Minneapolis Duathlon Race Results

Minneapolis Duathlon Race Results
bib number: 572
age: 30
gender: F
overall place: 150 out of 814 (Top 18%)
division place: 10 out of 89 (top 11%)
gender place: 32 out of 398 (top 8%)
time: 1:48:11
run1: 23:51 (pace = 7:41)
trn1: 1:52
bike: 54:04 (pace = 20.0 mph)
trn2: 3:02
run2: 25:24 (pace = 8:11)

The morning started out just beautifully with my usual support crew waking me up – Reese ready to go for another couple of hours on the leash outside while Thom cheers me onto the finish line! The weather started out a tad on the chilly side, but nothing that wasn’t easily adjusted to by getting started on the run!The course was a 3.1 mile run, a 18.5 mile bike ride, and another 3.1 mile run. The course was mostly along “West Riverside” where I’ve ridden my bike many times before, so I had an idea of what to expect – that was to my advantage I think, however, it could have also been to my disadvantage as I sometimes let the hills intimidate me. Either way, I knew the race would be fun.

Setting out to run what felt comfortable, I was also holding back so I didn’t use all of my energy in the run. In looking back, I think I should have let my legs carry me as fast as they could that first 3.1 miles instead of holding back like I did…oh well – the next race I do, I’ll not hold back so much! The run was a nice course with quite a few uphills, less downhills…or so it seemed. When you do a loop, I guess what goes up must also come down, right? Crossing over the line to transition, I had about a half mile to go to get to my stuff…so all of that practicing and re-strategizing how to change faster, it doesn’t reflect in my times on this race. Oh well…out to ride the bike!

The ride was pretty uneventful – a few pot holes here and there, but that’s to be expected. Lots of climbing of hills and some fast downhills followed immediately by more climbing of hills! I love this kind of riding though, it really gets my blood pumping through my system and takes a lot out of me; it feels like a wonderful work out! As I was on my way back – about mile 13 or so, I approached 2 people who appeared to be using eachother to draft and work with. As I approached, I passed, then noticed I was being drafted from…so I sped up for a bit, not easily shaking them. I slowed down then, knowing that they wouldn’t want to go slower…and they passed me. As they were passing me, the girl (bib 528) yells forward to the guy (bib 467) “Are you tired? I can take over.” And of course he lets her go ahead so he can relax for a bit in her draft. UGH! I was passing another rider at that point and mumbled “only cheating themselves!” I did notice that my average pace was faster than theirs on the bikes…however, they did pass me on the run. I guess that’s because they had more gas in their tanks from the ride than I did. Oh well, I gave it my all and I have a race to be proud of.

The second run was just as uneventful as the first, but I did slow down a little as I was trying to get the “bricks” out of my legs. The course was very nice and a great challenge.

Overall, I’m satisfied with my results, but think I can do better….so I’ve already signed up for next year!

Next up? Irongirl Duathlon September 27th. I have my times listed for what I did last year, so I have a goal of beating those, and this year, I just may have a special trick up my sleeve, thanks to a good friend of mine – Sascha. Sascha and I used to do a lot of riding when I was training for the Ironman and a bit last year, but this year he has been working on the development of a new product for athletes. Just this past week, he emailed me and asked if I’d be interested in learning more about the product, and of course I am…so I went to see him. Well, let me tell you, I’m excited to be a guinea pig!!! I didn’t expect that at all, and I can’t wait to keep you posted on this new item to add to my gear bag that could surprisingly improve my performance. Interested to know what it is? Stay tuned to the blog…more coming soon!

The 4 R’s - Ragnar Runningmoms.com Race Report - Run, Rest, Refuel, Repeat

The 4 R’s
Ragnar Runningmoms.com Race Report
Run, Rest, Refuel, Repeat

This is the 3rd year I’ve done this crazy race where “you and 11 of your crazy friends cover 200 miles from Lacrosse WI to Minneapolis, MN” – this year, though, they moved the start line to Winona, MN so our route took us from MN to WI back to MN. The changes they had to make this year were due to some permits that they couldn’t obtain or something. With those changes came a change to which “leg” of the race I would run. To clarify – there are 2 vans, each van has 6 runners and any designated crew they may want (our van had 2 crew members). In our van was Casper, Dani, Amy, Erin, Karen, and myself – and yes, we ran in that order. Our crew was Thom and Joel. The other van was led by Coley with her husband Jon, Matt, Kendra, Beaner, and Nichole.
In previous years, I had been Runner #2 in Van #1. However as mentioned previously, course changes changed who would run where, and I ended up as runner #6. I would cover a total of 19.7 miles whereas Runner #2 this year had what started out as 16 miles and it crept into 18.9 miles as they had to make course adjustments all of the way up until the day we ran! I do hope to get Runner #2 position back next year by the way. This year, we also went as team “Runningmoms.com” – check it out! My friends Dani, Joel, and Amy started this site to encourage, help, and promote moms, fitness, and running – wonderful concept! I’m totally into supporting them on that!!! Onto the report…

Running as runner #6, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy – there were going to be lots of hills, but that’s also the course for anyone in the van, so that was nothing new. I had an 8.3 mile run, 7.5 mile, and 3.9 mile – all of which I maintained a pace of under 8:00! I have never busted that mark before! Last year my pace ranged from 8:15 – 8:29 for any of the legs I did, so this is a huge improvement for me. I ran the first 8.3 with a 7:57 pace. Sure, not much under an 8:00, but it is still under an 8:00. The rating on this run was “VH” – for very hard due to the course and the distance. I started this run at about 3:30 in the afternoon, so it was also getting warm. As soon as I finished my run, we hopped into the van and drove about 40 minutes to Stockholm, MN. While there the van decided we should grab some grub – and that was a mistake for KP! Oops! I am not used to eating right after running, let alone eating a whole meal and my stomach let me know. I guess I never really thought about the nutrition AFTER the run, but boy will I now! My stomach cramped up on me like I’ve never had a muscle cramp before! It hurt and I wanted nothing more than to go to the bathroom – come to think of it – everyone in our van wanted nothing more than to go to the bathroom before we had to start running again! I have had the history in the van of having the running and activity “get my insides moving” – but not this year, and I wasn’t the only one. Enough about that though – believe me, our van had enough discussions of our discomfort that day….we tried to catch some shut eye on the ground in Stockholm, but that was not easily done. We were to start running again around 10:00 that night, so that was on our mind.

My second run – 7.5 miles – started at 2:00 in the morning, and this was by far the most interesting run I’ve ever done. Not only was it starting at “bar time”, but I was running to Prescott, WI where there are quite a few bars. The course at this point was a lot of downhill, followed by uphill, downhill, uphill – Joel was riding along side of me on a bike to help light the way for me and “protect” me, and at one point I had to say “yep – Murphy’s law – what goes down must come up!” Every time I ran down, I had to run back up! Oh well…this one was rated “VH” once again, so I had to suck it up. As we approached Prescott, WI, the bars were…well, let’s just say patrons were rowdy enough to require a couple of vehicles with flashing lights to be outside – 2 ambulances were blocking my way on the road. What to do, what to do? So, Joel and I decide to take the path of least resistance and cross to the opposite side of the road and continue on. Outside of the bar on that side, however, were a group of ‘drunks’…college aged kids looking to have a good time. From the group came the shouts wondering why we were running and betting us they could go faster. Joel – my “protector” – decided to challenge them to racing me. Just as he does that…I make the right hand turn and “Holy Mother…” is what I think I said next as I stared at the major incline I was about to run up. Remember all of the “what goes down, must go up” business earlier? Yeah, well, apparently I was running down more than I was running up and this was the point where it all caught up to me. Before me was a major climb from the bar district to get to the “high school” district in the town of Prescott. One of the drunks decided at that point that they would use the liquid courage they had built up, and they would challenge me up the hill. I couldn’t let a drunk beat me, so although I’d already run 6.5 miles at this point, I dropped another hammer and went a bit faster than I had been. I felt the burn in the hamstrings as I did that climb, but I outran and outlasted the drunk…whew! (thanks Joel!) I probably wouldn’t have run up that hill that fast had he not made that challenge, so all was good…I’m just glad I wasn’t running that without Joel on the bike next to me! Finishing that hill, we make another turn, and even more steep than the first hill, I face another hill! What the??!? I dig deeper and keep on going. Joel still riding by my side, encouraging me…I crossed the finish line just 56 minutes later and at a pace of 7:28 for 7.5 miles!

