Our favorite holiday

 If asked what holiday you think is the sister's favorite, you likely would guess Christmas because most people probably love Christmas best. There's just something magical about Christmas.  The odds would be overwhelmingly in your favor and yet you'd be wrong. Us sisters we have a totally different favorite holiday. A way cooler one...a greener one...and also a pretty wonderful backup favorite holiday to boot.

St Paddy's Day has held a special place in our hearts for many many years. We can attribute it on our mild Irish heritage (like 1/32nd or something ridiculous like that), but in reality we just love to drink green beer, eat Mird's fancy pudding shots (photo below), and watch people listening to Irish music and dancing a jig. Plus it is just so fun to say "Kiss me I'm Irish!"!  Anyhow, this year for our favorite holiday, we kept our Clare Irish Festival of Races tradition alive and well when we went ahead and finished the 5k race and dined on their world famous pancakes afterwards.  We did decide the food has gone downhill the past few years because they now serve fake orange juice and there is no coffee. Still the kids love the pancakes and it is fun to catch them on your plate after they fly through the air!  Here's the deets on this one.

2023 pancake catching at its finest. 

Only a few misses and those were other people not us!

Thank you Clare, MI for once again hosting an awesomesauce event for all!  GO GREEN!

    First of all, I am still somewhat injured (my soreness in my spectacular butt muscles just seem to be lingering forever and it is anything butt spectacular) and it was also sore back on March 16th which was also known as race day this year.  I also have three teenagers I am trying to keep alive at least until they turn 18 and no longer my responsibility. This seemed like no big deal when they were little and loved me the most.  However, when they became teenagers everything changed and now it is touch and go on the daily!  Anyhow, the point to all this is that it was a miracle I even managed to get away for a couple days let alone run an actual race;  I counted the fact that I crossed the finish line at Clare this year as a big "F"ing "W" for me!  And special thanks to Mark Daniels, I even got to be recognized as the 2nd place finisher in my age group! Mark decided to not run the 5k so he quickly handed me his bib and off I ran!  I had planned on being a bandit and just not getting an official finish time, but thanks to my hero, Mark, I got to be listed as 2nd place! I'm pretty sure the race director wasn't so amused as I explained my situation to him after the race and begged him to change me from the men's category over to the women's category, but he was a good sport and eventually it was fixed. Everyone else did awesome as well and got in a killer workout first thing in the morning.

The 2024 Favorite Holiday Crew

Giddy up let's go! 

Double rainbow on Saint Patrick's Day on our way home from the race. The camera really only captured one of the two, but I am pretty sure that a double rainbow on this particular day of the year is good luck!

Luck of the Irish even in the bathroom!

Love this poster 

The 3 amigas at the The Doherty Hotel post for run snacks and drinks! This is another long standing tradition of ours!

Oh and apparently bloody Marys are Irish. 

I am skeptical, but that's what the bartender told us so for the moment I am going to run with it.

Regardless, they were delicious and nutritious!

Just two short weeks later, the sisters were reunited and it was another great gathering this time with the boys, Easter festivities, a feast of epic proportions and an Easter morning 5K too!  

caution random topic change without much warning...

This is the picture that turned Easter into my 2nd most favorite holiday...I just can't believe how grown up our boys are and they were such good sports then entire Easter weekend. We did a scavenger hunt, egg hunt, decorated eggs and played games.  They also ate all the food we prepared without complaint which was impressive and we actually had some leftovers which was equally impressive with 3 teenage boys to feed!

Easter coffee and puzzling more proof it's a great back-up favorite holiday. Most importantly, Jesus died on the cross so that we might all have eternal life through Him.  That itself is worthy of favorite holiday status.  Eggs, scavenger hunts and food aside, Easter is an awesome day to be thankful and reflective and to spend time with those you love. He is risen! 

PS Oh I almost forgot about the picture of the pudding shots. Mird makes THE BEST one ever and they are even sugar free and we had them for the festivities in Clare.  

The Bootlegger Babe Brigade

 For this particular story I need to make one thing crystal clear; Sometimes in life when your brain tells you "Hey lady given the current circumstances, you probably shouldn't do that." and your heart says, "Umm wait just a minute, that sounds absolutely awesome...!" you just have to go ahead and do the thing even though it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. It's the heart healthy way!  This race was one of these occasions for me.  I am so glad I let my heart win this battle. It led us to the Bootlegger 10K on an awesome trail outside St Louis Missouri which ultimately became State Number 22 in our quest to run a race in all 50 states.

