"No matter how far or wide you roam, remember there's truly no place like HOME." In fact she wrote those very words on a journal she gave me back in the day when I was supposed to be leaving for two years to serve in the Peace Corps, but that's another story for another day. We probably need a bottle of wine and a couple hours to tackle that one.
Back up to that moment a few seconds ago when you read the words, "no place like HOME", and I'll bet your mind drifted to Kansas and more specifically to The Wizard of Oz. If not, too bad because Kansas is precisely where the sisters headed this weekend to get our next state off our "to run" list and it is exactly where this story is headed. While we had the most awesome-est time and made so many amazing memories, I think we all agree there's no place like home. I could be wrong, but I think it's a mom thing. I think generally moms always need to get back home because they miss their families (kids) and need to make sure their husbands didn't lose any kids or burn down the house!
Anyhow, you know what else is a mom thing? Packing enouch snacks for a 3 day road trip to feed a large African village for a very, very, long time! What can I say other than we were going to Kansas to run a marathon and we knew it was going to be an 11 hour road trip each way. Also, we all love to snack and apparently we all hate to feel hungry. Add this all up and this truly was a recipe for a serious snack packing situation. Once we figured out the the proper packing configuration to securely fit all of our snacks (and all of my running shoes) into Mird's car (think Tetris from back in the day), we were off! The drive was fairly uneventful which is a good thing on an 11 hour road trip. Eleven hours is a long time so a lot could have gone wrong and nothing did. We spent our time getting to know one another and catching up, joking about the race, researching interesting facts about Kansas and obviously snacking. Did you know Kansas claims to be home to the largest ball of string in the world? Of course so do several other place, but still they say it's really big!
Anyhow, I just have to say something, "Mird, we're not in Kansas anymore!" (haha) But 24 hours ago, that's precisely where we were-- We were in Ottawa, Kansas on our latest traveling running shoes adventure. The original plan for this one was made about two years ago when our friend Teresa was marathon shopping and wanted to do her first ever marathon. It was a super big deal. The marathon had to be a fall marathon and she also wanted to go on one of our sister trips with us. We shopped around for a LONG time and finally landed on the Rails to Trails Ultra Marathon Extravaganza in Ottawa Kansas and signed up. Like a week after, Mird and I received an invite to a family wedding so we emailed the race director and deferred for a year. So we were supposed to run the race last October, I guess time flies when you're having fun or when your busy raising teenagers, trying to preserve your sanity, and have a full-time job. To add to the craziness to this trip, Kara's brakes went out on her car the day before we were leaving so I had to leave my van for her and Mird's car was called to duty. Her new car performed well under pressure. Also we called in runner reinforcements-- aka Becky, the gym teacher at my school. She's pretty much awesomesauce on steroids not that I am saying she uses steroids because she totally doesn't. She says no to drugs! She's an amazing runner though and super fun to hang out with too so she was a great addition to our adventure! More on Becky later...
We drove. Drove some more. And then kept driving because apparently Kansas is a long ways from Michigan. So when we hit the Kansas border it was kind of a big deal because we'd been driving for what felt like FOREVER.
Alas, we kept driving because we still had a couple hours to get to our hotel. Once we arrived to the Comfort Inn in Ottawa Kansas we dropped off our stuff and despite the fact that we'd been snacking for 11 hours straight, we headed to dinner at a local place called the Prime Time Grille because it sounded amazing and we were in fact starving! It was pretty amazing and we captured this cool picture of us with the Kansas flag!
Kansas Flag and our crew
Cheers to Us!
Over dinner we all shared our stories of how we met our husbands. It was comical and I added a grand finale of the story of our first kiss. If you've not heard it you have to run with me and I will share it otherwise you will have to be nice to the crew and see if one of them will share it with you. We also attempted chiropractic care along the course of this journey because some of us are pretty beat up and our chiropractor was busy running an ultra marathon in Mexico so she couldn't come with us!
Just call me Dr. Vern!
