Marathon Weekend 2008 (Kerri's version)

For the second year in a row, it was a crazy, fun and tiring marathon weekend! Here's how it all went down.

Saturday
This year, we (mostly me) decided to enter Eliot in the Diaper Dash, which is a race for crawlers. The race was Saturday morning at 10:30 am in downtown St. Paul, near where the marathon finishes. Since Jason and Les (his marathon running partner - also our friend & daycare provider extraordinaire!) had to pick up their race numbers/bibs, etc. at the Expo in downtown, we brought Les with us. My mom also met us there so Eliot would have a larger cheering section!



We were running late (Yes, I know, as usual, but this time it was Jason's fault!) but luckily got there with enough time to register Eliot, pay the $10 fee and make it to the starting line before they were off and crawling. It was a bit of madhouse with all the babies and their parents. We set Eliot down and he was immediately accosted by a competitor! Dang those adorable baby girls!




When the race started, about 50% of the babies were crying or screaming and the other 50% had begun to crawl the grueling 5 feet toward the finish line. Eliot, having been injured by the adorable baby girl and frightened by all the noisy, screaming babies around him, had a bit of a nervous breakdown and didn't actually crawl at all.


As I kept taking photos, the cruel mother that I am, Eliot's loving Daddy and Grandma swooped in and rescued him from the utter horror that is the Diaper Dash. While they were comforting Eliot, I was secretly smiling on the inside (manipulative mother...) believing this to be a sign that as he gets older, Eliot will be more interested in books, choir and drama club than sports!





After Eliot had calmed down, Jason and Les took care of a critical part of any successful marathon training regimen: copious amounts of caffeine. Me and my mom had some also, but just because it was free, warm and tasted good.


After stopping at the Expo to get their marathon numbers, we dropped Les off at home, had lunch with my mom and spent a couple of hours shopping so Jason could get one last workout in before the race on Sunday...just kidding! We did go shopping but not for exercise! That night for supper, I made Jason a yummy carb-filled lasagna and buttery garlic bread. It was very good and we're still eating it today... I got the recipe from my Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook, which I love. The goat cheese makes the filling nice and tangy which goes great with the heavier flavored sauce. Here's the recipe and some pictures:

Lasagna with Turkey Sausage
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound lasagna noodles

15 ounces ricotta cheese

3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled (I used a nice soft chevre)

1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.
• Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.
• In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.
• Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Garlic Bread

• Roast a whole head of garlic at 400 degrees for about 20-30 minutes until soft. To roast, put it in a tin foil pouch with about a teaspoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt and stick in the oven. I used Siberian garlic - a mild, heirloom variety that we bought at our local farmer's market this summer.
• Once the garlic is soft, peel off the bulb wrapper and mash it with some soft butter.
• Spread on a crusty loaf of bread, add a bit of freshly shaved Parmesan and broil for a couple of minutes until bubbly and golden brown.
  

After supper, we got everything packed and ready for the next morning. Since it was going to be just me and Eliot chasing them around, I needed to be super organized. After we had climbed into bed, Jason asked me to remember to bring his Obama t-shirt so that he could change into it before he crossed the finish line. I remembered that last year, people had all kinds of stuff written on their bodies in permanent marker, so I asked him if he wanted me to draw Obama "stuff" on him. Of course he did! Here's my lovely artwork and Jason's political statement:


Sunday
Jason was up by 6:30 am and out of house shortly thereafter and me and Eliot were up by 7 am. I was hoping to leave the house by 8:45 so I could catch them at mile 8 at 9:20, but it was pouring rain when I was getting ready to go and it took me a lot longer to load the car and get out of the house. So I changed plans and went to mile 10 instead. I barely got there in time. As me and Eliot were walking toward the runners, I could see Jason and Les passing me. I ran toward them screaming like a crazy lady. I was wearing Eliot in the front pack, had a backpack on with a bunch of stuff they might need and was carrying an umbrella to keep us dry as it was still pouring rain. I think I must have looked hilarious, but thankfully I caught them.

Me and Eliot continued following them around the course and we were able to see them at miles 8, 15, 19, 21, 25 and at the finish. Yes, they finished! A great accomplishment considering Jason's "training" (if you want to call it that) consisted of less than 15 runs TOTAL. I'll let him tell you exactly how he did and what his finish time was. He did great!

