We are all finally on spring break here. The kids are leaving for NYC with their grandma tonight, I'm sure going to miss them.
It's been a stressful week.
Friday we went to the humane society to see about the dog we had had 7 years ago, Duke. He does not look good, poor guy. The HS wanted us to pay $314 to get him and they hadn't really done anything for him! We were not prepared to spend that knowing we were going to spend 2-3 times that at our vet. It about killed us but we walked away. Now we wait for them to fix him up and then we will go adopt him which will be $65! WTF?! Really?
Spent most of Friday crying, watched my daughter sing Louis Armstrong's Wonderful World, and then had to go be social with my wonderful mom-in-law and aunt. They are awesome! They took their RV out to the race start so the kids and I could spend the night, roll out of bed, and go do our thing. We arrived later then planned to gorgeous steaks, huge potatoes, green beans, bread, and Irish butter. Afterwards they surprised me and had birthday cake and presents for me! It was a really nice end to a crappy day.
Saturday, the kids, mom-in-law, and I got up and walked the kids over so they could volunteer. I picked up my bib, t-shirt, and loop timing thingy. MIL and I went back to the RV and I finished getting prepped for my 1/2.
We could hear the announcements as they sent off the 50K and marathon runners. Went back for my 8am start. It was very touching, they had a moment of silence for Sally Meyerhoff and then we were off.
The weather was wonderful, a nice little chill in the air to start. There were so many 1/2 marathon runners that there were a few clogs as we all started, but eventually we all spread out.
I had run this trail a few weeks ago in the reverse order that we were going to do. I knew there was a really steep up hill and some really rocky, scree covered areas. I went out conservative and made sure I walked the ups. I soon discovered that doing the trail backwards was actually more difficult then the way we were doing it.
On the way down one of the two major downs, I ended up behind this guy with over the ear headphones. I tried and tried to get his attention for about .25 miles. I was trying to tap him on the shoulder, smack him in the backpack, something! I guess I finally yelled loud enough and/or his song finished he finally heard me! Grrrr... I past him and took off. This was the fun part going down, down, down!
The aid stations were great and they cheered the runners as soon as they could see them. That was a real boost! I came to aid station 2/3 (there are at the start and finish of the loop) and was cheered, given water, and told only 4 more miles! Yeah!
Now began the really steep down hill. It was good, I tried to remember all the things about not going too fast, keeping control, etc. Last time I did this trail, by the time I got to this point my legs were so dead I could barely walk down. However, this time it was awesome! As I'm going down, the song "Jesus take the Wheel" came on. I thought that was quite appropriate and sang as much as I could. I'm sure all the other pedestrians heard was me gasping "Jesus" occasionally.
Speaking of pedestrians, the trails were still open to everyone who wanted a Saturday morning hike. They were all great and would move over. Lots of cheers and good jobs, and a couple of cute dogs to make me miss mine.
Reached the end of the major down, past the last aid station, and headed for the finish! My quads clearly told me that they were pretty much done. So I walked the little ups and then coaxed my quads back into cooperating and we were off and running again.
Nothing was so lovely as that orange tent and the finish line and my beaming family. It was awesome to see my daughter come walking up to me and say "and you thought you'd be out there longer." My hubby was there with our pups, and everyone was happy to see me. My MIL and aunt arrive shortly after I did and we just enjoyed while I stretched.
It was a great day. I couldn't do it without the support of my family. As I ran, as I run, I always know they are there waiting for me. They might think I'm crazy but they are proud of me and love me. Thank you family!
On a side note, I also found out this weekend that I have a place on the Muscle Milk Machine Team for the Mount Lemmon Marathon, dubbed "The Toughest Road Marathon in the World". I'm excited and scared all at the same time!
~Happy Running~
You know, it seems to me that if this was your dog, that the Humane Society has no right to demand money from you for its return. I mean, from a strictly legal standpoint, pets are property. They can't withhold your property from you, especially since you had no contract with them to store your property.. They could "suggest a donation," but this doesn't sit well with me, and it makes me nervous that you have to wait until Duke is available for adoption. What if someone else snaps him up? Then, wouldn't the Humane Society would be selling stolen property?!
ReplyDeleteOh, je.
I'm no lawyer, so I might be wrong, but if you know a lawyer, you could run this by them and, if I'm right, ask them to write a letter, only if you know them. If it's not free, it's not worth it, since the cost would outweigh the difference between the adoption fee and the...what would you call it? Boarding fee?
Hey, so you don't think I'm a freak, KalisWalker posted a link to your blog on SparkPeople, so that's how I found you. =) And I don't think of dogs as property, really. I have a little rescue dog myself, and I love him more than myself. His picture is on my SparkPage (I'm BeatleTot there, too).