The Roblee Blog: Surprise!

In this family, when we say "Half Marathon," we mean "PARTY TIME!" I truly feel like I've said this a thousand times, but my 34th birthday was the best birthday of my life. On Saturday, January 18th, my family came down to start prepping for what I thought was a little post-marathon hangout with the family. Turns out, they were prepping for my "best birthday ever" party! But let me not get ahead of myself...

Saturday night was nice and relaxed (for me at least). Mike and I played our usual ping pong tournament, Kimmy, Moggy and the rents played with the kids, and mom prepared a lovely Pasta Fagioli (or as Ryan calls it...Pasta "Pa soup") for us to enjoy before the race. It was such a great time of chit chat, movie watching and enjoying eachother's company. We headed to bed pretty early since we had a big day the next day. Little did I know just how big it was!

Sunday morning we woke up to the coffee brewing (among other things) and a runner's breakfast of bananas, oatmeal, almond butter and rice cakes. Breakfast of champions! We took some pics and Mike shuttled us over to the starting line. We met Katie and Colleen there, at which point Colleen asked for her bib. I had forgotten it at home! AAAAHHHH! Thank heaven Mike was there to race back to the house and grab it. Whew. Crisis averted.

The start of a race is always so emotional, but this one was especially...well...special. I had my dad, my sister, my cousin and my aunt all running with me, and the positivity surrounding us was infectious. Everyone was so encouraging and uplifting. As Annelle from Steel Magnolias says, "I still get real emotional sometimes." Okay okay, I'll move on, but you know I had to quote Steel Mags.

Dad was hilarious throughout the race. He was saying hi to everyone we passed, yelling at everyone "Hey! First timer here!" It was so DAD. We were cracking up! It was also awesome to see Kimmy and Katie running so well. They are strong women, that's for sure. And Katie just had a baby 4 months ago! WHAT?! Colleen and I got to run a lot of this together, which was so nice. Our last marathon we had to split up for reasons I won't mention here, so this was what I dubbed our "redemption run." Around mile 3-4, the family came out to give us hugs and high fives on the route! It was so great to see their faces and it definitely gave us a good boost.

The best part of this race (for me) was crossing the finish line all together and seeing our cheer leaders on the side lines cheering for us. That was a feeling that will permanently reside in my heart. Another feeling that resided in me was THANK GOODNESS THAT IS OVER. Now it's time to eat In N Out! Or so I thought...

After a little "Mexican border" maneuvering from Mike, we escaped the crowds and arrived at the house. Just as I was walking to the front door, I uttered the words, "I feel like I have to barf..." Then the door opens and....SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My family and friends are standing in the back yard ready to celebrate with me! It was hands down the coolest thing ever. And I didn't have to barf anymore! Not only have I never had anyone throw a surprise party for me, but I was truly surprised! I had not one inkling that anything was going on. Great job to all who threw it! A special shout out to Mike, mom, dad, Erica, Kim, and Mern for organizing this thing. I know how much work goes into this stuff and I so appreciate everything...more than you know.

Now, I'll stop yammering so you can see the pics. Thanks to dad for taking most of the pics again. I am still getting over the fact that this party is over, but if there's one thing I know about this clan...there's always another party in the works:)