Limberlost #6: it was a dark and stormy night.

* part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5*

dan decided to run the 14km race within the week before.

three of us would be running.

the boy would be with me and dan would be on his own - first heat, 

and running to see how fast he could do it.

it was going to be a different mindset than the 56km.

Last year:
 there were huge thunderstorms the friday night before The Limberlost Challenge (TLC).

the rain continued throughout the day of.

the mud was crazy awesome!

such a difficult but amazing race.

i wrote about it here.

This year:

 the weather reports were calling for thunderstorms for Friday.

the boy voiced:

"i really hope the thunderstorms come so the trail will be muddy"

well...

he got his dream on friday night.

it was a dark and stormy night...

power was lost to many in the area.

our power came back on at 3:30am.

i did not have a good sleep.

the thunderstorm didn't last all night but it was muggy and humid.

and as i said i know the time the power came on.

i dreamt about the race..

but as dreams go, 

none made sense.

I was just happy the boy had fallen alseep easily.

morning came way too early.

but excitement peaks when one realizes what the day holds. 

the girl got up and was so excited for the day.

we were bringing her to friends' at 7am on our way to the trails, 

and she was so excited to go.

they would bring her to the race later.

the boy woke a little later, 

but without any problem.

he woke up excited!

since we had readied everything the night before we had nothing but to get dressed, 

eat a little breakfast, 

brush teeth and make a bathroom stop before we headed out the door.

dan came to me and put his arm around me and spoke quietly.

"have patience with him."

i needed to be reminded of those 4 little words.

i assumed i would be, but if he has a hard time at all then patience will be needed big time.

finally...

we were off!

the boy in the new shirt i made for him, and his dad in the matching hat.

Front

back

***

these photos show the shirt looking dirty because i took them on sunday night...after it has been washed.

those are stains, 

that i didn't try too hard to get out.

***

daddy's hat: it says 'trail runner' on back.

we drove our little one to our friends' house and away we went.

chilly morning, 

but no rain.

in the past we always arrived a good hour before the 56km race, 

so this was strange to be arriving when the majority were arriving.

after parking we headed over to get our race numbers, and shirts.

how exciting to see the boy's name on the list.

the boy and i got our t-shirts but since dan registered late he would have to wait to see if there were any shirts left.

we chatted with some of the MARs runners before the race.

i love that group of people.

they have been so encouraging over the last couple years.

i know i am not in their class of running, 

but the excitement and encouragement i receive from them, 

even when not being a member,
has pushed me and encouraged me so much.

and they have been amazing for dan and his running.

Race Time.

dan had estimated that the boy and i would take about 2h 15m.

as long as everything went well.

the first heat of the 14km lined up and the boy and i went to cheer his dad on.

and all the MARs runners.

then it was time for us to line up.

i reminded him to take it easy at the beginning.

that he will be happy later if he does now.

3..

2..

1..

and we were off!

running slow.

pacing myself.

he did not want to run slow.

he ran ahead of me and even ran backwards for some of it,

wanting me to catch up to him.

i always go slow on the road part.

then we turned onto the trail.

he started leaping over roots and rocks...

i began running with lighter feet too.

once i enter the trail it becomes fun.

so easy to speed up without meaning to.

the trail was not crowded this year, 

last year was ridiculous.

i think having the three heats helped.

we ran across the first bridge without having to wait - 

i have had to wait the last two years.

usually i don't race with the camelback, 

but this year i had the camelback with gatorade in it,

if needed.

i also had Clif Bloks and a couple Clif Bars.

when training the boy usually gets a Clif Blok at the beginning and then every 2km after.

at the first aid station, 

my favorite aid station,

the one girl was chatting with me and him.

"he's only 9 and he's running this...

and here i am just sitting here."

she was quite impressed.

i told her that we couldn't do this run without her, 

and i thanked her.

by about 5km he had slowed down.

he was walking easier, 

and i asked him if he was tired.

he said yes.

i told him he could make it to the 6km marker and get his next blok.

we stopped at 6km and he ate it...

after that his energy and excitement rose.

he had consistently been running slightly ahead

and then waiting for me.

then running with me...

until he sped up a little and then had to wait for me.

at 7km...

the half way point, 

i wanted to take a quick photo.

just one photo on the trail is all i wanted.

but we couldn't get the 7km marker in it and didn't want to take too long to try.

i found that i spent most of the race keeping up with him, 

instead of me setting the pace.

but maybe those moments where he had to wait for me actually helped him keep up the energy.

