Ragnar Northwest Passage 2014: Wonder Women!

Another year, another Ragnar!

 

Going into this year's race I was extremely nervous.  After last year's fiasco with my leg I was super stressed about incurring another injury.  Thankfully the stretching I do now seems to be working and I was able to redeem myself and run a really good race. 

 

This year I was runner #1, which means I got to start us out in Blaine, Wa.  Our start time was a half hour later than last years time, which means that we had a fast group.  I really noticed the increased speed when everyone shot out of the gate and didn't let up too much during the entire 6.3 miles.  I did manage to get some "kills" (term used when passing another runner) but I also ran about 45 seconds faster, per mile, than I normally do.  Knowing my pace was too quick I decided to just keep going and see what would happen if I maintained it.  Surprisingly I didn't slow down at all and was able to finish strong, though tired.  The weather was about 67 degrees when I started, but it was full sun and felt much warmer.  I felt bad for my teammates because the temperature just kept going up as the day wore on. 

 

Van #1 representing at the starting line.

 

Every year there are some really amazing team costumes and a few that are always a favorite.  This year it wasn't so much the costume as it was the guys in them.  We started out with this team of fire fighters and pretty much hung with them throughout the entire race.  It was a friendly competition as we kept leapfrogging who would be in the lead between our vans.  They put on a nice stretching exercise for all of us at the starting line.

 

 

And we're off!

 

 

Jacki is awaiting my arrival.  Heck, I am awaiting my arrival.... I wanted to be done!

 

Lindsey posing at beautiful Birch Bay!  The PNW is a beautiful place to run.

 

Water support.

 

Jacki passing off to Lindsey.

Lindsey had the worst leg of the morning; 8 miles with no van support!  There was only one water station along they way, but thankfully she brought her belt to carry her own water.

 

Hanging out at the exchange.

Lisa flew into her exchange!  She rocked her first leg of the race.

Shannon showing why we are Wonder Women - happy, smiling, and running hard even in the heat!

Stefanie got to be the stoplight queen of the day.  Her leg took her through Bellingham and all the frustrating crosswalk lights.  As you can see when she wasn't being forced to stop she worked her tail off and finished our first leg super strong!

 

 

At some point in the race you think to yourself "Why on Earth am I doing this?" but then you see these signs and you are instantly motivated to keep going.

 

We met up with our sister van at the end of our first leg.  They were rocking some sweet blue eye shadow and red lipstick!  We so rarely see each other during the race that we cherish the moments when our paths cross.  We definitely appreciate how hard each of us work.

 

Van 2, runner #1 (really runner 7) Jill! 

She is so amazing.  I love that she smiles through it all.

 

This is how we bring our runner home!  Great job Stefanie.

 

 

Most of van 1 & 2 together briefly at the first major exchange.

 

Our team captain, Sommer, injured her ankle before she even started her first leg.  Their van was running a tad behind to make the exchange, so she jumped out of the van to get to the starting line and then pivoted to turn and somehow rolled her ankle in that pivot.  She still ran her leg but was taped up and sore the rest of the race.  Not letting an injury prevent her from running she still finished each leg strong, but her ankle is swollen today.  Bummer!

 

Kay Ann was van 2's last runner before they exchanged back to van 1.  See that fire fighter behind her?  This was our race with them most of the 27 hours we ran.  Kay Ann wasn't about to let him pass her and gained us a pretty good lead before she handed the baton off to me.

Another fun team was a group of ultra runners (6 runners instead of 12) called "The Postfontaines".  I loved their shirts!  This amazing group of runners started a hour after we did and finished the race an hour ahead of us.  I cannot imagine running roughly 30 miles each as fast as they did.  Amazing.

 

Stefanie waiting for her last leg to start.  She's got star power!

 

Shannon handing off to Stefanie.  Shannon ended her last leg with a killer hill.  Bleh!

 

Stefanie handing off to Jill and van 2 is now on their last leg of the race.  Van 1 went out and had a yummy breakfast while we waited.

 

Looky who we found near the finish line. 

This means Kay Ann is getting close and the race is nearly done.

We finished!  We all ran in together with Kay Ann and celebrated.

 

The 2014 Ragnar Northwest Passage Wonder Women! 

