Cascade Crest 100--Hyak Aid Station

What fun it is to work at the mid-way aid station for a 100 mile endurance run! Above is the snowman and candy cane lane that greeted runners and directed them to our aid station.

Here you see several of our Y running club members waiting on runners in the middle of the night as they took a short stop at mile 53 on their way to 100!

Mrs. Claus was a memorable part of the station for many weary runners!

Even the Pugs were in the spirit!
The Y run Club's favorite 100 mile runner Rob and his awesome pacer, Eric come into the aid station that Rob originally organized.

Rob being tended to by Olga at Hyak.

Watch Rob's strong finish for his 2nd 100.

It was a blast working at the aid station, marking the trail from the rope section to Hyak with glow sticks, hanging out with friends at the aid station and finish line. Can't wait till next year.

Grace and Peace to you.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

What a cool (not literally) marathon! Literally it was HOT and HUMID!

Woke up at 3am thanks to a thunder and lightning storm and lay in bed until 4am. Left to meet the gang at Michelle's house stopping for an americano along the way and was loading up the vehicle at 4:45am. Also along for the ride was Cat (whose vehicle, named Sully we piled into), Michelle, Margaret, Abi, and Marco. We got to see lots more beautiful lightning on our way up to North Bend about an hours drive away.

I wasn't really ready to go when we arrived. I hadn't had much time to organize because I was in Seattle for a meeting/training with my new judge partner for teaching Street Law at the Washington State Bar Association. So when they said the bus was leaving I had to take everything with me.

Once at Hyak and the start, I was able to get organized and was able to leave my bag for it to be transported back to the finish. Whew!

Here we are at the start, from the left: Cat, Margaret, me, Marco (back), Michelle, and Abi.

Unfortunately it was already just under 70 degrees at the start. We knew it would only get warmer. We just hoped it would stay overcast and we were thankful we decided to take the early start.

Here we are in the tunnel, which is 2 miles long and begins within the first mile of the marathon. It is pitch black inside and lights are a must! I switched mine over to the red lens for the photo only. It was very humid inside and extra drippy. I think it is always somewhat wet, but it was extra wet on Sunday!

Here it is, "The Light at the End of the Tunnel!"

It really was neat to run through this old train tunnel, it's name is the Snoqualmie Tunnel and was built in the early 1900's prior to the first world war.

View outside tunnel at first aid station.

Much of the trail was surrounded by beautiful fir trees. We are blessed to live in such a beautiful place. Wow!

One of the many bridges with awesome views.

A self portrait along one of the tressel bridges.

Cat was "product testing" Michelle's pack (she tested mine too), and Michelle had to "nurse" when she needed a drink!

The day was really a great day. Albeit a difficult marathon due to the warmth and humidity the company was the best! I would definitely run this marathon again. What is better than being surrounded by breathtaking views, the wonderful smell of the forest in the warm summer, running and being with friends? Doesn't get a whole lot better! And lastly, a thank you to Paul for hanging out with the kiddos for the weekend while I had both a full day meeting and the marathon. I Love you!

Grace and peace to you.

Tacoma Narrows Half

I've been super busy lately! Painting, painting, cleaning and getting ready for family visits.

My 11 year old nephew is visiting with my parents and came up to spend a couple of nights with us. Grandma and Grandpa took my son and my nephew into Seattle for a trip up the Space Needle and to a Mariners game. They had a blast. Now it's the other side's turn. Paul's sister and family are in town from Arlington, Texas. Later today we are off to Northwest Trek. A wildlife park to see all of the animals native to the Pacific Northwest. Should be a great day.

Saturday was the inaugural Tacoma Narrows Half. I ran with Rob and Margaret. The weather was perfect and we had a nice run. No one was out for a race, so we took it easy. Rob sped up after about 9.5 miles to get in under 2 hours. I decided to wait until I knew all the hills were completed, and picked up the pace just after mile 10 to finish (my slowest, but Really I wasn't going for any time) in 2:02. Margaret took it easy and finished a few minutes later. There were also some other familiar faces running... Monica did well, Jesse and Anna too. The race was pretty good. I took the first shuttle from the finish to the start and had lots of time to hang out and use the port-a-potties. Overall it was fun to run over the new Tacoma Narrows bridge and get in a good run as well with friends to boot!

I'm now focusing on continuing to build strength by trying to squeeze in another day of weights, from one to two along with running. I am trying to avoid injury and lose a few pounds at the same time. I think I am down 5 pounds now. Still struggling to lose with my hashimoto's Thyroiditis. My husband is doing really well in this department, almost down 20 pounds! 2 hours and the gym and golfing tons is doing well for him! I wish it were so easy for me!
I'm trying to squeeze in Light at the End of the Tunnel into my schedule and helping at Cascade Crest 100 in addition to Michelle's Grande Ass. I am squeezing these in around Paul's golf tournaments and the kids' activities. Should be okay. I wanted to join the group this weekend for the Cougar mountain 13, but again, Paul has a golf tournament, and as it is his birthday too, I'll let him have the fun that day. :)

So, all is well.

A shout out to Eric Barnes for doing AWESOME at the Canadian Death race! Well done!

Grace and peace to you.