Wow. What can I say? Hard. Hard. But amazing! I will try to highlight the good and the bad of my race.

• Morning of the race: driving to the starting area to find the exits closed. Bad. Got out and walked from the exit to the start. Bad. Miles ran: 26.2 Miles walked before the race: 2. Definitely not fun. Plus as I was walking I realized I probably could have just flashed the police my race number and Shayne could have driven me all the way there. Oh well.
• Starting the race. Good. Very exciting. I mean I was running in the Super Bowl of Marathons.
  
• Miles 1-6. Good. Energizing. Lots and lots of runners. Nice down hill slope.
  
• Mile 7 + when I realized that they weren't going to have any sports goo or gel until mile 17 and I didn't pack any with me. Bad. Very Bad. Seriously, I was dieing. I almost begged some off other runners. I wish I had. Thankfully I was able to grab a couple of orange slices and bananas from people in the crowds.
• At each 5K I would run over a mat that would read my chip and electronically post my time and pace over the internet so family and friends back home could track my race. Good. That was cool.
  
• Hitting the half marathon mark knowing that the worst part of the race was still ahead of me. Bad. I don't like to complain. Well maybe I do, but this marathon was HARD! I have only run in the St. George Marathon which has significantly more downhill..long stretches of downhill and the second half lots of steep downhill. Not so in Boston. There is up, up, and even more up. I mean there is a spot in the race that is called Heartbreak Hill!
• Running through Wellesley. Good. This was just after the 1/2. It is a famous spot because of the noise. You can hear a ringing before you see anything and then there is a line of girls (Wellesley is a girls college) and they are screaming and yelling. It was SO awesome. I'll tell you the best thing I did was wear a sign that had my name on it. At the expo there was a station that was handing out large stickers and a sign that said wear your name, crowds like to yell out your name. I grabbed one. I kind of thought it would be dumb. But it was so great. When ever I was feeling crappy...which was kind-of a lot I would run close to the sides and people in the crowds would read my name and shout out encouragement. I cannot tell you how great it was to hear my own name yelled out....even when I knew it was from people I didn't even know. So when I ran through Wellesley, I ran over to the line of girls, they all had their hands out to give fives and for probably a quarter of a mile I gave constant fives and heard my name yelled out over and over. It was such a boost!
• Seeing Shayne (and Josh) at mile 17. Good. I was counting down the miles. Here I was really hating it and it was so good to see someone I knew and get a very much needed pep talk.
• Mile 17. Power gel station. Good. Finally! Advice to anyone planning to run the Boston Marathon : Pack your own gel!!!!!
• Water and Gateraid stations every mile. Good. These saved me. Mentally I was struggling. I was feeling weak and depleted. I just told myself to run to the next water station where I would grab a drink and walk through it. Again here I heard a lot of support from the volunteers reading my name and telling me I could do it.
• Mile 19-21. Bad. Here is where you just keep going up and then still have to run Heartbreak Hill (one of the steepest spots on the course).
  
• Mile 21. Good. Here is another great crowd spot. You run by Boston College. There were a lot of loud noise that really pumps you up. Plus only 5 miles to go.
• Mile 24. Bad. Only 2 to go. I knew I was going to be close to 4 hours. But my legs would not go any faster. It was here that I came to peace with that fact that when I told people my time at Boston it would have to be with a 4 in the front and not a 3.
  
• Mile 25. Bad. Missed seeing Shayne. He was there. And he is still not sure why he never saw me run by. Maybe it was because there were lots of runners...25,000?
• Mile 26. Good. Turning the corner and see all the crowds, all the runners, and especially the finish line.
• Mile 26.2. Good. Finished. 4:01.26.
  
• Mile 26.3. Bad. My calf cramped. But no worries a medic was near by and she stretched it out good.

So even though the race was hard. I am glad I did it. My favorite was definitely having crowds of people throughout the whole race. Their were a lot of people handing out ice, water, popsicles, orange slices, or sponges soaked with water. I even saw this little boy, who was probably 4, holding a half empty water bottle asking the runners as they went by if they needed some water. So cute. So great. Amazing experience.

Boston, Mass.

