Sabbatical

Many of you know we had a vigorous, but good vacation. Perfect weather, unparalleled sights, challenges with subsequent accomplishments. That is all true. However, vacation also produced a lot of stress - route finding on our off-trail day, Joe's tumble with the resulting gash to his shin and what we now know are intraarticular fractures to his toe and finger, a long and trying summit day in which we did not have enough food or water, poor sleep (this is always the case when backpacking) and constant situations that required critical decision making (this way or that way? will this boulder teeter or be steady?). 

A common theme threaded through these stressful moments was a fixation on time. The terrain we covered was harsh and beautiful, humbling in the amount of time it took to cover ground. We took on more than we thought we did when planning our route, rolling into camp later than we'd like, watching our watches, watching the moving sun, battling daylight. Worrying about time is not a vacation ideal. 

Our daily lives are driven by time, with two main truths: 1) we never have enough time to do all we need to do and want to do and 2) we are barely meeting time deadlines - finishing documents at work moments before they're due, getting to bed at night with just enough time to maybe squeeze out 5-7 hours of sleep, cognizant of time every morning to insure we have enough time to run before work, and so on and so on, you get the picture. Maybe your life mirrors ours - slaves tethered to time.

The fact that vacation was filled with a lot of stress about time made us realize that we need to do something different in our approach to vacation - maybe fewer miles per day? We haven't solved that issue yet and we have a year to think on it, but in the mean time, I realize I want to begin freeing up more time in my regular life. There isn't a lot I can do about work deadlines, but the rest of my life has some leeway. To that end, I realize this blog has become another obligation. Each post takes me 1-2 hours to complete. That's precious time from already busy weekends (forget about work nights - no way could I blog then). The other issue with this blog is that I'm often repeating information I've posted on Facebook. In this world where social media is king, Facebook is the prime place to reach EVERYBODY and share information. Yes, I do go into more details while telling race stories or general life updates here, but that is something those who really want to know can ask about. 

I began this blog in early 2009 while in a tenuous situation with my newly herniated L4/L5 disc. Whether or not I'd need surgery was up in the air, and rather than duplicating emails to the masses, I formed a central post with this blog. Since that time, it's morphed into something else. It has chronicled my running, fitness and vacation adventures, and to a lesser degree has touched on work, relationships and the arcane. 

I feel it's run it's course for now. I intend to take a sabbatical from blogging, but may return in the future. If and when I do, I'll send an email notification that it's back in business. In the meantime, if you want to keep up with the challenges and triumphs of our lives, tune in to Facebook. If you want to see vacation pictures and hear more of the story of our vacation, check out my Facebook posts of the past week. If you want to know about upcoming races and how those races play out, check Facebook. Bottom line, Facebook posts will be the new blog ☺ If you're not on Facebook, you're SOL. Until then ....

"Looking" Ahead

Dilated Eyes After Eye Exam

I’m scheduled for an eye exam every two years. Or was. Now I’m on the yearly list because…I have cataracts! Most of my life I have had perfect vision and only began seeing an ophthalmologist in my mid-30’s for preventative health measures. A lot of people don’t realize that eye exams are necessary even for those with good sight as eye diseases can lurk behind the scenes. When I turned 40, my distance vision decreased a smidge and I was offered glasses to wear for watching TV, driving and things of that nature. At 42, my eyes were exactly the same. And this week, at 44, I was told that my distance vision has improved from 20/50 to 20/25 (near perfect), but that I also have bilateral cataracts! As Dr. Flickinger (the coolest 80-something year old doctor you’ll ever meet) used the thingy-mabob to look deep into my eye anatomy and uttered the word “cataract” I guffawed and told him that was crazy talk.

Dr. F : Do you have diabetes?

Me: Nope.

Dr. F: Have you ever been on steroids? Prednisone, Cortisol shots? Asthma inhalers?

Me:  Nope.

Dr. F: Have you ever been a smoker?

Me: Nope.

He tells me those are the most common causes for cataracts in a person as young as me, that and nearsightedness from an early age (kids with coke bottle glasses). Most people who develop cataracts are nearsighted and/or old. In fact, the 80+ year old Dr. F joked, “the only way to really avoid cataracts is to die young, which isn’t on my bucket list!”

So, there you have it. My vision is near perfect, I do not need glasses, but I may someday need cataract surgery. It could be decades and decades before, or if, I ever need help, but this is enough for me to be placed on the annual checkup list. More tidbits about cataracts:

A cataract is a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil.

