Perhaps you've heard already... I'm trekking across America for a good cause...
Thursday, January 25, 2007
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The Frozen Otter event that we did last weekend is run by an adventure racing team called, “The Fat Otter.” Their slogan is, “For the LOVE of Misery!” Just an intro…
Our training day last weekend made us realize we weren’t going to make the entire 64 miles. With the cold weather, brutal terrain, and little training, we just weren’t ready for it. We don’t quite know what we were thinking… but we were still going to go to the event and see how we could do. And it was still a lot of fun! The more things hurt, the more we laughed at ourselves.
When asked for a team name, we called ourselves “The Snails.” And we lived up to our name! Hey – someone’s gotta’ come in last, right? Well that’s what the Snails are for!! It's a tough job, but someone's gotta' do it! J
As it turns out, some dropped out before the half-way point. One guy sprained his ankle and hiked 4 miles to the next checkpoint!! Like I said, brutal terrain – oh, and we ended up getting quite a bit of snow, too, so that added a new element to the whole thing. Hiking most of it at night made things difficult, too. We just got plain tired at about 11:00. Our bodies were thinking we were supposed to be at home in our nice warm beds – but instead, we were out in the freezing cold, pushing our bodies way past their limit! I guess it got down to 10 degrees while we were out there, and we felt it. We did okay, we just couldn’t stop for even 2 minutes or we got chilled. So we just slowly trudged on. At a snail’s pace…
So we made it 32 miles – we ended up doing it in about 15 hours (from 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, to 3:00 a.m. on Sunday). 32 miles is a long freaking way – especially under those circumstances. We were the last ones getting to the half-way point, and when we got there, we dove into the hot soup and hot cocoa and took a chair by the hot fire. We found out that no one else continued on – except for ONE woman!! And she did the entire 64 miles with about an hour to spare. We bow to her! We are extremely impressed, and a little jealous of her stamina. J
In trying to find myself, I realized that one of the most exciting things about being alive, is having the ability to try new things. Trying out adventure racing was a new thing for me. And although it’s hard for me to admit, I think I may have found something that I’m just simply not cut out for. And I was saying that pretty confidently after we finished hiking 32 miles in the cold and snow – and up and down short, steep, rocky, killer hills. BUT… I’ve already stepped back and I’m telling myself, “Well, maybe I’d still try one of those adventure races with the three activities – orienteering, paddling, and mountain biking.” But that’s easy to say now – when my legs, knees and feet don’t hurt. J
So, what’s next? I’m taking on public speaking. Now that I’m nervous about! I’m confident that I’ll be just fine, but there’s just something about getting up in front of a large group of people and talking. I’m actually speaking tonight at the Community Blood Center’s Donor Recognition program. Even though I’m a little nervous, I am VERY excited to have this awesome opportunity to get up in front of a huge group of blood donors – and THANK them for what they do – and what they’ve done for me. I think that will outweigh the nerves.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
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Some might think I’m crazy, some might not be surprised. But I’ve signed myself up for an adventure race. It’s 64 miles. No biggie, right? I’ve hiked more than 64 miles before… the catch is that is has to be completed within 24 hours! My friend, Sarah (for you 4imprinters, that’s Sarah in photography) is doing it with me. We are excited to try it. We both think it will be fun just seeing if we can pull it off.
The event is going to be on Saturday, January 20th – next weekend! It’s called the Frozen Otter, and it’s on Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail through the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It sounds beautiful, although it will be very cold. Our weather forecast for that week is calling for highs around 30, and lows around 20. But we’ll be moving, hopefully almost the entire time, so that’ll keep us warm.
I know I haven’t posted in a while, and you must be able to feel the excitement I am feeling about this adventure race. Well, first of all, the main reason I haven’t posted lately, is because I have been sorting through a multitude of emotions – trying to figure out exactly what’s going on with me.
About 2 weeks after I started back at work, I started feeling overly hyper. I was shaky, and when I’d talk to someone, I felt like I was talking a million miles an hour and couldn’t seem to slow myself down. Then I kind of crashed and started feeling depressed – it felt just like that seasonal depression that is so common this type of year. So after a couple of weeks of just observing myself, I decided it was certainly, 100% related to not being outside 24/7. Duh, right? J
Right around that time, my mom called me with concern in her voice. She wasn’t feeling well. She was feeling kind of low – she basically explained exactly how I was feeling. So that just topped it – it was finally hitting us! We both thought that if the transition was going to hit, it would’ve already. But for some reason, it was a bit more delayed than we’d expected, so we were a little blind-sided. But just by knowing that we were both feeling the same way, we felt much better. Mom started taking short walks outside in the morning, and I got back into my classes at the local YMCA. I even roll the car window down on the way to work in the morning just for a morning shot of fresh air. It might be cold, and sound loopy, but I really noticed a difference! I even convinced my husband, Adam, to go for some cold, nightly 30-minute walks with me.
