Still not quite sure which of the contributing elements made this marathon the most blissful, but it was definitely, hands-down, no doubt, not even a question in my mind, my favorite marathon yet.
(lots of reading here, so don't feel obligated to do it all. But i gotta get it down somewhere)
Here are 26.2 reasons why:
1. Billy and I got to road trip, which meant a day off of work, billions of bathroom breaks, fast food and other fatty snacks, a breathtaking sunset as we pulled into San Jose and hours and hours of just hanging out with Billy! It was so fun.
2. When we arrived in San Jose, we got to hang out with the Lindes for awhile, which was great because we haven't seen them since our wedding (too long!) and they were as funny as ever.
3. In the morning, the kids ran around, screaming for a nervous LaDon to "get up, Dad, you have to run your race!" and eating marshmallow cereal. Daniel was wary of me and Billy at first until he made a connection and then we were bonded.
4. San Jose was so cool! We drove past acres of a landscaper's wildest dreams until we got to Huddart Park (only like 20 minutes but 8 highways away from the Linde's house) and it was so pretty!
5. There we were greeted by a group of the most intense trail runners I have seen since I ran the Ascent, the majority of whom were running the 50k.
(lots of reading here, so don't feel obligated to do it all. But i gotta get it down somewhere)
Here are 26.2 reasons why:
1. Billy and I got to road trip, which meant a day off of work, billions of bathroom breaks, fast food and other fatty snacks, a breathtaking sunset as we pulled into San Jose and hours and hours of just hanging out with Billy! It was so fun.
2. When we arrived in San Jose, we got to hang out with the Lindes for awhile, which was great because we haven't seen them since our wedding (too long!) and they were as funny as ever.
3. In the morning, the kids ran around, screaming for a nervous LaDon to "get up, Dad, you have to run your race!" and eating marshmallow cereal. Daniel was wary of me and Billy at first until he made a connection and then we were bonded.
4. San Jose was so cool! We drove past acres of a landscaper's wildest dreams until we got to Huddart Park (only like 20 minutes but 8 highways away from the Linde's house) and it was so pretty!
5. There we were greeted by a group of the most intense trail runners I have seen since I ran the Ascent, the majority of whom were running the 50k.
6. I was SO EXCITED TO RUN A MARATHON and especially with LaDon
7. It was so fun to run with LaDon, especially because not even Dad's fiercest hot air balloon breathing could compete with LaDon's breathing/running/camelbak-
8. THE TRAIL! This could count for the rest of my 26.2 reasons of why I loved this marathon so much. It was shady, soft, cool, and beautiful, weaving through Redwood trees and pattering along mostly alone because there were not that many runners. The first 6 miles or so were uphill and at the summit of that the sun was just starting to stream through these huge trees and there was still all kind of morning mist and it was just BEAUTIFUL. I was so happy!
7. It was so fun to run with LaDon, especially because not even Dad's fiercest hot air balloon breathing could compete with LaDon's breathing/running/camelbak-
8. THE TRAIL! This could count for the rest of my 26.2 reasons of why I loved this marathon so much. It was shady, soft, cool, and beautiful, weaving through Redwood trees and pattering along mostly alone because there were not that many runners. The first 6 miles or so were uphill and at the summit of that the sun was just starting to stream through these huge trees and there was still all kind of morning mist and it was just BEAUTIFUL. I was so happy!
9. The course! Usually I'm not a fan of out and backs, but this was perfect, 6 miles of up hill, 5 miles across, 4 mile loop and back around. It was just grand.
10. The good thing about the course was since it was an out and back, we got to the water stops twice, which meant we got to see Jamie and Billy and the kids 4 times! Definintely, definitely the highlight of me and LaDon's race
11. Water stops were awesome. Not only were we the crazy celebrating people at them, but the food was dang good and plentiful.
12. At about mile 11 or so, I started feeling my little baby pattering, pattering, which was one of the first times I'd ever felt it for sure and also so so fun and endearing to know I was just running a marathon with my little guy/girl. That actually made for some pretty good bonding during a race which I ran mostly alone in one of the most serene places I've ever run. Just me and my pregnant belly, trodding along.
13. The 4 mile loop I mentioned before had a water stop right at its beginning so you get there then loop around then you're back to it, so when I got there we took off again and then who should join me a few minutes later on a last minute decision but Billy! I was so happy! It was so fun to run with him, and we even peed on the side of the trail and mooned LaDon haha.
