Something you probably don't know if you're not a runner

Warning: this post isn't for the faint of stomach. Might not want to read it while you're eating breakfast.

Friday morning I planned to run about 3.5 -4 miles. It would have to be my long(ish) run for the week since I was headed to the suburbs of Chicago Saturday morning. I didn't want to take running clothes or shoes with me on the trip, because I was taking a very small bag with lots of books for work in it. Figured Saturday and Sunday could be my rest days.

Runners get into a certain routine when they're in training. It's good, because it helps you know what to do on race day, keeps you feeling your best. As one of my running friends will tell you, she and I have a method to early morning runs. You get up about 90 minutes before you want to go, have a cup of coffee and some toast with peanut butter. That coffee and PB does wonders for your, shall we say, digestive system. Helps you go to the bathroom before you hit the pavement.

I did all that on Friday morning, but then I had a mini-crisis with my travel plans, so I spent some time trying to figure that out, and my timing got wonky. Finally, I was able to go run.

About halfway through, I had to stop at mom and dad's (strategically planned the route to go by their house, just in case) to use the bathroom. Had to stop and walk to get there, my stomach was really cramping. I made it there just in time, did my business, and was able to run again, the rest of the way home.

It was the perfect storm of a bad run - timing was off, I hadn't had enough water that day, the night before we had Chinese and I drank a soda. I've figured out that soda plays havoc with my system, and the greasy Chinese food didn't help, I'm sure. This has happened to me before, so I always plan to run by places where I can stop if I need to - convenience stores, grocery stores, parents' house, etc.

If you've ever done a road race, you might have seen people just run up to the curb and let loose right there on the street. Yes, it happens. NO, I have never done that (luckily, never needed to). I'm not so worried about time/finishing fast that I won't stop and walk til I can get to a bathroom or PortaPotty. I remember when I ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon, I was really surprised to see that (it was my first marathon).

I've got to run today. Here's hoping my routine stays all good.

Happy New Year - 2011

To family and friends - we love you all! Be safe and joyful in 2011.

I've started a new blog project for this year. I'll still be updating here with friends and family fun times, but if you'd like to know what's happening in chitknit's world, check out unravelingthestash.com.

The first post went live tonight, and it will be a yearlong project. More on it later. For now - it's bedtime.

As one of my Facebook friends said, "Midnight used to be the starting point. Now it's the end point."

Getting old is hell, ain't it?

Thanks to Betsy for a great dinner tonight, along with Adam's awesome chocolate fondue and homemade popcorn.

Knitaissance

I hadn't really been knitting much since this summer. I don't usually knit much during the summer just because the heat makes the feel of yarn less enticing, but I feel like this summer I didn't knit ANYTHING.

Then, the beginning of the school year was crazy busy - I was like a rat on the treadmill for those first 10 or 12 weeks. When I would get home from school, I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open, let alone make pretty things with needles and loops of yarn.

Thankfully, I've rediscovered my needles and yarn, and I'm knee deep in a bunch of quick projects right now. You might notice when you see the photos that most things are very gifty, so spoiler alert - if you think you might be receiving one of these gifts, you might want to stop reading now...

Hee hee. Sadly, my Etsy site has fallen victim to craziness in my job and life, so I haven't made anything to sell in AGES. I would really like to start doing that again.

Here's a quick knitting round-up:

Obviously, this little mitt needs a mate. I've made up two left hand mitts, so I need to get going on the right hand ones. This is the Mock Cable Wristers pattern from "60 Quick Knits" in Cascade 220. It truly was a quick knit.

I've made up a couple of these java jackets. They fit perfectly on these grande cups, and as a bonus, they're totally re-usable and environmentally friendly.

I love this tiny wine sweater cozy! Even though it looks complicated, it was a quick project. I think I finished it over about three days. One sleeve one night, the other sleeve the next night, then the body and turtleneck the last night. Simple, and a really cool gift idea, I think - just add the bottle of wine...

This is the "Ballband Dishcloth" pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting. It's a special order for a certain aunt of mine - she's got a great idea. Need a gift exchange gift? How about a couple of knitted dishcloths (they feel so much better than the other kind) and a nice bottle of fancy soap?

I knit this hat for the wife of one of Adam's co-workers. Again, a super-quick project.


And, last but not least, here's Lauryn modeling her mom's birthday present - it's the Ribbed Pillbox Hat also from the "60 Quick Knits" book.

