MARATHON #3

Okay, so this marathon was HARD. And it was only hard for me. I ran it with my friend, Ines. I'll do the long story short, then the long story. It is supposed to be the fastest marathon. It is very flat. And I did not train for this one like I did my trail marathon in November. I finished in just under 5 hours, which was the same as my trail marathon which technically was harder, but was easier for me. So my trail marathon was awesome and I felt great. This one was not and I felt terrible. To start it off, we got there 22 minutes after the marathon started because it took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to get there (map quest had estimated 27 minutes - but the marathon traffic was terrible!!!). So we actually did not start with the marathoners. We started with the half-marathoners. By mile 10 I was hurting (which has never happened). It must have been an off day for me. So obviously by the end I was dead. It was soooooo hot (it was on July 4). Thank goodness for the residents of the town who brought their hoses up to the road and hosed us down as we ran by. I seriously think I must have been close to heat stroke. I felt very nauseous and dizzy at some points. By the end I was no longer talking at all. And Kim, now I know how you felt - I had no interest in anyone talking to me nor me talking to them. Anyway, I REALLY wanted to walk the last 3 miles of the race. But I figured that it would be way worse to be out there even longer! Each mile towards the end felt like 2 miles. Ines really helped keep me going. She was amazing. I finally finished and was soooo happy. But I could barely move after the race. I had Ines drive us home because I was dizzy enough that I didn't to be the cause of any accident. When I got home I could barely move the rest of the day. I slept for 2 hours, stayed up for fireworks, and then SLEPT! I felt pretty good the next day though. And started running again 6 days later. And on day 7 Ines and I ran 10 miles. Now I have to start training for the relay at the end of the summer. Apparently I have 3 legs, and combined they are the hardest out of the 13 other people that are running! So gotta continue training!

Okay, so it's been awhile. Our summer has already been packed full. We are tired! I have worked a lot and Chris was gone a lot and worked a little. He went to Montana for a week to help his mom move some of her house back here. And then I have worked and run the marathon. But I will tell things in order!!!Above is my chubby cute nephew (who weighs more than Maddy - he is 10 months old and she is 23 months old). He loved the water.
This was Nixon's birthday clear back in June! Before we had a party, we went to the water park with my brother and his family! Above: My brother and Bryton are coming down the slide.
Nixon had a blast and he even went down the big slide by himself, until his uncle forgot to catch him at the bottom and he was barely staying above water! He didn't want to go down any more after that!

Maddy was an animal. She is insane in the water and VERY independent! She wanted to jump in the water but not to me. She would only jump where I wasn't. And then I took her down the big slide (below) until her tantrums were too much for me. She kept trying to wiggle out of my grip and push my arms away so she could go down the big slide herself.

Nixon mostly had fun because his cousin, Bryton was there.


When we got back we celebrated Nixon's birthday. He raked it. It was a little much, but we had Star Wars toys (tons and tons) that Chris' mom had given us that she had saved for many years. We didn't even give him half of them. We're saving the rest for Christmas. He got lots of Spiderman things (shirts, books, etc).



Okay I had to put this in. So I spent LOADS of time decorating and getting the things for his "Spiderman" party. I stayed up late after working 11 hours just to decorate so he would see it in the morning. I also made his cake and frosting from scratch (and it looks like it). It took some time. I was tired too, because I had been working up until his birthday (and I am gone for 12 hours each day I work). And the end of the day Nixon said to me, "Mom I loved my birthday. Daddy made it so fun!" I said," I made it fun!" He said, "No, Daddy did." Daddy only wrapped a few presents, so I guess maybe I should do that next year and forget the rest! Daddy is becoming quite popular this summer with all the time Chris is watching them while I am at work. I hope they won't have breakdowns when he has to go back to work in September!


Nixon is pretty sweet to his sister. He can also be a little rough. Maddy is a pretty tough cookie.


The kids have enjoyed going down to the river front a few times this summer. I have learned my lesson and bring swimsuits and clothes because they do not stay dry. It doesn't matter if they are clothed. Maddy ends up sittting in it, putting her head in it, hitting/kicking the water, anything you can think of.

I will post about the marathon that was TERRIBLE soon!