November 19, 2010

Living History Farms Race and Going out to Eat

We are going out to eat late this afternoon and for good reason - we are heading to Des Moines, Iowa - more specifically Urbandale, Iowa to Living History Farms so my husband can pick up race packets.  Yep, tomorrow is the Living History Farms Race - go to the photos on this link - there are 204 in all.  Go to picture 6 and you will see what I am talking about. - it is the biggest cross country race in North America with 7500 runners.

Living History Farms (click on this link and watch the picture roll at the top right of the screen) is located in Urbandale, Iowa which is a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa.  I love going there in warm weather and walking the path to the 1700 Ioway Indian Camp, the 1850's cabin and pioneer farm, the 1900's farmhouse and farm and then back to the recreated 1875 Town of Walnut Hill village with a beautiful mansion that overlooks the town.  It is a great place to go for a day, and if we lived closer, I would definitely get a season membership.

But back to the race - It is a 7 mile true cross country race which takes a runner through the woods, the farms, the town and best of all - 7 crossings over a creek.  The runner will get wet, cold and dirty.  At one point there are ropes that they have to use to pull themselves up the muddy hills.  Can you believe that people pay money to do this???  Not me.  I will stay home and will sip hot coffee while they are running in cold weather through frigid creeks. 

My husband, two sons and daughter in law are running this race and they have for years.  Runners from our community run in this race and it is the ultimate true cross country race.  I am not a runner and after seeing what these runners look like at the end of the race, I know why I am not a runner.  Oh and at the end of the race they feast on beef stew.  I'm not sure why they serve beef stew.

They actually have to limit the number of runners to the race.  Can you believe that they have to turn people away?  Again, I will be home sipping hot coffee while reading the newspaper and I can hear all of the stories when my family returns from the race.

But this afternoon, after we have picked up the race packets, we will go out to eat at a nice restaurant - just my husband and me.  I'm looking forward to it - have been all week. 

3 comments:

Kim said...

Have a wonderful dinner with your husband! And I don't blame you - I'd be at home sipping hot coffee too! But great for them for doing that race. It has to be cold there during that race, especially with them getting wet.

Debs said...

Enjoy your date.

My baby is still that - a nearly 14 month old, but there is something special about getting to have time for just the two of us (Me and my husband, I mean). I hope we'll still be doing that when she and any other babies are all grown up.

Martha said...

Kim:

It was cold and I enjoyed being home cleaning my kitchen. I also took our dog for a walk and had to bundle up, but I was not out running through the woods and jumping through creeks.

Debs:

I think that we spent more time together when the kids were younger and have gotten away from it now that one is married and one is 17. The best part was not just the meal but the 1 hour drive to and from as we talked a lot about Christmas and also about our future. I treasure the times that we can talk without interruptions.

Enjoy that baby.