lotoja

This post is really 6 months in the making.  6  really really REALLY long months.

The training for this race is honestly insane.  Basically all Saturdays, including the one right after having Graham, have been dedicated to cycling... 8 hours of cycling. Plus around 3 mornings a week of 2 hour rides!

I'm beyond excited to think about having Saturdays back... until ski seasons starts up.  Man alive, Darren has WAY too many hobbies.

And honestly as much as I've complained about my lack of seeing my husband on Saturdays and sacrificing mornings for him to ride, last Saturday was totally inspirational.

Darren rode 206 miles through 3 states in 1 DAY! JUST ONE DAY!

And I'm not discrediting Darren's effort by any means, but my role on Saturday felt just like a race.  I was driving for 12 hours with a 2 month old in the car by myself, which alone is tricky.  At each stop I would put Graham in the baby bjorn, fill up 2 water bottles with electroyte mixture (basically gatorade), take two cold water bottles for dumping over his head, a coca-cola, and a bag full of fuel food.  We had 4 stops total including the finish line in Jackson.

The first stop at Montpelier went great.  I arrived with plenty of time to spare before Darren rolled in.  I was able to get a sandwich (which I never ended up eating) at Subway and chat a little with the other support wives.  As soon as we got the boys off again, we quickly jumped in the car and headed to Afton.

The traffic was horrible to Afton as we merged with all the cyclist on the same road. We were driving slower than the cyclists (Darren averaged around 19 miles an hour) and I knew we were going to cut it close.  As Graham's feeding time came closer and he got fussy, I pulled up next to Liz and Emily in the car ahead of me, and told Liz to jump in my car fast and drive while I nurse Graham.

Thank heavens I did that!!

I was late getting to him at Afton by a couple of minutes, but I made it and saw him off again.

Next stop Alpine...

Alpine was tricky.  Graham was screaming at this stop and I knew Graham needed to be taken care of. He needed to be fed again and in desperate need of a diaper change.  So I grabbed all of Darren's fuel and handed it off to Liz.

When the wives returned from this fuel station they were all hesitant to tell me that Darren had just puked his guts out.  It apparently just kept coming.  Everyone but me was hesitant that he would finish the race.  I knew better.  Stuff like this just makes Darren mad.  He only had 47 miles left and I knew he wasn't about to give up on the last leg.

So we jumped in the car and headed to the finish line in Jackson.

I came upon Darren and slowed the car down to talk to him, since I didn't get to talk to him in Alpine. I asked if he was doing ok.  He didn't say much, he just told me to "keep going and I'll see you at the finish line."

Ahh, I was kind of panicked at this point.  I was hoping his body would make it.

We got to Jackson and I was able to see Darren cross the finish line only 20 minutes behind his team.  For most of his team this was their second year, so Darren did amazing at his finish time.  Especially for puking!!!

I was soooo relieved when I saw my guy cross the finish line.  I felt like I could finally take a deep breath again.

It was honestly so inspiring seeing all those people cross that line.  Many tears were shed.  I heard lots of screaming and yelling in excitement.  And my favorite was all the support and love I saw that day.

It really was one of our favorite adventures as a couple...

don't we look so glamorous?! Man alive, that was a LoooooNG day.

I love that Darren! Even if he does get his mind set on crazy things.  I'm inspired by his dedication to set goals (even crazy ones like LOTOJA) and accomplish them.

p.s. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted because that would have required 4 more hands... bummer.  Darren says that means he needs to do it again to get more shots.

p.s. AGAIN: After LOTOJA your husband will have MORE of an urge to get on his bike and accomplish some crazy goal because they feel like they have conquered the world.