Neil Rocks the Rock Pile (7th time!)

7.6 miles. Average 12% grade. A rider a few minutes before him was completely disoriented, trying to get back on his bike with no shoes. It was upsetting to see.
Neil is amazing. I'm really, really proud of him. He's the second of the two riders in the clip.

I like summer

I like the way it smells. And how tall all the grass and plants are. I like the vegetables, so ready to eat. I like driving home from a friend's house with the windows down and the music loud and my whole arm out the window. I like the way the heat makes my bones feel. I like letting the kids stay up late. I like sweating. I like margaritas with salt. I like cooking on the grill and fires in the firepit. I like the extra time we get to spend with friends. I miss Camp and not working and being barefoot all the time. And I hate having to wear regular clothes (and a bra) when it is hot. But I like missing winter. And I really like summer.

Heifer Weekend is Holy

Karen and Jen laughing; one of my favorite things. The three of us have been best friends since 7th grade. Every year in June we all gather at Jen's house with our families for Heifer weekend. Now our partners are best friends and our children think they are cousins. We always have a great time. We're family.

Jen is a gardner extraordinaire. I couldn't help snapping shots of some of her flowers.

Harper helps Shea with some fresh pecans.

Bocce Ball.

"Give 'em hell Bernie!"

So this year, the Sandersons didn't arrive until Saturday afternoon and the kids and I were the only ones who really wanted to go to the parade. We had a blast!

Marathoning

Well, I finished my 5th marathon last Sunday in Maine. The Sugarolaf Marathon is a point-to-point race on a beautiful course. There was a tailwind and a lot of downhill, but I did not PR. I finished it in 4 hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds, my 2nd best time. My knee, injured a few months ago when I was running and tripped over my dog, Rosie, started hurting in the second mile. I was afraid that would happen. It made the race less than pleasant. For the first half, I wasn't sure I could finish. Once I decided I would, it was hard not to focus on the pain and just enjoy the race. But oh well, I did finish.

Two years ago I ran my best time at the Vermont City Marathon. I've tried to recapture the thrill of that race twice now, to no avail. After that marathon, we drove home from Burlington, stopping at Marty's First Stop in Danville for something to eat. I got a bowl of clam chowder and there was never a more perfect post-marathon recovery snack. Salt, carbs, protein and fat in a styrofoam cup. Yum. (Everyone stops at Marty's when traveling route 2 through the Kingdom and locals know that Marty's has great soup, sandwiches, and anything else you could possibly want.) Then we got home and the party got rolling. I drank wine and danced and smiled and ate some more of whatever my mom cooked for me (crabcakes, I think). In contrast, after this race, I couldn't walk and was sick to my stomach. There was certainly no dancing. After a while I was able to eat some of the chowder my momma made at my request (better than Marty's) and have some wine in a somewhat forced act of celebration. But I didn't feel well for several days. A fellow marathoner pointed out that running injured takes a bigger toll on the body, which might explain my extended GI troubles and general malaise. In any case, it was disappointing race.

Funny, because despite all this, when my step-father asked me, right after the race, if I thought I would run another marathon, my first instinct wasn't "no way!" Which makes me think that the chances are good that I will run another 26.2. I think I'll still want to chase the joy of a successful, feel-good race, the hope of a PR and maybe even the unrealistic dream of a BQ. But tonight I enjoyed a laid-back mountain bike ride with Patrick. And Harper has promised to take me on her favorite trail and give me some lessons at the pump track. But someday, and probably soon, I'll need to run.

Family Vacation

Ah, we've returned from a wonderful vacation in Arizona (though, a quick aside to say "shame on you and your recent racist legislation AZ"...eerie to learn about that disgrace on the radio while actually IN the state...). Anyway, it is difficult to summarize the terrific week we spent there together, but here are some pictures with a few annotations. Tip: Some of these scenery shots look way better if you click on them and make them full screen.

We stayed in Sedona, where the scenery is well represented by this picture:

It just looks like that every which way you turn! And there are so many wonderful trails for running, hiking and biking that you could spend months there and not traverse them all! Sedona is in a beautiful place, but the town itself, well...it is sprawling and full of new agers and gift shops. Not so much my cup of tea as a city or town, but well located to access hundreds of beautiful trails and a great place to be in the midst of so much natural, expansive beauty.

