Well, I didn’t post a blog yesterday, so this is kind of a weekend recap and Monday recap. Some things happened yesterday that are certainly blog-worthy!
Real quick, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. Click here to see why I’m running 61 marathons this year (and a couple of ultramarathons) for Train 4 Autism.
This past weekend, I went to Olathe, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City, to run in the Patriots Run. It was a wonderful event. Of course, it was very hot — 80 degrees with 70 percent humidity at the start, and it warmed up. Oh, and there was no shade or cloud cover. I officially ran in a marathon and in a timed race, a 9:11 run on a one-mile loop on 9/11. It was as American as is gets and I actually won the ultramarathon, running 54.18 miles in the allotted time. I posted a race recap here.
My Body Hates Me
I could tell during Saturday’s race that I was going to cramp pretty badly afterwards, and even thinking that, I underestimated how bad it was going to be! I had three severe episodes before I left the finish area. It was miserable and it took me an hour to catch my breath!
I stayed with some good friends of mine in the Kansas City area and after I got back and sat down on their couch, they started cramping on me again and I was bouncing around in pain. I had to get up at 6 a.m. yesterday for a flight, and I was exhausted to say the least. But I couldn’t fall asleep — I was laying there in my bed past midnight and my legs kept seizing up on me! I did everything I could think of, but I was beyond miserable. Oh, and I’m sunburned from the race, too! Not to mention very sore.
I did all sorts of things — I drank pickle juice, which is supposed to help, I did a deep massage on my calves and I put some of that burning muscle cream on. Finally, at 2 a.m., I fell asleep. I only woke up two or three times from random cramping. And when the alarm went off at 6 a.m., I only snoozed once and I was out of bed at 6:05! So yeah, like I wrote in the headline, my body hates me. It responded by shutting down at 7 p.m. on Sunday night. Nothing like 12 hours of sleep to catch up.
Jack’s Birthday Party!
Jack turns 7 on Thursday, so we had a family birthday party for him on Sunday. Knowing my race schedule for the year, I knew that had to be the day. We had relatives over and decorated everything with a monkey theme, because that’s what Jack likes. He loved his monkey cake and demanded that we re-light the candles after he blew them out so he could blow them out again. It was his party, so whatever he wanted, right?
Tiff made this cake for Jack. She’d do anything for him. Heck, she does everything for him.
Jack blowing out his candles.
Is there anything better than a happy Jack?
Tiff is the proudest mama you’ve ever seen.
It’s an honor to be in a picture with these two.
Jack is going to Disneyland for his birthday. He doesn’t know this, and neither do his siblings (we’re not going to tell them, either). It’s gonna be a special mommy-and-Jack date. So happy for them! I view birthdays as a special day for Tiff, too, because she unselfishly carried the babies and gave birth. If she wants a day at the Happiest Place on Earth with her baby, then that’s fine with me!
Ahhh, The Good Old Days
When I was out in Kansas City, I went and saw the first apartment Tiff and I had after we got married. 12425 W. 120th, #1023 in Overland Park. Ahhh, the good old days. Life was so easy!
Nobody probably cares about this picture other than me and Tiff. But that’s cool, it’s my blog and while I miss the quiet days, I wouldn’t trade the kids for anything!
Summer Vacation Ends, Fall Vacation Begins!
The kids all started school yesterday. Finally Tiff can get back into a routine. The summers are always tough for her because of Jack’s difficulties, but this one wasn’t as bad. Still, it’s nice when they go back into school and get into their routines. Jack thrives in a routine and Ben does well in school. Ben is now in fourth grade and Jack is in second. Ben really seems to like his classmates and we’ve heard great things about Jack’s new teacher.
As for Ava, it was her first day of kindergarten and she loved it! She’s totally excited that she gets to go back again tomorrow. There was no sadness or any kind of emotional difficulty for me knowing my youngest was now in kindergarten. The way I see it, she was happy. Good deal.
Last-Minute Change Of Plans
I was going to run the Boulder Marathon this weekend in Boulder, Colo., but there was a fire there and the race was postponed. I guess that was bound to happen once this year, and fortunately for me, I can still make good use out my airfare to Denver. There’s a race 200 miles southwest of there in a town called Gunnison called the Mountain Air Marathon. I was concerned about the difficulty of the race in Boulder, because it was all in the 5,200 – 5,600 foot elevation range. This new race starts at 8,800 feet and ends at 7,700 feet. Should be easy. Or maybe not. It all depends on whether or not I need air when I run.
That’s All For Today
I’m heading to In-N-Out for Taco Tuesday! Yeah! Have a great day, everybody!
Shelly Overton says
I’m sure you know this already, however, just in case, when Tiff & Jack go to D-land, go to guest services get the special pass for special people like Jack & Dani, it’s the best thing on the planet! We’d never done it before until this year (and we used to take the kids once a year until they were all in high school) and Dani had the best time, it was a lot less stressful for her.
I’m sure they will have the best day!
Tiffany Felsenfeld says
Loved your blog today! The picture of our old apartment made me get teary eyed. Back then, we were just a young, newly married couple. We had no idea of the challenges AND amazing things our new lives together would bring us. Enjoy your IN-N-Out today!
Ally Phillips says
Love the cake! And those pictures from Jack’s birthday party. So sweet. He looks so happy!!
Good luck in Gunnison! Justin goes camping there once a year or so and loves it–I hear it’s really pretty.
Erin F says
That is the cutest cake (nice work, Tiff!) and the sweetest picture of Tiff and Jack hugging. So adorbs. I heard about the Boulder marathon… but crap! Now I won’t be able to cheer you on… are you still going to the CU/Hawaii football game on Saturday?? 3 friends and I just bought our tickets, so we’ll definitely be going. We’d love to tailgate with you guys!