Cataracts are the most common cause of vision loss in people over age 40 and is the principal cause of blindness in the world. In fact, there are more cases of cataracts worldwide than there are of glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy combined.

Today, cataracts affect more than 22 million Americans age 40 and older. And as the U.S. population ages, more than 30 million Americans are expected to have cataracts by the year 2020.

Types of cataracts include:

• A subcapsular cataract occurs at the back of the lens. People with diabetes or those taking high doses of steroid medications have a greater risk of developing a subcapsular cataract.
• A nuclear cataract forms deep in the central zone (nucleus) of the lens. Nuclear cataracts usually are associated with aging.
• A cortical cataract is characterized by white, wedge-like opacities that start in the periphery of the lens and work their way to the center in a spoke-like fashion. This type of cataract occurs in the lens cortex, which is the part of the lens that surrounds the central nucleus.

On a different note, but holding to the theme of looking ahead, Joe and I leave for a much needed vacation next week. You may recall that we were left scrambling for a new backpacking destination after Glacier National Park denied our backcountry request. As it turns out, that was a blessing because with the wildfires currently burning in the park, the smoke filled sky would heavily detract from the views and experience. Plus those grizzlies have been pushed out of the fire areas, increasing the likelihood of a human-bear brawl (and guess who usually wins?)

When we return, we’ll resume our training for our next half marathon, The North Face Endurance Challenge Trail race on 10/4/15.

And now, for no connected reason, I leave you with this picture of the Boyz. They frequently snag Joe's side of the bed the instant his feet hit the ground, thus preventing the full making of the bed. #notspoiled

Dances With Dirt

Let's Do This!

Up at 4:00a.m., (mandatory) cute outfit donned (orange-on-black electric bolt gaiters & orange hat pulling it all together with a green dragon/orange lotus Ink-n-Burn tank), Body Glide applied, peanut butter toast eaten, appreciation given for the decent weather forecast (partly sunny, 65°-75°with mild humidity) and in HIKR JOY on the road to Baraboo, WI by 4:45 a.m. for our 7:30a.m. start time.  

Crazy hard, crazy fun day. This is the kind of race where the successes are seen in the process more than the final numbers. The kind of race where the final numbers may only be impressive to the those who actually endured the course; those who knew how difficult the Ice Age Trail single-track really was. I ran well and I ran strong. I felt good the whole time. Coach Matt wanted me to do a 1 mile warm up jog before and AFTER the race. Crazy Town. I did the one mile warm-up, which seemed like a questionable idea (wouldn't that deplete me of some energy before the race even started?), but I ain't questioning the coach! It was actually nice and did warm me up well. I did some other warm up moves and then it was race time. 

Click to Enlarge This Picture - We're The Blue Loop

The course begins down a grossly tractor-tire rutted road as it heads into the woods onto the Ice Age Trail at Parfrey's Glen. At the entrance to the woods, a bottleneck historically occurs where a wide path narrows to single-track, so the race informally started the 500 of us half marathoners into waves based on projected pace to reduce those bottleneck issues. Joe took off in Wave 1, while I placed myself in the third and final wave. 

Elevation Profile

The first 2 mile uphill jaunt included tons of walking (EVERYONE else was too) and camaraderie, as runners marched single file up the unforgiving rocky hill. I talked to a guy who'd just done the Ragnar last month (his team finished an hour faster than our team) and with another guy who was adhering to the Maffetone Method (remember my days of low heart rate training?), keeping his HR under 139 for the entire race. I'd run on brief flat portions of that 2-mile march and once we reached the top, as planned, I flew downhill. It was mainly single track so I was skimming trees to get around people☺ On level areas I was killing it too with a faster pace than estimated. I was grateful for all the trees protecting me from the sun - it was turning steamy. I'm one of those mega sweaters, capable of losing 5%+ of my body weight on a run, so I was taking in an energy block roughly every mile. 

My speedy feet screeched to a halt abruptly at Mile 6, where a turn in direction led to a sharp climb (see elevation chart above). Mile 6-7 was insanely steep. I had to hike the entire mile (along with everyone else) - it was one of those pitched slopes that are even difficult to walk up, but as we neared the top, it was clear we'd arrived to something big. A short flat run led to the scenic South Bluff overlook of Devil's Lake. Runners used this as an opportunity to snap photos and guzzle GU, but having seen this view (and better) in my many trips to Devil's Lake State Park, I kept moving. Down a steep boulder staircase, then racing a long downhill portion with no other runners in sight until another uphill slog began. Uphill, downhill, the elevation changes gradually diminished into the final 2 miles. 

