july 3rd

:: July 3rd was a very, very full and crazy day for the Babers! Not only was it the 40th birthday of my amazing husband, but it was also the day that he decided he would run 40 miles for his 40th birthday, to raise money for Charity Water.

I am excited to report that he raised just over $2000 for his Charity Water campaign!!! That will provide water to over 100 people. What a blessing!! A big, big thank you to everyone who donated to this worthy cause.

The morning started early...we left our house at 5:15 a.m. and drove 40 miles out -- which took us about 10 miles outside of the town Winters. Mimi and Aspen joined us, and we dropped him off at his starting point. At 6:00 a.m., off he went!! From there, us three girls drove out 5 miles and waited for him. We gave him some Powerade and then off he went again. At this point, us girls drove back in to town to drop Aspen off at Beltway Church so that she could leave on her adventure to Ireland! (More on that, in a later post!)

After saying goodbye to Aspen, Mimi and I drove back to our house to pick up my bike, and then we drove out again to the 20 mile mark where we were going to next meet up with Chris. In the meantime, our dear friend Angie Dobbs was taking care of Chris at mile 10 and 15. He didn't know, but she had taken the day off work so that she could come and spend the day with us, supporting us as needed. I don't think we could have done it without her, she was such a great help!!!

At mile 20 we all met up again...Chris did some stretching and mentioned that his calves were cramping up a lot. That was a bad sign. We fueled him up with liquids and snacks, and I told him that I had my bike and would be riding the final 20 miles with him. Especially with the leg cramps, I am so glad that I decided to support him via the bike for the second half. It was rough for him.

We took off...Angie met us about every 5 miles with drinks, encouragement, etc. Chris' legs were cramped up so badly that he did a lot of walking the second half. I felt so badly for him because even the walking was painful for him. He would jog a bit, walk a bit. And grimace a lot. If it wasn't for the cramping, I think he would have really enjoyed the day -- it would have been tough, but doable. With the cramping, it was still doable, just much, much less enjoyable.

It was great to see all the people who came out to support Chris! Around mile 30, our friends Rolando and Ana stopped by on their motorcycle -- and they even gave a donation right then and there! A few people from work also came out on their lunch break -- Anna, Neeley and Matt. They brought doughnuts (which Chris ate promptly) and a burger and beer for after the race. We stopped in the shade and chatted with them a bit while Chris stretched. Our friend Addison came out to see us on his lunch break a little later. The support was amazing!

Around mile 33 or so, we had 7 miles to go...and that is when it started to pour down rain. It felt great at first because we were so hot...but it got old very, very quickly. We were soaked, which meant that his socks were wet. Causing blisters. We both had hats on, and I had my glasses on. That helped to keep the rain out of our face for a bit, but the rain water began pooling up in my eyes and I couldn't see. It was a trying batch of miles for us both. Chris kept telling me to peddle on ahead and get into Angie's car, but I did not want to leave him out in that by himself. So we moved forward together.

Finally, finally, the rain stopped...about a mile from the finish line. We finished up the last of it and rounded the corner into our driveway...he was successful!!! Forty miles done!!!!!! He is a beast, to be sure. No ordinary person would have been able to complete this under normal circumstances...they would not have even attempted it. For Chris to complete it, with his horrible cramping, just shows how extreme and intense he is. There was no thought to "not finishing". I am so very proud of him. And I am so blessed that I was able to be a part of it so that I could witness it firsthand. He is incredible.

Aspen, Chris, me and Mimi, at 6:00 a.m. right before he started his 40 mile run.

This is Angie, our guardian angel for the day -- couldn't have done it without her!!

Chris at Mile 20, stretching out his calves and refueling.

Angie made these great signs for Chris and changed them out every 5 miles...this was my favorite!

Chris, working on his calf cramps...nothing helped. They were so bad at times that they physically knocked him to the ground. It was very frustrating for him.

A shot of us as we went along...he is currently walking here, and I am riding on the bike.

Not too happy about having to walk so much.

The doughnuts were actually a great idea! Chris probably burned about 6000 calories on the run.

Crossing the finish line into our driveway!! What a great feeling!!!! In a lot of pain but so excited to have finished and met his goal!

Drenched from the rain, but so happy to be done!! The phone camera fogged up a bit in the after-rain humidity. His run took him from 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. -- 8 hours.

After food and showers, this is how we both spent a lot of the remaining day...resting and recovering. Chris was very sore, which was to be expected. His calves and knees hurt, as well as the bottoms of his feet. Each day he has felt a little better, and should be back to his normal self shortly. He is taking two weeks off from running...

:: Once Chris was able to recover quite a bit, he decided that he wanted Duetchlanders catfish for his birthday dinner. So we headed there and had a delicious dinner and celebrated this amazing man!! Afterwards, we came home for gifts and cake! Mimi and I donated to his Charity Water campaign for his main gifts...I also bought him a few little gifts like a very soft tshirt, the new Linkin Park cd, and some Kit Kats; Aspen gave him a book called "Man of God" and wrote a very sweet message inside.

40! 40 years and 40 miles...what a day!!

Birthday portrait of my hubby -- he looks so sweet here, I can't get over it!

I love love love this man with all my heart...he inspires me!

Chris and his mom

The birthday boy with his chocolate cake with chocolate icing -- decorated by me -- decorating cakes is NOT one of my natural skills, to be sure. It didn't look great but it sure did taste good! :)

What a day!!! It was a great one that we will all remember for a very long time...Happy Birthday to my incredible husband!