{"id":3921,"date":"2016-06-27T18:15:29","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T23:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=3921"},"modified":"2016-06-27T19:19:28","modified_gmt":"2016-06-28T00:19:28","slug":"oldnew-friends-grandmas-marathon-travels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/?p=3921","title":{"rendered":"Old\/New Friends: Grandma’s Marathon Travels"},"content":{"rendered":"

MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I traveled 10 days total during our adventures in going to Grandma’s Marathon. \u00a0When we pulled into our driveway at the end of the trip, the car said we had driven 3232.20 miles. \u00a0That’s a lot of driving!<\/p>\n

It was so much fun!!!<\/p>\n

Today I am going to try to introduce you to my old\/new friends. \u00a0People I have know online for quite some time but met for the first time IRL while MFH and I were on the road.<\/p>\n

The first lady we are going to meet, well, we have to backtrack to 2014!<\/p>\n

In October 2014, I ran my first Abbott World Marathon Major. \u00a0It was the Chicago Marathon. \u00a0What a fun, fun race!!! \u00a0A lady friend of mine, we knew each other from a FB running group and are FB friends. \u00a0We were in the same starting corral so we decided to try to find each other in the corral. \u00a0Hahaha!!! \u00a0#EpicFail<\/p>\n

That corral was so incredibly crowded and I am sooooo vertically challenged. \u00a0Needless to say, we did NOT meet at Chicago.<\/p>\n

You might have picked up on the fact that I spend my fair share of time on social media. \u00a0When MFH and I travel, I post the “Welcome to_____” signs of the next state. \u00a0It kind of lets people know where we are.<\/p>\n

Well, this lady noticed we were getting close to her area and she messaged me. \u00a0“How are away are you from _____?” \u00a0As we messaged back and forth, we realized we could actually meet! \u00a0As in face to face, in real life, meet!!! \u00a0How awesome is that!?!<\/p>\n

She drove an hour from her house to a little truck stop diner. \u00a0MFH and I met her there. \u00a0We had dinner and talked non-stop for an hour or so and had a ball!!! \u00a0*and yes, we ARE wearing skunk skin caps on our heads.<\/p>\n

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It wasn’t until we were in Duluth that we met up with the next old\/new friend.<\/p>\n

This sweet lady, well, I knew her from my running coach. \u00a0He has a FB page where we can discuss our training, etc. \u00a0Last year, he was coaching her for a race so we knew each other from there. \u00a0We are also FB friends.<\/p>\n

This past winter, she was on a cookie baking kick. \u00a0Not a day went by when it seemed she was posting more pics of the most wonderful looking cookies! \u00a0I swear I gained weight just looking at those pics.<\/p>\n

She promised me some cookies when we met at Grandma’s Marathon. \u00a0See, she was running it as well and her entire family (hubby and 4 kids) would be coming with her. \u00a0I would tease her every now and then about cookies, but that’s the kind of thing I do~tease.<\/p>\n

The night before she was due to come to Duluth, she tagged me on FB and posted a pic of cookie dough. \u00a0“Look what I’m baking! \u00a0See you tomorrow!!!” \u00a0 How awesome was that!?!<\/p>\n

We met up on Friday before she went to the Expo. \u00a0MFH and I were able to meet her and the rest of her family. \u00a0What nice people! \u00a0What totally delicious cookies, too!!!<\/p>\n

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Just to refresh your memory from yesterdays post, I met with another lady from my coach’s FB page. \u00a0We had a few minutes to talk before the race started. \u00a0It’s amazing how much you can talk before a race!!!<\/p>\n

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Back in the winter of 1984\/1985, when MFH and I were engaged, we knew this man from Iowa State University. \u00a0MFH was finishing up his second degree from ISU and the man was working on his PhD. \u00a0Nice guy!!!<\/p>\n

After MFH finished his second degree, we ended up moving to Chicago for a few years but this man got engaged and married. \u00a0I remember meeting her a few times either when they were engaged or right after they were married. \u00a0It’s been a little over 30 years ago so my memory is allowed to be a little foggy on the details.<\/p>\n

MFH had posted that we were in Duluth for the race. \u00a0The man (who lives in Fargo) replied that his family was in Duluth for their vacation as well! \u00a0Small world!!! \u00a0We HAD to get together! \u00a0The night after the race, we all got together for dinner at a restaurant I had run past the day before during the race. \u00a0How funny is that!?! \u00a0They had their two adult daughters with them as well. \u00a0It was so much fun catching up on old times.<\/p>\n

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It was time to leave Duluth and travel south through Michigan. \u00a0The people I met in Michigan are going to have their own separate blog post.<\/p>\n

After Michigan, it was Indiana. \u00a0We were heading toward Mississippi and home. \u00a0It just didn’t seem right to drive within an hour of where my coach lived without meeting the guy! \u00a0We met and had lunch at a little Mexican place there in Indiana. \u00a0We talked and talked and talked….about running. \u00a0After lunch, we got a pic. \u00a0*yes, I AM standing on a step almost 2′ high.<\/p>\n

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After a quick trip through Georgia, we finally we entered Alabama.<\/p>\n

I was bummed when we entered Alabama! \u00a0They were doing construction and the “Welcome to Alabama” sign was down. \u00a0Instead of posting the Welcome to Alabama sign, I posted about the sign being down. \u00a0I was a sad panda about that sign!<\/p>\n

However, I had a big surprise! \u00a0A FB running friend and Twitter friend (multi-tasking!) asked me, “How far are you from Birmingham?” \u00a0I told him. \u00a0He said, “I’ll meet you for lunch.”<\/p>\n

How cool was that!?! \u00a0He found the restaurant, saved the seats and everything! \u00a0MFH and I came in, sat down and we enjoyed some of the best burgers I’ve had in a very long time…accompanied by a very nice coffee\/oatmeal stout!<\/p>\n

We talked…about running. \u00a0Hahaha!!! \u00a0You noticing a theme here? We all talk about running. \u00a0Well, we ARE runners after all and it IS our favorite subject!<\/p>\n

After lunch, we stepped outside the burger place and MFH took our pic.<\/p>\n

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It was so much fun meeting all of these terrific people all across the United States. \u00a0Great people! \u00a0Terrific runners!<\/p>\n

I have to admit, though, walking through my front door to see this face? \u00a0It was THE. BEST. \u00a0We were missed. \u00a0What a happy puppy!<\/p>\n

There’s no place like home.<\/p>\n

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#IRun4Aiden<\/p>\n

#teamZensah<\/p>\n

#AbbottWMM<\/p>\n

#OiselleVolee<\/p>\n

#ChafeX<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MFH (My Favorite Husband) and I traveled 10 days total during our adventures in going to Grandma’s Marathon. \u00a0When we pulled into our driveway at the end of the trip, the car said we had driven 3232.20 miles. \u00a0That’s a lot of driving! It was so much fun!!! Today I am going to try to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,6,8,5,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3921"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3931,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3921\/revisions\/3931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/w0ep.us\/TM\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}