ahhhhh-ctober

oh glorious fall....how blessed i am to live in st. louis now where i actually get to live and breathe four full-fledged seasons. i must say that i consider october to be the best of the fall months. or maybe i'm just saying that because this particular october has been fantastic....

the first weekend
you knew it was coming.........a blog about the half marathon. i "half" considered not writing about it because i almost cannot put into words the sheer awesomeness of this day. let me just paint you a picture...
4:45 am--awake to 43 degree weather
4:50 am--breakfasting on a yogurt/orange juice/ice cream smoothie plus a pint of gatorade water. dressed in tank top, two shirts, jacket, cropped running pants, leg warmers, earmuff headband, sunglasses, gloves, stopwatch, glide, socks, shoes.
5:25 am--on the road and headed to the starting point (a 30 minute drive)
6:30 am--finally reach a parking spot after sitting in stop and go race traffic
6:40 am--lose the legwarmers and jacket, bag check, and final porta-potty break
6:50 am--pre-run jogs up and down the side of the parking lot, some shivering (nerves or cold...can't tell at this point)
7:00 am--bunch up with the 9 minute mile group
7:05 am--kiss marcus and wish him good luck as he leaves for the 8 minute mile group
7:10 am--listen to the national anthem in a silent sea of 8000+ runners
7:15 am--gun goes off and we begin to slowly herd toward the starting line
7:17 am--off and running to the chariots of fire theme....classic, race people :)
7:19 am--remember to start my watch a minute and a half late (argh)
7:22 am--lose the gloves and shirt number one, which i have designed to "tear away" but cannot tear through the final hem....so over the head it goes, tattered and in mid-stride
7:25 am--mile one, done
7:26 am--mental check....remind myself that this is a once in a lifetime "moment" and settle in for the long haul
8:06 am--approaching the halfway point, turn the corner to see a magnificent current of people flowing for over a mile across the missouri river bridge.....sheer wonder.....will never forget it
8:23 am--nearing mile 8 after an incredibly long incline up the bridge, desperate for some of the infamous energy "gu"
8:25 am--gu in hand, gu in mouth, gu in throat, gu nearly back up and out of my mouth along with 8 miles worth of water shots......wow.....like eating berry flavored mud
8:29 am--feeling like my feet are made of iron and wondering when in the world this miraculous burst of "energy" is supposed to kick in!!!
8:31 am--suddenly passed by a wave of other runners. gu burst?
8:32 am--get my gu burst
8:50 am--about ten and a half miles in and realizing that i am now passing the farthest distance i have ever run in my entire life.
8:56 am--finishing mile 11, have to walk for the first time, 30 seconds to swish my water and hike up my knees.....must....keep....going.....
9:03 am--plodding past mile 12 marker, in a total mental battle with myself not to stop. legs are complaining, but stride still going...
9:07 am--people start passing me in their last adrenaline burst. i have nothing left to give except my autopilot gait.
9:10 am--final corner. finish line in clear view. feel like there is no way i can "push" past the last tenth of a mile any faster.
9:11 am--hear the finish line announcer yelling "one minute.....that's sixty seconds left to get in under two hours!" that was my goal. panic.
9:11:01 am--somehow find my adrenaline reserve stored way down the basement of my soul and blast the last hundred yards across the line
9:12 am--nearly vomit on the sidelines trying to catch my breath
9:13 am--get knighted with a medal
9:14 am--meet up with marcus and a pure emotional burst of accomplishment
9:16 am--take a MANDATORY stretch break in the grass lawn as my legs begin to scream at me...obviously need to put some hills into my next training program!
9:20 am--filter through the tent for bananas, cookies, gatorade, cinnamon buns, and beer
9:21 am--wait in line for our bags, meander around the after-race area, listen to the band, look for our times as they're posted...official time, 1:55:50
9:50 am--head to the finish line to watch others cross and wrap my head around what has actually just occurred
9:51 am-11:00 am--cheer and cry like a baby when every other person finishing the half and the full marathon comes down the last stretch. emotional basket case, but in a good way.....sigh....this hour is one of the most proud of my life thus far
11:00 am--agree to head for the shuttles that will take us back to the starting line
11:05 am--require another stretch break before cramps set in
11:25 am--reach the parking lot and challenge marcus to a jog all the way to the car.....because it feels better to run than to walk....no kidding
11:40 am--arrive at local place for food and a glass of beer.....sit in a daze and pick over our plates in silence
12:50 pm--home
12:55 pm--on my way to walgreen's to buy epsom salt
1:35 pm--soaking in a tub
1:58 pm--best nap of my life
3:41 pm--planning my next race ;)

first full week
so monday, i'm limping around school with my stiff muscles and end up in the teacher's lounge for lunch. in walks my principal to use the microwave. she spots me and they says, "hmmmm. i'm going to ask you a few questions but you're not allowed to ask anything in return." um..ok..........
"are you going to be here tomorrow?"
"yesss"
"what are you doing around 10 o'clock?"
"well my kids go to P.E. at 10:20."
"ok. well i'll just say that around 10 o'clock you can expect something that will make your day better."

