it.is.time.

our 10 year wedding anniversary is a mere 342 days away!


I'm sure we looked just like this on September 14, 2002.

The USAF marathon is kind-of a HUGE deal!!!!! Oh, and SUPER awesome!

a marathon is 26.2 miles.
TWENTY SIX point TWO miles.
*****26.2*****


We had planned on taking a cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary ~~ which we'll celebrate on September 14, 2012. Plans have changed.

What better way to celebrate 10 years together than by running 26.2 miles??? We've never run a full marathon, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather tackle this HUGE challenge with!!! And, as an added bonus, my sister and best friend will be tackling a new distance for her as well, as she takes on the 10K race!!!

I am a truly blessed person, and I love the people in my life without end -- I can't think of any better way to celebrate such a milestone!!!!

Popcorn Panic, 2011

^^ Jackie & I after the race ^^


^^ Chris and Jackie after the race, she's sad becasue he beat her after all :-( ^^


^^ Chris and I after the race -- can you smell us, man, we were R-I-P-E :-/ ^^









September 10, 2011
(9-10-11) <--- cute, huh???
Valparaiso, IN

We actually had to "hire" a babysitter for this race because my mom (go figure) bailed on us!!! The sitter was here nice and early though, so we had plenty of time before the race. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining and the birds were singing -- great day for a run!!!
We met Jackie at WalMart so we could all carpool together, as parking is non-existent in downtown Valpo. We found a spot with only mild difficulty, and headed off to get our packets. Packet pick-up was painless, Chris even scored *2* shirts -- just because he asked....Jacki was bummed b/c the walkers had completely different bibs than the runners, and they had to wear them on their backs!!! (Apparently they don't mess around with the walkers running at Popcorn Panic!!)
We took our packets back to the car before we meandered around race start HQ.....Jackie was wearing a long sleeve jacket and kept debating over whether to keep it on or put it back in the car...about 5 minutes before the race started, she decided to have Chris take it back to the car. He needed to use the porta potty anyways, so off he went.....
They started making race announcements and he still wasn't back yet!! I knew his had been having some "issues" with his stomach and was really hoping he wasn't bogged down in the porta potty and about to miss the race!!!
The race started, walkers in back (bye Jackie) and runners up front....still no sign of Chris. I took off at a smart pace (for me) I've gained some weight, and knew that it would slow me down, so I didn't want to push myself after a goal I just couldn't reasonably attain.
At every turn,I kept looking behind me, waiting to see Chris flying up beside me.....but he wasn't ever there.
The course is relatively mundane, nothing too fun or freaky - being that it was the day before Patriot Day, there was a lot of cool 9-11 stuff....and one guy had a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) speaker set up and he was blaring Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" -- it was so loud you could hear it for a good half mile before and after the speaker....that was pretty neat. My whole goal for this race was to beat Jackie, she was walking the 5K as Chris and I were running the 5 mile race. That girl has some short legs, yet somehow -- her little legs push HARD and she walks a pretty fast clip.
As I was approaching the finish line, I saw both Chris ad Jackie on the sidelines cheering me on....they were sweaty and both looked pleased with themselves!! The one thing that stinks about this run is the post-race food is in a big tents several blocks away. Which is fine, except that you can hardly get a bottle of water after crossing the finish line -- and I was thirsty!!!
W went over to the post-race tent and filled up our goody bags before heading back to WalMart to drop Jackie off.
I know that I could have run a harder race, but I'm not sure it would have been worth it....there was no chance of me placing, ,and why risk injuring myself over this kind of race???
This is Chris's favorite race of the whole year, and we will definitely be doing it again next year....and, Jackie fell in love with the race too, so we'll conquer it again in 2012. I love being able to say that!

Results:
Chris:
Total Time: 43:58
8:48 average mile
42nd out of 58 males 35-39
453rd out of 948 total runners

Julie:
Total Time: 49:13
9:51 average mile
41st out of 78 female 30-34
677th out of 948 total runners

Jackie:
Total Time: 44:51
14:28 average mile
117th out of 336 walkers (see -- the girl is F*A*S*T!!!

DeerFly 5-miler

^^ Chris prepping for the bugs -- the race aint called "DeerFly 5-miler for nothing!!^^



^^ me doing a pre-race bug spray-down! ^^



^^ my nasty shoes and feet after a muddy, messy, much-fun race ^^



^^ Chris's legs after the run ^^

Saturday, July 30, 2011
DeerFly 5-miler
Portage, IN

We found out about this race just days before the run.....saw it on a facebook page, and found out it was a no frills trail run and we were hooked! It was a whopping $6 race entry fee, and there was no legal mumbo-jumbo race form to fill out, we signed our names & ages on a sheet of paper, paid our $$ and were done! There were not many people out for the run -- it was something like 95 degrees out, and the bugs were NUTS. And, it had rained, HARD for a few days prior to the run, so the trail through the woods was wt, Wet, WET.
There were no bibs, no timing chute, no aid stations. I brought my Camelbak, and Chris carried a water bottle for the run. There was a total of 47 runners at race start time.
The race started with a quick prayer and some precautionary announcements about the depth of water in the creek that had overflowed (YIKES) and about the rugged terrain we'd be traversing -- nothing like terrifying me before a run :-)
We started by whistle and a stopwatch, and took off -- it was a single track course through 97% of the race, so I set myself promptly toward the back -- I'm a very slow trail runner!
The first .75-1 miles were pretty congested (yes, even with only 47 runners) and the odd terrain didn't help -- in some places the path was strictly a bike path, with the space allotted being only as big as a bike tire, my 1 single foot didn't even fit on it!!!!
The race wound through Imagination Glen Park, in Portage IN...we went down by a creek (I forgot the name of it already) which had overflowed up onto the bank, so it was a very slippery route across the mud and rocks -- the hard core guys ran right through the 12-16 inch water...me, I walked -- well, more like waddled in my futile attempt to stay upright (which I did) there were several almost-slips, but I didn't fall. We spent about a half-mile by the creek and its overflow puddles and messes.
Then we wound our way up through the woods.....all told, it was a 1072 foot ascent, and a 1059 foot descent across the entire run -- I think (if i remember correctly) there were also approximately 7569 tree roots, and 834 switchbacks, with 180 degree turns.....if I remember correctly ;-)
It was a super low-key, no-frills race that was incredibly fun, tough, challenging, and awesome. And, you can't be the $6 race fee + a dessert to share for the post-race 'party'
We will definitely be doing this race again next year, and I truly hope it remains a no-frills race.....it would lose some of its charisma if it became one of those over-hyped races!

Results:
Chris: 52:36
10:46 mile average
1th out of 13 men
31st out of 47 runners

Julie:
58:43 finish time
11:37 mile average
6th out of 11 female runners
38th out of 47 total runners