there was mud on the trail,

just as he hoped.

he spent as much time running through the mud puddles as he could.

while others worked their way around them he ran right through.

i decided to follow his lead.

except at one.

the largest and deepest puddle from last year now had a boardwalk over it.

i ran on the boardwalk...

he ran through the puddle,

laughing the whole time.

he passed people at every puddle.

we got to the 10km marker and he had his next Blok.

this was the farthest distance he had ever run.

and he still had a crazy amount of energy.

i checked the time and realized that we hadn't even reached the 2 hour mark yet.

when i told him he was so happy.

he wanted to try to be faster than 2hr 15m as he knew dad estimated.

so we decided to try.

he began to speed up.

i began to too, but it was so hard.

just past the 10km we were surprised by a cheering squad of Dan, the girl and a bunch of friends.

he ran past them first.

i heard them cheering.

then i came running past and blew a kiss to my girl.

it was such a wonderful surprise to see them.

at the 12km marker we stopped for the last Blok.

once i gave it to him i gave him permission to run ahead of me.

to run to the finish and beat the expected time.

he was so excited to be allowed.

i know...

he was supposed to run with me.

the last 2km i was not worried about him.

he was strong, had tons of energy and i was starting to hurt.

i'd see him at the finish line.

i was full of mixed emotions as he took off and i lost sight of him.

i was so proud of him.

he had worked so hard for this.

his attitude had been amazing.

but i was a little sad that i wouldn't be crossing the finish line with him.

i had thought about that feeling of running through the finish with him - i'd probably cry...

i was pretty sure i would.

but now it wasn't going to happen.

i had tried keeping up.

i couldn't do it.

he picked up speed with ease.

i ran the last 2km thinking about all the people who had cheered him on throughout the trail.

the young moms who hoped that one day their kids would want to run with them.

the girl at the first aid station.

the girl who gave him a high-five as she passed him.

the people laughing with him as he passed them at a mud puddle.

the 'way-to-go' and the 'are you running the 14km?  great job' comments.

about his smile and infectious energy and attitude.

no one seemed annoyed that they were passed by a nine-year-old.  

people were impressed and encouraged him.

we had prayed, just that morning, that we would be an encouragement to those around us that day.

now he was out of my sight.

and he'd finish before me, 

not with me.

i was sad, 

but so proud of him.

i thanked God for this opportunity for him.

i knew his dad would be waiting for him at the finish.

the last three years the boy has run across the finish line with his dad.

this year his dad would be there to run the last bit with him.

that was enough to let him go on ahead.

his dad didn't cross the line with him, he left that part for the boy!

i ran with another girl for the last, and longest, km.

we encouraged eachother and crossed the line seconds apart.

Dan had completed his race: 1:13:07.  8th overall.

i finished my race: 2:16:35. better than last year, and i'm happy with that.

the boy...

did he beat the estimate?

estimated time: 2:15:00

the boy finished his race:

2:10:47

he had done it!

he beat the estimate and beat me by 6 minutes...

something he will not let me forget

and completed The Limberlost Challenge.

it has been an incredible journey.

tough, 

but incredible.

if you were to ask him what he thought of the race he would say:
"it was awesome!"
but he also says that

he doesn't plan on running it again until he's 12.

when dan went to get a shirt after the race he decided on a ladies small and gave it to the girl.

she was thrilled to have her very own TLC shirt.

the girl wants to run it next year.

we told her not until she has run at least one Band on the Run 5km.

i love everything about The Limberlost Challenge.

the volunteers,

the other runners,

the trails,

the aid stations,

the food,

the mud,

the lakes,

seriously, everything.

i love having the opportunity to hike the trails with my family all year long.

but racing them with the boy...

wow.

whole new level of love.

i am so thankful:

to God.

first off He created that beautiful place.

he placed people with a passion for outdoors and caring for His creation right there,

and they take care of the trails beautifully.

he gave people a passion for creating this event in the first place.

to run these trails, 

surrounded by the beauty.

for the passion of running my husband has.

it has inspired me

a former hater of running.

it has inspired my children.

we wouldn't have been on this journey in the first place if Dan didn't love running so much.

i am thankful

to the powers-that-be.

for saying yes to my plea that my boy have an opportunity to run this race and fulfill his dream.

for the friends and family that prayed for us as the training happened and then the race.

for those who were able to be at the race that day to cheer him on.

for AmyLynn who encouraged me to keep a blog about the journey to post after the race.

for Rhonda and Theresa who captured the finish line crossings.

for Jason who captured the video of the boy running out on the trail.

i can't believe this is all done.

onto the next journey...

whatever that may be.

