Kitchen update #4

So, another week and more work done on the kitchen. We did get most of the painting done. The ceiling and soffets are done and look amazing. We got 2 coats of the granny apple green on the walls. Tomorrow the cabinets are supposed to be coming. The cabinets should be done by Wednesday, and hopefully the oven will get installed. We need to get a gas person here to get a line run for the stovetop, which might be a problem? Maybe we will even get the crap all put away off the dining room table and have dinner there!! We'll see....

Kitchen Update #3

Well, the work continues. After the third week we are finally getting to the end of the hard stuff. The second coat of mud is on, waiting to get sanded tomorrow. At least the majority of it. This week, the stove wire gets moved, allowing for the finally wall to be taken down and then built again. Hopefully we will get the gas line for the stive done as well. By next monday, we need to have the place ready for the cabinets to come in.

Everything seems to be falling in to place. Might even have a stove and oven form Christmas!!
Till next week.
r

Kitchen Update #2

The kitchen is consuming us! Poor Rich, having to do most of the work hasnt even gotten out to play or exercise at all! I can at least squeeze a run in between chores. Today we worked some more on the putting up the drywall. Rich had to figure out a very tricky corner which took the majority of the morning, it's now 3:00, we'll probably see if we can finish the dry wall this afternoon and call it good for this weekend.

The Kitchen Renovation Begins!

Yep, we did it... we started the kitchen! After years of talking about it, we decided this is the time to get going. We always said that when the stove died, we'd redo the space, but dang it! They made stuff to last back in 1976 and that stove is hanging tough. The idea is to make the kitchen much more user friendly, with an updated look and open the space a little. So...
Picture #1: The before - . We had already taken out the drop ceiling shortly after we moved in and put up the track lighting. We also added recessed lights over the counters.

Picture #2: The soffets come down to open up the ceiling even more. We had to leave the soffets in over the sink and fridge because there is a beam and some duct work in those.

Picture #3: Opening the walls. We wanted to open the space to make it seem bigger. What a difference!! We took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room. This will have a hanging vent between and a service bar into the dining room. We also took out the wall between the kitchen and the front hallway - boy does that sun stream in to the kitchen now! It's awesome.

The big pantry cabinet was moved over by the sliding glass door - a new vibrant green on the walls ...

More updates later!

Cyclocross

Well that cyclocross season has started!! A beautiful weekend here and nothing like getting waxed to celebrate!! I started in the Men's A 35+, which is where I usually race. Even took the usual last spot in line after the start (somethings never change). Usually I have the endurance to maintain contact and knock off a few guys toward the middle and end laps. Watching the B-Men's race before ours, I was starting to worry.The top five there were absolutely flying. Probably should be in the A's.
Anyway, here I am in last place at the end of lap 1 and I finally catch back on to the caboose (well, the guy in the main group). After getting by two guys, I am trying to ride comfortably and smooth. I come the a sharp right and decide, I can just turn without braking. Getting into the turn, I quickly find out that is not going to happen and go crashing straight into the chain link fence. So much for being smooth?! No worries, got right on, no one passed me, still not DFL!! Only a couple other little bobbles on the sandy corners and I manage to get 2 more passes so I think it went okay for the first time out. LOTS of bike set-up changes to make. Also, next time I am not going to rake leaves for 2 hours prior to the race. My back has been howling!! Live and learn. Till, next week, I'll be working on my starts!!

