Wow – What a weekend!! First things first, today is Jake’s birthday!!! Also, he did AMAZING in the 100-mile mountain bike race; so did his Dad! They both finished under 10 hours, which is what they were shooting for. So, so, so proud!!
Back to the beginning of the weekend…After my trail run Friday, I decided to ice my knees while I worked on my proposal.
Then I snuck this picture of Jake getting his bike all ready for the morning – he loves when I do this. ; )
Cynthia cooked everyone this amazing feast for dinner! She definitely knows what to feed the guys before a race. This was delicious!
After dinner, Jake and I ran some errands. Obviously we were having too much fun being weirdos…
Then we came back to the condo and Jake wrote in his training journal and I loaded his MP3 player with music…he got LOTS of girly songs…I need to go through it again and beef it up a little, I think. Then it was off to bed!
The guys were up at 3 and the rest of us got up about 3:30. Here’s what I had for breakfast – blueberry bagel with PB and honey. Jake and John had steel-cut oats.
We headed up to Leadville and the guys got ready!
Chelsea, Jake’s sister, and I entertained ourselves by taking pictures. : ) It was cold!
Jeff and Penny were matching, which I loved but Chelsea hated, ha! They’re the cutest. And Chels was pretty excited about her hot chocolate.
Jake and John, ready to go!!!
He’s the cutest mountain biker! Also, see that railing? It makes me do something really dumb about 20 minutes after this picture was taken. Eye-roll.
Jake was ready!!! They were trying to stay warm. These are the last pictures I got on my phone because when Jake went to hand me his coat, I went to grab it quickly and slammed my hand into that railing…which knocked my phone out of my hand. We just so happened to be standing above a storm drain…so the last thing Jake saw before his race started was my phone falling down into the drain. Ugh. I kept telling him it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t want him to worry about it during his race. We couldn’t do anything about it at that point because all the corrals behind the guys still needed to start and we needed to get to the check-point. So, we left my phone and I just prayed it wouldn’t rain!
Luckily I had Jake’s phone…this was how I felt about dropping my phone. DUMB.
Once we got to the check-point, I did some work on my dissertation proposal…story of my life lately! I was getting CLOSE! Then, my computer did something weird and wouldn’t save my work…I got REALLY nervous. So, I just my computer and called it quits.
The sun eventually came out and it was a beautiful day! We were so happy that the guys were going to have good weather!
They were going to come through the check-point where we were at 40 miles and again at 60 miles. They had 100 miles to race total. We had fun waiting on them, but it’s also SO nerve-wracking. They came through the first time (40 miles) way ahead of schedule, but they both looked great! We wore our Leadman shirts to support them! I snacked while we waited.
After they came through the first time, Chelsea and I headed down to the lake to explore.
It was SO pretty!
Then we went back and I had part of my lunch.
All the girls! I missed the black pants memo…
The guys came back through at 60 miles, still looking good, so we got them their food and hydration, and headed down to the finish. Oh, and we got my phone!! Long story short, Jeff (my hero) and some strangers lifted the manhole cover, then Chelsea jumped down into the storm drain to get my phone!!! She’s the BEST. And it worked!!! Not a single scratch or anything on it. We had quite the good time trying to get it…especially when my head got stuck in the opening…
We had a beer while we were waiting, we figured we deserved it! ; )
Don came through first and got his goal of sub 9!!! SO proud of you, Don!!!
Jake and John both finished under 10 hours, which was their goal!! They were pretty sore, Jake had a knee that was really bothering him, but they did it!! Can you tell by my crazy hair and lopsided hat that it was a crazy day?! It’s so amazing to be able to squeeze the guys when they finish. I know it’ll be even better when they cross the finish line for the hundred run.
The BEST way to get your Skratch nutrition? Drink it sideways.
I love this picture of Jake and John!
After their race, it was home to clean up and then head out for dinner!! I had this amazing gyro and Jake had a burger that he loved.
Then I kept Jake company while I timed him in the FREEZING cold water. Brr. No thank you! Then it was off to bed!
We had a 10k on Sunday, but the guys had awards for the bike race WAY before the 10k started, so they went back to Leadville for awards early and us girls got to sleep in. : ) I didn’t get out of bed until almost 8:30 – I hadn’t slept much the two nights before, so I was glad I got to sleep in a little. I had coffee and breakfast, then worked more on my dissertation proposal.
So. Close.
Then we headed to Leadville to meet the guys for the 10k! Jake and I were rocking our new Altras – the Timps. They are AMAZING.
Cynthia, John, Jake, and me at the start of the 10k.
This is where the hundred mile run will start and finish, too! It ends on a hill. Woof.
This run was HARD. It’s mostly all downhill for the first half, which was awesome. But then you have to run back…and it’s all uphill. It hurts! I had to walk three or four times. But, I made it in under an hour! I didn’t really have a time goal, but I was happy with my time. Next time, I won’t walk.
Jake hadn’t planned on running much of the 10k because his knee was hurting him, but he finished right after me! saw him at the turn around and was so surprised. He looked strong and said his knee was feeling better! I was so relieved! Look at that determination…always with the tongue out.
This picture cracks me up! They were both pretty glad to be finished!
Then we all got our finisher pictures taken together.
Cynthia got second in her age group!!!!!! So awesome!
Enjoying my first Stroopwafel. It was pretty good!
The best recovery = beer!
Jake and I shared this plate of deliciousness after the 10k. Tennessee Pass in Leadville has some of the BEST brussel sprouts. And they have an amazing Sriracha honey sauce that goes with them. Yes, please!
Then it was back to the condo…Jake suggested we go sit in the creek again…I agreed. Barely.
Guys, this was hard. At first, I made the mistake of just standing in the water. It hurt so bad, I told Jake I couldn’t do it. He was already submerged at this point, so I felt like a loser. He told me I just needed to sit down super fast and then everything would go numb within a couple of minutes. He was right! We sat in there for 15 minutes! It was SO cold.
I promise that isn’t Jake’s butt, ha! He just has hit jacket pulled up. The only thing that got me through this was knowing we were going to the hot tub RIGHT after.
Ahhhh! The hot tub. And the sun came out! Obviously, ha!
After the creek and the hot tub – Jake did both of them twice – I opted to just stay in the hot tub, we went out for pizza! Look how huge this large pizza was…
After dinner, it was back to the condo for Penny to do some paperwork and for me to FINISH my proposal. Jake got to relax and hang out with everyone while we worked…I was jealous!
Chocolate covered almonds to help me finish…which I did!! I submitted my proposal about 10 pm last night. GULP. Now to wait until I defend it in early September…
Today is Jake’s birthday!!!!!! I got up to run, but my body had other plans…TMI, but being a girl sucks! Soooo, I walked myself back to the condo after a mile and now we are getting ready to have a fun day to celebrate my favorite human!! <3
I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday!! I’m off to celebrate my guy!