The Wildwood Trail Run

This year I spent my Labor Day morning at the Wildwood Trail Run 10K. I had not planned at all to run this race...at least not until Sunday evening when my running buddy Maria announced to me that she was going to run it. Now mind you...typically I just say "hey great--good luck to you!" when a friend tells me they are running a race the very next day. But this was Maria...

• Maria who got me back into running to begin with 3 years ago...
• Maria who convinced me to train for and run my first marathon last year...
• Maria who FRACTURED HER FEMUR while training for that marathon and thus left me running the marathon alone last fall...
• Maria who has had 2 surgeries and 3 giant screws put into her femur (the last surgery being a mere 12 weeks ago)...
• Maria who was going to go run her first run of any sort in the last 13 months...

And I was not about to go and let her do it WITHOUT me!

(Maria and I before starting the race...Maria on the left and I'm guessing if you are reading this blog you know which one I am)

So off we went to the Wildwood Trail Run, Labor Day 2009. Our first run together in 13 months and wouldn't you know it...that chick ran the WHOLE DOGGONE THING! In fact, had it not been a single-file wooded trail that kept her stuck behind me (I was playing the role of "pacer" to keep her from running too fast) she probably would have run it faster than she did!

So, hats off to Maria in her return to running! That darn girl has already got me signing up for my next marathon...June 2010!

Home Alone

My children's eyes rolled to the backs of their heads as I sang one of the little songs my mom taught me as a kid (with a few words edited to my benefit)...

Today is a wonderful day!
For you are going away!
Not to the circus, not to the pool...
Can't you guess you are going to school!

Okay, don't get me wrong...I love my kiddos! Very much so! And we've had a wonderful summer:

• Great vacations (Sunriver, trips to Idaho, out to the beach, Terry to Europe, etc)
• Zach's fantastic baseball season
  
• Swimming at some different pools
• Enjoying the new trampoline Doug the pediatrician convinced me to finally put up
  
• Playing in the neighborhood--my water bill has covered enough sprinkler parties to keep all neighborhood kids soaked for the past 2 months and my food bill has provided enough popsicles to keep the same set of kids wired for those same two months

(Trevian, Zach and Trevian posing for the traditional first day of school photo--each holding up the number of fingers for what grade they are in. Yes--Zach really is 3 grades ahead of Trevian!)

But alas, it is time for school to start again. My oldest started middle school today and my youngest started first grade. So today I am HOME ALONE! ALL DAY! Trevian told me last night she knows how sad I will be to eat lunch alone today and how lonely I will be without her home with me. She was so excited though to get to have lunch at school and have TWO recesses instead of just one (like in kindergarten).

Zach is now the "responsible" Leonard family member at Cooper Mountain Elementary. He's our 4th grader this year! It's his job to lead the way to and from school each day (we live next door to the school so walking takes about 90 seconds). But nonetheless, he is to look out for Trevian and get her safely there and back each day. But he's ready to rise to the challenge! :)

And Terry is thrilled to be in Red Hall at Highland Park...at least probably until after school today when he gets home and has homework to do. Oh, and the return of the school-year video game playing time rules will be a rude awakening for all of them.

So summer is officially over...there's actually that fall "nip" in the air on a beautiful day...the kids are all excited about their new experiences at school...and my house has stayed clean for more than 20 minutes...Today IS a wonderful day! :)

Hood to Coast 2009

Hood to Coast** 2009 is in the books and it was our funnest year yet! Okay, I only say that because quite honestly, I kicked butt this year! First year I was sick and spent too much time scouting out honeybuckets. Second year was good but I was more worried about my marathon training so I didn't focus much on H2C. But this was MY year!!!! :)

(Doug and I at the starting line, the view up to the top of Mt Hood from Timberline Lodge)

Weather was perfect this year...high 70s, low 80s. So it poured rain on me on my 3rd leg...it felt great! And we're hardly hard-core H2C'ers. We firmly believe that all van-mates are entitled to a REAL shower after each leg and a place to catch a few zzz's during the night that doesn't involve a tarp, fairground fields and 10,000 other people! (thanks to our sponsors this year...Kevin, Shelbe, and Jake for use of your homes for each of our showers/naps)

2009 Team Name: Team Carebear (yeah, we didn't pick it). Teammates included "I Don't Care Bear," "Chafe Bear," "Shut Up and Run Bear," "Why am I doing this againBear?" etc. Actually, our great van mates included Heather, Doug, Ryan (Doug's brother), Kevin (my brother's father-in-law, who filled in last minute and did AWESOME), Kristan, and April (friends). And we had a ball...who wouldn't with 197 miles to cover, Miley Cyrus's "Party In the USA" as theme music (yes--I confess, it is a favorite running song of mine now), only 90 minutes of sleep, and a cowbell to ring out your window the WHOLE WAY!!!!

We saw stellar performances this year from Ryan and Doug who stepped up (or down) and covered legs 1 and 2 for us...dropping 3500 feet in elevation over their combined 11 miles, Kevin for running through the rainstorm and the wee hours of the morning, Kristan (who found a new level of "hard" in her racing experience but still conquered her first H2C in great time), April for giving up her bike for the weekend and trading out for her sneakers (she cruised right through it), and Heather for running the FASTEST 5.67 miles she has ever run as she found herself smack dab in the middle of a stolen car scene at midnight complete with 4 cop cars, large firearms, and people being cuffed and hauled away (I've never run so fast and I have never wished so much that I wasn't sporting a reflective vest, flashing light and headlamp in the dark of night---I wasn't slowing down until I was out of possible gunfire range!!!!)

(Doug's final leg...finished...6 miles with a climb of a few hundred feet in elevation followed by a fast 1/2 mile downhill)

(Heather's Rocky Balboa moment as I finish my final leg and click the "EASY" button! 3.6 miles of uphill, climbing 600+ feet followed by another 2.5 miles downhill...they post Prefontaine quotes along the climb just to keep you inspired until the end. Toilet paper finish line at the crest of the mountain courtesy of Doug)

Doug told me he was retiring after this year, but of course he said BEFORE we ran. He's ready to commit for round 4. Anyone want to run with us? We've got 4 seats in Van 1 up for grabs! :)

**For those of you unfamiliar with H2C, it's 197-mile relay held every August. It starts at Timberline Lodge on top of Mt Hood and ends on the beach at Seaside, Oregon. It was the first relay of it's sort and there are 1,000 running teams (plus some walking teams and high school teams) for about 20,000 participants. There are 12 people on a team, divided into two "vans" (or SUVs). Each person runs 3 legs of the 36-leg course, varying in distance from 3.5 - 7.5 miles in length for a total of 13-19 miles each over the 24-30 hours it takes a team to finish. It's crazy, but so much fun...197-mile-long party!!!