The last 2 miles out were all downhill. Wheeee! I flew again, but I was so soaked with sweat that my shorts were heavy and threatening to fall down - had to keep grabbing them and tugging them back up! I always lose the nails of my second toes at some point each year following races with a lot of downhills. I was doing great this year until that toe slammed into a rock. Doh! I'll be losing that nail in a couple months☺

Coming off the downhill breeze, there was a brief uphill incline that felt like Mt. Everest before turning back to the homestretch on that terribly rutted road (pictured below).

I planned my race well and had a little kick to the finish line (pictured above)...and then it was off to run a 1 mile cool down. That 1-mile cool down sucked. I hated every second of it. After running 14+ hard miles (remember, I had that 1 mile warm-up), the last thing I wanted to do was run some more. I felt like a poser in that cool down mile, as if I was some amazing runner who just had to keep going. Someone joked, "You know the race is done, right?" I would have preferred to walk a couple miles instead and think it would have had the same benefit. This will be a future discussion for Coach Matt☺ 

Our Medals & Joe's Duffel Bag

Now, back to that thing about this being the kind of race that is more about the process than the outcome. Just what were the outcomes? My overall time was 2:52:23 (13:10 pace). This race had 185 floors. Since I stuck to my plan, finished strong and know I gave it my all, I couldn't ask for a better result. Joe was humbled to a 9:14 pace (that's 2:03:40 - and that was with minimal walking) and placed third in his age group, winning this cool duffel bag!

YOLO! We Did It!

After a wipe down and clothing change at the car, compression socks on, recovery smoothie and healthy snacks in hand for the drive home, we pointed East towards an evening of pizza and movies. Half Marathon 23 for Joy and 20 for Joe, is a good one for the history books. 

Mish Mash

Catch up blog! 

THE BOYZ
Chaco and Denali are doing just great. They recently had their annual vet visit - an hour of pure terror in which they try to make themselves scarce. This photo was snapped by the vet tech and was later highlighted on our vet's Facebook page - the Boyz had their 15 minutes of fame! NOTE: That's 25# worth of feline crammed into a small container!

RUNNING
I'm about to begin my 8th week of coaching. I'm already noticing progress with improved speed and endurance, increased mental toughness/confidence and lowered heart rate. Coach Matt keeps each week interesting and challenging. My hard work out sessions are always different, which keeps my body guessing and mind engaged. I just logged my first 40-mile week, which included a vigorous 13 mile trail run yesterday in preparation for our next race...July 11th, we'll get up at the crack o' dawn and drive to Baraboo, WI to run the Dances With Dirt trail half marathon up and over the bluffs surrounding Devil's Lake State Park. 

VACATION

We've added to our plan to backpack in The Winds with a 3-day ascent of Kings Peak in Northern Utah. We've talked about summitting Utah's tallest mountain for years, but due to it's out-of-the-way location, we've always bypassed it. Located a couple hours south of The Winds, and en route to Salt Lake City (where we fly out), it seemed this was a prime opportunity to check it off the bucket list.

Kings Peak is the Pyramid in the center of the picture

Serenity Now!: A Ragnar Story

PREFACE
Thursday, June 11th, one day before the start of the 2015 Madison-to-Chicago Ragnar Relay. All week long people have asked if I'm excited or nervous for the Ragnar, and I reply, "neither", it's just something that I'm doing. That sentiment will change in a big way. Joe and I have the day off to take care of business - a morning run, the Boyz annual vet visit (complete with Chaco pooping all over the place out of stress), grocery shopping, errand chasing, packing and van pick-up. We are part of Van 2, which will be a large white passenger van. Joe and I volunteered to pick up the van since it was relatively close to our house. We power through our busy day until all that's left to do is pick up the van, pack, and begin decorating the van. As we're getting ready to head out, monsoon like rains enter our area. Flood warnings pop up ... will this stop in time for Ragnar? Stress levels begin to creep. We arrive at the Avis rental counter to the blank faced worker who tells us there is no van for us - the reservations were made for the prior week (WHAAAAAT?). She calls around to every metro Milwaukee location, but all vans have been rented to fellow Ragnarians. Our heads begin to explode. Forget the rain, will we even be in the Ragnar??? I call Bobbi, the co-captain of Team Serenity Now!, and she springs into action. Tells us to hang tight. We return home with guts churning and walk in circles for an hour - do we pack? I wait to hear from Bobbi, who at one point tells me we will still have a vehicle, that the worst case scenario would be 7 of us crammed into a Tahoe. I'm on the verge of tears. I cannot be in a tight space like that with 6 other sweaty, food-smacking people. Outside, rain continues to pound down at a rate of an inch per hour. At last, some good news - Bobbi has found one lonesome van available in Janesville. She and Kathy (another teammate) will get the van and deliver it fairly close to our location. My shattered head begins to to reassemble. We pack, we get the van (a brand new beauty with only 200 miles on it that has plenty of space, including an aisle for easy access to seating), things will be okay. Due to continued rain, we can't decorate, but there will be time for that tomorrow. With crisis averted, Van 2 will have nothing but luck for the next 36 hours.

