Images from the week

It was a good week. I was able to meet up with my friend Bao in St.Paul for lunch at a Japanese noodle place. Curt and I visited the Arboretum. And today I had lunch with my mom at Pho 83.

As you can see I bruised my toenails from the marathon. My left foot really doesn't hurt at all...it's my big toe on my right foot that is killer. And...check out a list of cheers from some cheerleaders Curt picked up in Duluth while waiting for me to come by. Kind of funny. G-O-R-U-N-N-E-R-S.

Congratulations Cousin Joe

Curt's cousin Joe is totally doing what he loves! I love it so much!!!! On Monday night our family went to check out his drum core show at the MSU stadium. It was really fun and really awe inspiring. I love it! Congratulations Joe!!!!!

Zeruababel

One of my favorite things to do is to watch old home videos. We had a lot of them growing up. So when the opportunity came up to watch footage of young Curt playing Zeruababel in a church musical, I made sure I was paying attention! It was hilarious. We also watched an NFL greatest moments tape that Brent and Curt repeatedly watched when they were little. They still remember the lines! So 20 some years ago while I was watching Little House on the Prairie Curt was watching football players get smashed!

whirlwind weekend

This past weekend we traveled to Duluth and Mankato for my marathon and Curt's triathlon. Quite the whirlwind. We spent a lot of time driving while being weird and goofy. It's so fun! Along the way we saw lots of dead deer. And a bug experienced his last moments by crashing into our windshield. He left a bloody mess!!!

We don't have any pictures of me from Grandmas. I'm okay with that :). At the Mankato triathlon a guy with a patriotic speedo totally caught our eye. And Baby Lucy came out to watch the race. I took pictures of her chilling out in Doug and Bev's bike trailer. She's so cute. All in all Brent and Curt raced well and crossed the finish without falling or crashing! Go electrolytes!

Bummer Dude!

So here is my marathon update: (I'm writing this at 2:55 am after waking up from all over throbbing and raging sore muscles! Seriously, who knew my forearms would be sore! I did manage to do some dishes though.)

I've been ready for quite some time to do this race. Almost too ready too early. The past weeks I knew something was off and so I tried my best to do "damage control". After a fun ride to Duluth and picking up my race packet we went to Nicole's parents' house for dinner. We were joined by Nate, Kallie, Nicole, and Nicole's super spunky sister.

I woke up automatically at 3 am, laid in bed until 4 am, then decided it was time to get up! I had bananas and oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies for breakfast. I did some stretching. Curt got up and he drove me to the bus pick-up. It was a tearful goodbye. I was nervous. The pressure I put on myself to do well was a bit much. I had wanted to do well for so many people.

The first 10 miles were not too bad, but I knew that it should have felt easier. At mile 11 I took a Gu and was able to get to mile 13. My split at mile 13 was about 14 minutes off from my new prague half marathon time and so I got bummed. My legs were starting to get sore! What!?!?! And I was mentally not hanging in there. Here begins the destruction. In my head i'm thinking I have 2 options, "When I see Curt on the course I'm going to tell him that I want to drop out. At this point a DNF is way better than the time I know I will end up with. I don't really care about the t-shirt and medal" Second option: "I've never DNFed a race before! I should finish! I guess I want the t-shirt and medal." The mental battle begins and the physical breakdown continues. I basically do a combo of running and walking. No sign of Curt as I totally want to drop out!!!

Breakthrough: I finally see Curt at Mile 18! What a relief. I tearfully tell him my issues. He very calmly bikes next to me (as I'm talking to myself and muttering who knows what!). I reach town and am blessed with trees, shade, and a surprisingly cool breeze. I get myself to mile 20. Then the sun comes out and I resume my walking/running combo. Curt is still biking next to me. It was so frustrating and so awful!!! I felt totally delirious. Finally, after what seems like an eternity I cross the finish in 4 hours and 46 minutes. I finished, but am still quite bummed!

Honestly, I don't think I would have been able to finish if I didn't see Curt when I did. I'm super grateful for all the wonderful volunteers at the aid stations. They were so nice. I'm thankful for the cold sponges at each station. I didn't have the time or breakthrough race that I wanted, but it was still nice to give it a go. I hope things line up a little bit better next time! Nicole and Kelcie were very hospitable making our stay nice and comfy. Even better...I think Nathan might have PRed and Kallie finished her 1st marathon. So that's huge!!!

