It's been a busy weekend.
Friday. After spending the whole day packing gear for 5 separate (and exhausting) athletic activities, Michelle, Ali, Oscar, and I drove out to North Conway, NH for the 70th running of the Tuckerman's Inferno.
Saturday. I ran the Inferno. Which is to say I ran, paddled, biked, hiked, climbed, and skied the Inferno. Because that's what the Inferno is: an extreme pentathlon. The only event that didn't include steep pitches was the kayak portion... and the kayak portion presented its own set of challenges because the water was so slow that many teams didn't reach the ski portion by the cut-off time. I made it narrowly, so I was allowed to cramp-on my way up the crusty, icy Left Gully at Tuckerman's into a foggy cloudbank, then ski down over the same crust and ice. As for the event as a whole: incredible. And, I have to mention my crew. As far as I am concerned, the Inferno is not possible without a top-rate crew. And Ali, Michelle, and Oscar were amazing. Special note to Oscar: thanks for sharing that donut with me at the boat/bike transition. I didn't really want the whole thing anyway. (Picture #1: Ali's facial expression shows how she feels about peeling bananas -- a crucial energy fuel for "Tuckermen." Picture #2: getting ready to climb the mountain.) When the Inferno, which ends at the bottom of Tuckerman Ravine, is over, it's not really over. After 6 hours of constant physical activity, I still had to ski/hike off the mountain, and then we drove to Hartford, Connecticut for...
Sunday. The Baptism of my niece Abbey Grace McKain (see Picture #3 below). A shifting of gears from the mud, sweat, snow, and fog of Saturday to Sunday clothes and church. But it was great friends and family event. We enjoyed the sermon about -- appropriately -- Earth Day and the gathering afterwards. But we had to keep the socializing brief because we had to get Michelle to...
Monday. The Boston Marathon! Michelle qualified for Boston at the St George Marathon last fall, but that was in perfect weather and with no illnesses or injuries. She clawed her way to the finish Monday in a gritty race full of hills, cold wind, a sore leg, and a severely upset stomach. (Picture #4: Michelle at the Finish.) Meanwhile, Alison ran 20 miles of the course as a training run for her upcoming Vermont City Marathon. Boston is known for its "Bandits," but let it be known that Ali carried her own water the whole way and didn't take any from the water stations positioned along the course -- except when Michelle asked her to pick up some Gatorade. Even then, Ali missed the Gatorade and instead gave Michelle water. We stayed the night before with Jessie and Tom and their 14-month-old twins Nate and Zach. Here's what I learned from that experience: If you are considering having twins, you should first speak with Jessie so that you don't enter into the situation uninformed.
2 comments:
Mark, it was great to see you and Ali and Michelle and to have Nate and Zach meet you as well. Just for the record, they are over 14 months old, not 9, but whose counting?
Jess, sorry about the misinformation... Ali pointed this out to me as soon as she read it, but I was already off on my next adventure and couldn't update it until now. I will get the editors' pen out asap and make the change. Thx for the hospitality... it was great to see you and Tom and to meet the boys!
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