Ragnar Tidbits

In the spirit of Friday morning's post, I figured I'd do a tidbit of last-minute Ragnar Relay items as I prepare to head out to Las Vegas.

I'm going to leave early Friday morning, meet up with the other members of the super-awesome Van 2, and then from there prepare for our runs. Four runners from Van 2 will run before I do (Runners 6-10) so I'll be actively pulling for them while trying to stay calm for my own run at the same time.

Anyway, on to the late tidbits:

Final Playlist

Here is what music I've decided on to help me through the third and final leg.

For me, the heavy artillery is Metallica and Johnny Cash for the most part; some other scattered stuff as well. Yellow Submarine is for my girls, and the Cirque de Soleil song for Mrs. LB, since that was from the OVO show we saw in Montreal. I'm actually not sure if I'll make it that long into this particular playlist so I might move it up.

I'm trying out Lodi for the first time since I just put it on my iPod this week, even though I've had that CD for more than a decade. That's a great song. I've been to Lodi too... but the song's better than the town :)

Gu Delight

I picked up five energy gels a week ago from my local sporting goods store. Three remain.

The two that were used were a strawberry-flavored Gu packet and a package of Sport Beans. The Gu was my first venture into energy gels as I used it during last week's 12-miler. It worked great! I squirted the Gu into my mouth somewhere around Mile 5 and I didn't feel any negative effects. I actually didn't really feel a whole lot to be honest but that's the point. I maintained my strength during the whole run and felt great afterward. The Gu helped me maintain my energy. One of my running partners said to use them every four miles or so (on our pace, that would put us around the 45-minute mark or so) but since I only took one with me, I saved it for the hour mark of our run. I think it was like 55 minutes or so, can't remember.

Anyway, I figured I'd pick up the Clif gel too since I might as well try them all to see which ones I like. I did not like the Sport Beans very much. The flavor was okay but it was the texture that really did not sit well with me. Sport Beans are essentially jellybeans, and when I used them it felt like I was eating candy during my run. That might not necessarily be a bad thing but it was chewy and kind of stuck to my teeth because of it. I probably won't be getting those again.

I'm going to Gu up on my 7-miler Friday evening, and probably during Saturday's run too. My middle-of-the-night run is five miles and I might use a gel packet as well, depending on how I feel.

(Note: Since I took that picture, I've added more Gu to that stash as I know have nine packets now. I will take them all with me this weekend but I'm not planning on using them all, but some of my fellow runners may need some.)

Ragnar Relay Checklist

I'm such a dork sometimes. I forgot to put my fuel belt on my list of things to take with me out to the race. Duh!

Here's the updated list (with Xs for things that are already packed):

x - running shoes
x - socks (3 pairs)
x - running shirts (3)
x - running shorts (3)
x - workout undies (2)
x - sandals
x - post-race shorts (1)
x - post-race shirt (1)
x - sunglasses
x - Garmin
x - iPod
x - band-aids
x - medical tape
x - Aleve pain reliever
x - Gatorade (2 bottles)
x - Body Glide
x - Gu (5-8 packages)
x - trail mix
x - extra bag for dirty clothes
x - pasta salad
x - apples
x - cameras (w/memory card)
x - foam roller
x - fuel belt

Well, looks like I'm all set! Now I just have to try and get a good night's sleep, get up early and head out to Nevada.

I'm not going to leave the blog unattended. I've got some posts set to go while I'm gone, thanks to the wonders of future posting. So keep checking the blog back for some posts.