Van 2 - Back Row: Jen, Amanda  

Front Row: Jaime, Joy. Joe, Rolf, Leslie

CAST OF CHARACTERS
Runner 7 - Rolf, married to Leslie (see Runner 8). Rolf is a girls soccer recruiter for MSOE. Rolf is an understated, fun, dry humored guy in his early 40's. He likes to run with a Camelbak and takes rolling and stretchering seriously. Total Ragnar Miles = ~19

Runner 8 - Leslie, married to Rolf (see Runner 7). Leslie is a social worker in a contracted position with Waukesha County, working with children with special needs. Leslie is in her late 30's, a nurturing helpful kind of person. Leslie does not sweat when she runs. 
Total Ragnar Miles = ~16

Runner 9 - Amanda. Amanda works with Leslie at Waukesha County as a social worker for children with special needs. Amanda is in her mid 30's, and is one of the purely sweetest people you will ever meet. She even felt bad about her "road kills" (more about those in a later chapter). Total Ragnar Miles = ~13+

Runner 10 - Jaime. Jaime is friends with Joy and knows Joe. She is in her late 30's and works for Waukesha County as a social worker with mentally ill teens. Jaime is sarcastic, but kind. She loves cultural diversity and just had her second child in October (so she had to frequently pump breast milk on this journey). She chews a lot of gum and like Leslie, she does not sweat when she runs. Total Ragnar Miles = ~15+

Runner 11 - Joy, married to Joe (see Runner 12). Joy is a clinical therapist for Waukesha County, working with mentally ill adults. Joy is in her mid-40's. She likes to take charge, speaks her mind and tends to talk too much. Joy sweats enough for both Leslie and Jaime.
Total Ragnar Miles = ~17

Runner 12 - Joe, married to Joy (see Runner 11) is in his mid-40's. Joe knows Jaime from past races with Joy. Joe is an environmental engineer by day, an artist by night. Joe is quiet, clever, funny and a problem solver. He attained legend status for his speed and "road kill" skills. Total Ragnar Miles = ~17+

Van Driver - Jen. A former runner, Jen was excited for each of our legs, and took great care of us - making sure we got to every exchange point on time. Jen is in her late 30's and works with Amanda and Leslie as a social worker with children with special needs. Jen is thoughtful, kind, caring and hilarious. 

CHAPTER 1: Leg 1
Friday, June 12th. While Van 1 started the race out of Madison in chilly downpours, Van 2 runners were snug in their warm dry beds, enjoying the leisure of not meeting until 9:00 a.m. at Goerke's Corner's to load the van. This kind of good fortune would follow our van for the duration of the event. The van loaded, we hit the road to Lake Mills for the first major exchange (a major exchange is when the last Van 1 runner passes the slap band to the first Van 2 runner), with tunes pumping thanks to the huge playlist Jen assembled for us.

Jammin' in Van 2: Joe, Leslie, Jaime, Joy

Excitement built as we pulled into the Lake Mills High School parking lot crammed full of runners with white vans. The rain stopped and we had hours to spare before our first legs of running would start. We completed our mandatory safety training, made multiple trips to the Port-o-Pottie's and decorated the van under the tutelage of Joe's artistic eye. 