24hrs of Moab

Another Moab in the books. That makes three Moab and I think 9 Canaan/Snowshoe races. Man, I must be getting old. This year was great, as it marked the return to racing for my brother Brian. After 2 years of being the mechanic, he has been riding like a fiend, lost 20lbs and gave it a go. Pre-riding the course with him, I was reminded how great a descender he is, as he was stuck to my rear wheel through some truely technical riding, never having seen the course and on a borrowed bike with 2-inches less travel than he is used to. Crazy! Our result? A top 5 finish in the men's sport class!! I think that was the best we have done at any of the races in the past. It turned out almost perfect weather this year, with sun, cool temps and NO WIND!! The sand had been tamed, compared to prior years and the course was 99% rideable. Though I did have a bike with more than 1 gear this year, which may have helped?! Anyway, we started with the youngster of the group, Steve, first. He got off to a very fast start with a 1:07 lap or something utterly ridiculous. Brian followed with an excellent lap, just below 1:30, then Zach on his single speed again, around 1:17 and I was the old man caboose. I was pleasantly suprised to ride a 1:12, taking 3 minutes off my fastest lap from 5 years ago on a full suspension. This year, I again rode the irrepressably fast, comfy and stable Surly Karate Monkey hardtail!! I love that bike. As they say Steel is Real!!
The race continued without serious disasters until Zach came running in, after breaking his chain about a mile from the end. This must have been a bad omen, as my lap third lap went from okay to CRAP, quickly. It is always the third lap for me that is poor. This time it had gone okay until the 11 mile mark when I was coming up a rocky climb on the backside. As I rode up over the rocks, one grabbed my front tire, stopped it dead, catapulting the rear up in the air, with me still in the seat pedaling in the air, only to be slammed back down and toppled to the side, landing my ass on the rock. Since it was 4am, first, I thought maybe I was just dreaming? Alas, not to be. Got back up and started riding, pain in the ass not allowing full power to the left pedal, but luckily, not much climbing on this course. At the end of the long dirt road decent in the sand pit at the end, I pedaled half way though when my cranks suddenly pedaled round with no resistance. Dropped chain, crap. Dismounted and ran the rest of the way through. Put the chain on and took 1 pedal rev, dropped chain again, Crap. I focused my light on the chain, only to find 2 chain ring bolts gone, and the ring about 1 inch away from the crank, benty beyond repair. Double crap! So I ran (kind of, did I mention my ass?) the last mile pushing my bike. No bolt spacers to be found, my race was done. Steve, Brian and Zach finshed the day off in good style. A total of 16 laps, our most ever. All in all a great race. Everyone seemed pleased, happy and no injuries (my ass was better in a week). Everyyear, seems like it will be my last, but then I think of the sicko's who do it solo, the real sicko's who do it solo on singlespeeds, and the truely insane who do it solo on rigid singlespeeds and figure, I must not be that demented!!!

My good friend Jody came to visit from Michigan to get a little riding in. She has heard stories of the great riding in Fruita, CO and wanted to give it a shot, so off we went! The trip started off rocky as Jody's bike decided to take a trip to Vegas instead of landing in SLC so it was to get here a day late. What to do? We contemplated renting but when we got back to my house, Jode looked at my full suspension Santa Cruz and thought... maybe I can ride that. Welll, I'm quite a bit taller than Jody, but the frame isnt that big on that bike so we thought we might be able to work it. Lowering the seat, moving it forward and making some other adjustments made it tolerable, so off we went - not ideal, but at least we'd be riding!

We hit the grocery store, packed up the Vanagon and off we went. We arrived in time to set up camp, visit the bike shop (a must on every mountain biking trip!) and cooked dinner. We had GREAT camp food each night - pizza in the camp oven, veggie burgers with fresh tomato and avacado, etc. yum! The next day (Fri) we headed off to the Kokopelli section of trails. We started off on Rustler's to warm up and see what adjustments might be needed to the bike. Good thing, it was not shifting at all! A few turns on the derailleur screw and it was better and ride able. This loop is super fun - fast and flowy and a great 4 mile warm up. We then started the climb up Mary's and connected to Horsethief. Horsethief is an awesome trail that will test your technical skills with lots of rocky descents and ledgey drops (not too big!), it was super fun. Then we climbed back out and onto Mary's to finish the rest of the loop. The weather was perfect - 60s and sunny.

The next day we went over to the 18 Road section of trails. We road Prime Cut and part of Frontside, then cruised a sweet ride down Kessler's run - swoopy and fast - absolutely a blast. Jody opted out of John's Ridge as the steep drop off the top made her leary due to the fact that she was a bit uncomfortable on my bike because she couldnt get back off the seat that well, plus the days riding yesterday made for some weary legs. We decided we would take the time and drive to Moab instead of stay in Fruita another day.

Moab gave us rain. We were rained out that afternoon and so wandered the town and had dinner. The next day it was raining again when we woke up, but soon cleared a blue sky hole just big enough for us to get in a quick ride on Klondike Bluffs. This is a short but sweet trail that I new Jody would love, and she did. Great fun! Afterward, we headed back to SLC, with hopes of riding Park City the next day. Rain, rain and more rain. BUT, as I type this, the sky is blue and the clouds are dispersing... good Karma? I would say yes!

