RAGNAR!

So, about 2 months ago my friend Crystal said "hey do you want to do Ragnar with me?"  At the time I had never heard of it.  After she explained that it's a relay race between Chattanooga and Nashville (196 miles) where 12 runners trade off running non-stop.  I thought it sounded fun.  Then she explained that it meant you have to run 3 legs in 24 hours and would probably not sleep in between.  Hmmm, now I wasn't so sure.  I told Lori about it and even though she was like me and really didn't run at all she said "Wow, I'd like to do that!"  So, Lori talked me into joining the team made up of other Farragut Ward members.  Lori and I started meeting at the gym and running outside 3 times a week.  She had looked up the training schedule and made sure we stuck to it.  And I have to admit I would not have done so if she had not been there!

After training for 2 months we finally had the big race last weekend.  I was plenty prepared for the running (I drew the easiest leg:  4.4 miles, 1.6 miles, and 4.5 miles), but I wasn't prepared for the no sleep part of it. It was hard.  And it was fun.   The amount of times I used port a potties during this one weekend probably quadrupled my lifetime usage.  The dance of hydrating, eating and peeing at the right times between your legs was interesting.  I was surprised that after 24 hours of no sleep I felt great running, I could have gone a lot further I think.  Adrenaline is a powerful thing.

Biggest positive of the whole experience:  my kids were so proud of me.  Trey called while I was on the race and told me he had been bragging to all his friends about me and how hard core he thought I was.  The kids made a sweet sign and David ordered a trophy for me.  It's a good feeling to accomplish something hard.

Two of my legs were through little towns, which was fun.  The trees were in perfect color changing mode so the views were amazing!

 At the three major exchanges we were able to go into real bathrooms inside a high school and wipe down with baby wipes and change into clean clothes.

 This was at the end of my last leg.  The six fingers represents "kills" or how many people you pass

 I was the last girl runner and Scott was the first guy runner so it was fun to be able to pass off to him each time.

Happy Halloween!

 70's costume party!!

Notice David's chest hair (:

Notice what my hairdresser did with my hair

ROME

This is what was right outside of our hotel:  The Pantheon

Trevi fountain:

The Collosium:

Caesar was killed:

Roman Forum:

Bath made out of marble from Nero's garden

We gained a new appreciation for the amazing sculptures created by Michelangelo.  The Peita is the only sculpture signed by him (1499).  It is inside St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Outside the Vatican:

A few evenings, after a long day of sight seeing, we would sit out on the rooftop of our hotel and watch the sunset, watch the happening in the piazza down below and play cards.

Italy part 1: Venice, Florence and San Gimignano Oct. 2011

It's overwhelming to think about posting about Italy......  We had a wonderful 10 days with Julie and Allen in Venice, Florence and Rome.  The weather was beautiful, all our tour guides were fantastic, loved our hotels even the flights weren't too bad.  A big thanks to the many who helped with the kids so we could go on this one in a lifetime trip.  We will never forget it!


VENICE:  Enjoyed walking through the whole city.  We were surprised at how many houses were abandoned and the amount of graffiti.

We took a train to FLORENCE.  Loved the open markets and the statue of David.

FLORENCE:

On our way to Rome we stopped in 

San Gimignano (small walled medieval town in Tuscany):