BIG, I MEAN, HUGE NEWS!

I know many of you guys found me through Katie's blog, Runs For Cookies, so you may have heard back in February that she's running another Ragnar Relay. She thought it would be a great idea to form a team of people who have lost a lot of weight and discovered the love of running along their journey. Would you believe she thought of me? When I opened up that e-mail inviting me to join a Ragnar team back in January, I was giddy! I couldn't pass up the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

(Katie's brother is in this video at 1:01. He did this Relay this past January!)

Then I started contemplating all that's involved in a trip of this magnitude. Childcare. (I know my kids will be 16 and 14 by then, but they can't stay home alone.) Dog sitter. Travel costs. Race-related costs. Time off. It was overwhelming. Finally, this past Sunday my husband and I sat down and hashed it out. We haven't been on vacation since we went to FL in July of '09. We haven't been away without the kids since we went to the Poconos in July of '05. We are due for this "break," to say the least. Charlie said we would just make it work.

I know it would be so much cheaper for me to go alone, but my husband wouldn't let me travel by myself. It's not some Village People macho-man thing, he just worries about me since I've never travelled alone. And again, we'll have a night in Miami and a couple of nights in Key West to enjoy together (wink, wink).

The Southernmost Hotel in Key West

Katie and Rik, a man that follows Katie's blog, have been working on all of the logistics that go into creating a team. A regular RR team has 12 members, each member running 3 legs of an almost 200 mile course, from Miami to Key West! I always told my husband we could use running as an excellent excuse to travel! Unfortunately, my husband is a skinny-minnie and never needed to lose a pound in his life, so he won't be participating. But he'll be there to congratulate us at the finish line.

I am beyond excited for this adventure. I didn't mention anything until now (I haven't even told my family yet!) because I hadn't actually committed to anything, but as of Sunday, 3/11, we have our two nights booked in Key West, and on 3/14, I mailed out my portion of the registration fee to Rik. (He finally received it today!) So, I'm definitely DOING THIS!!!

We have an outstanding group of people running on our team:

Rik (our team captain), Katie (Runs For Cookies), Jen (From Fat to Finish Line), Mary (A Small Loss), Lealah (Lealah On A Mission), Jen S. (Miles, Muscles and Mommyhood), John (Project One Five), Allison, Andrea and Ada Wong, Season 10 finalist on 'Biggest Loser!'

Keep checking in for further developments on any exciting announcements and our team's progress. Oh, and if you didn't keep count, our team only has 11 members so far. That means there's an opportunity for one of you out there to become our 12th team member! Check out Katie's post "An Amazing Opportunity" from March 17, 2012 for details!!!