Grandma's Marathon

When my alarm clock went off at 3:45am,  I looked at it and thought,"oh crap, I have to run a marathon today."  I struggled with my training because of an injury, the heat, and my busy schedule.  I was hoping to at least stay under a five hour finish time, which would have been 30 minutes more than my previous marathon. Even though i had resigned myself with not achieving a better time, I did get up and ready by 4am. Nick taped an awesome sign to the door to wish us well. It took us an hour and a half to get to Duluth. We saw about 20 deer on the way. A few times, Alycia had to stop the van and wait for them to pass. Once in Duluth, we took the train to the start line. It took about an hour, but it was warm and we got to sit as apposed to riding the bus for 30 minutes and then standing around for an hour. The weather was perfect for the race at the start. It was in the low 50s and overcast. Alycia and I didn't plan on running together, but we started at the 4:00 pace group. I wished her well as she sped off and I stayed just under 10 minute miles. I was feeling really good and found a nice grandma to run with at about mile 8. I had to push myself some to keep up with her and managed to stay with her until mile 19. At that point the marathon got really hard and I had to slow down. When I hit mile 20 and realized my time, I knew that if I pushed through I could set a new personal record. I kept thinking of a t-shirt worn by another runner that said,"Pain in temporary but pride last forever."  Even though I wanted to walk, I wanted to be proud of my time. I crossed the finish line at 4 hours and 26 minutes, which was four minutes faster than my last marathon.

I met Nick and the kids at the family meeting spot, but it took Nick an hour to find Alycia because she went back to the start to see me finish thinking I would be there much later than I actually was. She finished at 3:55, which is incredible. The weather was great for running, but not for watching or waiting. We were freezing in the rain and so relieved when Nick found Alycia. 

We all met at Culvers for lunch and custard on the way home. The kids were such troopers watching us in the rain. Renee asked it I could run my next race where it is warm:). The rest of the evening Alycia and I sat on the couch and watched TV. We are really sore and I don't think I am going to be able to move tomorrow. 

Cable, WI via Duluth, MN

Tiffany Moses made us a yummy breakfast with real mapel syrup that she got from a maple farm. Then we were off to Duluth, MN to pick up Alycia and my race packets. It wasn't even 50 degrees there. Renee asked if I could see her breath. The kids loved the race expo with all the free stuff that is handed out. We now have plenty of towels and cow bells. It took about an hour and a half to get to the Nelson's lake house in Cabel, WI. It is in the middle of no where and the GPS had me off on dirt roads at one point, but we eventually made it here. After dinner we took a tour of the lake on the pontoon  boat. It is in the 60s here so we were decked out in pants and sweatshirts. Now I am in bed early trying to get to sleep next to a room full of giggling kids. I can't believe the marathon is tomorrow.

Driving to Minnesota

Day two of the trip was an eleven hour drive to Minnesota , caravanning with the Nelsons. We were up at 5:30 and on the road by 6:30. After the first leg of the trip we divided into the cars by gender. Nick had all four boys and Alycia and I only had Syd and Renee. Besides Renee constantly putting her feet on my headrest, I think we got the better deal. Besides gas stops and lunch at Wendy's, we just drove and drove. There is surprisingly little between Oklahoma and Minnesota, just field after field.

I stopped north of Minneapolis to stay the night with Tiffany and Jason Moses. They lived near us in Frisco and now they live in Minnesota. The kids are having a great time together playing. They have a six year old, blonde, Carter too. 

Summer Vacation Begins

We have been working non stop on our house for a month getting it ready to sell. It is almost ready but Sam will need to finish the rest because I am running a marathon on Saturday. We packed, worked a little more on the house, and got out the door to drive to Stillwater by 4pm. The kids are always so thrilled to see their cousins and they stayed up super late with all four boys in one room. Before bed, Carter entertained himself by playing soccer. He was using a basketball, while wearing night vision goggles and a fishing vest. He cracks me up.

Lesson Planning

I really love my new job as an elementary art teacher.  It certainly is keeping me busy but it is really fun.

I Voted

Packed Full of Fun

The Nelsons attended Carter's soccer game and Gavin's football game with us. Carter is getting a little more aggressive.  We also went to the Crawford Farms Fall festival.  We ate a lot of cotton candy, pet some animals, and the kids got to ride in a barrel train.  Gavin's football game was at Central High School's practice field.  Alycia fell asleep in the stands and got a sunburn.  The Scorpions won again!

Nelson Weekend

Alycia and her kids came down for the weekend.  We went to the IMAX theater at the science museum while they were here.  It is always fun to have them back in town.

Chihuly at the Arboretum

There was a Chihuly exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum along with their Pumpkin Village.  We spent a lovely Sunday afternoon taking pictures of the kids with the pumpkins and the glass.