Blessings of Flying Pig Marathon Week

Sweet Pea running ... overlooking the beautiful Ohio River, under a blazing Cincinnati sun.
Last Thursday we spent the day at Mayo Clinic: Don's blood numbers, on an anti-myeloma drug combination, were better than we have seen in 2-3 years! Friends can keep up on his results on his Myeloma Hope blog.

From Rochester, we drove to Cincinnati... in and out of rainstorms and Interstate truck traffic, arriving safely.

Weather could have been better for the children's events on Saturday morning, but children did come.

Saturday lunch with Precious Nephew and his Dear Sweetie who live in Cincinnati... a delight!

Picked up our Flying Pig Marathon poster (!) and really terrific short sleeved technical finisher's shirts at the expo. Ours were real "women's" shirts !!

Drove the marathon route... glad afterward that Sweet Pea and I got a chance to see the more interesting second half of the course, because later we chose to run only the (first) half.

Appreciated the chance to see the amazing hills of southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky, the azaleas, tulips, and blossoming trees.

Motel room with kitchen where we cooked our other meals, gluten-free.

Our 45th Wedding Anniversary ... on the day of the marathon ... It was the Best Day!

We made it to that 45th Anniversary, in spite of multiple myeloma: we are blessed.

Lucky Don ran the marathon.

Sweet Pea and I, because of several unexpected issues, elected to take the half marathon course, and received our half marathon finisher's medals.

There were no fatalities in the 3 house fire that delayed the start of the race by 15 minutes and necessitated altering the race course.

The person who collapsed with a heart attack while running the marathon, was rescued and saved, first by other runners, then the official paramedics (See Cincinnati newspaper). Nobody died.

Neat to know our nephew was running, too, and after the race to discover others we knew were there.

Thinking that it is better to have discovered running in my sixties than not at all!
What a great time we are having!

Safe 12 hour drive home, with brief stop for a hug at my sister-in-law and brother's in central Wisconsin.

Last year Sweet Pea and I finished 5 marathons, with official time and finisher's medals, besides surviving the Chicago marathon. We are hopeful that this Flying Pig half marathon can be a training run... for our next marathon!!!

A good trip, good myeloma news, a good anniversary, a good run, another best day of the year.