that was it. talk about pins and needles for the next 24 hours! what in the world!?

so....i assume that someONE is going to be in my room for whatever billion reasons i can't imagine. therefore, i put on some of my more decent "teacher" clothes that morning and go about my usual routine with the kids. i honestly got kind of caught up in teaching for a while and sort of forgot about the clock. then, lo and behold, in walks the superintendent, two other district administrators, my principal and four office max representatives. in tow is a new rolling office chair, big vase of flowers, an ENORMOUS box stuffed with goodies, and a poster blaring "a day made better!" it turns out that my principal had nominated me this summer based on my performance last year, and i had been selected for the city-wide area. i was totally surprised and honored by it all. kind of a whirlwind moment. i was so taken aback that they actually had to beckon me over to the "prize" area and sit me down on the chair to take pictures. it's rare, but i was genuinely speechless. needless to say, i was floating on cloud nine the rest of the day, afternoon, evening...

i had specifically planned to get an "after-race" massage this night, so it was just like the icing on the cake. seriously, the most perfect massage i have ever experienced. maybe because my muscles needed it, but maybe because it was just a crazily marvelous day altogether. i had marcus take me out for dinner to celebrate. it's not often that a girl gets to feel so lucky in life. what on earth did i do to deserve this beautiful streak?

second weekend
the best thing about october.......oktoberFEST! last year's oktoberfest was not only our first introduction to the true st. louis spirit, but also our inspiration for a trip to germany. this year's was not quite as influential, but it did have pretzels, bratwurst, giant mugs, and festive music. if anything, it just made us miss munich. i think our next oktoberfest had better be in the place where it originated....just to keep it interesting.

second full week
my friend was turning thirty, so friday night she invited a bunch of us to dinner. her choice.....a greek tapas restaurant with belly dancers :) giant gyros, hummus, pita bread, wine, good company, and custom belly dance lessons from a scantily clad woman with hand cymbals = one lovely night.

third weekend
my sister debra had arranged for a group of her in-laws to meet and run in their very first 5k together. since st. louis is a great halfway point for everyone, we gladly played host to a party of 9. it was just a short 24 hour stay, but any chance for us to run is welcomed with open arms. we met up with everyone at the pumpkin brew race at 4 on saturday. i must say, running a sprint-like 3 mile course just two weeks after a steady 13 mile course is not as easy as i had expected. although my time was really great, i completely burned myself out by literally bolting through the first mile, running the second, and jogging the third. lesson learned. thanksgiving 5k, watch out. with some proper pace training, i'm going to blow you out of the water :) tasty pumpkin beer and good company made for a content little weekend mid-way through the month.

upcoming
we leave for our fall mini-vacation wednesday morning. destination: california. agenda includes: pebble beach, redwoods, san francisco, golden gate bridge run (of course), point reyes, napa and/or sonoma, and my cousin's wedding. you'd better believe there will be a blog to follow...

goodbye summer

well....july and august just kind of blew past me. guess it's time to catch y'all up...

mid-july
there's no hiding how much i love musicals. i was hooked at age 5 when i first watched the sound of music...and my love grew even stronger when i saw les mis on broadway. since then, i have jumped at every opportunity to see another. so, we're out at a cardinals game one night, and i hear them advertising for beauty and the beast at the MUNY. blackberry out. investigation commenced. it turns out that there is an outdoor theater in st louis that puts on a new musical each week. amazing! i looked over the schedule and decided i wanted to see the sound of music at the end of the month. a week later, a friend called out of the blue and offered me 4 box seat tickets to damn yankees....FREE. i snatched them up and we took some friends for a pretty great night. catchy songs, great costumes, awesome front-row view. when we got home, i was looking on the website and discovered that the entire 5 back rows in the theater are always free on a first come, first served basis. hmmmmm....maybe i could just catch every last one of the shows for the summer! next up on the list was cats. being that this is my friend's favorite musical, i knew just who to invite on premiere night.
we met up, found seats, stowed away our "intermission" snack, and shared our excitement. as the sun set, the orchestra and spotlights woke up, and i settled back for another great one to add to the list.........wrong. this is possibly the most ridculous, asinine excuse for a "play" you could venture to imagine. prancing monkey-like creatures singing made up nonsense with zero plot. it was closer to a gibberish ballet of torture than a musical. save for the good company and picnic snack, it was a pure waste of anticipation. i actually get quite upset whenever the songs decide to resonate in my head. jellicle cats and mr. mistoffelees......please. this experience doesn't get two thumbs down....it gets two cat claws to the face.