From Prescott, we drove to Stillwater where we would wait for our Van #2 to finish their run. Everyone is doing well and kicking butt! Dani and Amy had both set personal records for pace and everyone was feeling pretty good, except for the fact that we only got maybe 2 hours of shut eye for the past 24 hours. My last run was just 3.9 miles long, but was all up hill – gradual, but all uphill! Starting out, I felt a bit tight and my legs felt heavy. I quickly realized I had to adjust my stride a bit to make things go a bit easier. Nothing too eventful happened on this run, and just 30 minutes later I was at the finish line ready to hand the baton off for the last time to Van #2…but wait…why is Joel there at the finish flagging me to slow down?? Huh? What? Van #2 ISN’T HERE?! Argh – I busted butt to get here, but you know what – the fact that they weren’t there was a minor thing. I had a goal to maintain my speed of under 8:00’s for the race, and I did! I accomplished my goal, and however long it took for Van #2 to get there, it wasn’t going to affect our “standings” enough to make us win a prize, so…we waited and waited for them to get there. I think they taught us all a lesson – make sure to read all directions and exchange #’s posted when you get somewhere – they were at Tartan High when they should have been at Tartan Park. Oh well. J I did what I had to do…now it was up to them!
All in all, it was yet another great race. Thanks to my “team runningmoms.com” for getting together and doing this – I’m looking forward to running Ragnar with this team again next year! Next up – Minneapolis Duathlon! Stay tuned…

What's a "little" water? (Turtleman Race Report)

Race Report Turtleman

What’s a “little” water?Well, if it’s in the lake for a swim during a triathlon, a “little” water means that you are running in muck and crap instead of swimming in a nice lake. It also means that you could end up running the swim portion instead of swimming it because it’s falling from the sky. A “little” water has a big impact!

A “little” water is also a threat when you are riding a bike on roads that have painted lines and the “painted” crosswalks. Those things are slick when a “little” water gets on them.

A “little” water means that you will feel it on your skin as it pelts you while running. Your shoes become 5 pounds heavier per foot and you feel the different muscles in your body working to lift your feet with every step.

A “little” water – it can do so much! The Turtleman Triathlon is in it’s 26th year and is one of my favorite races. It’s located close to home and is the perfect distance – usually! A 1 mile swim, 21 mile bike, 5 mile run. I’ve been able to finish it in about 2 hours, or just over, the past couple of years, so this year I set my sights on beating my times from last year. Well…with the shallow waters, they cut the swim down to ½ mile for this year, therefore beating my time on the swim should be easy!! Race day comes and with it there are a ton of storms in the forecast. Our summer has been really mild so far, and this was unexpected to say the least. The water levels being low are one thing, but the fact that you see lighting and hear thunder in the distance had race officials contemplating what to do. 8:00 was supposed to be start time, but they pushed it back to 8:30. By doing that, they shortened the window for “good” weather to 2 hours. The talent varies among the athletes that do this race, so 2 hours may be a piece of cake for some, but it could be a dream for others, therefore, the officials decided to cut out the swim from the race and we did a “kiddie” swim where we did a 50 meter dash in the water…basically, that was so we could start the timing chips more than anything. So, dashing through the water (not snow), you had to watch out for sink holes and hope that you didn’t get sucked into the muck and you could set your personal record for a ½ mile “swim” in 30 seconds or less – which I did. Into Transition…and you would think that it wouldn’t take me long since I didn’t have a wet suit to change out of before getting onto the bike….but….I had left my sunglasses for the bike ride sitting on top of things on my bike and therefore, those pesky rain drops were making it hard to see anything. I had to clean them off, and therefore have a long (2:23) transition time. Saddle up and ride --- onto the bike. Wouldn’t seem too bad if the roads were just a little wet and the rain was giving way to the sun…but that wasn’t the case! I never train in the rain, why would I? I usually look at the rain and say “good excuse to stay inside today!” but perhaps this race proves that I should train in all conditions. With water spraying up from all different directions from bicycle tires, puddles gathered in strange places, and the paint on the roads, it was going to be an interesting ride. The sunglasses didn’t stay dry for long, so that was a challenge to see the road. However, I couldn’t take them off because if I were to get hit in the eye with the raindrops and debris that was coming from tires in front of me, that could put an eye out. So I chose the lesser of two evils and kept the glasses properly placed on my face. Pedaling along I am keeping a great pace despite the conditions. I see SO many people with flat tires – I’ve never seen this many in one race in fact. I theorize that it had to be due to the water on the road and not being able to see the nuances of the MN pot holes and/or the debris on the road. It’s amazing some of the crap you see on the side of a road. I pedal on and slow down almost completely at each turn we have to make, hoping not to wipe out. Cleanly turning at all turns, I feel great and start to spin the last mile so that my legs are ready for the transition to the run. What I wish I would have known is that they were basing our ranking on our bike, not the whole thing – I would have gone all out that last mile instead of prepping for the transition. Oh well…it is what it is! I finished the ride in under an hour! Off of the bike, into my running shoes. Transition time affected by the fact that I do not have quick laces, rather I have to tie my shoes. Oh well…that’s what I get for not prepping for the race completely and only training for long distance things so far this year – mental note: get speed laces for next multisport event! Feeling pretty good on the run, I take my time and run as I feel comfortable. At about mile 3, the light misting had now picked up to a full on rain down pour and it stung when hitting the exposed skin. Yikes! One guy post race said he saw some hail mixed in with the rain – no wonder it hurt so much!!! Apparently, they turned some of the athletes back to the transition area after 1 mile of running and did not let them finish. I must have made it to the point where “if you’ve run this far, you might as well keep going because it’s just as far back to the shelter from here” when they were turning people around…so I finished all 5 miles at an 8:07 pace and had heavy shoes because of all of the puddles I stomped in when dodging other runners and trying to keep my pace. I did manage to rank 4th – technically the way they did the ranking based on the bike – but one of the gals was supposed to be at “elite” status, but changed to “age group” at the last minute before the race --- coulda had a podium if she hadn’t dropped down. Oh well. After the race had finished, the sun was shining…what a strange day….All because of a “little” water.

MN B2B race report - that was FUN! I will do it again!!!

How in the world did I ever decide to do a race that spans across the state of Minnesota from the south to the north, covering about 550 miles of the great state? I still am not sure how it all began, but Paul claims he sent me an email stating “this would be fun” and I jumped on it agreeing and saying we should sign up. I can’t find that original email, but I do remember looking at the web site he sent to me and thinking it would be “fun”.

What exactly is this “race”? The race is called the Minnesota Border to Border (http://www.mnb2b.org/) and it takes the racers ~230 miles via bike from Luverne, MN to St. Cloud (day 1), ~220 miles via bike from St. Cloud to Virginia/Evelyth (day 2), 50 miles of running from Virginia/Evelyth to Orr (day 3), and 50 miles of canoeing from Orr (Lake Vermillion) on the Vermillion River to Crane Lake at the border of MN and Canada (day 4). The teams racing can consist of 2, 3, or 4 people and they can switch at any distance they want in the events. For example – in the bike ride, they could have rider 1 go 10 miles, and at the 10 mile mark their “support vehicle” would be waiting there with rider #2 who would then go on from that point as many miles as the team agrees with the rider on. Rider 2 hands off to rider 3, so on and so on. Paul and I didn’t really consider doing more than a 2 person team, so we realized that we would each be riding ~225 miles, running 25 miles and canoeing all 50 miles --- it takes 2 to canoe!

Paul heard about the race from a co-worker who did it in 2008 and had a good time on a 4 person team, so we met with him to go over some planning and logistics. We got the hotels all arranged for each of the nights we’d be staying on the course along the way and we set up our checklist of things we needed to pack. We heard about the MN Canoe Association that offered “beginners” courses on Wednesday nights in the chain of lakes in Minneapolis, so we signed up to attend those classes. We learned a TON during that time – how to paddle, how to use your body so you don’t get sore, how to turn, how to communicate to switch sides, etc. It was amazing! I remember the first class (which seems so long ago now) where we went from Cedar Lake to Brownie Lake, back across Cedar to Lake of the Isles and it was super windy and I thought “my arms are going to fall off!” I quickly learned the secret of using abs when paddling!!! A few more classes attended, some persuasion before we left for the race, next thing you know, Paul and I both have purchased carbon fiber paddles to “save us” during the last leg of the race we had before us. *Note – this was a VERY smart decision!!!

