Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Weekend to Remember

After a long, yet very successful weekend, you would think this post would be all about me and everything I did.  However, I am more interested in sharing with you the details of someone else's weekend.
Forbes.

On Friday evening Forbes was busy setting up for the New Balance Girls on the Run 5k.  After sitting in traffic for nearly 45 minutes to help me pick up a stage, he arrived at Lowe's Corporate Headquarters to help unload trailers and set up course markers for Saturday's event.

After 4 solid hours of hard work, he finally made it home for dinner no earlier than 9pm.  The poor man was starved and tired.  But that isn't where his evening ended.  He still accompanied me to pick up last minute supplies and then entertained my need to veg-out in front of the television until nearly midnight. 

Saturday morning's wake up call came early for Forbes.  Out of bed at 5am, he busied loading our vehicles with all of the race supplies.  We arrived on site at 6am where many volunteers were already waiting for us.  The rest of the morning was sort of a blur for Forbes, but probably went a little something like this:

"Alex, I need you here!"
"Alex, can you do this!"
"Alex, where are you?"
"Alex, please go get this!"

Forbes is my go-to guy when it comes to race day.  I honestly couldn't put on this show without him.  At the risk of sounding less grateful toward all the rest of my volunteers, I gotta say Forbes is my favorite.  I can trust him to get the job done, to be where I need him to be, to come at the drop of a hat, and take on any challenge I ask of him.  Because of his unrelenting help, the New Balance Girls on the Run was a huge success Saturday! 
Fran is an awesome volunteer too!  She handled all the food for the event!
Sky Mountain coffee kept us stocked and caffeinated!
Dan, from Omega Sports is so very generous...and Renee, one of my awesome coaches and board members!
Of course, thanks to Smoothie King for all the samples! Yum-O.

Unphotographed, but in need of major props: Iredell Health System, our presenting sponsor.  Bella Lago Salon for coming out and sponsoring our event, Regional Chiropractic and of course Lowe's Corporate Headquarters for hosting our 5k and Michelle and the team from Iredell Parks and Rec for sponsoring our water stops and helping out so much!

Ok, so this blog post is beginning to turn into some sort of acceptance speech...so rather than continue on, let me just share with you a few more photos of the event:
Ok, I interrupt for one more acknowledgement: Molly Barker, the founder of Girls on the Run is my favorite! What an extraordinary soul!  And Jennifer is amazing, the founder of the Iredell Council. Also unphotographed is Tasha my amazing Volunteer Coordinator!  Ok, I promise I am done now!  Back to the photos.
For more 5k photos please visit Girls on the Run of Iredell's facebook page!

Back to the story of Forbes' weekend:

Around the end of the 5k, as clean up was happening, and the adrenaline from the event was waning, we both began to notice our hunger.  Luckily at that moment a friend texted to alert us of a vegan food stand at the Race City Festival.  Once the crowd at the race petered, the water stops were taken down, tables removed, and trash cleaned up (Leave No Trace) we were off in a hurry to grab the aforementioned food.  What a delight to not have to cook after all that hard work!
Can you catch the relief on my face?
The food stand in question was hosted by ZiZi's Vegetarian Restaurant in Charlotte and Forbes and I each got the tasting plate.  For $10 we were treated to the Raw Kale Salad, Lentil Patty, Tempeh Steak, BBQ Tofu, Creamy Coleslaw, Eggplant Curry and Brown Rice with Cabbage.  It was exactly the vegan feast we both desired!  While everything was delightful, the BBQ Tofu was the show stopper: cooked to perfection and wonderfully sweet and spicy.  Although the Tempeh Steak was a close finisher.  And the coleslaw was just wonderful!
This is usually the part of any story where the hard-worked, well fed male would retire for an afternoon nap...but not my husband.  He entertained my request for a 3 hour drive to Westminster, South Carolina for my cousin's graduation party and an afternoon with 4 of my aunts and my grandma!
Forbes really is the best!  To fuel our road trip, coffee was in order.  This was our second Starbucks run of the day!
We showered quickly and were on the road south.
Three hours on the road, three hours visiting, and three hours back home- we finally arrived just before midnight and Forbes and I both collapsed in a heap on the bed.  What a day!

Once again, a very natural end to a very long story...but for the superhero that is my husband, it doesn't stop there.  Early this morning we were up for another big event!  The Coolbreeze Corporate Cup Series 5k benefited Girls on the Run and we had to make an appearance.  I hosted a booth to tell others about our program, and Forbes donated his time as a volunteer on the race course. 

You know how I feel about giving back to the race community, and Forbes believes it is important to volunteer at other races as well...just usually not all in the same weekend! 

Because I don't have a trophy big enough to award my Superhero Husband...I am using this blog post to honor the amazing man, husband, friend, and helper that he is!  He didn't have to work so hard this weekend.  Most spouses aren't as involved in their wives' work.  But mine is.  He truly believes in Girls on the Run, loves the organization and is proud of what I do and loves me endlessly.  Because of that he is so generous with his time and is always willing to help me whenever I need it.  I know it sounds redundant when I say it but I truly have the most amazing husband.  God knew exactly what he was doing when he paired us together because we are perfectly fit.  We love each other so much and I only hope that he believes I am as supportive of him as I know he is of me. 

Ok, so here's the end to the story...after working the race this morning, we had an early lunch with good friends and then collapsed into a heap for a three hour nap on the couch this afternoon!  Drained of all energy and knowing that we did our best work this weekend and gave every minute of every task our 100%, the nap was very well deserved.  Especially for Forbes!

The End.

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