Team Name on Right Side

The Tracking of Completed Legs

Team Name on Left Side with a Road Kill Tally Chart

By 2:00p.m., Van 2 runners were hitting the trails. The process goes like this: your runner takes off, everyone hangs out for a little while (how long depends on what your runner's projected time of arrival at the next exchange is - there is an actual spreadsheet with our predicted arrivals), and then drive to the next exchange point. The drive to each exchange may or may not parallel the route your runner is taking. Sometimes you see your runner and stop to cheer them on. Sometimes you don't see them until they pass through the exchange. The exchanges are full of teams supporting their next-up-runners, waiting for their team member to sprint through and pass the slap band on to them. There is lots of cheering for all runners, and ample tagging of other team vehicles with your team-specific magnets (team magnets are made out of pocket, this is not something the race provides). When hearing about this process, we all expected to have more downtime than we ever did. We were constantly on the move with no sense of time. It was the perfect way to decompress from the stress of daily life - you're so in the moment that there's no time to think or do, you just show up, cheer, run, and repeat. 

My Leg 1 commenced at 5:10 p.m. running along the crushed limestone Glacier Drumlin Trail from Sullivan to Dousman. I had perfect conditions - clouds, 55°- for my 5.9 mile route. The path was beautiful - at times canopied with trees, but then opening up to views of rolling hills, lakes preceded by cattail marshes and a river/creek paralleling the trail. I passed a snapping turtle, a plethora of turtle holes that had clutches of hatched eggs and was serenaded in some segments by loudly chirping frogs. During the Ragnar Relay the thing to do is to get and track "road kill". Road kill refers to runner's passed, and the more road kill a team has, the more prestige they carry. I was up against some crazy fast movers in this leg, and only secured 3 road kills. Per the advice of my running coach, I did not run full throttle with the intention of saving my energy for future legs that would be done with accumulating sleep deprivation. I performed well and felt good. This first leg was my slowest, but I would get faster in each leg with less and less sleep - go figure! Before I knew it, my leg was over and I approached the Dousman exchange where I would pass the slap band on to Joe.

Steps Away From Passing Off to Joe

Joe took off for his 6.8 mile leg along the paved Glacial Drumlin Trail from Dousman to Wales. Knowing he was our fastest runner, we wasted little time driving to the next exchange. Joe's path became visable to us from the road, and we pulled over to cheer him on. As he approached, we yelled at him to "kill" the woman 50 ft. ahead of him. In response, he flashed both hands twice and pointed to the woman to indicate she would be his 20th kill. Joe rolled into the exchange with a 7:15 pace and 30 road kills! A legend was born.

Next, a quick pitstop for Subway on the go. A veggie deelite on toasted flatbread with creamy sriracha sauce never tasted so good as we drove to our next major exchange - Martin Luther High School in Greendale. We arrived to the school around 9p.m. and had approximately 90 minutes to try resting on the matted floors of the basement wrestling room. Jen, our beloved driver, refused to sleep, choosing to stand sentry for us to make sure no glitch would occur with being up and ready for Leg 2. Pumped with adrenaline and a nearby man sawing some serious logs, sleep would be futile (at least for Joe and me - some team members did sleep), but at least we could quietly lay with our blanket and pillows to rest. 

No Zzzzzz's for us

10:30 p.m. the text comes in that Dan, our Team Captain and Runner 6 from Van 1, is 2 miles out from the exchange. It's time for us to get up and send Rolf, our Runner 7, into Leg 2.

CHAPTER 2: Leg 2

Ragnar takes the safety of night running seriously. Every runner must wear a reflective vest, a headlamp and a blinking light on their backside. For fun, we added glow bands to our wrists and necks. With Rolf out on the road, we were facing our middle of the night runs, something that I purposely wanted to experience in this event (Van 1 would get to "sleep" on the wrestling mats we'd left behind through the heart of the night). I usually started feeling nervous about 2 runners out, so as Leslie rolled in with exclamations of how amazing it felt to run beyond the midnight hour, my stomach rolled over a bit. I was really doing this! Amanda finished her run with the same zeal Leslie had - Amanda's special moment was running through an underpass where a man (a race volunteer) was playing the tuba. Amanda passed the slapband to Jaime, who would have a pitch black woodsy trail to run, and the rest of us were on our way to the next exchange, where Jaime would pass off to me. It was an exciting drive down a darkened road where in a matter of minutes we nearly ran over a large hustling raccoon (Jen exclaims, "It's a bear!"), had a crazy and/or drunken man wobbling in the middle of the road, approaching our van as we slowed not to hit him, and were foiled by our GPS that led us to a dead end where a railroad line sat inert.