I would really like to tackle something larger (a sweater for myself, or the sweater my husband has been asking for for years), but for now, the little projects will have to do.

Long time no blog

I haven't written a blog post in more than three months. I know that because they last post I wrote was the start of the 90-Day Weight Loss Challenge at Lifetime, and the final weigh-in for said challenge was two weeks ago. (I lost 7 pounds, for those of you keeping score.)

A few weeks ago, it seemed like everyone I saw said "Hey, so, you, uh, ever gonna update that blog of yours again?"

I won't bore you to death with all of the reasons for the lack of blogging. Just know that, I'll try to do better. I suppose I just haven't felt like anything exciting enough to share has been happening lately, so I've been quiet. School's been really tough, and really busy this semester. Lots of things happened right there at the beginning that made it a hard start to the year.

But, here we are, two school days away from Thanksgiving, and things are going well. I've even gotten in some quality knitting AND reading time lately.

Speaking of reading, if you haven't read the "Hunger Games" books by Suzanne Collins, run, don't walk out to the bookstore and find yourself a copy. They are super fast reads (young adult novels), and once you start them, you won't be able to put them down.

I'd been hearing that from many friends, so I got on the hold list at the library. Only problem was, I was 163rd in line, and there were almost 100 people AFTER me. Luckily, some work friends had copies of the books, so I was able to borrow from them, instead of waiting three years for the library copies to be available.

•••

Hubs and I are having the fam over for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. I'm making a pumpkin pie from scratch. Stay tuned - I'm sure THAT will turn into a blog post. I'll shoot some really high quality food photos...

YOU have to take the responsibility, with the right

I might have angered some people in my "Juvenile Justice in America" class tonight.

I'm okay with that.

It's my right. For the most part, I didn't disagree with what they (including the instructor) had to say, right up until classmates said they felt media should be somehow "regulated" to lessen the negative impacts on children.

That's where I diverge.

Do I think most of the so-called "entertainment" teens consume is ridiculous? Yes.

Do I wish teens paid attention to better, cleaner influences? Yes.

Do I believe our some of teen "idols" are abhorrent? Yes.

We watched "PBS Frontline: The Merchants of Cool" tonight in class. It's a 2001 documentary about all of the research that goes into the machine that is Viacom (MTV and just about every other cable channel), the four other major conglomerates that control media and message in this country and what how that research affects teen spending habits.

The show highlights scenes from the debauchery that is MTV's Spring Break each year. It touches on teens who buy into rage rock groups like Limp Bizkit and Insane Clown Posse. (Their fans hate the corporate machine, but like all "cool" things, eventually corporate America gets its hands on "alternative" guys, too.

You think the marketing was insidious back in 2001? I'd love to see an update of this topic today with social networking implications examined.

Most of you know, I don't have kids, so understand that's the point of view I'm coming from. That said, I kinda think it's the parents' responsibility to debrief with kids on what they're seeing. I'm not sure I'd want my own children listening to songs and watching shows fraught with awful language that also completely devalue women. I'd hope I could help them understand that that sort of thing doesn't fit in with our family's value system.

But, you know what, it fits in with some people's values. I know some of those people. If that's what they want to do, I can't control it and that's fine.

I think the other students got a little snippy when I said that society CAN'T regulate media - it's against the law.

My classmates mostly seem to think that it's society's responsibility to regulate the media children watch and the clothes they wear. (In fact, someone even spoke Tipper Gore's name: "Whatever happened to those sticker label things she wanted to do?" Um, the labels are on all "explicit" CDs today.)

But here's the thing: You can do say, think, believe and produce what you want in this country. The first amendment gives us that right. Everybody has it. In fact, some people I completely disagree with have the first amendment, too, but I don't have to listen to them if I don't want to.

My problem with "society taking responsibility for this trash" is that who decides who is in charge? What if I'm in charge, and I don't think anyone who has blue eyes should be allowed to say or do anything?

Society doesn't need to take the responsibility. Parents and families need to take responsibility for what their children are consuming. Be their parents, not their "cool friends" and tell them you don't want them listening to it.

Good and good for you

I haven't written very much about the garden this summer. Last summer I posted about it all the time. I guess it's not "new and exciting" in this year two, so I don't really think about it.

The tomatoes are finally starting to come in, too, but they were so good we ate them before I took the photo above.

