I Did It!

Several months ago, my friend Maria sent out an email asking who would be interested in joining her for a half marathon in November. She suggested we all come for a sleepover the night before the race. The idea of me ever being capable of running 13.1 miles was unthinkable. Yet I still thought about it. Mostly, I didn't want to miss out on the sleepover!

At that time, I think the longest distance I had ever run was about 4 miles. Adding 9 more seemed kind of unrealistic for me, since I had trouble running very far without gasping for air and stopping to walk.

About 2 months ago, I was still toying with the idea, and one night I told "someone" I was planning on going for it. I wanted to try it and see if I could do it. "Someone" was very skeptical of my ability, saying it wasn't likely I would be able to run that far since I wasn't very experienced and wasn't improving much. Plus I was only running sporadically. I certainly wouldn't have enough time to get ready, or enough strength to complete a 13.1 mile run. Well, I decided right then and there that I was indeed going to run this half marathon. I didn't appreciate being told I wasn't capable of doing it, and there was no way I was going to say, "Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't try to do anything that might be hard."

My "training" wasn't based on any program. I didn't have time for that. I just ran a few times a week, trying to increase my distance each time. It wasn't long before I felt myself improving. Soon I could run without my mouth hanging open. I had never been able to comfortably breathe through my nose while running, so this was a major milestone. About three weeks before the race, I still hadn't gone any further than 6-7 miles. I might add that the only way I could measure my distance was to drive the route and check the odometer. I mostly ran on the greenbelt, so I really had no clue how far I was going, since driving minivans on the greenbelt is sort of frowned upon. I just knew I was adding a mile or two every time.

Time was "running" out, and I hadn't even practiced ascending any hills, which I knew were included in the race. I ditched the greenbelt and started running from our apartment to as far as I could up Old Horseshoe Bend Road and back home. That was the closest, hilliest stretch I could think of, although it's not actually very steep. The week before the race I ran 8.4 miles. I felt so accomplished!

Three days before the race I was getting nervous and wanted to do one more run to see how far I could go. That morning, I had sent an email to Juli, a weathered marathon runner who was coming from Idaho Falls for the race. I asked her what I should be doing the last few days to properly prepare for the race. I sent the email and left for my run, which ended up being 12.7 miles. Later, when I checked my email, there was a reply from Juli. She said I was supposed to be tapering off my running this week, resting up. Uh.... Oops. Good thing I am a machine. ;)

Before I knew it, it was the day before the race! At about 8pm, I went over to Maria's house so the party could begin. Maria actually didn't end up registering for the race due to an upcoming knee surgery. Bummer! She was the one who lured us into doing the race, and she didn't get to run it after all. What a trickster. But she was kind enough to make good on her original sleepover offer, so we forgave her. When we (Maria, Renee, Juli, Joni and Yours Truly) had all gathered, we went out to Shari's for a late dinner. Our options were limited since it was getting late, so we chose a place we used to go. My food was terrible, but the PB/chocolate milkshake was good enough, so it wasn't a total loss. And it was fun chatting and goofing off with old (old as in tried and true, not old as in feeble) friends from high school. I love how we can go weeks, months or years without seeing each other and then pick up right where we left off. It's definitely a treat.

After we ate, we went back to Maria's and continued swapping stories. We watched a video of us that we'd made at Maria's parents' house during the summer of 1998. I looked absolutely terrible. My bangs were SO BAD, for so many years. What was I thinking back then? I was afraid to grow them out because I didn't feel comfortable with my forehead showing. If I would have just combed them to the side and let them grow out I could have looked so much better. (Sorry, that's just been one of my biggest regrets. I'll stop ranting about my past hair fiascoes now.) Anyway, the video featured us modeling random swimsuits that we'd found at the house, then dancing "freestyle" in a cluster. The suit Maria made me put on was hideous! It was the most unflattering thing in the universe. It had padding in the bust area and the elastic around the legs was shot. It made all my curves look grandma-ish. I had some fashionable jogging pants on over the suit, and wore a short, curly wig and a scarf around my neck. And I danced lazily for the camera. It was fun to see how different we all looked back then. After we got done watching, we wondered why we hadn't thought to make a new video instead of watching an old one! =)

We didn't end up going to sleep until 4am. Juli assured us that the sleep we get the night before the race doesn't matter, but the sleep from the night before that. Either way, I was probably screwed... We got up at 7:30 and got ready so we could go pick up our packets. The race course started and ended at the Boise Optimist Fields. We got there with plenty of time to get our stuff, pin on our numbers and eat the donuts and hot chocolate provided. Yum! We were all very nervous that we we'd have to poop during the race. I don't know about the other girls, but I got everything taken care of about an hour before start time. What a relief! I know, TMI... but it was a legitimate concern that ended victoriously.

