RIDGELAND TRAILS

We took the kids to a new-to-us mountain bike park this morning (one of Sophie's finds) so that they could play and I could run some trails (gotta start prepping for that trail 50K...)

The kids had a great time on the pump track, with the big boys alternating between their Striders and pedal bikes. Cora and Will were just as awesome, and even little Leo went round and round and round! There was also some dirt digging with trucks, of course. After a while, the guys took the big kids out on the real trail (while us girls were running) and they were equally as successful.

We did the 5.5-mile trail, taking it easy and just enjoying the ability to run like kids in the woods, watching our foot falls and not worrying about form. It was a much better recovery run than my slog around the track on Wednesday! We spotted a skull on a post at one of the intersections, so I kissed it of course. Our family loves stoneheads.

We also spotted "caves" along the trail. Too bad it's so far out there, I bet the kids would love to explore them!

So, since video upload seems to be working for me tonight, here are a couple of the kids at the pump track. Don't be too concerned about Cora in that second video. They were playing a game where Jay was the monster, attacking the kids and tackling them to the ground off their bikes. Cora and James loved this and couldn't get enough. Will, on the other hand, high-tailed it off the track and told Jay "I don't like you". Totally cracked me up - all kids are honest, but I swear Will is the most honest of them all!

UPGRADE!

Jay used his birthday and Christmas money this year to get a pair of picnic kegs, an old freezer (to use as a kegerator), a giant brew pot, a fancy burner for outside, a cooler to convert into a mashtun, and various other brewing items that I know nothing about. What this means for me is that 1) my kitchen now remains clean on brew days (a very big deal indeed!) and 2) we can store many more varieties of beer in the fridge at a time for our drinking enjoyment. Hooray!

BIG BOY BIKER

James learned how to ride his bike this week, doing it solo for the first time yesterday afternoon while I was at Chill in the Hills registration. At bedtime I talked to him about it and he told me that Manu taught him how to do it, by using his big bike just like his Strider, walking it with his feet (OK, his tip-toes), then pushing off and grabbing the pedals to get moving. I think it's awesome that a little help from Jay and I on Sunday, then Sophie at the track on Wednesday, and Manu at the park on Friday, and he's got it. I asked him if he would show me how he does it and he proudly said "Yes!" (We've been careful to encourage him, and stand firm about not putting the training wheels back on, but to also not push him, stop whenever he'd had enough, and just let him take his own time to learn. Turns out a week was all he needed!) So after a lovely nap (I convinced both kids to lay with me, to ensure that they actually went to sleep so I could - I'm still catching up on sleep from last Friday, and I think my body is craving extra rest after the race), we suited up and went outside to ride. I grabbed my phone and set it to record video, and James just grabbed his bike and took off. I was so excited that I screamed and squealed and clapped my hands all while cheering and dancing. The look on his face was priceless - he was not only proud of himself, but thrilled that his mama was so dang happy about it! Though I'll admit, as awesome as it is that he is now a big boy riding a real bike all by himself, he's a BIG BOY RIDING A REAL BIKE ALL BY HIMSELF. When did he grow up?...

CHILL IN THE HILLS 2014

Jay and I ran Chill in the Hills last year, but since he's just now getting back into running (today, with the 1-mile fun run!) and I ran the marathon last weekend, I decided to volunteer instead at this year's event. It was a great experience to give back after running so many races last year, and really fun to meet so many locals and then subsequently know their names as I cheered for them from the sidelines! 

Eric, 44:55

Francine, 54:03

Mack, 54:48 (you guys, that is over 3 minutes faster than I ran this event last year, and he is 69 - don't think I won't be using Mack as my mantra during speedwork this spring as motivation, and now you know why I train with the RWOP group - they're fast!)

Terry, 55:44

JP and Lee, 1:02:14 and 59:58

Sophie (who also volunteered rather than race) and Beth (who is the high school's cross country and track coach and a Boston Qualifying marathoner, but who was injured for today's race) taking care of Michelle's (Tom's wife, the fast Brit who organized ERDC's Turkey Trot this year and placed 5th overall at The Blues!) girls while she raced

Kristy coming in to the finish (I missed getting her photo earlier in the race), 44:14 for the overall female win!

 The kids both wanted to do the Fun Run, so I registered them last night at the last minute. Cora told me we were to wear our "racing skirts", of course.

 It was truly a "chill" in the hills this year (unlike last year), so we were all bundled up. Especially the kids.

 James ran with his daddy, but kept coming back to wait on Cora and I. And to play on the side of the road. And to dance around and talk to strangers. We had to explain to him later, when he was upset not to have won an award, that there are lots of fast kids and that if he wants to place in his age group, he has to try his best and not goof off. He had fun, but was definitely bummed not to get a chili bowl.

