Nice to Know You

I was home with Keller today. He woke up with a bad cough that sounded a lot like croup. So, I wanted to take him to the doctor and get him started on the steroid if it was indeed croup.

We had a nice morning before we went to the doctor. Just cuddling and playing. I didn't even have to fight him to go to the doctor. The doctor (whom Keller told was 'silly' the moment he walked into the exam room) said it's not croup and just a bad cough. Good. I couldn't get over how good Keller was at the doctor. He hates being examined, especially his ears, and he was just fine today.

After the doctor, we came home for lunch. He managed to eat two sandwiches. He can definitely pack it in. I put him down for his nap, and did some work.

He's been up for a while now and he's just been such an angel. I really love the person he is becoming. He is outgoing and friendly, extremely smart and observant, and so sweet. Yes, he has his moments of ugliness, but who doesn't? I don't know why this is hitting me today, I guess it's been a while since it was just me and Keller alone together all day without any other distractions. I've been able to focus on him.

The other night, John and I were looking at some of the photos of Baby Keller we have in the den. In most of them, I can see a tiny little bit of the Keller that he is today but for the most part, he's changed so much. He can do so much on his own now, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes not so good. Like when he took the eggs out of the fridge because he was going to make himself breakfast. That was a mess. But at least he tried.

I think I'm going through a mid-life crisis or something. My tiny baby isn't so tiny anymore. He can tell me what's wrong and what he needs. Not to mention when he tells me to leave him alone. I'm sad that he's growing up so quickly but at the same time I'm excited to watch him become this pretty cool person. I hope I remember this when he's 16 and telling me how I've ruined his life. :)

Rock this Town

Let's take it from the top.

I woke up feeling good and ready. We met Amanda, Damon, Lynne, and Betsy. We all headed over to the start and were very excited.

Then we were off. We were feeling good and all that. It was very exciting. We saw our family at miles 1 and 3 and that was great. Everyone, runners, spectators, and volunteers, were all great. Then the heat kicked in. By mile 8 Amanda and I decided to just let it ride. We didn't want to kill ourselves in the heat and we wanted to have fun. We danced to all the music playing. We gave hugs to the singer of a band with a sign offering free hugs. I bet he regretted that. But we had a great time.

We saw our family again at mile 12. Keller was looking ill so that wasn't good. But we still hugged and took pictures and all that. It was fun.

I started having foot pain at some point, I don't remember when. I have foot problems in both feet that will most likely require surgery. They really haven't been an issue until recently. They've been bothering me mainly on my very long runs in the past couple of months. Anyway, that's the reason my race started tanking. Amanda was feeling yucky too so we decided to continue dancing and signing and having a good time.

We saw interesting things. Here is a list of some: a group dressed as Batman, Robyn, Supergirl, Batwoman, and the Joker. We saw a guy in a blow-up Sumo wrestler costume. We saw a sign that said "Poop if you gotta". We saw Elvis and some weird dude in a Frenchman costume with a sign that said, "Make baguette not war!". Gotta love it!

Time-wise this was my worst marathon in history! But Amanda and I had so much fun, the crowd was awesome, the other runners were great and the course was really nice. The things that made this race bad, the weather and my injury, were totally out of our control. I would definitely do this race again.

I met the womens winner as we were heading out for dinner. That was cool. And we saw Deana Kastor (the American woman who won Chicago a few years ago and the bronze medal in the Olympic marathon in Athens). She is a tiny woman.

Unfortunately now, Keller is sick with croup and we'll be heading to the doctor as soon as we get off the plane today. He was up all night and we had to do a steam bath to get him to sleep. My poor baby. UPDATE: went to the doctor and yes, it's croup. Got some meds and he seems to be feeling better.

Thank you to everyone for all your kind words and well wishes. My 7th marathon may not have been my best performance but it was sure the most fun. And you all have a lot to with that.

I don't know when #8 will be. I'm taking a break! Probably having surgery on my feet. But I'll be back. Ready to kick some ass.

BTW, this is my 100th post. Yay!