Beginner bloggers yet superior sledders.

Yes, we both admit that setting up this blog was our first attempt at such a task!  Even though we would LIKE the blog to be pretty much perfect, that simply is not going to happen.  So, you get to deal with the aftermath of our amateur status on occasion over the next 71 days.  (Can you say "TOO SOON" ?)

If you scroll WAY down, well below this new post, below the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society logo, you'll notice a new sentence below it.  We just finally figured out how to make the link to the donation page link appear there after much consternation!  (And wasted time..)  Video and picture additions to follow...maybe.

As for the latter part of this blog title, we went sledding last weekend!  Of course, to sled DOWN, one must first climb UP.  Early on in this process we used my GPS to determine the elevations of the nearby hilltops.  The best option we have for walking uphill is not the most accessible:  Out Spur Road from Dick Ballard's place up to the base of the High Country Shelter trail.  The elevation gain is 740' or so.  This is shy of the 780' of the Columbia tower, but it is the best we can do here on Wrangell island!

So, we donned our turnout gear - minus the airpacks/masks at this stage - and began walking up, sleds in tow.  It took us about 25 minutes to get to the top.  We were thankful for the cool, fresh air on our faces that will NOT be present in the stairway during the race...ughhh.  (I think for me the heat will be the biggest challenge as opposed to the actual thigh burning of stepping up 1311 times.  Dee Dee might have a different opinion on that one...)

Then, the hilarity began.  I don't know why we both found it so, so funny to be sitting in little round plastic sleds with our fire helmets, jackets, pants, boots and gloves on zooming along the white covered roads!  There were tears of laughter, screams of joy, and pure and simple exhilaration.  I'm sure no one else would find it so funny.  Hopefully we can figure out how to attach a video to this post so you can see what Dee captured on her phone.

Of course, there have been other work outs that were less than what we hoped for.  I got on the stair climber at the gym last week with only jacket, pants and boots.  I got to the 50th flight and simply couldn't handle the heat and ripped my jacket off and threw it on the floor.  I finished the next 20 flights, but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.  Yesterday we headed out Spur walking a new route with NO turnouts and were "sucking wind" more so than we should be for this stage even after we were warmed up!  I wonder if it has anything to do with the recent (current?) lung infections we have both been dealing with?  (Excuses, excuses...)

Some good news from L.N. Curtis, the folks that sold the fire department the airpacks we will be wearing, came through this week.  We will NOT have to take the Survivair bottles with us from Wrangell to Seattle for the race! Our contact there told us we could borrow 4 bottles for the event, hence, our packing of gear will be SUBSTANTIALLY easier.

They are also checking into a smaller harness for me, as the standard one doesn't go small enough to accommodate my waist size.  As a result, I get a sharp pain between my shoulder blades because the hip belt part of the harness doesn't tighten any further.  I am carrying too much weight on my shoulders.  The "catch" is that for the race, we must wear official NFPA gear.  Something jury-rigged with duct tape won't cut it.  My other option is to add some padding to my hips so that I'm bigger around, allowing the belt to tighten sufficiently.  Not my first choice to solve the problem.  (Dee Dee's solution?  Have some children between now and March.  Tim's solution?  McDonalds. lol)

Thanks for tracking our progress and we'll get some photos/video up soon - hopefully!