so today it was 93 degrees out here in blustery montrose. after i finished my work and made lunch, i asked the boys if they wanted to go to the lake or the swimming pool. of course, the big j said lake and little j said pool. we decided the only way to solve the argument was to flip a quarter.

big j chose heads for the lake.

little j chose tails for the pool.

i flipped this particular quarter, and when it landed i said to little j, "well, where do we get to go?"

he got all excited and said, "montana!"

montana felt really, really nice today.

bob seger. like a rock. against the wind. fire inside. night moves. oh yes. i know all the words to every song bob seger song ever sang, and not by choice. you see, my other half loves this particular cd so much, that if he could only take 5 cd's with him to a deserted island...he would choose 5 bob seger cd's. five of the SAME bob seger cd's. he also loves this cd so much that he voted"turn the page" to be our first wedding dance song (he lost the vote). he also made me load the music from this cd onto the ipod we share, so he could listen to bob while he runs. needless to say, the skip forward button is used quite frequently when i'm running.

he also loves this cd so much that he chose it to be the ONLY cd he listens to while he strips and stains our very large back deck. after the seventh round of "i was 18, didn't have a care...working steady, not a dime to spare...I was lean...and solid everywhere...like a rock" i
am seriously thinking about drastic measures. at this point, i'm considering possible replacements for bob. perhaps if i hook my husband on something else, this love affair with bob will end. i am willing to sacrifice. i mean, REALLY sacrifice. considerations have included john denver, waylon jennings, willie nelson and the rest of the good ol' boys. i think my best chance lies with johnny cash. this is war, after all.

wish me and johnny luck. it's not going to be easy.

signs that your 6-year-old is almost 13.

i'm singing with the radio. he sighs from the backseat and says "mom, can you kill the singing?
i'm trying to think back here."

as the big j says "one tooth down, 21 to go."

he noticed his first loose tooth yesterday at lunch...and it fell out during dinner. he was pretty relieved. he has been wondering why, at age 6, none of his teeth had fallen out when some of his friends lost theirs at age 5. his quote "well, at least i'm normal, mom."

my friend steph took this picture after the half marathon and sent it to me...

i don't have any finish line photos because my insane husband once again decided, without training, to jump into a race. so there went my camera man for my big half-marathon finish.

BUT, the day was gorgeous. no wind, amazing Black Hills scenery. we even saw a herd of elk on our way to the race at 5:45 am. i took it as a good sign. my second good sign was the porta potties. about 30 of them, each with a line of people behind them and not much time. but i got in, gotter done and had about 5 minutes to get up to my spot. i decided to stand in the "9 minute mile" section--call me an optimist. at any rate, i was with my good friend who was running her very first half and my husband, who was running without training. i expected they would both beat me, but i didn't really care. i really really just did not want it to hurt as bad as i remember...kind of like childbirth. you kind of forget until you're on your way to the hospital. then "oh crap...that's right! this part HURTS!!!"

so, onto the race. the course is beautiful and mostly at a slight decline. it felt pretty fast from the start. i was feeling really great until about mile 6, when i hit the most incredible wall. i really felt i wouldn't be able to finish. my partner went ahead, and my husband caught up. i took a walk break, swore NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER again will i run one of these stupid races, and began running again. i'm pretty sure God decided to give me a little boost, because i got the craziest second wind. not only could i keep running, i felt like i was running really fast. i left my husband behind, caught up with my partner, passed her and continued passing people for about 2 miles. then i had to walk again. then i sprinted some more. then i walked. then i sprinted. and so on and so on, in the crazy style that i was trying so hard to avoid. i was berating myself for everything...why can't i just tuff it out and run the whole darn thing? why do i do this crazy fast/slow thing? and why does that girl in front of me have such an incredibly small butt?
and when, oh, when is this torture ever going to end?

and suddenly, there was the finish line. 13. 1 miles. in 2:02:22. my best time ever.

i'm already planning my next race. i will finish in less than 2 hours if it kills me. which it might.
my partner, the stud that she is, finished her race in 1:59. i was so proud i couldn't stop smiling.
and my husband came in a few seconds behind me. i'm sure he did it just to be nice, but i'll take it.

moral of the story: if i can do it, you can do it.

well, i'm off and running this weekend. the half marathon i've been training for is on sunday, i wish i had about 2 more weeks to get ready--i had to cut my long run in half while on vacation in kansas and i've been pretty pathetic about getting my miles in lately. my biggest hopes are to a) not die b) somehow enjoy the experience of a 13.1 mile run and c) finish without feeling i could have done better.

say a prayer for me sunday morning between 8 and 10 am. i'll be doing the same.