Not only did we do the canoe training, but we did many days of training on the bikes and on our feet for the running. A few weekends were spent at Paul’s cabin (near Brainerd) where we rode 50, 75, and 100 mile bike rides on Saturdays followed by a long run on Sunday. In May, we signed up for the Minneapolis Marathon that took us along the beautiful course along West Riverside Drive to Fort Snelling and back to downtown Minneapolis. It was a hilly course, but was definitely a great decision for the training purposes of the B2B race. During the weeks back in the cities, we both did our own training and would encourage the other to push a little further and a little faster. Each week, I would try to get 2 “medium” length bike rides in and a couple of “medium” length runs. I have to say, cycling was more appealing to me than running was – I think that comes from the muscles I use more when I’m skating in the winter time being similar to those muscles used for cycling, versus the muscles used for running. Ultimately, I needed to train enough to get me through the 4 days of complete exertion of the race, and that’s just what I did.

The Monday before the race began, July 27, Thom and I were up early and on the road to Paul’s house so we could load the support vehicle with the gear and goods and then take to the road to make it to Luverne, MN for the pre-race meeting and carbo load session they had planned for us. We heard a lot about the construction on the roads, the dogs that might chase you, how to do the “jump” stops, and what the rules of riding were for the race. (Rules being that you cannot draft unless there is a designated drafting area – the first 36 miles were draft legal. The fact that you had to exchange cyclists within 3 bike lengths of eachother. Cyclists could not ride against traffic to get to their support crew, nor could the support crew drive against traffic or the opposite way of the race. Etc.) A Jump stop is pretty cool. It is a stop where you come to an intersection that could otherwise be dangerous for a racing cyclist. Like crossing a highway – you wouldn’t want to race across the highway just for the sake of time…rather, you should stop and look both ways. So the organizers designated the stop that Rider 1 stops on one side of the highway and as soon as Rider 1 puts their foot down, Rider 2 – who was taken across the highway via the support vehicle – can take off. Rider 1 can then safely dismount the bike and walk across the road/railroad track/etc. They also planned out the “Pick Ups” to get us through some detours of roads that were undriveable and unrideable. Nicely planned! After finishing a good meal, time for a good nights rest to start the race in the morning!

Day 1 of the race started out at 6:00 AM with us actually riding ~210 miles (we had a pick up that took us past some construction that we normally would have had to ride). It was SUPER windy!!! It felt like the wind mills that were out there to create energy from the wind source were actually blowing on us! I thought for sure someone was playing a mean joke.... I can handle riding in the wind for a little bit, but when you are going from the south to the north and the winds are coming from the North West, it’s really a struggle. We fortunately did have parts on the course where we were heading east, so we had a little bit of a tail wind/cross wind instead of a head wind, but it was still exhausting to keep pedaling against the 30 mph winds. As I was riding, I kept myself going by trying to figure out the answer to the story problem: “If a cyclist is averaging 20 mph in her speed while heading into a headwind of 30 mph, how fast would she be going if there wasn’t a 30 mph headwind?” I never did figure out the answer…but it kept my mind busy and my feet kept going in full circles! In the start of the race, we were allowed to draft – I think this was because it was a mass start so it helped with the congestion and spreading things out. I did get a really good jump off of the line and was drafting and working with another team to keep a 25 mph average going, despite the head winds. For the non-cyclists reading – what we would do is I would be in front for a while taking the beating from the wind while the other guy would ride in my air stream. When I would start to slow down, he would come ahead of me and I’d get some time to rest in his air stream…we would keep leap frogging like that and it helps save a TON of energy. That went on for 9 miles, at which point I realized that I needed to save myself for 100 miles of riding, whereas he was only going 50 miles that day. At mile 12, I saw my support crew ahead of me, and maintaining 3rd place, I handed off to Paul. We kept leap frogging a couple of 4 person teams, so we saw them constantly. That was fun to see them and get to know them through the camaraderie of cheering for eachother. I was feeling very strong despite the head winds and seeing the teams in front of me was like a carrot dangling there, keeping me focused and going strong. There were many semi trucks that were hauling cattle and pigs that stunk!! Ew! Those head winds were the worst!! I figured that I could not stay in the aero position (crouched onto my elbows), rather I had to drop down to my lower handlebars just to stabilize myself against the gusts of wind that those semis created. There were only a few hills, not too many on that first day. Notably the one into Granite City, MN – that one seemed to go on and on and on! At one point during the ride, I did see a few dogs that wanted to race me. A black lab/mix dog was pretty darn fast and was running along side of me for a bit until his property line ended (thankfully!), then there was the dog that was across the street and I was thankful there was an oncoming car coming --- the dog stopped for the car, I’m not sure he was going to stop for me! Then there was the cocker spaniel…uh huh…a little thing…scared the crap out of me! That thing was FAST! I was heading 22 mph and this little brown dog decided to run in front of me. I squeezed my brakes really hard, slowed down, missed him – whew! Then I heard the support vehicle behind me honking the horn – he must have stayed in the road once I passed. The dog and all persons escaped unharmed. However, just after I see the cocker, the course marshall flies past me in his vehicle and I think “must be getting close to a jump stop or turn!”. I approach a bend in the road only to see the course marshall there trying to corral a horse that had gotten loose! I think the cocker spaniel was trying to warn me about the horse!!! I managed to get past that without any problems and the rest of the day was spent in the saddle, riding for the finish. Paul and I pulled across the finish line 10 hours and 49 minutes later. Not bad for covering over 200 miles and 2 people! We were in 7th place!

Day 2 was more cycling and a few more miles than the previous day ~215. The head winds had died down a little bit, but the gradual creeper hills were set before us. Wow – there were a lot of gradual inclines where you just felt like you couldn’t get going, but we had to, and we did! The night before the ride, we had been warned about this dog that was a chaser – I thought “oh goodie! As if yesterday didn’t have enough chasing of me!” I was fortunate enough that Paul was riding that portion, and he was lucky that the dog was tied up this year! (perhaps complaints from the previous year??). I was really surprised at how strong I felt even after riding over 100 miles the day before. My legs were in great condition and despite the creeper hills, I was able to ride strong the entire time. We started the day based on where we finished the day before, so we started 7th, just behind a team of guys from Canada. Many times I had passed their support van along the way (as they were leap frogging me with their rider behind us), and those guys were funny and supportive. I think they were a bit surprised to see a girl pedaling as fast and as strong as I was. (I did tell them that my pace slows down when it comes to running…I don’t know if they believed me!). My first few legs of the day started out with a couple of dogs chasing me again…ugh! Oh well…I rode past them and kept moving…kept it as my motivation to keep rolling!!! Paul definitely held his own and I think he averaged a speed better than he claims…it had to be close to 20 mph for both of us yet again, and that was our goal. We finished the day in 10 hours and 43 minutes and again, 7th place.

Day 3 is the run day. I am a skater. I am a strong cyclist. I run…but I have to work hard when I run. It does not come easily to me and it’s not my strength, but it’s something I know I can work on and I will work on to get better at it. I enjoy running to a certain point…to the point where my calves/shins start to uncontrollably twitch, then it isn’t so fun anymore. I have noticed this uncontrollable twitch only a couple of other times – once when I was doing the Ironman and was at mile 16…I had to walk/run the rest of the 10 miles. The other time was during my marathon in Minneapolis in May at mile 23, but I was able to run through it until the end. I did some reading online to see if I could help this, and I hadn’t noticed it since then with some of the changes I had made. I also noticed after the marathon that my Soleus on my left side was a bit tweaked…so I was hoping to not face that as an issue. Whew, lots of things I was worried about apparently. As we woke for the run day, I felt exhausted. My body has not done something quite like this before, and I was a nit wit and forgot to take my vitamins the night before! Doh! I was feeling tired, like I could fall asleep while I was standing. I managed to pull myself through that, although I admit I was a crabby morning person that day, and I kept my feet moving and kept focused on the goal of the day – run 50 miles as a team. What I wasn’t ready for was the intervals of running and how my legs would feel. Paul and I had originally started out thinking we would run 2 mile intervals to get warmed up, then cut back to 1.5, then 1, then go down from there. That lasted all of the first mile, then we realized that all of the other teams (4 person and 3 person) were changing within ¼ mile down to even 100 yard dashes! We had to re-evaluate; were we making a mistake? Were we going to get too far behind? Was our strategy going to hurt us? So, 1 mile and switch. That lasted for a few miles each, then we cut back to 0.7 miles….and we were falling further and further behind the other teams, so we cut back to 0.6. We kept the other teams in our sight for a while, but we were falling back further and further in the field. I guess that’s to be expected considering we have 25 miles to run whereas the other teams have 12 to 17 miles per person and that’s it. Since we were at the back of the pack, the course marshalls were keeping tabs on us and kept checking in to see how we were doing. At one point, the race director (who has done this before) suggested we consider shortening our distances again since we were starting to gain on another team…so…we were down to 0.5 miles until the end of the race. I had run maybe 12 miles at one point where I was approaching highway 169 and I heard a bunch of rustling in the long grass to my left. I looked over and saw 5 white and black dogs running after me. I turned on the jets and I sprinted my ½ mile faster than I’ve ever run ½ mile before. I finished that one in 3 minutes to be exact. One of the dogs did get close enough to my shoe that I felt part of “him” on my heel – whether it was his teeth, jaw, paw…I do not know, but I felt him. I looked back and saw 3 more dogs running down the same path that these original 5 came from. What was it with dogs chasing me? I love dogs, so to get that kind of treatment from them, I was not happy! Oh well…it made me run faster at least! I do remember the clouds hovering over us for the first 30 miles of the run, then the Gods parted the clouds and the rain poured down on us! Poor Paul got dumped on the first downpour, but it hadn’t let up by the time it was my turn, so I ran through the rest of the downpour. Wearing rain jackets and water logged shoes, we were wearing down. With 10 miles left to go in each of us, I literally talked to my legs to see if they had it in them – they did respond back; maybe that was when Thom realized my mental stability was failing! At that point, water logged, cold, and drawing towards realizing the race is pretty insane, Thom was getting out of the vehicle to give me a muscle rub down in my legs to keep them loose. I am so thankful he did that. Getting in and out of the car every 4 minutes actually is harder than you think. It takes a lot of energy to do that when you’ve done it over 50 times, and your muscles start to cramp up when cold and seated. Thom was a life saver for my body at that point. The run itself was beautiful. I was privileged to see the sign of “Entering Superior National Forest” and “Now Leaving Superior National Forest”. While I was running through there, there was 2 deer that decided to graze on some grass in front of me and were very close to me. The terrain was pretty good, nothing too hilly, but it wasn’t extremely flat either – it was just right! My muscle spasms did set in around mile 23, but that was short lived when I changed my shoes for dry shoes (I had luckily just thrown those into my bag “just in case” – boy was I glad I had those!). The end was in sight and it was a good thing to see and feel. 7 hours later, Paul crossed our team over the finish line and we held onto 7th place for yet another day!