end of july
i didn't end up getting to see the sound of music. not because of the above mentioned disaster, but because i was instead on a plane, bound for seattle! i had not seen my brother and his family for over three years. they recently had a baby girl and i was dying to spend some actual, authentic, family time getting to know his three kids. i will spare you the details of my drama in reaching my final destination, but it was toooootally worth the trek! here is what i loved best about my visit, in no particular order.....

~precious, amazing baby maliah with her soft skin and tiny body and contagious smile
(baby m on the beach with my mom)

~giggling on the couch with my brother and sister-in-law and mom into the late hours of the night...just like old times :)

~amazingly crisp coastal air that permits you to leave your back door open for the entire week

~the joy of doing nothing yet knowing that you have everything

~rambunctious "wrestles" on the trampoline and racing through the parks with my boys

~a beautiful 8k race through the hilly and breezy streets of seattle at sunset
(nothing compares to a race in gorgeous weather!)
beginning of august
while i was away for the week, marcus continued on with his normal life of work, gym, and running at home. on thursday night, he went to his usual softball game. we had been texting typical banter up until that point, but on this night, i got the text of all texts. he had gotten hit by a softball on the side of his shin and the contusion that resulted was painfully, scarily massive. picture follows...
i have to be honest. when he texted me this, i thought it was a picture of his knee....with a little red bump on it. he didn't say much more about it, so i just assumed it was a minor injury, that he had iced, and that it had gone down. but when i returned home several days later and saw his leg....holy cow. it was not on his knee at all. and it was not only larger and tighter, but his ENTIRE lower leg was now bluish purple. his ankle was swollen so that his socks were digging in and his foot had yellow and green bruising on it. i immediately went into nurse mode, demanding that he ice it, take ibuprofen, put it up on pillows, stop running, everything i could think of. when the "bump" did not go down after a few weeks, we finally agreed that he needed to go see a doctor. her recommendation....prescription strength ibuprofen. wow. thanks for that $150 charge. he is now the proud owner of two mega-size bottles of over-the-counter ibuprofen and a most-likely permanent, albeit smaller shin contusion.

the following picture was taken around the time he went to see the doctor. nothing had changed except the bruising had mostly gone from the rest of the leg. yowch!



mid-august
you would think that the softball incident would have scared marcus away from balls and bats altogether. but he would not back down from a man vs. food challenge! st louis has a minor league team called the gateway grizzlies. pretty crappy team to be honest. but they ARE famous for one thing.....baseball's best food. at least that's what they call it. baseball's best hamburger and baseball's best nachos. we had seen both on the man vs. food challenge. when a groupon came up for cheap tickets and these food items, we rushed over to the stadium. the burger is bacon, sharp cheddar, and a hamburger patty served on a krispy kreme donut. sweet and savory deliciousness. the nachos are multi-colored tortilla chips covered in philly cheesesteak meat, onions, peppers, and monterrey cheese sauce. holy goodness. we will both admit that they were better in theory than in actuality. but they were premade and sitting in a food warmer for the groupon crowd that was coming to get them. perhaps made fresh they would have been more up to par. or made at home.....now there's an idea! next football saturday, get ready!

speaking of made at home....marcus came back from a long day of golf one weekend, smelling of sunscreen and wind, and plopped down a HUGE bag of tomatoes on the counter. a guy he was golfing with had brought them from his garden to share. being that i am the only half of this couple that even likes tomatoes, i began to wonder what in the world i was going to do with all of them. what else but make tomato sauce....which i have never made in my life. enter the "joy of cooking" cookbook. that thing is amazing. it will teach you how to boil water, i swear. page 1. well, maybe not, but everything else you can imagine is in there. so sure enough, i find 3 or 4 recipes for made-from-scratch tomato sauce and i set to work. this is what i was cut out for. slaving over a hot stove all day for one single meal....i love it! and we loved IT. tastiest italian food since italy itself. i only wish that i had more time to cook fresh meals for us. we would definitely put on a pound or two, but who doesn't love a fat, jolly woman in the kitchen.