See the results of TLC 14km race here

Check out how the Muskoka Algonquin Runners (MARs) did at Limberlost Here

School Days *round 2*: Gr 2

age: 7 (8 in the new year)

year in school: 4

grade: 2

class: 2s only

ok, i'm finally writing this in March 2017...

um, 

in case you missed it, 

the school year actually began in September 2016.

i'm a little behind.

oh well.

my little one.

my girl.

so full of life and love.

She could not have been happier when she found out her teacher.

unless she had the chance to stay with her gr. 1 teacher of course 

She had the same teacher that her brother had when he was in grade 2.

she is still at the age that it is exciting to follow your brother through the teachers.

*i remember grade 4 being so exciting to have a teacher that didn't already know my brother*

She has enjoyed this school year.

a class full of friends.

a crazy, excited class, full of energy.

for a girl who is full of energy that is perfect for her.

she loves reading, writing, art, music, drama and math.

she likes gym.

she loves to learn new things.

she loves that her teacher is an avid birdwatcher.

she loves to see birds and be able to tell him what she saw.

side note:

a chicadee landed on her finger recently and all she could talk about was how she would get to tell her teacher all about it.   

then she laughed ,as she went on and on about the bird,  and said, "i'm just like Mr. G, talking about birds all the time!"

My little one enjoys going to school in the mornings.

but she also love the weekends.

She always comes home with stories about her friends, the teachers, different activities they did.

she loves to share what she's learned.

she has had a few struggles in the friendship department.

girls.

gah!

girls and their girl-ness.

friends one moment...

not anymore...

not unless you...

ok, we can be friends again...

why are you playing with her and not me...

i'll give you this if you,,,

we have walked this road with her this year.

she has come home upset, mad, thinking it's silly.

we pray about it.

we discuss what can be done.

we make choices with our girl to walk this road called life together.

she is strong.

she wants to be friends with who she wants to.

she doesn't want the drama that some people bring to life.

but, she also wants people to like her.

she doesn't like to be manipulated...

but she kinda wants that thing they're offering.

she has been growing a lot this year on the social side of life.

her school work is great.

she is still learning a lot from her teacher, and the other teachers who do classes with her.

she loves social studies.

i seriously think it's a favourite this year.

my girl.

you are on March Break.

you will be 8 tomorrow, 

and i'm excited to see how strong you finish off your grade 2 year.

keep being you, 

with your contagious personality, 

with your unique sense of style,

with your love for God and others.

School Days: Gr 4

age: 9

year in school: 6

grade: 4

class: 4/5 split

to see how last year started click HERE

a new school year has dawned.

the summer was a lot of fun but now it's time to be back in the routine that school brings to life.

my boy was excited to get started back into school.

to find out who his teacher would be.

to see his friends again.

even to get on the bus again.

grade 4 was going to be amazing!

we had a great first morning.

they got up well and we were ready early.

we went outside for the first day photos.

beautiful sunshiny day.  

--> fast forward now to October. 

almost 2 months into the school year as i continue this post.

My son loves school.

but...

He has had some anxiety so far this year.

math is hard.

it has had him in tears.

it has had me in tears as i cuddle him, pray with him and just cry with him.

i encourage him as his favourite part of school is now a struggle.

he isn't finding it to be 'easy math' anymore.

it is getting better.

he is doing better, slowly.

he struggles with the sentence questions.

give him numbers and he is a wizard.

write them out and it gets difficult.

other than that struggle he has been enjoying school.

he was a part of the cross country running club this fall.

two races, five weeks of wednesday 7am runs.  

his class has been to Algonquin Park and to a morning called Racing Against Drugs.

i have the honour and privilege of volunteering in my boy's class this year.

one morning a week, and any extra activities.

i have been able to take reading groups, and individuals to read.

i love being in his class, and he seems to enjoy it too.

he has a good group of kids in his class.

he has a full class of kids, so that too is different than the last few years.

his current favourite subject in school is:

gym.

not surprised.

oh my boy, i pray for you daily.

you are in fourth grade.

that is crazy!

when did you get so big?

enjoy your year, 

do your best, 

have fun,

love others,

respect your teachers.

love you buddy.

see you when you get home.

*1st day of school photos taken by me with Gertie.

photo on the rock taken by me with Chester.

41

hi all.

last year i had trained for months and ran 40km on a trail to celebrate turning 40.

