what a weekend

This has been one of the busiest and also one of the most exciting weekends I've had in a long time. First of all my baby Mason turned 15 on Friday. I swear you turn around and they are almost grown. I'm not sure where all the time has gone, but I've very sure of the fact that I'm doing the right thing by getting healthy so I can have many more years with my family. This weekend my family rented a small little cabin in Townsend. It wasn't anything great and grand, but it was very clean, had a hot tub and was close to Cades Cove. Most of the time the last part wouldn't mater to me, but my team was going to walk the cove loop. So, when I got off work on Friday, we took Mason out to eat and headed up for some hot tub time. I was very tired from working all day and knew I had to be up by 6:45 so I just went ahead and hit the bed. I got up early got bundled up because it was so cold and headed out for my adventure. The loop is like 11 miles so I was thinking to myself on the way up that is close to the half marathon which is 13.1 miles so if I can walk the loop I will have no problem on race day. When all of the team got there and the pictures were all taken we headed out. The Smokey Mnts had gotten a little bit of rain the day before so some of the road ways had water at least ankle deep over them. I was not very excited to get my feet wet and was very glad when Tonya suggested we flag down a truck and see if they would carry us across the water. We flagged down a very nice couple from Alabama (Roll Tide) who were more than happy to help us out. It was kind of funny to see all of us getting into the back of that truck but we did it. There were a lot of deers and turkeys out, but I'm glad that Amanda didn't get her wish and that we would get to see a bear. I would have made the trip in no time if I had seen one and wasn't in a car. lol We walked for what seemed like forever, but we did meet a lot of nice people on the way from other states. That is one of the nice things about my teammates we all love people and have fun getting to talk to people. By the time we were 11 miles in we all became very giddy. We laughed at signs like the one we thought was for the picnic area and was a person on a horse or the fact that Lee Ann kept saying I think the end is right up here. I have never laughed so much. I kept waiting for at any time for Missy our coach to come running back down the road and say "hey guys we have already done the loop twice, did some bike riding and hiked to the top of Mnt. Leconte and back. We were getting worried about you so I decided to run back and see how you were doing." It didn't happen and I might have over exaggerated how much energy Missy has, but she is the most energetic person I know. It is so very nice to have a coach who is just a ball of energy be so proud of you when you have been working hard. She tells us all the time how she is proud of us and that is such a wonderful feeling. Well back to the walk. When we finally did see the light at the end of the tunnel (our cars) we looked at our gps and we had done 13.1 miles. That is the same mileage as the 1/2 marathon it took us four hours, but we did it and we were still alive. I was so excited because I know on race day I will be able to make it and my time will be better because the loop is very hilly. I then got into my car went back to the cabin for some food and hot tub time, oh and a nap. Then we took Mason to Gatlinburg to Ripleys and for some BBQ. I'm kind of sore today in my hips, but it isn't as bad as I thought I would be so I'm a very excited girl. Just a few more weeks and I will get to see myself on the big screen. wooohoooo!