Race Day

Here are a couple of shots taken right after I finished. I'm impressed I'm kneeling down in the second shot and I was actually able to stand back up after! I should have some pictures that were taken during the race later and I'll post them. We obviously didn't carry a camera so we have to wait until the professional shots taken are available.

Race Day
We woke up about 4:30am and started getting ready. I had to put nipple guards on Jake. Yes folks, when you are sweaty and running for a long time your shirt rubs against your nipples and can actually become bloody! Then we both applied "sports shield" to all of our friction prone areas....inner thighs, under arms, feet etc. It was quite romantic. Once we had our bib numbers pinned on, iPods in place, running watches on and shoes double tied we headed out. Once we got there we had to go pick up our "champion chips." These are little sensors that register your start, mid-way and finish time. We clipped them to our shoes and headed for the start line. After a short send off presentation we were off, all 1500 of us.
Cheryl and I had decided to walk the first few miles to pace ourselves. It was really hard not to run because there was so much energy floating around, but we stuck to our plan and watched about 1000 people pass us by. The course took us north just over 6 miles to a turnaround point. From there we head back to the starting point to finish while the full marathon runners head south to another turnaround point then back to the same finish line. Just pass mile 3 we see someone running towards us. Yes, can you believe it was the front runner already headed back from the turn around point. We didn't feel so bad when miles passed before we saw Walter and Jake and at one point they were only 20-25 minutes ahead of us. Somewhere around mile 10 we were starting to hurt and it was getting hot. Overall though we felt good. At around 12.5 miles we see Ann-Marie and Jake as I was listening to the last two songs on my playlist, Eye of the Tiger and the Rocky theme song. As we round the corner to the finish line we picked up our pace and the crowd was great, cheering us on. About 30 feet from the finish line Cheryl grabs my arm and we sprint across the finish line. It was really an awesome moment.

13.1 Miles

Details and pictures later.....

Jake's time: 2 hours 25 minutes
My time: 3 hours 18 minutes

4 Year Old Hair Cut

I got several inches cut off of my hair yesterday. This morning I'm walking through the living room where we have a picture of Jake and I when we were four, I take a double take, I have the exact same hair cut as when I was four. I grabbed Jake to show him. Laughing, he grabs the camera and snaps this shot. I'm strangely happy that I resemble the four year old me.

The half-marathon is tomorrow! Gotta go eat some energy food and go to bed. Check back tomorrow to see how I did.

ABCD..............

Yeah, I know it's sideways and can't figure out why. Still cute, though.

Finally Getting To It

I was inspired by us finally doing something with the upstairs hallway, that I got the motivation to take on my lack of curtains in the house. We painted every wall before we moved in so the curtains the previous owners left behind just didn't match so we took it all down and it has remained that way for a year and a half. We did hang some curtains in the living room a while back, but window coverings are my decorating weakness so it was easier to do nothing...and I did it well.

I finally made a decision on the dining room and with moms help this is what it looks like now.

Next week I tackle the boys rooms! Here's to progress.

Normallcy Returns

What I thought was allergies or just a little case of the sniffles turned into a cold that has kicked my butt for 5 days. Each day I thought I felt better, but it wasn't until yesterday that I began to feel good again.

Cheryl and I had scheduled our last run together before the marathon which is in just 11 days. I was determined to make it. I aimed for distance since I was on the rebound and we walked our 6 miles. The course is such a scenic, quite trail and it was really nice to walk and chat. When we run we don't usually talk since iPods are in our ears and we're trying to ignore the huff and puff of our own breathing.

I haven't posted my weekly running entries simply because there hasn't been much to report. I've really enjoyed my short runs (2-3 miles), but the long ones bore me. The great thing about this training is that I am exercising consistently which has never been a strength of mine and intend on keeping that up.

Pictures

Our first cool morning. The boys got to dress in long pants and shirts. I took this picture just as we were leaving for school.

Me and little Cooper. I hadn't seen him since the day after he was born.....shameful! He is such a good baby!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Jennifer and I back in 1993 on my first visit to see her since moving to Florida in 1988. Those are not real sheep. In fact, I remember it was just the two of us that day so we must have propped the camera up on the back of one the stone sheep to capture this picture. Happy 35th Jen!

My Pants Are Falling Down

I've always wondered...is it just me or do low rise jeans/pants scoot down the hips and butt of every woman? Every time I stand up from sitting or stand up from bending over I always have to adjust my pants. They slip down under that little patch of fat at my sides. Is this normal? I never seem to notice anyone else making this adjustment. I love the look of low-rise, but I'm sick of pulling my pants up. The other day I threw a belt on and that really helped. The only thing I didn't like was the little pooch the buckle creates under your shirt. Am I alone in this or is this happening to everyone?

Trick or Treat

The kids had fun trick or treating. Nathan's been sick so we kept it simple and went to a dozen or so houses on our street. I can't believe the kind of candy my neighbors give out...full size candy bars, goody bags like you get at a party and loads of chocolate. I stepped it up a bit this year and handed out M&M's and little packs of play-doh, but it still didn't quite measure up.

Nathan followed his love of everything space and dressed at an astronaut. Reese wanted to go as Diego and lived in his costume all week only to change his mind in the minutes before trick or treating and put Nathan's Power Ranger costume from last year on. He's wearing a t-shirt, shorts and two pair of underwear on underneath...he obviously dressed himself.

Nathan handing out candy to the girls from across the street.

Reese had a hard time with portion control. If he was given the choice to serve himself he grabbed candy after candy until we put the brakes on his greediness. We had to prep him before each house, "Just one candy, Reese."

Happy Halloween!