Sunday, March 18, 2007

Weekend in Review

It's Sunday night and this is the first chance I've had to sit down at the computer. We had a great weekend - busy, but great. Eric, Steve, Lorri and I headed up to Bellingham Friday afternoon. Once we got there, we went for a walk down to the marina at the lake, sat around the house talking more - because even though we'd just spent 2.5 hours together in the car, we still had plenty to say. We had went out to a great little Italian place nearby for dinner, then went back to the house and passed the time playing four-handed cribbage while we waited for Olga. I have to admit, sometimes four-handed cribbage can be confusing for some people, namely tired, light-weight wine drinkers. Olga got in late and we pretty much said hello, got her set and went to bed. Eric and Steve rode in with Olga, Lorri and I slept in (yay!) I think this was the first time that I've been with Eric at a race and not gone to support him - but I really enjoyed wandering the shops. Lorri and I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch - it opened when I was in high school, and Eric and I used to go on dates there. I had the same great taco salad (veggie version) on Saturday that I had back then.

The race started and ended in the small park that the Last Chance Marathon did (yes, I saw those damned arches again!). We thought that the guys would finish about two o'clock, so we headed over to the park after lunch, and though there was actually one parking spot available, it required parallel parking skills, which, sadly, I don't possess. Instead we drove about two blocks down to Eric's Dad's place and parked there. We walked back and waited under a leaky awning for the guys to come in - it was pouring buckets. Eric and Steve came in about 20 minutes later, and Olga a while after that. Lorri and I went back to Eric's Dad's place for a cup of coffee while Eric and Steve ate and socialized. We went back to the house to let them clean up, and headed home. We finally made it back to Puyallup about 8:30.


This morning the alarm rang early - we were previewing the first half of the Tacoma City Marathon course. We met in the park at 6:30 and then shuttled cars to the start. The 6:30 group was the early start - another set of runners went out at 7:30 at a little faster pace. Eric, Michelle S., Melissa, Ray, Patt and I headed out together. I enjoyed the course, though apparently we went through some seedy areas of town. It was all new and interesting to me - parts of Tacoma I had never seen. I really enjoyed going through the historic Stadium High section that was featured in the movie Ten Things I Hate About You, and along the waterfront.














Even better was some of the entertainment today - Melissa doing leaps and cartwheels, Ray, Michelle and I trying to do leaps, some hilarious conversation, and in general, just plain, good company. It was really fun to have Eric along for the run, too. I did have one mishap. I stuck my bottle full of chocolate soy milk back in the holder without putting the spout down - it was still fairly full. I didn't realize it till next time I took a drink - it was splattered everywhere. I had my white cap tucked into the bungee on the outside of the pack and part of it was soaked with chocolate, the back of my legs looked like I had run through mud, it was on my vest, my shorts and my shirt. What a mess!
We got stuck at the train tracks by an extremely long freight train that was creeping by. We were actually waiting patiently, when it came to a complete stop. That was it for us - we ran down the set of parallel tracks, high-stepping on the wooden railroad ties. We could see the caboose ahead - it started moving again just as we got to it. We cut across three sets of tracks behind the train and down to the waterfront (we did pause and look for other trains first, and it was way better than Eric's suggestion of climbing between the cars!) Patt peeled off around mile eight and caught a ride back to the park, while the rest of us ran throughthe waterfront and up to the park for ten miles, then did a small loop to make eleven. The halfway point is somewhere deeper into Pt. Defiance, and we were all happy with our distance so we called it a day. We finished up with Starbucks, meeting up with the other group of runners there. Oh, one other amazing thing today. Not only do Michelle and I share a name, but we also share a birthday - except she was born the day I turned 14!

Eric and I spent the rest of today catching up at home - I grocery shopped, made homemade soup and paid bills, Eric swept, vacuumed, mowed and kept laundry moving. I think we are ready for the work-week!

18 comments:

Jenny, Maniac #401 said...

Can Eric come to my house and sweep, vacuum, mow, do laundry? Oh, and does he doe windows? I could use that too? And cleaning out refridgerators? If he's for hire or loan that is? :) Is there a magic spell you used on him to get him to do all of that? Can you teach it to me? :)

Sorry I missed Sunday, it sounded and looked awesome. I always could use more laughs this week! The Daffodils at the park are beautiful!

Maybe I'll get to see you Thursday? Just depends on the baseball schedule! Otherwise Saturday if you come to the Resolution run??? to be a cheerleader??? hint hint!!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the pictures. It looks like a good time was had by all. Ok, I gotta get ready for school. I'm not as prepared for my work week.

Legs and Wings said...

Cool pictures. I snorted upon reading how Eric 'mowed'...as in 'mowed the lawn'?! Nice.

Joe said...

Four person cribbage is always a bit confusing. We always play Crash Cribbage instead... more fun, and it has a figure eight track that should appeal to a runner. :o)

www.crashcribbage.com

Olga said...

Michelle, thanks so much again for the shelter, and especially for the finish picture (yay for capturing the winning smile of the year!:)). Great weekend for you, awesome pics!

runliarun said...

The days so busy, so full, so fun... so much life well lived :).

Faithful Soles said...

Great race report and great pictures. I think you should start a new category called, "You know you're in shape when..." and first on the list needs to be "...you can do cartwheels while competing in a race." Awesome, and it shows what this really all about, the fun and camaraderie.

Anne said...

You sure the spilt milk on your backside looked like mud and not something else?! Just kidding. You always seem to have the best time on your runs.

Journey to a Centum said...

I'm surprised that nobody has commented on Melissa's cartwheel action during the run. Fabulous photography by the way!

Anonymous said...

Hello!

It sounds like you guys had a remarkably wonderful weekend! I, too, am amazed about your hubby cleaning the house and the mid-run cartwheeling! Now that you've previewed the course, do you feel more ready for the marathon? If only we could preview all of our courses.

So happy to hear that the kitty has stayed away... meow! :)

Happy running,
Meghan
www.running-blogs.com/meghan

JustRun said...

You all have the MOST fun runs I've ever seen!

wendy said...

Wow, Michelle - jam packed weekend as usual. The Tacoma first-half looks awesome - you and Eric post the best pictures.
How'd your legs do on the hills this weekend?
Why don't I remember the arches from the marathon? What was the story behind that again?
Sounds like you snagged a good one in Eric - I can't complain, Beau does all the laundry, dishes, packs lunch for me every day, and makes dinner every night. Yay for wonderful husbands!

Dori said...

Whew, I'm exhausted just reading about your busy weekend! I had to laugh at Eric's suggestion to climb between the freight cars--isn't that just like a man. :-)

I love the pictures.

Tony C said...

What do you mean "seedy part of town?" That's the area where I run every day ... you haven't seen the seedy part of the course yet. No joke!

*tc

Wes said...

Now that's a cool way to support an ultra! Nice run, and good lesson on capping the bottle! LOL. Remember, one man's paradise is another man's seedy part of town!

Sarah said...

Sounds like a full weekend. You even had time for chores! I'm impressed. ; ) : )

Ryan said...

Great report and photos, looks like a fun group! It's interesting to hear all the different stories from Chuckanut..sleeping late sounds good to me = )

What a great weekend and having Eric to do chores on Sunday...priceless!

Anonymous said...

Hey, who was that great looking person doing those cartwheels?!!!