Day 4 – Canoe 50 miles. Have you ever canoed 50 miles? I hadn’t. I had done 11 – that was the most I had canoed in one day to that point and that took Paul and me 3 hours to do at his cabin one Sunday morning. I had no idea what this was going to be like! The first 8 miles felt like forever and made me want to throw the towel in – or the paddle – whichever was closer to me. I wanted out. I felt like I had met my limit and I was done for. I actually thought “if we don’t make the 6 hour cut off, I’ll be OK with that”. Paul admitted to me later on in the day that he too was feeling that way at the ½ way mark. However, both of us didn’t want to tell the other person, and both of us didn’t want to be the quitter, so we shut up and paddled on! We get to the first portage – about 5 miles into the paddle – after we had crossed a windy and bumpy lake Vermillion. That paddle was hard, but the portage felt even harder. Getting in and out of the canoe was a task with the tired legs we had shaking beneath us. Not to mention the fact that now we have to carry this canoe?? Ugh! The mud, the muck, the obstacles on the path…it felt like forever and yet it was a “short” portage???!!! We trek on and finally put the boat back in the water. I was happy to be paddling again…for a few miles….then another portage. Ugh! Back out, lift the canoe up…hike along, up, over, through…back up a slippery bridge…over….ssslllliiiippppp, thud!....”ow”…. Yes, that was me slipping down the other side of the board that was supposed to be a bridge. “You’re ok” I tell myself. Paul asks how I am as he sees the canoe that has landed perfectly between my legs, my head just peeking over the back side of the canoe. I mumble a few words to myself and pick myself up, tell him “let’s go” and we do. Ugh! That hurt! Thank goodness for seeing the water again – put the canoe in…paddle paddle…portage!? Again? Ok, out we go…pick up the canoe…wait…Paul – can you put this on your shoulders? Whew! Paul carries the canoe on his shoulders, I take the stuff we had in the canoe – the water, the Gatorade, the food, the paddles, etc. We trek on for over a mile…the long portage that never seemed to end. Bugs everywhere (I hate bugs!) mud and muck to slop through and finally back to the water. The last portage before the ½ way mark….thank goodness we got to see Jodie and Thom at that ½ way mark! Thom had a turkey bagel sandwich for me and the encouraging words I needed to hear to keep me going. I was ready to be done, and I had realized that when I fell, I lost my sunglasses….of course, the sun was starting to shine now! After a few minutes of rest at that ½ check point, a few bites of food, the paddles went back into the water and the paddling actually became enjoyable. Was it the food? The soft words of encouragement Thom said? Or was it the fact that we were now at ½ of the canoe and we survived it and the second half was less “open” water and more closed? Whatever it was, perhaps the combination of all of it, I dug deep within myself and found the motivation to paddle as fast and as hard as I could until the last stroke was made. Luckily we didn’t have to portage as much in the second half, and we did maintain a good speed in the water. Granted, we weren’t as fast as some of the teams that had been switching at the different portage spots, but we were holding our own. We could see that there was another team behind us, and our goal was not to let them pass us. We held that goal until the final portage where they did pass us --- not in water, but on land! Ugh! Oh well. During that second ½ of the canoe, it was sunny, it was rainy, and it was amazing! The bugs were awful (and I have a TON of bites on my legs to show for it), but the birds and wildlife was peaceful and beautiful. A couple of times, Paul and I had to remind ourselves that although we were racing, we had to take it all in and enjoy it. Who else really gets to see all of MN like we did this past week? The thunder was rolling and our paddles started going faster. We had to finish! We couldn’t stop now. Last portage and we were going to make it. The course marshall was there full of encouragement! We were going to finish before 7:00 PM! We had planned on it taking us 14 hours based on a best guess of how fast we could paddle before settling into the course, and we actually finished in 13:30. That put us in 10th place overall, and 1:11 behind the other 2 person team. Could we have done better? I bet we could have. I think the only place we could have really improved was paddling and in the portages. However, I think we enjoyed it a lot – I know I did, and within 24 hours I was telling Paul I’d do it all again! When we finished the canoe, it was a very awesome feeling. Being a 2 person team, riding 215 miles (due to construction), running 25, and canoeing 50 miles – that’s a lot to do and we beat 2 other 4 person teams! Wow! Putting it all in perspective, we did a helluva job! What gave me tears in my eyes and goose bumps was the reception we received when we got to the finish line in the canoe. Those teams we had been playing leap frog with the previous 3 days --- they were all there, cheering us on until we passed the last buoy (which Paul and I decided to practice one last buoy turn as a funny joke :)). Everyone wanted us to tip the canoe and go into the water - apparently that is tradition. Well, we decided to get all of our stuff out of the canoe, then we jumped into the cold water - that was refreshing! When we were accepting our medals for completing the race, the cheering from the rest of the group was amazing. I can’t say enough for the sportsmanship and amazing character of our “competition”. They gave us a standing ovation at the end for completing the course as a 2 person team. Only 1 other 2 person team completed it – a team of 2 men who definitely had more upper body strength than me!!! I can’t thank the race crew enough or the “competition” who I’ve actually struck up some new friendships with them.

Paul and I apparently can’t get enough. We’ll be back to a canoe class on Monday night to thank the MN Canoe association for all they taught us and share our experience with them. I’m keeping the paddle I said I’d sell right after the race – why? Because I want to do this race again – and yes, as a 2 person team. While Paul is vowing to take a year off…I am working on another crazy guy to partner up with me and do it as a 2 person team with me. We’ll see…Thom needs to weigh in on it a bit too and see if he wants to crew again for us and if he minds the time I take to do the training….it’s quite a bit of a commitment.

Thanks to all who were supportive during the race. The encouraging posts on my facebook page, the emails and the messages sent were all very much appreciated. The “competition” – I hope to see them out there again.

A little nutty? Yep – that’s me, but I like it that way!
XO,KP

Wedding details, training, and the like...

Still here, yep I am!
I finally bought THE dress for the wedding. No details can be posted - Thom can't know about it, so you'll have to wait until post wedding to see those pics! For those that don't know - the wedding is a destination wedding in Miami, FL. We are boarding a cruise ship with our immediate families and that's about it. We are keeping it small and simple and we are focussing on the marriage - sounds cheesy, right? Well, it's true though that we want to be stress free and just enjoy the beginning of our lives together. Don't worry - we'll still have a party to celebrate! We'll do that in Minneapolis next summer some time. Invites will come out eventually.