(minus Lindsey who had to leave early to head out on her vacation)

This was a great race overall.  I felt really good throughout and ran much faster than I ever expected.  Overall we finished in 2nd place in the women's division out of 32 other teams.  Oh, and we beat the fire fighters! 

Leg 1:  6.38 miles in 56 minutes (8:46 pace) - estimated pace was to have been 9:15
Leg 2:  4.5 miles in 38 minutes (8:25 pace) - estimated pace was to have been 9:00
Leg 2:  1.96 miles in 17 minutes (8:41 pace) - filled in the last two miles for a teammate who's IT band became too painful. 
Leg 3:  3.1 miles in 27 minutes (8:36 pace) - estimated pace was to have been 9:00

I felt great at the end and managed not to hobble around, though today I am a bit tighter than yesterday.  Overall this is the best I've felt after a Ragnar event.  Of course this year was my least hilly course so that may play into how good I feel too!

Looking forward to next year.... maybe.... ask me in a few months when I've forgotten the harder moments and I get caught up on my sleep. :-)



Spring Recital

The kids had their spring piano recital in May.  This time their piano teacher had them select a Suzuki piece and a piece from a movie of their choice to play for the event.  Can I adequately express how thoroughly sick I am of hearing "Everything is Awesome" and "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?"  However, aside from that, Vivian performed her pieces perfectly and Bryce went off hiking with his scout troop and missed the whole thing anyway.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year all I wanted was to have a day off to run errands sans children, take a nap, and to recoup.   AH and I have had a very busy month/year and I can't seem to feel caught up with all the to-do's on my list.   AH gave me this gift the day before Mother's Day - a Saturday to do what I wanted.  I ran my errands, slept from 4-6pm, and felt refreshed all evening.  It was perfection. 

On Mother's Day I enjoyed wonderful messages at church that uplifted me and inspired me.  That afternoon we enjoyed a quick family lunch, some relaxing around the house, and then I demanded that we do a family walk to park nearby.  At the park we had a great time playing tag and even recruited some other kids to join in.  A leisurely walk home, quick dinner, and I was one happy momma.  It was a weekend I absolutely needed - some down time and family time. 

 Beeb, as viewed from the visor mirror.

Deviated off the trail to climb on a fallen log.

 

Rest stop.

Beeb.  I'm glad I took this since she chopped her hair off this week.

Mr. B - his braces make his mouth appear swollen/fuller, but he is still one good looking boy!

Our buddy Mr. L, who joined in our game of tag.

And Mr. D, who managed to stay safe for most of the game.

 

You never get to old for this.

Walking home.

Polar Opposite

If it is possible to have a polar opposite from yesterday, today is that day.  Very productive homeschool day.  Great attitudes from everyone.  Happy happy family once again.  What is it about Mondays that seem to be so hard sometimes?

Some Days Just Blow!

Hard homeschool day today.
 

Hard piano lessons today.
 

Hard getting the kids to eat their dinner.
 

Hard day at work for AH (he's still there).
 

Hard time keeping my temper through it all.
 

Mom is hanging by a thread and counting the minutes to bed time.  I am going to turn it around.  Kids are currently in the shower.  When they are warm, clean, and have their teeth brushed, we are going to lay on my bed while I read "The Girl Who Could Fly" to them and try to end on a better, kinder, happier note.  Over and out!

Beeb's Penguins

Beeb has been very crafty this weekend making a slew of penguins.  I *heart* that girl!

 

 

Patiences is.....

A husband who spent his one free day a week painting the mudroom walls, vacuuming out all the final bits of dust, and then cutting and laying tile for the mudroom floor only to have his wife tell him that she hates the tile (which is the tile that SHE picked out). 

He didn't kill me, or even get really angry. 

He didn't make me feel bad at all, though I am sure internally he was not very happy when I told him.

We hemmed and hawed over it, even brought in part of the cabinetry to see how they look together, and decided to hold off on installing any more tiles while I look for other samples.  It's nice that we now have the new cabinetry onsite so that I can see the samples with it, even in the very room, and get a very accurate look at how it all melds together. Though I hate to put AH through it, I'd rather rip out a few rows now than cringe every time I walk into that room for the next 10+ years.

