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!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
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.)
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.)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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......
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......
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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............
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............
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