Racing around.

Holy crap, what a weekend!

After working 14 hours without a break on Friday and crawling into bed a bit before 3am, I can safely say that even though work went really smoothly and I actually had a lot of fun, that I had a nasty work hangover when Lars so gently woke me up relatively early Saturday morning. "Are you ready to leave in about an hour or should we take a later train?" I rallied: got dressed, packed, ate breakfast that Lars so sweetly made for me in time to hop on the 10:07 train to Oslo.

We got picked up by Øivind (long time friend of Lars') about an hour and a half later, drove to the apartment he shares with Kari (who is adorably pregnant with his son), and headed out into the streets of Oslo to enjoy the weather and find a tasty tidbit to eat. We chose a cafe near their place and secured a table outside. A chicken salad and a chicken wrap later, Lars and I were ready to run our little hearts out. We walked down to the park where we were supposed to meet the other members of our relay team and relaxed and lounged around in the sun discussed strategy and tactics until it was time to make our way to our starting destinations.

There were people everywhere! The relay has 15 legs and there were over 3,000 teams! So I can guarantee that I have never seen so many pairs of running shoes or that many legs in spandex before in my life! Holmenkollstaffeten (Holmenkoll Relay) is indeed the biggest relay race in the world! And Lars and I are proud to have been a part of it. If you can speak Norwegian, or are up for some visual stimulation, check out this video of all the different legs.

Personally, we both did well. Not super, but well. Lars ran 1.7k around corners and curves and up and down hills. I ran 1.1k around corner and up and down hill. Among our peers (business teams with mostly male runners), our efforts contributed to an outstanding 602nd place of 910 teams. We were 20:43 behind the team that took 1st place. All in all, not too shabby. But absolutely not spectacular either. It was, for quite possibly the first time in my life, the first time I was satisfied with just participating. Check out some of our fans:

Familiar faces, right? ;) Lars's parents made the drive down from Tynset and met Stine and Lars' aunt and uncle who live in Oslo to come out and cheer for us!

The race was a great experience, but what came after was possibly even better: dinner grill party with Øivind, Kari and friends. First of all, Kari and Øivind are great hosts, they have a sweet apartment, and it was no stress-no fuss being their guests. We enjoyed a great evening with good people and good food. Mmmm...shishkebab!

Did I mention Kari was absolutely adorable with an apron over her pregnant belly?

Sunday we stopped in to visit Lars' uncle and aunt at their new apartment before catching a ride home with his parents. We made it home, threw together a macaroni salad and made our way to one of my bosses' houses for another grill party! I think Lars and I were both pretty exhausted so we didn't really get to enjoy the party 100%, but we did get to enjoy some good food!

Whew. I am glad I don't have to work today. I am pooped.