We participated in a home exchange and this was what it looked like from our back deck:
And you could walk through the back yard and less than a quarter mile down the road and come to amazing trails for runs, post-dinner walks, etc! That was wonderful. The house itself was perfect for us with plenty of room and very pretty but comfortable and everything you need to cook, rest and play.

One of the great things about being on vacation all together and without the distractions of home was that Harper and Patrick played together, just like in the old days! Mostly it involved rough-housing and wrestling or Harper convincing Pat to dress up in some ridiculous get-up. It was so nice to see them being good siblings.

We loved visiting the ruins of the Sinagua. Patrick got really into learning about the people and culture and reading all the interpretation. This is not like Pat of years past who would literally race through museums and other sites with the rest of us pleading with him to slow down and wait. Quite a welcome change.
We all got to do things we love to do. Neil rented a road bike and rode over a mountain.

Patrick was totally enthusiastic about everything we did; he loves hiking, visiting museums and exploring back yards. He was particularly pleased that we indulged his dream of dining at the Red Planet Diner. At the end of our meal I really blew his mind by buying him a t-shirt with cool graphics and the words "Earthlings Welcome" on the back!
Grandpa David got to push his physical limits and do some pretty hefty hiking and was (mostly) not rushed in the mornings.


Harper went mountain biking with her dad. Here they are, after their ride, at the awesome bike rental shop, Bike and Bean. The Australian guy with the dreadlocks makes a mean cappuccino and they know what they're doing when it comes to bikes and trail recs, too.

And I got to run on trails right HERE! This is Thunder Rock...

This picture of Patrick cracks me up.
Our day at the Grand Canyon was perfect. My Lonely Planet guidebook told us about Shoshone Point, a short walk down a narrow access road to an area where we had the vistas all to ourselves. Of course, I had warned the children about not getting too close to the edge and not fooling around, etc. Patrick took it too much to heart and for a while we had trouble getting him to come anywhere near the views. Here he is, worrying:
Later on, at the Grand View trail, he scared us by scampering down and up these narrow little paths. Go figure...:

This is me at Shoshone Point. It really felt wonderful and overwhelming (in a good way) to be here. Click on it to see the vastness...

Neil and Harper doing their thing that they do:

And a group shot:

Another hike...

Loads of beautiful wild and cactus flowers...



And one of the best parts of the whole trip....Neil is no longer afraid to fly! How awesome is that?! He just "got over it!" Look, here he is, smiling....ON AN AIRPLANE!!! This thrills me and opens up a whole new world of possibilities!


And look at that smile on my sweet boy, too! Who, by the way, was a wonderful traveler, also in contrast to years past where he was always disconcerted and out of sorts when away from home. What a joyful change!

Finally, what really impressed me about this trip were the ways in which all of us, including the kids, made compromises, gave each other space and support and generally worked together so that everyone could relax, have a good time and enjoy being together. Pretty impressive for 3 generations and 5 personalities. I'm appreciative of that and grateful. I love my family.

How We Love

Today is Patrick's 11th birthday. I have a Beatles song for each of my kids. I sang those songs to them almost every night when they were little. Now I sing it to them when they let me. Tonight Pat let me sing him his. Here it is. It's for Patrick, the boy I might not have mothered; for whom I feel so grateful.

Bag Balm Rules

For reasons I won't go into (but will gladly share with anyone who asks, or even people who don't as Kayla's friend, whom I just barely met, can attest) I experienced some serious chafing about 11 miles into my 20 mile run today. There was blood. I have never chafed to the point of blood before. I carry my cell phone with me on long runs in case of emergencies and this, my friends, was an emergency. I called the captain of my support team, almost in tears, and he drove out and met me with the bag balm. Those of you from Vermont know the amazing properties of this substance made to treat cow udders. It is a miracle cure. By the time I got home (after completing the 20 miles), the spot that had been bleeding was almost completely healed! Thank you bag balm, thank you so much.

In other news, today was the annual Pond Skimming in our town. It was lots of fun to watch and hot and sunny. April 3rd and we have temperatures in the 80s in northern Vermont! Unbelievable. And all of us at the pond skimming now have sun burns! Here are a couple of video clips of Big Bird and the Pope, two of our favorite characters, on their final runs.