A Day in the Life

Ever have one of those days when it seems all is perfect in the universe? That everything is aligned just to make you happy and content? Yesterday was like that. I can not think of a better way to spend a day than hiking with friends and just hanging out for 7 hours - not a care in the world, being totally in the moment and relishing every second. My friend Amy organized this hike for us, providing a shuttle car at then end and a ride to the start. She gathered us together, after finding a date that was good for all a month ago, and off we went. There were five of us - two had to bail - and it was a perfect mix of folks. Myself, my two good friends, Amy and Kris, Amy's neighbor, Mike, and a good friend of hers from Washington, Barb.

The weather was perfect. A blue bird day with a perfect breeze to keep us cool as we hiked the open spaces and basked in the sun at our chill spots. We started off in the woods, hiking up out of Mill Creek Canyon. Soon we were up high and on the side of the mountain ridge, heading toward the Canyons Resort. The smell of the pines, the golden aspen leaves scattered across the trail were pure heaven. Then, we got to the views. The colors were so vivid, with the sun shining on them, I couldnt believe my eyes. The yellows and greens bright as could be with splashes of red popping out here and there to surprise you. Walking, talking, taking it all in.

We eventually got to the Suncrest Lodge in the Canyons resort. This is their mid mountain lodge high up for the skiers to take a break at. Of course, it was closed but we set out a table and some chairs and made ourselves at home. Here we kicked off our boots, had lunch, lounged in the sun and just chilled for about an hour. It was perfection.

On we went then, for the final stretch down the mountain, to the Canyons resort, about 2 more miles from there, I think. We found the resort virtually empty, with most businesses closed, so it felt like we owned the place. We grabbed a couple of six packs, made ourselves at home on one of the patios of a bar that was closed, kicked off our shoes once again, and lounged for a good hour and a half. Finally, we peeled ourselves off our chairs and headed into Park City for an awesome Mexican dinner and an end to our perfect day.

Mid Mountain Marathon

"You cant muscle through a five hour run; you have to relax into it, like easing your body into a hot bath, until it no longer resists the shock and begins to enjoy it."

"Dont fight the trail, take what it gives you. If you have a choice between one step or two between rocks, take three."

"When you run on the earth and run with the earth, you can run forever."

"Instead of cringing from fatigue, you embrace it. You refuse to let it go. You get to know it so well, you're not afraid of it anymore. Look forward to the Beast showing up and show it who's boss."

(~ Sage advice from ultrarunners in Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.)

No, 26.2 is not ultra-running by industry standards, but for me it is. I had been reading this book prior to the Mid Mountain Marathon and connected deeply to these statements, and I ran with them, making all the difference.

The day was perfect. A cool 45 - 50 degrees at the race start, promising to shape up to mid 70's. My stomach was churning with nerves and blueberry waffles with peanut butter and maple syrup as I looked around at the nearly 200 racers - most looking relaxed and seasoned - I wondered if any of them felt the same level of anxiety I did. I was antsy, ready to go so my nerves would calm, I knew once I started running I would settle in and chill.

The race finally started with a loop around the Deer Valley buildings to spread people out and then headed out onto the trail. The trail was absolutely beautiful. I have ridden parts of it but never in it's entirety - this was a treat. The trail was mostly rolling, gentle ups and downs, through gorgeous aspen and pine forests, alternating along the way. The rich, fragrant smell of the pine was intoxicating. The trail itself was generally rugged, especially through Iron Mountain with sections of smooth flat dirt - all singletrack. Many a runner finished with bloodstained arms, legs and faces. I, myself, had one crash, but it was gentle - and no blood! The first 15 miles of the trail went by in a snap - I couldnt believe when I saw a sign at an aide station telling me 14.8 miles done - could that be possible? I felt so good and the time just flew by. I was running like the Tarahumara Indians - with joy in my heart and a smile on my face... and the running felt so easy.

At mile 16 I ran into Rich. He had hiked in a couple of miles to see me and take some pictures. From there he ran with me to the cut off point at mile 18 - Red Pine Lodge. I was hoping to make the cut off, and did so easily - an hour and a quarter ahead of deadline. I arrived there in 3:43. From Red Pine Lodge, the trail got more difficult. It was about a two mile "climb" from there and then, I was told, a six mile descent into the Canyons. And indeed it was, downhill, until about mile 23 where it began to climb back up for about a mile, somewhere around where Ambush connected with Holly's, this was tough and I walk/ran most of that section (with probably more walking!). The downhill was a blessing and a curse. My hips and feet were just killing me but the gentle gravitational pull down toward the finish was awesome, even provoking giggles and "airplane arms" around the switchbacks. Finally, I hear the noise from the finish and am routed around the village to the finishing line. Perfect!

