Northeast

New Hampshire House Party

Published December 22, 2018

Skirted work couple hours early, delayed flight connection in Baltimore, touchdown: Manchester, half-past midnite. East Coast travel without the marathon run obligation. Let the games BEGIN – Christmas Trifecta 2018! 🎄

HUGE house party at Stephen’s home in Merrimack. Catered meal, table/chairs/dishes/glassware rentals AND a Holiday Program – Stephen on piano, carol singalong led by one of his choral chums, guitar teacher accompanied (banjo/violin/guitar). WOW, right? Home season-decorated: wreaths (plural), red bows, TWO CHRISTMAS TREES, winter reindeer scene. If you’re looking for a holiday-themed wedding reception, I’ll forward his contact # – soup to nuts, notta detail missed.

Started Saturday with an 8-mile run. New England wooded, finished before winter blew. Swim laps & sauna at the Y – second shower and a pair of dress pants. Missed the ‘no jeans’ text. Luckily, share a waist-size ‘though looked like I was expecting high water (couple inches taller than Stephen). LOL>

Stephen’s brother Harding & family first to arrive. 30 minutes next, the upstairs swelled. Shrimp, baked brie, sherbet punch. Holiday hugs, kids zooming room-to-room, whole lotta ‘catch-up’ conversations. Family, work friends, neighbors – HUGE mix of LAUGHTER. Dinner best served while HOT. Beef, chicken, veggie lasagna – seriously, no detail forgotten. Just WOW.

Tune TIME. Schofield Family are a musical bunch. Remember house parties on Moses Clark Road (years ago in northern New Hampshire) with Trudi & the Pioneers. GREAT memories. Those of us without the gene were handed tactile instruments – spoons, tambourine, washboard – wallflowering not an option at Harding & Donna’s cabin. Accordion/fiddle/piano, Irish laughter ❤️

Fast forward 2018. Silent Night, Come All Ye Faithful, Joy to the World. Reading of the Christmas Story (book of Luke), memorable holiday duet AND of course SANTA CLAUS. Down from the North Pole, SANTA shared stories, handed the kids gifts & mugged for photos. Well done bub.

Christmas Eve update: Back in New Hampshire, afternoon-exchanged with Stephen. Apps, soup/salad/fondue at Sheila’s home. Neighborhood lit with cheer; holiday welcomed. Gift-shared with son Dan, Ashley & their young family. Boys. Eat fast, play hard, open gifts – zoom zoom zoom. Highlight: new SKATES & a Cow puppet (purchased pre-Portland Marathon). Super kind inclusion 🙂

: 8-mile Saturday START

: New England OUTDOORS

: party-favor GRANOLA

: Country Tavern catered

: tune TIME

: SANTA CLAUS 🎅

: Schofield SIBLINGS

: afternoon gift-exchange

: SKATES for Blake

: moo-COW for Declan

: Christmas Eve 2018

New Hampshire Christmas

D.C. Capitol Tour

Published October 29, 2018

Union Station

Marathon by morning, Capitol Tour by night.

Can’t take credit for tonite’s MAGIC under lights. Stephen pre-purchased two 7pm tickets while I was still flying DIA to Reagan. Early in from New Hampshire, he half-day toured the Smithsonian History Museum – met up at the Expo. Post-marathon, fancy lunch’d together; Lyft-commuted to Washington’s Union Station quarter-past 6. Life’s BEST moments are oft better shared 🙂

‘Don’t be late’ – first come, first serve seating on Sunday’s double-decker BUS.

Lite rain. Wore Bismarck beanie swag, all part of the adventure. Poncho & a seat in the open air. Ready, ready to see D.C. Element-exposed but BEST spot to soak up our Capitol under lights.

Never EVER toured before at NIGHT. AWESOME experience & Sunday night, notta lotta traffic. Historic DC drive-bys, short White House stop, half-hour Lincoln Memorial walkabout.

LOVE LOVE our country. SUPER FUN nite.

Let it rain, Let it rain. I won’t melt, it’s only water ☂️

: Jefferson Memorial

: U.S. Capitol Building

: WWII Memorial

: the White House

: Lincoln Memorial

: Honest Abe

: Gettysburg Address

: National Mall

: AWESOME at NIGHT

Posted in Northeast | Tagged capitol-domes, museo, us-presidents | Leave a comment

Marine Corps Marathon

Published October 28, 2018

Saturday flight, Saturday Expo – landed hour-half before bib pick-up end. Lyft from Reagan, 20-minute drive ‘cross the Potomac. Marine Corps Marathon. Oorah! I’m in!

Registration lottery, May drawing & my lot was pulled. 30 THOUSAND participants, nicknamed ‘the People’s Marathon’. After New York [Nov 2015], never thought I’d run another MEGA-marathon. Feel caged in with BIG crowds. Gotta/hafta/must run Marine!

Hotel check-in, convenient digs two DC stops from tomorrow’s Start. Left outta the Americana, 3 blocks to the Marriott/left inside the lobby, long underground shopping corridor to the Metro entrance. Ticket pre-purchased. I got this.

Food, sleeps, predawn alarm – marathon morn. Indian caretaker downstairs asked if I was walking to the Pentagon. Right outta the hotel – talk, talk talk – let his words drift/thanked him for the banana. Never deviate on race day, not my first rodeo.

Crystal City-Pentagon City-Pentagon. Tens of runners Blue Line bunched. Quick trek, mere minutes. ‘The Pentagon’ – words we generally only TV-hear, today run reality. Long walk/multiple security stops. 2 MILE trek. No worry ‘bout the distance, time concern. Sea of marathoners stopped at bag security. Focus, push through. I’ve got nothing. Push, push. Corral start, 7 minutes to spare. Elites made their way, my wave advanced forward. Sooooooo many flags, military craft overhead – Oorah, I’m here!

PERFECT cool morning START. Sunshine, lite breeze & a whole lotta company. Mylar-unwrapped even before I tapped on the Garmin. Out quick/caught the 4-hour bunny, then slowed & just enjoyed the ride. No PR plan, too many runners for an amazing finish – photo journaling today’s adventure.

Blue mile, mile 12. Pics of fallen soldiers, both sides of our path. Every 10 feet a photo, another soldier – FOR AN ENTIRE MILE. Female runner stopped ahead, talking to a placard. Husband, brother? Haven’t teared/outwardly lost it since St Jude’s. Important to remember, be thankful for our freedom.

Regrouped at the Half (meds, hydration). Goodbye Virginia, hello DC. And the tour began…

Washington Monument. On my right, thru the trees, straight ahead, then ran the field surrounding. Museum of Natural History. U.S. Capitol Building. Senate, House of Representatives. Sooooo many selfies. LOL> Never realized we would pass so close.

My run, my day. Same medal whether I four-hour finish or 4:30 end 🙂

Revolutionary Washington on horseback stared across the National Mall – at HIS Monument/pillar of remembrance. Few minutes outside Smithsonian Castle. Another selfie. More water.

Skies greyed, wind gusted, insta-chilled from early marathon moisture. East Coast humid. Marker 25: one last selfie, one last Marine Corps ‘Oorah’ – military FINISH 15 minutes later.

Marathon 133, 28^thFINISH of 2018. THANKFUL, prayerful, USA PROUD 🇺🇸

Results from the 43rd Marine Corps Marathon

K R Haga   BIB 15357   Louisville, CO   04:35:16

HALF   02:04:05

30K 03:11:52

FINISH   04:35:16

START TIME 07:57:29 AM

TEMPERATURE 59 °F | 15 °C

HUMIDITY 91%