Now back to Becky. Becky, AKA the gym teacher at Shettler Elementary where I teach, decided a few months back to come with us because she is on a mission even crazier than ours known as the 50 states challenge. This means, Becky is running a marathon in all 50 states and Kansas would be her 22nd state! As fate would have it Becky is also now the 2023 female winner of the Rails to Trails Marathon in Ottawa Kansas!!! That's right after an eleven hour car ride-- with us-- a crappy night's sleep in a Comfort Inn bed snuggled up with Teresa, and a lousy breakfast, Becky went ahead and won the marathon by over 25 minutes. Can you say, "Awesomesauce on steroids"?! While Becky was busy overachieving and being absolutely incredible, I found myself underachieving, but oddly enough still being awesome so it was okay. The weather was way colder than I packed for and I just had the rough race at GR Marathon 13 days prior which had shaken my confidence so given that my hands were already painfully cold by mile 2 and I couldn't even open my water bottle, I decided to downgrade from the marathon to the half marathon. Yes you heard me right, I cut my race in half which is why I said I was "underachieving". However, I was simultaneously busy being awesome because I got 2nd overall female in the half marathon so I totally pushed it, ran super fast, and did awesome for half the distance I was supposed to run...I've never done that before-- downgraded for a race during the race, but in this instance I feel it was absolutely the right decision. Had I run the entire marathon, I likely would be immobilized today, or possibly hospitalized, or even dead. Instead I feel awesome today and will be ready for the next running adventure when it presents itself.
Pre Race Photo!
Mird, Vern, Teresa and Becky
race stats
We did it! Also we were a bunch of winners!!
I forgot to start the Runkeeper app when we took off so I don't have the entire race stored, but you get the idea, I killed it!
Race shirts and selfies a solid combination!
We worked on our selfie skills with the ten second timer for a long time before we hit the hot tub and sauna. I think we finally nailed it with this one!
Since I am on day 1075 streak of consecutive days running, I dragged my butt out of bed at 4:30 Sunday morning and ran a Quincy Illinois 5K. It was once again raining lightly and it was 38 degrees out so it pretty well sucked, but I got it done...the streak goes on!
So then we had to head home which the drive went smoothly and we also just enjoyed the adventure. I am extremely thanksful for our crew of 4. We were the Fabulous Four!!! Oh yeah I almost forgot, in addition to killing it at the race, we went on an outing to Thriftopia which was like a Goodwill only not as cool because there was a Nazi like lady at the checkout line interrogating us about the Kansas sweatshirts we were trying to buy for our souvenirs. If that Nazi lady had her way, we would have paid full new sweatshirt prices for old ratty sweatshirts encased in doghair with holes in the sleeves, but we are not suckers. No we are not; we negotiated and ended up in these clothes for $5 or less...Also Mird earned a trip to the BONUS ROOM which was epic and yielded a puzzle shaped like a buffalo or something. Also Teresa bought a questionable looking pair of Perry shoes which was somewhat disturbing, but also awesome. I guess it depends on your take on germs and used shoes. Personally, I think it was the steal of the day!
At the hotels, we also took lessons on how to make Bulletproof Coffee, had a few drinks, were hit on my lesbians, and stole a couple of snacks. Best of allm Teresa served as our own personal dietician/health consultant so we are all ready to take on healthy eating with a new zest. I believe it was revolutionary for us all!
thrift shop divas
Vern and Mird Ottawa Kansas Rails to Trails Half Marathon...
The sisters trying to avoid freezing to death after the race in our new thrift shop wardrobes...
PS Mird and Teresa want it noted that they lost all feeling in all of their extremities during this race. While I would like to be recognized for running back out in the fricking cold windy and wet weather to run everyone in even if I did take a pitstop at the Holiday Inn!
PPSAnd remember no matter how far you roam, there really is no place like home! This squash was from the Mellema Farm Market which we visited as soon as we arrived home so that we could all take fresh produce home for dinner...
