Ragnar Blog/Compilation

Sunday Post Ragnar
We did it! Both TMC teams crossed the finish line in unison. Made it hope safely -- Oakleys are missing but other than that a great adventure. Looks like the kid who was hit is doing better -- rumors were high that night -- more later and I will post pictures and write a proper report later.

Saturday
Last runners on the course.
Posted by Julia at 3:13 PM 0 comments

Second leg is process - go boy howdy and ryanimal - muffin is up next - getting closer to the finish line
Posted by Julia at 12:22 PM 0 comments

Looks like our van goes in about 45 .....
Posted by Julia at 10:50 AM 0 comments

Rested clean and well fed - thanks to angel penny for the sweet rate for courtyard by marriott! Momotorhead, hoho, mufin girl and sugardady are on the path!
Posted by Julia at 9:29 AM 0 comments

After a few hours of sleep - we are showering and the run has resumed. Everyone is stickie and a bit sore. Remaining runs (except for boy howdy) are pretty easy
Posted by Julia at 8:10 AM 0 comments

High school - not high boy
Posted by Julia at 3:13 AM 0 comments

Race is uncertain. Runner hit by car and it was fatal. We heard it was a high boy from brophy in phoenix
Posted by Julia at 3:10 AM 1 comments

Looks like there was a ragnar accident - our folks are all ok. Race is being rerouted. Hope everyone is ok
Posted by Julia at 2:40 AM 0 comments

Ho-ho is ready for the handoff - I stayed in the van for this one cause I am having a hard time shaking the chill that took over after my last run
Posted by Julia at 2:20 AM 0 comments

That made is laugh for the next block til I handed to rhonda - she is cooking! Rockin the pace - next it's Ho-Ho for 3.4 miles then a shower and a nap!
Posted by Julia at 2:00 AM 0 comments

My run was long but I was cheered on by MoMo. Good cheer makes the miles go faster. At 2am in wickenburg we saw a lady being carried from the bar to a big truck
Posted by Julia at 1:58 AM 0 comments

Barry's run was a long dark and hard 8.7 miles! He cruised through and passed off to me (hot mama - wolf).
Posted by Julia at 1:56 AM 0 comments

Long night - sugardaddy's trailrun was defined his flashy weiner. Molly pranced through the dark with ski cap flapping.
Posted by Julia at 1:54 AM 1 comments


Friday, February 26, 2010

Getting ready for our next six legs. Expecting to start in about 45 minutes. Chris starts with six miles on the trail/molly takes on 3m - then barry then me ...
Posted by Julia at 8:48 PM 0 comments

If you are looking at a map - we are in congress arizona
Posted by Julia at 7:37 PM 0 comments

Blinkies are coming out. It's kind of like christmas --- everyone is in good spirits - of course it's not even 9pm
Posted by Julia at 7:37 PM 0 comments

boy "f" howdy has a dirty mouth .....
Posted by Julia at 7:32 PM 0 comments

Sleep is elusive - laughs are constant! Full moon coyote hoho is howling.
Posted by Julia at 7:32 PM 0 comments

Smells like a locker room and heavy doses of ben gay
Posted by Julia at 6:11 PM 0 comments

Enjoying a little break from the course - van two is running hard through skull valley. The temps are dropping/the moon is up. Belly full/night young.
Posted by Julia at 5:53 PM 1 comments

Jolene says she is ready to tear skull valley up!!!
Posted by Julia at 3:29 PM 0 comments

Finished my first leg -5 miles of beautififul high country. Met my goal time! Felt good. Rhonda is smokin and jolene is gearing -- last words from Jolene -
Posted by Julia at 3:29 PM 0 comments

Molly looking strong - lindsey rockin it! Barry and Ryan face a long leg and 829 feet of elevation gain - the air is very thin! Boy "f" howdy!
Posted by Julia at 12:54 PM 0 comments