end of august
i guess you could say that I don't love a fat, jolly woman in the kitchen. hence my half marathon ploy. i have been running like a crazy woman. by the end of august, i was just over the hump of halfway through the training. i was really starting to get my rhythm in the blaring heat and humidity that has tortured us this summer. i started feeling my confidence boost and my times improve over the weeks. and then suddenly.....the heavens burst forth a glorious blast of cool, dry, gorgeous weather. this did WONDERS for my stamina. no more huffing and puffing. no more pouring sweat. no more need for walk-breaks. running magic :) i have definitely been bitten by the bug!

oh....until this week..... :(

beginning of september
we went camping for labor day where i literally got a bug....a stomach bug. the vacation plus the sickness took me out of commission for almost 5 days. i'm worried that my leg muscles are going to rebel against me when i try to venture out tonight. but i gotta start back somewhere. so off to lace up the ol' shoes. only 24 days until the big day!

the perfect end

rome 1...
so this is where it ends. we packed up our tuscan villa, returned our final rental car, and rode an uncomfortable, rickety train to our final destination: roma. marcus was most looking forward to rome. he had been saying that since day one. i, on the other hand, expected it would be fairly touristy. i wasn't dreading going, but i wasn't overly excited either. i was in for a pleasant surprise.
we fought our way through the frustrating train station and busy streets before FINALLY reaching our bed and breakfast. by this point, we were really starting to miss the comforts of familiar language. it's exhausting trying to be a word sleuth all day, every day, and people weren't overly helpful. when we reached the massive doorway to our apartment building, all we could think about was dumping our enormous suitcases and taking a brain break. but we couldn't just walk up and check in. no. that would be too easy for these weary travelers. first off, the b&b was located on the 7th floor. did i already mention that our suitcases were enormous? of course, there was a makeshift elevator, but some fool had not closed the door when he got off on the last stop, rendering it useless from the ground floor. (i'll just mention here that we did not figure this out until almost an hour later when someone came down in it.) i was nominated to climb the seven flights of stairs, get us checked in, and figure out how to work the lift while marcus babysat the bags in the cavernous foyer. when the beads of sweat just started to break, i reached the door to find it locked. i rang the bell. knocked. waited... and waited... i then start rereading my papers to make sure that this is, indeed, the time and place where we are supposed to be. it is during this confirmation that i see fine print at the bottom of page two. "please call in advance to let us know when you will be arriving so that someone will be available to let you in." sigh. down seven flights. now it's my turn to babysit while marcus heads out onto the street to scrounge up a payphone. zero luck. after several minutes of nesting on the bags, nearly ready to give up entirely, we were greeted by another set of travelers. they were headed to another b&b on the 4th floor. i awkwardly squeezed my way in behind them and pleaded with the manager to let me use her phone. 30 minutes later, the cleaning lady (who had been inside all along!) was contacted and opened our room for us. welcome to rome.

i will say that this was the ONLY snafu we encountered while spending two otherwise glorious days there. our agenda that night was as follows:

~colosseum—this place was not only amazing, but it was within walking distance. it was actually on the same street where we were staying, so we could see it looming in the distance as soon as we set out. we went right before dusk which allowed us to see it in both daylight and at night, when it's totally incredible! they light up each individual archway and the whole thing just glows there in the hubub of the streets.

~roman forum—these are just ruins, which we also saw at night. it was still pretty neat. i wish i knew some of the history behind it…might have made it more meaningful.

~circo massimo a.k.a. circus maximus—this is the old chariot racing loop. it was not what i expected….also in ruins and you really have to use your imagination to envision the races. however, this place was really cool because tons of people were there just loitering about, but it’s so huge it seems like you’re all alone. you can also see a palace or some building where the caesar used to watch the races from the window. we spent quite a bit of time wandering the gargantuan space and just enjoying the fresh air. we very nearly considered coming back in the morning for a jog. it really would have been ideal. maybe on our next trip...

~palatine hill and the arch of constantine—we just perused around this area en route to somewhere else. it wasn't that awe-inspiring, but the trees and greenery surrounding were lovely. italy has these trees that seriously look like african savanna trees, only taller. they're enormous and anciently wondrous. i did a little research when we got home and they're actually a pine tree of sorts, but they're definitely no christmas tree. i was baffled by them time and time again.

