From the hood to the coast

The whole adventure started early Friday morning. Teams are scheduled to start in groups of about 20 teams every 15 minutes. They arrange the teams according to their estimated speeds so that the course doesn't get too congested and so that teams finish during the right time window. Our starting time was 7:30 am. I got picked up a little after 5:00 am and our van sped up the highway to get to the start of the race, Timberline lodge. One of our van members, Ben, had the Bourne soundtracks which inspired our driver Dan to reach the lodge in time.

Once there, we got our start packets, took some pictures, and got ready to cheer on Ben, our first runner. He got the pleasure of running 5.64 miles down the mountain. The first runners were called to the starting line, and at 7:30 sharp, it had begun.

At the base of Mt. Hood

The Timberline lodge parking lot

Our van held the runners for the first 6 legs, and I was slotted to run in the 6th slot. As the race progressed, we would drive down the course, often stop at about the halfway point and wait by the side of the road and cheer people on, and finally drive to the next exchange point. There, the next runner would get ready and finally start running upon receiving the baton (a green Nike slap bracelet) from the previous runner. Then we would hop in the van and do it all again.

The race course

My task was typically to peruse the maps, navigate the van between waypoints, and get people prepped for their legs. I also drove the vans when the other driver, Dan, was running his legs.

It was a little odd being the last one in the van to run. Everyone else had a chance to get their first leg under their belt while I was still worried if I could even make it. Finally my turn came. My first leg was 7.42 miles (the second longest leg of the whole thing for anyone), which is definitely the furthest I have ever run in one go. It was along the shoulder of Highway 26, ending in the town of Sandy, OR. I felt really good, and just had trouble pacing myself correctly. It took about a mile for my breathing to become regular, and to really find a groove. All in all, the first leg went better than I had hoped, and I finished the whole thing in 1 hour exactly.

Halfway through my first leg

After my leg we got some food and got back on the road. I am not sure that sitting in a van is the best thing right after a long run, but I am sure that regardless of what I had done I would have been sore. It was fun to cheer the others on, and it quickly came back around to our van's turn. Our first runner, Ben, got to start again in downtown Portland, and by the end of his leg we were already out of the city for good.

My next leg was only 4.15 miles, which felt short after my morning run. I was surprised how good I felt right from the start, and had a pleasant run in the dark. We had to wear reflective vests and headlamps in the dark. My second leg was along some country roads, and at one points I turned my head and was surprised when my headlamp illuminated a cow about 5 feet away from me on the other side of a fence. I had someone coming up on my tail for the last half mile, which was great and kept me going strong coming into the finish line.

My leg ended at about 10:30 pm, and we headed off to try and get some sleep at the point where our first runner would have to start again. It took about an hour and a half to get there, with the traffic of the other vans. I slept for 3 hours in a sleeping bag wrapped up in a tarp in Mist, OR. It was, appropriately, drizzling and misting the whole time.

Our van's last turn started at about 3:45 am, and continued until my last leg, which was 5.35 miles up and down some decent hills. It started raining pretty significantly about halfway through, and I was pretty soaked by the end. At this point I was beat. I could barely walk, and stairs especially caused my weary muscles much pain. We met our whole team at the finish line around 2:45 pm and crossed together, 197.06 miles later. It was a fun adventure. I was amazed at how far our bodies can take us. Even after just our first 6 legs we were so far from Mt. Hood. I couldn't believe that we had run from that mountain. Overall it was a good experience (especially if you take out the car trouble that Brittney mentioned in the previous post). I was so grateful for Brittney letting me participate and for allowing me to recover some sleep in the following days.

The long awaited finish line: 31 hours and 17 minutes later

With our medals, the beach in the background

Home Safe

We had quite the adventurous weekend. Chris ran in the Hood to Coast 12-person team relay with my parents siblings and extended family up in Northern/Coastal Oregon. He was one of the leaders in the "kid" van and basically was in charge of keeping times, navigating and overall directing of that 1st van. He ran in the 6th slot and his three legs were about 7 miles, 4 miles, and 5 miles and averaged under 9 min miles for all legs and even 8 min miles for his longest leg!! He is amazing. I'm so proud of him and happy that he had this fun experience. I think he's planning on doing a longer post with more details a bit later.

