These poor, misguided souls did their first half marathon, the Skagit Flats Half-Marathon...in the rain. When I call them misguided it is purely in jest. They knew exactly what they were doing and went about the whole thing in a very planned, focused way. And while it is something I can guarantee that I will never do, I was pretty freakin' impressed with the three of them.
The three of them have been training for months and Amy and Jason flew in from Austin, TX for the event. Even better, the race was held on the weekend after my and Amy's birthdays so we go to celebrate those together for the first time in several years.
The husband, girls and I wanted to catch the end of the race, which was taking place in Burlington, WA, so we packed into the Jeep at 9 in the morning and headed north. They had already been running for an hour when we left. Gluttons for punishment I tell you. We arrived at the finish line a few minutes after Jason finished and just in time to see Jamie finish. I was really excited that we got there in time to get settled in and get the camera out to catch Amy crossing the finish line on film. It was a beautiful thing. I cried a little.
Mom made the drive as well and she and Lola were Amy's personal cheering squad. Lola even brought her pom-poms!
I suppose I have the same determination for something other than running but it must be hidden somewhere...deep, because I can't seem to find it these days. Not only did they train and run but they planned. After the run we, plus several other friends and family members, met for a late lunch at Skagit River Brewery in the next town over. It was sort of a post run-birthday-haven't seen you forever celebration and it was great. We got to see people we don't see often, we had good food and good beer, and I made cup cakes!
Now, I'm no Cupcake Royale, but they turned out pretty good. I have to admit I cheated a bit on the cupcakes; I used a boxed carrot cake mix. However, I embraced my inner Sandra Lee and fancied them up a bit. I added a cup and a half of shredded carrots and about a cup of slivered almonds. Oh, and I threw in a handful of raw oatmeal for good measure. Much better. I did make my own cream cheese frosting. When I was shopping for the ingredients my husband said, "This can't be cost effective, why don't you just buy the frosting?". He just doesn't understand. I also make the frosting pink because, let's face it, somethings just taste better when they're pink.
It was an awesome day and it was great to see everyone. I'm still impressed with the feat Amy, Jamie and Jason accomplished and I'm pretty sure I'll continue to be impressed for quite some time. My husband says he's down for the next round. Have fun with that.
We had sooooo much fun seeing you all and I couldn't have done the run with out the constant support and encouragement!!!! You were pretty much out on the road with me. . . tucked in the pocket of mi corazon. Great pics. . .
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo! Isaiah's in??
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, before this, I was like, "I may not ever want to do this again..." but now, I'm game. (That is, after I rest for a week or so, I'm in.)