~capitoline museum—this place was just kind of a delightful "happen-upon" while wandering near the forum. it had huge, beautiful statues and a cascading staircase. we attempted a picture of me sitting alone in the middle of a sea of stone steps, but people kept on getting in the way. maybe they thought i was just taking a rest. or maybe they didn't really care. i'm betting on the latter.

we ended up eating at a tourist-trap restaurant that night. it was probably the only food experience we had the whole trip that was sub-par. the waiter seemed disgruntled about all of the english-speaking patrons, and the food couldn't hold a candle to our tuscan wonders. afterwards, we strolled the streets, found some gelato, and listened to the insanely loud cheers coming from the soccer fans in the bars. we passed back by the moonlit colosseum, picked out a restaurant for the next night, and then literally crashed into bed.

rome 2...
our bed and breakfast turned out to be pretty cool. it was more like an apartment with three private bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. the other guests were almost like our roommates, just wandering in and out of the common areas, chatting it up here and there. on day two, we slept in a little, snagged a breakfast cake and then got back out for some more sights. first stop...

~the aventine keyhole—this is REALLY neat. i would suggest googling it just to see what it’s all about. you look into this keyhole in the side of a building and you can see the vatican miles away. we had to walk quite a ways to get there and when we finally made it, we found this ridiculous line waiting. after about a minute of debating whether it would be worth waiting or not, we realized that the line was actually for a sight right next to the keyhole...some boring churchyard. there was absolutely no one waiting to look through the hole. it was like we knew a secret that no one else knew. and let me tell you, this view really is a hidden treasure! it's fascinating that someone would even come up the with idea in the first place. and you truly feel like you've discovered gold when you see it. 45 minutes of walking for a 10-second glance....i was totally sold.

~orange grove--on our way to the metro, we stopped in to a small, stone-walled park. it was filled trees bearing bright, ripe oranges and butted up to a cliff on the edge of the city. you could see a panoramic view of west rome and st. peter's square. but after our picturesque view of the vatican at the keyhole, the sight didn't hold much thrill. we took the metro across town and hopped off in the more tourist-dense area.

~pantheon—this was fairly interesting, but we didn’t spend much time here. there wasn't a ton to see except the architecture. we did ponder the query of whether rain falls into the building through the hole in the ceiling. we also tried to snap a few pictures from under our chins to capture the hole above our heads. that pretty much summed up our five minutes inside.

~piazza della rotunda--this is the square right outside the pantheon. we weren't expecting to really stay here long, but a street performer, surrounded by masses of people and belting out tenor solos caught our attention for a good 10 minutes. it was magnificent...like something out of a movie.

~lunch--en route to trevi fountain, we passed tons of tiny cafes. the appeal of a wood-burning oven and inexpensive wine drew us to an outdoor table. we shared tasty bites of fresh calzones and a few carafes of the house white, people-watching and enjoying the breeze....not a care in the world. when the kitchen closed for the afternoon break, we paid our tab and wandered on down the road to........

~TREVI FOUNTAIN!!!!!—without a doubt, this is my favorite of the favorites in rome. ironically, it was also the most tourist-packed...and I do mean, packed. however, we had a gorgeously sunny day to enjoy this wonder and the rapturous sound of crystal water pouring down massive, shining stone. it was honestly so peaceful that i didn't even notice the crowd. we soaked up the warmth of this enchanted place for a very, very long time. we probably would still be there if we didn't still have more to see.

~vatican and st. peter’s square—we lucked out in the fact that we went here on the last sunday of march. and that means....entry is FREE! we absolutely would have paid to go in though. this is the most magnificently huge church you will ever set foot in. it really was awe-inspiring. you simply can't stop staring. marcus did a lot of wandering, but i mostly stayed marveling in one spot....the pieta statue by michelangelo. it's a marble carving of mary holding jesus' limp body after it was taken off the cross. it's captivating. i had seen a replica before in the st. louis basilica, and i remember being mesmerized then too. but the real thing almost takes your breath away. when marcus could finally peel me away, we roamed around the square outside where there are wonderful columns and fountains to admire. i was a little disappointed to have missed the opportunity to see the sistine chapel (we had come so far) but we arrived too late in the afternoon. they say that the wait to get in is pretty long anyhow, so maybe it's a good thing. it gave me more time to stare at the pieta :)

~castel sant'angelo and the bridge of angels—we left the vatican and followed the river down for miles to the castel...which was really nothing more than a big, round fortress. we merely glanced its way. most of our attention was focused on the soaking in all of the fabulous bridges that span across the tiber. they are beautiful. and here we were....the sun was setting right behind the crest of the vatican. the crowds had thinned out. it was just the two of us roaming the miles and miles of rome. our perfect last night in a world all our own.

rome 3...
this is the morning we said goodbye. bittersweetly. it took us a full 24 hours from waking up in rome to hitting the sack in illinois. and the verdict as we finally snuggled into our own, cozy bed....

worth. every. penny.