Happy Friday

I've been in full summer vacation mode and Curt has managed to bike a lot to work. Between the two of us we hardly drove anywhere this week!!! We also had David and Hannah over for dinner on wednesday night. The upcoming wknd should be fantastic. We've got Grandmas marathon tomorrow. Nate, Nikki, Nicole, Anthony, Casey, and Regina will all be up there too. We are having a prerace dinner tonight at Nicole's parents' house. I can't wait. Finally on Sunday Curt has the Mankato Triathlon.

Well, i'm looking forward to our little stint in Duluth, but am hoping to get the run over with as soon as possible!!!! Go everyone!!!! Not freaking out yet...

Wedding: Jamie and Chris

Here it is! Jamie and Chris had an awesome wedding with fun people and great weather. Thanks for letting me be there!!!! Best wishes on a happy marriage!!!!

Fathers Day

Happy Belated Fathers Day! I pulled out some old pics we had in our computer files. You can check out a young Doug (Curt's dad) and a young Than (my dad) :) For father's day we ate a bunch of food and I learned how to play Phase 10. Phase 10 rocks because it doesn't require a lot of concentration! Anyone can play!

other daily tidbits: been trying to figure out how to post slideshows to blogger using ShowItWeb. not really working. i have no ftp or html experience. it's been a challenge. about four more days until Grandma's. this morning i had a "staying limber" workout. don't laugh. it consisted of a half mile jog, 15 minute stretching session, 1 mile walk, and then 20 minute swim. don't worry...i'm headed to the track to do 3 800s. ahhh!

68c7e9: the launching of my photography business!

Here it is! I have definitely considered, dreamed, prayed, and researched my way into a new adventure!!!! My own business: Christine Wood Photography!!!!! I now have a website. Please check it out at www.christinewoodphotography.com. It still needs a bit of tweaking as I am kind of a perfectionist. But I will work out the kinks by the end of summer! May I serve all of you well with this new venture and give thanks to Him in the process!!!!!! Love,cw. btw...the shade of blue i am now using for the web and blog is 68c7e9.

Letter to KG

Dear KG,

Even though you play for the Celtics, we still want you to win a championship. Sink those free throws on Tuesday and win win win!!!!!

Your loyal fans from MN.

Minneapolis Criterium 2008

Beautiful weather (light breezes and no downpours) combined with spectacular womens and mens circuit races made for a memorable friday evening. Doug and Bev came up, the four of us had a bite to eat at Keys, and then enjoyed some fun bike racing in downtown Mpls. No crashes!

Grandma's Marathon: One more week

My confidence level for surviving: 94.5%. My confidence level for getting a personal best time: 60%. I don't feel 100%, more like 93%. Here's hoping for the best!

So after 527 miles and 89 hours of running since January 2008, I suppose this is it! Today I looked at the land elevation charts (nothing too crazy) and will be checking out the weather all week. As long as the starting temperature is not above 66 degrees I think I will be okay. Cloudy conditions and a 47 degree start time would be ideal!!!!!! Best wishes to all the runners and spectators!!!!!!!!!

My plan for this week: Lots of shorter runs, a mini speed workout, a mini hill workout, lots of stretching, lots of water, salty chips, soup, protein, and pasta.

going good here

first week of summer vacation...ahhh...how nice. the first few days were kind of stressful because i felt like I had a lot to do, but now I'm feeling like I have a good handle with things. I've had this weird cough (lots of phlegm and mucuous) for about a week now. It was hard for me to talk last week and the cough kept me up at night. nyquil and benadryl have been great remedies. on tuesday Curt had another time trial. perfect night for biking. the best part is grabbing Chipotle after it's all said and done!

my marathon training has been nonexistent the past two weeks. i suppose this is okay because i've put in plenty of miles during winter and spring. i've gone out for shorter runs this week. the run on tuesday was brutal probably due to my congestion. and i got lost on the trails in Chaska!!! i was literally running/walking from noon until 3 pm! crazy, I know.

my favorite summer TV show is probably So You Think You Can Dance. we watched that on wednesday night. for an hour after the show I did some interpretive dancing in the living room while Curt was listening to music on his computer!

today Angie came over. we had lunch, looked at some wedding pictures, and then went for a walk. it was great.

should be a good wknd full of festivities. happy fathers day! i know i've said this before, but stay tuned for something exciting!!!!! i'm dying to share the news!!!! in the meantime i've been looking at a lot of different things for artistic inspiration. i'm excited to do some reading too!!!! enjoy, cw.