I was surprised to see how many other female participants had on full makeup. I think I was one of the only ones who didn't come looking ready for a day at the mall. I sure felt homely. Not only do I feel uncomfortable in public without makeup, but my hair was up in a pony tail, and that is my least becoming look. It would help if I had distinguishable eyebrows. Oh well.

Soon it was 10:00. Start time. Ready or not, here it came! Everyone had a timing chip on the back of their race number that would give start and end time, pace, etc. When runners stepped on the pad thingy at the start line, it started their time. When they crossed it again at the finish, it stopped the timing chip. I am always astounded by the technology these days.

As we began the race, Juli and Joni were off like the wind, and Renee and I stuck together. We saw Maria just around the corner on the side of the road, (with her 1-year-old, Kenley) cheering us on. She yelled stuff like, "Go Shannon! Go Renee! You're winning!" It was a fun surprise to see her. I wouldn't have blamed her at all if she'd decided to stay in bed a few more hours since we were up so late. But she chose to be there to support us the whole way.

I loved hearing hundreds of running shoes rhythmically pattering on the ground around me. It was something I'd never heard before. It was awesome. Moments before, I realized my Ipod had not been adequately charged and would therefore not be my soundtrack for the long run ahead. It was an instant of panic, but the panic was quickly replaced by the thought that I didn't want to miss all the sounds of the race itself. Renee's Ipod was working just fine, but that meant she couldn't hear all my witty commentary along the way. She totally missed out.

I think the actual race was way easier than running by myself. It made a huge difference seeing each mile marker, knowing how far I'd gone and how far I still had to go, having water or Gatorade offered by volunteers every couple of miles, and just being surrounded by all the other contestants. There were people along the road cheering on the runners. Strangers rooting for us, encouraging us. Maria kept appearing at different points on the route, taking pictures and giving cat calls. All those people and things made the run easier than I would have ever thought possible.


That's Renee in the orange, me to her right. I don't know who the other gal is, but doesn't her skin tone look nasty compared to mine? ;) Also, I think my eyebrows must have disintegrated when I wiped my forehead a few miles into the race.


Here is Juli, looking awfully cute.


Joni looking strong. And cute.


Another shot of me with Renee. Why does it look like we're walking? I was trying to see if I could run the entire time. The only time I slowed to a walk was at each drink station so I wouldn't spill my Dixie cup, and we fast-walked up a couple of the steeper hills. But once I'm running, if I stop to walk it makes my knees want to buckle, so I try to keep a nice, easy pace. And we fully appreciated the downhill parts!

As we came down the last hill and around the corner, I could see the finish line. I started to get choked up realizing I had done it, then picking Ryan and the kids out of the crowd was neat. Two hours, 23 minutes and 59 seconds after I started, I crossed the finish line. It was a great feeling. I pushed back the emotion so I wouldn't look like a sap in front of everyone.

Here we are with our finisher's shirts, happy the race we had fretted about was over.

If someone had asked me a year ago if I'd ever consider running a half marathon, I probably would have laughed and said no way! I'm glad I did it. I don't know for sure, but I just might consider doing it again someday . . . . but only if there is a sleepover involved.

Moral of the story: If you want to do something you never thought you could do, go for it! And don't let anyone say you can't.

Hooray For Halloween!

We had plenty of spooktacular activities to keep us busy during the week of Halloween.
Saturday the 23rd, Ryan's mom had her annual party for the grandkids. It was fun and simple. The kids came in costume and played games. Ryan's sister Alondra made yummy scones for everyone to enjoy. Shirley had the basement all decorated with Halloweeny stuff.

Cousin Malory and Cora. Cora wanted to be a ghost this year. Easy enough. And she looked pretty cool!


I don't think Cora liked whatever game was being played at the moment.


Jane wanted to use the costume Cora used last year, a "candy corn witch". I really liked the outfit and it suits her well. And once again, easy! Halloween was very low stress for me this year.