This time when me and my traveling running shoes headed out the door, we didn't have far to travel--just to Grand Rapids. Unfortunately, Mird had to work today so she was not in on this adventure and fortunately Teresa talked me into running GR marathon "with her" (more on that later) so I didn't have to go solo. Now that I've had an afternoon to reflect on the marathon experience, I have a positive view on the entire thing. Here's how it all went down...
First of all, if the early morning pre-race experience had been an indicator of the race that was to follow, I would have believed I was going to PR by several minutes and been drinking a beer before noon. Yes, despite leaving a few minutes behind our planned time to head to the race and apparently me driving like a granny because it took me a damn long time to get there, we arrived with plenty of time. We actually scored a free parking spot not far from the starting line and right in front of Clarity Realty and the Bridge Street Market and Teresa was super smart and said I bet there's no line for the bathroom at the market. And you know what? She was 100 percent correct so in a matter of minutes we had used the bathroom, changed our minds about our wardrobes and returned to the car for a few minor alterations and headed to bag check. The bag check line was extremely long and Teresa still didn't have her running shoes on so I told her to hustle up and to prepare to ditch our bags if needed. Surprisingly the bag line moved very quickly (like faster than I ran the marathon!) so while we listened to the distant National Anthem playing, we made it in time to ditch the bags with an actual volunteer and we jogged off toward the starting line. Along the way, our luck continued and we found an "off the beaten path" porta john with no line so we did a final bathroom break and arrived at the start in time to learn we would be in the Will Ferrell Crew! I made a joke about Old School, the pacers welcomed us to their squad, and we decided this was yet another sign of the amazing race to come...
Foolishly when the race started, we took off at a suicide rate (at least it was foolish for me. It worked out ok for Teresa so I guess it was just a good pace for her). I felt fine initially so I didn't know I was going too fast other than I was well in front of our pace group for at least 15 miles of the race. I just thought I was being extra awesome! Then near mile 20 I nearly died. At least it felt like what I imagine dying might feel. I felt nauseous, was sweating a lot, was lightheaded and in the words of Gary, "I felt like hot garbage". For a short time, I just kept running as best as I could. Like I actually wasn't sure I'd finish if things continued to deteriorate, but I was going to try my best to get there. One thing I take pride in is that I have never not finished a race (yes I realize this is a double negative but in this instance it works). About this time or around mile 22 ,I am not sure exactly when because I was busy almost dying, my guardian angel, Happy Mary, showed up and casually asked how things were going. Shitty. Things were going shitty, but I found myself being honest, but surprisingly not swearing. If ever there were a time for the F bomb this was it and instead I found myself saying, "Not very well". She immediately started working to revive me and drag me to the finish. It was touch and go and there were several walking sessions mixed in with our ugly running bits, but we did it! Not the sub 4 race I had hoped for, but 4:11:25 is respectable and way faster than my first marathon when I was much younger so there are definite positives to today's race.
I was so cold after the race that I found myself wrapped in a foil blanket and wearing a pair of pants from the lost and found table while Teresa and Mary drank our beers!
Teresa, Vern, Happy Mary (aka My Guardian Angel)
Walking to the restaurant for snacks so that I was functional enough to drive home. Like my new pants!?!
About 7 pm I was finally recovered enough to have a celebratory glass of wine. And about 7:30 our humongous chicken was finally perfectly roasted so we feasted on a delicious dinner!
Ithaca FFA chicken for dinner! Thanks Mird and boys:)
Finish Line Photos!
Grand Rapids Marathon October 15, 2023
PR for Teresa that girl is on fire!! Thanks for talking me into this race. Even though it was a rough one, and I wasn't able to run as much of it with you as I would have liked, I did finish it and I am feeling very blessed to share this experience with you! Keep running strong, girl!
PS Mary you truly were my guardian angel today. Thanks for caring for me, keeping me distracted with your stories, dressing me post race, and taking the time to show up! It means the world to me.
