Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

A final accounting of my Ragnar Relay Adirondacks experience.

I am forty-eight years old (as of yesterday, in fact) and just started running in March of 2011. I have done a few short races (5Ks and 5 milers) but the crowds and port-a-potties made me so anxious I couldn't even enjoy running. Despite the fact that I was starting to run longer distances and my pace was getting better and better during training runs, no one could entice me to race in a 10K or half marathon. Then 17 weeks ago, a friend asked me to run in the Ragnar Relay Adirondacks (RagnarADK), a 193-mile relay race that goes from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid, New York. I was drawn to the fact that I could run with a team and the members of my team who had done the Ragnar in Cape Cod told me that the relay aspect would keep me out of large crowds. I said yes.

I trained for 15 weeks straight...many weeks doing multiple 10 mile runs within a week. In two of my three months of training, I ran more than 100 miles in a month. Truly, I am the least athletic person on the planet. (I have always excelled on the artistic side -- if you need a room decorated, a play directed, or a dance choreographed, I am your girl). I was training, running crazy hills, so much so that my Mom told me she was really proud of me (that doesn't happen as much when you are almost 50 as it did when you were 8!!!)

Plus, I married my training with fundraising to providing homes for the devastatingly poor Haitians who live on sugar cane work camps in the Dominican Republic (a cause I have been committed to for more than 20 years). I would post on Facebook using my Nike Plus iPhone app and I agreed to pay $1 for every “like” I got running during all of my Ragnar Training and racing. It works like this: each time I took off on a run, my Nike Plus app announced it on Facebook. Every time a friend I am connected to “liked” my run, I would hear raucous cheering in my ears. Many times, when I was really lagging on a run, I would hear those cheers and think of the dollars raised for my poor friends in the Dominican, and it would make me teary. I even thought that after a week of people “liking” my runs, people would get sick of it and forget. If anything, the opposite happened; the closer I got to race day, the more likes and cheers came in. In total, I raised $572! Then, three Facebook friends did the extraordinary…they sent me checks to add to what I had raised on my own, bringing my fundraising total up to $767 (a hurricane-proof house costs about $4000). Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks for the support, the cheers, the donations. Thanks for all of it.

I have told everyone who will listen to my RagnarADK stories that it was one of the top 20 experiences of my life. Being a non-athlete, I have never been on a team before...it was transformative. I also did some of the best running I have ever done fueled by cowbells and cheers from my fellow runners in Van 2 of Team 224!!! I stepped out of my comfort zone when I said yes to the RagnarADK, and I am so, so glad I did. I learned that despite the fact that I am fast approaching 50, I still have the tenacity of my youth. I learned I love being a teammate. I learned that showing my kids that their mom isn't a quitter has power. And I learned that, like the 9th century Norse Viking after whom the Ragnar Relay is named, I am an adventure-seeking tough guy.

(And it's not to late to get involved! We don't leave for the Dominican for another month, so donations are still graciously accepted!)

Refusing to Go Quietly

My plan to use my love of running to raise funds for Batey 50



On the left is a photo of a typical "house" on Batey 50, a sugarcane work camp in the Dominican Republic where extremely poor Haitians live in harrowing poverty. I have visited Batey 50 three times now and, with profound respect, like to call it the happiest place on Earth. When you show up to give a little bit of love, medicine, food, or hope to the residents, you receive indescribable amounts of love in return. With our service team from Watkinson School, my family had the joy of helping to complete construction on a hurricane proof house (on the right above) that was begun by Wallingford's Dominican Republic Mission Team (DRMT). This house is part of a relatively new campaign to replace all of the dilapidated houses with cement block homes (each house costs about $4,500); the campaign is called Fifty for 50.

In another part of my life, if you have been following me on Facebook, Twitter or here on my blog, you know I have become an avid runner. In September, I am joining a group of women (and one brave guy) who are refusing to go quietly into their 40s and 50s. Instead, we are tackling the Ragnar Relay, a 200-mile relay race through the hilly Adirondacks.