Jane with cousin Cassie.


Wow, she's really getting into character here. Yep, she looks like a dead person.

A bunch of Ryan's cousins' kids were also in attendance. I forgot to get a head count.



The kids had fun and Shirley sent them all away at the end of the evening with treat bags. What Halloween activity would be complete without candy?


~ Friday, October 29th, Oliver and I met up with my mom and cousin Fletcher (who is 3) to go trick-or-treating at the Anniversary Inn. That started at 1pm. I only knew about it because I scoured the internet looking for fun Halloween things to do. Both my sister and my brother-in- law worked there several years ago. Walking through the themed suites brought back some memories. Ryan and I got to stay there a bunch of times thanks to the family discount.

I didn't get any pics of the boys trick-or-treating there, but Fletch was dressed as Snake Eyes and Ollie was a train engineer. They both needed prompts at each room to remember to say "trick or treat", which is kind of awkward for me. Next year I'm hoping Oliver will be more excited about it. I feel like a crazy woman urging my kid on to collect as much candy as he can. I can't help it. I'm a candy whore. It's been that way for as long as I can remember. I don't know what it is about trick-or-treating, but I've always been obsessive about it; getting that free candy, as much as possible and as fast as possible. No dilly-dallying. Even though I know I can (and I do) go to the store and buy candy anytime I want it, I still get that trick-or-treat "feeling" when Halloween comes, and I get so excited. It's in my blood. Which makes sense, because with the volume of sweets I regularly come in contact with and consume, I'm certain there is a fair amount of sugar in my bloodstream.

No matter what time of year it is, whenever I ring someone's doorbell or knock on a door, when someone opens it, my automatic instinct is to yell "TRICK-OR-TREAT!" I actually do say it, maybe half the time, depending on whose door I'm at. It's always worth a shot, right?


~ Saturday, the day before Halloween, was our tri-ward Trunk-or-Treat. It was a lot more fun than I had expected it to be, once I got over the rage I was feeling when we were 10 minutes late, despite my best efforts to be early. Ryan got home from work a little later than I expected, which turned out to be about 20 minutes before I wanted us all to be there. No matter what, it seems like I'm never allowing myself enough time to get ready for anything.


Jane with her rather wide smile.

Cute Engineer Ollie. His hat was giving him problems. When he puts it on, he pulls it down to squash his ears, then we can't see his eyes. But if I try to adjust it so it's not covering his face, it must feel weird on him because he always takes it off. There is no happy medium. It's either too high or too low on his head.



Here's my pal Maria with Kenley. Aren't they precious? Her husband was dressed as Walt Disney. Should have gotten a picture of all three of them.


We happened upon Maisie and Maren. Maren made their costumes- an owl and a tree, in case it wasn't obvious enough. So cute! She is so crafty.


Oliver was a little overwhelmed with all the people in costumes. I think after he saw one guy with a creepy mask, he got kind of apprehensive. He was very quiet the whole time we were there, and wouldn't say a word to anyone handing out treats. :( By the time we were half done begging for candy, he was wanting to go back to daddy at our van.

I found this gift bag at Honk's Only $1 and instantly knew I had to wear it. Good thing Halloween was coming up or I might have tried to pass it off as a dress and wear it to church.
Imagine my dismay when I saw a teen-aged girl there with a similar costume. She told me she thought of it first. I begged to differ.


Ryan getting into the candy he was supposed to be passing out.


The girls (Cora, Jane and Malory) helped me decorate the back of the van earlier in the day for the occasion.
If only Cora could have held that face the whole night!


I don't know why it looks like Cora has a white mask on her eyes.


Here we are at home after the Trunk-or-Treat. Ollie was done with the hat. Doesn't he look cute with a mustache?


I like how the blurriness could be mistaken for creepiness here. And the blur to the left (Jane) adds a nice touch as well.

Cora and Malory are such good buddies.



I was telling Cora not to smile, but to look serious like a ghost.



They got a pretty fair amount of loot at the trunk-or-treat.





~ On Halloween night, when we took Malory home, the kids happened to be in their costumes and we happened to get out of the van and walk around Malory's neighborhood, ringing doorbells one by one. The people inside the houses gave the kids candy. We did this for about an hour, until Oliver started wanting me to carry him. (Ryan opted to stay home.)