Last night, Adam made tilapia with zucchini, tomatoes and jalapenos, with quinoa. It's awesome to cook something when more than half of the ingredients came out of our own ground. It was delicious.

For the fourth of July, I made Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. The consistency was more like cake than bread, and it is really good with milk. Zucchini seems to be the one thing we always have a million pounds of, so it's nice to have different options for cooking it up.

I'd like to go see what's out there this morning, but since it rained heavily yesterday, I'd be up to my knees in mud, I think. I'll let it dry out today then head out tonight to harvest a little more.

We're using grass clippings between rows to keep the weeds down. It really does seems to be helping. There are a few things popping up here and there, but they are easy to pull. It's not like weedy grass is growing between the rows.

Last week, Adam made two different green beans dishes, and we froze a couple of bags. It took me about 90 minutes to pick beans from the entire row, and I had two full plastic grocery bags of beans. They are very tasty, and they freeze easily.

Your Big Backyard

Way back when I was in elementary school, one of my favorite activities involved reading the "Your Big Backyard" and "Ranger Rick" magazines. Maybe they came once a month or so, but I loved them. I've chosen to title today's post about things growing in my yard as an homage to one of those favorite reading memories.


I'm a big fan of perennials - it's just too hard to try to plant annual beds. The end of the school year is so hectic that I don't have time to baby new plants like you really need to. I'd plant them, then I'd have crazy weekends and they'd die. So, lately, I've been transplanting perennials from my dad's yard and from my friend Betsy's sister Molly's house. The great thing about this is: IT'S FREE.

I don't have to spend a ton of money at the garden center and then cross my fingers that the plants will survive. Plus, I think that plants raised in similar areas/soils just do better than something purchased that was probably trucked in from a nursery miles away.

Mostly the plants I've transplanted have been hostas, lilies and iris. The iris have bloomed and are done for the year. But, some of my lilies are blooming, and I've got one patch that will look amazing next week. It's full of buds that haven't opened yet.

These are hostas and a shasta daisy that I got from Dad. The daisies are starting to bloom. I wasn't sure if they would since I just planted them this year.

Readers who are family members might be interested to know where some of this stuff is planted, since we live in what was my grandma's house (and honestly, it's probably still considered grandma's house - I know we still call the back bedroom "Julie's room").

The plants above are just under the Julie bedroom window and the bathroom window (in the front yard, but behind the giant ornamental grass thing).

The plants below are planted in front of the playhouse which is now our garden implements storage shed. I would have posted an overall photo of it, but there's nothing except peeling paint on the wall, so the photo wasn't that great.


This year, I got the bright idea to try and reclaim the sideyard between our driveway and the chainlink fence. Adam tilled it a couple of times, and I planted some random stuff. Some of the lilies and irises I was talking about, some lamb's ear. (All of this will come back with a vengeance and spread, spread, spread.)

You see, that's why perennials are so great - low cost, low maintenance...

Aunt Alice sent me some seeds for other flowers this year, so along the sideyard, I also planted this morning glory in a couple of places. I can't wait for it to bloom and see what color the flowers are. It's doing really well, but I've got it in a couple of other places that aren't quite as robust.


Alice also sent pumpkin, gourd and giant pumpkin seeds. I planted those in the sideyard because I know they'll soon grow crazy and take up lots of space.

I'm pretty sure these two are the giant pumpkins. The photo on the package is a 5-year-old boy standing next to the pumpkin and it's almost as tall as he is. So, we'll see what happens with that.


Below is one of the mammoth sunflowers. There are about six of these growing out there. Again, can't wait for them to bloom.

The worst part of the sideyard reclamation project is that it's super weedy since this is the first summer we tilled it up from grass. The past two weeks I've spent a lot of time out there cleaning it out. But, now that that's done, I think I can mostly Garden Weasel it to keep it clean.

Avid readers will probably remember garden posts from last summer. The photo below is just so you can see how large the garden is. You're looking over various lettuce, onions, potatoes, cabbage from this angle.


Over on the other side, there are a few herbs, like this basil. SO. MUCH. BETTER when it comes straight out of the garden.


I'm not sure when the cabbage will be ready, but it sure is growing. Probably won't catch me making sauerkraut any time soon - I remember the smell from Aunt Fronie's cellar when I was a kid. Love the taste of it, hate the smell!


We've got a bunch of green tomatoes growing too. That's what I'm really waiting for.