I'm looking forward to a little getaway with my husband. It's fun to think about eating out: which means no planning, preparing, serving, clearing, washing, sweeping.....just eating! I love that. It will be nice to not have to worry about any complicated bedtimes: no need for hurrying, bathing, washing, scrubbing, diapering, dressing, guiding (more like pulling, yanking, dragging), pleading, yelling, kissing(I may miss that).....just sleeping. The traveling will be a breeze: no 2 days of packing, planning, preparing. No need for strollers, crayons, books, movies, paper, pencils, markers, blankies, dolls, wipes, diapers, band-aids, drinks, or snacks..... just me, and maybe snacks and a couple of good books. This weekend will be great. Oh ya, I guess there will be something else: running, running, and more running. 26.2 miles to be exact.

No Parking!

So what does No Parking actually mean? Does it mean that a vehicle can never be stopped at or around a No Parking sign? Is there a time limit? How about 1 minute or 30 seconds? Is that okay? What about if you never leave your vehicle when "parked" there? You don't even get out of the car. So obviously No Parking means No parking, but I think that it is okay to be waiting in a No Parking "zone" if you are still in your vehicle.

Soooo, why all of this talk about the definition of parking? Because the other day I had an angry old man tell me "No Parking! (pointing to a sign) You stinkin little BIT**!" Yes, he did. At least he called me little. Of course, I was in my van so I'm not sure he meant it as a compliment about my size. So, let's go back a few moments before that awesome outburst. I was picking up a couple of girls from dance and I wanted to park where I could see them come out of the door and they could see me. No need to get out of the vehicle, just a little honk and a wave over. Less work. There was a nice spot by a tree. Shade. Perfect. No Parking sign posted on the tree. I'm not getting out. So park on.

Well, I saw this car about to back out of a parking spot. I glanced and noticed that he had plenty of room to back out with a turn and head on his way even with me "parked" directly behind him (I was at least two car lengths away). He backed straight out then went forward, turned the wheel a small degree, backed straight out again, forward, turn, back straight, then forward. This was crazy! Is he serious? I watched through the corner of my eye, because I could feel his angry devil eyes on me. At first when I saw him drive back and forward once I thought about moving for him.....even though anyone, even a 10 year old could have backed out of that spot with me "parked" there....but after the second attempt, I knew he was driving like an idiot on purpose. He didn't like me parking there. And he wanted me to know it. So I sat there and laughed. He finally pulled up along side me. And spewed those delicious words. I just sat there and gave him a smile and a shrug. I wonder what more he would have done or said if his wife wasn't sitting right next to him. Ouch! I was dying, it was actually quite humorous.

So parking or no parking? Well, to tell you the truth if a cop would have been anywhere nearby I wouldn't have "stopped" there. So there you go.

It's a boy....finally!

Some of you may know that Shayne and I have discussed adopting a baby. A boy baby, because we are not able to produce one ourselves. Well, we decided to go ahead with all the paper work a few months ago. We have kept it sort of hush-hush since the selection process can take a while. It happened a lot faster than we expected. I guess the birth mom felt bad enough for Shayne having to raise only girls and picked us because of it. We are pretty excited. I'm not sure I'm all ready for the whole newborn thing again, but I have a lot of little helpers. Here's a picture of me and the little guy. The verdict is still out on the name. Good thing Shayne didn't release our list of boy's names yet.




Actually, this picture is of me and my newest nephew, CJ. I got to spend a weekend with my little sister who just had a baby. It was so great! I guess I was a lot of help. I'm a big advocate for breastfeeding. I enjoyed nursing my 4 girls and worked at WIC for a little while helping other moms with breastfeeding problems. Since this is her first baby, I offered to come and help her out with the whole nursing thing.

It feels good to make things really truly easier for someone, just by giving of myself. My knowledge. My time. It wasn't hard, but it came from me. I did help her with breastfeeding. I know she would have done it and done it well without me, but it was nice to help her gain her own confidence. I was able to take away a lot of the guess work and endless questions we have when it comes to nursing a newborn and that allowed her to be able to focus on recovering and healing. I got to spend two amazing nights sleeping with a beautiful little infant laying on my chest so Sadie could get a few more hours of desperately needed sleep. What's the perfect gift for a new mom? Definitely sleep. I enjoyed my quick stay immensely and would have loved to stay longer, but Shayne held down the fort at home with the 4 female brats that we call our children, long enough. Thanks for letting me come Sadie and Christian. And thanks for making me feel so good.
***Also about what's written above the picture, keep looking up and make sure you notice the date of this post. Just a hint.