More of a FUN DAY Family post...in Pictures!

Maris Farms.  A totally fun place to get pumpkins and much, much more!

Loving this sweet picture!

You can't tell, but Cole wasn't loving it to much, well at least he tried it.



Total framer of my handsome husband and Cole...cuties.



Max had a blast while Cole and I just watched!  This was a little boys dream.



How beautiful is Washington?  Mt. Rainer in the distance, I love that Mt.



Max jumping and having a blast

If you didn't know already, Pumpkin Patches are just like a small fair.

Will I ever get the perfect picture of these boys? 

Mom and Cole having some fun!

The hands in the pocket were cracking me up.  FYI...this is totally how his dad walks.

We had such a fun, family day enjoying all that Maris Farms had to offer.  Love days like this. 

*As most of you know, Mel at Tall-Mom lost her father on Sunday.  This was devastating news and my heart is breaking for her and her entire family.  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they are going through this difficult time.  I know she posted something today, so please (if you haven't already) leave her a comment or send her an email.  More prayers, words of support and encouragement through a time like this is is so helpful.  I know Mel would love to hear from you!

We love you Mel! 

Portland Marathon - Spectators Recap

What a fun weekend!  This was the first marathon I have spectated, I think...yah, I'm pretty sure it was.  The idea of spectating sounds easy, right?  Wrong, it's not as easy as one would think.  I have a whole new appreciation for all of those spectators out there.  It's a lot of work, a lot of planning and re-planning.  Mel and I had our plan set and then of course like every good plan, it changed.  But really I think it changed for the better.  We had to rely on our own transportation and not the City's.




"Let's Do This"

(Spectator Tip #1: Always expect the unexpected and KEEP on Keeping on)

I had no idea how rainy and windy it was until I walked out to Mel's car...wowzer!  Rain and wind...and a lot of it.  Poor runners!  Our first task was to find parking and after I forced Mel to break the law

(Spectator Tip #2: Break rules, laws...whatever it takes). 

**Just a warning, BLURRY pictures ahead!  Camera phones don't take good action shots, even if it's on the ACTION SHOT setting!  Lesson learned!



And the Elites go by...





Here comes Janna in the yellow!



Go Amanda, GO!

Mel is a ruler follower and she struggled as I forced her to do it...go down a one way street the wrong way!  And to add to it...a cop car was coming as we were turning off, but to our luck...he wasn't too concerned with us.  See Mel...it's ok!  We got a KILLER spot for our first spectating site, Mile 1 and Mile 4!  It was  little confusing watching both sides, but we got to see the elites go by and then we waited for our friends to run by.  First we saw Janna and then not too far after, Amanda ran by.  We were so excited to see them.  We waited for a little while and then headed back to our car for the next venture!  Oh and I had forgot the map...which is totally needed when spectating, so after a quick trip back to my mom's we were on our way to St. Honore for some coffee and almond croissants...and Mile 12!  We lucked out with a parking spot in front of the coffee place and 2 blocks from Mile 12...nice. 

Mile 12 was a GREAT spot!  We talked to other spectators and waited for our friends.  We were thrilled when we saw Julie and she was KILLING it.  She was looking strong.  Portland is great because the bib's have names on it, which is a SPECTATORS dream, well mine at least.  It makes it so much more fun to yell out peoples name, even though you don't know them.  I know hearing my name on the marathon course helped me during those hard miles.  It's funny how excited you get when you see your friends...all of sudden you get louder and way more excited.  Sarah, from Run Like a mother...she was on her way to her first BQ!!!  Way to GO SARAH!  Janna was our next friend who was way to focused to notice her annoyingly loud spectators!  She was looking good, as usual.  Next up was Amanda!  She wasn't feeling great and as soon as we she saw us, there was a lot of emotions happening.  It's hard seeing your friends not feeling great, you just want to pull them off, warm them up and chat, but I knew she wanted to finish.  She said she did, so we encouraged her and she was on her way.  Sometimes friends are so helpful when we need it most and can give us strength when we don't have any at the moment.  I knew Amanda would do well, she always does. 