Chris is running.... Looked good two miles in. First exchange go molly! (Mo-motorhead)! Lady Gaga rocking the exchange
Posted by Julia at 12:20 PM 0 comments

Posted by Julia at 11:54 AM 0 comments

Gathering at the start - nerves are high
Posted by Julia at 11:28 AM 0 comments

Race Day
We arrived in Prescott last night and enjoyed a nice Italian dinner at Pappa's Italian Restaurant. Numerous TMC nurses were there -- I can't tell you how much it means to me to have our nurses at the aid station. I don't expect to need major first aid, it just feels really good to know that there will be familiar faces should I need something.Barry, Chris and I are having breakfast in our hotel, some of our team are still sleeping and some are on the road! We have already seen one team of runners -- Tucson Trigirls -- headed out for an 8:30 a.m. start. Dr. Eve Shapiro is on the team -- Go Tri-Girls!We have about five hours to start time -- everyone is in good spirits and excited for this adventure. The weather forecast is improving and rain is now predicted to hold off until Saturday night (when we should finish.)
Posted by Julia at 6:32 AM 0 comments
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Two of four vans are on the road headed for Prescott! Italian food and a bit of carb loading/vino on the agenda for tonight!

Race Day

We arrived in Prescott last night and enjoyed a nice Italian dinner at Pappa's Italian Restaurant. Numerous TMC nurses were there -- I can't tell you how much it means to me to have our nurses at the aid station. I don't expect to need major first aid, it just feels really good to know that there will be familiar faces should I need something.

Barry, Chris and I are having breakfast in our hotel, some of our team are still sleeping and some are on the road! We have already seen one team of runners -- Tucson Trigirls -- headed out for an 8:30 a.m. start. Dr. Eve Shapiro is on the team -- Go Tri-Girls!

We have about five hours to start time -- everyone is in good spirits and excited for this adventure. The weather forecast is improving and rain is now predicted to hold off until Saturday night (when we should finish.)

Two of four vans are on the road headed for Prescott! Italian food and a bit of carb loading/vino on the agenda for tonight!

Ragnar del Sol -- The Journey is about to begin!

Ragnar is a 212-mile, 24+ hour relay split between 12 runners (TMC has two teams, so 24 runners). We are running to raise money for TMC for Children --- Mile by Mile, Miracles Happen.

I am not sure who might be interested, but I have figured out how to post blogs updates from my phone. The weather forecast is sketchy and we might end up quite wet. We start in Prescott on Friday, ending in Tempe on Saturday (note: some of us may be at Fourpeaks Saturday afternoon).

Stay tuned here for updates. In the words of Woody Harrelson's character in Zombieland .... "It's time to nut up or shut up....."

And, while I am prepared to "nut up" I think I have found a way to keep talking......

To run with joy ......

Must remember to run with joy .....

Sometimes the joy just comes out!

The trail was hard packed due to rain, the air was crisp but not cold, the mountains were snow covered and I was parked next to a Copper Cowboy standing next to my "steel" horse. This is to say, yesterday after the rain I was at the ranch in Colossal Cave getting ready jump on my mountain bike for a ride and it was about 50 degrees.

I had made a playlist a few days earlier for a run and I teed it up again for the ride. Now, you should know that my life has always had a soundtrack and, interestingly, just two days before I was updating my funeral soundtrack with a friend -- Talking Heads / And She Was, Tori Amos / Happy Phantom, Pearl Jam / Just Breathe, etc. This is not morbid, just really my way of keeping control of my soundtrack.

All weekend, I had been thinking about music, downloading this and that. Trying to get the right grouping of songs so I would suddenly be able to run an 8 minute mile.

