OBX Race Report

We are blissfully on vacation.

At one of our favorite places.

There was a time last week when I wasn't sure we would even make it here.

Kevin was in D.C. most of last week due to fly home thursday night before we headed out on Friday.

Then Thursday afternoon I got a text from him.

He had been up most of the night in the bathroom.  With food poisoning.

Oh dear.

When he stumbled into the house that night, he looked awful.  He ate some saltines, drank some gatorade, then went to bed.  And slept for eleven hours.

The next morning he looked a bit better, but was still only 60-70%.  I packed the car, loaded us up, and drove us east.  Most of the drive my phone was chirping with texts from friends checking on Kevin.  Our roles were reversed & he had to text for me while I drove.  We made it to the house & Kevin had perked up some more.  Then just as we finished unloading the car & Kevin left to pick up a pizza.....darkness.

Pitch black darkness.

Inside & outside.

The power was out.

The boys & I had a few tense moments while I fumbled for my phone, then stumbled around looking for the tiny flashlights I had tossed in a bag at the last minute (sorry again Wallace for stepping on you).  Found the flashlights & called Kevin who said power was out at the pizza place as well.  Then we realized with out power the entrance gate to our neighborhood wouldn't work, and neither would our house's keyless entry.  After a dinner by tiny flashlight, we decided to get back in the car & head back down the beach to see about going to the grocery.

And heard on the local radio that power was out on the entire Outerbanks.  And parts of the mainland.

40,000 people.

So we pulled over near what we thought was near the Wal-Mart parking lot to listen to radio & hope that power would start to come back on sooner rather than later (and I started thinking that I was watching too much of that show "Revolution" on tv...).

Then, after about thirty minutes when we were about ready to head back to the house, some lights flickered inside a building near us.

We were parked in front of a Harris Teeter & didn't even know it.  That's how dark it was.

And like moths to a flame, people came & followed the light.

And so did we.  And we heard that power was coming back.

And two hours later, Blackout 2012 was over.

Later that night friends of ours arrived & Saturday morning the Dads headed out to run and 8k.

They both had awesome times & felt good.

The kiddos spent the day playing together then Sunday it was race day again.

Cannot say Thank you enough to our friends for hearding our kids (and their kids) to the finish!

The race was awesome:  perfect weather, no wind, and PR's for Kevin & I!  Yahoo!

Thanks guys!