Palmetto 200

Zack's family started talking about how much fun it would be to do a family relay race in December.  Basically, you rent a van and as a team you run 200 miles from Columbia, SC to Charleston, SC.  You hand off a bracelet (remember those slapstick bracelets that were popular in the 80s?!) and someone is running continuously from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon.  That's right... someone is always running meaning that you are running at all hours of the night as well.  I anxiously volunteered to join the team since I had never done anything like this before.  I knew I had three months to get myself prepared for some mileage.  My sister trained with me every Saturday for my long runs.  I had a BLAST!!!! Let me give you some of the highlights.....

We had an eight person team.  Typically, it is a twelve person team but we were able to run the extra distance to get the job done.  People in our team picked up "legs" when needed and we definitely ran more miles than we originally anticipated when we signed up for this adventure.  Zack's cousin, John, was our team captain.  One of our eight had to drop out earlier in the week and we picked up another teammate's sister-in-law who happened to be a FAST long distance runner... thank goodness! In the picture below, Jay is currently running and I am up next.  We wore reflective vests during day and nighttime runs since we were running on mostly two lane 55 mph roads.  We wanted to make sure on-coming traffic could see us!  Since the runners start at different times, you are typically running by yourself with no one in front of you or behind you as far as you can see.  (They stagger start the teams).  

Shortly after everyone finished their first leg of the race, it started pouring!  And it kept raining throughout the night and into the morning hours.  Three of my four legs that I ran were in the rain.  I was soaked! I was able to switch out running clothes after each run so I could stay dry until I was up to run again.  Some of my favorite memories of my nighttime runs were accidently running into puddles ("ponding" as we like to call it) since I could only see what was right in front of me with the use of my headlamp.  For the nighttime runs, I would wear my reflective gear (vest and flashing lights) and a headlamp because the back roads to the beach have no street lights!  Our van would periodically check on each runner as they were out on their route to ensure they didn't need any water, etc. 

 This picture of Ashley and I was taken prior to our second legs.

 We also took a "selfie" after I had finished my LAST leg!  John and Ashley still had one leg left. 

 I took this picture to show my excitement that my part of the run was OVER! ;)  I always loved seeing the signs that would say "exchange zone ahead" at the end of my run.  I knew I was handing off the bracelet to someone else and one of my runs was completed.

 Auntie A is up next to run!

 John was able to cross the finish line for our team!

Due to the stagger start, you will need to subtract 32 ish minutes from this end time.  Our team had been running for a total of 31 hours and 2 minutes.  (I forgot to take a picture right after John crossed the line!)  Our team pace was 9:18 min/mile.  I ran 26.61 miles for my four legs (7.99 miles, 8.83 miles, 2.32 miles, and 7.47 miles).  I ran for 4 hours and 19 minutes for an overall pace of 9:43 min/mile.  I am so proud of our team for making this happen despite having a smaller group of runners and the weather conditions.  We did say that the rain helped us not sweat as much or stink as much since we didn't have a place to take showers during the time period of the race.

The Family Picture at the Finish

The Team Picture at the Finish

We ate at Shem Creek for dinner..... I just loved coming over the bridge into Charleston while Ashley was running and seeing it again later that evening when the eight of us were sitting in the van rather than one of us out on the road running.  I have changed the bridge's name to Ashley's Bridge after seeing her conquer the HUGE hill to get up to the halfway point on the bridge!

Daddy and Grannie took care of Zander while I was gone.  Zack sent me this picture to let me know that Zander was taken care of.  He put the caption "Daddy is the best!  I can do anything!" when he sent it!  (Don't you love how it looks like he is electrocuting himself?!.... I might not leave them alone again!;))

I had such a great time hanging out with family and trying something new.  I am equally excited to be home and enjoying the comforts of warm showers and cozy beds.  I got about one hour of sleep throughout the whole race so I am hoping to catch up on my rest this week!

One More Onesie Left.....

When Auntie A gave "Thunderbolt" (Zack's nickname for Zander when I was pregnant.... glad that didn't stick!) an orange box full of onesies that detailed each month of his first year, I remember thinking... I can't imagine what my life will be like a year from now when he has worn each of these articles of clothing! Well... I no longer have to imagine..... the Houstons have almost made it to the year mark with our little man.  It has been quite an adventure from the beginning..... from the eventful start in the NICU to the current struggle to get Zander to eat his veggies (I have a child that only wants to eat carbs!)  From the first giggle to the first time he said "mama" .... our lives have been truly blessed by our little one's presence.  At 11 months old, Zander is eating solid foods (he prefers chicken, mac-n-cheese, bananas, mashed potatoes, and any kind of bread product!)  He is drinking his milk through a sippy cup at school (and water in the sippy cup at home) and is "walking" with the support of any stationary object.  He loves walking around with his little walker... it is so cute to see him use the walker as a way to get to something he wants and then go back to his walker to go in a different direction.  He has stood up for a couple seconds without holding onto anything... but as soon as he realizes this is happening... he will reach for the nearest object or person.  He currently has 7 teeth (one more came in at the bottom this past week).  We are brushing his teeth twice a day now.  He is wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  We will go for his 12 month checkup next month so I currently have no idea what he weighs!