But, this day, I wasn't running, I was mountain biking. And it was a mountain biking kind of day. Chris and the dogs headed through the gate and we instantly hit a flowing creek! Score. Then, up the hill ... I started along what previously seemed like a long slog .... But, today was more fun. I pedaled through a few good tunes -- A3, Badly Drawn Boy -- when all of a sudden I started spinning in sync with a tune I had just downloaded the day before at the recommendation of the Artist himself. It was a song by The Swigs -- local band featuring a few cool people I know -- the song Ploughed In The Stars literally pushed me up the hill (except for the really steep part where I pushed my bike up the hill). Headed down, we sang about Whiskey and a few other things, then onto one of my secret pleasures -- Lady Gaga..... Bad Romance.

Chris was far enough ahead (I thought) so I started singing RaRaRa ---- whatever. How fun, twisting through the curves, down the hill, dropping through technical sections -- RARARA!!! I took a corner a little fast and there was a runner just kind of smiling at me.... Sheepishly (cause I knew she heard me RARARAing) I said hi and kept rolling. It was a good day. The soundtrack continued randomly with no theme -- Counting Crows, Matisyahu, Groove Armada, Vampire Weekend, Poe "Track #9", Modern English, Dropkick Murphys......... each song matched the trail perfectly in a surreal kind of a way.

On the way back, heading back to the crest of the last hill, I took the headphones off, stuffed them into my shirt and took off after Chris, Alta and Sedona. I didn't really even realize it but I was hootin' and hollerin' (please read with Indiana twang that is intended). Wooooo-hoooooo, Yeaaaaahhhhhhhh! I picked my way through the drops and was going as fast as I could. It was beautiful, sublime and oh so sweet. I came around a corner and there are these three guys off to the side of the trail. They are grinning ear to ear. I knew I had to fess up. They had clearly heard my squeals. So I said "Sometimes the joy just has to come out!" -- Amen, they said! I took off and can only hope they got half as much joy out of the trail that day as I did!

Where do babies come from?

Or, better stated where do canines come from?

Back in the day, way back when I was young and fresh -- I didn't really find commitment appealing. I was living the casual life -- taking weekend trips, being spontaneous, doing my thing. On one average day of many other average days -- or at least a day I do not recall -- things changed. I lived in a little bungalow at Silver and Cherry with some fabulous neighbors with the last name of Greenleaf, I think. I don't know where they are now -- but they were good neighbors then. Liz was my fabulous and funny roommate -- she was a student and very busy. Lots of funny stories there, but that is for another time.

On this average day, I was coming home from work. It was in October. It must of been late, because I remember it being dark, so it's possible I had been somewhere between work and home. Well, not possible, very probable. So, I am driving along and there is a big white and black dog in the middle of the intersection at Silver and Cherry -- and he is not moving and just staring at me. I stepped out of my car and I said "Hey big guy.....Whatcha doing out here in the street?" He kind of cocked his head and walked past me and jumped in the car.
Nuff said, I guess.

So, I got in and drove around the corner to my home, brought him inside. Now, understand, I was not looking for a dog. My roommate was not looking for a dog. And, in fact, my landlords did not want us to have pets.

But, there was this big skinny cow dog standing there looking at me and then staring at the window sill. Not just staring. Pointing. What the ...... Holy moley -- he wanted my rubber duckie and was happily pointing right at it. I gave it to him and he happily chomped on it while I made him some vegetable textured protein (I was a vegetarian at the time) and called the pound to find his owner. Some guy named Gustave, the pound lady said. So, I called Gustave who was really named Steve or something like that (I believe the fake name was because he was a pound dog hoarder). Anyway, I called Gustave and said I have your dog --

(Now, before I got on, I need to tell you that Liz showed up during this textured protein/rubber duckie time and took one look at the hound I had and smartly proclaimed "well, clearly we have a Henry on our hands).

.... And Gustave said (stay with me here)..... "Oh, you must mean Grey --- he escapes all the time. Do you want to keep him?" Well, first I thought ..... clearly this dog is not Grey -- he's Henry and of course I DO NOT WANT A DOG. Clearly and fully, I was not a dog person. So, I took Gustave/Steve's address loaded up Henry/Grey and took him home! Not my problem!

