Just a few more Ragnar pics...

Amazingly out of about 365 teams overall, we (Electric Mayhem) came in 13th. And out of just the mixed open regular teams we came in 1st. Yeah for our awesome team! During this relay, I have to admit I was really proud of myself. For each of my 3 runs, I had my fastest recorded pace for an outside run. My pace was between 7:41-7:45 min/mile for each leg. This gives me motivation to work harder and push the limit. I felt great, except for maybe leg 3 when my legs felt heavy. David paid me a great compliment and said I looked strong out there. It was also exciting to see a runner in the distance,to catch them and then pass them.

David geared up for his night run. 

Amy and Kristin

Is this not gorgeous!  

Jeff K. and I.  Jeff may or may not have run one of his legs in only underwear and then in an attempt to moon us as we drove by, mooned the poor lady that was running about 10 feet behind him.

Jeff A. on the beach at the end of my third leg which happened to end with a 100 ft climb up the sand which peaked on the beach overlooking the ocean.  It was a beautiful place to end, but kind of a cruel way to end a run when your legs are already spent.  I guess I should be glad it was only 100 ft.  Ken had to run an entire mile on the sand for the last part of a leg.  And, we are not talking packed, hard sand.  It was loose, can't get good traction kind of sand.

David gutting through his last run with an injured calf. 

The team.  

Amy and Kristin.  These two were our veteran Ragnar runners.

Catch up in pictures....

Mom and Dad Bailly visit Boston in March:

Duck Tour

They even let me drive along with all the little kids.

 Bunker Hill Monument.  Third trip up.  

I figured out the only way to come out pain free the next day is to take it slow.

 Even David's parents did it!  

 Beth sure is happy to be heading back down.

 Tour of "Old Ironsides", the USS Constitution

Trip to Newport, RI with a friend to see the Mansions:

 "The Breakers".  This was a summer home.  Really, it was.

Pretty magnificent and the ocean is literally right behind their backyard. It's beautiful.

Boston Marathon 2012:

We live a block off the course and got front row seats with some friends, Nicole and Justin, that were visiting from Virginia.  It definitely motivated me to run another marathon. 

Boston Red Sox game with Justin:

11 runners + 23 hours + 176.4 miles = Cape Cod Ragnar Relay May 11th and May 12th:

David and I at the start of Van 2's legs.  We are still fresh and clean.  This changes in about 2 1/2 hours.

 Jeff, our friend from California, flew in to race with us.  He was incredible and it was fun to watch him  at 1am pick off runner after runner.  He ran right about 6 min miles for 9 miles and this was his second leg. 

 Jeff and Amy (team captain, Dr. Teeth).

 Pretty happy to have all my legs completed and a chance to see the ocean.

David during his last leg of the race and the last leg of the entire relay.

 Happy to be done!  But would do it again in a heartbeat.

**More relay photos to come.

New Beginnings (and not the Young Women type)

After 2 1/2 months of applying to nursing positions and hearing NOTHING, I got two interviews this past week and was offered a position at each site. I accepted the position at Franciscan Hospital for Children in the pediatric rehabilitation and pediatric pulmonary rehabilitation units. I begin orientation on April 23rd and am excited (and maybe a little scared) to begin my new career as a registered nurse. Whoo hoo!

What makes the difference?

This past week I interviewed twice for a nursing position and once to be a temple ordinance worker. Of course the interview at the temple went well and during my setting apart blessing the counselor prayed that I would learn through each job interview and that I would develop the characteristics that I needed. I honestly hoped that didn't mean I would have lots and lots of interviews, but I realized it was possible.
The job interviews: Why is it that sometimes you walk out feeling confident that you made a good impression and other times you walk out reviewing over and over in your mind what you did or didn't do and wishing you could do it all over again? This week I had one of each. My first nursing interview was excellent. As I left, over and over again the Human Resource partner expressed how much he would love for the nurse manager to meet me. So, the next day I met with the nurse manager. From other classmates I had heard of possible interview questions to expect and I did not hear one single clinical question. Actually for that matter, I think she only asked me one question at all. The rest of the time she talked about the facility, answered my questions and toured me around the unit. This did not boost my confidence because I don't feel like she got to know me at all. Later that night David calmed some of my fears by saying she has been around nurses for 20 years and she knows what she wants, so she doesn't have to ask tons of questions to know if I'll be a good fit or not. David is much wiser than me!

From prayer to UFOs

This afternoon I was walking home from Trader Joe's and happened to see an older man from church eating at Subway. I stopped in to say hi, and that hi turned into an hour and a half conversation with him and his friend, Howie. His friend is not LDS, so we spent a good part of the conversation talking about our beliefs, the world, self-mastery, prayer and on and on. I asked Howie if he believed he could pray and receive revelation for himself. This gentleman is antagonistic towards organized religion and he often played the devil's advocate throughout the conversation, and his answer to this question was no different. (Although he didn't really answer my question.) He said, "I can wake up and see a UFO out my window at 3am in the morning or I can wake up and see Jesus out my window at 3am in the morning. It's subjective. Only I know what I saw, no one else does."
Now remember, we are sitting in a small Subway in Boston with customers coming in and out. The two gentlemen I am talking with are both older and happen to talk REALLY loud. Next thing I know, a younger guy comes over and looks right at Howie and says, "I have seen a UFO too." I almost burst out laughing. This young guy was so sincere in his comment, but the fact that he was responding to Howie's flippant comment about seeing at UFO at 3am in the morning was a bit more than I could handle. I stayed for a bit more of the conversation which had now turned to UFOs, and then I had to leave since my frozen chicken was already starting to melt.
I did leave with a smile on my face.