Once we made it to the greater St Louis area we wasted no time finding the freshest beer possible which led us to the Budweiser Brewery for a tour. We learned a ton of interesting facts on the tour (surprisingly when you add beer into the mix history is actually pretty interesting). Larry was an incredible tour guide and provided a plethora of stories about Eberhard Anheuser and Adolfus Busch and their incredible vision, leadership and beer legacy they left behind. We were all somewhat disappointed to learn that they sold out in 2008 to a Belgium beverage company so it is no longer a family owned America company.  

Cheers to good friends, road trips and 10k races!

Since so much happened in the past 36 hours, I decided to boil this adventure down to my top 5 or 6 adjectives that best describe our Missouri race experience mostly in order to keep it from getting too long and losing your interest and also because it gave me something to think about while I was running the trail. Here they are in no particular order because honestly I do not know how to organize things.

Nonsensical or Irrational

There were many valid and rational reasons I shouldn't have signed up to run a 10K today. Among them, I hadn't actually run in two week due to my recent gluteus maximus injury. My family had lots of things going on this weekend.  My car was overdue for an oil change making a road trip less than ideal and finally I am a volleyball coach with obligations this weekend.  I am not sure about the rest of our brigade, but I definitely was not an ideal candidate for running a treacherous trail race anytime soon. 

Unlawful or Illegal we will use these words interchangeably for the purposes of this story.  Mird and I are not big rule followers. Not sure why, but we just aren't.  It might be genetic or something.  This fact is actually why we so desperately wanted to run the Bootlegger 10K because bootleggers were the ultimate non rule followers. They cared not that alcohol was totally illegal and just kept everyone happily drinking their way through prohibition. That's pretty cool  In short, they are heroes of ours and we wanted to run their race.  Secondly, we did a few illegal things on this trip. We can't give you details in our blog or we might get arrested or something so you'll just have to ask for details next time we see you. We broke some common running rules as well. Like nobody would recommend drinking pudding shots before running a race, but that's just what I did and Lisa has determined that she performs best without training so she just showed up to race day and skipped all the training run preparations!

Frigid or Balls Cold this race was so COLD at the start time like 26, but feels like 16 degrees or something close to that.  This meant that it was challenging to force ourselves out of Mird's heated car, into the arctic air and ultimately off running on the icy, frozen, tundra that was our trail.  Also, the water at the water stations actually had ice gathering on the top of the Dixie cups of water they offered me- both times. This has never happened to me. Never, and I have run a lot of cold races in my lifetime.See, it's frigid and cold...

Gassy and Melodic this one is a tad embarrassing to admit, but sometimes your friends cut you off from having beans in your dinner because they are concerned about your flatulence.  Honestly, it wasn't that bad on this trip usually I fart a lot more.  Also, I farted really loud on the trail luckily it was when nobody was around so the timing was perfect.  Somewhat loosely related, Courtney has a cool app on her watch that tells her how many glasses of wine she has earned each day through caloric burn. Today was a seven glasses of wine day!  Courtney is really happy right now and possibly gassy if she drank all that wine!  Also, Mird and I might have burst into song and dance a few times on this journey. I could be wrong, but I think Courtney and Lisa really appreciated it!

Green is the new red!  We cheered the MSU Spartans on to victory the night before the race too! 

Adventurously and Spontaneous this one comes straight from the race experience. They had the slogan Live Adventurously on a big sign at the finish line and I had a dream of getting a group photo by it, but that never happened so alas I just have to share it in here so y'all can "Live Adventurously" from this day forward. Just do us a favor and let your heart win once in awhile and don't take life too seriously.  Be spontaneous once in awhile. Go on, Live Adventurously!

