MARATHON 26.2 Miles

Finally, after several years of jogging and training for long distance running I was able to run my first Marathon! I had been training with Trisha and Irene last year to jog the Santa Rosa Marathon, but in the month prior I got severely painful shin splints and had to stop jogging for almost six months. In anticipation of the event Amanda and Trisha got me a gift certificate to iTunes which I'd never used before to actually buy music. It was perfect- I was up late the night before the marathon downloading all my "must have" favorite songs. My playlist was ready to go for my jog!

Chuck was actually here earlier in the week, but he and Emily had to head to central California for her sister's wedding. My Dad drove down Friday from Boise, straight through! It was definitely too much driving for one day, but he did it. Dad stayed the night in the spare room and the next day Mom flew in from Salt Lake to the Oakland airport where I picked her up.

Sunday morning came quick. I grabbed all my gear, made sure my iPhone was charged up and headed to Santa Rosa for the marathon. I was pretty anxious and nervous. I started out jogging with Jeff, but he was going about a 9 minute 30 second pace per mile and that was about a minute faster than I wanted to go. So I slowed up and jogged my own pace. About mile 3 I came across my friend Irene who was doing the half marathon. It was perfect- she was doing a slower reasonable pace so we jogged together until about mile 9. It was really nice having a jogging friend to keep me on track. After mile 9, it was just me and "Sheila" the name I gave my iPhone's "Runkeeper" voice that tells me audibly my distance and pace every mile. I was worried for Sheila, I wasn't sure her battery would survive a full marathon!

The end of the race was awesome. As I rounded out mile 25 I saw my Dad up on the overpass and my Mom was down on the path with camera ready. As I approached they cheered me on and gave me encouragement for the last mile. Then I looped back towards the last bit only to see my Mom running ahead trying to beat me to the finish line so she could get a picture, I yelled over at her "Good Luck!". As I came through the finish line area on my left was Amanda, Trisha, Maureen, Jeff and Trisha's boys Lance and Dominick yelling for me. Immediately after on my right was Jaime with her boys Cooper and Chace also cheering me on and prepared with refreshments for me, too! It was such an awesome experience; I can't thank all my friends and family enough for showing me such support! Amanda had a goody bag with a head lamp (because I've been jogging at times where there isn't light and I needed one!), new jogging shorts a congratulatory card and some gel packs for jogging. Way cool!


Jogging for over four hours gives you time to think. And one of the things I thought about a lot of this jog was the quote I posted to facebook from after the jog. "For me, in life as in jogging, it's not about the distance, the speed, or even if you finish the race, it's about the people you spend it with." While I'm thrilled that I'm now a "Marathoner" and I ran it in just under ten minute miles on average, and I finished the race in four hours twenty three minutes, the best part of it all was when I was jogging with my friend Irene.

I'm so lucky to be able to do so many different activities, whether it's traveling, jogging, video games, motorcycle riding, whatever it is I'm doing - for me it's all about the people I spend my time with.

Lucky Peak Boating

Sunday, my last day in Boise started out relaxing. I played hearts with my family (and won the first game, losing the second one to my Dad). Then that evening I met up with Kam and we drove to Lucky peak to go boating. Clint, Song and Gess met us up there. We fueled up the boat and headed out on the lake. Aside from some technical difficulties getting the stereo to work- it was a perfect night! We had the tube which Song totally rocked! I had him spinning across the lake at pretty fast speeds!

Here's a picture of Clint:

We also had both skis! YES! For the first time in forever I was able to water ski. Seems like every time I've wanted to there haven't been ski's in the boat or there has only been the one ski. Gess did a great job driving the boat. I was able to get up and out of the water on the first try. I was surprised how quickly my legs got tired though, so it didn't take too long and we were back to the tube.

The whole night Kam was awesome helping manage the deck; pulling up the ladder, untangling the rope, tossing it out to the skiers, etc. The only downside was I couldn't get him into the water... maybe I should have just pushed him like he did to me!

The last go around with the tube Song really bit it hard. I felt bad, and he was definitely done tubing. I think Clint and I just got carried away- I can't remember the last time I was laughing so hard! Song was bouncing along the water, and well it was just absolutely hilarious! Great, Great, GREAT night out with my friends. I hope we can do it again this season.

After boating Kam and I headed back to Matt & Jimmy's house for him to pack up his stuff to move back to Sun Valley. It was nice finally getting to see Matt and Jimmy- they'd been on a military exercise all weekend and were both very tired.

Saturday in Boise

This morning in Boise started with a 10am HOA meeting. Whee- after that Javier, Chelsie and I had a late breakfast at Raedeans in Boise. Always delicious! Then I headed home to find mom making a homemade strawberry pie!

