The Half

July 12th, 6 a.m. -- the start of my first half marathon -- a little recap:

Let's start off with July 11th, packet pickup day. I parked on the outskirts of downtown (I'm still not driving downtown Missoula), pulled Cash's stroller out and got him all situated. Off we went. Clear downtown, searching and searching for this big 'pavilion' where I was to pick up my packet and Heather's. Hmmm....not seeing anything. I hate downtown Missoula. We stop in at Runner's Edge where I am informed that the pavilion is less than a block from where I parked. Perfect. Back we go. I get to the packet pickup area and am instantly in awe. This is HUGE! Here I thought I was just going to run with a few people around Missoula. Turns out there was over 2000 applicants between the full, half and relay. Wow! Now I'm nervous! I grabbed mine and Heather's packet (she wasn't able to run due to an injury....bum deal -- we're planning a Whitefish 1/2 marathon in Sept) -- that was the most expensive t-shirt I've ever bought. $65 entry fee, a few papers with other races, an 'around Missoula' magazine, a postcard and a t-shirt. Okay, maybe there were a few more things in there, but that's all I remember. Ouch. Is this really going to be worth it???

Cash and I hung out at home to make sure that I wasn't too tired to run 13.1 miles. I don't know that staying home made it that much easier, but I'm sure glad I did....minus the s'mores that I ate for my prerace meal. Oops. We really can't have that stuff in our house, I have no self control at all!

Race day:

3:50 am -- get up, start the coffee (praying it'll help get things moving before the race). Think about showering....throw that idea out, I'm running 13.1 miles....all I'm going to do is sweat more, what's the point of getting cleaned up just to do it again in a few hours? Throw a little water on my face and start drinking coffee. Make a protein shake and drink more coffee. Get a text from Heather saying she's not going to make it. Darn....I don't want to ride the bus by myself. I'm a baby. Grab my music player....thought I was charging it last night, turns out I just ran the battery down to next to nothing. Hell, how am I going to run with no tunes? Make a deal with myself: tunes for the last 2 miles to get excited about finishing and maybe help pick up the pace. Deal.

4:30 am -- get in the car and back out the driveway, maybe a little reluctantly. Am I really doing this? Nobody's even up, not even Rudy (the rooster). Ugh. Okay, I can do this. Turn on the radio and drink more coffee.....sing (loudly) to Blues Brothers "Minnie the Moocher". Getting pumped up now.

5:00 am -- pull into downtown, park the old car. Run into a god awful amount of people. Wow, this is REALLY huge! Walk past a guy that's passed out, head between his knees, hat sitting askew on his head, puddle of puke. Wow, could be worse....all I'm doing is running 13.1 miles. Get on the 1/2 marathon bus, now it's serious. I'm really going to the start line. Yikes!

5:30 am -- get off the bus, still praying for the coffee to kick in. Looks like I'm going to be running on a belly of coffee and some protein shake....and no pooping. Okay, maybe this is a bit much, but I was really stressed about this. Do you know how hard it is to run when you have to poop, especially if you have 2 miles before the next aid station?!? Chatted with some friends at the start....waited and waited for the race to start.

5:55 am -- made my way to the back of the line, where the slow people start....no joke. They never made that announcement, but they did ask the faster runners to go to the front and that only leaves one spot for the slow pokes!

6:00 am -- BOOM!!! The starting cannon goes off. I stand there.....a little longer.....a little longer....okay, let's walk a little. Hmmm....I always thought the start was going to be so much more exciting, but try getting 1400 people to move at 6 am and see what happens. I finally cross the starting line and I'm stuck. I can't do anything but run behind people. All I want is my own little section to run in. I finally pass a few people and take the edge of the road. Not too bad.

What a beautiful morning! The weather was just perfect, we ran along the river, over the 1 car bridge, through the city of Missoula. I loved it! I was running 13.1 miles when most people were still sleeping. I would be done before most people rolled out of bed.....before that guy with the puke puddle even came to from his night of boozing. Hard core.

Mile 1 -- This is easy. I wish this old lady would stop passing me, then walking, then I pass her, then she passes me and walks. Okay, if this keeps up the entire time I'm going to have to kick it in high gear and get around her. Do I have a 'high gear'?

