ONE DAY . . . 100 MILES

So What is the Mountains to Sound Relay all about? It is designed to be a 5-man (or woman) relay that includes a 23 mile mountain bike, 50 mile road bike, 12 mile kayak, 13.5 mile half-marathon, and 6 mile sprint. Not surprisingly it begins in the moutains east of Seattle and ends at Golden Gardens Beach on the Puget Sound. Last year Luke had a great time competing with his friend Jerry as a 2-man team, switching off each leg. This year, he decided to compete as an Iron Solo race entrant. Of a couple hundred teams, there are less than 50 "irons". To make things a bit more competitive, we hit a record high of 90+ degrees on Sunday, after spending most of "Junuary" below 65 degrees. This might not sound too bad to you east-coasters, but to the northwest soul this is crisis! Nonetheless, Luke proved his "ironman" status by completing the race and his day of recuperation today included a massive water gun fight with the kids and he says he feels perfectly fine. Man are we impressed! Way to go Luke!

Go Daddy!

Delaney talking to Rogan pre-race.

Ooooohhhh!

Race Shots

The Final Leg

I caught up with Luke on my bike for the final six miles. In the five-person relay, someone runs the half marathon and then another team member does a 6-mile sprint. For Irons, the whole 19.5 miles are up to them. Ugh!

Running along the Lake Washington ship canal (connects the lake to Puget Sound).

The final burst...

HOORAY LUKE! THE FINISH! 100 SOLO MILES. What an accomplishment.

Post-Race

Luke's final time was around 10 hours (that's 8 am to 6 pm) Whew!

Check out those tan lines!

Noshing on some grilled salmon and reviewing the day with Findley (also an Iron competitor)

Grungy post-event joy!

Playtime

I took these pictures from up on the back deck of the kids hamming it up on the playground.

They were being pretty silly! Thankfully our backyard gets shade all afternoon and evening, making it a great place to escape the heat.

The Night Goes On

We ate dinner at the "cabin"- here's a blurry shot of my good friend Lizanne.

Post-meal ambience- sorry it's out of order. We ate seafood egg rolls, fresh mussels, beef tenderloin, etc. etc.

Cheesy shot.

Deep in conversation after dinner.

Auction Dinner on Vashon Island

Well, it helps to have friends who keep spending money at school fundraising auctions. We were invited out to partake in the auction winnings, a catered dinner for 5 couples. Fabulous weather and fantastic company.

Luke taking a stroll down the beach, looking across at the Kitsap Penninsula. We had drinks and appetizers down on the lawn here.

This is the view from the "cabin"- a three-story modern home with lots of tall windows. Luke here with friends Steve and Neil.

Summer Playtime

On Friday the kids went to Lake Sammamish Park to play on the beach and in the water. Here are some of the pictures Heather and Jen took of the gang. Thanks guys!

Summer Kid Pix

Can you tell Mackenzie and Mason are trying to get Delaney in the lake?

Lake Sammamish Park & Beach

Braeburn BBQ

This past Saturday was our neighborhood bbq. We had bounce houses, a cotton candy machine, water balloons, squirt guns, a cake walk, tons of delicious food, and especially very fun neighbors. Suburbia has its perks!

Dirtball Delaney was rockin out all afternoon.

Guys at the keg of local Snoqualmie brew.

Kids in line for water balloons.

Lots of comfy furniture out in the street. Good times!