Great River Ragnar Relay 8/19-20/2010

The Ragnar Relay was named after a Norse King from the Viking Age. I don't know much about this Norse King, Ragnar, but he must have been really dirty, sweaty, hungry and tired. The term Ragnar infers toughness, courage, ferocity, and the physical and mental strength to conquer all. Should I change my name?

I was just one of Ricky's Dirty Dozen, an all-woman team assembled by my brf, Thelma back in January. The quest was a 193-mile, non-stop, foot race through towns bordering along the world-famous Mississippi River. We started in Winona MN at 9:30am Friday morning, taking turns tagging and running 36 legs, leapfrogging two vehicles, until the 12 of us jumped in for our slow motion, celebratory finish in Minneapolis at 29h:49m:55s later.

Immediately after completing my last leg, I wanted nothing to do with another 30-hour running fiasco such as this. I ran a total of 25.3 miles, in 4 legs, over the course of 21 hours, with 1-2 hours of sleep (on a shower curtain on wet grass), and lacking nutrition.

This was my longest adventure away from Taia, and this is what I chose to do with my vacation? Hell ya!

Besides losing 8 lbs in water weight this past weekend, I'm also lacking over 1,000 brain cells. I'm the kind of person that can live off and still function on 4-5 hours of mediocre sleep a night, but I could not for the life of me run AND talk or think simultaneously by 6:30 Saturday morning.

The very worst part of the entire ordeal was having to drive solo from MN to Omaha, NE on Sunday. Aside from drinking 3-4 cups of coffee with Ricky and Thelma that morning, I took a sport energy mint that advertised "6 hours of power" at 1pm, drank a 5-hour energy drink at 5pm, ate a package of GU chomps because I saw "with caffeine" on the package, and then washed them all down with a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew. The copious quantities of caffeine didn't seem to affect me for when I arrived home around 8, I was ready for bed.

By Monday, still extremely exhausted, I was ready to do it again.

Once you've conquered Ragnar, you just can't run away.

Things to remember for next time:

• Sleep is important, try it.
• Bring a camping pad, yoga mat, or something soft to lie on.
• Nights can be cooler, bring a blanket, sweater, or jacket.
• Eating is very important. Don't go to the Garden Pub & Grille in Pepin WI if you are in need of nourishment. If you do go, don't order a salad.
• Bring plastic bags of all sizes for trash and ziplock bags for sweaty running clothes and socks.
• A case of water is not enough, even if someone like me consumes all the opened, half-full bottles.
• Bring more large sweat towels.
• I cannot drive the Vanagon, especially in front of a big crowd of people with an officer holding back traffic.
• Perfect the Jody-Butt Massage with the Marathon Stick.
• When someone estimates their finishing time, be close to the exchange zone early. It sucks to miss your runner as she runs by you while you are trying to decide what to wear.
• Make sure you don't lose a shoe in the middle of the night.
• This is not a sprinting kind of race, at least not on your last leg.
• Running in the rain is nice. It can always get worse.
• Don't lose the Ragnar slap bracelet in the first leg.
• Don't lose your contact lens case in the vehicle.
• The $12 Claire's tutu is a fantastic deal and an ideal running costume.
• A shower curtain in the trunk of your car can come in very handy. It's not just for hiding/disposing of dead bodies.
• Remember what your last runner is wearing (and all possible costumes) so she doesn't run by without you recognizing her.
• Don't leave the mascot on your front porch after driving 365 miles with him. Someone will steal him.

Boobs - Easy Come, Easy Go

I've never been well-endowed or even just endowed.

It's genetic.

My mom doesn't have boobs and neither does my dad.

I can't deny that 'bigger boobs' was on the Pro list for having kids.

I always weigh the Pros and Cons when I don't want to do something, mainly to prove to Rodney that I did actually think consider a variety of factors.

