Chicago Marathon

Marathon #8 is in the books! Dave and Andrew headed up to Chicago on Friday, October 5th for the 35th Annual Bank of American Chicago Marathon. They ran the race for Team Salute and both raised over $600 (each) for the charity (a big thank-you to everyone who donated!)! On Saturday they went to McCormick Place for packet pick up (along with the 45,000 other people running the race!). They also attended a Team Salute luncheon and were able to meet some of the people that would be in their start corral and hear inspiring stories from soldiers that Team Salute has helped.

All of the guys stayed with my sister, Dana and her husband, Paul. Dana even cooked for them on Saturday night! :) Paul was nice enough to get up at the crack of dawn and drive them to the starting point of the race too. Generally the guys are running a little behind on race mornings even after preparing the night before. It was also the coldest weather they have run a race in. Omaha was also cold, but not as cold as Chicago. Cold is definitely better to run the race in though, so I don't think they were complaining too much.

This race was tougher than Omaha, I don't think the course was more difficult though. Dave had problems the entire race, he was not feeling well for some reason. (I am hoping he isn't contagious!) However, he did seem to recover after the race and on Sunday night. The guys went to eat at a favorite place of ours, The Bad Apple Bar. They have the BEST burger menu and a huge selection of beers. Their fried cheese is also the best I've ever had. If you're in Chicago, it's a place you don't want to miss!
(Thanks to Paul and Dana for the photos!)

   

Omaha Marathon

I figured I had better get this post up before Dave leaves for the Chicago marathon on Friday!

 The Omaha Marathon was Sunday, September 23rd. Dave and Andrew arrived in Omaha the Thursday before the race and were entertained by Kyle and Amie and other family and friends until race day. Andrew was able to experience such Midwestern specialties as a swamp dog donkey burger in Neola, as well as actual cuisine at M's Pub in Omaha. I'm glad they took him to M's Pub first ;)

On to the marathon, along with Dave and Andrew, Dave's friend from high school, Andrew (I know another Andrew, we'll call him Andy for this post) also ran the marathon. The weather was perfect for the marathon, cool to start off, in the 40's and then warming up to the 60's by the time they finished. It was certainly much cooler than these guys are used to, but it worked in their favor, Andrew and Andy had personal bests in the race! Andrew ran his race in 3:40 and Andy shaved 20 minutes off his time from his first marathon! Dave came in 2 minutes past his personal best at 4:09, which is still awesome. The next race is Chicago on Sunday, good luck guys!

 Here are some photos from the race (thanks Sherrie and Carolyn!)

Tball photos!

Dylan had team and individual tball photos last Saturday before his game. While he was a ham before the photos were taken (and of course while I was taking photos) he did listen to the photographer when it was time to smile for the camera.
Here are a few of my photos:

Six down, six to go

After a busy winter and spring of running marathons Dave took a couple of months off during the summer. There aren't many marathons in the summer and even the late April, early May ones are HOT to run in. Can you imagine running a marathon in July? I can't imagine running a marathon at all, so one in July sounds especially awful.
Here's a re-cap of what marathons Dave (and Andrew) have run so far this year(if you would like to go back to the post about a particular race the links are below)

Miami
Myrtle Beach
Atlanta
Knoxville
Nashville
Pittsburgh

Coming up this fall:

Omaha (this Sunday, September 23rd)
Chicago
Columbus
Savannah (Andrew only as it is the weekend before my due date!)
Huntsville
Memphis

So, Dave needs to find another race to run this fall to get his 12 in 12 months. The Charlotte Marathon is Nov. 17th and there is also one in NC on October 27th. The one on October 27th makes me a little nervous, that is a little close to my due date...

Dylan and I think the baby will be early, but Dylan did tell me that she would come after my birthday. I am hoping for a Nov. 6th or 7th arrival as Carolyn won't be here until Nov. 5th. We will see how that goes since I really don't have any control over when this (nameless still) baby arrives!

Oh, back to the marathons, that's what this post is supposed to be about right?! Dave and Andrew headed up to Omaha a little early, they are staying with Carolyn. Dave has already exposed Andrew to interesting dining in Neola and the Old Market. Today they are golfing with friends and then tonight going to Kyle and Amie's house warming. Dave always tries to pack in as much as he can when he is back in Iowa, hopefully he doesn't get worn out before the race on Sunday.

It goes without saying, but if you can make it to any of the races to cheer these guys on they would love it. Dave always tells me how much it helps him to see people that he knows cheering him on throughout the race. Nina and I have become experts and strategically placing ourselves throughout the race courses so if you have any questions on where to watch let us know! Also, the Omaha marathon looks super easy to be a spectator at, the race course basically runs 13 miles south and then 13 miles north all within a few blocks of each other. Here's the race map, I would suggest printing it out if you are going to the race and any parking info and road closures.

I am hoping I can get some photos from Dave's family that will be attending the race (hint, hint) and will be able to post them next week!

Good luck Dave and Andrew!!

First T-ball Game

Dylan had his first tball game last Tuesday. Dave and I had so much fun watching all the kids. Some did a good job of paying attention and watching when the other team was up to bat. Other kids played in the dirt, pulled up the grass, watched the train go by and sat down on the field. Dylan did a little of everything. He does love fielding the ball though and where ever the ball was hit he would run over there to try and get it. He started out in the outfield and then moved to second base, which was a much better fit for him to be able to field the ball. He did a pretty good job hitting the ball too. He had a great time playing and does a pretty good job of listening to his coaches. They play two innings per game, kids get to swing as many times as they need to to hit the ball and they don't keep score (no outs or runs are counted). At first I was skeptical of the fact that no-one wins the game, but after seeing these kids play there really would be no reason to count outs or keep score. And even if they did count outs it would take forever to get to 3! 95% of the kids are just learning the game, they all have fun and learn how to play which is most important right now.

We have 2 games a week for the next few weeks and then one game a week in October. The games along with gymnastics are keeping us busy just about every night of the week. Dylan doesn't seem to mind though, when we don't have something to do at night he's not super excited to go home. I guess that is good though, he is definitely having fun playing different sports!

(lots of photos below! #5 is Dylan's number)

 

Photos: Tennessee Valley Fair

We had a great time again this year at the Tennessee Valley Fair. Dylan loved the petting zoo, riding the donkey and of course the rides!

Laurel Falls Hike

Last Monday Dave, Dylan and I had a rare day to spend together and while it was raining when we woke up  I was sure it would clear up by the time we made it to Laurel Falls for our hike. Dylan loves hiking and it's been a long time since we have been able to make it up to the mountains for a hike. I decided on Laurel Falls for a few reasons, the waterfall, a paved trail and a relatively short hike (1.3 miles each way). The first hike Dave and I did when we moved to Tennessee over 6 years ago was Laurel Falls. I'd forgotten that it's basically uphill the entire way to the falls...

Dylan had a great time as usual and ran up most of the trail. He did have fun posing for photos too and wanted his photo taken on every rock we passed! Now if only we could get him to hike in shoes instead of rain boots!