14. Speaking of peeing on the trail, I probably did 7 or 8 times. But never in my pants!
15. The temperature was perfect.
16. There were no mile markers and no watches the whole time. Such freebird running, I loved it!
17. Usually the last 5 miles or so are PAIN AND AGONY. But this time I was full of positive thoughts and energy and surrounded by such blissful earth, I didn't even think about how far I'd already run (even though there was a considerable amount of pressure and pain in my entire baby-holding area)
18.Nevertheless, I successfully tricked myself into thinking I had 3 miles left when I really only had like 200 yards left at the end.
19. The finish was so quaint. Just a few stragglers in the park, but also the first spectators of the race, so I got my own personal Krista cheers all the way through the line
20. 5 hours! That's longer than I've ever run.
11. Water stops were awesome. Not only were we the crazy celebrating people at them, but the food was dang good and plentiful.
12. At about mile 11 or so, I started feeling my little baby pattering, pattering, which was one of the first times I'd ever felt it for sure and also so so fun and endearing to know I was just running a marathon with my little guy/girl. That actually made for some pretty good bonding during a race which I ran mostly alone in one of the most serene places I've ever run. Just me and my pregnant belly, trodding along.
13. The 4 mile loop I mentioned before had a water stop right at its beginning so you get there then loop around then you're back to it, so when I got there we took off again and then who should join me a few minutes later on a last minute decision but Billy! I was so happy! It was so fun to run with him, and we even peed on the side of the trail and mooned LaDon haha.
14. Speaking of peeing on the trail, I probably did 7 or 8 times. But never in my pants!
15. The temperature was perfect.
16. There were no mile markers and no watches the whole time. Such freebird running, I loved it!
17. Usually the last 5 miles or so are PAIN AND AGONY. But this time I was full of positive thoughts and energy and surrounded by such blissful earth, I didn't even think about how far I'd already run (even though there was a considerable amount of pressure and pain in my entire baby-holding area)
18.Nevertheless, I successfully tricked myself into thinking I had 3 miles left when I really only had like 200 yards left at the end.
19. The finish was so quaint. Just a few stragglers in the park, but also the first spectators of the race, so I got my own personal Krista cheers all the way through the line
20. 5 hours! That's longer than I've ever run.
21. Baby was fine:) I was pretty nervous there about mile 16ish or so just 'cus you never know. But that little guy was as happy as could be
22. 1st place in my age group (of all 2 of us haha). 14th overall (of all 40 of us haha) 5th woman overall
23. LADON!!! LADON RAN HIS MARATHON! That, people, was definitely the highlight! What a trooper. Definitely a hard marathon, especially for a first marathon, but LaDon did it! I've rarely ever been so proud of anything in my whole life. What a champ. You can see the kids in this picture finishing with him--I don't think they (or you, even, for that matter) have any comprhension of what a tremendous accomplishment this was.
22. 1st place in my age group (of all 2 of us haha). 14th overall (of all 40 of us haha) 5th woman overall
23. LADON!!! LADON RAN HIS MARATHON! That, people, was definitely the highlight! What a trooper. Definitely a hard marathon, especially for a first marathon, but LaDon did it! I've rarely ever been so proud of anything in my whole life. What a champ. You can see the kids in this picture finishing with him--I don't think they (or you, even, for that matter) have any comprhension of what a tremendous accomplishment this was.
24. Afterwards we stuffed our faces and only suffered one major head bonk (Daniel :( )
25. Pregnant marathon! Pretty cool experience. Would definitely do it again, especially if it were in this area of the world
26. Long ago, when I ran my first marathon, LaDon laid on the grass next to me and kept saying, "Krista, we gotta do this together sometime. We gotta run a marathon together." and we've always planned to do it and always talk about doing it and I always promised I would do it, and now we actually did do it! The months of training preparation that preceeded it and every mile of it was great becuase me and LaDon were just running a marathon together like we always wanted to and Billy and Jamie got to be such a good part of it for all of us. It was so fun, I cherish it to the ends of the earth and I was so so proud of LaDon.
.2 The drive home was a sad affair since Billy did the whole thing on his own, despite my best efforts to stay awake. But still, such a fun adventure with Billy and we were so happy to hang out with the Lindes and see LaDon run his first marathon.
So, until February, the marathons are done!
Just kidding, but at least for awhile, until one of you wants to run a sweet one with me and Billy, we will go wherever and love it!
Thanks for reading. Elise got married, so expect a report of that in the near future. And we find out what baby is in two weeks!
So, until February, the marathons are done!
Just kidding, but at least for awhile, until one of you wants to run a sweet one with me and Billy, we will go wherever and love it!
Thanks for reading. Elise got married, so expect a report of that in the near future. And we find out what baby is in two weeks!