A quick photo of the front of the house. This bed is the one I started when we moved in three years ago. It's shady all the time, so it's just hostas and ferns.


Technically, those are in the front yard, so I guess they don't really match the title of the post. You'll just have to deal.

I'm off to have a salad with garden greens and peas.

And the winners are...

Even though they technically missed the Wednesday deadline, the winners in the caption contest are Aunt Janet and Kollen! (Thunderous applause)

Best Pop Culture Reference Caption goes to Kollen for:
I gave you my heart, and you give me a crayon?

Best Reading of Body Language Caption to Aunt Janet for:
"Do these polka dots make my butt look big?"

"No, I think its the diaper."

Most young women can relate to that second one, I think!

Thanks to those who played, and look for a more grown-up version of caption madness this week.

Spring Fever

One of my seniors went to the restroom today during editors' hour. When she came back, she said "There seems to be an unnaturally high number of people in the halls right now."

The newspaper editor in the room said "It's almost 7th hour, on a Friday, and it's April 2."

Nail on the head. Nail on the head.

It's getting to be that time - senioritis is setting in for seniors (and everyone else for that matter), and the weather is finally nice. The wandering ways and drifting minds make it tough to get through the week.

I suppose having a classroom with no windows has one benefit: I tend to forgot what the weather is like when I'm there the entire day. So, I am able to resist the call of beautiful weather a bit. That is, until I need to go up to the office, and I pass the wall of windows.

Usually, at that point, I'll quickly decide it's time for team-building activities that can be done outside on the back field. That gets us out and energized for a little while.

However, for today's reminder of what the weather was like I didn't even need to leave the friendly confines of room 450. About 9:30, the rain began pelting the roof. It was quick, but it was fierce. We heard a little thunder, but mostly just constant heavy rain. Even though they can't SEE it, that rain always gets the kids riled up.

On the home front, this time of year means it's time to get out and clean the partially decomposed leaves out of the flower beds, and start thinking about the garden. I'm hoping to plant a couple of blueberry bushes, some strawberries, and even some asparagus this year, in addition to all the stuff I'm sure Jeanne is planning on putting in the ground.

It's supposed to be a project progress shot, but it's more like a snapshot of me

or, at least my life and environment. I really just meant to post a quick photo to Twitter so the knitting followers could see what I've been up to.

But, when I stopped to look at it again, I realized that to a close observer, this photo says a lot about me.

You'll notice the ABC logo on the TV in the background. While we watched LOST, I worked on my knitting project. I have to multitask to get anything accomplished, and I think watching TV and knitting certainly counts. The only problem is, with a show like LOST, I have to give a little more mental energy to the show, so it's slow going on the knitting projects.

Kansas City-area readers will spot the remote that goes with our Time Warner digital cable box on the TV tray. The TV tray basically serves as my desk. I keep my laptop there, and it's where I eat breakfast each morning.

Adam and I aren't sit-down-to-the-table-and-eat-dinner types. We eat in front of the TV, hence the trays. I would like to think that if we ever have kids, we'll be the eat-around-the-table types, but since it's just the two of us at this point, we're usually just catching up on DVR'ed stuff.

Eagle-eyed observers will see the Rock Band equipment and the Wii. That reminds me, we haven't had a good Wii party in quite a while. Might be time to rustle one up over spring break.

The Snuggie and the clothes in the laundry basket next to my foot echoes the color on the TV screen. Weird.

We don't have a purple polka-dotted curtain. That's the back of a KSU quilt Mom made for me a long time ago. It's finally warm enough that we can take down our extra window insulation. Maybe Adam can do that on his day off tomorrow. With the sub-zero temps and snow for so long this winter, we needed a little help in the heating department.

In the bottom corner of the photo is our little tropical plant that we've managed to keep alive throughout the late summer and fall. We got some nice plants on sale at the De-Pot just before fall. They're all thriving at this point, despite the dark and cold wintry conditions in our house. When you've got all the windows covered with blankets, it's a little tough to get the required amount of sunlight for houseplants.

I'm sure most people who saw this photo noticed the sock and moved on. And that's fine. It is, after all, supposed to be a photo of a sock. But, like I said, I just thought it was interesting when I saw all of the other things in the photo.

Hope you've enjoyed this brief tour of a Thursday night at Casa de Chittum. I've got to sign off for a few days. One more day of school this week, and then I'll be working furiously to complete graduate school homework between Friday night and Tuesday night.