We arrived at the Cliffside Park exchange, now known as the whisper exchange. Located in a residential neighborhood, Ragnarians were to whisper in the night. Occasionally, someone would use their outdoor voice as we waited for our runners to come in, which would be met with an aggressively annoying "Shhhhhhhh!" from the race volunteers operating the exchange. Typically, at each exchange as a runner approaches, a volunteer will call out the team number (we were #60) coming in so the next relayer knows to be ready. That didn't happen here, so suddenly Jaime was within 10ft. of me, and I was launched into the starless night. 

Ready For my 2a.m. Run

My 6 mile run along rural Racine roads began at 2:17a.m. Usually an ungodly hour in which I would never want to be conscious, I felt alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic. A cloudy, humid, 52°night hid Lake Michigan from view, but for a mile I could hear the gentle rolling of waves lapping the shore to my left. I settled into a steady pace, 7 seconds per mile faster than I ran Leg 1, and in the final 2 miles began collecting road kills who were petering out, perhaps those who did not pace themselves as well. I cruised into Exchange 23 with 8 road kills, and sent Joe on to North Beach Park. 

Joe had a short 2.9 mile leg, so Van 2 had to boogey to collect him. Fog horns sounding, Van 2 made their way by foot down a steep dew soaked hill to the beach along Lake Michigan's shore, where we met our Van 1 teammates to swap stories before their Runner 1, Tammy, would take over for Joe. Though Joe's run was less than half of mine, he snagged 17 kills! The legend grew. "Tent City" was set up on the beach for runners who wanted to snooze in a tent, but we just wanted to get to the next Major Exchange in North Chicago. 

CHAPTER 3: Leg 3

Van 2 luck continued into Illinois - our 2nd legs finished, the skies opened up, soaking Van 1 runners in the early dawn hours. Ever thoughtful Jen included soothing Beethoven pieces in our playlist in anticipation of lulling us to sleep. It worked on everyone... except Joe and me. 

We rolled into the North Chicago High School parking lot with light rain and distant fog. Ragnarians dotted the school grounds in sleeping bags - some pressed into doorways trying to avoid the rain, others boldly slumped in the middle of lawns and one lone person under a bench. A long walk led us to Port-o-Potties literally filled to the brim with human waste. A few hours later they would be shut down. With time to kill, a desire to be out of the van and most of our team craving eggs, we drove to a nearby IHOP, where a gracious waitress also let us change and clean up a bit in the restaurant bathrooms. 

More vans populated the high school parking lot in our absence, including our very own Van 1 (actually a Suburban). With our full team reunited, disjointedly catching up on the most recent highlights, the temperatures and humidity began to rise, setting the stage for a sweaty final run.

Rolf kicked off Van 2's 3rd and final leg around 10:00 a.m. Our van traveled from exchange to exchange through the expensive sylvan neighborhoods of Lake Forest, Highland Park, Glencoe and Winnetka, until we arrived in Kenilworth for my Leg 3. Jaime passed me the slap band at 12:32p.m., and I began my final 5.15 mile jaunt, running past multi-million dollar homes in Wilmette, IL. At this point I'd been fully awake for over 30 hours, temps were soaring into the mid-70's and the air was getting steamy, yet this was my strongest leg, clocking a pace 14 seconds per mile faster than my first fresh leg 19 hours ago. I glided through gorgeous wealthy neighborhoods where the streets were made of red bricks, where trees were mature and plentiful (shade!) and where each house offered special unique designs. 

Eventually, the neighborhoods connected me to the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, IL. Rounding a corner, I entered sunny stroke acres - nary a tree to be found along a boulevard next to the Northwestern Stadium. With the sun blazing, I wanted to take a break, but our team was running quite a bit ahead of schedule, and I didn't want to let the team down by reducing our gains. It was then that collegiate football players, finished with practice, came streaming down the block. They rallied me with cheers, "get after it!", "looking good!", "keep going, girl!" My shuffle shifted into high gear with heels kicking towards my butt. It was not a sustainable pace, especially in the heat of the day, but I would just take a quick break when I turned the next corner, out of the sight of the players. Well, around the corner was a street light at the end of the block, with the flashing crosswalk countdown. I could see I would hit a red light in 16 seconds, so there was no rest for the weary - I kept my pace alive as I had to add to our team's lead. 