Since I’ve figured it out, and started doing something about it, I am almost feeling back to normal. I still have a little bit of the hyperness going on, but I am working really hard at relaxing. When the idea came up of Sarah and I taking on this adventure race together, I was all on board. I just can’t wait to get out there and see if we can do it! I will certainly let you all know how it goes. This weekend we are heading down there for a trial run -- we're shooting to do half of it -- 32 miles! That'll be a new daily-mileage record for, well, both of us!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
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It’s been a while since I’ve made an entry – but I have an excuse! Really, I do! I started back at work full-time on Dec. 4 (last Monday). I’m really glad to be back. I was concerned that it might be too early, but so far, so good. It’s great to see familiar, friendly faces, as well as new ones! I certainly miss the hike and tons of little things about it, but it does feel good to be home, too. I am now within driving distance of family and friends, as well as throwing distance of some of my greatest friends. I am a happy camper!
I did have a moment a few days ago. It happened in the grocery store. I was told that grocery store “moments” are common for thru-hikers after they get home. And I had one. I was with Adam, and he was looking at the egg-nog or something, and I was going to grab some milk. I found myself standing in front of the milk cooler in the store, and suddenly this overwhelming feeling came over me and I just stood there. My eyes glazed over for a split second as they locked in blankly on the rows of pink “skim” labels. I thought to myself, “I can’t buy milk! It’s heavy! And it needs refrigeration!” It did hit me very quickly that what I was thinking was crazy, so I opened the door and grabbed a gallon and put it in the cart.
I started to look around at all the people walking around the store – and oh, what I’d give to see a couple of people walk by with big ol’ backpacks on so I could ask them where they were headed! Part of the adventure that I loved is the inquisitive looks we’d get from people. It was so much fun! And it happened most often in the grocery store. You’ve seen pictures of us in our photo page – we didn’t strip our backpacks, hiking sticks, hats, ponchos, or anything before entering. We just walked in like everyone else, walked around, found what we needed, paid the cashier, handed her a card, and walked out. Outside, we’d divvy up the goods evenly, stuff it wherever it fit in each others’ packs, and hike on. We were quite a sight!
I think being back at work and in the same routine I was in before leaving for the hike has triggered something. I have started to experience things like this more often, and I’m referring to them as “flashbacks.” It feels like all time stops around me for just a single moment, and I find myself back somewhere along the trail. Thousands of emotions come over me in one big hit, but quickly leave. It’s like I see a picture of a place I was, I jump in, feel everything with every sense, then jump back out. It’s really neat, because I’m truly “feeling” what I felt when I was hiking. But it’s sad, because I miss it.
The other day I was driving to work in the morning, and a song came on the radio that I had listened to somewhere along the hike. I had one of these “flashbacks,” and when it was done, tears welled up in my eyes. The song was “Every Mile A Memory” by Dierks Bentley. Just the song title alone makes me want to think about every mile. If I could control these moments and hold on to them a little longer, that would be really cool.
It sounds sad and maybe scary, but I can assure you that it’s really a very neat journey my mind is taking me through right now. I so badly wish I could put a link to it in this blog entry so that you can just click, jump in, and feel what I’m talking about right along with me!
Hah! I just had one, now! I heard my mom’s laugh! J
Friday, December 01, 2006
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11-28-06
I went into 4imprint for a meeting with last Friday, and I had an idea there might be some sort of "hello" for me... at least I was hoping. :) And I wasn't disappointed! I was called out of the meeting room and directed to the back entrance by our break room. There, waiting for me, was a large percentage of the company associates to welcome me back! The maintenance boys were mixing up milkshakes (Oooh, yummy!), and they were serving cookies with chocolate frosting bootprints on them! Kevin, the president of 4imprint, presented me with a check for $3,514.75 written out to the AA&MDSIF for the "Our Hike" event - this is money that they raised while I was gone - they gathered donations, and some employees even made stepping stones, which were auctioned off with the proceeds towards our cause! How freakin' cool is that?! So a big THANK YOU goes out to my fellow co-workers at 4imprint for all the support! Again! :)
This last week for me was interesting. The hard part was I left Oshkosh, Adam, and friends for a week in Phillips. The fun part was that it was a week with family, food, and hunting season. It was an unsuccessful hunt for me, but that didn't matter much - it was a great week. My brother, Scott, did get a really nice 8-pointer, though. That was really exciting - it was his year!!