Well, the next morning and I was just consumed with worry about Henry (please note that at this point, there was no "Grey" left in my head). Gustave/Steve lived in a little apartment with a thousand other dogs he had "rescued" from the pound. I told Liz I was worried about Henry. I told my boyfriend Eric I was worried about Henry -- but there was nothing I could do. Not my dog, not my problem. So, that night, still feeling like something was wrong with the universe, Eric and I were sitting in the living room and I was telling him again about Henry. I think he was about to tell me we should call Gustave/Steve when we heard this little jingle jingle outside the window..... I opened the front door and Grey turned into Henry and he was at home. Not to say he never ran again, but he was home. And he stayed with me for a very very long time............

What's Henry Got To Do With It?

I have been thinking about Henry a lot. Henry. The big black and white cow dog who just showed up in my life one day and proceed to dominate the next 13 years or so. Henry. If you knew me when, you knew Henry.

Henry looked like a cow and a hound dog all mixed up together. Henry was noble, regal, forgiving and unforgiving. He was fiercely loyal and completely understanding if you understood him. A person can learn a lot from a dog. I am writing this because I have been told by many people that I need to tell Henry's story. So, in the course of this and future post, I will try to tell his story and my story.

Funny thing about Henry. He had a way of making friends and making good things happen. And he didn't mind breaking a few rules to do it.

For example, I moved onto Towner Street in Tucson in 1998 (when I was 10 years old :). There was this nice couple across the street and we would sometimes wave and smile. Then, one day in the rain Henry jumped the front fence right when I got home from work and I took off after him, running full speed in the rain in my suit and in heels. Well, after about five blocks I caught Henry and pulling up alongside me was my neighbor Jeff -- who had seen me flying down the road in the rain and in my heels after a crazy escaped cow dog and he just decided I needed help. Which, of course, I did. Because Henry was bad. But, in true Henry form, his act of defiance turned into a great friendship.

So, another example. Henry was a destructive dog in addition to being a dog who jumped fences. A dog with "issues" -- a determined dog. Sometimes this resulted in door frames being ripped down (thanks Mike for putting them back up so many times), curtains being shredded and, once, my house being burned down. But, here's how that turned good -- I took Henry to the pet store buy a crate to put him in while I was at work because I couldn't leave him in the yard (see previous paragraph) and he was ripping my house aside from the inside out (see reference to door frames and curtains). At PetSmart, I was trying to determine the right size crate and a group of customers asked what I was doing. I told them and they all ganged up and say "you aren't putting that beautiful dog in a crate." Now, I am not making a commentary on whether crates are good or bad -- we have crated trained our Aussies. What they did was lead me to the adoption table where I met Maizy. Or, the musty black border collie mix who would become Maizy. It took a while, but Maizy became another beloved friend. One, who like Henry, I still miss. And, one who thanks to Henry, I will always cherish.

The point here: Sometimes you have to be a little outside the norm, jump over the fence, tear down the door frame to meet the people or to experience the situation that will make a difference in your life. I need to remember that. Maybe that is why Henry keeps popping into my head. He's trying to remind me to break the rules a little, push the boundaries and experience the things we don't even know we want to experience.

Do the Rules of Bike Club Apply?

OK, so Bike Club has rules. Of course, one of them was to not tell anyone about Bike Club (please note that this was knowingly and willingly lifted from Fight Club). But, I think I am going to break that rule and hope the consequences are not too extreme.

I thought about Bike Club today as I trotted on my feet around the Bunny Loop of Fantasy Island. It's about a five mile loop -- easy-peasy on a bike, pretty easy running. So, since I thought about Bike Club -- I am now going to blog about it.

Alta and Sedona joined me on this little jaunt and I started to think about whether trail running was beginning to even remotely feel as fun as mountain biking. Strangely, the answer is kind of sorta, can see how it would be someday. If I compare the run today with some of the common rules of Bike Club -- this was a pretty good day. There was mud -- and I hit it. There was water -- and I hit it. I bled and I did have to retie my shoes, so that is sort of kind of like a mechanical failure (ok, that's a stretch).

