Ragnar approaches

Ragnar is a week from today.  As I look back on how different I felt this time last year it is hard not to post about it. 

Last year I was a brand new Ragnarian who had no idea what to expect who had trained hard - pushing through injury which I had no idea would impact my life so greatly a year later.  This year I breezed through logistics planning for my team with ease - thanks of course to my handy dandy spreadsheet I could re-use from last year!  I attended the Captain's meeting last night and smiled sweetly at all the newbies furiously taking notes, because they were now the ones with no idea what lay ahead of them, and chuckled about being in their shoes last year.  Last year I had obsessed about buying the right gear weeks before, this year I haven't even started to worry about what I need to buy except briefly in passing a couple of times.  Guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend, huh? 

Two major things are weighing on me.  Training and temperatures.

Last year I was in great shape having just finished my first half marathon a few months prior to starting Ragnar training and averaged twenty five miles a week until race weekend.  This year, I was barely able to run a mile straight when training started because of my injury - caused of course from training so hard the year before for two Ragnars and ignoring the plantar fasciitis I had going on.  Plus, I have a two year old and what seems like a crazier schedule this year with Big Sister's dance which impacted my training time severely.  I haven't come close to the distances I was running last year and although I've been following the beginner training plan laid out by Ragnar I fear I am not prepared enough for all the running I'll be doing on race day.  I guess we'll see next weekend how ready I am! Hopefully I'm just being too hard on the comparison between where I was last year and hating how far back injury pushed me from there.

Last year it was unseasonably cold in Utah and there were still mountain passes covered in snow that the course had to be rerouted around.  This year it's hot.  As in we've broken heat records in the past week.

(I've expressed my hatred of running in the heat before, right?)

Yesterday I ran three and a half miles in late afternoon heat (it was seventy degrees out I believe) and ended up with heat stroke.  About four hours post run I had the worst headache and was nauseated for hours.  Today I did some research - which means I asked a fellow outdoor enthusiast who trains in the heat - and found out both symptoms can be caused by heat stroke.  Great... the heat index is predicted to be ninety six for next weekend.  NINETY. SIX.  Two of my runs are anticipated to be in the heat of the afternoon. 

I'm trying hard not to panic.