Putting It All Together
My faith has made me a better runner and my running has fueled my faith. When I am running a long distance and struggling, I often focus on someone that I love and pray for them in depth. The next thing I know, five miles will have gone by. Similarly, when I find myself feeling far from God, I will experience his presence in palpable ways in the midst of a run. One day when this happened an idea was born. What if my running could support Fifty for 50?

I use the Nike+ running application on my iPhone. Every time I take off on a run, the application tells my Facebook friendss that I am starting my run and asks them to cheer me on by either liking or commenting on the post. When my Facebook friends do this, I hear raucous cheering in my ears and it never ceases to motivate me to work a little harder. My fundraising commitment for Fifty for 50 is that each "like" I get while I am out running from now until I complete the Ragnar Relay means I will donate a dollar to Fifty for 50. (To help me in my quest, we must become Facebook friends. And I won't be offended if you unfriend me when this challenge is over!)

I hope you join me in supporting this wonderful cause and literally blow up my wall with likes and cheers when I am out running. If you don't have Facebook and would still like to help, please consider sending a check made payable to DR Mission Team to 13 Fawn Drive and designate Ragnar Relay House on the memo line.

Alright, my friends, let's go make some noise!

A New Kind of Pizza Crust

Family Friendly Meals Series—Day 12

My youngest looooooves pasta. So my Tuesday night experiment was right up his alley. I decided to make a pizza crust out of pasta. It was astoundingly easy and super delicious.

Ingredients:
3 cups corkscrew pasta
3/8 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
3T parmesan cheese

Directions:
• Generously grease a 12 inch pizza pan. The size of the pan is important.
• Cook your pasta as directed on the box. Once the pasta is boiled, drain it well, rinse it with cold water and drain it again.
• Toss the pasta with the milk, a beaten egg, and the parmesan cheese (I used a combination of fresh and canned because that was what I had and it was delicious).
• Press the mixture into the bottom of the pizza pan til it forms one solid layer (shown above).
• Bake for 20 mins at 350.

Now you can top this base with almost anything you want! I made a simple meat sauce so my kids would eat it (shown below); but I think it would be good with grilled vegetables, roasted root vegetables, and of course lots of cheese. If you want the recipe for the simple meat sauce, message me and I will send it to you. If you have topping ideas of your own, please let me know!

The Lessons of Running

One year ago today I did my first Couch to 5K workout...so, happy running-versary to me.

Trying something new takes courage. That's a fact.

I fully recognize that I am a diver-inner. I am embarrassed to admit that the first thing written in my baby book to describe me is "stubborn." If I had any motivation, I would actually go dig it out of the piles of nostalgia stored in my shed and take a photo of that page. (In fact, when I was finishing graduate school, my father looked me in the eye and told me that I "aim too high" implying I should have quit before I began...which makes zero sense to me, both then and now.)

Recently, I considered my boys and how much potential still exists in their lives. And then I considered my own...most of my pure, innate potential was reached three decades ago. It feels like all my big accomplishments are behind me.

And than my husband decided to ask me to start the Couch to 5K running program with him. I am almost 50 years old and I have never done anything athletic in my life (I don't consider dancing athletic, rather purely artistic). On March 13, 2011 I ran a half a mile and thought my lungs were going to explode. Now I can run 10 miles whenever I want and in January I ran a 7:13 mile. So what have I learned?