My goals for the day were to finish in under six hours, finish unbloodied, and to have fun. I accomplished all three, finishing in 5:32 (unofficial time, by my watch) with a smile on my face.

PCP2P

What a day, literally. 75mles, 14,000' of climbing, 90% singletrack, lots of back aching, triceps aching, grip all but gone and it is done. The 1st annual Park City point to point race was a success. For a first time race, everything was very well organized. A tremedously well marked course. Lots of luck from some awesome rainbows and the day was bound to be a success. I finished in 8 hours and 57 minutes. Good enough for 3rd placed old man. Karen was busy the entire day volunteering at the race. Interestingly she got all the same swag and goodies the racers did, but didn't have to torture herself? For the day it was a nice cool day, some sun, some rain, lots of clouds, some wind, great day for that kind of race. For my race stats, I burned 8852 calories, average HR 152. I estimate I only took in 2000-2500 calories, so I figure I lost a pound or two!! Hmm, maybe I should go eat some fun stuff!!!

Long workouts

Another long training weekend. Both of us. We started early on Saturday in Park city with Karen doing a 20 mile run out prospector, around Round Valley trails, back Prospector. I rode behind for the first 2 hours, being a waterboy. She did great!! Good pace, little pain, ALL on HER BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! (22yrs old I think).

I left to go and join Zach and Steve for a ride from City Park. We Rode to DV on the road, then up Tour de Homes to silver lake. From silver lake up Homeeard bound? to naildriver, deer crest, bowhunter, flagstaff loop, deer crest, naildriver to silver lake, midmtn, Tour de suds, TG, John's, Town loop, climb to Steps, Apex, Keystone, Shadow lake loop. Here I left them to ride up Scott's pass and out BCC to home, and lay on the floor!! Total day, 7 hrs, 56miles, ~9500' climbing.

Then karen's Birthday Dinner at Tiburon !! Yum!!!

r

Running ....

"Strength does not come from physical capacity - it comes from an indomitable will." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I feel as if it will take an indomitable will to achieve my next goal. The issue is not only that it's a lofty goal, but that I've been suffering an injury while training and hoping that my leg will get to the finish. It seems I have this kind of luck when training for big events, doesn't it? What is the event? The Mid Mountain Marathon. This is a 26.2 mile race at 8,000 feet on singletrack trail in the mountains around Park City. Sound crazy? I think it sounds like fun! I love trail running - the quiet of the mountains or woods, few people, beautiful sights. Nothing but the sound of your feet slap slapping against the dirt. Cool breezes in your face and unparalleled scenery to keep you company. The miles go by quickly, you hardly even notice them.

So, about a month ago I got a tear in my Achilles tendon where it attaches to the calf muscle, mid-calf. Kept me from running for about a week then I slowly started to run - short distances, flat, no trails. Of course, this is now interrupting my training schedule and I'm freaking out about not being ready, and about further injuring the tear. I've been icing, massaging and stretching like crazy. Trails and uphills flare it up, but it not too awfully bad. I managed an 18 mile run last Saturday without too much trouble, hopefully, I can continue. A "rest" week this week, a 20 miler next week and then the taper to the race September 12. Wish me luck!!

Where does the time go...

Man, hard to believe that it is a month since we last posted. Seems like it was only a week or so. I guess we have been busier than we thought. Seems like that happens every July. I am post-ironman and trying to catch up at work, Karen is done teaching, hating the hot weather and disappearing out of town. Then BAM, it's August. We did have a great time over the past few weeks despite being busy. Karen moved Kathy to North Carolina. She finally couldn't stand the bullshit at that charter school. From the sounds of it she should have a great year at her new school in NC. We'll definitely miss her.

After being home for 2 days we then went to San Diego for a family reunion with John and Carol and all the "kids". John and his kids from OR, as well as Kathy and of course our hosts Jill and Steve who live there. It was a great time!! Jill and Steve have a great house just out of the city, that has great views and quiet.

We did some touring of the area, via the SEAL boats. Otherwise known as duck boats in some cities. A great tour with lots of wildlife. Sea lions, pelicans, snowy egrets, ducks, and even a few navy men in big boats and helicopters!

Now it's time to get back to the usual routine and start working out for end of summer races. Hopefully this will get us fit so we can then adventure more in the fall in our VAN!!!

till next time.

Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us!! We celebrated our 6th this past weekend by treating ourselves to a weekend up at Solitude. After a great morning ride on the Wasatch Crest trail and down Mill Creek Canyon we went home put the bikes away and headed up to Solitude for a weekend stay. We decided to play a round of frisbee golf. We bought tickets for the chair ride up to the top of the course and walked out to get on the lift. Once on the lift after about 200yds I heard rustling below us. I turned around to see my friend Bullwinkle running under us on the lift. Nice young Bull on his way to the forest or chasing us up the lift?
After the moose we went and played the rough and tumble sport of Frisbee golf. Let me tell you, triathletes are sissies!! After 13 holes I could not trow the damn frisbee anymore my pec and shoulder hurt every time!! How pathetic, I can exercise for 11 hours, but can't throw a frisbee more than 50 times!!
Anyway, while wandering around the mountain side we saw about a thousand Picas. These things are NOT endangered. Man, they were everywhere!!
We returned to the condo to soothe my arm in a bottle of Chardonay!! Good relief, much better than Advil!! While sitting we saw a humming bird sitting in a tree, resting I guess.
Finally we went to dinner at Mimi's, the new restaurant there. Fairly good food, not crowded at all. Then the next morning, after waiting to get coffe until 8am, we went for a nature walk, no animals though. We went to brunch, which was very good and headed down canyon.
A great getaway, even if it is only 10 or so miles away!! Here's looking at another excellent year to come!!!

Ironman

Number 6 is in the books. For those that didn't follow, I finished in 10h 47m, good enough for 260th overall (2300 starters), but unfortunately only 53rd (444 starters) in my age group. Some how everyone is getting faster but me? Last qualifying slot this year was 9:55, when conditions were worse than last year! That is nearly a 2o minute increase from last year. As I have said before, if you can't run a marathon in 3:30 or less, you won't qualify. I did run better this year than last, 3:57, compared to 4:05. But not good enough. My strategy of going easy on the bike to run better, didn't seem to make a difference. I think 10 min slower on the bike, but only 5 min faster on the run. May as well just bike hard... it's more fun!!
The swim was very rough. Lots of scattered waves in your face going out, and BIG chop at the turn around. At times I would look up to breath and see people far above my head going over the next wave. Amazingly, I swam nearly exactly last years time.

After a very long transition that I put on my winter wind front base layer, arm warmers and full fingered gloves, I was off on the bike. My goal was average 200W, no more than 250ish. That was not possible. Some of the hills just to keep moving and not walk I had to get in the 300's for less than 30sec. Still no HR above 150. I'll down load the info later, but at no time was I breathing hard. Almost bored though. I was cold at times early, than warmed some during brief periods of sun, but then got cold again as the clouds and wind rolled in.

For the run, I figured I would be working hard, so I got rid of the arm warmers and winter shirt. In retrospect, maybe I should have kept one of them? It was cold! Plus the wind, made my hands frozen. At least the pounding in my legs kept my mind off my hands, until I would try to use them to drink. By the end, all my fingers were white. Luckily, I finished just as the rain started so I didn't get too cold. Go figure, 3 years ago I was here in 95 deg temps and dying. Today, 55 deg and rain.

That should be the end of the Ironman days. Despite a few different training methods and schedules, I can't seem to run much faster in ironman. Rather than torturing myself more trying to qualify, I think it's time to just ride my bike(s).....

rk

Yard Project

With all the down time for not having to train much lately, we have been able to nearly finish the side yard project. What was going to be a simple "table for next to the hammock" turned out a little bigger. Much nicer however. A little less grass, a little more relaxation spot. Not a bad trade off. Just a few more rocks for the patio section and it should be done. Just in time for me to relax the rest of the summer!? Karen will be off training for her mid-mountain marathon in September, so maybe I can catch some Z's in the Hammock!!
R

Run like a Kenyan

This is the theme for my run this year. After practicing shorter steps and higher cadence, I saw a video of the Kenyan's and Craig Alexander running at last years Ironman. What do they have in common? They look the same. Well, not just skinny and blazing fast, but with short strides, flat foot strike and high cadence. Though the Kenyans do it at 4:40 pace, I just hope to be able to make 8:00 pace. So, for Sunday the theme in my head will be bike like a turtle and run like a Kenyan!!

rk

False Start...

So saturday was to be the first race of the season. A half-ironman distance race in ID called Vikingman. Driving there Friday night we ran into VERY windy conditions (30+mph) and driving rain at times. By the end of Dinner it had stopped raining, though was still pretty Chilly. Went to bed after getting the bike all ready, clothes laid out and a review everything was working.

