Jam Packed Weekend

Well this weekend certainly made up for all of the crummy weather we've been having! It was in the mid 80's both Saturday and Sunday and we definitely took advantage of it. McKenzie had a baseball tournament both days and at Saturday's game, I got fried! I never use sunblock on my legs because it seems like they never get any color, so why use it? Well I guess that rule does not apply when you are sitting on bleachers outside for 4 hours in 85 degree weather. OUCH!!

McKenzie was catcher both days and I'll tell ya, she was awesome! She was so hot in all of her gear but she gave it her all and helped bring her team to victory. The first game started out not so good with the other team kicking butt. Never fear though, our girls forged ahead and beat them 6-4. Woo hoo!! She definitely deserved the Baskin Robbins treat afterward.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early for our household. I had to meet my ride downtown at 6:30 am for our 7:45 half-marathon start and Mike and the girls had to be at Yauger Park by 7. I didn't get to see K's first or second game but they worked really hard and lost the first by only 1 run and won the second.

We met our team at Sylvester Park at 7 am to watch the marathon runners begin. We then got in line for our start at 7:45. It was the longest jaunt of my life!! I broke off with one other member of my team and we bolted. We alternated between walking and running and had a very good time. I included a picture of our team before the race:

Notice my nicely burned knees right there in the front with my lucky #1303!! I was freezing cold with burning legs and arms. Such a nice way to start out the day...LOL.

At every mile, there was a marker and every two miles, there was water and sponges. At one point, running through a neighborhood, there was a beer shot stop!! They actually had little cups of beer. Tempting....but no go, I chose the Gatorade instead. A little girl asked me if I wanted to be sprayed with water while we were passing by and I learned a valuable lesson....always ask what you are going to be sprayed with and how many pumps they are going to take. Oh yeah, she pulled out a Super Soaker 5000 (or something huge like that) and nailed me! She soaked me from my belly button to my knees. Had I known I was going to look like I peed my pants (and shirt) I would have declined; however, it was very warm out so I dried fairly quickly. Right about mile 11 1/2, I stepped down with my left foot and felt a crack. I managed to put it out of my mind for the rest of the race but I'm still enjoying that pain today. I took a picture of the last mile marker before the finish line so I can look back and re-live that gratifying moment again and again and know I did my best:

Whitney and I ran at full force, through the finish line with tons of people on the side-lines cheering for us with a time of 3:13:56 and I have to say that it felt amazing! I was kind of regretting my decision to register but I am so glad that I followed through and finished. It really makes me wonder if I could do the full marathon next year (??????) Maybe not, but I can certainly work toward that goal.

After the marathon, I went back to the tournament for a BBQ and a final game that ended in a tied score. That game was the most exciting of the entire season so far. They worked their tails off and almost won. They won in our book anyway and got an A+ for effort. I'll post some pictures of the tournament soon. All in all, it was a pretty great weekend and ended on a perfectly sunny note!