Run, Run, Run as fast as you can...

Isaac and I have officially signed up to run RAGNAR (The Wasatch Back). Started by Steve Hill in 2004, the Wasatch Back is a 170-mile relay from Logan to Park City, UT. Each team consists of 12 members, and each member runs 3 legs of the race each leg ranging from 3-9 miles varying in difficulty. The race does not stop to allow for sleep, runners will continue through the dark night, often running up hills in the mud. As crazy as it sounds, we are really excited for it. Each relay team choses a name, decks out their van, and even dresses up for the run. Some names from the past have included: "We've Got the Runs", "Team: I immediately regret this decision", "WWCND" (What Would Chuck Norris Do), "Run and not be Weary", "Team Dunder Mifflin Celebrity Race for the Cure for Rabbies" and many more great ones. Our team name (although not the one I voted for is) team "I B pro fun" and we plan to fully decorate our van and make team shirts. If you are wondering how we even got this crazy idea in our heads, My Mom's family decided to pull together a team and needed some extra people with the idea that it would hopefully be something of a bonding experience. Our team is not particularly running to win as we are quite the motley crew. We have all types of runners with varying levels of experience and ability ranging from middle schoolers who have not quite hit puberty, to those who spend all day in an office and complain of achy knees, to those who qualified for the Boston marathon this year.

Isaac and I have been trying to "train" but we are certainly not on schedule or prepared for what we will need to accomplish. I am leaving for Ecuador for a month before the race during which time I doubt that I will be able to go running everyday (especially since it is not that safe to go running by myself through the streets and jungles of a different country). I have a feeling that I will be walking the majority of the race....but nevertheless, I am still attempting to train as much as I can before I leave. And yet, everyday I go through the same psychological battle of convincing myself to go running. From the moment I wake up, I have to repeat to myself over and over again Iamgoingrunningtoday...IamgoingrunningtodayIamIamIam. During class I try to tell myself, you don't hate running, you love it
Which is a lie.
I have never liked it, not even in high school when we were required to run laps for Basketball practice. I always tried to play those mind games with myself like "wow! I can't believe that I have already run 4 laps, only 6 more to go!" Every runner will tell you that once you get on a schedule and have gone for long enough, you reach a point where your body craves the run, and running is the highlight of your day. That has never happened to me, that's for sure. But there is a certain feeling of self-mastery after the completion of a run (as short as it may be), and as small as it may be, it is a victory of its own kind: placing one foot in front of the other.

So at the end of each day, imagine us taking a deep breath, doing up our laces, and selecting our favorite songs on our ipods. Then if you would, please send some energy our way....we could sure use it.