New Hampshire Trip

We flew in Saturday afternoon, just long enough for me to see the Atlantic (and the pictures look just as dorky as when I saw the Pacific). Chris drove us up to Ipswich, where we went to a really nice beach. I have to say that I can't believe how many Dunkin' Donuts there are on the East Coast. Holy crap - it seemed like there was one every half mile!

We then drove to Gilford where we met Chris's parents for dinner. We were up bright and early at 4:45am (some earlier than others) to get ready and drive to the start of Kim's Timberman Half Ironman. We by chance found her before the swim to wish her luck and for Chris to take some pre-craziness pictures.

We cheered her on at the start and grabbed some spots to watch her come in. Then she transitioned lightening fast to the bike, which took the crazy and incredible woman just over three hours to do. Apparently the terrain is a little hilly out there (haha). To pass the time, we cheered on other racers coming in. Someone was silly enough to hand me a small cowbell, which I think was an inspiration to all the racers.

Then it was off to the run. Kim had to do two loops, and was incredible. She and her friend helped each other through the last part of the race. Side by side, they finished together. It was amazing to be able to cheer her on during this event after seeing how hard she trained and how dedicated she has become.

Later that day after Kim took an ice bath (eek!), we headed to Friendly's, an ice cream shop with something called a Jim Dandy, which is essentially a double banana split (Chris and I split one). After sending me into a sugar comatose, we headed into Newton (near Boston) to stay with one of Chris's friends. It was fun hanging out with them and we got to sleep in an incredibly comfortable bed. I was tempted to steal it.

Monday was a hurried day with Chris and I heading back to Minneapolis. Or so we thought. We ended up getting stuck overnight at Midway due to the weather conditions in Minneapolis. Who knew the southeastern part of the state was going to flood over the weekend, and that those storms were moving towards Chicago? We were one of the few lucky ones that were able to get onto the 6:15am flight out the next morning. Staying overnight at the airport wasn't that bad for me because I had a terrible migraine, so all I wanted to do was sleep anyway.

We got back home around nine the next morning, and tried to get ourselves together. We both smelled less than wonderful and were tired of traveling. Yes, I was still tired the whole morning after sleeping how many hours. I'm really glad that we were able to go support Kim. I'm proud of you K-Rex!

Here are some pictures:

My feet going in the Atlantic.

Crane Beach - perfect soft sand.

Lake Winnipesaukee, where Kim began her Timberman 70.3.

I don't know how she concentrated on the swim with scenes like this.

Kim and her friend Laura close to the finish line - way to go Kim!