Speedy and Efficient this did not apply to our race running experience for the most part we were not speedy nor efficient out on the trail. However, we were very speedy and efficient during our drive to the race somehow this led to an unfortunate road rage incident on our way to the race.  Typically we abide by all traffic rules. It's the one area we feel rules probably are warranted since everyone is driving a car and traffic deaths are so high. However, on the way to the race this morning, shortly after a run in with a grumpy yoga driver, we got pulled over for speeding.  I've boiled this entire incident down to one simple take home lesson--I should probably avoid yoga at all costs.  That yoga lady was really grumpy and runners are never that grumpy.  We were just fortunate that it didn't turn into a full blown road rage incident and we didn't end up dead on the side of the road.  Thankfully, we only got pulled over for speeding and in the end we got off with a written warning.  I think it is because I was so charismatic and friendly, but it might have been some of Lisa's magic or the power of prayer.  He told me to, "slow down because 60 in a 40 zone is way too fast!"  No shit Sherlock; it's called reckless driving.  I know this due to my questionable past driving history of the late 1990s.  Also, noteworthy during our drive home from the race, the Illinois Department of Transportation reminded us "Keep Positive Attitude; Avoid Road Rage". What a powerful message! Yoga lady needs to see that message.  The roads are unsafe with her on them!

Magical and Awe Inspiring This one is mostly for Lisa.  During this short adventure Lisa managed to pull off several magical and awe inspiring feats.  Some were small little miracles like knowing details about things that neither Mird or I had noticed and others were more impressive.  She may have saved somebody's life! After the race, she actually pulled a donut and a bag of chips out of her stocking hat and earlier in the trip she pulled a rotten apple out of the pocket on the back of the driver seat in Mird's otherwise spotless car!  Finally, magical because there was just something magical and awe inspiring about the four of us actually pulling this whole thing off. Best of all despite everything, I even won my age group and that's some powerful magic for sure!  Oh and the prize was pretty awesome--a flask with the race logo on it!

  

1st place female 40-49

The map and stats from my adventure!  I am absolutely 100 percent completely content with this performance at today's race!  By the way, this race was impeccably run and the bathroom was heated with flushing toilets.  My only complaint would be they should play the national anthem. I am a patriot and it is always one of the things I love best at races.  Ian the athletic trainer on site was awesome and he checked me out and showed me a series of stretches to do the next couple of days to help aid my recovery.  He also chatted with us before the race and let me stash my coat under his exam table.  Also, the volunteers and donuts were amazing and delicious!  The trail was beautiful and completely untamed and as such I loved it.  Others may have preferred a more domesticated trail, but I prefer the feral wild ones.  

         Courtney, Lisa, Vern and Mird                                          The Bootlegger Brigade Babes

State Number 22 Missouri  

Bootlegger 10K Trail Run 

February 17, 2024

Devilish Fun

For many years we've come together on the second Sunday in January as Kirby's Angels and taken Holland by storm--pun intended-- by completing the Frostbite Marathon Relay (FMR). Most do not understand this tradition, but if you've ever partaken in this event, you get it. If you haven't participated, I'd recommend you sign up next time you're drinking, or at the very least become friends with Frostbite Marathon Relay on Facebook so you can live vicariously through others.  

Over the years, we've run in unseasonably warm weather in tank tops and shorts while joking about the spring like weather and lack of snow while drinking pina coladas.  We've also come dangerously close to losing limbs due to unforeseen circumstances and the windchill. We've run in weather that most people avoid at all costs and we've even tried to bribe Mother Nature for some decent running weather. We've pretty much done it all! And today we ran through the most crazy, ass, shit-weather and had the absolute best time despite the hurricane force winds we had to battle!  

Here's how things unraveled this time.  First of all, we had to get a new name because Kirby has officially retired from running.  This was emotional for our team because Kirby was truly the glue that held us together or perhaps the peanut butter that kept these squirrely ladies in some semblance of order!  I mean our team was named after him so his retirement was a HUGE deal.  So we invited Kirby over for good luck last night during our team dinner and voila, we did awesome today so thank you Kirb for being you and for all the great memories. I guess we should all sign up for a bike race with you this year or something...

Kirby's Angels aka Dan's Devils aka Squirrely Sistas

Renaming our team seemed like an impossible feat until we recruited a professional driver (willing to work for free) named Dan. Once we did that it became apparent we had become Dan's Devils! I think Dan was actually our MVP this year. He didn't run any actual miles but he drove like an undercover FBI agent being chased by the bad guys during a blizzard.  Oh and by the way the FBI agent doesn't get caught either he actually busts up a drug deal gone bad along the way while saving precious babies.

