Mom and Dad make the long drive from Texas to visit and make sure they are at the boys' big events. They arrived on Thursday with smiles and FOOD! There was panis for breakfast...yum! (brisket for later and Kahlua for whenever)
On Friday, we took them to Gardenhood and the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. The Oakland Cemetery is huge Victorian style garden cemetery that dates from the mid 1800's. There are some really cool monuments and mausolea to check out.
Mom looking at Margaret Mitchell's headstone. (author of Gone with the Wind)
Friday evening, Shey's dad, Glenn arrived. We took the guys out to the climbing wall, just to show them and.......
....well....one thing led to another.......
Glenn on the wall
The grandfather's, "still very active" or "still not grown up"..... :>)
They somehow managed to squeeze their feet into our two-sizes-too-small climbing shoes.
I can do this, no problem.
What a pro!
Graduation was Saturday,
then on Sunday, we had Brisket!!!! Our favorite! Thanks DAD!!
The last couple times Mom and Dad have come to visit I have wanted to interview them, so we would have an archive of our family history. Before they arrived, I purchased a great little microphone that you plug into the computer and the sound was GREAT! It was very easy to use.
I spent about an hour or so with each of them, asking question about their childhood and family. It was really cool and we listened to the recordings after each interview. Then, I made them each a CD before they left.
I also made reservations with Storycorps so we would have a recording of them at the Library of Congress. Since, we had already been through the questions at home with my recording, I don't think this interview was as smooth this time, but it was really fun! http://storycorps.org/
Here we are in the sound booth. The boys are in the room outside, listening with earphones.
The ladies who run the sound booth were really cool and one of them told us the microphones were the original ones purchased for Storycorps. So, many famous people had used these devices and she rattled of a list of names, but the only one Mom got really excited about was Yoko Ono........yes, that's right, Yoko Ono.
And his speech was amazing! He told his classmates to stop dreaming and DO something!
Maceo, the ninja.
Sleeping Ziljan.
Scarves and watches......
Jansen was jazzed about his sketch from Kurt.
Mom and Dad with the boys. Best grandparents EVER!!! Thanks so much for everything guys!!
The men...........Everett, Dad, Jansen, Glenn and Shey
Happy parents!!
Then, it was over too fast. The past few weeks have been crazy and graduation day was here in a flash. It was really nice to have my parents here and Shey's dad, too. So, after the ceremony we all went home and changed clothes, then met at a Thai food place to visit and relax.
Then, a nice long walk along Floyd St.
I am so happy for Jansen and all that he has accomplished. We are so thankful to know this amazing son, brother, grandson, cyclist, academic, blacksmith, rocket builder, unicyclist, juggler, adventurer...and the list goes on and on. Love you man!!!!
Senior year is winding down. This semester has been hectic, to say the least, for Jansen. But, essays are written, scholarships accepted, university chosen, AP exams, finals and projects will be completed by the end of next week. Whew!!
He is salutatorian of a graduating class of about 420. (interesting number, eh?) So, the award ceremonies began last month.
Highest SAT
Top Ten from all the high schools in the county. (other schools not shown)
Changing in the car for the awards this week....
Honors Night
And there was cake.........
Happy and hungry
Lots of cool awards
Here are the Graduation Announcements. Very fitting, I think.
Yeah, so we went to the black barber shop down the street for his haircut.....they weren't quite sure what to do with him, but I love the razor sharp sideburns!!
I have wanted to do another long run and had this plan to ride to Yargo with my gear in the BOB trailer, camp, then start a long run the next morning, then ride home. I just couldn't find two days in a row where the family wasn't doing something. So, as I was finishing my normal run at IHP one day I thought, "Why am I making this so complicated?" "Why don't I just run my home course and make it simple?" "And why don't I do it this weekend.....in three days?"
So, I picked the mtb course, with some added trail to increase the lap distance, and planned to run loops to total at least 40 miles.
I grabbed snacks and packed the car on Friday night then set the alarm for early Saturday morning. I wasn't sure how long it would take me and I wanted to be done in time to spend the afternoon with the guys, so I planned to start before dawn.
Shey was riding a century that day and was a bit nervous about me running at IHP by myself in the dark, but I had a plan and wanted to stick to it. (who knew it would be more dangerous to run a marathon in Boston two days later!!) It was cold and I was in a down jacket and beanie. I pulled my car out to the center island and set up two chairs with food and water and extra clothing.
I started my Garmin at around 6:30am. I ran with a headlamp and felt incredibly slow. My legs were not responding and they felt like lead. I kept pushing harder to pick up the pace. I heard the chime of the watch, but didn't check it because I knew my time would be slow and I didn't want to start off on a negative vibe. I just enjoyed the cool, dark air and the concentration it took to watch the trail in the round glow of the headlamp. When I hit my 6 mile mark I checked the watch and I was at under 9 minute miles. I wasn't sure, but that felt like it would be too fast to sustain for 40 miles, so I backed off a little. It felt good to know that though my legs felt like crap, they were doing their job and I continued to cruise along.
*After the first lap, I took off my fleece jacket and light.
*Second lap, I grabbed some water and would do so at each lap after. I never used my small camelbak, since the weather stayed relatively cool.
*The laps were about 11 miles.
*I felt awesome through mile 20. Then I had some stomach issues, but they went away quickly.
*At mile 27-29 I REALLY had stomach/intestine issues and had to stop frequently. I thought that was the end and I would have to walk the rest of the way. I was pretty miserable and it was getting hot.
*Mile 30 was better and I started to run. I was bummed that I had wasted the great time I had made during the first 20 miles by crawling for two miles, but I hoped I could pick up the pace.
*Mile 30-37 were plagued with pain from my IT band. I had run the off-camber granite section too many times and my ankles and IT bands were on fire. Not only is the granite off camber, but it has pock marks/divets that tear a body up. I was NOT graceful when running these sections. Running the granite through the other sections was fun, though.
*The last three miles were really tough for me. I had been thinking about what I would say to Jansen when he got there. You think weird and seemingly important thoughts when doing endurance events. **Everett had to work, so Jansen was riding out to see me in the afternoon, then Shey would be there as soon as he finished his century. I told them I thought I would be done around 4pm or so. I was way off. I was on schedule to finish by 2pm even with the lost time on the side of the trail.** I watched for Jansen eveywhere in the woods even though I knew he probably wouldn't be there until after 2pm.
*The last two miles trudged by with only forest and very few mountain bike riders. In fact, there had only been a handful of mtb riders out there all day.
*At 1:44 I was done. I unceremoniously walked to the car to check my phone for messages and sent one to Shey to tell him I was done. I drove the car over to the chairs to pack up, but just those few minutes of sitting allowed my legs to tighten up enough to be uncomfortable.
*I sat down on the cooler and enjoyed my diet coke and a banana. Noah was out riding that day and stopped to visit. Then Shey showed up, then Jansen. Jansen had ridden over, but a bridge was completely gone on his route, so he had to take a detour. Shey was super bummed he missed my finish, but again, I thought I would be done much later.
Noah said something like, "So you just ran 40 miles out here, Shey rode 100 miles and Jansen just built an 18' climbing wall in your back yard over spring break and now rode over here to see your run........." then he shook his head and rode off. Now, Noah is a father of THREE little girls, he has an amazing wife, he works full time as a nurse and is back in school to become a physicians assistant, plus he is an incredible athlete and one of our favorite people. I imagine he is living off 3 hours of sleep or less each night. He is one tough guy!
We sat under the tree and visited for a bit before heading off to eat. I knew the snack size snickers and banana I ate for "lunch" would wear off soon.
When we got home, my arms felt fine, so Jansen and I climbed in the backyard.
Yep, you can climb in a skirt.
By Tuesday, I was ready to run again. I hit Yellow River and the flowers were in bloom.
So, I ran back to the car and grabbed my iphone to take a few pics. That added on a few miles, so my recovery run was 10 miles, but I felt good.
Hmmm, planning an off-road iron man next...............
