It was Renton River Days this weekend -- and the festivities started Friday night. After work, I rushed to get the kids from school so we could go to the outdoor circus. It was really cool -- it was a traveling group of kids from Wenatchee, WA -- and they were really good! Tight rope walking, flying acrobatics, etc. -- the kids loved it!! Evelyn wanted to get pictures with the different clowns and performers afterwards... Noah was a little unsure. He kept his distance for this picture... and then decided to sit out of the other clown pictures :)
I woke up early Saturday morning to meet another new running friend. YAY!! There is a huge running/blogging community out here that I am just starting to get connected with. They run a lot of local races, sometimes train together on weekends for long runs, provide support for each other, get together for night-before-race dinners, etc. -- I hope to become much more involved in the future!! Definitely my kind of ladies :)I met Kerrie at 6:30 (had those "first-date" type nerves again!), and we headed up along Lake Washington. It was a beautiful, sunny morning. We came upon a bald eagle on a branch directly overhead -- we had to run under him -- he kept one eye on us the entire time. Cool -- but very creepy! I like wildlife -- but I can be a total wimp sometimes, too!!
Kerrie and I planned to do 10 miles... but I could only do 8 (and I really struggled with those!!) I think it was a combination of not being fully recovered from last weekend, not running at all since last weekend's race, and trying to adjust to talking, running, and breathing all at the same time. It is hard to do!! :)
We swapped stories about running, races, kids, work, etc. and discovered that we have a lot in common. One big similarity was our three year old boys and our struggles with potty-training them! Another that she grew up in a neighboring town to Travis's hometown -- she dated a guy or two from his high school -- very small world! Even though it was a painful run, I had a great time, and made a new friend!!! I need to work on the running/talking combo though :)
The question now is: What next? You Go Girl in Tacoma, Seattle Half Marathon, something different??? A girl like me has to have a goal :)
Entering the city of Sonoma gave me an extra kick. But that didn't last long. After the last turn, the finish line was in sight --- however it seemed like it was still a mile away (it was probably more like a half mile). I wanted to walk for a few seconds to catch my breath. I figured if I did that, I would be able to finish strong. The girl next to me (who I had been running with for the last mile or so) looked at me and said "GET MOVING! You can do this!!" I have to admit -- I was completely shocked that she was calling me out... but I looked at her and said "Thank you -- that is JUST what I needed" :) So --- I picked up my pace and pushed as hard as I could towards the finish line. I have never been so tired in my life! 
I crossed the finish at 2:05:16 but my chip time was 2:04:34 --- about 5 minutes faster than I have ever ran a half-marathon. I am by no means a fast runner --- but this was a huge accomplishment for me!! I grabbed some snacks/water in the finish area and walked back to the final stretch to cheer on the rest of the girls. Here is the happy crew after the race:
Notice the wine glasses in our hands? Well -- one downside of the race was that there wasn't much food/snacks to refuel afterwards. There was however 25 wineries and a few breweries in the park giving free tastings for a few hours. T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!! That was a dangerous combination!! Here is a picture of the crew after enjoying a little too much wine :) Needless to say, I slept the remainder of the afternoon to recover from the race and all the drinks!!
Kiddos (Noah couldn't be bothered with a picture, he was too hard at work)
Family shot:
We saw numerous boats on the water, a seaplane take off, a male and female duck swim by closely, and also a bald eagle that swooped down a couple times towards the deep end of the beach area (I think it was trying to catch a fish) -- pretty cool. The weather is supposed to be nice again on Monday... maybe we will make another trip to the beach :)
Once I got home and showered, Travis and I took the kids to the park. We are dog sitting right now -- so we had two dogs with us, too. My hope was to tire the entire crew out a little bit!!
Travis took Noah to get his hair cut after the park -- this is the before shot (the haircut was WAY overdue!!
During nap-time, I went and got my hair cut and highlighted. We had another quick visit to the park when I got home, and then we went out to our favorite local pizza place for dinner. After the kids' bedtime, Travis and I had an at-home date-night with a Redbox movie.
Travis, Noah (being uncooperative) & Grammie:
It was a really long day, but we saw whales, seals, eagles, sea lions, porpoises next to the boat... very cool. Notice the two eagles on the rocks in the back of this picture:
It was another beautiful day --- and my mom got to see Deception Pass, all of the mountains, and spend a couple of hours in Friday Harbor, too. While in Friday Harbor, we decided to purchase little bottles of wine for the boat ride back -- I wasn't sure whether it was allowed or not, so that made it even that much more exciting! :)
