The weekend report

That was better than expected! I wasn't sure what to expect really, but the potential for disaster increases significantly when you take the whole show on the road.

Ready to hit the road! © Cheese Curds and Kimchi

First, the packing. We have a Subaru Outback Sport, the smaller of the Subaru wagons. Which seems much smaller since LM came home. This looks really ridiculous, but it wasn't that bad. We had the stuff we usually take to races like the Tropical Pug's kennel, The Man's mountain bike racing gear (helmet/shoes/etc.), an ice chest, and our overnight bag.

For LM, we brought his stroller, a pack & play, and an overnight bag for him which included his bottles, toys, formula, diapers, etc.

Believe it or not, the Tropical Pug and LM are somewhere behind this mess.

The drive went well. We broke up the 3.5 hours half-way, visiting with friends and having lunch. LM napped before and after the lunch break, and when he was awake, he watched the scenes roll by out the window.

By the time we got to the racing area, he was ready to move. While The Man pre-rode the course for a few hours, LM, the dog and I all hiked. LM was especially intrigued by the giant pine trees and loved to scratch at the bark.

The hotel stay was OK. He liked to explore the new place but had a hard time settling down for bed. Understandable since he's used to sleeping in a very quiet and dark room. He played in his crib (supplied by the hotel!) for about an hour without any fuss, and eventually crashed.

Until...he woke up screaming at 2:30 a.m. His teeth were hurting again and he was really pissed. I'm sure the other people in the hotel were too, after listening to him shout for 20 minutes. The teething gel and ibuprofen finally did the trick, and he was asleep again before too long.

Race day was a bit of a scurry. We made it there 20 minutes before my run began. Not enough time to warm-up, I hadn't eaten much, and I was really tired. When we started the run, I grumbled that this wasn't all worth the hassle. But after 10 minutes of trucking on the trails, running through the trees on a perfect morning, I was in a much better mood. I was slower than normal since I haven't trained for 7-weeks. But it was really worth it and the run was great. I placed 5th in my age group, and 18th overall.

Afterwards, The Man handed off LM to me, and he started to prep for his race. LM was in a fine mood--happy, content, and easy going. We had a little snack and took a stroller ride to find a spot to watch The Man ride by. He crashed just before the race started and slept through the first few laps. How he managed to sleep through the yelling and the cowbells (that's how you cheer on the racers) I don't know. The Man did a great job on his race too, and we all played in the grass for a while afterwards. Then back in the car for the ride home. Which went pretty OK. No tears until the last 20 minutes of the trip.

The only drama during the trip was on the first day at the park. While LM and I were playing nearby, the Tropical Pug somehow ate something that didn't agree with him. He started throwing up and I felt like a terrible mom! He looked totally pathetic, with yellow puke on his chin and his ears hanging. The Man, during a conversation with a friend, casually started digging through the puke with a stick (gross) and couldn't find anything specific. (Vets sure do weird stuff.) So, we just watched our poor pooch closely for the next few hours, and mapped out where the nearest 24-hour clinic was in case we needed to go. That was the hardest part of the trip. (Happy to report that after a few hours, he was much perked up and was fine the rest of the weekend.)

I think we'll definitely do this again. It would be a lot easier when we aren't both racing, but I have to say, that 1/2 hour out on the course, just enjoying the music and being along was really, really nice. I think our first road trip was a success!