Ragnar 2018

Hey all!  We had a great week!  We headed out to Utah to run Ragnar with my family!  Here we are all at the end, once we were able to smile again!  Really I had a lot of fun, and I think everyone else did too!

We drove out for Ragnar on Thursday.  We left at 3:30 in the  morning to let the kids sleep for as much as possible.  Winry basically slept the entire time we were in the car, and Brooke did awesome!  She got to use the tablet and watch movies while we drove, and even wore her kitty head phones!

We had the joy of waiting on the freeway for 30 minutes due to a rolled semi truck.  We didn't know what was going on, but we got there pretty close to after it happened as we were only 15-20 cars back in line.

We stopped at Little America to get ice cream and Brooke got to see a dinosaur.  She was really excited, but wouldn't get any closer than this.

We made it out safely, and all in all things went great!  We got to spend some time with my family, and just a little after bed time I headed out with the Ragnar team to go sleep at a friends house close to the starting line (we started at 5 am).  On the way to the race we passed the Wells Fargo horse semi!  That was pretty cool to see.

Friday morning at 5 am we started Ragnar!  Things were not very organized at the start, so there was a bit of waiting and some pleasant, very cold rain.  Luckily we had some umbrellas with us!  The race started a little late (we were in the first wave to leave) and actually ended up starting at 5:06 in the morning.  This year was definitely the year of the floss.  It was just the thing to do.

I was runner 5, so it was a while until my turn to run.  My first run was up Avon Pass, which was 8.8 miles and up about 1500 feet.  It was basically uphill the whole way.  The rain that morning made parts of the road very muddy, which almost pulled my shoes off a few times and got a nice rock in my shoe as well!  I ran past a few cows about 3 feet away that were not fenced in.  As I approached they snapped their heads up and looked at me, but fortunately went back to eating!  Also, as you can see in this picture it is a pretty run... and thankfully for this picture I know that now too! ;)

Some time later when we were back in the car we found that I had picked up friend!  I had a caterpillar on my shoulder!

One of the exchanges was next to a horse pen (actually, I saw a lot of horses, cows, goats, etc. on Ragnar), so I grabbed a picture to send to Brooke.  I wanted it to look like I was touching the horse... and I guess this does... Not quite exactly where I planned.

While I was out running Winry was playing with her cousin William, and I got this picture!  So cute!

My second run I pushed pretty hard.  It was 3.9 miles and I finished with a 7:48/mile pace.  Not bad for 9 months of plantar fasciitis!

We headed to the next exchange for some sleep, and we always bring some cots to sleep on.  The nice thing about cots is that you can set them up on rocks, so we don't have to worry about having a space on the grass to sleep!  I'm the farthest cot.

The Ragnar slap bracelet/baton makes for some nice makeshift sunglasses when in a pinch.  Also, as mentioned before, this Ragnar was the year of the floss, which even included some instruction.  I already included the team picture at the top from after the race.  I think everyone had a great time, and we even finished almost 3 hours before our predicted time!  Great job team!

Brooke was super excited to see me when I got back and told me that she had missed me very much while I was gone!  I got her and Winry Ragnar shirts at the finish line, and she was so excited to wear it today!  I should have gotten a picture, and I would go grab one now, but the kids are asleep... Hopefully I remember to grab a picture next time they're wearing them.

Today Brooke was drinking some milk and found another cup on the table and this happened... oops, got her cup stuck!  Fortunately Monica was able to get it out so we didn't have to lose all that milk! Also you may notice the spoon in Brooke's cup....she had to "scoop the milk"!

Oh hey, look at that!  I did actually have a picture of the girls in their Ragnar shirts!  Brooke wanted to hold Winry today!

Today at church in Elder's quorum we had a lesson about how all members of the body (and church) are needed!  It was really great to hear some personal stories of people trying to uplift one another and help everyone to feel needed.  One person shared a story about getting to know a neighbor who has been inactive for a long time, and shared about attending his mothers funeral and talking with him.  His friend introduced him to people as a "ward member" and started having a gospel discussion with him!  It was a great story, but I especially liked what he shared at the start.  He talked about how he always found it inspirational to hear other people share stories of ministering to each other, and going out of their way to help lift and bless each others lives, and because of the positive influence others stories have on him, he wanted to share his story.  I agree!  I think it is great to hear stories of how people have reached out to bless those around them.  There were several stories shared today and they were all great!  I enjoyed them so much that at one point when they mentioned someone needed help with sprinklers tomorrow night I even thought "I want to go help!".. but I don't actually know where they were talking about... and I won't be around to go...  But the point is I was inspired!  I encourage everyone to be willing to reach out and bless the lives of those around you!  I know that our efforts can make significant differences in the lives of those we come in contact with.  We need to always be seeking for opportunities to help our fellow man.  I share this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.