We planned to spend a long weekend in beautiful Santa Barbara, Nick would run a marathon on day one and we would spend the next few days exploring this amazing beach town and learning about where Nick spent four of his most formative college years.
Hell, it's the central coast in November...
We should camp!
With a one year old!
After a marathon!
In the rain...
Yeah...the weather wasn't perfect, so we bit the bullet, and got a hotel room on Friday night. It ended up working out so our marathoner could get a good night sleep pre-race day and Charlie had complete privacy in the bathroom (we used the lobby restrooms), allowing him to completely recover from a sleepless seven hour car ride.
This being Nick's first marathon, I was unsure on how he would handle everything, but he was just really excited before the start. I think it helped that he would be running through his old college stomping grounds. Who doesn't get excited when they enter the place that holds so many awesome memories?
Nick before the race
Charlie and I got our obligatory Starbucks (being first time race Sherpa's, it seemed to be a necessary accessory) and ran to meet Nick at mile two (I had to get in my run so I could enjoy the post race grease fest).
Nick looking fresh at mile two, check out the 3:30 pace group in the background.
We proceed to take a running detour to the park, to get some energy out, before running to meet Nick at mile 11.
Pretty cute!
Still looking good at Mile 11
And this is where I really dropped the ball at being an incredibly talented multi-tasker Mom.
At mile 26, it was either take pictures...
or have my child run aimlessly into the ocean
OR into the race,
OR into the race,
so I opted for holding the screaming child in my arms while cheering to Nick
that he ONLY HAD A HALF MILE LEFT!
Oh, wait, recovered the camera in time for the back picture.
Nick finished his first marathon in the incredible time of 3 hours 25 minutes! He did so well, running consistently for all 26 miles. We are so proud of him and it was really fun for Charlie and I to watch him accomplish such a big athletic goal. I love that our kids will grow up watching their parents meet all sorts of lofty goals!
We celebrated at the local brewing company, with greasy food and beer. And within the hour, I was begging for Nick to pull over the car, in a deep sweat, I was needing fresh air.
Yeah, umm, I'm guessing it was food poisoning?
Regardless, I left my husband (who just ran 26.2) to set up camp and take care of our child while I threw up aimlessly in the trees, parking lot and brush. I'm sure our camping neighbors took me for a lush, who was losing my booze at 4 in the afternoon. Regardless, it turned out to be the worst 12 hours of my life.
Nick and I both agreed as we laid on a deflating air mattress at 6pm that night, that we wouldn't wish the pain we were in on our worst enemy.
And that is when the vacation turned, because we woke up in the morning to a hot shower, to wash the vomit out of my hair and the blood off of his blisters, and a walk on the beach. We both realized that we were in one of the most beautiful places on earth and we couldn't waste the day, so we spent another few hours walking aimlessly around UCSB and Isla Vista, visiting the ocean and Nick's favorite food spots. It was a fabulous trip and I'm grateful to Nick for sharing such a special place with us.
UCSB
1 comment:
I had so much fun too! Thanks for being such awesome support for my first race. Great blog
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