Mile 2 -- Can't shake the old lady....focus on the beauty of the run. Waiting to see a moose, some deer....nothing. Oh well, saw an eagle and some mosquitos. Still amazingly beautiful.

Mile 3 -- Old lady is gone, run with a girl from Fargo, ND. Her and her husband ran the 1/2 in Fargo a few months ago. She said she was trying to run it in under 2 hours and 38 minutes. I'm keeping up....I can do this. She's gone within a minute. Okay, it'll take me a little longer!

Mile 4 -- Aid station somewhere in there. Really doing just fine, not feeling bad at all and my breathing is great. I love running!

Mile 5 -- Same old, same old. Still feeling good. Did I really just run 5 miles?!? Wow. I'm a professional! Ran next to a guy that looked like he was straight out of the military. Got sick of him too.....run slow, then speed past, then run slow. Am I just a rag when I'm running? Everything is frustrating me! Just let it go and run.

Mile 6/7 -- 'Running' next to a guy that's walking. Me: "You're a really fast walker or I'm a really slow runner!" Him: "It's New York, the average American walks 4 mph and the average New Yorker walks 4.5 mph". To myself: "I'm really slow!"...as he passes me.....walking. Have I hit my 'stride', if so, I'm going to have to work on that one.

Mile 8/9 -- Starting to get tired, trying not to pick up the guy's pace behind me. He's a 'shuffler' and all I can hear is his feet hitting the pavement. It takes all I have to concentrate on my own pace! Wish I hadn't run the battery out on my tunes....it was surprisingly nice to run without tunes and enjoy the sounds of the city and of 1400 people on the run. No tunes for me today, not even the last 2 miles. Get passed by the first marathon finisher....like I'm standing still. Amazing. Someday.....

Mile 9/10 -- Pass a guy that's looking rough, tell him he's doing great, we're almost there. He scoffs and says, "we still have 3 + miles". Okay, no more encouragement for him. Maybe he'll stop at the next aid station and hitch a ride back. I wouldn't feel bad. Way to bring a person down! 3 + miles. That's a long way. Not as long as 10 miles though. I RAN 10 miles! My goal was to run the entire thing and I'm not stopping now.

Mile 11 -- Are we there yet? This is a long way! Am I crazy to run like this? My knees and my foot hurt. Should've bought those new shoes when I said I was going to (bought them 2 weeks after the race, they feel good now!). Run through sprinklers, there's people sitting on the corners cheering us on, cops out stopping traffic. I'm a runner!

Mile 12 -- I hope the boys are at the finish line, this show is almost over. A guy passes me and tells the people on the sidewalk that he's ready for a beer. It's around 8:30. No....beer's not going to do it. I want corned beef hash with pancakes and a giant orange juice. I've gotta run faster, I'm starving!

Mile 13 -- I can hear the crowd cheering, the guy on the microphone, I can see balloons. Round the corner, coming up Higgins. Pass a guy with a giant cinnamon roll. Holy God! These people just got out of bed, I've been running for over 2 and 1/2 hours. I'm a runner! Coming over the bridge....where are my boys?!? There they are!!!! Yipee!! I think there were a few tears. I hear the guy call out my name, the crowd's cheering....for me? Run over and give Cash a high five, Brent yells some words of encouragement and I cross the finish line at 2 hours and 49 minutes. That took a LONG time! Doug's there too! Some lady hands me a bag and a water and directs me to the back of the finish area. The place is packed, everyone's full of smiles and congrats. I run into 2 girls I trained with, we hug and give big pats on the back. Watch a guy get wheelchaired out, sad....glad I could do this and still function afterwards. Get my time and it's time to go eat. I'm a runner.

When's the next one?

Post race:

We went to IHOP and ate an ungodly amount of food, then went to watch Tawni ride for another hour or so and headed home. Once we were home, Brent took over as dad of the year and watched Cash so that I could sit in the hot tub and get some much needed rest. Iced my knees.....a lot. I couldn't believe how sore I was! I figured I'd be sore, but my knees were really killing me! Now here I am, 2 weeks later. I went for a few mile run this morning (5 am) and felt okay, but questioned if I ever really finished that 1/2 marathon. I'm going straight home to hold my medal, just to prove it to myself. My knees are feeling better, my foot is still sore, but getting better every day. Next 1/2 marathon (only if my foot and knees are better) will be September 13th. I sure hope I can make it -- this is a lot more fun than I could've ever imagined! Happy trails!

