I'm Out

They just increased my second leg by .1 mile. I'm out!

What we've been doing.

Well fellow FMXers. How are you all doing? Donna and I ran in the 10K on January 30th out in Queen Creek. It was a blast. Donna came in second. Woo Hoo. She did it in 1 hour and 17 seconds.

Now there is another chance for all of us to run together. On the 20th, one week before the Ragnar, there is a 10K in Las Sendas. This one has some hills, but that is just the training we need. Donna and I have signed up. We would like to see some of our teammates there to run with us. It is so close to home and it will be a good training run to get ready for the big day.

So, who's up for it?

I am so excited for the ragnar. I say bring it on!!! Lets run!

Lois

Bad News~Good News

We have some bad news... Megan was running with Steve the other night and slipped on some loose dirt and sprained her ankle. Her doctor advised her that she may be able to run in 4 weeks but that means it will be near impossible for her to train for this next crucial month. She originally was going to work it out and walk to train, but after a few days of painful realization, she feels as if the Ragnar is just not going to happen this year. I know this is really hard for her because she has been training just as hard as anybody else if not harder. She is one of our runners who had to start from the beginning and she has come such a long way. I know if the Ragnar was tomorrow and if she were not injured, she would rock it! I'm so proud of you Megan you are still part of the team!

So now we need someone to step in and fill a spot. So a good friend of ours that many of you know has agreed to step in and help us out. Clifton Smith! I don't know yet how we are going to work things out because we may need to move peoples legs around. But hopefully everyone can accommodate. We are happy to have Clifton on the team! He is practically family to Donald and I, and I think he can come to terms with the FMX way of life... which is we do what we love and we love doing it!

London's Run

Come get some more practice in before Ragnar! I just signed up for london's run 10k. They also have a half marathon for the over achiever's. Londonsrun.org. The price goes up in a couple of days. It will be Saturday, January 30th around 8am.

-Megan

A few changes...

I'm sure you guys got the email about the coarse finish line change. It's a good thing. They'll have a great place set up for our families to hang out at Tempe Market Place and it should be a good place to celebrate. But it did cause a few of the runners legs to change, some more than others. I changed some people around that are in the 2nd van. But go look at the website and see if the changes are ok. I think they should be for most of you.

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/delsol/coursemaps

Here's something I thought was exciting! I submitted each of our pace times into the Ragnar calculator and it accounts for hills and gives anticipated times for each runner. If we can each be consistent with our paces then it should be pretty accurate.

I requested to begin at 08:00. I haven't heard back yet. Our approx finish time would be around 5:30pm Saturday.

R1 Donna
R2 Jaba
R3 Donald
R4 Shannon
R5 James
R6 Bill
R7 Lois
R8 Kristin
R9 Kevin
R10 Clifton
R11 Steve
R12 Scott

I will have to email the info to you because Blogger is so STUPID!!!!

Pace Time Time!

I have to submit these pace times by TOMORROW!!!
So I think I'm going to have to take my best guess.
This is what I have so far. Please correct me if I am wrong because I need to be accurate to get the correct start time for our team.

Shannon- 12:30 (sorry guys)
Steve- 10:30
James- 11:30
Donald- 8:30
Donna- 10:30
Jaba- 11:30
Katie- 11:00
Kevin- 10:30
Kristin- 7:30
Megan- 11:30
Lois- 11:15
Scott- 8:00

That gives us an average of about 10:30. We are where we need to be. So lets focus now on finishing together as a team. Keep training! It's going to be tough!

Alright everyone! I put together the runner assignments for the Ragnar. I hope everyone is happy :) If not, too bad. Ha not really. If you really are concerned, then let me know but I think I know where everyone is at and I know you can do it!

Here they are:
Runner 1: Donna
Runner 2: Jaba
Runner 3: Donald
Runner 4: Shannon
Runner 5: James
Runner 6: Katie/Bill
Runner 7: Lois
Runner 8: Kristin
Runner 9: Kevin
Runner 10: Megan
Runner 11: Steve
Runner 12: Scott
Check em out ... OH MY LEGS

There are a few more items that I need to discuss with all of you.

1st: I have not received money from Kristen, Steve, Donna, Jaba, and Katie/Bill (I know you may not have known Katie). {85$}

2nd: We need to have 3 volunteers for our team. These volunteers will help the Ragnar race with whatever they need. Here is some info:

When

Friday, February 26th or Saturday, February 27th

Where

Along the race course

Time Commitment

Shifts are 4-7 hours

Duties

Crowd Control

Course Direction

Exchange Point Mgnt

Time Keeping

Course Supervision

Perks

Race Official T-shirt

Race Packet

Access to all events

Volunteers must:

be at least 16 years old and have a valid drivers license

provide their own transportation to and from their assigned location

wear their official volunteer T-shirt while at their assigned location

be physically able to perform their assigned duties

be willing to fulfill any assigned volunteer time

be willing to fulfill their entire shift at an assigned location

This is important because if we don't get 3 volunteers by January 15th we MUST pay 120$ for each volunteer. Those are the rules. So we need to recruit. Volunteers can sign up online at the Ragnar website starting January 15th at 9am. The shifts are assigned first come first serve so if we get volunteers now they can sign up right away and have a better chance of doing what they want. Here is the link... Sign up volunteers!

3rd: We will need 2 vans or vehicles that support 6 runners and a driver comfortably with all of our gear. From doing this once before, I am going to suggest a 12-15 passenger van. Every runner is going to have luggage and we are going to need room for food, water, the ice chest, and to stretch out. SO my dad has offered his 15 passenger van but I'm not sure if that's going to be a sure thing yet. The other condition is, the vehicle is going to be making FREQUENT stops and idling for long periods of time and it would be a nightmare if the van broke down. We need 2 very reliable clean vehicles. I suggest we rent them and split the costs between the runners. But if you guys want to try and find vans to use that would be ok too. Rental is very convenient because you don't have to clean it or worry about the vehicle being reliable. PLUS we will be decorating the crap out of these cars so make sure who ever we ask to borrow from knows that. I put it to a vote.

4th: Hotels. We will be getting at least one hotel on the route so that we can get at least one shower and rest for a bit. I am going to ask that we all split the cost. It's not much that's why I ask. It's a Super 8 and I don't think we will pay more than 70 for the night. So split between 12 people, I think we can all handle that right? The question is do you guys want to get 2 hotels. There are 2 major down times for each van when you will have time to rest. At the exchange points there should be a grassy area to lay down blankets and rest. BUT, from experience, it's not really restful. And the 2nd down time is the time that will most likely be at night and I have no hotel planned for that area. This is my question. Would you like me to see if I can find a second hotel for that area? I'll tell you the problem it is in the Cave Creek/ Carefree area (kinda close to home but too far to come home to rest), I will have to do some more digging and maybe drive out there to find a hotel nearby because we are running through residential areas, not so big on hotels.

This is all the important stuff for now. I know it looks like a lot but it's not. I just really can't make all these decisions by myself, especially when it comes to money. Unless you want me to and I can tell you what you owe. :)

THANKS EVERYONE!

-Love- Shannon