The first big event we had in December was our Thunder Road marathon/half marathon. Jenn had been training for months in preparation for this big event and two weeks before the run, she injured her leg. With her pulled muscle, she was not able to run for longer than 1/2 mile. She was worried she may have to pull out of the race, but wanted to give it a go. So, we went on the frosty Saturday morning into Charlotte. It was a scorching 31 degrees outside, but luckily it didn't rain/snow which was a possibility. I ran in the half-marathon because the first 12 miles went along with the marathon route. Jenn struggled for the first 2 miles or so, but kept at it and loosened up enough that she actually finished the entire marathon! While she is very pleased with her accomplishment, it would not be Jenn if she didn't have a bigger goal to accomplish. Since she walked a bit in the second half of the race, her goal is to run ANOTHER marathon, this time not walking at all. So, Jenn and I (both!) have signed up for the Pittsburgh marathon in May. Wish us luck.
Following the marathon/half-marathon, our next big event happened the following weekend. Jenn and I set off to Pennsylvania to celebrate an early Christmas with both of our families. The plan was to spend the weekend with Jenn's family and then head to Pittsburgh on Monday to spend a few days with friends and family there. Unfortunately, the east coast had a blizzard hit on the day we left. My school actually let out early due to the inclement weather forecast. So good news- we left earlier than expected; bad news- possible bad weather. The bad news ended up outweighing the good news. While we were driving through NC, we started getting some snow. Yes...snow in NC. It's not good because there are no snow plows to be seen in the entire state. So we trudged through the snow in NC and into Virginia. By this time, I was driving and the storm was getting worse. We were driving in the blizzard of 2009, with visibility very low and ice beginning to coat the road. When our wipers froze up with ice, we finally admitted the inevitable and decided we couldn't make it to PA. My lovely wife being so thoughtful, she had printed out a list of dog-friendly motels along I-81 in VA. So we booked a room and stayed the night.
Jenn driving in the NC blizzard.
The road along I-77 (not bad yet)
The first night's feast- Walmart hoagies (the ONLY place open) and Dr. Pepper
The morning after the storm.
We started out the next day around 9 to a much nicer road. Unfortunately that only lasted the first few miles. We found out that Virginia probably has as many snow plows as North Carolina. Cars were off the road every few miles and the roads were still not plowed (other than the first few miles). So after only 100 miles or so of very slow moving (5 hours), we stopped at another motel for the night. While we hated stopping, it was nice to have some time to relax.
Jenn and Leo relaxing the second night
After the third day of traveling, we finally made it to Mechanicsburg to spend some time with Jenn's family. Due to the detours in our trip, we were not going to be able to make it to Pittsburgh. Luckily my parents were able to make it out to visit for a day while we were there. It was a lot of fun spending time with family. We had sled riding, snow ball fights, board games, opening Christmas presents, and a fun night of bowling (which the "old folks" embarassed all the "young folk", other than myself).
Brad and Leo sled riding
The battle is ON!
Opening early Christmas presents
Leo chasing me in the snow
Leo "protecting" me and chasing Brad down the hill