Running Along the Northwestern Campus

At long last, I could see a yellow tent in the distance - the very last exchange of this crazy Ragnar weekend, where Joe would be ready to run 7.7 miles to the finish line on Montrose Beach in the heart of Chicago. My leg ended with 7 kills, the majority of them in the final 2 miles as I picked off the runners who ran too hard, too fast for the weather conditions.

Joy Making the Final Pass of the Race to Joe

And Joe Strides Off the Northwestern Campus

As Joe sprinted off, I was shepherded into the van. We had to hurry if we were to catch Joe at the finish. The word from Van 1 was that Chicago traffic was hellacious. In theory, all 11 team members are at the finish line waiting for Runner 12 to bring it home. As that final runner, in this case, Joe, becomes visible, the entire team starts running (in their specially made team shirts) together, crossing the finish line as one. Unfortunately, Joe only had Van 1 teammates trailing him across the finish. Stuck in traffic, having to park a mile away, we missed him by about 15 minutes. From this we have learned not to have the fastest runner be the final runner ☺ Joe secured his legend status with 28 kills in this last leg, and more impressively, he was not passed by anyone, AND he passed 2 ultra runners (ultra runners are super fast people who do this race as a team of 6 instead of 12 - covering more miles faster than most 12-member teams do). Van 2 ended with 228 road kills - 1/3 of them contributed by Joe. We were a kickass van!

Back Row: Rolf, Jen, Scott, Tammy, Joe, Dan
Front Row: Leslie, Amanda, Rosanna, Kathy, Joy, Rachel, Bobbi

The Backs of Our Medals Spell Something Out

AFTERWORD
Team Serenity Now! chilled on the beach for a couple hours before heading home. The beach was alternately hot and cold, sunny and foggy, breezy and still. Rosanna, Joe and I headed towards the shoreline to snag a couple pictures when a professional Ragnar photographer asked to take our picture and to borrow one of our medals. Joe obliged, the medal was jammed in the sand, a picture snapped and we were on our way. Little did we know that the picture of the 3 of us would make the national Ragnar Relay Facebook site, nor that Joe's medal in the sand would become the most chosen picture for the post-race finishers logo!

Rosanna, Me, Joe - the Picture Used on the National Site

Joe's Medal!

Results: There were 356 teams in our division (Mixed/Regular - other divisions included all male, masters, etc.). We placed 142nd, finishing in 30 hours, 20 minutes and 25 seconds with an average team pace of 9:20 minute miles! The team that came in 1st overall, across all divisions, was Team Nuun, a group of lithe young men who ran shirtless, completing the course in 18 hours, with an average team pace of 5:41!

Shortly after arriving home Saturday night, we learned the Ragnar course, which would be open through midnight, had to shut down due to lightening. Teams that had yet to finish were told to stop, but would still be issued medals. We were fortunate to see the relay to the end - who wants a medal without fully earning it? Joe and I finally hit the sheets after being up for 40 hours and collectively running nearly 35 miles in an 18-hour span. 

My ho-hum shrug when asked about this race prior to doing it morphed into an enthusiastic high-fiving, emphatic "YEAH!" during and after the event. This was the most fun I've had in a long time. Every single minute of the experience was exceptional, far exceeding expectations! A true YOLO moment.

F*cked By Montana

This notice landed in my inbox on May 15th. We waited 5 months after submitting our backcountry permit request to Glacier National Park, Montana to be told NO GO. We knew the applications would be processed via a lottery system. We knew the park would not process requests until April 16th. We gambled and lost. 

With Glacier off the table and our August vacation dates quickly approaching, a new idea was born. A YOLO idea: Slovenia! Joe's friend Andy does a lot of business in Slovenia and is always telling us we should visit. It's a beautiful country bordered by Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. It has a piece of the Mediterranean coast, as well as Alps, castles, and old European cities. At one point in time, it was our understanding that Andy was renting an apartment in Slovenia due to the frequency of his travels. With his apartment as a home base, this could be a really fun and exciting trip, something out of the ordinary from our backpacking summer forays. Maybe we lost our Montana trip so we could go to Slovenia? Two weeks of crazy busy lives, missed texts and emails, we finally connected with Andy at the end of May (tick-tock, August is around the corner!) and .... learned he does not have an apartment. To plan a trip to Slovenia during a popular time of year (when hotels may be booked full already and most expensive) only 2 months out felt too rushed. If we're going International, we want to make sure we know all there is to see and do and take time to plan the best vacation ever. Maybe next year.

