Two weekends ago, I participated in the Ragnar Relay race from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois with 23 of my Run to the Pub teammates (including my husband Ryan). (This apparently is the only way we can both get away from our 4 kids, lol).

Check out a video I made that pretty much sums up my experience! http://flipagram.com/f/XHmgMqnn7k
(The Ragnar Relay race is a 200 mile relay where 2 vans of 6 runners leapfrog from exchange to exchange exchanging a baton (a slap bracelet) as they run from Madison to Chicago. The race starts on a Friday morning – we started at 7 am- and continues until you cross the finish line in Chicago, meaning you run in all weather, day or night until you finish. Each team consists of 12 people in 2 vans- we had two teams so no runner was every running alone. Each person completes 3 legs of the race each, totaling anywhere from 13 miles to 21 miles in total distance over 1.5 days)

So what did I learn participating in this cool race?

1. You can do more (physically) than you realize.
I hear so many people I coach say “I can’t do that, I can’t run, I will sign up for that 5K in 6 months, etc”. What about now?! You don’t need 6 months to start run walking to enter a 5K. Sign up for it now! If you can walk 3 miles, I assure you, you can run/walk a 5K! It’s more of a mental game than a physical game. If you are cleared for exercise, don’t be afraid to push your limits from time to time. It’s amazing how your body will respond.

During my race, I ran 7.5 miles, then sat and slept in a van for 6 hours, then ran 5 miles in the middle of the night, then slept in a van, then finished with 6 miles in the sun.
Did I feel fantastic the whole time? NOPE! But man WHAT A FEELING when I finished! You will NEVER know what your body is capable of, until you test it’s limits!!

2. Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork
Participating in a team event is so much more fun that just running a race by yourself. Nothing boosts you up more than 11 people screaming your name when you are running into the chute to pass a baton to the next team mate. Highly recommend looking into team events. And that does NOT mean you have to do a 200 mile race, lol. There are smaller events all over that are team based. Try it with a group, train together, dress up, act goofy.
It was a blast. I will be doing one again. (That being said, you also learn patience eating, sleeping, running and not showering when you live in a van with 6 people for 36 hours. A sense of humor helps as well!) 

3. Life is too short!
Running this race really helped me to realize how much I love this sport and how I really need to make it more of a priority in my life. Life gets busy with kids and family, with work, with obligations. But running this race made me want to put running and my goals up higher on the list. To do this, I need to plan better, wake up early (go to bed earlier as well!), and start to bring my kids to races as well so they can a) see their momma do something she loves, but also b) get motivated to start running themselves.

What are some of your goals that you are putting on the back burner? Don’t wait! Get going on them now! Post some of your goals below in the comments to win a prize!

Take 5 minutes and watch the video if you can. I have a feeling it will motivate you to get out there today and get your workout done! 😉

http://flipagram.com/f/XHmgMqnn7k

~Kelly