BlogsMileage BoardTop Ten Excuses for Missing a RunTop Ten Training MistakesDiscussion ForumRace Reports Send A Private MessageWeek ViewMonth ViewYear View
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021
15% off for Fast Running Blog members at St. George Running Center!

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:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
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: 2015 Zion Ragnar Trail Race (7.8 Miles) 02:00:00
Total Distance
7.80

I drove up to Zion's Ponderosa Ranch Resort on Thursday with three of my teammates and one of their boyfriends.  We got there just in time to set up camp before it got too dark.  It was beautiful out and the stars were bright.  Night was cold, but I was prepared with my sleeping bag, an extra blanket, and two pillows.  My tent buddy, Ajit, brought an air mattress, and that was nice.  I was warm, but everyone else in the morning complained of freezing.

Our team captains, Marc and Marianna, stayed the night at a motel in Kanab.  They barely got there before the start of the race at 9:40am.  I checked our team in since they hadn't arrived yet.  About that time I saw a single grey cloud come over the mountain top.  My first thought was, "here it comes."  Marianna was our first runner and she arrived with just enough time to get her stuff out of the vehicles, put the bib on, and go to the starting line.  But the race started about 5 minutes late anyway.  I helped set up their tent and canopy.  Then I went over to watch her start.  She was at the back of the pack as they all ran by me.  Somehow she got lost out on the course.  We started getting worried after a while and we reported her to the race officials.  They sent someone to look for her and one of our guys ran the loop backward to see if he could find her.  He did as she eventually found her way back on course.  So, an hour and 45 minutes later, she had completed her 3.2 mile loop and the rest of us could run.

I was runner #6 which was the long loop, 7.8 miles.  By this time everyone of us had gotten rained on during our runs except for runner #5, Bao, who must've been awfully nice to Mother Nature.  The elevation is higher than what I'm used to running in, so it took about a half a mile to a mile before my lungs got acclimated.  The hills were steep in the first 2.5 miles, and I found myself hiking up the uphills and running the flats and downhills.  I felt relatively good until I reached the halfway point.  That's when I think the muscles in my legs were getting deprived of oxygen.  It was really hard to keep them moving.  I knew it was the elevation, and I hoped that it wouldn't be a problem in my next two legs because the distance was much shorter.  In fact, I would already have run over the half of my overall distance with this loop. 

About two miles into the run, I saw a runner off in the woods.  She hollered at us and asked us what loop we were on.  We were on red and she was on yellow.  Poor thing was lost.  I hope she found her way back.  I saw one guy cut the course I was running.  I don't know if he did it on purpose, but I yelled at him that he was going the wrong way.  I told him the course goes this way where I was going.  He turned around.  Then I realized the trail switched back around and would go right back to where he was, so I told him, "Never mind!  Go back to where you were!"  He only cut out about 100 feet and I quickly passed him.  I was surprised at the number of people I passed because I really wasn't running that fast.  But trail running is tough, and there were a lot of walkers.  The rain didn't bother me at all, but at about mile 3.5 it started to hail.  There were small pellets, but it made me say, "What the hail?!"  I'm glad they didn't get any bigger, and it only lasted for about a minute.  But still, that's 60 seconds worth of stinging hail.

I'm pretty sure I saw Jun at the race, but wasn't positive because he was wearing sunglasses.  I never approached him to ask because I'm sure he still thinks I'm a racist.  Anyway, after our last runner ran, it was Marianna's turn to run again.  Now she was doing the long loop and this is when the rain really started to come down.  She made it through, but they decided to stop the race for three hours and hope that it would let up.  They were going to let the next three runners on everyone's teams not have to run.  But the rain would only stop briefly, and then it was coming down again.  So they postponed it another 5 hours and were going to have everyone only run two legs.  I spent almost all the time in my tent.  I got a lot of sleep.  A lot!  Come morning, they opted to let the hardcore teams finish if they wanted to, but everyone else could call it a day and still collect their medals.  That's what my team decided to do.

It was kind of fun, but I won't do this one again.  Last year a similar weather front came through, but it snowed them out instead.  Either this race is cursed, or it's just bad timing and they need to move it to next month.  Very pretty area though.  And here is our team picture.  You like?

Mizuno X10 Trail Miles: 7.80
Weight: 0.00
Comments
From Rhett on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 17:02:50 from 24.121.0.8

That was nice of you guys to give everyone else a head start with your first runner going extra miles. :)

From Burt on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 17:13:55 from 174.26.194.193

Be kind and have courage. That's my motto.

From SlowJoe on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 17:39:39 from 104.51.208.13

Lots of good stuff. I like how you were warm and everyone else was freezing. Reminds me of that scene from Dumb and Dumber: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=siQEIDNebRk

I chuckled at the Jun thing too, which I vaguely remember. Didn't he quit the blog because of you or was that for something else?

From Burt on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 18:14:07 from 174.26.194.193

We're in the Rockies.

Jun quit because of something Sasha said about home schooling. It was so sad.

From allie on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 18:38:38 from 24.99.46.55

yeah, i think jun was there.

yeah, i like the team picture.

yeah, that race is cursed.

see you @ burning man.

From SlowJoe on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 19:02:49 from 104.51.208.13

Ahhh, that's right..I remember now. Good times. Not as good as the gay marriage thread but definitely top 10 or so.

Congrats on another Ragnar....hail yeaaahhh!

From Burt on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 19:17:00 from 174.26.194.193

allie - Thanks for keeping tabs on everything. Burning Man! I can't wait to see Demi!

Joe - the gay marriage. That was a doozy. I wonder if I've flip flopped my position on that yet. Hmmm...maybe when God does.

From SlowJoe on Tue, Apr 28, 2015 at 21:04:22 from 104.51.208.13

oh boy, here we go!

Add Your Comment.
  • Keep it family-safe. No vulgar or profane language. To discourage anonymous comments of cowardly nature, your IP address will be logged and posted next to your comment.
  • Do not respond to another person's comment out of context. If he made the original comment on another page/blog entry, go to that entry and respond there.
  • If all you want to do is contact the blogger and your comment is not connected with this entry and has no relevance to others, send a private message instead.
Only registered users with public blogs are allowed to post comments. Log in with your username and password or create an account and set up a blog.
Debt Reduction Calculator
Featured Announcements
Lone Faithfuls
(need a comment):
Recent Comments: