Rants, Recipes, and Running

Normal people escape winter to sunny and warm climates. Places where you can BBQ in a tshirt in January. Lounge by the pool in February. Wear shorts year round. I live in one of those places ;) Instead of escaping somewhere warm....we like to escape somewhere with cool temps and snow! Well, Ryan really made an escape this Monday - as he is in a winter climate in NY for the next 3 months. But that is for work. And believe me, if he wasn't living in a hotel -- I'd be joining him. But my work-from-home job requires a hard-wire internet due to security purposes. And we have a 65 lb Golden Retriever. I have blogged often about "Mount Lemmon" here in Tucson that is always at least 20 degrees cooler, has amazing pines, fresh air, camping, and hiking. In the winter, if Tucson is getting a lot of rain - that means Mount Lemmon is getting snow. There is actually a ski lodge. Not the best skiing - as there is really only 1 slope and it is EXTREMELY steep. But....it...

Last weekend at this time, we were on our final miles of Ragnar Del Sol: Wickenburg to Phoenix 205 miles! This was probably my best Ragnar to date. Mostly because I didn't get injured, I didn't throw up, and I didn't get dehydrated! Because let me tell you, those 3 things can really ruin a good time! It took me 4 of these races to get it right ;) I could gush on and on, but I'm going to refrain from that. Instead, I'll let the pictures do the talking! My run legs from 8.4, 2.1, and 7.7. (The 8.4 was supposed to be 7.5....but they changed up the course. Talk about screwing with one's mind!) We were in Van # 2, which means we got to relax Friday morning while Van 1 ran. We had a start time of 12 pm! Unfortunately, I don't know how to sleep in past 5:30am. But my morning was relaxing. We had time to eat a good breakfast, enjoy our coffee, and decorate our van! Our team name was "Running our AZ's Off". This was a healthy attempt at...

So back in February of 2013, I did my 1st Ragnar. And after finishing, I was completely bewildered. When asked, "Will you do another one", I didn't have a solid answer. But I was weighing heaving on the side of "HELL-to-the-NO". 30 hours, 3 runs, no sleep, stuck in a van, cold, tired, hungry, $200+....sign me up!! I have friends who compare Ragnar's to childbirth. It's painful. It is misery. But it is so exhilarating...and 1 year after the fact, you're pining for another one! I've done a lot of hard workouts in my life. Believe me, I'm kind of crazy . But nothing has made me shed tears and go into full blown sobs, like passing off the paton on your 3rd run of a Ragnar. You are so exhausted, experienced so much, seen so many sights, and tested your abilities. It's just awesome. This is especially tough for the girl who has a very strict regimen of being in bed by 9pm every night, lights out no later than 9:30 pm. But here we go ...

Last week as massive snow storm swept the east coast, we got our own little "winter storm" in Arizona. Of course, our winter "storm" is a little different. I'd hardly call it a storm. But I will say that the mountains got a descent dusting of snow! We had 2 day straight of rain. I loved every second of it. Except for the point that I came home from work Friday night after a long day. It was rainy. We both got home late, and had to work the whole weekend. So decided it was going to be a wine, cheese, and hummus kind of evening.  But we walked into the home to find a large puddle on floor, and a bulging ceiling in our kitchen. Yes, the roof was leaking. So our "relaxing" Friday night, turning into an evening of getting up on the roof in the rain and dark, putting down a tarp to help plug the leak. (Well, that was mostly Ryan's doing. I supported from below. And scrubbed the floors, as he cut out chunks of ceiling) #happyfriday...... That was th...

My 3rd Ragnar is in the books! The thought of these 24 hour races is rather daunting. But the more you do, it becomes addicting. This was my 1st "trail" Ragnar. For a refresher: Ragnar is a company that sponsors 24+ hour relay races. It's a company that makes tons of money. Because it attracts insane people from all over the country to pay hundreds of dollars to run with their friends for 24 hours on zero sleep. All for a medal, tshirt, and car decal. But great memories are always included! I've done the Ragnar del Sol (Wickenburg to Phoenix), Napa (San Francisco to Calistoga), and now McDowell Mountain trail. I must say this trail Ragnar was my favorite. Here is my recap: Trail Ragnar is made up of a team of 8 instead of 12 runners (like on the road). It is also 120-160 miles instead of 200. Instead of going from Point A to Point B, you stay in one area and run 3 different trail loops . This race had 3 loops: 3.1 miler, 8 miler, and 4 miler . Every r...