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

I heart the Olympics

Adam, Joshua and I watched all four-and-a-half hours of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies last night. Sure, some of it got a little tired after that much time, but it was pretty damn cool.

From an outside observer's point of view, the only hitch came at the end during the torch ceremony when the fourth of the pillars didn't come up. Okay, it still looked good.

This morning, on Roger Ebert post this: @ebertchicago: U.S. tweeters being snarky about Canadian Olympics ceremony. Canuck reply: If you're so smart, why don't you have health care? I get the joke, but unfortunately, I think Americans would be snarky about ANYONE's opening ceremony. It's not just because of our history of thumbing our noses at the neighbors to the north.

I don't think I posted anything too snarky last night. Here's mine:

The cauldron kind of looks like it came from Superman's home planet.

Jeez, they could have at least given The Great One a rain coat or something to cover his head in the rain.

This has been keeping me busy during the opening ceremonies. Started a new sock. Excuse the bad photo. http://yfrog.com/3i6t0tj

Swedes have the best hats!

Wait! What? Thanks, NBC. Your commercial break totally screwed the athletes of my motherland. We're still rooting for you, Croatia.

Granted, I was knitting during the telecast, so I had something keeping me from becoming bored, but all in all, I thought it was a good show. Loved the Tom Sawyer-like prairie segment.

I would like to know, though, if NBC would have shown the footage of the luger if he would have been an American athlete. As we watched the news intro to the ceremonies, they showed him flying off the track, and I asked Adam and Joshua if they thought an American would be showed like that. The man died. Cover the story, but we don't need to see the footage over and over again.

We're talking about ethics in J1 this week. I think we can use that scenario as an example for the students to discuss in class. What would they do if they were the TV news producers?

A knitting progress report

One of my goals for 2010, as reported at the first of the year:

Keep knitting. And trying new and different patterns. Work through the yarn stash. Knit up what I already have, and then I can get new fun yarn. Maybe I'll start knitting things and randomly sending them to people I know...Who knows.

Since then, I've worked on a handful of projects. I completed a hat for Adam and below, you can see the matching scarf I'm working on. I've made a lot of progress, but it's just ribbing, and requires lots of weaving in ends because of the striping. Because of all that, I've taken small breaks from the scarf for other projects.


I'm participating in a sock KAL (knit along) that my mom told me about. I've knit A sock before, so this helps me meet the goal of trying something different. I've never done a KAL before, and I'm hoping that because I'm doing it with a bunch of other people, I'll actually get a PAIR of socks knit by the end of this project.

It's fun because we get new instructions on Friday afternoons. I get an easily digestible knitting assignment for each weekend.

In other KAL news, I also tried this dishcloth KAL from Rachel's Knitting Corner. She gives a washcloth knit along on the third week of each month, and you knit just a few rows a day. Again, a good excuse to sit down and do just a little bit of knitting each night.

I just finished it tonight. Needs to be blocked, as you can probably see. I used two colors of Sugar and Cream 100 percent cotton yarn. It's my go-to dishcloth yarn. I don't usually use more than one color of yarn, so again I was able to work on my goal of trying new knitting techniques. It was actually pretty easy to carry the two colors along the edge.

I've got a few more rows to do on the sock in the next few days, then I need to get back to work on Adam's scarf. I'd like to finish it within the next week or so.

Cabin Fever - It's set in

And, we are off AGAIN tomorrow.

I would be much more excited at this prospect if it wasn't 100 below outside, and if I didn't feel crappy. I must have a cold or bronchitis or something, because I've got an awful wheezy cough, and my body aches.

Good news is - it shouldn't be H1N1 or the seasonal flu, since I've been vaccinated for both this year (first time I've ever gotten a flu shot, at least as an adult). I'm not really sure how I got sick, since it was winter break and I was only around a few of my friends, my husband and my parents, and none of them are sick.

Maybe one of the other teachers got me sick on the first day back, or maybe someone at the gym didn't wipe off/sanitize the treadmill when they were done and I got their germs. Jerks.

So, today I knit some, watched a little TV, and read a book - "Olive Kitteridge." It's good. I'll read it some more tonight, but first I need to do a little work on my grad school assignments. I'll be reading those for the next few hours, and possibly doing a little writing. The more I do tonight, the less I have to do this weekend.