(read about it here)

then came home to an amazing birthday party.

this year was a lot different.

this year i turned 41.

since my parents will not see my boy for his birthday next week they came to celebrate both our birthdays.

on the sunday (since my husband would be at work monday) we did the gift thing.

my boy and i opened our gifts.

he got Star Wars Risk and a remote control BB8

I got a pizza stone for the bbq, some books i had been wanting, a cute little dragon from my girl and tickets (to a concert in August) from my hubby.  

my boy's choice for dinner that evening - boston pizza.

on my actual birthday i slept in a little.

took my dad for a walk on our new 1km trail out back.

got a phone call from my mom-in-law.

went to lunch with my parents and kids.

then my parents headed home and the kids and i went to the boardwalk on the trail for some swimming.

HOT day!

lots of fun with them.

My 2nd jump as a 41 year old. 

then we went to the dollarstore for some candy, and i bought myself some Reese PB Cups... 

tried a couple stores to find myself a Jones Soda, but, alas... no Jones for my birthday.

after a few minutes of the kids playing at the park, while i enjoyed my pb cups, we headed home.

we headed across the tracks to let the kidlets do some scootering...

until my boy went into the ditch.

for dinner dan made french toast and i wanted to watch The Princess Bride. 

and my boy remembered to give me my new colouring book Harry Potter Magical Creatures. 

it was my birthday,

i'm now 41.

it didn't feel special...

41 feels no different than 40 did..

or 39 for that matter.

it felt like a normal summer day.

but it was wonderful.

slacklining, archery and trail running

Easter Sunday was a beautiful sunshiny day.

we went to church in the morning.

a friend asked if the trails at Limberlost would be good for running, or still too snow covered.

that got us thinking about possibly checking them out.

i had been fighting a fever, sore throat, headache all weekend so my wonderful husband decided that to make lunch easier (and less cleanup) he'd make it over a campfire.

he got the fire going and found a grill to put over it.

i sliced the ham, and potatoes, and opened the canned corn.  

we headed outside to enjoy the afternoon.

he had the slackline set up, 

an archery target,

our little girl bought this with her Easter money from her Papa

and the gt was also available - which my boy was taking full advantage of it in his shorts and t-shirt.

while the meal cooked we enjoyed the sunshine, campfire, and the activities listed above.

my boy bought this multi-tool with his easter money

it was a beautiful day.

even with snow in the yard it was so nice to be out there.

i had barefeet in my winter boots - - as i do most of the winter - - but that day it was specifically so i could enjoy the slackline.

we were talking about checking out the Limberlost trails, later in the afternoon.

we began to get excited about going... hopefully the kids would feel the same.

waiting for lunch to be ready

about an hour before going we told the kids that we were going to go for a hike.

the girl was excited.

the boy not so much.

until he heard where we were going.

off we went.

running shoes - not boots.

we were going, hopeful about the conditions.

we headed out on the trail, 

walking and talking.

then it became short runs here and there.

then longer runs.

the kids just wanted to run!

i wanted to run (no matter how lousy i felt)- - i know, without a doubt, my husband wanted to run.

our plan had been to do just under half the trail and then turn around..

we ran and hiked the whole trail.

and had so much fun.
*the guide estimates about 13km for the whole trail.  we're pretty sure it's actually about 7.5-8km*

the kids took turns leading the way, setting the pace.

i asked my boy if he'd missed running on trails.

he said he had.

boy: "know what i love about running trails?

us: "what?"

boy: "running on trails.  know what i don't like about running on trails?"

us: no time to respond

boy: "nothing.  i like the trees, the hills, i like it all.  what would you rather... race on a trail or road?"

all four of us were unanimous with our answer of racing on a trail.

my girl told me that she wanted to do a trail race around a lake, then she could see the water the whole time.

as we were running i began thinking about my childhood.

i was thinking about my brother and i running ahead of our parents.

running and playing, imagining.  

it also got me thinking about my trip to Arkansas one year with 3 good friends.

my one friend and i ran a trail - we were Last of the Mohicans.. we were pretending we were riding horses like Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  but we were running it to Ponca!

when we are children we ran trails.  

we would run and jump and hide and laugh and imagine.

we go for hikes often...
but i love that i have the ability to run when the kids want to run..

i loved running that trail with my kids.

we weren't going too fast to enjoy it.

we walked when we wanted, but we ran and laughed, and slipped, and got wet feet.

we ran all downhills 

(i walked a couple, i'll be honest - - i didn't want to fall)

we had a blast.

no complaining, no arguing.

we stopped to enjoy the beauty.
we stopped on a bench barely uncovered from the snow for a photo op.

we stopped for some fruit snacks.

we chewed on wintergreen.

i love hiking with the kids.

and i love trail running with the kids.

sunshine, warmth, campfire, slacklining, archery,  GTing, trail running and cereal for dinner.

it was a perfect way to end our long weekend before dan went back to work on monday.