Crossover

Are you sick of reading about scouting this month?  We nearly are too!  However, this event is the icing on the cake.  Mr. B attended his final Cub Scout Pack Meeting.  He was the center of attention and with the excitement of it all he was barely able to contain himself.

 

First Mr. B received his final four Webelos pins, then his Webelos badge (I got the mom's pin - because they know who really makes this all happen), then he received his Arrow of Light badge (dad got that pinned - though it will be transferred to mom at home). 

 

Know what shocks me about this video?  It's that he is nearly as tall as I am! 

 

The Arrow of Light is a big deal in the world of scouting. 

It is the only badge earned as a Cub Scout that can be transferred to the Boy Scout program.

We are very proud of Mr. B for his dedication in earning the badges.

 

As part of the ceremony Mr. B had his face painted in symbolic colors related to scouting. 

He did not like this very much.

Wiping his face off as soon as possible.

Mom doing a better job at getting the paint off.

Following the Arrow of Light award we moved to the Cross-Over Ceremony, in which the scout leaves the Cub Scouts and crosses over to Boy Scouts. 

 

 

That's it. I have nothing else to report that is Boy Scouts related for the rest of the month!



First Boy Scout Campout.... Sort Of

Mr. B participated in his first official campout as a Boy Scout.... except that we did this campout last year with the Boy Scouts when he was still a Cub Scout.  Ah, the benefits of your dad being a Scout Master.

Our annual sojourn to the Ape Caves for the winter campout was another success.  This time there was no snow and the weather wasn't quite as sunny (though it did not rain on us while we were camping), but we are happy to report that it only rained while we were in the Ape Caves, nobody was injured, and all the scouts completed the hike the entire hike.

 This year many of the boys put up their tents without any adult help!

 

AH teaching the boys how to properly light a camp stove.

AH teaching to boys how he beheads a matchstick using his invisible string.

Dinner time!

 

Entering the cave.

A few brave boys dared to rest on the "meatball". 

 

Mr. B made it to an upper chamber.

Beeb, always the lone girl, is the bravest amongst them all.  She keeps asking to join Girl Scouts but I can't see why when she gets to do all the Boy Scout stuff with her dad.  Besides, at this age she is doing way more adventurous with the boys than anything she'd be doing in Girl Scouts.

 

Beeb, per usual, was the first to attempt climbing up to the shelf. 

 

It was a great trip - lots of fun for everyone.  AH does a really great job with these scouts and making sure their adventures are challenging but very rewarding.



Boy Scouts!

Last month Mr. B turned 11 and he is thrilled to have graduated from Cub Scouts to being an official Boy Scout.  He was so excited to get his new shirt, sash, neckerchief, and badges.  Tonight he is attending his first Court of Honor where he will receive his first badge, for snow skiing. 

 

Due to the timing of the Pinewood Derby and Mr. B's birthday, he has not completely left behind Cub Scouts as we haven't had a Pack Meeting where he can get his latest Cub Scout awards.  Later this month he will receive his last 3 pins, his Webelos badge, and his Arrow of Light patch.  The Arrow of Light is a big deal since it is the only badge that advances with the Cub Scout to Boy Scouts; it's a life long badge.

 

AH is now his scout leader and I expect that he will ensure that Mr. B gets all the badges, learns all his knots and advances to the ranks of Eagle Scout. (no pressure!)

Spring Fair

Last Thursday we wrapped up our Spring Break outings with trip to the Spring Fair.  The admission for the kids was free but I forgot to buy my ticket in advance, so we had to wait in line for an hour just to get in (so lame, not my best mom planning moment).  Oh well, we still had a lot of fun exploring the exhibits, games and rides. 

 

First stop - paint balling.   Mr. B did awesome and Beeb needs more target practice at home. 

Mr. B's first ride choice involved being suspended upside down.  He loved it.

Beeb's first ride choice was a bit tamer than her brother's. 

This is one of my favorite ride from my childhood.

The hands-down, cutest even was the Alaskan Racing Pigs.  They were so fun to watch.

Beeb did some of the crafts offered in the children's pavilion.

If you are going to the fair you must visit the animals.

And milk a fake cow.

We loved the fair and were completely exhausted by the time we left that evening.  It was a good last outing for the week and still left us a few days to recover before school started back up.