Back to the drawing board with a sense of urgency.Where to backpack, where to backpack? We've hit our bucket list trails, though there are more areas we've always been interested in checking out. After a few days of investigation, with mutual excitement, we settled on "The Winds". For you folks not in the know, this refers to the Wind River Mountains, which span a length of 100 miles from NW Wyoming to SE Wyoming. The Winds are a rugged granite portion of the Rocky Mountain Range. The Continental Divide follows the crest of the range and includes Wyoming's tallest mountain, Gannett Peak (13,804 ft). The Winds are packed full of wildlife (grizzlies, black bears, big horn sheep, etc.), mountain lakes and towering grey peaks. There is no permit or reservation system. They remain a hidden gem for people who really seek the solitude not found in more popularized backpacking haunts.

This weekend we hope to finalize a 5 day, 50+ mile route, with a possible peak grab (Gannett? Fremont?) tossed in for good measure. The one thing we know for sure is that we will be walking through this picture! Titcomb Basin is a must do. So, maybe Montana didn't f*ck us - maybe it gifted us, maybe The Winds will be just what we didn't know we needed☺

Titcomb Basin in the NW section of  The Winds

Ragnar Relay

Our Team Design. The design is in the shape of the Ragnar symbol, but
personalized with our team initials - SN for Serenity Now. All of our
names, in the order in which we run, circle the design. Cool, eh?

What was once an abstract idea more than six months ago, will quickly become a reality in 17 days. The Madison-Chicago Ragnar Relay fires up on June 12th. What is this all about? Simply put, it's 2 vans, 12 runners and nearly 200 miles of non-stop running. The Ragnar Relay is held all across the country, and our turn is up. This year there are 562 teams, most comprised of 12 runners, though there's a handful of "ultra" teams that only have 6 runners covering the same distance. Quick math reveals that there will be over 6,000 runners relaying from Madison to Chicago. More specifically, Runner 1 will toe the start line beside beautiful Lake Mendota near the State capital. while Runner 12 (that's Joe!) will cross the finish line at Montrose Beach along Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline. 

As noted above, most teams will have 2 vans with 6 runners in each van. Van 1 carries Runners 1-6, Van 2 carries Runners 7-12, and each van, luckily for us, has a separate driver who is not running. Van 1 will begin the race in Madison at 8:00a.m., tag teaming the mileage until Runner 6 lands at an exchange point in Lake Mills, where my van, Van 2 will take over. Runner 6 will snap his slapband onto Runner 7, who will continue heading east. Each van will have a 6-7 hour period of downtime while the runners of the other van run. This time in theory can be used to sleep, eat and stretch, but I hear there is very little sleep! 

Each runner has three designated legs to run of pre-established distances dictated by the Ragnar officials. The route we run is also established and has markings, so you know where to go. Some of it is on residential streets, some of it is on bike paths, and some may briefly be on the shoulders of busy roads. There are rules for night running related to having a headlamp and reflective gear. 

When signing on for this event, I wanted to challenge myself by choosing a runner designation that would add up to more than 15 miles (the furthest I've ever run) and that would have me running in the middle of the night. I got both. I will be Runner 11. My total mileage will be 16.6 miles (each of my legs = 5+ miles) and my second and longest leg (5.9 miles) will occur somewhere around 2a.m.! Joe is the last to run as Runner 12. He was asked to be this runner as he is our fastest team member, and may make up some time for us at the end. Joe's challenge will be running the final leg, 7.5 miles, on tired legs with virtually no sleep, to the finish line. Right before the finish line, the entire team gets out and runs in with Runner 12, but for Team Serenity Now, it may look like we're chasing Joe since no one can move that swiftly! Joe's mileage will total 17.2.

The Ragnar is run with friends and/or with strangers. In our case, we know a few people quite well, and the rest we will know extremely well after 36 hours of Ragnaring together. My friend's Bobbi & Dan initiated our team. The majority of our team is comprised of their neighbors or co-workers. Since Dan & Bobbi both work for Waukesha County, I either knew or am getting to know those co-workers. Two people are my recommendations - Jaime, a co-worker/friend and Rosanna, who has had this event on her bucket list for many years. Rosanna was a late addition, filling in for an injured teammate, so she will not be in my van, but it will still be a shared experience. 

A Ragnar quote: "The hardest fun you'll ever love."