Cora threw together this last-minute mime costume for Halloween night. She was tired of being a ghost. I applied her makeup that we copied from an online image. I thought she looked pretty cute. And once again, it was easy!

She looks so grown up in this picture (and so drugged).

It's hard to believe Halloween happened over a week ago already! Time is going by so fast. We must be having fun or something.

Oliver's 3rd Birthday!

Our baby isn't a baby anymore. When we tell him he's 3 he answers with, "No, I'm 2!" I guess he's in denial.

Ollie has really been growing up the last several months. He's talking more than I ever imagined he would. He wasn't in any hurry to talk, and I sometimes wondered when he'd get around to it. It's fun to hear him speak his mind in complete sentences now. He is so good about saying please and thank you. I never really had to drill it into him, like I had to with the girls. They still need prompts sometimes. Even when I'm just giving him food, he responds with a resounding "Thanks, Mom!" It makes my job so much more rewarding knowing without question that he appreciates my efforts. =) And it's tough saying no to him when he follows every request with the sugariest "please?" he can muster.

Oliver's Birthday was Thursday, October 28th. Since Ryan had to work 2-10 that night, we celebrated on the evening before so he could be included. He met us at his parents' house after work for cake and ice cream, etc. My parents also came over. Ryan's sister Bethany and her kiddo, Royce, were there too. It was a jolly little gathering.



Here's the cake I made. I wasn't sure what I was going to do until I was doing it. I almost just made a generic brown cake with "Happy Birthday Ollie" on top, but after I put the cakes in the oven to bake I decided to use this new Thomas play set as cake toppers. I was going to give the set to him for his birthday anyway, why not make the presentation more fun? If I had come up with the idea before baking the batter, I would have done a rectangle cake so I could have made a better track. Since I was ill-prepared and couldn't go to get any other decorating materials, (I waited until Ollie was down for his nap to start on the cake) I was forced to work with what I had on hand. I used green-tinted coconut for grass; crushed mixed nuts for rocks between the tracks; and cut up Twix bars for the railroad ties. And just a few days earlier, Shirley had given me a tube of leftover black icing from her Halloween stuff, which came in very handy for the track! I would have been screwed without it! Whenever I try and make black frosting, it ends up kind of purplish.

It was a cinch to put together. Any old dummy could do it!



I set it in a box with a lid to transport it so Oliver wouldn't see it until it was cake time.

Soon enough, the time arrived.





It's hard to tell by the expression on his face, but I think he kind of liked it!


After we sang to him and he blew out the candle, he helped himself to the cute little trains. They don't have moving parts or anything, but they are still fun for him. He likes to line them up on the floor like he does all his other trains and trucks.


Cora holding (and singing to?) Royce, who is also a Thomas fan. He and Oliver are great at fighting over trains together. I like Ollie's expression as Jane is squeezing him. He's not buying it. He knows she's only after his new trains.


The whole fam.


I would have pushed for a group picture of everyone there, but I didn't think either of the grandpas would have been able to stop chatting for long enough to get in the shot before Oliver lost interest.

He lost interest pretty fast.



And then, the moment Jane had been waiting for... present time! She'd hopped around before, during and after cake time, asking if he could open his presents yet.

I got him a couple of boring shirts. He likes the train one.


Jane and Cora picked out an Emily train for him. Jane's just a tiny bit thrilled to show it off to him.


Notice Jane in the background. She likes . . . present time.


The other shirt I got him. I've persuaded him to wear it once already. He looks handsome in blue.


I got him a garbage truck because he gets so excited when he hears or sees a real one around the apartment complex or driving down the road. He calls them dump trucks. =)


Even the mini garbage cans open and close.

And here is Emily, the new addition to his fleet of trains.






-- The next day was his actual birthday, so I wanted to make it feel special for him. Before he woke up, I blew up a bunch of balloons and scattered them all over in front of the door. That made me a little light-headed.

Finally he woke up and came out. I had been waiting and ready with the camera for his initial reaction, but then I decided to grab something out of the kitchen, and of course it was during that moment when he came out.

He still wears a diaper at night, but most mornings he is dry. The one night I left him in his undies as a test, he wet all over the place. I should have at least bothered to put some pants on him before photographing him. Oh well.



Happy Birthday to our super little guy.