Dan the MVP of the game 

Our outfits were supposed to be red, but given the ambient air temperatures and the ridiculous windchill we had to put extra layers on and nobody actually ended up running with red on the outermost layer of clothes.  Fun fact I found these sweatpants in the Goodwill pile and rescued them.  There are actual devils on them and I ran the entire race in them!  Also noteworthy about my wardrobe was the fact that I wore an extra layer of a past race sweatshirt with a big pocket into which I tucked an energy ball from the smorgasbord at the church... Being that it was me tucking food in my pocket this isn't that unusual. I've got a reputation for traveling with granola bars, dark chocolate and avocados in my pockets so a little energy ball isn't that big of a deal!  However, it made it the whole way and was frozen solid when I finished which was a small miracle!  Best of all, it was delicious this morning for breakfast!!

Red devils on my legs!

Can you see the devils?

Teresa preparing for the start!

So here's the highlights from Dan's Devil's 2024 Frostbite Marathon Relay.  We all agreed that the professional driver was a team member we never knew we needed, but now that we know I don't think we can ever go back to driving ourselves around Holland.  The hot tub soak the night before was key to our impressive performance today.  Also we probably should have brought a pitchfork with us. I mean what kind of devil doesn't have a pitchfork?!?  Everyone also agreed my husband was super funny at our team dinner and he made us laugh out loud which still makes my heart happy as I am writing this.  We also agreed that spending time together was the absolute best and we should do it more often. Mird still makes the best pudding shots and my carbonara truly can't be beat. I'm thinking we should enter a cooking contest next, but I'm really trying to stay focused...Sidenote I am super thankful I am partly Italian and even more thankful that my Italian Granny and my mom taught me at a young age that in order for Italian food to turn out you MUST drink wine while you're cooking it.  Finally, we were all a little closer to God today thanks to Gibson Church and the kindness, compassion and encouragement we received from their congregation today.  You took such good care of us!

Starting line FMR. Teresa is preparing for a good time! She is relentless, full of positivity and light and totally killed it coming in faster than expected!  

The first thing we did after we sent Teresa off was we stopped at a gas station to use their bathroom, gas up, and buy more handwarmers! You know basically everything we should have done before the race started!  Once again, Teresa did awesome and was finished in no time flat with a smile on her face.  Does she ever not smile?!  She and Amy then teamed up for leg 2 because we decided to partake in creative relay marathon running which  basically means we rearranged the legs to meet our needs: keep us all safe, have company if we wanted it and most importantly to get us to the chili and beer asap.  We were tired of sitting in the poorly heated overflow tent at the after party and we were determined to get there at 11 when the chili would be ready!!  Our big idea to create a perfect race experience worked flawlessly and we will likely never run the relay exactly as intended again because our creative version was WAY better.  It was liberating to just throw the game plan out the window and make up a plan that worked for us.  Don't worry I didn't actually throw anything out the window that's totally illegal and I love Mother Earth way too much to litter. What we did do was change our mind enough times about what legs everyone was running that I had no idea what I was actually doing until I finished running. It's ok. I often wander aimlessly for days on end so I was well prepared for this scenario. I figured it out. It's what I do. I figure things out and once in awhile I run so I am happy. 

Teresa & Amy took leg 2 by storm 

Look who I "ran" into while running my made up leg of the race. I like to call it leg 3.5 which was mostly legs 3 & 4 combined minus the last couple miles because we had already run more than 26.2 miles and we were really hungry, extremely tired and incredibly cold. The moral to this story is if you ever need help planning anything, you probably don't want to ask any of us for help unless you're looking to get confused, lost, frozen, or  ripped off.  On the other hand, if you are looking for a good time you should definitely give us a call!

the actual relay course.  

Since Mird and Courtney wanted company while they ran, we went ahead and got creative again.  They ran leg number 3 together and I ran leg 3.5 about thirty minutes after they started leg 3.  I did stick around to wish them well and Dan snapped this photo before they took off together!  Oh and one more thing during down time in the van, I also created enough group texts and resultant confusion from said group texts that I may actually get kicked off the team in which case I will be looking to form a new relay team next year...stay tuned and send your running resume my way if you're interested.

Smile Dan's taking our picture!

I finished leg 3.5 and celebrated with the XL Men's sized post run pudding shot. It was the special in Vern's van today.

So a year from now we hope to be running as Dan's Devils in the Frostbite Marathon Relay. If not, then there's surely an epic adventure elsewhere perhaps in one of the states we are yet to run. Because Frostbite Marathon Relay is what we do the 2nd Sunday in January unless we're doing something equally adventurous and devilishly fun!