I watched the boys and hung out with Chris' extended family. His cousin Skyler lives in Beaverton with his wife Chelsea and baby Hailey. Alec and Charlie both loved playing at their house. Then I drove to the coast at Seaside and stayed with Chris' Uncle and Aunt, Lynn and Joell. Alec and Charlie really loved playing there too: footballs, barking stuffed dogs and the beach! The scary part was our car had troubles mid-way there but I made it safe to their house at least and camped out there until Chris' finished his last leg and joined me and the boys.

With lots of assistance and support from Chris' Aunt and Uncle, we got our car towed to a Honda dealership back near Portland and waited a few days for it to get fixed before driving it back home last night. It was a bit of a hassle and headache but it couldn't have happened any more fortuitously. We're feel so blessed, happy to be home, and tired from driving through the night.

Here is one picture to get you excited for Chris' upcoming post!

Special Drink

I have a special drink. I can usually find it at Safeway for a dollar. I use it in place of dessert (sometimes). It makes me feel like I've had a treat, when really I haven't. There is no sugar or fat or even artificial sugar. It is carbonated water and a bit of lime juice. I love it. Chris doesn't. And that works out wonderfully because I can drink ALL of it and never wonder if there will be any left when I finally sit down at night to enjoy it.

Opposites

Goodness gracious today and yesterday have been as different as night and day! Yesterday was possibly a perfect day, and I'm not only referring to the weather. Besides a few short tantrums Alec was happy and kind and so enjoyable, giving his brother toys when he cried and asking in that cute "happy voice" to play FILL-IN-THE-BLANK with him. Charlie was slightly fussy but still easily excitable with standing up and being "walked" around, throwing balls and giving kisses. There were too many moments I wanted to remember to write in my Happiness Journal that I can't actually focus on one long enough to fully record it: beautiful house plants, long naps, Charlie on the slide, Alec tossing the frisbee, quick and yummy leftovers, Chris playing with the kids and smiling at me, girls movie night, the stars.

Sometime during the night Alec embraced his inner Hyde. Without embellishment I can honestly say that every phrase out of Alec's mouth spoken to me (and many not directed to me) have been voiced with a cross between a whine and a guttural scream. I should mention and be grateful that at least his transformation hasn't turned physically destructive, just elusive as he twists and runs away from whatever he can tell I want him to do. Somehow I've actually managed to last all day without yelling (a feat so unusual that it must be recorded for posterity). Maybe it is because I still have some leftover happiness from yesterday. I guess, on a contemplative note, there truly must be "opposition in all things" for how could I know joy if I didn't also know misery? So here's to making it through misery.



**I actually have a wonderful picture to put with this post, but unfortunately for you its mental so I'll have to describe it. I'm standing in our kitchen with my purse on my shoulder, ready to go out the door to take the kids to the library so Alec can turn in his list of 50 new books read this summer and receive a "special surprise." I've got PB&J on my fingers since I'm half-way through making lunch for the boys to bring with us/eat immediately when we get home since I know we'll be cutting our library trip close with lunch time. I've got the gate closed off to make the sandwiches without Alec and Charlie tripping me up by clinging to my pants as they've done earlier this morning. Both Alec and Charlie are holding onto the gate jumping up and down. Alec crying about wanting to eat some cookies, Charlie throwing his head back and screaming about who-knows-what. With my clean hand I'm searching through my purse for the cell phone to take a picture of this scene as I somehow find it humorous. But I can't find it and decide to not prolong their agony by leaping over them to find the camera. Instead I open the gate and pick them up. Chris would've been so proud.** FYI - this picture is only worth 220 words, sorry you got short changed.

