our weekend in photos | marathons and mother's day

our weekend started on friday at heritage day at cha.  the kids create museums about the countries that they are from and give oral presentations to the class and parents.  and then we celebrate with food - always a fun thing.

sofia presented on mexico with a keynote complete with pictures, facts and an audio file of my dad saying hello to the class from his radio program, such a cool bonus.  he's done that for each of the kids for this project.

after lunch we got in the car with my parents and headed up to solvang.

my sister-in-law and friend from school.

we checked in to the hotel and went to the expo to get our packets.  the wind at this point was rough not a good omen for the race. then we joined the training group for dinner pizza, pasta and garlic bread.  and finally everyone headed to the rooms to get some rest.  wake up time was 4:45am.

all of my stuff ready to go.  a pre-race energy drink, gel for during the race and a recovery drink for after the race.  my breakfast was the alt bar.  magnets to put on my ankle that's been hurting lately.  and my bib, t-shirt and hat.  it's a lot of gear to remember.  in the end i forgot my sunglasses and flip flops but i would survive without them.

pictures of the group waiting for the bus.  we maintained a large group this year.  usually we start out big and only a few make it to the actual race.  but we had committed members this time.

at the starting line we were joined by the walkers - yes they walk/ran the 13.1 miles and they were awesome.

minutes before the start.  i was nervous, excited and ready to run.

the first five miles of this race, on this particular day were torture.  maybe it was the warmer weather or the stress of the last few months catching up to me.  but my legs did not want to move.  i felt every ache, i needed to use the potty (i didn't for the entire race because it would have cost me 20 minutes of waiting in line.) i struggled physically and emotionally. i thought many times - i will never do this again.  and then i reached the tough hill at mile 6. i climb the corkscrew, huffing and puffing, having to walk, ready for it to be over. i reach the top and as if it were the first time i had done this race, i was taken away by the view.  and just like that, a burst of energy (most likely from the gels) kicks in and i know i can do it.

so i ran.  for 7 more miles.  still not really loving it. still suffering. and still having doubts.  but determined to finish strong.

i turned into the final stretch and saw my parents and sofia cheering me on.  closer to the finish line i saw sergio and my teammates yelling out my name.  and i ran faster.  i crossed the finish line at 2:25, 13 minutes slower than my best time 3 years ago. it's disappointing to work so hard for 16 weeks only to have a "bad" run on race day.  honestly, once i crossed the finish line i let go of all of the negative feelings and i embraced the joy of finishing my fourth half marathon!

i got my medal and snacks, drank my recovery drink and met up with the group who were coming in. and then the pain started in my foot.  in compensating for one side of my ankle i put pressure on the other side and it was in pain.  i couldn't get my shoes off fast enough.  i was limping and uncomfortable.  i should have gone back to the room to ice and lay off it.  but instead we went wine tasting.

there was a music festival and wine tasting in the park.  we got wine glasses and bellied up to the bar, along with hundreds of other people. we tried reds, whites and beer.

and then i went back to the room to shower, ice my ankle and sleep.

the boys arrived in the afternoon and we went to dinner with some of the group at the cold spring tavern.  this is such a cool spot. it was an old stagecoach stop in the 1800's.

3 well behaved kids.

and one cold beer.

and chocolate cheesecake to celebrate his 12th birthday.

then off to bed for the night.

on sunday my ankle was in bad shape. i was icing, taking advil and using the biofreeze that came in our recovering pack.  it all helped, for a moment and then it hurt again.

so we went across the street for mother's day breakfast and met my family.

sitting outside, eating french toast and breakfast wraps, talking about our race experience.  getting to know debbie.  just enjoying this awesome town was a great way to celebrate mother's day.

 it was amazing seeing debbie cross the finish line.  she did awesome and i'm happy that she stuck with it and completed the race.  and maybe wants to do it again?

getting to spend time with my mom who i adore.  she is such a huge support for me.

and then it was time for the long car ride home.  feeling content.  feeling accomplished. feeling happy.  with my kids, my hubby and my medal. and a bag of ice.