I just wish I felt like going somewhere, but I don't want to leave the house. Good thing we've got plenty of food! Adam is working tonight, so I'll do my work while he's AT work.

Finally got the forecast right

I don't think I've ever seen this much snow in my life. And, it's STILL falling at our house.

After dinner, Adam and I took Malachi out so he could play in the snow for a little while. I pulled him up and down the street on his little sled, and Adam helped him make snowballs. The snow wasn't the greatest for snowballs or snowman making - too dry.



These photos were on Christmas Day - when we thought this was all the snow we were going to get. Little did we know.

After we finished shoveling, Adam made a snow angel in the neighbor's yard.
Thankfully, Dad brought his snowblower over and helped us clean the driveway. It would have taken forever for us to do it with shovels. Even just the touch-ups and extra we did with the shovels took about two and half hours.

It's pretty and all, but enough. We don't need any more of this stuff.

I may not be blogging, but I have been tweeting...

And here's the proof. It's a word cloud of words I used most often in the last year.

My mom rocks.

Those of you who know her probably already know that, but just in case you didn't, here's a little newspaper story to let you in on the secret...

Mom's dream a difference maker ran in the Shawnee Dispatch. The story really shows the effort that Mom had to go to to get Dreams Work off the ground and keep it running, and the support she's received from friends and family all these years as well (they're always the ones we ask for money from first, after all).

You can support Dreams Work by purchasing an opportunity to win this large queen size quilt:

The chances are $1 apiece or six opportunities for $5. If you bought this quilt outright, it would probably be worth a few hundred dollars. It could be yours for just a few dollars if you're lucky!

Send checks payable to Dreams Work, and your name and phone number will go on the ticket. The address is 13717 W. 108th Street, Lenexa, KS 66215.

The drawing will be held on Dec. 3 at the Eighth Anniversary Open House. Need not be present to win!

You can also support Dreams Work by visiting their web site - there is a donate link.

Seattle PRIDE Parade - Sunday, June 28, 2009

Race weekend was a biggie for the city of Seattle.
The marathon alone brought in 25,000 runners, not to mention their friends, family and supporters.
Shuttle drivers told us there were three or four cruise ships in port, adding even more people to the fray.
Then, Sunday, when we woke up and went out in search of breakfast, Mitzi and I found the staging area for the Seattle Pride Parade - right outside the front doors of our hotel.

It was a nice distraction for us as we walked along trying to loosen up our tired legs. After we had breakfast, I went back and got Adam, and he and I walked along the route for a while. The parade started 11, and when we were waiting for our airport shuttle at 1 p.m., it was still going strong!


Adam took a bunch of photos. I was playing with the flip camera, so no stills for me.

The floats and parade walkers were pretty amazing and intricate.


We thought maybe we found a girlfriend for Minnie...

It was cool to see all of the support for the gay community - there were TONS of people at the parade.

Teamwork makes the Dream work!

Any of my co-workers who read that title will smile, since it's something we hear a lot at school. Even though it's a school thing, it's quite appropriate for Mitzi's and my latest hare-brained scheme.

We did it! We finished the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon last Saturday morning. We did it together - not only the 5 hours and 45 minutes it took us to run the race, but all the miles and miles of training and the ups and downs of raising more than $4,100 each.

Five months of Saturday mornings coming WAY too early, five months of sending e-mail after e-mail to all of our friends and family (thanks to all of you by the way!), five months of What Ifs? and How do wes? Five months of pounding the pavement in our trusty running shoes.

The above photo is deceiving because the light makes it look like it's in the middle of the day. That picture was taken about 4:30 in the morning when we got to the start line area. That's Mitzi on the left, along with other TNTers Jeanne, Melinda and Mary. You can see us all there with our various gear - water, Cytomax, PowerBars, sweatshirts, sweatpants, etc.

Mitzi and I woke up at 3:15 that morning, put on sunscreen, put on Body Glide (in hopes of heading off chub rub and blisters, at least in my case), put on sports bras, socks, singlets and shorts, and finally shoes, waist packs and hats. Each of us laid out everything we would need on Friday night, so we wouldn't have to look for anything on Saturday morning.

Even though we were far from home, in a different time zone, we tried to keep everything as routine as possible that morning.

It was anything but.

Up super early, bus to the starting line. We arrived there about 4:30. We brought bagels and peanut butter with us, so that we wouldn't have to start the race hungry. Usually we only have about an hour between eating and running, and this time it was much, much more because of the wave start.