I was with friends (Alta and Sedona) who did fun things like randomly race off the trail at full speed after phantom bunnies even if it meant a little pain along the way (cactus). This kind of reminded me of riding with my friend Doug (Chris, Doogie, Grant, Jim, Nancy, etc.) who occasionally dart off the beaten path on their bike to jump over something -- often leaving them bloody, hurt and, nearly always, happy at the end of the ride.

Of course, there is the rule -- or at least saying -- in Bike Club that we ride for stories (and beer) instead of exercise. And, that makes it fun and not work. I can tell you some stories about bike club .... There was the time @$*&#$ did a jump in the parking lot and bounced higher than any human I have ever seen; the time #$&*@(&$ was urged to "pull-up" on a rock drop that no one else even tried -- and he made it; when @#*!&(237 landed upside down in a tree during a sprint down Sunrise; and, of course, when #$(@U)(348 had to ride out of the trail in his whitie tighties after a cactus attacked :). There was also the time I had a three inch cactus spine in my hiney and my friend @#&@!*$&@( had to help pull it out. Fun times, right? RIGHT!

And, today's run reminded me of many biking stories -- which means I should have hope and confidence that one day I will be as joyful at the prospect of a run as I am at the prospect of a bike ride. I will readily admit that I have never grumbled (well, maybe once) at the end of a ride like I very commonly grumble at the beginning, middle and end of a run. That is something I need to change ... no grumbling on a run.

It's weird. The Ragnar Relay (a 200+mile relay foot race through Arizona) is just two and a half weeks away. I know that physically I could be better prepared. I am still slow and still a little (well, a lot according to my Wii coach) heavier than a I should be. But, I kind of sort of feel like I have made progress that goes beyond the physical. I am starting to actually think this will be fun -- not a slow and hellish death march. I will be hanging out for 24+ hours with a bunch of crazy people doing ridiculous things, supporting and cheering each other on, laughing when it's appropriate and sometimes when it's not. We will end up tired, possibly bandaged, sweaty, stinky, sore and looking for a beer. And, of course, there will be tons of stories.

Funny, this is starting to sound like Bike Club....... And that can only be good.

Twinkies

I am already behind. I mean, the pressure is huge to be relavent and informative and witty and, well, whatever else a blogger is supposed to be. But, you can't be any of that if you don't even keep the blog current and regular.

So why am I behind? No good reason. Every good reason. Well, no good reason.

Random thoughts ....

My friend Rachel came over and we painted. It was fun and Rachel's painting was a great depiction of what it's like to look at the sky through a forest of Aspens -- a fabulous experience and very worthy of fine painting. I did a self-portrait/Ode to Doogie. It was meant to hang in our new StrangeSugar Tap Room. Unfortunately, last night it fell on the floor and one of the cats urinated on it. Sad. Maybe I will take a picture of it and make it my Facebook Profile Picture.

I was confused and confounded as I watched people protest the closure of parks in Arizona. I dont' like it either, but the sign I saw on the news (Where Will I Camp?) when it seems to me the sign should really say "What Am I Going to Go When I Have a Stroke" when the hospital start closing and EDs are overrun by people who no longer have access to primary care. The budget crisis is amazing and somehow we need to figure out a creative way to get to the other side.

Running. Two trail runs. I am starting to like it. Sometimes. Somedays. Some runs. Really, it's true. And I continue to really like runners. Most of the time. Except when they talk about running a long way. Then, it hurts. My bikes seem to be a bit depressed because they keep getting left behind -- but I will get to them later.

So, words of wisdom? "Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date.... ." Or so says Woody Harrelson as Tallehasse in the movie Zombieland, which Chris is watching right now. We all have an expiration date, so...... Live for the Day, right?