Besides wedding stuff, I've been working on the kitchen and with mom and dad's help this past week while they visited, we made some awesome changes in the Living Room and Dining areas! We have yet to get the table top (backordered at Ikea), but when we do, it's going to be amazing in there. Counter tops will be installed July 22nd, and the windows are....well, where are the windows??? I don't know - they haven't called me, and when I called them, I got the "we told you 5-9 weeks!" I was apparently at week 5 upon asking. I guess I'll call again this week *sigh*. The joys of being the customer.

Training for the Border to Border race is going well. I'm getting a few rides in each week and managing some runs as well. This past week I did a 30 mile ride on Monday and happened to pass one of my good cycling buddies, Josh. As I turned around to catch him, we started to do sprints. LOVED it! I was dead afterwards because he is an awesome cyclist, but it was great to get that kind of a work out in. Tuesday I ran 9 miles, then skated in 2 bandy games. Wednesday was a meeting with the Ragnar Relay team and a 4.5 mile run! Tonight - well, just getting my hairs cut and enjoying a dinner with a great bud, Julie. This weekend, Thom and I are off to Brainerd area again to go to Paul's cabin so Paul and I can get 2 hours of paddling, 100 miles of cycling, and 15 miles of running in. This is our last big push before the race, so we have to make the most of it. The next 2 weeks will be short and fast runs and rides. Should be good times!

Hope all of you are doing well - I'll keep a general post coming and probably get some pictures of the changes to the house up soon - want to wait for the new counters so you get the full effect of the change ;)

Take care,
KP

Still plugging along....

Nearly 4 weeks post marathon and I haven't written...wow am I slacking?!
I've been incredibly busy lately trying to get some things finalized for the wedding, train for the Border to Border race, and do some home improvements. It has been great that rink bandy has started up for the summer too on both the Women's team and the Men's team that I play for, so I'm getting on the ice two times a week on average now...and of course, I am truly enjoying every moment of that!

Just a quick recap of what we have been up to - the weekend after the marathon, I did some dress shopping and we went to Thom's nephew's graduation party which was a cool experience - it was at a park which was a mile from our house and I never knew it was there. I have since been back to run the trails in the park! After that it was a weekend with the Wynns at the quarterly family party, which was a nice relaxing weekend in Wisconsin at Thom's mom and dad's house. We always have a good time there. Then it was to Paul's cabin for a weekend of training! We rode 75 miles on Saturday (which we were both exhausted from), then we ran for 2 hours on Sunday and we were going to paddle in the canoe for 90 minutes, but we decided we would attend the 2 hour class on Wednesday evening that following week instead.

This past week was quite a busy week...and Wednesday was the peak of the action with a 4 mile run, 2 hours of canoe class, and a bandy game! What a great night! I think I played one of my better bandy games and I have to credit the "long warm up" to it :).

This weekend, we will be busy stripping wall paper from the dining room, removing the cabinet doors and hardware, and then repainting all of them. It will be a busy weekend, but it will be nice to have it all done very soon. We will be getting new windows this summer, so that too will be a nice change/update to the townhome. We definitely are keeping busy!

That's all I have for now - just a short update. Nothing too exciting, just more of the same!
Cheers!
KP

Minneapolis Marathon – Race Report

It was going to be a gorgeous day and I was happy for that!! Rain wasn’t planned to come until late in the evening, and the morning hours were supposed to go from 55 degrees at 7:00, race start, to 71 by 11:00, when I had hoped to be done with the marathon.

My race prep hadn’t been as diligent as it should have been so I was a bit worried going into this marathon. I had a goal of finishing at 4:00, if everything was ‘perfect’, and why I had that goal was only because of some friends of mine who had finished the Stockholm Marathon a few years ago and did it just under 4:00. It wasn’t set at that because that was how I had trained…no, that would have made more sense! It really doesn’t matter how quickly I finish a race such as this, does it? It’s all a personal goal anyway….and the real purpose of competing in this is more or less a training run for the MN Border to Border Race Paul and I are doing at the end of July anyway; I just wanted to have a better time this time than the last marathon I did – that was 4 hrs and 32 minutes.

6:00 AM Thom drives me to the race site and has our little pooch in tow. I love the way he supports me in all of these crazy things that I decide to do. Hanging out right at the race start, it’s a chilly one at 55 degrees, so I go with the Capri pants and a tank top. About 1 mile into it, I was warm. Oops. I had been planting plants on our patio most of the afternoon the day before in a bent over position so I had a feeling my lower back and hamstrings were going to be screaming…and I was right. Within 5 miles, I told Paul that my hamstring was tight…did I stop to stretch it like he had suggested? Of course not; again, that would be the smart thing to do. Paul and I were cruising along, dodging slow people in front of us and keeping about a 9:15 minute/mile pace. I had originally set out to hit the first 8 miles at a 10:00 pace, but whatever…if Paul can keep this pace, I’ll just keep going. I realize now, looking back, those first 10 miles or so, I was keeping a longer stride than I have been training with, causing me to pound my heels and causing more strain on my hamstrings; if only I would compete as I train…I could have been just fine.

The course was awesome! I never really ran 26.2 miles in Minneapolis quite like that, and I’m really glad that I signed up to do this if only for the fact of seeing more of Minneapolis. We went through my old neighborhood where I lived and used to run when I first moved to Minneapolis and rented an apartment downtown. That wasn’t much of a surprise, but it was fun to go over the old turf. Along the river side, we went through some ups and downs on the road and along the riverside, past the dog park of Minnehaha, and over to Fort Snelling. I never realized just how hilly it is. I’ve ridden my bike that way before, but it’s totally different when you are running through Fort Snelling at a pace that allows you to see different things. I loved the dirt path we were running on…even if it was an up and down run. We had a few miles where we clocked them at 10:00’s or so, perhaps due to walking through the water stops, then when we hit mile 16, we apparently decided we would pick it up and we managed an 8:00 min/mile! That took us both by surprise, and my hamstrings were shouting at me at this point, but I kept running along. We emerged from Fort Snelling back along to the area near Minnehaha and then back along the riverside from where we came. I remember the theory “What goes down, must come up!” and it sure was true of this route too. As if my hamstrings weren’t already screaming enough at me, they were REALLY not happy with me at this point. I was fearful of my typical uncontrollable muscle twitches in my lower legs which cause my toes to curl, and sure enough, they appeared about mile 21. Just before that, around mile 19 or 20, Paul was dodging past some people on the path and I just didn’t have it in me to lengthen my stride and snap my hammies, so I stayed where I was and watched him run off ahead of me. I managed to keep 10:00’s or so the rest of the race and still enjoyed the course I was running.

So many friends were out there to cheer me on, I truly appreciate it. It’s amazing how it can give you a spring in your step to hear someone cheering for YOU out there. Thanks to everyone who was out there cheering for me!

The end came and I crossed the finish line at 4:19. That was of course, after the longest and hardest climb that the course took us over within the last mile of the race. My hamstrings just couldn’t do their normal thing of letting me fly up that hill, even though I have done that many times in my past. Oh well…I crossed the finish line with a little extra energy but screaming muscles. I managed to shave off more than 10 minutes from the first marathon I did, and perhaps I lit a spark within me to run another marathon some day and beat my time of 4:19. I don’t foresee that next year as I know my body needs a bit of a break from the long training days, and I’m guessing Thom would actually like me to spend some time with him. Perhaps I’ll get to do this course partially next year and do the ½ marathon like I did last year. I don’t think I’ll end up doing the Grandma’s marathon, even though one of my friends who did this race said that this one makes Grandma’s look like a cake walk! (*for those of you not from Minnesota – “Grandma’s” is a marathon in Northern Minnesota – Duluth. It’s a beautiful setting and a great little college town. The race brings in about 9,000 runners from all over). Since I most likely won’t do Grandma’s - Stockholm marathon anyone?? I’d love to do that one.

Next up is the Minnesota Border to Border. I’ve been going with Paul to do some canoe classes, learning how to paddle more competitively and efficiently. We’ve also taken some time to do some bike rides and obviously running. We’ll continue the training for the running, and we’ll pick up more cycling time and I definitely need to start working on my upper body strength if I am going to expect my body to paddle a canoe for 50 miles. I do love being active and setting goals…maybe next year I’ll have the goal of getting quicker on the shorter distances…but right now, I am setting my sites in the near future and focusing on what I need to do for B2B (check out http://www.mnb2b.org/).

Thanks for reading.
I’ll keep on runnin’

I apparently tired my man and pooch out - this was them post race while I was planting more flowers on the patio.

Marathon count down - 2 days!

