XTerra Trail Run World Championship

In July Kyle and I signed up to do separate trail runs at Kualoa Ranch on December 4th.  I was going to run my first 5k and Kyle was going to tackle a 21k.  He had heard about the run from some guys he worked with that had done the run the year before.  Finally earlier this month the day had come.  Kyle and I headed toward the ranch for our races.  I was nervous because it was the first time I would complete at 5k.  I've never been much of a runner but if Kyle could complete at 21k then I should be able to do a 5k.  Traffic about a mile from the ranch was terrible.  It took us forever to finally get to the ranch.  I decided to take some pictures while we were waiting in the car. 

The road we were on was right next to the bay.  Sometimes it was a little unnerving how close it was to the road.  Once we got to the ranch I realized how beautiful the scenery for the run was going to be.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  Kyle's race started about 5-10 minutes before mine.  I stood there fretting about the unknown until the race started.  Once it got going I began to relax a bit.  The first half was very difficult!  Most of it was uphill and my calves were screaming!  Once we got through the first half though it got much easier.  I managed to finish the race in 52 minutes.  My biggest accomplishment was that I did not finish last!  After I finished my race I settled in to wait for Kyle to complete his.

About half an hour after I finished, the first person completed the 21k.  He finished in 1 hour 21 minutes.  That is a mind blowing amount of time. 

This is the first man to cross the finish line

He completed the run in 1 hour 21 minutes and 36 seconds

About fifteen minutes before Kyle made it in, a group of guys named Team E.X.T.R.E.M.E. ran the entire 13 miles wearing gas masks.  They ran in honor of fellow Marine Cpl. Todd Love who lost both of his legs and part of his arm in Afghanistan last year.  They all parachuted into the valley before the race, including Cpl Love.  It was pretty inspiring. 

Team X.T.R.E.M.E

Shortly thereafter Kyle made it across the finish line.  He looked exhausted but he had completed a grueling 13.6 miles in 2 hours 56 minutes.  I wasn't able to get a really good picture of him since I was cheering for him. 

 Kyle was one of first of his group to complete the race.  They all met up afterwards for a victory photo.

Kyle and I were both proud of ourselves and very glad to have the races over with.  The next several days I was incredibly sore.  It was definitely glad I did it but it was a once in a lifetime experience. 

Our Little Turkey

A couple of days before Thanksgiving, Alec's class put on a Thanksgiving play.  They had Indians, Pilgrims, a Preacher, and of course turkeys.  Alec got to be one of the turkeys.  He made such a cute turkey.

He seemed a little embarrassed at first to perform in front of everyone, but he warmed up after a little bit.  The play only lasted about 5 minutes but the kids did it twice because one of the parents was late and missed the whole thing.  Alec was much more animated the second time around.  I guess he had found his groove by that time. 

Standing with the whole class after the first run through

Alec and some of his fellow turkeys

The kids seemed to have a very good time performing for their families.  The practiced for weeks before the play and all the practice paid off.

A couple days later we spent our Thanksgiving with a group of friends.  It was a potluck Thanksgiving.  Even though it was a potluck, I did a lot of cooking.  I really enjoy cooking for Thanksgiving.  I love making food I don't normally make for a big group of people to enjoy.  This year we got to enjoy a fried turkey.  I had never tried it before and might I add that it was delicious!  It cooks so much faster as well!  After several helpings of food and some delicious dessert, we were all exhausted.  We made it an early night and headed home.  Kyle and the kids went to bed and I prepared to head out with some friends for Black Friday shopping.  We went to Target at midnight and it was a mad house!  The line wrapped around the store and down the block.  I had never seen anything like it.  Despite the apparent chaos, it was actually very well organized.  I managed to find everything that I was looking for that night and got some great deals.  It was a good end to a great day.  It was another successful Thanksgiving.  The only thing that would have made it better were our families.