Weekend roundup: Whistler!

What a great weekend.  Friday, we packed up the boys (and way too many toys / clothes / things from the house) and drove up to Whistler where we rented an apartment with another family.  The drive was long, but the boys did a good job toggling between napping, singing, and asking "when are we there." 

Both Saturday and Sunday the boys were in ski school.  Saturday was rough, though, as it rained all day, but luckily the ski school had a little indoor play area on top of the mountain.  Matt and I took the rainy time to do some downhill skiing with no lines - awesome! 

Sunday the boys were in ski school again, and Matt did more downhill.  This time, though, it was sunny and there were inches of fresh powder - this meant the lines Sunday were ridiculously long.  Laura and I decided to go cross country skiing instead of downhill.  Cross country is HARD!  I have never fallen so much.  I blame the ice and the tracks weaving around mini downhill turns too tight, but really it's my poor form not knowing what to do for cross country skiing.

All in, it was a great family trip.  I can't wait to do it again!  I have a feeling Whistler is going to turn into an annual Taylor trip.

Race report: Lord Hill 20 miler

This past weekend I think I had a brief moment of insanity - and loved it.  I was signed up for the 10-mi Lord Hill trail run.  Last year I did the 5-mi and the year before I did the 10-mi (both years I set the course record for the respective distances).  The night before the race I started getting nervous about the marathon I'm training for (Big Sur) and wondering if I could do the full distance mentally.

Come the morning of the race, I woke up feeling strong.  I got dressed thinking "I can go further than the 10" and when I got to the check in, I asked if I could "upgrade" to the 20-mi route.  When I said the distance "20-miles" got stuck in my throat - that's a long distance! 

The race started at 8:30 sharp.  There was a small field for the trail 20 - maybe 100 or so people (the majority of the runners were doing the 10 and a crazy few were doing a 50K).  As Roger (race director) gave instructions such as "follow the ribbons - if there is a lineup to the right, turn right..." all I could think was "do I have enough music?  Did I drink enough water?  What if I get lost?  Can I do this?!" 

The beginning of the race put us through a large puddle (I'd say more like stream) then up the first of many hills.  I globbed on to a group of dudes to pace myself and got into a comfortable pace.  We scaled the first hill slipping down in the mud, then coasted for a bit through the trees.  Another hill scaled, then more rambling over tree roots and weaving around trees.  For a point around mile 7 there was a long decline down a single track - awesome!  Towards the end of the first 10-mi loop, I started passing people who had started at 7:30am (the early start time). 

After the first loop, coasting down a steep decline hill, I had "Eye of the Tiger" ringing in my ears and felt ready and pumped - the first 10 was a warm up!  I looped through the check point, then was off for another loop.

In the end I cam in 3rd woman - no more course records.  I felt GREAT finishing the race - mentally high, physically tired, and all in ready for a nap.

Marathon motivation

I'm having a hard time increasing the mileage in prep for my next marathon (Big Sur in April), so I've gone the entertainment route for motivation.  Here are a few of the flicks I recently bought to "get ready" and get motivated to go further:
Run Lola Run:


Without Limits:


Run Fatboy run:


Spirit of the Marathon:


Chariots of Fire:


Marathon Man:

Weekend Roundup toddler social life

What an awesome weekend!  We stayed in Seattle with minimal plans but of course, as weekends do, our plans ballooned.  Saturday morning we rose way too early and I set out for an 8.7mi run while the boys enjoyed pancakes and stories. 

I have a new loop that I'm loving - over the Ballard bridge, up to the Locks, over the Magnolia bridge, back along the water, around the boat canal, up passed SPU, and home.  LOTS of hills, lots of stairs, lots of fun.

Stretched and showered we made our way to Wallingford to the boys' friend's house from school (Ella Bella).  It was fun being back in our old hood - we even all walked up to the playground we used to play at almost daily.

Sunday we woke early and made our way to the Ferry to go to Whidbey Island where we met up with my old college roommate, her husband and his mom, and their amazing little girl.  On the Island, we explored Ames' mom's farm and played with her goat. 