It's a beautiful sunny day here in Minneapolis...finally! We've had some cool days lately, and that has been great for my marathon training...I love running in the cooler air. However, Marathon day is Sunday and it's supposed to be up in the 80's from what I last heard. There are so many bits of the "cotton seed" blowing in the air, I don't like that...I can just see it now, taking a big inhale and 'cough cough'. ick! Currently, the hourly forecast for Sunday morning looks favorable - mid 50's from 7:00 AM until about 10 when it gets to 60...and I should be within an hour of finishing my marathon then if I cross the starting line right at 7:00! Yep, my goal is a 4 hour finish. I've been training pretty hard for that, but each day brings different challenges. I just hope that Sunday is challenge free and all of my training has paid off.

To get ready for the race, last weekend was Memorial day weekend. Thom, Reese, and I headed to Paul's cabin in Brainerd and enjoyed some relaxing times, mixed with some training. Saturday, Paul and I did an 8 mile run at a 9:00 min/mile pace. Not bad...all on hills! Sunday, we did a 52 mile bike ride, and afterwards, paddled the canoe for an hour or so. Great training weekend, with a bit of campfire time sprinkled in. This week, I proceeded with the taper runs 3 miles Tuesday, 3 miles Wednesday, and tonight, I'm going for a nice long walk with Thom and Reese to watch Kiah play in his soccer game. That should be fun! Pasta dinner is tonight, and then I'll do my protein filled meal on Saturday night. I think each runner has their own meal that they like before the race...mine happens to be steak and potatoes. Many "experts" might think "holy crap - eating that piece of meat before a race!?" So far, that's what seems to get me through and feeling fine at the finish line...so, that's what I'll do!

I hope to post some favorable results in my next blog...for now, it's time to enjoy the sunshine MN has to offer!

KP

Craziness!

I tell ya, my schedule has not slowed down one bit! If anything it's picking up some major speed and not stopping for anyone or anything! whew.
Last weekend was busy busy busy! I spent all day Saturday with my friend Christie doing wedding dress shopping - we had a great time giggling at some of them as well as some good "oohs" and "aaahs" :) We were, however, disappointed with the way one of the most popular wedding shops here (coincidentally named "The Wedding Shoppe") treated us. Perhaps our standards were set a bit high from the first shop we went to, "Grace Bridal" in Excelsior where they had very beautiful dresses and the owners were so very attentive to my needs, listening to what I wanted/didn't want, etc. We found some awesome dresses let me say...but...they come with a "not so awesome" price tag! Seriously! I tried on a dress that was $7500!!! (I can send you pics if you wish, I just will not post them here as I cannot let my man see them ;) ). When we got to St. Paul to the Wedding Shoppe...the woman there basically took one look at Christie who had our lunch in her hand (and we scoped the place for "Do not eat" signs but none were seen!), and the lady says "With a samwhich?" We promptly asked if it was OK and she busts out into a hideous laugh, so we decide "it's ok". She leads us to this room up some stairs and says "Ok, I'll show you some dresses and you can pick out what you want to try on." She then takes us to some other room, Christie finds some really good dresses (she's REALLY good at this!), and we head back to the "fitting room". Our "attendant" --- let's call her Mimi because she looked like the character from Drew Carey --- Mimi takes us back to the room and says "you have enough here now", so we wait for the next step in the process...Mimi to help me put them on. Nope, Mimi leaves the room. Christie and I are like...um, ok...so we start putting them on and come to one with a corset top (one where you tie it in the back). Mimi comes back in and literally yanks on these laces to the point where I think I'm going to be as blue as Mimi's eye shadow from lack of oxygen and Christie is wondering if she's going to have to pick me up from out side of the window since I'm being thrown around like a rag doll. Whew...we get through the corset tops and I'm praying we don't find anymore that are like that. Mimi lectured me on how I'm looking for a dress way too late in the ball game, blah blah blah. Whatever. She can bite me. We did find a couple of dresses we liked...so, if we go back through that store, we'll be sure to request we don't get "Mimi" - speaking of her, she never gave us her real name --- wonder why????

Sunday, Christie and I get to go do a walk to benefit Breast Cancer patients, survivors, research, etc. Such an emotional and moving event for me...seeing one of my best friends and how she does this for her mom every Mother's day moved me to tears. Then I put myself in her shoes, and I did the same for my mom...it was emotional to say the least.

After the walk, which I have to add was more like a herd of cattle moving at a snails pace because there were over 55,000 people walking in a 5k course, Christie and I were going to meet Nadine for some mimosas and brunch! YUM! We had a bit to eat and drink, then we were off to do our own things for a bit...mine included a 10 mile run to train for the marathon. Finished that and felt pretty good.

The week was uber busy as well - my BFF from high school, Jill, was in town for a couple of days for work, so I got to hang out with her and get a work out in at the hotel :) LOVED that! After we burned the calories, we headed out to the 5-8 Club for a Juicy Lucy burger (if you haven't had one - next time you are in town, we will!), and then to Pepitos for a margarita or beer for dessert! mmmm!

Wednesday - oh boy was this super fun - I went to a canoeing class with my buddy Paul! Seriously! I "learned" how to canoe. The only way I've ever canoed before was with a cooler of beer and no real intentions to get anywhere fast. With the Border to Border race looming over our heads, we decided we needed to get some lessons on competitive paddling as well as some time for our muscles to get used to the motion. Man that was fun! 2 hours of riding through canals and channels that connect the lakes in the city of Minneapolis together....it was by far one of the coolest things I've ever done in Minneapolis to date! I loved it!

Thursday was ANTM night with the gals - man did we have a blast! I was in charge of nibbling food while Nadine did the beverages and Christie was in charge of bringing Bruno and the good times --- let's just say we all executed perfectly and it was a fabulous night!

Friday Thom and I went to the Home Show...wow was that a bust!?! Free tickets made it worth while, and perhaps we "could win $10,000 towards some windows!" We'll see if they disclose the winner...ha! We did get a good lead on some good windows anyway. Now I just need to get them to give me a good quote - one I can afford!

Saturday was a Marriage Retreat for a few hours - that was a lot of fun to see some more information about ourselves and our relationship...nothing really new uncovered, but good and healthy none the less.

Sunday I woke up early and headed north to Circle Pines to meet my friend Becka for some good training. We loaded our bikes onto her roof rack of her car, then drove down to Savage to meet Paul for a good HILLY, 36 mile ride. I enjoyed every minute of it, and that was the first ride of the season. After we finished the ride I might title "Idenify the Road Kill" (I could identify skunk, deer, coon (x2), and there was one mystery meat I didn't know...), we headed back north to her house to do a 12 mile run! LOVED the trail she took me on and enjoyed the nature we ran through...the lilacs are in full bloom and the smell was SO beautiful....ahhhh. I hope the marathon is as beautiful ;)

My family vacation and a farewell to my first "nephew"

A few weeks and I’ve been bad about writing – my apologies.
Things are going in a whirlwind right now with everything I have piled on my plate. I’m not complaining, just rationalizing the reason for not keeping the blog updated.

Two weeks after Thom and I arrived back in the States, we were off to Mexico on a family vacation with my parents, my brother, his wife, and their little girl, Lucy.

The flights were pretty uneventful on the way there – just the way I like them! We had worked out an arrangement with our friend Nadine to have her drop us off at the airport so she could use Thom’s truck for the week while she did job hunting (unfortunately, the lay-off has hit close to home with some of my friends). An early flight puts us at the airport around 6:15 AM and we arrive in Puerto Vallarta around 4:00 on Saturday afternoon. Upon getting to the airport, we walk through the “Shark Tank” where all of these people are trying to get us to use their car service while others want us to go on their tours and perhaps people wanted us to buy a time share at their resort. Luckily, Todd (my brother) had provided us with information about the shark tanks that we knew to walk through and politely decline their offers. Into the car we go which was arranged for us through our time share we were going to visit…through some parts of town we thought were pretty run down and all of a sudden, we are at the hotel/resort. I’m amazed that we are there within 30 minutes and haven’t even really left the area that seemed to be run down, but our hotel…wow. What an entrance! The bell boy immediately grabs our suitcases, tells us to check in, and then he will help us along. We do all of that, get our room keys and we’re off to our week in the sun. We walk through part of the resort to room 3611…we open the door and see that there is wine and a fruit basket on the table with someone’s name typed there. Odd…but interesting. I continue on to see where I’m going to be staying for the week and walk to one of the bedrooms…I see a suit case with a name matching that on the table and a light goes on – “we aren’t in the right room!” We tell the bell boy who straightens it all out and on our way to room 4611 this time. The rest of the group is waiting for us on the balcony, already enjoying the cervezas from the stocked fridge in the room. That was interesting, and thankfully, the only flub that was made for the week.

Setting our stuff down in our room, taking a look around, and greeting everyone….it was time to grab a bite to eat. This resort was beautiful! 3 pools – one with a swim up bar, one with a water fall, and one for little kids. Too cool! The resort was right on the beach too, so we were bound to be relaxing by water all week long, and that’s just what we did. We did take one day to go to the town to see what it’s all about, see where we are, etc. So we hopped on public transportation (a bus) to find this place called “Old Town”. Well, we never did find it, but we did get off at the city part where the Boardwalk was. It was neat with lots of people doing sand sculptures and people milling about, but it wasn’t anything like Playa del Carmen – quaint with boutiques. No, this was more of a city where people live and work! Todd, Emily, and Lucy go their separate way back to the hotel while mom, dad, Thom, and I go on to see what else we can find in this city. The bus ride was not comfortable I’ll admit. On the way to the city, I was sitting in the back of the bus next to mom on one side, and a rotund little guy on the other side. This little guy was sleeping on the seat and this bus had no suspension, so whenever we went over a bump, you felt it…I felt him falling onto me too! Oh well… We didn’t stay in the city for very long – just long enough to buy a souvenir, let the boys try some tequila, then head out on the bus again…which took us to some parts of town where no one could really tell us how to get to a little part of town we were searching for, so we kept on riding the bus. Eventually, we made it back to the resort where we said we wouldn’t leave unless we had to. Trying every fruit flavor of daiquiri was accomplished and we enjoyed the food that was non-stop! We took one day to go "swim with the dolphins" which was a cash sucker upper for tourists. Luckily, this was included with our all inclusive, so it ended up being totally worth the experience! I got to dance with the dolphin, kiss him, make him do tricks, and learned about the dolphins and the trainers. We all walked past the $25 pictures that we could have purchased, so unfortunately, not too many to share on that! Throughtout the week, I did take in some yoga classes, a massage, and a pedicure as well. That was SO relaxing.

During our stay in Mexico, the “Swine Flu” – aka “H1N1” – was getting tons of coverage and we were getting tons of emails and phone calls from work, family, and friends. Needless to say, the hype around it blew it way out of proportion and we were all ok – especially since we did stay on the property of the resort. We did notice a decline in the number of people that were staying at the resort over the course of the week. We aren’t sure if it was the flu scare or if our timing was just that good that we picked a week when people weren’t on vacation. We are thinking it’s the latter. The week after Easter and the week before Cinco De Mayo --- the US travelers are probably done with travel and those from Mexico weren’t on vacation yet…and we were right…their Labor Day (May 1st) actually showed some activity at the resort and you could see that more people were coming to stay for the next week. Our timing was perfect!

The resort --- it was beautiful. Lots of great plants and animals, including resort cats, iguanas, and peacocks! Lucy was interested in all of them and had lots of questions to ask about them. Lucy, my 2 year old niece, is just amazing! I couldn’t believe all that she already knows including her alphabet, letters, colors, songs, animal sounds, etc. She educated me on a few things over the course of the week and I’m anxious to see how much she develops between now and the next time I get to see her! I loved the time I got to spend with her. Emily and Todd told us their plans for baby #2 that is in Emily’s tummy right now…due in September. I won’t reveal any of that…that is for them to do! I’ll just say that I’m happy to buy more pink stuff!

This family vacation was unlike any my family has ever taken together before. Growing up, we always did the hockey camps as our “vacation”. This was awesome! This time, we stayed put, spent time together, and just relaxed together. I loved it so much!!! Saying good-bye at the end of the week was really hard to do because I just enjoyed it so much with all 7 of us together. I am not too big on Puerto Vallarta as a vacation destination unless you are doing an all inclusive like we did. I can compare it to Playa del Carmen and Tullum and recommend those 2 places for vacation over PV. Don’t get me wrong, PV has a lot of neat aspects including “mountains” and a different feel to the beach, but if you want super fine, white sand, a spot to snorkel, cute shops…head to Playa. Even that said, I still think this was the best family vacation ever!

Reese was in good hands when we went on vacation at the Pampered Pooch Playground. This was her first time spending a week without us and without a family member, so this was a test for her. We received an email from the owners of the kennel that she was not eating and therefore, they were going to take her home with them that night to see if they could get her to eat and see if she would sleep well. Wow – they let her sleep in their bed, just as if she was at home! They even made her a celebrity at one of their events that they were attending where she was giving out autographs! Reese was exhausted for the next week after we got home – I think she got a lot of love and attention, but was still glad to have us back!

Up next? I’m training for my marathon on May 31st . Thom and I are going through our Marriage prep stuff with the church, and I’m also training for the Minnesota Border to Border race with my buddy Paul. Life has not slowed down for us since getting back. If anything, I feel like I have a ton more to get accomplished in the next few months and I am constantly on the go. I will keep writing more here…although it may be sporadic, I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated.

On a sad note, upon our return from Puerto Vallarta, my brother and sister in law lost their dog. Rufus was a great Basset hound and my first nephew. He will be missed dearly. Grab a tissue if you wish to read on the memorial my brother wrote about his fantastic dog and buddy – Rufus J. Powell.

I’ll miss him dearly!
XO,
KP

"Rufus is a very sweet boy who gets along with everyone."

That was the description on the Guardian Angel web site in the summer of 2000, when we were considering adopting a dog. We looked at his (pathetic) picture on the web site and fell in love.

We adopted Rufus on September 3, 2000, and he quickly became the center of our lives. "Mr. Man," "RJP" (yes, he had a middle initial, "J"), "Ruf," or whatever you called him, he was a hit wherever we took him. His distinct Mickey Mouse marking on top of his head and sweet disposition, his Hush Puppy good looks, and his trot/waddle drew people in. He loved the belly rubs that he received from any man, woman or child willing to give one. His loving personality even managed to win over our mothers, neither of whom were particularly fond of dogs.

Rufus was a stray in Peoria County, then became a big city dog in Chicago. He quickly adjusted to his leash and absolutely LOVED walks in the city, with the variety of scents and aromas that the city environment provided, despite the broken glass that would get stuck in his paws from time-to-time, and in the winter, putting up with the salt and snow. He would disappear beneath snow drifts as he bounded through a winter landscape, and emerge on the other side, tail wagging and nose pointing forward. "Charge ahead!" he seemed to say.

After we moved to Indiana, it took him a while to get used to the concept of a "backyard" with all the room he wanted to roam and sniff. Somehow, it wasn't the same without the leash. So, despite the custom cedar fence we put in for our doggy, we still took long walks to the park and through the neighborhood. Perhaps it was the attention he got on the walks that was the driving force - because he loved to lounge in his "sun spots" in the yard as much as anything.

We often wondered if Rufus was feline, not canine, because he seemed to have 9 lives. Maybe 10. He survived an attack by a pit bull (thanks to the wonderfully baggy skin around his neck), his ear was mauled by a black lab (and restored to near perfect condition by a terrific vet in Indianapolis), he survived innumerable terrifying thunderstorms, and he was tolerant of a new baby who has grown into an energetic toddler. Sadly, he was not able to survive the dreaded bloat. He survived surgery and seemed to be on the rebound, and we figured that his typical Rufus-style tenacity would bear him through yet another trauma. Unfortunately, it was too much for our little guy.

Rufus J. Powell left our lives today. He leaves us enriched by his love, soaked by his slobber, and saddened by his loss.

The last line on the discharge report from his vet, before he was readmitted for complications from surgery, were "Rufus is a very sweet boy."

Indeed.

We'll miss you little buddy.

Where have I gone?!? I'm here! I'm HERE!

Sorry for the radio silence - it's been quite a bit of adjusting for us getting back into the swing of things in a 'routine' lifestyle, filing taxes, getting through 6 months of mail that was nicely stacked and collected by my 'future' sister in law, getting my car running again (after 6 months of neglect, it figured it should shut down I guess), trying to finalize some Wedding plans, getting ready for a Mexican vacation next week, etc. etc. So --- here is the last of the Swedish Adventure...BUT....I will continue to keep this blog going (and more regularly once again) so that those of you who are far and away in this country and others can keep up on the happenings of my life. I have quite a few exciting things coming up in the next year - a Mother's Day Breast Cancer Walk (in honor of and support of my Mom, my Grandma, and my great friend Christie), a marriage retreat with Thom, a marathon in May, a few triathlons, the MN Border to Border race in July, wedding prep and the like...and well, life!

Thanks for following the Swedish Adventures...stay tuned for more excitement from the MN KP :) Grab a beverage and read the adventures of our travel home....you would think that I looked like a terrorist or something!!!

XO,

me

Let’s see…when I last wrote, we were just done with our adventure around Europe…a small adventure, but a great adventure none the less!