(Spectators tip #3: Running a marathon helps you be a better spectator)

The next plan was to find Amanda at Mile 18 and Mel would run with her until Mile 20.  We made the drive up to North Portland and found our way to the next stop.  We got another great spot.  Just a reminder...it was still POURING RAN, buckets...I don't know how all the runners were doing it.  Not easy running conditions at all.  Whats fun about the mile markers is you see the same runners, it made it fun.  I was so glad to have Mel with me so I didn't look like a silly, solo spectator, much safer to have another person yelling with you...makes it look way more normal.  We were having a blast yelling for people that we didn't know.  We make a good team for this kind of thing, for sure.  Again we got to see Julie and she was still looking strong!  You were amazing Julie, great job!  It was cold and raining and I noticed a gal stop on the other side and I went over to see if she was ok, and she was freezing, but she told me she doesn't quit and she kept going.  Hope she made it through.  Cold and rain and be dangerous...not a great combo.   It was great seeing people with huge smiles on their face, that was so inspiring.  They were totally impressing me.  Next up was JANNA!  Looking amazing and going strong, still.  She is an awesome gal and just makes you want to run!  A few minutes later, Amanda was right in front of us.  Mel yelled, AMANDA and I think we totally startled her.  Amanda looked way more focused and in the game.  Mel and Amanda ran off and it was time for me to jump back in the car and meet them at Mile 20! 

Mel waiting at Mile 18

(Spectating tip #4: Wear clothes and shoes you can run in...you never know when you will need to jump in to carry a friend to the next mile.  Also running to the finish line to see your friends cross the finish line...running may be involved)




Amanda and Mel are 3 people back...do you see them (Amanda is in the white tank).  This was at mile 20, when Amanda was dropping Mel off.



Made a quick stop at Mile 20 to grab Mel and then it was off to the FINISH LINE!  I was so happy to hear from Mel, that Amanda was feeling better.  I knew she could do it and with only 6.2 miles left...she had it.  We made it back downtown and found a parking spot...oh about 10 blocks away.  We needed to run a little...only because we wanted to get a workout in!  We made it to the crazy, busy finish line and was shocked to see the set-up.  After about 15 minutes and realizing that Amanda hadn't finished yet, we found a spot so we could see her come in.  WE saw Julie come in and yelled as she came through the chute, next up was Harmony and Jess.  This was their FIRST marathon and they killed it with a time of 4:17!  Wow!  WAY TO GO LADIES!  They ran the whole race together...how exciting.  We were so excited when we saw Amanda and Carrie come through the chute.  Woohooo....I knew she would make it.  

Spectating is FUN!  See how much fun we are having!

(Spectator Tip #5: Not everything will go smoothly, even if it was smooth most of the time)

We quickly went to the reunion area to meet-up with Amanda, but never found her.  It was time for Mel and I to get back to our families so after bit of waiting we headed back to our car.  We couldn't believe that we made all the mile markers that we had wanted and the we thought for sure the Finish line would be smooth, but no luck.  We did get to hang out with Tressa and her husband and also got to see Harmony and Jess which was fun to welcome them to the MARATHONERS club. 

Woo...that was long.  I'm long winded...what can you say?  Spectating is EXHAUSTING...I had no idea.  I was freezing and soaked and couldn't wait to get home to take a warm bath. 

CONGRATS to everyone who ran this past weekend.  Portland runners...you amazed me with the crappy weather you were dealt, yet you endured and came through the RAIN! WAY TO GO.  I continue to be impressed by marathoners and all they do in 26.2 miles!  Way to go.

Portland Marathon-Pre-Spectating Edition

So excited to spectate such a fun marathon!  Mel and I have a plan and a great morning planned.  Glad I'm not spectating alone, that wouldn't be near as much fun.  We are wearing our running clothes so we can run around town watching our friend run!  See...you're kind of jealous now, aren't you?  Fun day with friends, photo's and many memories to be had.

The weather will be wet, but what kind of October race in the Pacific Northwest would be fun without our friend, the rain?  We will tough it out with all the other runners, but the great part is we can stop for coffee and almost croissants to warm-up (not to warm-up our body's to run...mostly to warm-up in the cold, PNW weather). 

Tomorrow will be a bitter sweet day as we say goodbye, for a little while to our friend Amanda.  She is an amazing gal who besides just preparing for a marathon this week, has also packed up her house to prepare moving across the country.  Yah...talk about a marathon!  Amanda- I will miss you t-town buddy!  Who will ever understand t-town like you do?  You are going to do great tomorrow...I know you will!  We will see you soon, hopefully on the East Coast!  We will be keeping it REAL over the BLOGsphere!

Now it's time to go, but wanted to update my blogging friends with the HAPPENINGS of right now!  I'm sure there will be much to report after all the festivities tomorrow.  GOOD LUCK to all who are running tomorrow.  Great city, great marathon...GOOD LUCK and ENJOY your VICTORY LAP!

