A Last Farewell to Sally

Well, today started off on a sad note. My rabbit, Sally, has been progressively deteriorating in health. I had taken her into the vets a couple of weeks ago because I noticed a head tilt in her. She tested positive for ecunniculi - a nasty disease. In addition, the vet felt something in her stomach, but she didn't know quite what it was. Anyway, last night when I came home, I knew that Sally was just too weak to carry on. She had lost a lot of weight despite having a healthy appetite. This morning I made the call and took Sally in. It's never an easy decision, is it? About 20 minutes later the vet called and said that she felt Sally's stomach again and realized that the growth had spread - Sally most likely had cancer. So this was the right time to say goodbye to Sally. I hope that she's romping up in bunny heaven w/ Mimi and Tonki.

My First Half-Marathon

 

Yesterday was a significant day for me...I completed my first half-marathon!!! I never considered myself a runner, and if you saw me run, you'd understand why. But through an online community, I received support in my effort to be healthy. Part of that support was communicating with women about running...and how good it is. So last July, Bev & I were talking about entering a race...and she mentioned a marathon in my neck of the woods. So I entered...last July, because in July, it seemed like it would be a do-able possibility. I gotta tell you that on Saturday night, I was seriously doubting my judgement...but no turning back. I registered, paid, and made all the necessary reservations. But you know what? It was a good decision. Along the way, we got 4 other women to join us: Andi, Kim, Kim's sister - Debbie, and my good friend, Susan (the picture above is of Andi, Susan, Bev, myself, and Kim - Kim's sister was snapping the pic). We talked about this for months, and trained, trained, trained. And the next thing I knew I was standing at the starting line wondering what I was doing there. This was an incredible experience and I'm ready to do another one...in fact, I'll be doing another half-marathon on May 18th...and then in October. Who have I become???

We're gonna do it!

 

On Saturday Susan and I met up with the other women who were doing the half-marathon. It really was quite exciting...getting our bibs, tote bags, etc. After we did our requisite round of the expo, Susan, Bev, Andi, and I headed to Starbucks for coffee and gab time. It was just a great time of (re)connecting. It's hard to believe that (other than Susan), I only know these women through our online community, but we have really connected. After coffee, we headed to Coupeville for a dinner overlooking the water. The food was decent, but the company was fabulous.

After Dinner Walk

 

Dinner was fine, but we had to get up and walk around. We were near a dock so we took a short jaunt over to the pier. Here's a shot of Andi, me and Susan.

Picture Perfect

 

Sunset in Coupeville.

Race Day!!!

 

The morning of race day was absolutely cold and windy!!! We had checked out of the hotel that morning so I luckily had my suitcase in the car. Since we arrived at the start pretty early, I sat in the car. However, every 15 minutes I opened the trunk to take out more clothes. I started off w/ a short sleeved shirt, but ended up taking out: 1 long sleeved shirt, 1 long sleeved pullover, 1 fleece headcover, 1 pair of gloves. It turns out that it was perfect weather...not hot at all...nice and cool. The race started a bit late, but once we got started, there was no turning back. Seriously...I didn't see one emergency station on the whole route.

At the starting line

 

This is before the race...you can imagine it wasn't the same at the end.

Taking it all in

 

So I decided that I was going to enjoy myself on my first half-marathon. I packed my camera and cell phone and started out. Well, just after mile 3, I saw this group of alpaca...and it was just too adorable. So I stopped to take a picture. The first of several.

Stopping to smell the roses...

 

OK...isn't this the most beautiful field??? I just had to get a picture. This was at about 4.5 miles. I'm such a dorky half-marathoner.

Do not enter...wrong way

 

So at about the 4 mile mark, we saw some full-marathoners going the other direction. It was a little strange, but of course, I'm a gawker so I just watch the whole thing go by. Well, I took a picture. Anyway, it turns out that some of the marathoners took a wrong route and ended up doing the marathon backwards.

Finished!!!

 

Waiting at the finish line were Andi & Bev!!! Andi was a real trooper since she finished so far ahead of me. She sat in the cold...waiting.

The Ultra Marathon Man

 

Last year I read Ultra Marathon Man by D. Karnazes and was inspired...not enough to run 100 miles, but enough to start moving. Well, guess who ran the same marathon??? Here's a shot of the man himself!

Kim & Debbie

 

Kim & Debbie were part of our group and here's their shot after crossing the finish line.

Friends, Food & Birthdays

 

Friday night was one of those special nights when you experience the trifecta of good living. John was celebrating his birthday and while his wife and daughter couldn't be there with him, Eric and I were somewhat of a decent substitute. We celebrated at a sushi restaurant. Here's a group shot of us w/ John's birthday treat. From left to right: Eric, John (E's nephew), Suz, & John.