Quick boat-ride, no nap, and a flurry of dinner prep later and we were off to a friend's from work to have dinner with his family (including 5-year old twin girls).  The boys brought out the energy in the girls and they all wound up playing dress up, chasing "monsters," and screaming running up and down stairs.

Of Fame and Fiddle

We had quite a busy weekend - roundup to come.  One of the highlights was a boat trip from Whidbey Island back to Seattle where we enjoyed a musical brush with fame ... On the Ferry, there was a woman oiling her violin.  The boys were enthralled leaning over the bench to watch her and she engaged them walking them through everything she was doing.  Then the woman came over and asked if the boys liked to sing to which Wilson stood and hollered "I LOVE TO SING." He sat and she asked for his song request to which he gave BaBa Black Sheep.  Immediately she dove into a violin + singing rendition of BaBa Black Sheep - then continued to Twinkle Twinkle, then to You Are My Sunshine, and kept taking the boys' recommendations until the Ferry was ready to land.

When we started packing up to get off, the woman said, "I'd love to do this again.  Your boys are miracles.  Please remember Talia & Jack Benny and let's do this again."

Well, of course as soon as we got in the car we googled that odd name pairing.  We found that she was in fact a famous violinist dating back to stint's on TV in the '60s:


Awesome.

SF or Bust!

Last weekend we made our way to SF for the first time in nearly 2-years - way too long!  The boys unfortunately all (Matt, Cole, and Wilson) were sick - as were my parents. 

Friday night Matt and I handed the boys off to my mom and went to Ryan's house in Noe Valley for a grown up night.  We met up with Rob and Emily and went out for Mexican where we saw the cast from Myth Busters sitting next to us.  I tried for a bunch of pix but all were too dark - rats!  No claim to fame option with TMZ.

Saturday we woke at the leisurely hour of 7am and went for breakfast at our old favorite coffee shop La Boulange (which apparently has been bought by Starbucks - my two cities are coming together!)  Then, after a coffee and catch up with Courtney and her new husband, we did a drive about tour of our old SF apartments and made our way to Marin to relieve my mom of double twin duty. 

Sunday morning Matt had to go to SD and we had another friend flurry catch up with Emily and Louis and Reiko.  Can't beat good friends!  Then my family (aunts, grandma and grandpa) came over for brunch and boy time. It was great seeing the boys with my 94-95 year old grandparents.

Monday I had to fly with both boys back to Seattle on my own.  As if that wasn't enough, my mom's car battery died leaving us to take the Marin Airporter to the airport.  Once at the airport the line to check in was so long and then the subsequent security line was so long, that I made it onto the plane by 1min. Truly.  After trying to entertain for the short 1.5-hour flight, we landed without too many nasty looks from the people whose backs the boys were kicking.  The baggage claim was another story, though.  Wilson and Cole kept trying to climb on the baggage belt - when I pulled them off Wilson shouted "you are a POOPOO face!!!" and Cole ran in the opposite direction.  Then I definitely got some looks.

All in, it was great seeing family and friends and I REALLY miss my old city.  Now we're ready for a vacation from our vacation.

Race report: Bridle Trails 10mi

I kicked off the year with a great January race this past weekend.  This was my third year for the Bridle Trails 10-mile, and my favorite year ... because I won :).  The race was tough but fun - it started at 3pm which made the morning planning challenging, and ended in almost pitch black because it still gets dark so early here.  The trails were also covered in ice and slushy snow which made for some interesting slips.

Here are my tips for an afternoon race:

• Plan your food - carbo loading the night before doesn't work so well.  I had cereal for breakfast, and then a bagel with egg and salmon for lunch.
• Take it easy-ish, but move in the morning - I took the boys for a long (for 3 year olds) walk.
• Enjoy it!  I decided this year I'm going to just enjoy all things running and not try (too hard) to beat the clock.

I ran an uneven split heavyweighted the wrong way - my first lap was 00:35:48 and my second 00:37:25 averaging out at 7:26/mile.

For music I went back to the '80s and played a good 'ol mix loop of one hit wonders.

The prize for this race was pretty cool too - a horse shoe:

Now if only I could master not looking so dorky at the start: