Mary Mary Why Ya' Buggin'

My friend Ed Cortas, the man behind Ardor Adventures on the Central Oregon Coast is in the process of selecting ambassadors for 2017. I am excited to be named an Ardor Adventures ambassador for 2017 to help Ed grow his races and connect local runners. If you are interested in learning more about Ardor Adventures please visit the website and like Ardor Adventures on Facebook. Ardor Adventures already has races planned for 2017. My goal in the new year is to be more active on my blog, writing about training, races and life in general.  The next upcoming race is Arctic Circle Turkey Trot November 24th at 8:30am at Port of Newport South Beach Marina.  There is a 15k, 10k, 5k and a 1 mile kids run. Proceeds of this event will go to support two local elementary schools in Newport, Oregon. http://www.ardoradventures.com/ambassadors.html

My youngest daughter goes through my running and triathlon medals often. I have about fifteen hanging on my curtain rod in my kitchen from various races the past few years. My youngest daughter isn't into running. When she had shared with me a few months ago that she wanted to do a running race and get her own medal I was excited for find a race for us to do.  When I saw the race announcement from Ardor Adventures for the Dia de los Muertos 5k and saw the beautiful medal design and t-shirt I knew that my younger daughter would love it. I signed both my daughters and myself up.  As the race neared I was prepared for rain and darkness but amazingly the weather turned out to be perfect~cool and sunny! The start/finish line was the the Yaquina Bay Bridge in the parking lot of the Rogue Brewery. There was plenty of parking. Ed Cortes, Race Director put a lot of time and detail into the race from the beautiful design of the medal and to the post race entertainment.

When I was training for my first half Ironman last spring, my friends Alycia and Miranda were my biggest supporters. Miranda and I would bike together for my long bike rides. Alycia traveled with me to Victoria and served as my Race Logistics Coordinator when I completed my half Ironman in June. During the last few months of training the three of met weekly at a local Mexican restaurant were we discussed life, training and counted down the days till IMCHOO over tacos. I remember when Miranda excitedly announced 100 days till race day.  The Universe created the right and perfect conditions for me to join my friends for this epic conclusion to a year of training. It was the perfect scenario, they had an extra room in the house and I had enough airline miles for an airline ticket. Then BOOM, before we knew it we were landing in Chattanooga, with race day only a few days away.  Chattanooga was more diverse than I thought it would be. I never thought in a million years that I w

Left to right: Megan, Gail, Clayton, Erin, Preston, Holly, Kara, Me, Alycia, Jillian, Feather & Miranda Team Carrion-On at the start of 2016 Elkhorn Relay at Hilgard State Park  Last year my friend Gail, a local triathlon and running legend in our community and also my girls' cross country and track coach asked me if I would be interested in participating in doing the Elkhorn Relay in Eastern Oregon, a 204 mile relay put on by Doomsday Racing. She was putting together a team of 12 ladies to do the inaugural race. She told me to visit the website, where I read that each person would run a total of three times, each leg between 3-7 miles over a 24 hour period. The relay climbs the backside of Anthony Lakes reaching 7,100 ft. altitude then then down through the Grand Ronde Valley ending at River Side Park. Unfortunately it was the same weekend as the girls' annual Missoula Children's Theatre and I was not able to do it.  I was secretively thankful at that ti

Last year my friend Gway and I put together a team to do our very first relay, Barrel to Keg. We both had never done a relay before but both had it on our running bucket list. She recruited a few friends. I recruited a few friends. None of our friends knew each other, at the end of the relay we were all fast friends. We had a fabulous time and agreed that we must do it again. The year flew by and as in the way relays work a few of the ladies from last year were unable to do it. We scrambled a bit to find enough people but as fate works, the right and perfect ladies presented themselves  just a few days before the relay. Gway and I both agree that we are not competitive when it comes to this relay. We are all about having fun and encouraging each other. It's okay if you don't like Jack Black, but absolutely NO divas allowed.  Last year our team was the Chuggin' Mommas. As we were trying to decided a theme and costume ideas for this year we decided upon Nacho Momma's. How

Victoria Half Ironman was a gift from my husband, Mr. W when I turned forty in September. It was that scary big goal of maybe one day. Before I could officially declare I was ready I had a email in my inbox telling me differently. I didn't have the luxury of coach. Majority of my training was done solo. What I did have was friends who encouraged me and said "YES, Mary you totally can do a half Ironman distance," they planted the seed for this accomplishment. I found a half Ironman distance plan online. Actually a lady posted a picture of her calendar and our race dates were the same. I purchased a big calendar and wrote out the 20 week plan in detail adding swim workouts from Swim Workouts for Triathletes by Gale Bernhardt & Nick Hansen and adding strength training exercises from my physical therapist and yoga.  I wished I had a coach but I was consistence and determined and I stuck to my bootlegged training plan. As the date for my race neared all of my well laid p

Some mothers for Mother's Day might want a spa day, flowers or jewelry. Not me. I wanted to do Oregon Dunes Olympic Triathlon Mother's Day weekend. Mr. W is always game to use the RV and get out of town.  We loaded up the Wonder Wagon for a weekend of camping at Honeyman State Park.  Honeyman State Park has been on our camping wish list for awhile. This fit perfect into my training as Oregon Dunes was six weeks before my first half Ironman race in Victoria B.C., my A race of the season.  I was most nervous about the bike course. In my training I had already completed a 56 mile bike ride but I had not trained a lot on hills. My friend Anne gave me good advice which ended up being my mantra on the bike course. "Spin those f**kers up (gears)!" and "Hills always appear bigger than what they really are."  PRE RACE There are so many pros when I travel by RV and race. I love having all the comforts of home and can pack my own food.  I h