 Cora held my hand and ran for the first half, then I piggy-back carried her for a quarter mile (not good for my sore legs!), then she ran the last quarter mile between Lee and I. And then switched to holding her daddy's hand for the final sprint. Pretty sure we won't sign her up for the next Fun Run, but we'll see. She needs to understand that to pay for a race registration, you have to complete the race on your own two feet. She's fast, but I think a mile is still just too long for her.

Regardless, both kids were thrilled that everyone got a medal at the end of the fun run. James said "Ooh, Daddy look at my mile! I won!"

14:10 and 14:11 for their miles, respectively (you all know James can go faster than that, since his Over the River Run mile was 11:40 - he was definitely not in race mode today, and that's OK)

 Post race tree-climbing while watching the awards ceremony.

 Cora with her award (a giant chili bowl). She won first in her age group, because she was the only girl in her age group! Hey, a win is a win :-)

 And perhaps my favorite photo of the morning? Me cheering on the running bacon (the second running bacon I've seen this week, since there was one at The Blues as well).

P.S. That bacon was fast! She ran the 10K in just under 49:00 in that getup! Maybe I need a bacon suit for my next race...

TWINS

Cora and Bitty Baby got a set of matching pajamas for Christmas (and a set of matching ballet outfits as well, though they haven't tried those on yet). We couldn't resist...

BLUES MARATHON PHOTOS

First, some interesting people we met during our race: 1000 Marathons Larry (who has set the record for the most official marathons run in a single year multiple times over) and Marathon Man (who was attempting to beat Larry). We saw Larry during the first mile, cheered him on, and patted him on the shoulder. We caught up to Marathon Man around mile 15 and played leapfrog with him for a couple miles before pushing on ahead of him. I'd love to see the photo he took of us the second time we passed him after we crested a particularly steep hill. Maybe if I keep checking his Facebook page... (Fun fact: Jay and I saw Marathon Man at RNR NOLA last year, the year he attempted to beat Larry's record.)

 Christina and I are semi-famous -- we're on the front page of the Mississippi Blues Marathon website, flashing this photo in their collage. (Sophie was right there behind Christina, you just can't see her because she's so itty bitty!)

 

Similar photos were taken at this exact location by one of our local running groups, Rod's Racers (and you can see Sophie in these ones!):

Hi there camera. I'm having so much fun at mile 3!

Now on to the professional race photos... Being my first marathon, and having dressed so dang cute and coordinating with my buddies, I had to purchase at least one (the big finish scream!), and then screen captured the rest to record here.

We spotted the photographer and grabbed hands...

...then Sophie told the cameraman that we were going to jump on 3 (guess he didn't wait!)

Still loving life at this point. (That would be around mile 4.)

Giving my family quick kisses on the way to the finish line (they didn't capture James or Jay)

 And now for the big finish!

(I jumped over the line with the last little bit of energy I had left...)

 

P.S. I just registered for my next marathon. I'll be returning to Fort Benning to run the full at the Soldier Marathon next November! The half was such an amazing race in all aspects that I have high hopes for an awesome marathon finish there. In the meantime, I'll be ramping my mileage back up after my zero week for a 50K in March, then taking my mileage down a significant notch over the spring and early summer to concentrate on speedwork and strength training. I won't start marathon training again until July, so it should be a nice little break. Of course, I do plan to run the Mt. Ashland HillClimb in early August if I can score a registration, so my early weeks of marathon training will focus on that race if I can get in. All I know right now is that as much as I'm loving being a long distance runner, I need to increase my speed sooner than later so that I don't have to be on my feet as long during these events!

PRACTICE BUN

We signed Cora up for dance this semester and she starts on Tuesday! We decided we should practice a "ballet bun" after bath tonight. Cute as can be!

 (Though even a precious bun can't hide the crazy in her for too long...)

FRESH BREATH!

Anyone who knows Jude, knows she has the worst breath of any cat ever. EVER. Well, it had gotten worse over the past few months, and particularly bad over the holidays. While Grambot was visiting, she got sick with a cold and stopped eating, so we took her to the vet for an antibiotic shot. Since she had to get well before they could put her under for a teeth cleaning, we had to wait a few days (and watch her pitifully try to breathe and refuse to eat anything other than a little cream here and there). On Monday we took her in bright and early, and by the time we got off work she was ready to come home. Within a day she was back to acting normal and eating normal again. Hooray! They had to pull a rotten tooth in addition to the cleaning, so we know she's feeling tons better and we're so glad she is. (Not to mention we can now kiss her head without recoiling in disgust...)

LET IT GO

YOU'RE A SUPERHERO TOO

Cora said "Batman, we have a problem. There's a bad guy in my house and everything and we don't have anything!" James replies "Well, you're a superhero too, you take care of it!"