Turkey Trot 09!

by Suzy

Last year, we swore we were gonna get those turkey hats (check the blog entry if you don't believe me), and by gosh, we did! (It is amazing to live in a world where you can type "cooked turkey hat" into google and receive several options.)

Fierce fashionistas that we are, naturally we had to accessorize them. Everything is better when it's beadazzled!


Mielle ran with Gabe in the kids race this year... she is doing so much better than a year ago.

And they're off...

Billy, Gabe and Mielle kill time, Lenny shoots, and the mamas hoof it...



And here we come -- look at that form! So tight, soooooo pro!

Steph's not in the mood for the paparrazzi:
Kirsten and Claudia finish with a flash of white meat, just like the hat says:
And my happiness upon winning the next-to-last bottle of two-buck-chuck in the post-race raffle. Awwwww yeah.

Big Sur Half (in Monterey, not Big Sur)

by Suzy

We had two last-minute disappointments right before the race in Monterey - both Steph and Nicole had to back out due to illness. Big, big, bummer. But Claudia, Kirsten, and I persevered, and had a FANtastic time. Arrived the day before the race, picked up our packets and did a little gear-shopping at the expo, checked into our room, wandered around quaint Carmel and had an amazing meal at one of my favorite restaurants in the area, The Forge in the Forest. They have a sweet outdoor seating area filed with vines and plants, fireplaces and heat lamps! Super cozy and the food is perfect.

The next day, race day, was GORGEOUS. Sunny and cool. I guess there were about 10,000 people there altogether, although I'm not sure. It was really well organized so we corralled up and started off shortly thereafter. What a glorious route... almost entirely along the coastline, and totally stunning. No real hills to speak of... fun bands playing and plenty of water stops... even some good samaritans handing out dixie cups of Coors Light at around mile 11.5. Very very very nice. We got lazy and didn't even bring a camera for the actual race, and now I regret it... but at the time, it was nice to just BE, and RUN, and not worry about documenting it. Just that once!

After the race we ate some snacks but quickly headed out in search of real food. We found it at a dark little English pub, where we loaded up on red meat, potatoes and bloody mary-s for K and C (what's the plural of bloody mary, anyway??) and beer for me. Then headed back to our hotel for hot tub and a swim (brrrr!), shower, and nap. All refreshed, we enjoyed tea in the sweet garden patio of the hotel, then headed back to Carmel to watch the sunset on the beach. Here we are:


Pretty mellow, man. The sunset was awesome. I have some pics of it, just not sure where!

Sooo, then it was a little shopping and - get this - back to the same restaurant for dinner. We felt kinda lame not going somewhere else, but it was just so good that we decided to go for the sure thing. And it was the right decision!

After all that, we were collapsed in bed and sound asleep by 9:30.

Could a day be any more perfect?