Mary Mary Why Ya' Buggin'

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...

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...

My final race of the season was the end of September.  Originally I wanted to run my first half marathon before I turned 40 on the 17th of September but with our crazy busy summer I was limited on time and availability of races. I settled on the Champoeg Half, September 27th at Champoeg State Park outside of Salem by St. Paul, Oregon by the Willamette River.  I had ran there earlier in the season for the Fallen Oregon State Police Memorial 10k Run in May. I loved it so much. It was like V.I.P trail running with wide paved paths. When I saw there was going to be a half marathon race in September I knew that it would be the perfect half marathon.  Another reason I selected this race is that we could make a fun weekend of camping in the Wonder Wagon. Mr. W was able to get to us a campsite. This was the third race of my season that we were able to use our RV. I loved being able to sleep in my cozy bed and have all the comforts of home.  After my Olympic t...