I relaxed a bit at home that afternoon while Mom and Dad went golfing. Then I met up with Andrej, Wes, Clint, Song and Javier for dinner at Pad Thai house off Five Mile. We had a great time catching up. Andrej and Wes had sake and they were pretty funny! Good friends, good food, good times.

Later that night I met up with Chelsie, Andrea, Chuck, Wes, Andrej and Kade at Red Feather for drinks. I had a desert wine from Germany, it was a muscato. I don't recollect the specific name. It was pretty good. It was great to see Kade and hear about his house and what he's been up to. Then Kade had to go home and the rest of us headed to the balcony.

Kam Hart met up with us and we all danced for hours and drank my usual drink, AMF but with a splash of watermelon- delicious! It was another great Saturday night out in Boise.

The Prange's Wedding Day

What a busy day! When in Boise, there's only so much time! I started the morning off at 8am with a four mile jog with Kali. It was wonderful jogging and chatting with her. We planned some more for my New York trip to visit Kali and Andy. After the jog I got ready at my Parent's house then over to Matt's house to catch up with him and see his girls. They were so well behaved and played very nicely together. After the Stivison's house, I went to Boise State and picked up Jami for lunch. We headed over to Papa Joes and got some much needed Jami and Ross time. Then we walked around the campus for a bit before she had to get back to work. I sure miss being able to do that whenever I want.

After lunch it was back to my parent's house to get ready for the wedding. Mom had already ironed my clothes (Thanks Mom!). Dad had an appointment so he headed off to that then the three of us drove out to St. Chapelle nestled in the snake river valley of Idaho for the Kari Schweitzer and Casey Prange wedding. We were a little early, and the wedding party was busy having pictures taken. Here's my brother (aka Best man) and my Mom.


We headed inside and checked out the wine tasting room. Before I knew it, friends and family had filled the area and it was time to step outside onto the lawn for the ceremony.

The scene was very beautiful, with the vineyards in the background and the sun behind us. It was a little warm out though!! As everyone proceeded down the isle it was with much anticipation that we looked to see Kari in her beautiful wedding dress. The officionator did an excellent job with a few jokes about this is the last time Casey would have the upper hand. They're vows to each other were wonderful. One of my favorite lines from Casey was how he was looking forward to making a family; "Someday, but no more than a family of FOUR". It drew giggles from the crowd. Then before I knew it they were kissing and walking back into the air conditioned building for dinner.


Dinner was delicious- it was catered by Goodwood Barbecue with all sorts of meats and sauces to choose from. And of course there was the St. Chapelle wines! Wonderful! I was enjoying one of the late harvest wines all night. I was surprised to hear that someone from outside the country had purchased all their stock of ice wines, so I wasn't able to buy any to take back home.

Then came another moment of anticipation- the toasts. The maid of honor did a very nice job, and then handed the microphone over to Chuck. Right from the beginning Chuck had the crowd laughing and it kept up through most of the toast. He did a great job! Way to go Best Man! :)


Kali and I had a great moment on the dance floor with Britney's toxic love. I don't know the dance, but I just had a blast dancing around with Kali who has the dance down seemingly perfectly! Before we knew it, the Limo to take us downtown was there and it was time to go. When I got inside the Limo Kali was already there, looking so relaxed and at home! haha! When I sat down and saw Chuck get in, surprise! He'd brought along a bottle of wine to share and one for him... The whole way downtown we took funny pictures and drank the wine. It was a great time. Downtown, we went to the Balcony and danced for hours. Since it wasn't too busy, Kali had a great time showing me how to do a runway walk up and down the dance floor. We'd get to the edge, pose, then walk back. It was hilarious fun!

Casey & Kari Reception Dinner

Tonight I flew into Boise at 6:30pm, just in time for Kari and Casey's wedding reception dinner at La Tapitia on Parkcenter. It was a nice evening with the wedding party and both Kari and Casey's family. Rick Prange gave a very nice toast to the couple. Casey and Kari gave out novelty gifts to the wedding party participants. Chuck received an engraved "Best Man" mug. Kali, Chuck and I caught up with each other over dinner. Kali and I decided I would visit her in New York very soon and we'd go see The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q!


After dinner, the three of us went to Erni and Doc's house and watched old family videos from when we were toddlers. It was very enjoyable watching Chuck, Casey and Kali as pre-teens re-enacting court TV. My favorite clips were from the mid 1980's seeing Casey about 2 years old playing with basketball; Matt and me hunting for Easter eggs; me out in the field picking flowers (haha!).

It was a nice beginning to a family centered weekend.