*all photos taken by me

with Gertie.

except for the one of my barefoot on the slackline.

that was taken with Chester.

well my dear...

i was rinsing some dishes for the dishwasher & i've been getting a little annoyed that the right sink drains so slow...

so i finished loading the dishwasher and decided to clean out the drain.

I know baking soda and vinegar works on slight clogs so i tried to see if there were any chunks in the way... 

thus began my adventure.

*i did bs&v after my adventure*

i used kabob skewers down into the drain to pick at stuff...

and realized there was something i couldn't grab.  

so i opened the cupboard and undid the top of the black pipe connecting to the sink drain.

i found a popsicle stick covered in grossness.

then i decided to check out the other direction.

i stuck the skewers down into the black pipe.  then i got a fork because there was a lot of gunk.

finally i decided to just take that whole section off.

i undid the part connecting to the T and s l o w l y pulled it off.

what did i see?

the bum of a waterlogged mouse! 

i tried to shake it out.

no go.

i tried the fork...

sliced in half!

so gross.

but i got it out.

the drain now drains happily.

that was disgusting .

i wanted to vomit.

*the above was the note i left for my husband to read this morning at 5:30am*

Childhood Memories

I remember it.

mom went out.

maybe dad was at work, or he was out with mom.

some furniture was moved out of the way.

the heavy, grey, exercise mats were pulled out.

not so we could put on the Richard Simmons record, and exercise... not this time.

we... my brother (i'll call him The Instigator) and i, rolled the mats up.

they don't roll up so small, and as i have already mentioned, they are heavy.

does anyone remember those types of mats?... heavy!

we couldn't hold them in our hands very well, 

too awkward, 

so we held them with our arms wrapped around.

then the battle would begin.

that's right... battle.

we would go at each other swinging our mats... our weapons.

trying to hit each other.

i remember the fun. 

this secret battle.

i don't remember anyone getting hurt.

how could we - we couldn't really hit eachother so well - 

but maybe one of us did and due to a head trauma, i don't remember it.

i don't remember anything being broken, 

but i have this feeling in my gut that something probably did.

i don't even know if this awesome battle happened more than once, 

but i always think on it as a regular occurrence.

i just remember it being hilarious.  

fun.  

a wonderful memory in my childhood.

i remember them.

The Instigator and i having our own World Wrestling Federation matches out on the front lawn.

the stairs were the top rope.

i do remember people getting hurt... 

our wrestling was pretty real at times.

but nothing too bad, or we wouldn't have done it more than once.

i remember 

The Instigator and i trying to get other kids at our elementary school to sign the petition:

to ban Cabbage Patch Kids.

those things were ugly.

we didn't want to see them at our school.

the petition didn't work.

i remember 

The Instigator being disappointed in his little sister as i bought myself a Cabbage Patch Preemie

-those things were cute.

the original ones were still ugly.

it didn't matter.

i had gone to the dark side.

i remember

Christmas morning.

sneaking down to the Christmas tree.

The Instigator and i trying to guess what each of our gifts were.

there was one that we couldn't figure out at all.

we grabbed a pencil and some paper.

by feeling the wrapped gift we tried to draw what it could be.

still no idea.

it ended up being a wooden ornament that looked nothing like our drawings, 

but even if we had drawn it right - it wouldn't have helped.

i remember 

my mom did home daycare.

at lunch hour i would walk home with the school-aged kids.

we'd have lunch.

then it was time for the dance party.

in the living room, with the toddlers.

then back to school.

what are some of your fun, silly, crazy childhood memories?

were you usually the instigator or was there someone else?

do you still do crazy, fun things like this sometimes?

i still have dance parties.. usually with my kids.

sometimes by myself...  i can't help it. 

the music makes me.

The Instigator and his baby sister.

i think he's already thinking up ideas to get her to do.

we match and my dad matches the chair - 

look, where does his shirt end and the chair begin?

Fort York.  

i was 8.  Instigator was 10.

i believe this was the trip where we also made it look like he was shot by a cannon.

You can check out my brother, The Instigator, at www.upstandingcomedy.ca