PPS Anah and Don thanks for taking the time to come and cheer at the finish. I am certain you had to stand out there a lot longer than you planned on so thanks for the commitment to powering me to the finish. Oh and thanks for making it to see me look like hot garbage!
Oh yeah, about the title Lucky Number 5--his was my 5th official marathon finish. I have run a few others as a bandit, or occasionally I might just keep running the whole marathon when I am the first leg of a relay, or sometimes when there's a pandemic I just make up a marathon and run it. So if you count those instances, this was number 8!
If you've been following the blog since its inception, then you realize Mird and I lack planning skills, have absolutely no sense of direction, and we have commitment issues. This means our spouses, friends and family typically spew off a long laundry list of concerns whenever we announce our next racing trip. New York was no exception. I'm sure people were concerned we would get lost and never found, or that we would never actually go, or worst of all, that we would lose a child since we decided to drag a vanload of teenagers with us for the first time ever and make a dual purpose of the trip--visit colleges and run a trail race. For the record, nobody died, we got lost the perfect amount of times, and we had an awesomesauce adventure. In general our lack of planning and navigational skills seems to work well for us because we are adaptive, have a sense of humor, and we are committed to finishing our 50 states challenge if it's the last thing we do. It always proves to be an adventure and there are countless obstacles that try to get in our way, yet somehow we always manage to pull it off with smiles on our faces. Best of all, along the way we create some of our most wonderful memories together.
Road trippin'
Sunday morning at 5 am my mission was to get 3 teenagers into my van so they could return to a state of unconsciousness while I drove us to Lansing to meet Mird and Kenny. It seemed pretty straight forward so I took the dog out for a early run and thought the kids could handle getting up on their own and would be sitting anxiously waiting for me upon my return. Boy was I wrong. After several wake-up calls, I finally got the 3 of them into the van (think herding cats and you'll get an idea of what I was up against). We were off! We made it to Lansing in record time and got the Daniels loaded into our van lickety split! At each stop along the way, I made a deal with the kids that they had to do ten of one exercise and five of another in order to earn a draw from my money bag (a bag my grandma sewed that is full of different denominations of dollar bills. Someone could get a dollar all the way up to a $20). It kept people active and made it fun for the kids so the money bag is here to stay!
calf raises, squats, jumping jacks and push-ups
workout number 1.
first pit stop
We drove all day and made great time and arrived at our first destination Katonah NY at about 5 pm just in time for happy hour. The drive was fairly uneventful Mird and I chatted in the front seat. I must say I am amazed at the sleeping skills of teenagers. I can not sleep like they do! The best part was crossing into New York Hazel the DJ blasted welcome to New York by T Swift and we had a mini dance party! Check it
Ran and Skip LaPolla were our hosts in NY and they were AMAZING! They had supper waiting for us and had their 3rd floor luxury suite all ready for us! We had a delicious cookout with burgers, hotdogs and lots of delicious salads and everyone visited and we rotated through the showers. Kara talked to them about the Netherlands because Ran and her mother Willy both immigrated from there and still speak Dutch! We got to bed fairly early because the next day was our day in the city.
Cheers to our gracious hosts-Ran and Skip!
A toast to Ran--a kind, funny and generous hostess with the most"est"!
We parked by the park with the small stairs...
To say we stuck out like a sore thumb in NYC would be a vast understatement. However, we had a ton of fun so we don't really care. We didn't do half of the tourist things so we already decided we have to go back to the city possibly on our way to Connecticut or New Hampshire. We did make it to Times Square, Central Park, the M&M store, The Empire State Building and we rode the subway. The kids were so enamored with Macy's that I fear we entered some sort of time warp and ended up spending a majority of our time there looking at items we could not afford unless I refinanced our house, maxed out our credit cards, or took out a loan. We did have a few small purchases and ate lunch at which time we noticed Hazel's phone was gone. We also did self guided tours of Columbia and Barnard College which was the actual purpose of the trip so that was good. We returned home after losing two cell phones, our car, my fancy gluten free dessert, a bottle of water and our minds. Don't worry we found the two cell phones and the van, but my mind is still wandering at large in NYC so if you run into it please send it on home!