EXCITING THINGS!!!!

So, yes, Curt did have plans to race this past wknd in Iowa. We drove down with Cathy Yndestad. And yes...we had plenty of electrolytes with us. No more bonking. But it was a complete washout due to flash flooding and downpours! The race was called off while everyone hid under shelter in the pouring rain! It was sad that we made the drive down and everyone couldn't race, but we still had fun. Needless to say it was a bummer for everyone who just wanted to swim, bike, and run!

Checkback often because here at the Wood household we are in the middle of brewing up some exciting things!!!!!

Courtney is an MD!

My friend and former roommate Courtney (the blonde with the blue necklace in the top pictures) graduated from medical school! I'm so excited for her as she's the nicest most pleasant person to be around...ever!!!!! She will be doing her residency in New York! Her family and friends hosted a party for her at the Bulldog in northeast mpls on Friday night. It was the coolest party ever as they served hot dogs and tator tots. Even I couldn't resist and ate a hot dog!!!!!

School is Out!

Jamie and Chris Sneak Preview

I've only been able to look through a few of the photos from Jamie and Christopher's wedding from Saturday. I took about 500 photos. The main photographer, Amy, took about 1500 photos. I wonder how she's doing with the editing process!!!! hee hee. Anyway, hopefully by next week I will be done. But enjoy what I have so far!!!! Love, cw. By the way...Curt is doing better. We are hoping that he's up to 100% for this weekend's race.

Buffalo Triathlon Pictures

Buffalo Race Recap: Wife's Version

90% of our weekends are pretty laid back and uneventful. For a week I was looking forward to my first wedding shoot (which was super fun, i'll have to post a slideshow soon) and Curt's first race of the season, but had no idea it would finish in such dramatic fashion.

Things were off to a great start. We breathed a sigh of relief because Curt remembered his wheels this year (last year his parents had to make the trek all the way back to Chaska for the wheels because SOMEBODY forgot to bring them). After Curt finished the biking portion we all were more relaxed. It's always a bit nerve wracking waiting for him to come in on the bike because there is always a possibility for crashing, getting lost, or getting a flat which all have happened to Curt before! Last year he got lost on the bike! So we were happy to see him start the run.

All of us were at the run finish just waiting for people to come in. We saw Anton come in too early. Not running, but walking. He suffered a cramp due to overhydrating so that was disheartening. We waited for Curt. The anticipation was killer. All of a sudden I see Curt rounding the corner, but he fell on the ground. He got up, but then quickly collapsed again. I had no idea what was going on. I went over the barrier to help him, but he wanted to finish the race without any assistance. At this point everything is in slow motion. He eventually rolls his way to the finish and collapses. His skin turned white and green. The EMT people assess him as being okay. A bunch of people give him water, cold towels, and ice. Shortly after he throws up liquid and gets a bit dillusional. At the time I thought he was being stubborn. I know that he needs something more and at this point Curt is crying out for electrolytes, electrolytes...but they only had water present. Finally they call an ambulance, stick an IV into him, and we are off to the hospital.

We just got back from a brief walk and so I can testify that he is now able to confidently move around on his own. Personally for me it was a bit scary. Scary because it's traumatic seeing your husband go through such a physical breakdown. It was nice to have Curt's entire family there too. And there were lots of random individuals who got Curt the aid that he needed. It's nice not to feel alone.

With such a physical breakdown Curt was still able to finish 3rd. In my opinion I think this is so great considering that he started the run feeling completely drained and weird. Instead of walking he pressed on! It was a brave finish, but I think that he took a really big risk too!

It was a huge learning experience. Proper nutrition before and during the race is really important.