Runners with a cause - and cool T-shirts! Go Team Shalva!
Abba - making it look easy!
YAY! Abba crossed the finish line as did Zia Em, Renee, Jes, Alisha and Mati and thousands of other runners. But mommy and Rob were the winners of the whole 2014 Jerusalem Marathon day: They managed to keep Lucas, Raia and myself alive and from completely melting down for about an hour while waiting for abba's Jerusalem 10k debut at the finish line.
Now this was more than a week ago and yet it hasn't made the blog yet. That is because, as you know, we babies have a way of driving a wedge between our parents and their computers and that was the case for over a week as I prevented mommy from posting my blogs.
So it is catch-up time now. I will allow space for abba to describe his experience and express his appreciation for those who supported his run for Shalva, my school:
Hi there,
I wanted to thank you again for your support in my 10k run for Shalva. I had a great time running this race and will plan on running the Half marathon next year.
I was very blessed to be running for team Shalva but your support was not only a blessing to me but more for the children of Shalva.
Shalva is a growing organization and are in need of your financial support to continue the great work they are doing.
On March 21, abba and our other friends tackled the hills, the heat and the hoards of runners during the race. But the true marathon was the one headed up by mommy with Rob coming to her rescue: somehow getting three kids - babies in strollers basically - to the finish line. Babies who, if they walk, demand to go their own way or flop to the ground in protest. Babies who are on the edge of a meltdown if their needs or desires aren't instantly met. And babies who apply the Law of Babies to all situations in which they find themselves.
Jes and abba - dubious about the run or
about babies arriving at the finish line?
And herein lies the true story. It all began when we were ushered into a hotel room the night before the race. What new discoveries awaited us! An entirely new room for our search and destroy missions! Bureaus upon which to climb. A TV and all sorts of outlets at our perfect height. And better yet, Lucas and I were to share a sofa bed which meant we could come and go without encountering those pesky child barriers that interfere with - but certainly do not prevent - our escapes from our normal beds.
Do not be deceived: This serene scene was short lived
That night, the eve before his big race, abba slept one solid hour. The rest of the night hours were interrupted by cries, whimpers, massive and invasive dumps and the inevitable rising of babies before the sun. And this all occurred in one small room where there was escape from neither sound nor smell. And then, when he arose, just as refreshed and full of energy as we were I'm sure, abba and mommy whisked us off to breakfast where they watched us annihilate the buffet all the while trying to prevent plates and glasses from flying or silverware, such as knives, to be mishandled. Never mind the humus embedded in our clothing and Lucas' swiping of abba's pineapples and almonds when he wasn't looking.
Then our parents escorted us the 20 minutes all the way to the starting line where we watched the endless stream of runners take off and Lucas nearly snuck into the start area with the Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.
Zia Em, abba and Renee look chipper - before the race
We high-fived Alisha as she embarked upon her 10-ishK
And Rob swooped in to the rescue
Lucas waited for a golden moment to break through the bars
and start running. He actually had his chance when Mayor
Barkat cut through these very gates to start his run.
Starting line shenanigans including high giving Alisha as she embarked upon her journey:
After this nerve-wracking couple of hours abba was supposed to run the race of his life and mommy was supposed to, essentially, herd cats/babies along with Rob who helped the herding process. It took about 30 minutes to get to the finish line which should only be 10 minutes away. We made it with time to spare to see abba gracefully swoop into the finish line.
In the end, everyone was a winner, just some people were more weary than others, basically anyone older than 4 years.
Lucas stopped running his own marathon around
Sacher Park in order to get into the action as well
And then those weary adults shuttled us to the Shalva victory lunch where we ran about 42.2 kilometers around the tables in the auditorium as we wavered between hunger and indefatigable exhaustion. We ultimately found ourselves in a wreath of balloons that we dragged across the hotel and ended up somehow in the bathroom.
And in video where you can really appreciate the depths of us having lost control:
Where was Raia in all of this? Quiet and well behaved in her stroller making Lucas and I look very naughty and needy. Hmph!
So quiet was Raia that no photos of her were taken
until she got home
Not that she minded!
After all that non-running running around, Mommy has a new idea for next year: not just Run for Team Shalva, but BABYSIT for Team Shalva! She contends that running a marathon would be easier than herding the three of us to another finish line.
No, sorry, we don't have any photos of this auspicious moment. But I really did meet Mayor Nir Barkat at a food festival in the Old City on Sunday night. There I was innocently strolling along with Grandma as mommy and abba buzzed around to the various food stands when the mayor, fresh off a little "presser" to kick off the city-sponsored festival, walked by. I had to stop him and thank him for the wonderful marathon he put together for us, so I did.
Ok, well mommy did most of the talking. So exuberantly did she talk, in fact, that she did not even remember or attempt to speak in Hebrew. He knows English well, thank God. But mommy, still on her runner's high, effusively and giddily thanked him for the race and told him what a great job the city did organizing it. Of course, the first runners probably weren't thanking him since some of them ran to the wrong finish line (the full marathon finish line was a separate one from the half and the 10K). But three hours off of their pace, all kinks sorted out by then, mommy didn't care. She slowly made it to the correct finish line with me, the wind beneath her weary wings, on that last 100 meter dash.
That night, abba also had his 15-minutes of stardom being interviewed by an Israeli TV channel about the festival. So giddy were we all (or so used to the fame perhaps, ho hum) that we didn't even find out where it would be aired.
Now that mommy has slowly started coming down off that endorphin-induced runner's high, we have a semblance of a routine going on here at home. Today while sitting amid my toys, mommy and I just looked at each other and shrugged, "What now?"
There should be counseling for people like us!
Well we do have another marathon coming up. It is called "open heart surgery." Fresh off the marathon prep, we got a call from the surgeon's office with a date for my big day. May 3. So another few weeks of training (and praying). I guess we have our next milestone laid out for us. And as with our last one, the marathon, I know we will have many others running with us and helping to carry us over the finish line on this one as well. And that means you!
Maybe the World Series will be my next goal.
Aside from her hobbling on a hurting right foot, there is little evidence of the marathon and it is fast becoming a distant memory. Muscles and bones are healing and I'm happily carrying on with my routine and all the attention that I love and receive.
Incredibly, donations are still coming in to Shalva for our run! One was a matching donation, promised by our good friends Donna and Craig, upon successful completion of our marathon. We forgot about that motivation, but they didn't! Way to go!