There was a sizable list a few years ago when I was kicking and screaming and begging for us NOT to move to Omaha. Interestingly enough, one of the pros was that hockey exists here (Omaha Lancers and UNO Mavericks). Let's face it, a city that loves hockey couldn't be all bad.

Let's get back to the the boob blog...

To quote the Mad Hatter, "it's very easy to take more than nothing", and I did that. It wasn't much more than nothing, but it was something, and I appreciated them while they lasted.

We were lucky that breastfeeding was relatively easy, as well as the healthier, cheaper, and the more convenient option. I'm convinced that Taia's milk-soy-protein-intolerance (aka NO ice cream, cheese, butter, donuts, cookies, cake, and all other things good and tasty diet) helped me lose the baby weight in record time, along with running all those miles for my own sanity. I can't say I always enjoyed feeling like a cow. They may have looked nice and perky, but they were indeed milk-filled, feeding machines that kept me under breast arrest and alcohol-free (sort of) for 11.5 months.

It's amazing where I am in my life now in comparison to where I thought I would be. To sum up the weirdness, let's just say this year, I've turned into (what I would have thought would be) my worst nightmare: an over-educated, stay-at-home, breastfeeding, marathoning mom.

I can finally subtract the breastfeeding from the list of activities. We are done and the weaning project was a success.

And the temporary boobage is just a faded mammary.

Running Love - A Family Affair

We celebrated (or didn't celebrate) our 6-year anniversary on my birthday. It's both good and bad that the two fall on the same day. Good, because we never forget, but bad because we don't celebrate both. Birthdays are associated with drinking and craziness; anniversaries are associated with romance and alone time...so typically we just celebrate neither. I'd like to think we don't need a special day to celebrate.

Rodney's birthday ended the Greens Birthday Week.

He turned 30. A good wife might have thrown a surprise birthday party, but...yeah, you get the picture.

Rodney's birthday was similar to mine the week prior....I ran around like crazy and he spent the day with Taia and his family (Howard, Linnea, and Luke), who were in town. For his birthday, I decided to take Rodney running. By the time we hit the pavement, it was 95 degrees and full sun. Starting a 9-miler at 11am and ending around 1pm was a bad idea, but despite the major discomfort, we were together, and that was a good thing.

The day after Rodney's birthday we all got up at 6am and headed to Walnut Creek in Papillion NE to participate in a 5K run against Colorectal Cancer, called the Boxer 500. Howard, Linnea, Luke, and Taia were there, as well as a bunch of our running buddies like Denny, Gina and Jim. The Morkels gave us boxers and t-shirts – we were supposed to wear our underwear to draw attention to our bottoms! And that we did.

Grandma Linnea crossed the finish line with BOB & Taia, who was rocked to sleep with all the action. It was nice to introduce Rodney's family to our world for a day, even though it was the Pancake Breakfast was enticed my father-in-law to even get up. He walked about a quarter mile and turned around. He probably thinks I'm trying to kill him. I should add, that I'm not.

Surprisingly I PR'd, finishing as the 2nd fastest female in the awful heat and humidity. I also won a drawing for a case of assorted energy drinks (like I need more energy!). It was my first time running in the F35-39 age group, as it was Rodney's first entering the M30-34 category. Although we feel old, we can find comfort in knowing we're the youngest of our newfound age groups.

Omaha Triathlon Relay - 8/1/2010

The day after my 35th birthday I was up at 3am for yet another event.

I was the runner of an all-woman (all-mothers) relay team for the inaugural Omaha Triathlon at Lake Cunningham.

Our Team Name: Yo' Momma

It was my first ever triathlon, and I didn't even get outside my comfort zone. I'm such a chicken.

Vicki swam the mile, Liz biked the 25 miles, and I waited five hours to run the hilliest, hottest 10K in the blistering sun. My transition and run was the best I could do. I never give less than my best, although Vicki and Liz couldn't have cared less how fast or slow I went. We were a team of moms, getting away from our kids for just a little while. We were happy sharing the experience together and our matching shirts were a hit.