**Click on the highlighted words for links to pictures of the race!

4th of July camping trip

I think I may say this in every post but -- this one's a little late, it's been busy around here -- :)

The 4th of July has come and gone this year with not one firework. We went up to Noxon reservoir with our friends Todd, Tracy, Amy and Randy. It was a great weekend with a little fishing, a little boating, some tanning and a few nights with great fires. The 4th we actually spent at camp sitting around the campfire and eating one too many s'mores. Is it just me or do those things get better as you get older? I know one thing: if there are leftover s'more makings it is best to send them home with someone else. I took on the task of eating 2 bags of marshmallows, 2 packages of graham crackers and 3 chocolate bars. Brent didn't even offer to help....strange! Oh, and Amy taught us that you can use chocolate covered graham cracker cookies and you eliminate some of the work. After taste testing the 'old way' vs. the 'new way' Brent and I both determined that the 'new way' actually produced a tastier s'more -- Cash can try it out next year!

Cash is such a great little camper! We put up the tent and set up his pack 'n play in it and the little guy slept like a rock. Not a peep! He caught his first fish (no pics, sorry)....I was reeling in a tiny one from the dock and Cash felt that it was the right moment to grab the pole, so that was his first fish -- or so the story goes. I see a lot more camping in our future!

As a matter of fact, we did a little camping this last weekend as well. We spent Friday through Sunday camping in Superior and watching softball. Brent was in a tournament all weekend so Cash and I hung out and did a lot of cheering, but mostly hung out in the kiddie pool. Cash had an absolute blast....even in the cold water! It was pretty warm out so I think it was a nice way to cool off for the little guy. Oh, and a Cash update: when he gets upset he'll start saying "dadadadda" -- working on his first word. I think it'll be Mommy! :) hahaha

I am putting up a slideshow of the past few weeks just to cut down on the whole uploading of one picture at a time. There's a few pics of Cash's first 4-wheeler ride, a nice tall buck in our front yard, some Superior softball and a few from the 4th.

Keep watching....one of these days I'll put up some pics from the 1/2 marathon (July 12) and review each step with ya! It'll be fun....probably about as fun as running 13.1 miles all at once. I know this may sound a tiny bit sick, but it was actually FUN!

We're Chicken Farmers!

Last year, or maybe it's been longer now....either way....I convinced Brent that we should take 7 chickens from a coworker that was getting rid of them and their little coop. So, we spent about 3 hours chasing chickens around a HUGE chicken coop. I am actually surprised that some of them lived after being pounced on! They made our place a home....a few died....a few were added and we are now the proud owners of 6 hens and 1 rooster (Rudy). Just a few weeks ago we added 5 little chicks to our little family. They are the cutest! I can't believe how fast they've grown! They're not half as cute now, but we still love 'em.

Play ball!

Most of our weekends are spent at the softball fields in Missoula during the summer....oh, and our Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Last year I would've included Fridays in there, but the co rec team plays a bit too late for Cash. He loves going to the ball fields -- I think it's all the girlie attention that he gets. A face only a mother could love....poor little homely kid....not once have I gone to a game where someone didn't scream "Cash!!!" and run over to give him extra lovin'.

This past weekend (after being too rattled to drive home post Missoula driving) Brent played in a 35 and over tournament (yep, it's official, he's playing 35 and older.....it happens to everyone!) and Cash and I went down to do some cheering. Turns out, it's not only the girls that love the little guy, most of the guys on Brent's team offered or asked to hold Cash. I couldn't believe it! Of course, this is the girl that held only one baby before Cash was born....I think Wyatt was pushing 9 months the first time I held him or saw him. I would've never asked to hold someone's baby. I couldn't believe that someone, especially a man, would be so comfortable with baby time.

A picture of our buddy Joe -- their team had a game in the early morning and then had to sit and wait until late afternoon to play, so he came over to cheer our boys on!

Oh, I forgot to mention -- Brent's team took 1st place! Champions! A shirt for everyone.