Ready for the Grande-ass Marathon Relay?!

The grande-ass relay is this weekend !!!! It will be my first relay and I am excited for the comrodaree, the laughing, the drinking (coffee of course), and the running with friends. I am ready....

I ran this past weekend while the car was getting some maintenance done - for 15 miles in 3 hours 30 minutes all around downtown Puyallup, up to the YMCA, down to the Meeker trail head, out to the river and back to the car dealership (whew, it is even tiring writing it). My time was a little slower that I've been lately, but it was a little warm (84 when I finished) and I ran up the Meridian Hill past the fairgrounds, so I was a little tired. After my run I came home and played with Darby and then we took a nap on a blanket in the backyard, it was a wonderful lazy afternoon (Brian laughs when I say it was a lazy day, because I start off with 'after I ran 15 miles' I took a nap). Brian was fighting a forest fire in Eastern Washington last week and just arrived home today (he is trying to catch up on his newspapers, laundry and not being around hundreds of stinky fire fighters). So he is home, safe and sound. I don't know how military spouses do it, I get worried and he is just across the state, but it's something about being in a dangerous environment that gets me. Oh well, he loves doing it!

Monday night was a great weigh-in - I was down 2.4 pounds last week!!!! for a total of 24.4 gone for good. I had a regular doctor apointment just before my weigh-in and she was totally impressed, my last appointment I was over 200lbs and she actually gave me a high five! We talked about my running and how to keep up with it and not to get hurt (she also mentioned that my chances of getting injured/stressed are much lower with each pound gone). It was a great doctors appointment - I was actually excited to get on the scale!

Last night I also went to Pilates - what a great way to end a great day. I need to go on Friday morning as a way to start my weekend.

This weekend is Michelle's Grande-Ass Marathon and I am running the relay with others from the Y-run club. It should be fun, I just have to remember to not have too many drinks before it's my turn to run! I am also getting excited because Portland is just around the corner!

Here is another photo from our anniversary vacation (and yes Elinor, the last photo is of the fish that I caught!).

We are at the top of Chinook Pass on our way home from fly-fishing the Yakima River (the same river canyon that I ran my first marathon in). We also made it to the Tom Petty Concert at the Gorge - whoa, what a different experience. The music was good, but the crowd was obnoxious, we think we might be a smaller-venue-kind-of-folk. But hey, you're only young once and it was a great long weekend!

Another photo from earlier in August when Darby, Brian and I hiked Mt. Peak in Enumclaw. I remember hiking it when I was a kid and Brian did extra credit for a teacher in high school by hauling gravel up to repair the trail. We had never hiked it together though - in all of our 12+ years together - another thing that this weight loss has given me - freedom!

Until later, run like you're a kid again!