Happy 11 months, 'lil Z!

A look back at the past months.....

Next month's post will include someone's 1st birthday! :) Speaking of birthdays.... tomorrow is daddy's birthday!  We can't wait to celebrate with him!  His "marvel"ous family loves him very much!! (We are all wearing Marvel comic shirts in the two pictures below.... get it?! ;) haha!)

Mama

Well.... its been a couple weeks so I will try to recap what has been happening with the Houstons!  We had reading week at school two weeks ago.  Each day we had a different theme... crazy sock day (reading knocks your socks off), neon day (reading makes you bright), crazy hair day (reading makes your imagination pop), dress to impress day (reading is impressive), and book character day (you meet the most interesting characters in books).  Here are a few of my co-workers for book character day and dress to impress day.  Anna (my office mate) and I dressed up as the mouse and the cookie from "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"... hopefully you can tell that I am the mouse and she is the cookie. ;)  My principal was the coconut tree from "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and my assistant principal was the big bad wolf from "Little Red Riding Hood".  Also, for our dress to impress day, Anna and I sported our high heels (which didn't last very long!) and my assistant principal brought out his tux! 

By Friday of that week (March 7th).... we received another snowstorm at our house.  This storm had more ice than snow and knocked out our power for 15 hours.  We stayed near our gas logs since it was rather chilly in our house.  Zander ate a great deal of cheerios since I realized most food we would eat needed to be cooked (since he has moved on to most adult foods now).  We were so thankful when the power was restored!  The main thing I was worried about was the breast milk I had stored up in the freezer going bad.  We are so thankful that didn't happen!  For those moms that have ever breastfed your baby... you know that milk truly is "liquid gold" and you hate to see it go to waste!

We made a trip "back home" to see all of Zander's grandparents and great-grandparents.....Zander had fun playing with a maraca at Gran Daddy's and Grandma Vicki's. 

Grandma and Grandpa Bakewell found a child size rocking chair that they brought out for Zander to play on. 

We were able to celebrate Zack's (a.k.a. daddy's) birthday with GranDan, Grannie and Uncle Henry.  Zander was able to play with a new stuffed animal... a "Dixie" dog!

Grandpa Buzz entertained Zander with mommy's phone.... one of Zander's favorite toys! (that and mommy's keys.... Zander cannot understand why I have to take the keys away from him after I put him in his car seat so that we can actually go somewhere!)

For those of you that don't know this.... my husband is a HUGE Marvel Comics fan..... HUGE!  So...when one of the parents at my school gave Zander four super hero hoodies.... all with masks and all Marvel characters.... Zack has been counting down the days until Zander could fit into them.  You will remember that Burke was SpiderPup a few years ago for Halloween.  I imagine Zander will be a superhero in the future for his Halloween costume.

 

Zander had his first haircut today (March 15, 2014).  He did such a great job with daddy as the barber!  We trimmed the sides (that were covering his ears) and the back.  We left the front for now as I like that it can be combed forward or swiped to the side.  (Check out Zack's Captain America shirt.... did I mention that he likes Marvel Comics?!)

 

Finally.... what I feel has been the biggest milestone of the past two weeks....Zander said his first word..... and it is "mama"!  As you will recall..... Zander has been quite vocal for months! He loves to babble!  I feel that sometimes he is giving me an ear full if I could only understand what he is saying.  On March 11th (Tuesday), as I was dropping him off at "school", Zander crawled over to me (have I mentioned that he is crawling with his belly off the ground and getting places fast!?).  He pulled up to a standing position (which he also does often as he is cruising from one stationary item to another) and reached his hands to me and said "ma".  I knew at that moment he was working on his first word.  There were no other syllables before it and no sounds after it.  Zander has continued to do this throughout the week and since I keep saying "mama"..... he has added the second "ma".  Zack acknowledged he said it as well which makes me feel less crazy... you know ...... like I am trying to force him to say "mama" first. ;)  He is now saying mama for a lot of things but what I love most about his first word... is that he clearly has separated these sounds from other sounds he can produce.  I can't wait to hear what he says next!