Rohan's Party/Half-Marathon/Krista's Birthday/Rock Climbing!

Wow - what a wonderful vacation!! My only regret is that Dan wasn't along....next time!!

My vacation started when Dan took me to Mosinee to catch my 12:40pm flight to MSP, where I met up with my niece, Cariann. We were offered a bump on our flight to Phoenix, and because I had never done that before and figured it was a good time to do it, with a more experienced flyer along - we took a bump and flew to Phoenix, via Dallas, with a voucher for another flight in our hot little hands. That put us into Phoenix 3 hours later than originally planned, but it worked out fine, at least for me. Cari was a good sport about it, too. ;) Heather picked us up and we headed back to her place where we grazed for a bit and hit the hay. Rohan had been dropped off there earlier in the evening, so the first pictures I took in Phoenix were of him at 5:00 the next morning. The two of us hung out in my room until we figured some others were awake. It was a good time to get re-acquainted with each other.

Friday we had to pick Krista up from the airport, and then headed right to the Expo to pick up our Race Packets. Our timing was perfect - no lines, and there was lots to see at all the booths, with tons of freebies. Cool! We met up with Mara and Mike there, and then headed back to Heather and John's. M&M had other commitments in the evening, but the rest of us hung out there - which included a nice walk through their development and some time in the hot tub. Tough life, huh? Oh - and my folks are there at Heather's for a month, so we got in some quality time with them, as well.

Saturday was a morning to sleep in, and I did sleep later than on Friday, but I always tend to be an early riser when on vacation. Go figure. Must not want to waste a minute of fun! We spent the morning and early afternoon getting ready for Rohan's first birthday party (#3 of 3, according to Mike), fixing fruit kabobs, putting up decorations and 'building' the cake - "The Hills of Sedona". That turned out really cool! Mara and Mike made tortellini - delicious! We were definitely carb-ed up for Race Day! There were a lot of party guests there to honor little Rohan - it was great to meet so many of Mara and Mike's friends - I was able to put faces to names. Krista and Cari's Dad, Ed, made a surprise appearance (to them, anyway) and Rohan gained another fan. By the time the last guest headed out the door and we got the party cleaned up, we were winding down. Another short walk in the evening, and then to bed for the night. Tomorrow would be the Marathon!

Sunday morning: up at 4:30! I had to have time for my oatmeal to settle before the race. We left the house a little before 7:00, with Ed driving one car, and John the other. They would keep track of Rohan between them - picture that! I don't think I have ever been part of such a large crowd before - oh, maybe in Rio.... :) I am used to running in shorts and a tank - when the weather is above 45 or so. It was 45 that morning, so I figured I would be fine. I FROZE until I had run a mile or so....then I was good. But we were there for about 1.5 hours before we started running. Live and learn. They recommended you wear layers, with the outer layer being one you would toss off. The dropped clothing was to be collected for GoodWill (or the Homeless, whoever got there first!). After the race, we found out there were over 21,000 people who participated in just the half-marathon. Another 10,000 did the full-marathon! Add a few spectators to that, and you get an idea of the number of people milling around at the starting line. The mayor of Phoenix, and Sen. John McCain were there to send us off at the starting line. They started us off in 'corrals', about 45 seconds apart: M&M were in the 6th, along with some of their friends; Heather and Krista were in the 7th; and Cari and I were in the 15th. You chose a corral close to what you anticipated your finish time would be. Cari and I ran in the 2:30 corral (hopeful, I guess), with the others hoping for somewhere around 2 hours. Cari, bless her heart, stuck with me the entire race! She certainly could have gone on ahead, and clocked a better time for herself, but I'll never know whether or not I would have completed the race without her! Thank you Cari!! We crossed the finish line, hand-in-hand, for a time of 2:47:23! We (I) had been hoping for a time under 3 hours, and we did it! Better yet, we were both fork-ed end down at the end of the race, and felt great! The only consternation, after crossing the finish line, was - "did we have a plan of sorts, as to how we were going to meet up with the others?????" Luckily, before we got out of the area for recovering runners, Jordan's head popped up over the fence! Were we glad to see him! After getting some group pictures (my camera batteries were dead, so I didn't get any pics that day - check out the Syring Blog, and also the Schmit Family Blog) Jordan and Kailea went to pick up some pizzas and the rest of us did our mile or so cool-down walk (to find where John and Ed had parked the cars!) and headed back for pizza and the hot tub - yippeee!! We did it! Krista was the fastest in our group with a 2:09 time, and the rest were at 2:15 (I don't have their seconds here) - we totally rocked! I WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM FOR THEIR ENCOURAGEMENT AND FAITH IN ME - THAT I COULD DO THIS! IT IS AN EXPERIENCE THAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER!! After dinner, the grandkids presented Dad with a very cool gift for his 86th birthday (coming up on the 27th) that you will have to check out one of their blogs to see - I don't want to spoil it. ;) We ended up an amazing day, by going out to eat to celebrate our collective accomplishments, and Krista's upcoming birthday (the 19th) - thanks to our host and hostess for a wonderful meal - you DO need to learn to let others pick up the tab, though! ;)

Monday morning was the first day I actually 'slept in' - till around 7:00, I think. I was a little stiff in the hip joints, but loosened up as the morning went on. Several trips up and down the stairs helped. Mike and Rohan came over, later in the morning and I packed up my bags and moved over to their place, for the remainder of my stay. Thanks for the wonderful hospitality, Heather and John - it was great, as always!!! The boys and I met up with Mara for lunch and then headed back to their apartment. Ro had a Dr. appointment in the aft, so while they were at that I went and did a little shopping. I didn't even get lost! ;) Back at their apartment, Rohan had to show me his new bookshelves and play-tent - very cool! We had a wonderful supper of salmon and wild rice, with broccoli and cauliflower, prepared by Mara (and Mike??). Sasha joined us for supper, and then we all headed over to AZR for some indoor rock climbing. Yup! I did it, too! You will have to check out Mara and Mike's blog for those pictures as well. It was a blast! Thanks much to Mike and Mara for the opportunity! Climbing up was fairly easy, compared to taking that leap of faith to lean back and let your 'belayer' lower you at a safe speed - Mike was belaying for me! He was good though, as I had to take a hand at belaying for him, after that! :) The other three were really good at climbing, and it was fun to watch them, and all the others that were there. We all took turns, and I got in 4 or 5 climbs - to the top, each time! I was pumped! The two that weren't climbing/belaying looked after Rohan - and it took 2 people to keep track of him. He is certainly at home at AZR (Arizona Rocks). We said our good nights to Sasha and headed back to the kids' apartment. After Ro went to bed, Mara and Mike hit the hot tub and I turned in. Good thing, as Rohan was awake at 3:00 and 6:00, teething. Just getting me back into my normal schedule of rising at 4:30 for chores, I guess.

Tuesday morning, I went to work with Mike, dropping Rohan off at daycare on the way. After an impressive tour of his workplace, he walked me over to Starbucks where I waited until he was ready to take me to the airport. I flew out at 12:40pm and arrived at Mosinee around 8:00pm. There I was met by Dan, grinning from ear to ear - it was great to be home! After a huge congratulatory hug and kiss, we collected my luggage and headed home.

That is the end of my narrative about my trip, but the things I saw and experienced will stay with me forever, and I am changed because of them. Less than 7 months from first stepping onto the treadmill and running - for an entire 2 minutes! - I ran my first half-marathon in 2 hours 47 minutes and 23 seconds! For those of you who think they could 'never' do anything like that - think again! I ran my first 5K race 2 days before I turned 52. Until 2 months prior to that, I had never dreamed of being able to run more than 50 yds., at the most. To be honest, I didn't give the whole running thing alot of thought before I dove into it. Overthinking can doom your goals, before you start.

I will close this post with a quote, and a hope that all of you will do 'remarkable' things this year! Also, another HUGE THANK YOU to all who made this past week possible!!

"I have learned, as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. Then fasten your seatbelt. The most remarkable things follow." -Julia Cameron