4:30am Saturday am, I wake up to the alarm, trying to deny to myself I am actually thinking about getting up and racing, but I actually do. I set two Eggo blueberry waffles in the toaster, open the JIF peanut butter and Honey jar ( a new find which kicks ass!!) I have had it everyday for breakfast thus far since then!! Anyway, then I open the door....... RAINING, 48 deg. and wind blowing. @$**%^$ $#%*(%$(....... Okay, do I race or go to bed? The SLC weather report said HI 65/Low 50, 20% showers in PM. So, for my warm clothes I packed a long sleeve Under armor cool gear shirt and arm warmers. No rain jacket, no wind breaker, no down Everest Suit!! After alot of language I don't think the Burley people would approve of, I decide to bag the race. Since my weight is now 162 and I was standing outside in denium pants, two shirts, socks, all DRY and SHIVERING, I did not think I would get more than 1-2 miles on a flat bike course. Not to mention the wet roads and Coeur d' Alene in 2 weeks. So we left Burly after less than 12 hours and came home to a gorgous day. I went to the airport to get a workout in, aeo helmet, disc wheel the whole works. Just happened to be the state TT race that time. Got permission to just ride on the road, I think in the middle of the Cat IV race. Road 40 miles, then ran 14 at race pace with good sensations in the legs!! Kept the run under 8:00/mile pace and the bike average at 22.5 (200W strict!). Hard to do when all these guys are riding hard around you, but I kept to the plan. So, the rocket ship is ready, the run legs are coming!! Now the mental games begin.....

Whew! An exhausting weekend!

Oh man, what a tiring weekend - but so productive! I started the weekend out right having dinner with my friend Christina at a new restaurant downtown called Eva. It's a Mediterranean tapas restaurant and was excellent. SLC has a cool thing they do called Dine 'O Round where you get to go to restaurants for a 3 course meal for a set price. It's a great way to check out new places. Saturday was a grueling day for us both. We both got up and swam in the morning - Rich 3000 yds and me 1200 yds. Then it was yard work for both of us. I made a trip to Home Depot for plants and mulch and spent the rest of the morning working on the new side landscape - planting and mulching for a couple of hours. We took out some grass and extended the herb garden around to the side of the yard. This all started because I wanted a table to put my drink on when I'm in my hammock. :-) For this I needed a little "patio". From there, we decided to extend around and connect to the herb garden. SO... what you see in the picture is the end of phase one. I added more thyme, oregano, sage, some chive and cilantro.. also some flowering plants, a forsythia bush and some hostas. The section on the right of the picture is where the flagtone "patio" will be that will go under the hammock and with enough room for another chair.
Rich, meanwhile, came home from his swim with the tiller and tilled the vegetable garden for a couple of hours. THEN... he went for a 3 hour 21 mile run and I went for a bike ride. When I came back I tackled a small project in the front yard, digging out grass and planting hydrangea bushes. We were both so exhausted, we ordered pizza in and later pulled ourselves off the couch to go to Dairy Queen in our PJs! :-) Sunday, I skied - yes, skied. 50 degrees, sunny and gorgeous in the mountains, while Rich toiled away for 5 hours, and about 100 miles on his TRAINER bike in the basement. I planted tomatoes, eggplant, peas and peppers to start the veggie garden, Kathy come for dinner and now we are both working toward bed! whew!

Happy Birthday Marty!

Rich and I took off last weekend to Connecticut for a surprise birthday for his mom. It was great - she was so surprised! We flew in on the red-eye, overnight, on Thursday, arriving about 9:30 a.m. We headed from Hartford to Lebanon to Rich's brother Brian, and his wife Jill's, house. After a nap and relaxing we went to dinner where we met Rich's aunts/uncles - his mom's brother and sister and their spouses - for dinner. It was great to see them, they are such fun and wonderful people! They are all from MI and Marty had no idea they were coming in either. The next day Rich and I went for a run - what a pleasure to run at sea level!!! We ran on this BEAUTIFUL rail trail for an hour. The trail is surrounded by marshes and woods and was really amazing - makes me realize how much I miss the trees and woods of MI. It was an awesome run and we both really enjoyed it. Then... to Rich's parents house to set up decorations and wait for his mom to arrive. We all hid in the dining room when she came in and surprised her. What a hoot! I have never had a surprise party turn out so ... surprising!! Marty was seriously shocked and elated. It was awesome. We hung out for a while at the house and then went to a really nice dinner in Mystic. We visited the next day as long as we could, then caught our flight home. A whirlwind visit, but definitely fun and worth it! Happy Birthday Marty!