Getting thru the Cleveland airport

Midnight Masochist

It has been said that, "Obsessive is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated."  I like the sound of that.

Two weekends ago, feeling recovered from the marathon training segment, I jumped back into trail running with both feet.  It's the only way.  The 3h 45min juant - covering 20.6 miles - left me nearly incapacitated for about 48 hours, but it was completely worth it.  I had a blast.  The weather was great, and the company was even better.  But to say that there was still some moisture in the ground would be an understatement.  We all crashed through the streams without a care.  Once you're wet, you're pretty much wet for good on this trail.  Shoes that drain quickly are a must.

As we were cruising along the one relatively flat stretches, Dave mentioned that he ran a few miles there at night, and it was pretty spooky.  (I've run it very early in the morning, too, but knowing the sun was coming up soon was very comforting.) Just like that, an idea for an adventure hatched.  In short order, the seemingly innocuous comment morphed from, "wouldn't it crazy if..." to "won't it be awesome when..."  Game on!

And thus, the Midnight Masochist was born.  A few weeks from now, a handful of SLUGs (Saint Louis Ultrarunners Group) will descend upon a ~20 mile section of trail in West County to make a double out-and-back of the 20.6mi stretch, widely regarded as the toughest trail anywhere around.  Headlamps will be required.  There's a good chance extra batteries will be a good idea as well, considering we'll be starting close to midnight, and finishing some 9-10 hours later.  Give or take a bit.

What will it feel like?  How slow should I go?  How much should I eat?  Can I handle tons of caffeine? Those are the questions running through my head.  As you might imagine,  I'm excited about this in a way most people would not be;  It is odd, but I'm both reasonably nervous, yet supremely confident I can do it.  It's been a long time since I did the 50k last year, so I'm really excited to forge ahead to a new personal best for distance covered by foot in any single event.  I think the group will keep me in check, and help me to finish strong.

"Some dream of great accomplishment.  Others stay awake and do it." ~Unknown.

Birthday, ctd...

I got the pictures from mom (thanks!), so here is the rest of Bennett's birthday...

Birthday dinner

I'm 3!!

Well, I got some clothes...

PINK cake!!

The whole family on Bennett's birthday (although dessert and sleeping appeared to be more important than looking at the camera!)

YUMMY!!

This picture is too cute. Pa was cleaning out the swimming pool filter, and Bennett was telling him he was doing a good job!

Happy Birthday Bennett

Yesterday was Bennett's 3rd birthday! Her big present from us was a big girl bike! She loves it because it has princesses on it and a little bag on the front where she can carry treasures with her! She is quickly improving her riding skills!

getting ready to ride!

having fun!!

Yesterday, she had tumbling class in the morning at the gym, Miles played in the nursery, and I got a workout in, then we met her buddies at the park for a birthday picnic. She is going to have a joint birthday party with 5 of her friends in early June at BounceU, but I wanted to do a little something to celebrate her actual birthday.

The whole crew! (minus Will because he was sick)

Bennett blowing out the candle on her cupcake that we made.

Bennett loves to eat all of the frosting first.

Frosting face!!!!

Bennett got a special treat at quiet time because I let her open her present from Aunt Erin, Uncle Jake and Ella. It was the Cinderella movie. Bennett loved it and even had to dress up in her Cinderella dressups to watch it! We also had a great birthday dinner at Grandma Joje and Pa's house. Of course I forgot my camera, so I will have to post those pictures later when I get them from mom. All in all, I think Bennett had a great 3rd birthday!

Also, a special happy birthday wish goes out to Papa today!!

Here are a couple cute pictures of Brandon and Bennett before they left for daddy night at school last week.

Rode my new wheels to work today.

3 months

It's the 26th, so it's time for Miles's monthly picture on his Nap Nanny. He is really smiley these days, but he would only smile for me if he was looking at Bennett! :) Miles really loves his sister and enjoys watching her all the time. He has also started getting on his side a little bit, starting to think about rolling over. His belly's so big though, I think it's going to be quite the feat to actually roll over. We'll see!

A little smile for mom...

Serious Miles

Oh there's my sister. She's funny!!

Starting to think about rolling...

Check out my cool plaid shorts!

April pics

I finally downloaded some pics I had taken on my phone. Not the best quality, but some pretty cute shots!

Miles is ready to cheer for Daddy in his race!

Smiley guy!!

Bennett entertaining her brother as usual!

Bennett tried on her new swimming suit and then I couldn't get it off of her! And, yes, she is sitting in Miles's bouncy seat!