Luckily, the coffee shop behind the girls in that photo had a $1 cup special, so we were able to have some coffee with the food, which is a BIG part of the morning routine.

We started in corral 25, so it took almost 50 minutes for us to cross the start line after the gun went off. If you look at our finish time, it looks like it took 6 hours, 28 minutes, but not really.

The first half of the course was nice - ran along the water, some nice downhills, saw a bald eagle perched low in a tree, lots of spectators.

The second half - not so much.

Adam took this photo of us as we passed him and our friend David around mile 15. It was somewhere near downtown Seattle. Here, we're still feeling mostly okay...

The second half of the course was much hillier than I expected, and most of it was running on elevated highways, so they wouldn't let the spectators up there. When the going got tough, it was tough to be up there. We had to dig deep to keep on moving. We told a few stories, played a few games, yelled "Go Team!" to all the other Team in Training runners. We took walk breaks (more than we typically would), since it was hilly and actually a little bit hot.

I know - it was like 110 in the shade in KC that weekend, and only about 75 in Seattle, but when running, it feels 20 degrees hotter, so it was a little warmer than we expected.


That's Mitzi as she crosses the finish line. Didn't Adam do a great job taking photos?


I still had some gas in the tank for the last quarter-mile or so, so I really kicked up my pace so I could finish strong. It made me feel great and proud to hear people saying "Go Jill, you're doing great!" but in all the photos after I crossed the line, my mouth is open since I am breathing so heavy!

I've now finished two marathons. I think if you'd have told my 18-year-old self that, she would say YOU'RE CRAZY - there's no way!

Thanks to Adam and Mitzi for being great travel companions and Mitzi for being an awesome training partner. I couldn't have done it without either of them.


I will put up another post later this week with travel-type photos of places we saw and things we did. I wanted this one to be mostly about the race itself.

Birthday Boy's Wishes

When this little guy asks nicely, how can you say no to that face?

Mom and Dad said Malachi called and said "Aunt Susie, can I come over and swim?" Since Aunt Susie's the landlord (and she bought the pool) we can't say no...

Not that we would have, of course.

Julie got him all geared up in his matching Spiderman water wings, goggles, trunks and innertube, and he hopped right in. Sorta.

It took a few minutes of hemming and hawing around the ladder before he finally got in, but once we convinced him there weren't any sharks in the water, he dove in. He's pretty tough, considering we had all gotten out a few hours earlier because we were getting "cold."

I suppose when you've just turned four, getting to go swimming outweighs being cold.

Malachi did manage to find the few sunny spots left in the pool. After about 5 p.m., most of the pool is in the shade, so unless it's still 100 outside, it can get chilly.

Adam showed him how to blow water out the end of the pool noodles, and Malachi thought that was pretty funny.

I'm glad Malachi and Julie got to come over. We love to have visitors, and we missed his birthday pizza party on Sunday since we were still in Seattle.

Happy Birthday, little Dude!

How does your garden grow?

So, if you follow me on Twitter, or if we're friends on Facebook, you've seen photos of our garden bounty recently. For tonight's dinner, we had peas, carrots, onions and zucchini straight out of the garden with our turkey dogs. It was YUMMY, even though as we were shelling the peas, Adam said "This is a lot of work."

Yeah, but it's worth it when you taste it.

This is what it looked like just after it was tilled in the early, early spring. Mom and Dad and Mom's friend Jeannie planted a bunch of stuff. Jeannie has been working it a lot, weeding and taking care of it.




This is what it looks like today. If anyone wants to remake the Stephen King horror classic "Children of the Corn" we've got the prime location for you.


Here's another view where you can see the corn, green beas, peas, zucchini, cucumbers, etc. Tomatoes are in there somewhere, too. As you can see, all the rainy and cool weather we've had this summer has lent itself to a bountiful green garden.

This is what we used out of the garden for dinner tonight, except the jalapenos and green beans. Saving the jalapenos for a little homemade salsa (we hope) and I took the green beans over to dad. He said he'd been craving some of those.

We'll probably be making some zucchini bread soon...


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Thanks for hanging in and continuing to check the blog. I'm a little overextended in cyberspace, and the blog has definitely suffered. I would still like to use it to keep in contact and to generate a little Google Ad revenue, so hopefully I can get it back up and running...