When we got back to Stockholm, we made a point to see the things that we hadn’t yet seen and do the things we hadn’t done, but had on our “to do” list. At this point, all that was left was to go to Gondolen (a restaurant at the highest point in Sodermalm), see the small, old cottages in Sodermalm, and walk around Djurgården. So, we did.

We started out by getting our hair cut “one last time” while in Sweden, then going to get some last minute souveniers in Gamla Stan (Old Town). While we were walking through Old Town, Thom had not really seen all of the Royal Palace, so it was time to look around a bit, and our timing was perfect for Changing of the Guards (again – I “stumbled” upon it the first time too…just happened to be there at the time that they change…took me back to one of my first weeks in Sweden). We continued walking and seeing the small cabins in Sodermalm. We had read about these many times and so the curiosity was getting to us! It was interesting that there were many different streets that had these little old cabins – most without running water or electricity and still in the same form that they were oh so many years ago! It’s great to see that people can still live as simple as they once did in the past. That was quite a cool thing to see. We ended the night at a place called “Mosebacke” – a place with a great patio and apparently “THE” place to hang out when the weather is good! We would call that one a “favorite” place to hang out if we could spend the summer here.

Saturday we had a lot of time to spend walking around and doing the things we wanted to do, including seeing the island of Djurgården. We took a little adventure walk to get to the island, and once we got there, we were quite amazed with the place! We walked around the area that was at the bottom of “Skansen” where we went to the Christmas market and where the zoo is. The trails led us to places that were so beautiful and the sites were amazing! I did find a pedestal where a statue once was and decided to become a statue myself with Reese (see picture) We saw a map on the island and realized that we had only seen part of the island, but we continued onto Skeppsholmen and Kastelholmen (2 other islands) and saw some more great sites. Since I had to do a long run that weekend (for marathon training), I made a mental note to come back to Djurgården because we had only done ½ of the island. As we were walking, we decided to stop for a bite to eat at a cute little café on the water and take in the view. It was awesome and very relaxing! We eventually made our way back to the northern part of Sodermalm where we would have a chance to go to Gondolen – the restaurant with a view! We decided that we would just have a drink and see how the view was, then go back to our favorite, Mosebacke, one last time. The view was definitely great from Gondolen…but it was too nice to be inside, so one drink and back to Mosebacke we went to enjoy the sunshine! Everyone else seemed to have the same thought process, and it was funny to see the people move tables and chairs as the sun was setting and shadows being cast; everyone was moving tables and chairs into the sun to catch every last minute of it.

Easter Sunday, I took the time to run around the city one last time…18 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes, I was able to see most of my favorite sites and take it all in. It was a great run, but at the same time, it was very sad for me to realize that this would be the last time I would see these sites for a while. I truly enjoyed my time in Sweden – all of my friends that I met began to feel like family. The public transit system was engrained in my head and I could tell anyone which color line to take to get to their destination, or perhaps even what time a bus might be coming. Thom and I had our favorite “godis” (goodies/candy), we had our favorite beers, we had our favorite places to go, shops to shop at, and we felt at home. I think I’m Swedish by heritage…I think my parents missed that part when they tried to educate me on where our roots are set!!! The only part that I have yet to learn more of is the language, and I was beginning to get to the point where I could completely understand what people were saying, but I couldn’t pick the words to say the right things. Recognition of words, however, was easy for me now…I just hope I don’t lose that. Some day, I do hope I can return and stay forever.

Which leads me into our trip home…
We get everything packed up in the apartment, and thank goodness for our friends Robert and Elin who came over to see us on Sunday night one last time…and we sent them home with some things to deliver to my host family. It was a great thing we did because their car was packed to the top with things and if we had waited to pack those things (one box of things with a microwave, coffee maker, etc., a mattress, and 2 cushions), Thom and I would never have made it to the airport on Monday morning with our things!!! That night, Thom and I slept on the cushions from the couch…literally. He slept on the part that would be the “Seat” of the couch while I slept on the pillows that made up the “back” of the couch. The sleep was not the best quality, but it was good enough I guess. Coach Oscar picked us up at 7:30 on Monday morning and we were off to the airport. Arrival at the airport, we check our bags (2 for each of us) and we head off to take Reese to the “Special” baggage. They asked us to produce a receipt for the transit of Reese…um…well, I hadn’t printed anything, and they checked her in at the front counter…why do we need a receipt?? They asked how much we had paid for her! Um…well, I didn’t have the receipt in front of me, and we actually had one of our friends in the Bandy world help us out with the tickets, so I didn’t have a receipt. Thank goodness for kind souls in Sweden…they let her go onto the plane without that pesky receipt being shown!! Reese is checked in, sedative in tummy…next stop is for us to get through security! Thom is ahead of me and goes through one line and I go through another. I must have had a woman checking me that was having a bad day! She scolds me for leaving “7 days after your residence permit has expired!! This is trouble!!” I stood there thinking to myself “Ok, so keep me here? Really? DARN!” I offered to stay in Sweden if that would make it easier for her…I don’t think she liked that response very much because she proceeded with “I’ll have to report you and you will have problems!” I remained calm and asked “What problems…I’m trying to go back to the States now…?” She responded that it might be difficult to get a residence permit there if I tried again. BECAUSE OF ONE WEEK!?? I didn’t argue as Thom’s permit expired the same day and he had already made it through the line and was on his way…they apparently didn’t have the same issue with his passport check person. Oh well…she let me through, and my heart will be broken if they will not let me come back in for 7 days over my residence permit; ironic that you can stay as a “visitor” for 3 months without a residence permit…hmph! As we start making our way to the gate, we see the “Tax Free” counter where we can claim our 25% for “exporting” of goods that we have purchased…that is if you purchase them within 3 months of leaving the country. That wiped out more than 75% of my purchases. Oh well…we got a whopping $8 USD back! Ha ha! We were lucky on that because they actually require you to show the goods you are taking home. Oops – we already checked our baggage!!! Again, thanks to the trusting souls in Sweden! We make our way to our gate where they do another check of your passport and ticket, and do the random pat down of people. Guess who got selected for the pat down --- yep – yours truly! First they want a receipt that I don’t have, then they want to hassle me for being 7 days past my residence permit, then they want the purchased goods (which took up ½ of a suit case as it was), then they have to pat me down?!? I must look like trouble! Finally sitting at the gate, because they didn’t have anything to stop me for with the pat down and search through my personal belongings (surprise!), we are now ready to board the plane because we are tired and tired of the hassle of traveling – not because we want to leave Sweden!

The flight was uneventful, just the way I like them. There was a little boy, Max, who was 7 months old and barely made a fuss, and I kept entertaining him to ensure that!!! I did not want to listen to a crying baby!!! Arrival in Chicago and off to get Reese – first priority on our list!! We get her, the customs folks do their inspection, and away we go to get our bags to re-check them. We go to get our bags and the TSA agent tells us we can “relieve” the dog outside – “Through those glass doors, then come back in and you can put her in her cage after they inspect it.” Thom goes with Reese, I go with the cage. 10 minutes pass, so I figure I’ll be proactive and figure out which gate we are departing from when the TSA agent tells me that someone is trying to get my attention outside…I look and there is Thom (no surprise) and he’s flailing his arms, but I can’t hear what he’s saying beyond the glass door. I step out there and then I realize he was saying “Don’t come out here, but I need to get back in and they won’t let me!” I realized that as I was stepping through, then I tried to double back and they wouldn’t let me --- now all 3 of us were outside of the glass doors and Reese’s cage was inside. Luckily, the TSA agent that sent me out, came out to see what was going on, apologized for not telling me to NOT go out there, and then she helped us by getting her supervisor. Whew! Thom had been arguing with the Security person to let him back in and she wasn’t budging, but the TSA supervisor was willing to talk to the security person and let us back in. What fun!? Welcome back to the USA! Finally, Reese is checked back in, we are off to the gate and…yes…a DELAY! Great! 2 hours…could be more, etc. We were delayed 3 hours and finally got home around 7:30. We were happy to be done with the travels, but we still miss Sweden.

“Why?” you might ask…well, it’s a lot of things. The people are so kind. The language is fun to learn. The way of living is healthier. The city is much more accessible via public transit so you can live without a car. It just FEELS like I fit in there so easily. There really is no way to explain how it feels or why it feels so right, it just does. I will be back there some day, and hopefully we can live there again! I'll keep working on it as long as Thom is still willing to be by my side as we make the adventure, and based on his experiences, I think he will.

We will miss our Swedish adventures...for a while...then we will be back.

Puss och Kram to our Swedish "Family",

Kristy, Thom, and Reese

more pictures of the last few sights in Sweden can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76738&id=566826522&l=30f9b994b0