It was a very fast paced day for me and Eliot and he also did great considering he was in and out of BOTH the carseat and the front pack all day. He liked seeing all the runners and the noisy spectators and loved walking around in the rain. He got very excited to see Daddy each time and I think after the first couple of miles, he understood what we were doing. He was all bundled up and comfy - we both stayed dry since our umbrella was great. It stopped raining at around 10:30 am and the boys got to finish their race a little drier (eventually) and a little warmer.

At mile 25, Tammy (J's sister), Nicole (his niece) and her kids, Marisa and Hayes joined us as well as our friends, Jennifer and her kids, Seth and Gabe. Thanks for coming out guys! Because of the rain and because I only have two hands, we didn't use the camera until mile 25...so the pictures are sparse.

At mile 25 and still looking great:


Only 1.2 miles to go (with the Obama shirt on!):


Finally, at the finish:





When we got home, we quickly heated up some lasagna and garlic bread because we were both starving...I KNOW that I didn't work nearly as hard as Jason, but I did lug over 25 lbs (Eliot) around all day and I bet I walked at least 8 miles, so I was starving, too. We ate and then Jason and Eliot took a hot bath. Eliot LOVES to takes baths so there's no way Jason could have taken one without him. Aren't my boys cute?


After their bath, we all crashed at about 6:30pm and didn't get up until Monday morning. Well, actually I got up to feed Eliot at least 3 times but that's normal. Regardless of that, it was a glorious night of sleep which we all needed very badly. All in all, a fantastic weekend. Jason will write his post either tonight or tomorrow (he's doing homework right now). Thanks to everyone who came and watched or cheered him on from home!

Van Fire

As you know, our van caught fire and burned to a total loss. Chrysler denied our claim under the Basic Warranty because in their estimation, there was no evidence of a manufacturer's defect. We disagreed with this assessment based on the report from the Minneapolis Fire Department and two different independent fire investigators, and as such we decided to pursue independent arbitration, which is a right afforded to us under the warranty. Today, we received a letter from the National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS) which indicated, "Since the vehicle has been involved in a fire, and it cannot be determined if it was a defect under the warranty prior to the damage, your situation is beyond the jurisdiction of this Customer Arbitration Process."

There was also a handwritten note included with the letter that indicated that Chrysler had informed NCDS that we would have to file a claim with our insurance company, who could then attempt to subrogate the funds back from Chrysler if they could prove there was a defect in the van. So much for the "independent" part of arbitration.

Regardless, their decision puts us in a difficult situation. Our only options at this point are to file a lawsuit or file a claim with our insurance company. After much thought, we've decided to go ahead and file a claim with our insurance company. They will try to subrogate from Chrysler, but if they aren't successful we will be left with a hefty increase to our premium for a number of years. The situation sucks and we definitely feel that we have been wronged in some way.

However, we have already wasted too much mental energy on this entire situation. While we may have been wronged, the fact of the matter remains that we are very fortunate and blessed. Everyday, many, many people are wronged in far more serious ways and we need to keep this in perspective. It's just a car, for goodness sake! We still have a roof over our heads, we can buy a new car, we are all healthy, we were not hurt by this incident, and on and on. This situation is out of our control and rather than letting it consume any of our precious time and energy, we've decided to let go of any frustration or bitterness we feel and have resolved to be entirely happy with all the beautiful and good things that we do have in our lives.

On a different note, Jason is running the marathon on Sunday. Please send good thoughts and prayers his way - he'll need them! We'll post about it next week. Have a good weekend everyone! Peace & love to you all!

Marathon Weekend ~ Kerri's perspective

What a busy, fun and exhausting weekend!

On Friday night, I attended a Faith and Friendship event at my good friend Jen's church in Chaska. We had a fantastic buffet, heard some great music and were treated to a fun and insightful discussion of the different types of friends and how friendship affects and enhances our faith. I had a great time and loved getting to connect more with Jen, her sister, Sara and Jen's neighbor. Thanks for the invite, Jen!

