My goals this year were to:
- Run a 30K
- Run Ragnar Napa
- Run a marathon
Pleased to say I was able to accomplish two of the three. Ragnar Napa was sadly cancelled due to the massive fire. We deferred to next year.
This photo captures my races of 2017….
Bling 2017
Dec 21st, 2017 by leigharev2
California International Marathon 2017
Dec 21st, 2017 by leigharev2
Early morning after a terrible night’s sleep. So nervous and excited for the longest run of my life!
Gloria and Melissa dropped Sally and I off at the start line, then they drove to Mile 21, where our run club was hosting one of the aid stations.
Porte-Potties at the start line as far as the eye can see!!
I belonged to a ‘CIM First Timers’ group. Here is a small sampling of the first time runners…
…and here is our Moms Run This Town group of women either running the full marathon, or running leg one of the relay!
Found out later that Sally and I had a little cameo on the local news channel! This is us just getting started…
Waiting to begin…
And we are off! Janice and stacy ran with me for a while. Janice is wearing her “50 Marathons in 50 states” shirt. This CIM is her marathon number 81 or 82! Her goal is to reach 100 at CIM 2019!
My friend Shelly was cheering around mile 7 and took this photo of me .
My friend and neighbor Keri, and founding mother of our own little Clover Valley Loop Ladies run tribe within our run club was cheering around mile 10. So glad I got to see her.
The middle miles. Still smiling, but it’s getting long. The weather was perfect though. We could not have asked for it to be any better. A big wind storm came the next day.
Mile 20, known as “The Wall”. Still feeling good…
Coming into Mile 21! I could not stop because I was far behind my goal time. The ladies made a tunnel for me run through and chanted my name. I felt so special and it gave me wings to finish the race.
Teresa joined me at mile 24 and Elyse joined us at Mile 25. They wanted to make sure I was able to run in well. They made the final few miles a pleasure and having them run me in was such a blessing. This photo is of them running ahead as I am reaching the finish line so they could get photos of me coming in.
…and it’s done. My bucket list marathon before the age of 50!
Melissa and Gloria, when they found out Sally and I had finished! Sally finished a good 40+ minutes before me!
David and Alex met me at multiple spots throughout the race. Ryan was home sick. Seeing them was just what I needed to keep motivated and encouraged. I can’t imagine what it would have been otherwise. So grateful for my guys!
Me and Sally. We did it!
Celebrating at the Boxing Donkey after. Sore muscles, good food and beer, great stories shared….
A cool graphic of our route. From Folsom to Sacramento….
CIM Expo. It’s Getting Real!
Dec 21st, 2017 by leigharev2
The day before the California International Marathon. Here we go! Went with Sally to pick up our bib, and attend the Expo. We ran into a bunch of friends from our run club.
I am pointing to where my name is listed on the banner..
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Sally and I walked over to the finish line, located on the Capitol grounds 🙂
A runner’s ritual…lay out all your items the night before. We call this a “Flatfie”…the “Flat Leigh”
Come on Ring Those Bells….
Dec 21st, 2017 by leigharev2
Our annual ringing of the Salvation Army Christmas bells!
This year, we adorned ourselves with ugly Christmas sweaters 🙂
My friends Stacy and Janice came by to donate!
After our shift, I treated the boys to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Yes, that’s peach fuzz on Alex’s upper lip…
Deck the Halls 2017
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
Day after Thanksgiving, here we go!! The boys did 90% of the decorating on their own. Looks great!
Thanksgiving 2017
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
Started the day with a five mile run with my run club. We collected canned food to donate as well.
That evening, dinner at McCormick and Schmicks!
Everyone got to order whatever they wanted. David had the traditional turkey dinner. Alex had oysters and crab legs. Ryan had a Caesar salad and filet mignon. I have been eating plant based since August and had a dairy free salad and pasta primavera
We walked the Fountains outdoor mall after and goofed around.
Awesome Sunrise
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
One of the many reasons why I run so early in the morning. Fills my heart with joy and gratitude.
Longest Run Before CIM. 22Miles.
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
Our training called for our longest run to be 20 miles before running the marathon. But my running partner, Sally, and I did not feel comfortable with that. Six miles (and .2) is still a long way. So, we decided to go for 22 instead. Psychologically, 4.2 miles seemed more manageable.
We did the American River Parkway again. Beautiful day.
Kind of hard to see, but this is a photo of spawning salmon.
Celebrating our labors…
Butternut Squash Mac and Cheeze
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
Oh my. This recipe. AMAZING! Added peas. I also served with roasted butternut squash. Delish!
https://www.veggieinspired.com/butternut-mac/
Ama Birthday Cake 2017
Nov 26th, 2017 by leigharev2
I decided to make my mom’s birthday an official family holiday. Here is the cake we made on her birthday in honor and memory of her. This is the family favorite, yellow cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting! I made a vegan cake hack by using 1 box yellow cake mix + 1 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1 cup water. It turned out delicious!
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