twenty-six • point • two

Don't worry . . . that smile wasn't on my face post race.



The picture above is us standing in line to get on the shuttle buses that took you to the starting line. There were multiple lines and ours was SIX blocks long. We didn't get to the starting line until 10 minutes after the gun went off. ANNOYING.

The course was HILLY. Especially miles 15-20 and 25-26. When you've run that far going downhill hurts as much as going up. I was craving the flatlands of Phoenix. I wasn't craving the Phoenix heat though. The weather in Seattle that day was PERFECT.

We finished in 3:57. I was hoping to run faster.

Interesting facts - 68% of the runners were female, there were 21,000+ finishers and about 30% of those did the full marathon.

Dave hurt his knee two weeks prior to the race (he fell and sliced it open on a rock when we were camping). He wasn't even sure he was going to be able to run the entire race. He planned on running the half-marathon for sure, and if he felt good he would finish the race with me. Turned out he was able to run the entire race. It was a blessing for me because he ran right along side me encouraging me through the hills. It was disappointing for him not to run at his pace after so much training, but we have the St. George marathon coming up in October, so he's looking forward to that. Speaking of that, I'm not sure if I'm going to run any more marathons after this. Heck, I'm not even sure at this point if I'm going to run St. George. There is so much time that goes into training, and I need to make sure that I can mentally commit! Not to mention the pain . . . I wish that St. George had a half-marathon option and I would just do that! At this point a thirteen mile race sounds like a breeze!

Oh, and funny thing. After the race we had to walk TWO miles back to our car. It was pretty brutal. I was so tired and just wanted to sit down. Every joint in my lower body was aching!

We spent the rest of our vacation visiting with old friends and limping around the city. We went to our favorite resturants (Lola still tops the list), saw a movie, went to the market, took lots of naps, etc. Here are a few pictures from our trip. We weren't great about getting our camera out, so this is all we've got!







Big thanks to my parents for watching the kiddos. When we left Lily had just started antibiotics for an ear infection and Cannon got sick while we were gone, but my parents never complained. They took the kids to do lots of fun things! Poor Cannon is still sick - hopefully he gets better soon. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting Dave and I get away.

What a great way to celebrate FIVE years together.

We've been missing . . .

(my sis-in-law Kristi sent me a link to these posters, how cool are these?)

Which is why we decided to do this:

(Click to link to the Rock'n'Roll website)

No kids. 5 days in Seattle. Seeing old friends. Enjoying old restaurants. LOTS of running to LOTS of bands.

Yeah!!

Why isn't my life this simple? Watching Lily in a sandbox reminds me to be grateful for the little things in life . . . like activities that keep my child entertained for more than 3 minutes.

Hoppy Easter

Lily's first Easter was a good one. She spent it with her cousins, Jack and Gracie. We promised the kids that if they were good at church on Sunday that the Easter Bunny would come to our house and visit them, and she did . . .

Lily's nanny loves Easter and dresses up as the Easter Bunny every year and goes and visits all the little kids that she knows, so she was nice enough to come over and visit our house!!

Lily wasn't sure if she liked the Easter Bunny or not, as she's a little scared of anyone that isn't her Mom, Dad, or her cousin Jack (she is obsessed with Jack, and laughs at everything he does, it's hilarious).

Relaxation.

Ever since we moved into our new apartment, with it's amazing views of Seattle, Dave has been talking about getting a chaise lounge. Originally, he wanted to find a couch with a chaise at the end of it, and I nixed that idea. But, his hopes never died, and last weekend, his new chaise lounge was delivered. I'm not sure if I'm as good at relaxing on it as Dave is, but he's certainly been taking the time, to teach me a thing or two. It's easy to lay there, the view is mesmerizing. Oddly enough, there is something soothing about watching traffic move . . .

rain, rain, go away

So, there's nothing much going on here, and no new exciting pictures. At this point, I'm just ready for the Seattle summer to get here. They are amazing, but they don't start until July 5th (it's always raining on the 4th, and then doesn't rain again until the end of September). Anyway, I'm so done with this rainy winter, and a friend had this on their blog and I thought it was amusing, it might amuse some, all, or none of you. But, for anyone who is contemplating visiting us here in Seattle, keep all of this in mind . . . and try and visit between July 5th, and September 30th.

How To Tell that You're From The Pacific Northwest
1. You know the state flower (Mildew).
2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.
3. You've used the statement "sun break" and know what it means.
4. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.
5. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" Signal.
6. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tully's.
7. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye Salmon.
8. You know how to pronounce:
Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Yakima Spokane and Willamette, Snoqualmie.
9. You consider swimming an indoor sport.
10. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Thai food.
11. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark - while only working eight-hour days.
12. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.
13. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and "Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."
14. You've used the phrase, "The mountain is out" to comment on the weather.
15. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.
16. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.
17. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.