...It's That You Begin

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. ~Seneca

Thursday, October 21st, 2010 7:00 AM: Drag myself out of bed, bumble around my house for 30 mins, lug backpack out the door, down the steps to the bus, drive to school with hopes of a plane out by noon.

7:45 AM: Arrive at school share excitement of impending travel plans with Connie. Hope to use a 'buddy pass' (for those of you who don't frequent the friendly skies, the 'buddy pass' is virtually a "get to ride for free ticket" which you might be blessed enough to be given if you have a friend who pilots one of these blazing chariots. It's a perk that they have but often times don't use. I am very blessed with such a friend. And for this generosity I am very thankful.) Unfortunately if it seems too good to be true... The catch is that if you use the 'buddy pass' you also fly 'stand by'. This means you will be bumped off the flight you want to fly for any paying customer, understandable but a bit of a conundrum when trying to get somewhere at a specific time. And so the lesson in flying 'stand by' for me, began.
7:50 AM: I find out that all flights I was hoping to 'buddy pass' fly on are booked. You see, it just so happened that the Alaskan Federation of Natives (AFN) was having a huge gathering in Fairbanks this weekend too. So to get from here to there one must travel the same flightpath I was needing to travel. Thankfully Connie, well versed in the wiles of airline inner workings, gave me her most serious look, confirming my gut, and warned, "You better try to book a flight or you're not going anywhere this weekend."
7:55 AM: I immediately book the one remaining flight on Alaska Airlines out of Bethel that afternoon. Whew. Thank you God.
10:00 AM: I hop the first flight open out of the village to Bethel. Whew. Thank you God.
3:00 PM: Touch Down Anchorage...Whew. Thank you God. (aside a great read: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Greg Stein). Josh whisks me away from the airport to...
4:00 PM: Pick up Marathon Bibs at Skinny Raven pleasantly surprised that if you are running the full or ultra they immediately usher you directly to the front of the snaking line. There should be some perks after all;)
5:00 PM: Enjoy Moose's Tooth, finally see Josh's trophy mountain goat skull from his successful hunt with Mike last week, supervise completion of tiling Chris' bathroom. (both featured above).

Friday, October 22, 2010: Sleep in, get up enjoy trees and fancy carved pumpkins on Chris' living room balcony. Laugh at Josh's carved pumpkin which is decorated with a 2 by 2 inch square hole. Josh reports it is 'hair'.
Go to salon in Eagle River (thanks to my good friend Ang who has graciously prepped the unsuspecting stylist of my recent and somewhat questionable highlighting history, part of which Ang was directly involved, if you remember the post from last May) to get my own hair done. I've gone back to dark brown and love it. Stylist forbade me to highlight it again until I come back in March. Again mixed response from friends back here in Quin. John Teddy however is thrilled and that's all that matters. Later have spaghetti thanks to the keen cooking skills of the boys then force Chris to take me to Mama Mia! (the Broadway Production conveniently preforming in Anchorage this week) where I finally got to meet up with friends Erin and Emily who ran their first 1/2 Marathon the next day too and kicked some butt at it! Got home, wondered what my plan was for the 26.2 mile run that would greet me far too soon. Didn't have an answer for myself, went to sleep.

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 7:00 AM: Whined out of the way too comfortable bed in the spare bedroom. Wondering what was my plan for the 26.2 mile run that would greet me in the next hour. Didn't have an answer. Got dressed, high fived the boys who were ignorantly eager to run their first marathon ever.
7:30 AM: Load into the ever reliable Monte C drive to Kincaid, Josh registered (he wasn't registered until 15 minutes before the race). Wipe the sleep out of our eyes.
7:59 AM: Wandered to the staging area under a stunningly appropriate full moon, impressed by the many zany zombie costumes worn by surrounding enthusiastic runners, wondered what my plan was for the 26.2 mile run that was being counted down, didn't have an answer, howled (as commanded by the race director) to start the race, put one foot in front of the other toward Goose Lake 13.1 miles out where we would do an abrupt 180 and head right back to Kincaid.
9:00 AM: Chris calls his mom to tell her he is running a marathon. I enjoy the perfect view of Mt. McKinley from the infamous Coastal Trail. Josh thinks this whole marathon thing isn't such a big deal, and checks to be certain he still has all 25 of his Gu packs. We are all carrying our water bottles. We chat excitedly!
10:00 AM: We see Erin and Emily in the herd of oncomers as they run past us at the start of the 1/2. Their cheers, great zombie decorated faces and costumes make us smile. We round the post and begin the run back. The first half is behind us. We agree we can/are doing this!
11:00 AM: Alyssa Chris' friend meets us by Ship Creek and gives us a much needed encouraging cheer! Chris gives her his garbage. I stuff mine in my pockets. Josh throws his in the can he runs past. We discuss the logistics of high jacking passing bicyclists. We comment about the fitness of the 70 year old who just trotted past us.
11:30 AM: I start visualizing my Quinhagak running routes...This is same distance as the Arolik Run, the Airport Run, the Cell Tower Run, the Beach Run! The boys don't appear to appreciate my comparisons. And wonder if they'll 'hit a wall'. We check to see if we are all okay.
12:00 PM: My comparisons are tossed out the window as the Kincaid Hills relentlessly spring up in front of us....always in front of us, never seeming to have a down side. They are no match for my flatlander tundra training. We concur the 'wall' has been hit.
12:10 PM: Chris gets 2nd wind and decides to ditch his running partners of the last 25 miles. He finishes his first marathon 4 minutes ahead of us!
12:20 PM: Little Bro and I finish together. He completes his first marathon! Our reward for accomplishing such a feat? A stake that says 2010 Zombie Marathon.

12:30 PM: Everyone hobbles to the car, exhausted but triumphant.
1:00 PM: Crawl into the arena to see Skylar's hockey game! They won 7 to 1.
2:00 PM: Get back to Chris' and collapse (exhibit A below).
Sunday, October 24th, 2010 11:30 AM: Hobble to Change Point Church, very good check it out if ever in Anchorage. Josh and Chris looked more like 120 year olds shuffling around than 30.
1:00 PM: Take nap by fire.
2:00 PM: To Eagle River to visit Ang and company. Baby Alivia offers to come back with me, just let her grab her car seat:)
6:00 PM: Birthday dinner at Alyssa's! On the menu? Alaskan Mountain Goat thanks to Josh's shooting skills and Alyssa's cooking skills. Very good.
9:00 PM: I start freaking out because I don't have a flight back to Quin the next day.
9:30 PM: Book last available seat on 7:00 AM flight with Alaska Air Monday morning.

Monday, October 25th, 2010 5:00 AM: Leaving Anchorage...
Made it back to Quin yesterday morning earlier than expected around 10 AM. What did we miss in the village while we were gallivanting around the city? Dennis and Jim got a big brown bear up river! Amazing! Allison's parents came to visit all the way from Minnesota and as Einer so happily informed me...the Packers beat the Vikings...

Shout Out To: Mi Amiga Amanda! Cumpleanos Feliz Chica! Y tambien Alyssa en Anchorage! And to my friend Shay Marie Happy Birthday! To Mary Lou Who back home in Wisconny Happy Birthday on the 30th and to our very own Mrs. Z Happy Birthday on the 31st! So thankful for God's amazing gift to this world, each of you!

"How wonderful, how beautiful,
when brothers and sisters get along!"
Psalm 133:1