Saturday morning we got our pumpkins for carving - a dad, a mom and a baby pumpkin. How perfect! We'll post a picture of our carved pumpkins once they're done. We then had a frantic trip to the grocery store and barely made it to our seminar in the afternoon. The seminar was titled, Celebrations & Rituals During the Childbearing Years and was led by Pam England, author of the book, Birthing from Within, which is the childbirth class we'll be taking.

Here's a synopsis of the seminar from the website:
Deep in our bones we know that birth is a rite of passage. We feel that truth quicken our heartbeat; we seek ritual, we feel our feet want to dance, but we never learned the steps. This afternoon will bring joy, dance, color, tears and laughter as we look at celebrating the thresholds from conception to cronehood. Bringing our experiences, dreams and visions together, we will begin to piece together a “quilt” of ritual and ceremony in which to wrap ourselves and the next generation.

Like Jason mentioned, the environment was very soothing and womb-like. A warm, dim room with candles and incense burning and quiet music playing. I could have fallen asleep! The seminar was very good and definitely pushed us out of our comfort zone, which I appreciate. We live in such a sanitized, robotic (Western) culture devoid of true celebrations of motherhood. Expression of our deepest emotions is very rare in a group setting and tends to make us really uncomfortable. It's much easier to exist at a surface level, but not always the best way to live. As Jason mentioned, I got to participate in a ceremony which was meant to celebrate the passage into motherhood and to help me focus on what it means to me to become a mother. The ceremony involved drums, scarves, dancing, music, etc. It was at the same time very unfamiliar and very cool! I was struck with the awesome realization that the baby we are going to deliver in January will FOREVER be our child and we will be the only parents it will ever have. I know it sounds obvious but the absolute permanence of having a baby is amazing to me. It was a great experience.

Saturday night, I made supper for Jason, Tammy & Alysa which turned out great. And Sunday morning, we got up very early for the marathon. Jason and Dan (his friend and running partner) did fantastic especially considering that the day was excruciatingly hot and humid. It was about 74 degrees and 75% humidity at the start of the race and it only got warmer as the day continued. It was clear that lots of runners were struggling with the heat, but they pushed through and finished. It was a huge accomplishment for Jason and I'm very proud of him! Dan was a great running partner and supporter for Jason. Thanks Dan!

The Twin Cities Marathon is known as the most beautiful urban marathon in the US and I believe it. Here's a couple of pictures from the marathon. The first is a picture of the runners at Mile 22, just to the right of them is the Mississippi - that's the next picture. The last is a picture of the Capitol Building where the marathon ended.

Overall, we had a very busy and fulfilling weekend. I need some sleep...

Marathon Weekend - In Review

Well, what can I say??

This last weekend was one like I have never had before, and one that I will not likely ever see again, given the combinations of activities, people, places and things. Let's start with Saturday, shall we?

It started as a very relaxed weekend. Kerri & I slept in on Saturday morning - for me that means around 8:30 a.m. & for Kerri a little later. We both got ready (read: put on clothes and baseball caps) and went to get pumpkins for carving sometime soon. It was a rather sticky and warm morning, and we both talked about how we hoped the same weather would not spill over into Sunday. We found our way home a short time after pumpkins and a Byerly's shopping trip to really get ready (read: shower) for an afternoon workshop being offered by Birthing from Within author, Pam England.

We traveled to Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury and were greeted by a few friendly faces that we recognized - and promptly sat for the workshop. The smell of burning incense, dimmed lighting and sound of soothing music welcomed us into the conference room where the workshop would take place. The workshop was very interesting - many of the topics and activities were outside of our normal comfort zone. We listened to discussion about rediscovering rituals and took part in a couple of native rituals ourselves. We will be starting a Birthing from Within class in the coming weeks. I am really looking forward to exploring the ideas and practices that were touched on in this workshop - I'm sure we'll have more to share!

After the workshop was over (at about 4:30 p.m.) we headed home to prepare my pre-marathon meal. Not long after we got home, we were joined by my sister (Tammy) and niece (Alysa). At the time of their arrival, Kerri was frantically hustling about the kitchen tending to four things at once - eat your heart out, Rachel Ray.

The smells of garlic and fresh tomato sauce began filling the house, and before long we were all treated to a fantastic dinner. The pasta sauce was incredible - and spicy! Coupled with the bread, which had freshly roasted garlic and melted cheese, the pasta was just the carb load that I needed to power me through 26.2 miles in the morning. Take note of Kerri's last post and make this one at home, even if you're not running a marathon. The shrimp in the pasta and red pepper flakes in the sauce were a tasty flavor combination. Cheesecake and plenty of glasses of water were the perfect dessert!

Fast-forward to Sunday, 6:30 a.m. After a decent sleep, I awoke, got dressed and started to mentally prepare myself for the run of my life. My running partner, Dan, showed promptly at 7:00 a.m. and we discussed our approach to the race coming up. Kerri dropped us off at the marathon start (Metrodome) and promised to see us at mile 7 (Lyndale Rose Gardens).

I'd take you through a mile-by-mile account of the race, but that would likely feel like the 5 hour and 42 minute torture that it was. In hindsight, it could've been worse. Sure, it was one of the hottest Twin Cities Marathons on record and my training "taper" turned into a "stop", but I didn't pass out from dehydration or burst into tears from the pain. With Kerri, Tammy and Alysa cheering (and with food and water) at miles 7, 17, 20 and 26 and with the constant pushing and encouragement from Dan, I finished my first marathon.

Here I am at mile 17 (still smiling for the camera!):


And here we are at the finish line:


By and large, the marathon was the most physically grueling activity I have ever been through in my life. A day later, I am struggling to walk down stairs and rise from a seated position. But, other than a sore back and tired legs, I am feeling pretty good.

Some tips for any of you would-be marathoners:

1. Train properly. Don't let your taper turn into a stop. Do as many miles as you can throughout the training period.
2. Hope that you are lucky enough to have a wife like Kerri to take care of you before and after the race. Thanks for the dinner, cheering, food/water, and loving at mile 17, babe. I'm glad you didn't leave - I was looking forward to a little sugar!
3. Have a friend like Dan to power you through the rough spots. Dan could've finished the marathon at least an hour ahead of our recorded finish, but he stayed with me the entire time. He helped me push through. I'd like to think that I would've been able to push myself through had he not been there - but my thanks go out to him for sticking with me.

Thanks to Tammy and Alysa for coming to cheer me on through the run. I really appreciate you guys coming down to see me and help me make it through. Your words of encouragement meant a lot! I look forward to running the marathon with you in 2010, Alys. Let's start with some 5k's next summer!

Thanks to everyone else who also had my back but couldn't make it out on race day, for whatever reason. I appreciate the support you gave leading up to the race! I hope this post wasn't too long, drawn out and boring for you all to read. After all, it was my weekend to remember. And remember it, I will...

Twin Cities Marathon in 3 days!!!

In just 3 days from now, my brave, strong husband will run 26.2 miles in the Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon! It's supposed to be cool and raining all day Sunday, so please pray for dry, warm weather!! To help him out, I'm going to cook this yummy recipe for supper the night before and serve it with homemade garlic bread and cheesecake for dessert!

Marathon Fettuccine with Charred Tomato Sauce and Grilled Shrimp, Serves: 4

Charred tomatoes
8 plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat broiler over high heat. Brush tomatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a sheet pan and place under the broiler until charred on all sides, turning several times with tongs. Remove, let cool slightly and coarsely chop.

Grilled Shrimp
20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the grill to high. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with enough olive oil to coat, and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until just cooked through. Remove from grill and keep warm until ready to use.

Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium Spanish onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon red chile flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh basil, coarsely chopped
¾ pound fresh fettuccine, cooked al dente
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large high sided sauté pan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, two-to-three minutes. Add the garlic and chile flakes and cook for 30 seconds.
2. Add the charred tomatoes and salt and pepper and cook until the tomatoes are soft and break down completely, 20-30 minutes, stir in basil. Add the cooked pasta and using tongs, stir to coat the pasta evenly.
3. Divide the pasta among four large shallow bowls and top with 5 of the grilled shrimp. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Here's the marathon website if you want more info: http://www.mtcmarathon.org/

If you're not busy on Sunday morning (and you're not scared of getting wet), come join me in cheering him on - I'm sure he would appreciate the support!