Category: Marathon

If you’re going to drive hundreds of miles with small children, then lie in bed for hours while one jumps excitedly on each of your outstretched arms… well, you could pick a far worse destination than redwood-rich Northern California.

Our trip up to Fortuna, CA saw us…

• stopping off to drive through the colossal Chandelier Tree
• picking up a toy ice cream & VW for the boys (“Like… Jose’s Beetle!” says Hen)
• stopping for lunch beside a monster truck school bus, where the guys climbed onto a forklift (“Driving Guido!” from Cars)
• losing the ice cream truck at a gas station (big freak-out!!)
• amazingly, finding the truck at the same station the next day!!*
• listening to Henry narrate the Avenue of the Giants (“Tree tipped over, Dad-O. Scooper [garbage] truck did it.”)

Without further ado, check out the gallery!

* Finn recounted the experience rather breathlessly to Mom-O: “I was just so excited about it, I couldn’t even give the truck a smooch!!”

This weekend was action packed! All four of us drove up to the beautiful redwood forests of Northern California so I could compete in the half-marathon I’d trained for. All three of my guys came to cheer me on and cavort amongst the giant trees.

It was a fantastic weekend. Sunday was race day, and it couldn’t have been any better. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the course, along the famous Avenue of the Giants, was beautiful. My training paid off, and I finished the race even faster than my target pace. I felt great almost the entire race, only starting to feel tired and a bit sore during the last couple of miles. The last mile went by quickly, with tons of folks from my Team in Training support team cheering me on, and then as I caught a glimpse of John, Finny, and Henry close to the finish line. Here’s a gallery of pics from race day. And for all of you who supported me, both morally and with donations to LLS, your name made it onto my jersey so you were right there with me the entire time!

My experience with Team In Training was fantastic–the training, coaching, support, and inspiration of our honorees made for a truly memorable experience. It just couldn’t have been any better, and I am proud to have participated on behalf of blood cancer patients and their families, whose lives and experiences are affected by the research, time, money, and support they receive from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.