Holiday Half (Marathon That Is)

It finally arrived - the big day we'd all been waiting for - the Holiday Half-Marathon! Eric has been training for months to run his first half-marathon with our good friend, Conrad Venti. We'd been watching the Weather Channel with vigilance hoping against hope that there would be sunny skies without rain for a Sunday. In December. In Oregon.

Well, we can't say that the skies were sunny per se, but the rain was (almost) non-existent. Just a little bit of misty sprinkles. Eric's goal was to run the half-marathon in under two hours. He would be satisfied with a time of 1:59:59! So, Eric left at 5:45am to meet Conrad to drive up to Portland. The race started at 8:00 so I figured I needed to be at the finish line close to 9:50 or so in order to catch his finish.

Of course I was perfectly on time, 20 minutes early even, with all 3 kids freshly bathed in matching "Go Daddy" t-shirts and signs, and there was no crying in the car, no temper tantrum over having to wear a sweatshirt that was "itchy" and no arguments over wearing hats when it was 30 degrees outside. Yep. All of that really happened. Hmm - not so much.

Let's just say I was feeling blessed that the race had started late and that the race clock was only at 1:47:00 when we arrived at the finish line. Picture me with Jameson in the Ergo pushing both of the older kids in the double stroller while their blanket continues getting caught under the stroller wheels, oh yes, walking several blocks through a North Portland neighborhood with Eliza screaming in hysterical fear every time we were within 30 feet of a dog and Eliza somehow falling out of the stroller at one point. Woo hoo! Yay me! I'm just proud of myself that we made it! And we had 10 minutes to spare before Eric came down the final stretch (thank you race-people for starting the race late).

The kids and I found a great spot on the sidelines just ahead of the finish line. We were all entertained by the runners and their festive holiday attire. Jameson loved clapping for all of the runners as they went by. Finally, we caught the glimpse of Eric we'd been waiting for. He looked awesome and finished well as we cheered him on. His finishing time was 1:57:25, a pace of 8:57 per mile!!

Figuring that Eric had burned over 1600 calories, we thought he deserved an awesome calorie-packed lunch at one of his favorite Portland spots, Pine State Biscuits. So delicious. Nothing beats the Reggie Deluxe with Egg - see below:

Fried Chicken, Bacon, Cheese and Egg on a biscuit. All topped with gravy. Yum.
Marshall, Eliza and Jameson all devoured Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes. To die for.