Following an 18.5 mile effort at the 2011 Ragnar Relay Las Vegas event, which was fraught with disorganization and just an overall lack of pure enjoyment, things turned from hectic to extremely crazy.

With an extremely successful 2011 Scoobies For Boobies fundraiser, I was kept very (or too) busy for close to three months. Working from 7am to 4pm at my day job, then heading to the shop to work until almost 1am on a regular basis took its toll. Add to that the demanding nature of the work, mind and body, I was, and still am, exhausted.

Now that the holiday season is over, a new year has arrived, on schedule I might add, it is time to get back into the swing of things. Unfortunately, last week, I was the proud recipient of a moderately serious case of food poisoning. Since last Thursday, I have lost close to 20 pounds, or approximately 12% of my body weight. I didn’t have 2o pounds to lose!

With my stomach not throwing a fit when I eat, it won’t be long before I can try to regain my strength and the weight I lost.

On the list for the comeback caloric assault:

• Steak n Shake
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries
• Sura All You Can Eat Korean BBQ
• Firehouse Subs
• Capriotti’s Subs
• Ciao Pizza
• Badger Cafe
• Carlito’s Burritos
• Filipito’s
• Pop’s Steaks
• More as my stomach craves them.

That being said, if any restaurants would like to sponsor my insatiable stomach, we are open to discuss what food is available!

Once my strength is back, training has to start in earnest. I now have 10 months to prepare for my first full marathon, that’s right 26.2 miles! To make this a little more challenging, I have not ran since the RRLV event last October.

Have I bitten off too much? Guess we will see just how strong my will is come race day!

It has arrived, more quickly than I would have liked, and not quickly enough at the same time, FRITURDAY! In under 48 hours, our team will have started our journey to finish this year’s Ragnar Relay Las Vegas. Starting at 9:00am, our first runner shall be one of many leaving in that wave.

Taking on 7.3, 3.1 and 6.8 mile stretches of the challenging 188 mile course, I will be going up against many miles of hills, dust, critters and the elements. Running straight out of my comfort zone and into a place where the mental aspect is at least as important as the physical, Ragnar Relay makes one look deep inside themselves for the fortitude and strength to allow all legs to be completed.

If all goes well, we will finish in under our 32 hour time from 2010.

Tired, sweaty and sleep deprived, we will cross the finish line 12 strong, celebrate our accomplishments and relax for a few.

Only a couple short weeks away until I join a few thousand other crazy people to run from Friday morning, into the evening, straight on till morning and afternoon until we finish the 188 mile Ragnar Relay Las Vegas at Desert Breeze park. This will be my third Ragnar Relay, second time running the Las Vegas event.

This year’s course looks like a total blast, and I am more anxious to get out and run my legs than I have been the past 2 events. Perhaps, because I have been running more and want to see how I have improved, as I run against myself. With most acts, we are our own worst critic, in this case, I am my own worst opponent. I train some, but not in the “proper” way. I run quickly, but not quickly enough.

A challenge I am nervous about tackling may be taken out of my hands. As it sits right now, our team is short one runner, in our van. This means, there are three extra legs that need to be picked up. Am I up for, essentially, doubling my miles to 30 miles (more than a full marathon) in 6 legs over approximately 33 hours?

That is the 11 team member question. My first two legs look like cake, the first two legs of the open position look doable enough. As the saying goes, “the third leg is the hardest.” Which is most definitely true, times two, in this case! If I am needed to run the extra miles, it will be my most challenging task to date. It will also be a good jump start into training for the full 26.2 mile marathon we are signed up for in 2013.