Columbia University Upper Manhattan
Goofy college pics
Posing like Greek Gods
Barnard College Upper Manhattan
North Central Park
The coolest part of the M&M store. The prices were absurd, but Mird was the cool aunt and bought a bunch anyways! It ended up being a great snack as we walked through the city and since I lost my gluten free fancy cake, it was good that we had the sweet treat!
The Empire State Building.
We slept another night in NY and woke early for our final two college tours Cornell and Syracuse. Somehow during the night Kara managed to lose her cell phone so we left about a half hour late after unsuccessfully searching for her phone all morning. As a result, nobody ate breakfast so by the time our Cornell tour was finished we were all on the verge of hangry. Once we completed the Cornell tour we decided to skip Syracuse since Kara really wasn't considering school there, it was going to add 2+ hours in the car and we were so hungry. I took action and found an Italian restaurant that sounded wonderful. I hit the directions button on my phone and presumably we were on our way! After attempting to find the restaurant twice, and getting derailed by construction as many times, we finally stumbled upon it. Turns out the restaurant was actually on campus and part of the Cornell Hospitality and Tourism program.
Cornell Red Group Tour
My peach, goat cheese and tomato salad!
Hazel is so happy we're eating Italian!
Kara and Eli opted for the buffet!
The buffet was amazing!
The menu: If you ever go to Cornell, please eat at Taverna Banfi.
It is so delicious.
and you can play a game of chess while you wait.
After our feast we headed to Henrietta, NY-- the hometown of our Run Our Trail race. We knew we would be early so the kids talked us into a quick round of mini golf. It was a blast so I am glad we said yes. We were technically asked to leave because some lightning was spotted, but we decided the rules didn't apply to us since we were from MI and had 3 youngest kids in our group so we finished our game, returned our clubs and changed for the race in their bathroom. It was kinda like Clark Kent going into the phone booth and coming out Superman, only we just came out looking like a bunch of runners. However, in my opinion, runners are heroes so it's pretty much the same thing!! It was the perfect way to prepare for our race.
Rules about the rules. The oldest follows the rules, the middle is the reason the rules exist and the rules don't apply to the youngest...Our group consisted of two oldest (Kara and Kenny), one middle (me) and three youngest (Mird, Hazel and Eli). We decided this meant we didn't need to follow the rules because a majority of us were youngest. Possibly a lapse in parenting judgement, but we had a great time and nobody died so I count is as a success. Eli was the winner and he took the momentum from his victory into our race experience leading the pack through the trail adventure!
The race was epic as usual. I am starting to think that Mird and I turn average races into EPIC races because every race we go to turns out so memorable, but who knows it could just be a coincidence. Anyhow by the time we arrived at the race we had also booked a hotel room in Canada by the Niagara Falls for the night so we knew we wanted to run and then head to the hotel. It had a pool and hot tub and a view of the falls so we didn't want to waste any time. We quickly talked the race director into letting us start early with a slow lady who needed extra time and we were off like a prom dress as the old saying goes (not that I am suggesting prom dresses should come off. It's just an old saying from the olden days)! Eli must have really been excited about the pool because he laid down a punishing pace that literally ran me into the ground and I run a lot. The K team (Kara and Kenny) rose to the challenge and kept up pretty well; I thirty years their senior, struggled breathlessly to keep up with the lead pack and oftentimes swore although I told the kids swearing doesn't count during races and for the record I did finish pretty much with them and then returned to the trail to run Mird and Hazel in.
Starting line
Mile One: Team Awesome!
Mird and Hazel bonding time
It was a bit of a muddy mess, but we finished!
Mird and Kenny at the finish
Constantine gals
So we've learned hot tub post race celebrations are the best!