• Perseverance pays off.
More than once I have been running and battling that small voice in my head that is nagging me to quit. I picture my son, the lefty pitcher, who at age 12 learned to dig deep in the face of a 3-0 count with a number 4 batter and stay calm, reach beyond what he thinks he can do, and get an out. Often, when I feel like quitting, I picture him on the mound. What is your image of perseverance that will motivate you?
• Walk before you run...literally.
Now that I am 365 days into my running pursuits, I am struck by the fact that I have enjoyed it every step of the way. Because I started with the Couch to 5K workouts that were a combination of running and walking, I never felt over my head. And there were times early on when I repeated weeks of the Cto5K until I felt ready to move on. Take your time and increase gradually, avoid getting in over your head and, god forbid, causing an injury. You don't want to quit before you even get started.
• Encouragement matters—from friends and others who are doing what you aspire to do.
Every time I go out for run, my mom cheers me on. Every time I get home from a run, my husband asks me how I did. It is a small thing to them, but it means the world to me. My mom has been supporting me unabashedly since I was 10 and went to my first dance class, so I am not surprised. And my husband's repeated queries tickle me as they imply to me that he believes I still have room for improvement. If encouragement matters to you, be sure to thank those who are supporting you. Let them know they are an important part of your success.
• Race your own race; don't worry what other people can do or are doing...only worry about what you can do and do that.
It is dangerous to compare your work to what others can achieve. Everyone's body is different. It is imperative to do your own thing. Celebrate the accomplishments of others and they will celebrate yours.

So whatever it is you are trying to accomplish...be brave. Dive in. Persevere. And above all, race your own race.

2.18.12 Haiku
Running. Blood pulsing,
arms pulling. Music filled mind.
Spirit soars. Freedom.

A Confession and A Memory

In order to share a wonderful memory, I first must confess to something. When my kids were little, they had absurd amounts of energy. Especially my oldest...who, even though he is almost 15, comes home from school looking and acting like a caged bird from sitting at a desk all day. When my boys were about three and six, we took a vacation with family in Rangeley, Maine; which is a seven-hour car ride. My youngest gets very car sick so at the start of the trip to Maine, we gave him some pediatric Dramamine. Then I thought about the challenge of keeping the six-year-old, who has a hard time sitting still for five minutes, entertained all the way to Maine. (This was before having TV screens in backseats was commonplace.) In a momentary lapse of reason, I decided to give my older boy a half a Dramamine just to mellow him out a bit. Well, my husband and I ended up driving for almost five hours straight because both boys were asleep and it was one of the most peaceful travel times we have ever had as a family.

However, I felt so guilty about it that I couldn't bring myself to do it again on the way home. So on the way home, after the Dramamine wore off for my little guy, we still had another three-and-a-half hours of driving left to go. So we did what all white, suburban families do: we wrote a rap song. My big regret should be having given my six year old the Dramamine to begin with; but oh no, it is the fact that I never videoed them singing this song!

There's a Party in My Booster Seat
There's a party in my booster seat (come on, come on)
Wakin' and shakin' like a rooster, see (come on, come on)
Cookin' with sausage and not bacon, see (come on, come on)
The music's pumpin', we ain't fakin', see (come on, come on)

Boom shaka laka laka boom (What?)
Boom shaka laka laka boom (What?)
Boom shaka laka laka boom (What?)
Boom shaka laka laka boom (What! What! What!)

Chicken Chili

My eldest hates beef...he actually calls it "meat gum." Thus I went in search of chili made with chicken or turkey. This recipe, made with ground chicken, is one of two that I really like. It is super easy to make, reasonable healthy and very flavorful.

Ingredients
• one pound of ground chicken
• two cans of white, navy bean
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 3.5 cups chicken broth (I use water and 4 bouillon cubes)
• 1 medium finely chopped onion
• 1/2 medium green pepper also finely chopped
• 1/2 to one cup frozen corn
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1.5-2 teaspoons chili powder (to your taste)
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Cayenne pepper to your taste (when I make it for my kids, I don't use any and it is very flavorful).
• salt to your taste, I only add 1/2 teaspoon.

Directions
• Put the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, corn, oregano, cumin and chili powder in a soup pot or a crock pot.
• brown the chicken in a frying pan, drain off the excess grease and add the meat to the soup/crock pot.
• don't wipe out the frying pan of the meat grease and with the burner on about medium head add the onion, peppers and garlic until the veggies are soft. This takes less than five minutes and stir often so the veggies don't burn. Once done, add this mix to the soup/crock pot.
• If cooking on a stove top, bring the mixture to a low boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. If cooking in a crock pot, let the flavors marry in a slow cooker for 4-5 hours on low.