I really let myself enjoy sitting in my stand in the woods for sometimes 4 hours at a time. I felt the breeze, let me toes go numb from cold, listened to owls hoo-hooing off in the distance, watched crazy, insane red squirrels chatter and run around trees, turkeys bobble through, and even a few deer running too far away for me to get a shot at. It was actually a warmer year than most, so my toes really only went numb once. And I think the most entertaining, and most annoying, were the red squirrels. We felt that the woods were infested with them. I would sit in my stand, and one would notice me, run up the tree right in front of me, then run down, chatter, run up again, stop, look at me, chatter, grunt, chirp, grunt, chatter, run down the tree, then sit it one spot and chirp consistently until I batted an eyelash. Then he'd run his tail off down the tree, through the leaves to another tree a little far away where he'd repeat his little dance. Crazy things...
Scott and I did some long walks just bushwhacking through the woods, and that was fun, as always. Scott tried running after some turkeys, but we found that even though they seem clumsy when they fly, they can sure run! I guess they can run up to 40 mph! Yikes! So needless to say, he didn't quite catch up to them. I learned a lot more about the woods we hunt again this year, so next year I'll feel even more comfortable just wandering.
So Thanksgiving week, hunting season... it's all over. It's usually sort of sad for me to leave all the excitement and have to go back home where it's quiet. But I was excited to be back home with Adam, and now I start work on Monday, Dec. 4, so I'm looking forward to that, too. I'm certainly not having any trouble keeping busy!
And to end my entry for this week, I found something out talking to a friend over hunting season. She asked me how I was feeling after the hike, and I actually blurted out just how I felt. I said, "I don't feel any different. I feel like I did before I left, but now I have all these memories and experiences in my heart and in my mind. It's kind of like it was all supposed to happen - like it was all part of the plan." So here I am, same old Robin, happy to be same old Robin... I just now have a lot of new friends, a lot of great memories, and stories to share.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
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11-14-06
This is a question I ask myself every day. I feel like Robin on a (fill in name of day). It's weird. Mom said once, "It feels like I'm stuck between two lives." And I think that's the closest way to explain it. It's not a bad feeling. It's actually kind of neat.
I was in Phillips for a news interview on Monday. I had a chance to see how mom's doing. From what I see, it seems like she's doing really well. We both whined a little about how our feet still ache. It's not as bad as how it felt having to get up and walk 20 miles on them the next morning, though. But toward the end of the hike I remember saying to mom, "What's it going to feel like when our feet don't hurt?" It's one of those strange things we're learning about as we go.
I'm feeling stuck between these two lives right now. I joke to myself about how I need to get back to work, or I'm going to find myself in the middle of the woods with my backpack on asking myself, "How did I get here?"
Physically -- I think my body is probably desperately holding on to every last bit of metabolism it's got. I tried a Pilates video a couple of times, and really enjoyed it. So I think I'm going to stick with that for a bit. As soon as I can, I'm going to rejoin the YMCA and get to kickboxing classes. I loved those classes, and I can't wait to go back! I'd hike on the weekends to stay in shape, but it's winter here, and as soon as I got back to Wisconsin, I reverted back to a cold-weather wimp - now that I can be! :) But I'm still on a mission to keep myself in shape! It's been difficult to steer away from yummy foods, like milkshakes! I think I'm hanging in there pretty well. I seem to fall here and there, but I've battled with my weight my whole life (well, except for the last 8-1/2 months!!). So the rollercoaster is familiar to me, and I've controlled it before. I'm confident I can keep that up. It'll be another challenge I can work on really taking charge of.
I will keep blogging here and there, hopefully at least once a week, to flush my feelings and talk about all that's happening. Soon I'm going to do an entry on the gear we used, abused, wore out, etc. So that'll be a fun one!
