Ragnar Checklist

I can't believe it's almost Oct. 9, the start of the Ragnar Relay. I've done well to prepare, mostly. I've been preparing for the marathon with the Lopers, so I've been on the schedule set out for that. I ran 11 miles last week and will run 12 on Sunday, my last long run before the Ragnar.

However, I did not do a middle-of-the-night run as I'd hoped. Every time I thought of it, I was like "No way!" so I'll just have to jump into the fire then.

I haven't had too much contact with our group of late, so I'm not sure where we all stand in terms of provisions. We'll need a lot of stuff with us, such as water, Gatorade, food, you know, all of the essentials. I seriously can't even wrap my mind around all of the things that we'll need.

However, I have some things that I can start getting together, or at least make a checklist of to have with me when I set out on the Ragnar Relay.

* Clothes. I'll need a lot of changes of clothes. I'm not going to take a suitcase with me or anything but I will need clothes to change out of and into after my respective runs. I sweat a lot when I run. Usually by Mile 2 or 3, I'm dripping with sweat. And my runs are all more than 5 miles, so I anticipate a lot of sweating. I figure I'll need to take two full outfits. I'll just begin the day with what I'm going to run in, then will have to change before my second run and then before my last. I suppose I should throw in something to change out of for the drive home, unless I want to drive home all stinky. I have an idea of how to bring the stinky clothes back. I'll take the resealable plastic bags with me and then just put the dirty clothes in there. I hope that will work.

* Snacks. I'm going to bring my own snacks. I don't want to rely on what the captain brings for snacks because his tastes and mine are probably not the same. I'm going to bring some epples and banenes, probably a bag or two of trail mix, at least three energy bars (which will serve as my pre-run meals), and... I don't know. I have to figure out some other good snacks.

* Meals. I'm going to cook some pasta next week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I can carbo-load like a mother. I'll have plenty of leftovers to take with me. I'm also thinking of making a pasta salad too, for the trip and to have some semblance of a real meal. However, we will be driving through towns and stuff, so we won't exactly be traversing the Sahara desert or anything.

* Body Glide/Tape/band-aids. Anything to prevent the nipple chafing.

* Fully-charged iPod. I have to make some playlists.

* Camera. An absolute must. I might take both my cameras so I don't run out of battery juice.


* The Garmin. I'm undecided on The Polar. My old Polar would have been a slam dunk. I miss my old Polar. Sniff.

* Fuel Belt. Another must.

Well, I suppose that's it for now. I'm sure I'll think of three or five more things, and I'll probably think of them on the drive out there.