Running the Ragnar

You guys. Ragnar was so hard! Brent and I, with some of his brothers and their wives, ran the Ragnar Relay from Logan, UT to Park City, UT last weekend. A total of 198 miles. Nutty, right? Like I paid good money to do this...

Anyhow, we woke up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning to get to the starting line. and oh was it so cold! hence the winter coat up there in the photo. Brent's brother Scott ran the first leg of the race, and we followed him in our van until the exchange, where the next person (Alan, Brent's other brother) got the slap-on bracelet (that acted as the baton passed from one runner to the next) and ran the next leg. I was the fourth runner and I was so nervous! My scheduled pace was an 11 min. mile and I was worried about being able to keep it! My in-laws are beyond wonderful... but they do like to tease... oh the pressure!

My first leg was 4.3 miles, and it was so hard. I ran straight through the first mile, but after that I had to walk every 3 min or so. I was absolutely elated when I reached the exchange and realized I had stayed on schedule, keeping the 11 min mile pace. I may have cried a little bit about it... though not being able to breathe after I stopped running may have contributed to the tears... Nbd.

After the run, back to the van. And about 7 hours later I ran my second bit... 4.2 miles this time (with a safety vest and head lamp cause it was kinda dark). This one was way harder. I ran between a 12-13 min mile... shameful. but what can you do when you don't train properly (oops). Also, I got a little freaked because while I was running, there was an unchained great dane chilling by the road side. Thank heavens it didn't start chasing me... though granted it may have improved my pace :). Ha. and then later... a random unchained goat on the side of the road. I know. it was kind of a country area but still!

That night we slept at a hotel (we are spoiled because most runners just bring sleeping bags and just kick it on the ground wherever) and woke up at 5am the next morning to keep on. My last run was later that day, it was my longest leg at 6.1 miles.

To be honest, the 6 miler didn't feel any harder than the 4 milers... I feel like once you run a little bit... it's all just hard. But I loved this last one because the first few miles were downhill, which made it SO much easier.

^This is Rich, one of Brent's brothers (who kept a very impressive 8 min 45 sec mile pace... show off :). But you can see the kind of terrain we ran in, it was pretty.

The Ragnar was fabulous. No I won't do it again, but it was fabulous :)

And a little update on the townhome? Don't mind if I do... here's our kitchen with the cabinets and granite put in and the walls painted:

Updaaaate.

Our house is looking way more legit these days. With actual walls and things instead of those wood panels everywhere. It'll be finished at the end of this month (eep!) but we won't actually be living in it until July 20th or so. We'll close on July 16th... but we can't actually move in and call it ours until the money goes out of our back account and into the builder's little pocket. Oh, technicalities.

As you can see, the fence is comin right up in the backyard (I'm excited to plant a little rose bush back there) and the tile is laid down in the kitchen and entryway, and also in our bathrooms upstairs.

^ Our kitchen! with a pantry and a little powder room on the side and everything. That drain there is for the dishwasher in the island.

Also very cool, we bought this washer and dryer over memorial day weekend. There's something funny about being excited for a washer/dryer purpose... why am I that excited? I hate doing laundry... but hopefully these little babies will change that right up. And with the sale price, the washer was $250 cheaper than the listed price and the dryer, $100 cheaper. 

And it's super handy because RC Willey won't deliver the washer/dryer until July 20th when we're in the townhome. So we don't have to worry about storing it anywhere. Win win.

The Townhome

I'm pumped to show some photos of our townhome's progress (it's the second garage from the left). It's being built now (the driveway was just put in the other day, eep!) and we'll move in mid to late July.

We are spoiled with a great view of the mountains outside our bedroom window (on the second floor). I'm excited that the field isn't scheduled to be developed or built on for a while... that view gets me every time.

Our master bath is Brent's favorite part. It's luxuriously big with 2 sinks, a stand up shower, and this jetted tub. I mean, dude. My favorite part? Walk in closet. A win for everyone.

We visit the townhome at least once a week. Obsessed? yes. More photos to come? of course.

Work-ing it.

Work is in full force (as is spring weather... lovely enough) these days and I think I like it. SimTek Fence (where I'm a newly hired receptionist) is way different than any place I've ever worked. I'm one of two women that work here (with about 20 dudes) and I still feel crazy dumb asking questions about my job. Ha. I feel dumb asking questions about a task someone gives me and I feel even more dumb if I don't ask questions and then I do something wrong. I mean, that's a lose-lose.

But, I'm excited to really feel 100% comfortable. The people I work with are like all family ... hopefully I can work myself to that status. Eep.

Heather, the receptionist before me who's been training me these last weeks, had her last day at work today and the guys took her (and I got to tag along) out to lunch at PF Chang's. Hurray for when work pays for my lunch. But seriously, they were so sad to see her go. Everyone loves her. Dang I got big shoes to fill. So that makes me a bit nervous, especially cause my personality is quite a bit different than hers.... she's super quick-witted and shoots funny comebacks to all the guys' teasings... that's DEFINITELY not my strong point. But here's the thing... I'll be fine, right?

Anyhow, I did get to drive the company's jeep the other day (I had to pick up some chain from Home Depot) and it was legit. I mean, it was a rustic car... but it was awesome to drive the company car... somehow it got me all giddy... should I be embarrassed?

P.S. SimTek Fence is a fence manufacturer. There's a huge warehouse connected to the office with gargantuan machines that make our fence. The fence is made out of polyethylene, which is a fancy and really durable plastic, and is made in these huge ovens that freak me out when their doors open. And when I say warehouse, I mean WAREHOUSE. Like forklifts scooting around (like I seriously have to watch out for those things), shipping bays for 18-wheeler trucks, and hard hat areas sort of warehouse. I'm the receptionist, so I answer calls, ship out marketing materials, keep track of our employee's hours to email to our accountant, enter bills to be paid in Quickbooks, and file away paid bills.

P.P.S This blog about in vitro fertilization is so intense and real. The blogger goes through the process she went through trying to get pregnant, and it's crazy to get a step by step of the whole ordeal. I like this lady's blog quite a bit. She swears like a sailor... but I secretly love it.