Friday, November 10, 2006
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11-9-06
Well, the past few days have been weird. Adam's working 3rd shift, so I've, surprisingly, quickly adjusted to his schedule, in order for me to spend some time with him. It's been wonderful just focusing on us for a few days. All the time we've spent together has been quality. I even had the opportunity to let him take me out to karaoke night in Oshkosh to meet some of the friends he made while I was away. It was a blast! It feels good to be home. I still have a lot of people to catch up with and spend some "welcome home" time with, and I can't wait to see everyone!
It has been quiet, though. Not much media stuff going on. A radio interview here, a paper interview there... we're still hoping some national media outlet will call and surprise us with an invitation - we still need donations, and our fight for awareness will never be done! So we're still workin' hard!
My legs are crying for some exercise. That's what's been going on physically. I somehow need to fit it in to my extremely open day-schedule! I seem to work so much better with everything when I have things going on. When nothing is really happening, I tend to sit around and procrastinate. I'm better under pressure, I guess. So... I am very anxious to get back to work. I'm hoping after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas. I sure miss everyone at 4imprint!! And the support they've given me is astounding! Whew!
So, really... I've just been chilling out, relaxing... and I think I'm caught up on sleep. I'm starting to feel the buzz to get out, move around, really start socializing again, and keep going! It's almost like I need to be busy to feel normal! I hope that's a good thing! :)
Lots do to, and too much time to do it right now!
11-5-06
Our visit in San Francisco after the hike was fun, but fast-paced. It went by really fast, and before I knew it, we were at the airport. It worked out well there, too. We were able to rearrange seats so that Adam and I could sit together, mom and dad could sit next to each other, and Grandma, Debbie and Adam still had aisle seats. And it was an uneventful flight - which is good. Oh, except that we were toward the back of the plane, and the bathrooms were close, and someone on the plane made good use of them. So, it might have smelled foul, but we made it to Minneapolis safely.
My aunt, Karen, and cousin, Tiffany, picked us up and brought us back to Karen's house where our vehicles were parked. This was my first hint - a good hint that said, "Robin, you're almost home." I saw my and Adam's green Saturn Vue. It's the first car we bought together, and we both love it. It was weird to see it, and sitting in it felt pretty good. Mom, dad and grandma got into mom's car, and we followed each other toward Phillips.
When we were on our way, we got word that some of my mom's friends were going to be at the south end of town at the bowling alley. We were asked to stop in to say 'hi.' As we went on, we kept getting phone calls. "Where are you now?" "When will you get here?" So, hmmm, something's up!
When we got into town, there was a vehicle with its hazards on right by the bowling alley. It was a police car. In the middle of the road was a person instructing us to stop, and along the side of the road was a huge group of family and friends. It was our welcoming committee!
We got out, hugged, cried, and then quickly jumped in the back of the CRR1 - remember the CRR1 from Missouri and Kansas? Dick Heitkemper, one of our awesome trail angels (27 day vehicle support), painted up his truck just how he did when he was supporting us. We rode through town behind a wailing ambulance, fire truck and police car. A special escort for mom and I - too cool! The marquees in town all read, "Welcome Home Robin & Patty," and when we went by the A&W (I worked there in high school), they ran out ice cream cones for mom and me!
We ended at the north end of town at Harbor View. It was really fun - after a really cold truck ride. I kept saying the Pacific Ocean was warmer than Wisconsin - and I'm completely serious. In fact, we had an expected Wisconsin welcome - SNOW! It may have been a let-down if Wisconsin didn't order some snowflakes for our return! :)
So we're back in WI. I feel a little displaced, having a lot to do in two towns, but I'm anxious to get things sorted out. Mom and I have a lot of stuff to go through, and loose ends to tie up, so it's going to be crazy. But it'll slowly come together. More on that in the coming days...
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
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10-30-06
Yesterday was sort of a day off. Adam took me shopping for a couple of outfits so I had something new to wear. That was actually weird. He said I picked out a purse in record time! I was still in fast-forward, trying to get things done as fast as possible, because for the last 8-1/2 months, that meant more sleep. That was an interesting adjustment.
Then Adam and I drove around San Fran looking for a place to do laundry. I really enjoy San Francisco, but I'm certainly not used to the traffic. That's been stressing me out a little bit. Adam's doing all the driving, and he's doing a great job - except he almost stopped for a guy trying to hail a cab (he's currently a cab driver back home), but that was just plain funny!
