Day 175

A little while ago I sat next to Kai in the pale turquoise rocking chair (where I've made many sweet memories in the last four years) and asked him what his favorite thing about the day had been.

"Runners," he replied without missing a beat.

I'm pretty sure that Kai was talking about the hundreds (thousands?) of people - including my sister Kate - who passed by our house on Sunday, just shy of the 20th mile of the Vermont City Marathon. This was the first year Kai participated fully as a member of the OT crew, handing out orange slices and watermelon wedges, freezer pops and ice chips... sounding cowbells...  screaming "go, go, go" and slapping high fives. I missed the party at our place* since I ran the third leg of our Foxy Trot relay, then waited for Casey (our #5) to cross the finish line. Which was no problem. The finish line was a very exciting place to be.

3 of 5 girls of Foxy Trot (L to R): Casey, Kate and me. Missing: Ri and Lisa.
Sweet shirts by the fabulous Mike Balzano

I basked in the VCM spirit all day. And what a beautiful day it was. The sky was cerulean; the lake, sparkly... Most of my family (mom, sis, bro and sis-in-law to be) was in town for the race. There were armies of people running to raise funds for all sorts of causes and five National Guardsman who completed 26.2 miles wearing 45-pound packs to honor the men and women who serve our country. Taiko drummers kept a steady beat on Battery Hill... preschoolers and their grandparents banged makeshift drums all along the path.  Turquoise-topped volunteers kept everyone heading in the right direction, hydrated.  People pushed themselves farther and faster than they'd ever imagined they could go. (Some of them thanks to Jan Leja, who heads up the Vermont chapter of Team in Training and is one of the most amazing peeps I know.) It was absolutely awesome. Definitely one of my favorite days of the year, Kai. So while your fave-thing bedtime response was a day (or two) late, it most certainly was not "a dollar short."

*Note: Please do not be offended if I did not invite you to hang at the OT during the race. I did not get my sh*t together this year enough to send out an email. Also, I was not here. Now consider this your 2013 invite: Bring your chairs and your cheers and more cowbell(s) ... and join us on the OT by 9:30.