Five Trails In One Weekend

Since J came home in April and started work right away, his family didn’t get a chance to see him. However, while he was gone, we got word from our old Boy Scout Troop in Kansas that a couple of our scouts had achieved the rank of Eagle. We had brought these boys into the world of Boy Scouts, bridged them over from Cubs. J was their first Scout Leader. We took them on their first Boy Scout campout and all froze our asses off.

So of course, when asked to be a part of their Eagle Court of Honor, we couldn’t say no. The timing worked well, since J would be home and get to see his family. It was a fast trip, fly out Friday and fly home Sunday. We squeezed in as much as we could. It just so happened that the Five Trails Half Marathon was happening that same weekend. I couldn't say no. 

Friday afternoon, we flew in and got our rental car. We stopped in Weston, Missouri on our way to his folks’ and bought some wine at one of our favorite wineries, Pirtle. Getting in to town, we said Hi to his dad and changed into running clothes. Yes, we flew there and went for a run. I was slow and tired and felt miserable. I was starting to worry about Sunday. J’s mom was home by the time we finished our run, so we showered and all had dinner.

hanging out

Saturday morning, we had brunch with the whole family: mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law. Then we headed to Lawrence, where we used to live. We appreciate this town much more now that we don’t live there, but moving away was probably one of the best things we could do for ourselves. More on that another time.

We met my good friend Justin downtown and picked up some sandwiches to take back to his place. His wife and brand new baby were at home, so we ate lunch there. I, of course, was dealing with a cold, so I didn’t get to hold the precious little girl. And she was precious. Just adorable.  (No, this does not mean I want one.) I had started a quilt a couple years ago when Justin and Jessica got married, but it took me a long time to finish. It was nice to finally give them the finished product.

finally finished!

We headed over to the church where the Scouts meet. J changed into his dress blues and we helped make sure everything was ready. It was great to see our Scout friends again. The Court of Honor was fun and brought back many good memories. We had a great time catching up with old friends and celebrating the achievements of these young men.  We took ourselves out to a nice dinner downtown that evening, and stopped at a great coffee shop, The Java Break, before heading back to the folks’ place.

Sunday morning came early. We got up and got ourselves some oatmeal for breakfast. The real stuff, not instant. J’s mom drove us over to the middle school where we would start and finish. We checked in, got our packets, and hung out. They had the school cafeteria open for all of us, which is lucky since it started raining. J had a visor with him, but I hadn’t brought anything. My mother-in-law is always prepared, and had some hats out in her car, so she let me wear one to keep the rain out of my eyes.

with mom before the run

The race started in the rain, but I felt good. J paced with me for the whole run, which is fun until he tries to be all motivational and just makes me angry.  He’s still learning. But we appreciated the cool rain once we started moving, and took the first and biggest hill better than I had expected. The run itself was fun and hilly and exhausting, but what really made it a great race was Dora. She would hop in her car and drive up ahead on the route, get out, and cheer us on from her new spot. She was there when we turned a corner, cheering, snapping photos, and making us laugh. And she was there at the finish, waiting with her camera.

J's smiling, I'm exhausted

It wasn’t the greatest half marathon I’ve ever run, but considering that I was running with a cold/sinus infection on a hilly route, I’m proud of it. It was fun to run in the rain, even though it made for some blistered feet. We went home after the run, downed some water, and just lay on the soft carpet in Dora’s craft room.

Once we were recovered, we cleaned up and headed to J’s little brother’s house. Our sister-in-law cooked a big dish of lasagna for us, and we gobbled it up. We were definitely hungry after the run, and the lasagna was wonderful. We visited, snuggled with some kitties, watched a movie, and headed back home.

Think we’re done? Not quite! Dora took Monday morning off and we went downtown to the local bike shop. It didn’t have any brands we were interested in, but it was fun to look around, and they have a coffee bar inside. We wandered around downtown and ended up buying a couple small things that fit in the suitcases.

It was finally time to come home-home. We said goodbye and headed to the airport. The flight home was pretty easy, nothing big. We made it home in time to head to the kennel and pick up the pup, and come home as a little family.

As fun as that weekend was, it was packed to the brim. It’s nice to come home to my pup and cat and just take it easy for a couple days.  Not that I took it too easy, since I was then getting prepped for the Colorado trip. That’s another post.