The Big Race

Last weekend, Jeff and his friend Bryan participated in an adventure race. They trained for this race for about three months which was not easy on any of us. Jeff would often run or bike after work which ended up screwing up trying to eat dinner together because the kids would get hungry and I'd have to feed them. He also spent weekend mornings both biking and running which took away from family time. But, since I am a supportive wife, I did not complain too much (Jeff may think otherwise). Anyway, they ended up having a great time and it was a great way for Jeff to get in shape. Instead of writing my own article about the race, since I was not in attendance, here is what his friend Bryan wrote:

Saturday, April 12 team Rogue Onion joined over 80 racers to run 4 miles, bike 8 miles, hang on a 200 foot zip line while confronting special challenges and find 11 checkpoints along the way. All the while, Mother Nature did her best to throw her own obstacles into the event: mud, muck, alligators, mid 80 temperatures, and not a breeze in sight. The race was run through the swamps and canals and barren lands around Torrey Island in Lake Okeechobee. One of the last challenges involved swimming to an island and retrieving a plant life sample. When Team Rogue Onion hit the water, there were 3 gators hanging out. Luckily the gators did little more than become curious with all the activity in their pond.

Team Rogue Onion (the name is attributed to Jeff’s inability to eat hot pizza with onions without scarring his face) came in a respectable 6th in their division(beginner team wannabes).

Now, for some pictures from the race. This is pre-race when they are nice and clean:

This is Jeff during the race reflecting on how wonderful his wife is for taking care of two little kids while he trained for the race, even after spending the entire day with them, she was patient enough to watch them and play with them while he was off training. Even when the kids were fussy and sick, she was home taking care of them. Even when she was fighting illness herself, she was home taking care of them. And she still managed to prepare dinner for everyone, even if it meant preparing up to four different meals per night. What a truly wonderful wife he has.

And this is a picture of Jeff's legs after the race, completely covered in mud.

Team Rogue Onion enjoyed it so much that they plan on doing the next race in July. Yes, another three months of training. I told Jeff he has to train in the morning before work this time. I know, that's funny, the boy can barely get up for work. At least I get to join in on the biking this time. We'll see how that works out.