We ate pizza and snacks at the finish line and then headed to our boujee hotel in Niagara Falls Canada. The kids were so excited. As I started going through my envelope full of very important papers while Eli drove us ever so closer to the border, I realized I brought Hazel's social security card instead of her birth certificate. I swore a few times which actually counted because we were done running and then we all decided we just had to go for it and try to get into Canada. If we couldn't get in, Hazel and I planned to sleep in our van and the others were walking to the hotel. Luck was on our side, the border patrol officer didn't say anything at all about her school id and social security card combo that I passed him and he told us to have a nice visit. We decided we would worry about returning to the US tomorrow, but for tonight---hot tubs, drinks and Niagara Falls! We checked into the hotel and everyone was in dire need of a shower so we started the process of shower rotations, and everyone snacked and relaxed when it wasn't their turn. By the time we finished showering, everyone was starving again because we made the mistake of bringing teenagers with us and they are kind of like babies--it seems like they just eat, sleep and poop--so we sent them with my credit card to TGIFs and we headed to get our free drinks from the bar. At some point during this midnight snack extravaganza, Hazel found Kara's phone and other personal items in her backpack. Eureka, it felt like we won the lottery!!! I know sending the kids to a restaurant unsupervised was not my best parenting decision of recent, but it worked out okay and eventually we found ourselves at the bottom of the hill overlooking Niagara Falls. The kids LOVED this!
Our crew all smiles
everyone say "Niagara Falls"
Now about that whole return to the US thing, it didn't go nearly as smoothly as our entry into Canada. First of all, there was a long line so we had to wait about 20 minutes. When we finally arrived at the border patrol station, I handed him the same documents we had used less than 24 hours prior to enter Canada. He went through the passports quickly and then asked about Kenneth and Hazel's proof of citizenship. I let him know I had a picture of Hazel's birth certificate on my phone. He looked it over and after a short inspection of the picture said that would work. Then, just in the nick of time, uncle Mark sent a picture of Kenny's birth certificate. The officer checked that out and said "ok ladies, this will work for today, but next time you decide to take your kids out of the country make sure you have the proper documentation". We thanked him and immediately drove off before he could change his mind or arrest us. Hazel cued the welcome to America playlist that I had requested: Miley Cyrus Party in the USA, Neil Diamond Coming to America, Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA and finally we all sang the Star Spangled Banner. It was quite a lovely way to return home.
My debut album...
This is just a short clip of the celebration, but rest assured it was a BIG party much larger than the one when we got into Canada because we were quite concerned that they were not going to let us in and our husbands were going to have to drive to get us with the birth certificates. That would have been a real buzz kill and would have really fueled the flame of those who questioned our ability to pull this whole trip off.
Mird and Vern
Niagara Falls July 2023
International Love kept running through my head when we were in Canada so here you go! Now it's running through yours...
HaZel, KeNny, KaRa, ELi, VeRn and MiRd
Run Our Trail Henrietta, New York
July 25, 2023 State Number 19
PS I am trying not to get emotional about this race, but it's hard. There's already been a few tears. We've never brought our kids on these trips. Honestly, until recently, I never wanted to because it was our special sister time together. Lately I've been realizing I have a senior which seems surreal. Kara is a senior and in a year she will be off on her own making her way in this big world. I know she's well prepared. She is smart, independent, tough, determined, kind and just overall awesome, but it's hard. A part of me wants her to stay with us forever. These moments together are slipping away and I am trying to make the most of them and make the most moments together for us in this last year if that makes sense. We're already planning another adventure and hopefully another after that. SL Class of 2024 is such a great group of kids and Kara is so amazing! I am so excited for the upcoming year.
Alas, we kept driving because we still had a couple hours to get to our hotel. Once we arrived to the Comfort Inn in Ottawa Kansas we dropped off our stuff and despite the fact that we'd been snacking for 11 hours straight, we headed to dinner at a local place called the Prime Time Grille because it sounded amazing and we were in fact starving! It was pretty amazing and we captured this cool picture of us with the Kansas flag!
Kansas Flag and our crew
Cheers to Us!
Pre Race Photo!
race stats
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