Today we visited the University of California - San Francisco's Medical Center. We met with a couple of doctors, along with an amazing woman who had Aplastic Anemia. Both ATG treatments didn't work for her, so she underwent a bone marrow transplant. She says she feels better than she even did before she was sick! It was great to meet her and see her in such great health! She plans to continue helping others undergoing BMTs. She will be schooling to be a nurse. How cool!
After our hospital visit, we did a live in-studio interview on KGO-NBC 7's "View from the Bay." That was fun. It was a talk-show setting, and everyone was so energetic! It was great. Tomorrow we've got another in-studio interview with the NBC affiliate out of SF.
It's very interesting to try to figure out exactly what's going on in my head. I think mom feels the same. When we were hiking, we'd go-go-go all day, every day. Planning for the next day - for just me and mom - was part of my daily routine. Now we're trying to plan for things we don't necessarily HAVE to do - things that we WANT to do - and with no specific time limits. Like where and when to have dinner. Or to see Chinatown or Fisherman's Wharf. And it's been making me crazy. It's been hard to adjust to.
But this morning, I woke up to a call from Jen at the AA&MDSIF, and she felt bad for calling so early, but it made me feel "normal," or comfortable again! We had to be up and on our way to UCSF within an hour. Then a pre-interview with ABC, then the live interview... it was one thing after another, and it felt good for me. Weird.
I sure hope I can wind myself down a little more. I think I'll need to before we get home.
We're flying out early Wednesday morning, and we're excited to see family and friends!
Sunday, October 29, 2006
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10-28-06
Last night we all went out to celebrate the finish. Sarah and Pam, mom and dad, Steve and Debbie, Craig (Brenda's cousin), Paul (a friend I met in Moab), Adam and I all went. We hit a sport's pub, ate dinner, and had some drinks. It was really fun to let loose a bit.
My biggest surprise, I think, was Paul showing up at the end. I met him in Moab, and he and I kept in touch via email. He is from England, and is taking his motor bike all over the place. When he decided, last-minute, to fly up to see us finish, he was in Guatemala! He's headed to Argentina now. Paul inspires me to keep "doing." I appreciate his sense of adventure and his spontaneity.
I really don't know what everyone did today, but Adam and I did something I had been dreaming about for a while. We slept in until about noon, then just laid around, watched TV, and just played lazy. It was a great wind-down.
My emotions are this: confused. I'm trying to figure out if I'm happy, sad, or what. I think I'm just going to cry when I feel the need, laugh when I need to, or even just veg and have no emotion.
For now, we're gonna' have some seafood and cocktails at Fisherman's Wharf. More relax time. It's a hard day! :)
10-27-06
Start: About 1/4 mile from the big finish!
Destination: The Pacific Ocean!
Elevation: Sea level
Miles: 1/4 mile
Weather: Warm, sunny, breezy, perfect!
(Watch the finish at www.ourhike.com!)
What a day! Mom and I woke up, got ready, packed our backpacks up for the last time on this trip, and headed out. Adam and Dad dropped us off at our ending point from yesterday, which happens to be only a quarter-mile from our exact finish point.
Mom and I stood for a bit, waiting for just the right moment to step out onto the sand toward the beach. Our stomachs weren't full of butterflies any more - they were full of knots. We were nervous, not having any idea what to expect, but we were so excited, too. We were mostly anxious - the anxiety was making our stomachs go crazy. Finally, we stepped out onto the sand and started walking toward the small gathering of people at our finish point. It was slow-going through the sand, but it felt good to be moving. I even accidentally bumped mom's stick, causing her to drop it. That made us laugh.
So we got to the banner that had the ADT logo and another that read "Our Hike for AA&MDSIF." We actually took a minute to take off our shoes so we could feel the sand between our toes, then took our backpacks off. Then mom and I went arm-in-arm and stepped our toes into the salty Pacific Ocean - FINALLY! :)
But we didn't only dip our toes in... we completely jumped in. It felt great! Actually it wasn't as cold as Lake Superior in May. Crazy! It was quite refreshing and felt really great!
We had a small gathering of family, friends, and patients. It was very simple, very nice, and we felt very comfortable. So we did it. We made it all the way across America on foot. The first mother-daughter team to cross the country on foot, too!
We are feeling proud. We are feeling thankful to all who participated and supported us. And we are hoping that the transition back home isn't too overbearing. We will have to keep everyone updated on how that all goes!
Yeah! We made it! Thank you, readers, for following our journey and helping us get here, too! :)