More from Tiff's visit

We really had a lot of fun with my sister, Tiffany and her kids. The kids had a sorta rough first day where they were getting used to the dynamics of each other but by the middle and through to the end of their visit the kids really played so well together! Especially Andrew and Alec. It was so cute to see. I even think that getting experience playing with Mary, who is 6 and is starting to develop good problem solving skills, has helped him get along better with his friends. Instead of getting in a rut and just yelling the same thing in a conflict (ie. No, lets use THIS frisbee! No, lets use THIS frisbee!) he'll be ok with switching or turn taking (ie. ok, first THIS frisbee, then that one). Not least of all the benefits of their visit, was the fun sister time. Thanks for braving the drive and single parenthood for a week, Tiffany... we loved having you. Also, let this be an idea seed to other family and friends about how fun visits to us can be! We'd love to have you ALL come. Just at different times since our apartment about exploded with the 7 of us.

We got the baby tub out so the kids could wash off their hands and feet after painting and Charlie got so excited splashing in from the side, he put caution to the wind and crawled right in by himself! It looked so fun Alec joined him before I could get his swimming suit on and being in the water with his clothes on reminded him of something we talked about that morning. Check out the video for his comment and to see Charlie's splashing enthusiasm.

We made a bed for Alec on the floor and a pack 'n play for Charlie in our room so Tiffany could use the boys' room for her and her family. Bedtime was especially cute and not as difficult as it could've been. I love Mary's expression in this picture... Chris is a wonderful storyteller.

Tri for fun

Saturday my friends, sister and I did a sprint triathlon. We had a fun group. Tiffany was planning on a visit around this time and when she found out about the tri, she changed her trip to come a few days earlier and do it with me! It was so incredibly fun. I loved every minute of it. Tiff and I stayed together throughout the whole thing which made it even more fun. I most appreciated her company on the run.

The swim (400m) wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. The water was warm and clear and people weren't swimming on top of me the whole time. The transition was fine, I had a few extra minutes to dry off before hitting the road for the 11 mile bike. I borrowed (THANKS STEPHANIE!!) a niiiiice road bike that was so much easier to ride than my cheapo Walmart mountain bike. I had a cheesy smile on my face for most of the bike section! It felt like I was flying. The transition to run was about like it was when my friend and I tried it a few weeks ago. My legs felt really heavy and stiff for the first quarter mile or so, but after that it wasn't so bad. I started getting tired and a side ache around mile 2 of the 5K run but we mustered up enough energy to sprint the last 1/2 mile or so to the finish line. I got goose bumps when Tiff and I saw Chris and ALL 5 of our kids (Mary, Andrew, Alec, Charlie and Will) cheering us on. Then we heard my friends, who had just finished 10-20 min before us, yelling for us just shy of the finish line. It was awesome to have support. We finished in 1:28. I really enjoyed myself and can't wait to do it again.

5 Years, 10 Years

This weekend was full of celebrations. Chris has had to deal with me as his wife for 5 years and also has had 10 years to try and recover from High School - not that it was too difficult for him to accomplish either of those. We were lucky enough to have Chris' parents agree to watch our boys while we had a night away, a temple trip, and a dinner/dance (which was more of a dinner than dance) with his HS cohorts. Chris will have to give more details on his high school reunion. For my part I enjoyed myself due to his witty friends and yummy food, although I REALLY wish there had been dancing as it was advertised.

I've never had so much time away from the boys in so few days. It was quite fun. We also squeezed in some swimming time with my siblings and their kids at a man made lake which was a blast despite the cold and rain. And of course, it wouldn't be a complete Utah trip without clothes shopping and eating some Bombay food, excellent as always. We didn't break out our camera even once so unfortunately we don't have pictures. I really would've liked to capture a few images like Alec's golf time in the backyard (he had some great big swings), or how the beautiful dark summer-storm clouds set off the skyline of the mountains we love so much. It was a relaxing wonderful weekend but like always, its good to be back. This week is the last week of classes and I know Professor Archibald is looking forward to being done teaching his class, despite how much he's enjoyed it. Now lets see if we can survive the post-vacation aftermath.

Chris and I on our Honeymoon