A BIG thank you so Stacie for hosting a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill!  I love our bloggie/carbo loading, meet-ups. 

Time for bed...early wake-up...well early for me!  See you in a few hours, Mel!  Nightie, night everyone!

26.2 Magnets and the FUTURE!

Ever since I finished my first half marathon, last year I have wanted a 13.1 sticker and really wanted a 26.2 (do they think they could make a 26.6 or should I just grab an Ultra?) when I finished my marathon.  I hated the idea of putting stickers on my car and was thrilled when I walked into the ity, bitty expo for You Go Girl and One More Mile had a major booth and they had some.  Thank goodness because there really wasn't much to see at the expo.  They had a whole display of stickers...wait no, they were magnets...who knew that these even existed?...obviously not me.  Thrilled, I looked for the best ones to get, 13.1, 26.2 for me and 1 for Jamie, when she finishes her full in November and then a Runner Girl too.  I couldn't wait to put them on my van.  My husband was OK with the 2 magnets, but not so much with the "Runner Girl"...what, why?  So why do I mention all of this you ask?  Well the other day I went to open my trunk and was shocked to see my Runner Girl missing...I was worried that someone would steal these and now they had...wait no...it was my HUSBAND!  He took it down when he drove it last.  My question for you is...does he just want people to think he ran those?  I know people look at me differently after seeing those stickers, right?  OK so maybe not, but I think my husband is slightly jealous of my AMAZING abilities and wants some of the same notoriety!  When people drive by, see the 26.2 they are going to think he ran that if they see him driving!  I guess I will let him get away with it...but I need him to know that I'm totally onto him! 

In other news!  I am worried.  The same time every year, as races and goals seem to be over, I start to lose it...not weight (I wish), the running bug.  I start to slow down, sleep in, stay home and have more couch time...I also start to gain weight back!  I was looking for some local races in the next few months...specifically half's and there are not many....that I can find right now.  Last fall I put on some weight and I don't want to do that again. I ran HARD to get that off this year!  What is it about this time of year that does it to me?  Today I had planned on running since I hadn't run all week, but as the KID FREE morning went on I just wanted to lounge! SIDE NOTE...Why do we not appreciate the years before kids?  This morning was so peaceful and quiet.  I could get up, flush the toilet without worrying if I was going to wake the kids.  I wasn't woken up by my oldest asking for milk, I just got to sleep.  I can't believe how everyone morning used to be like this morning...wow I miss that.  But really...there is something to be said about silent mornings!  Live it up for all of you who don't, yet have kids...L-I-V-E it UP!...back to the post!  That all being said...I went on a run.  The first mile wasn't that great, but I just kept going.  The day was beautiful and a lot warmer then I had expected.  The views were breathtaking...loved it.  My breathing was a little off...I was tired and felt out of shape.  (How did I ever run a marathon...oh yah, with TRAINING!  And Running 5 days a week)  I finished with 6 miles and was so happy I had got out of the house and ran.  Before my run I knew if I didn't go I would totally regret it and if I went...I would feel so much better the rest of the day...which totally held true. 

Now with nothing on the horizon, unless I find a half to do, which I hope I do because it would be great to achieve Half Maniac status.  I am evaluating what I want to do next.  I really need to get back to the weight room and firm up, work on my core and mix-it up a bit.  Next summer I would love to do more triathlons.  I'm so torn with what to do..focus only on running or mix-it up with the bike and swimming?  I feel so partial to running!  It's way easier to focus on one thing and give it your all, when you mix-it up it gets more complicated.  To be honest...because running doesn't come easy to me, I feel like it's a constant challenge.  I also don't feel like I have fulfilled my running duties yet...I really want to run another marathon and see if I could do better, I don't feel great about my marathon and feel like I could do better, so I guess you could see I still have something to prove to myself.  On the other hand...training for a marathon is a lot of work...and time.  Not sure if I want to commit to that right now.  I love swimming...really love it and it comes way easier to me!  The problem with swimming is the limited time I can swim in the pool, they don't have a great schedule for lap swim.  Oh and the bike...I need a new road bike!  Which is not cheap!  I need to figure it out and get a plan together...I really feel lost at the moment.  Is it weird to think if I do something else...that I'm cheating on running?  I have thought of weights 2-3 times a week and running 3 times a week which would include a long run.  Maybe join the masters swim team, do some kick-boxing classes.

What to do...what to do!

• What do you think? 
• What have you done to keep, keeping on? 
• Do you do something else to keep it interesting?