Last weekend was so cozy and felt very fall. After traveling almost every weekend for the last couple of months, it was a treat to be in Charlotte, and to have Finn with me. I am really loving fall this year…the cool weather, the colors, the food, the comfy clothes…all of it! We soaked up all things fall over the weekend.

This was also one of my favorite weekends of the year…Charlotte Marathon weekend! I participated in the Marathon Relay and had a great experience.

Here’s a recap of all of it. 🙂

FRIDAY

I woke up on Friday feeling like I’d been hit by a truck after Thursday night’s food poisoning episode. I thought that I would go straight back to bed after dropping Finn at preschool but after getting myself moving, hydrated and toast in my stomach, I rallied. It was a good thing because I had a doctor’s appointment that morning that I didn’t want to reschedule and a date to catch up with a friend.

My appointment went really well. I am so lucky to have such a caring doctor that I trust and respect so much. It can be hard to find with doctors and I’ve got a good one. I scooted over to Earl’s Grocery after to meet a friend for a very long overdue catch up. I worked on my laptop a bit before she arrived and alternated sipping on water, juice and coffee.

I picked Finn up shortly before 1p and got him home and straight down for his nap. He took a super long nap and I got some work done while he slept. The rest of our day was spent coordinating details for the Charlotte Marathon Relay. I had to go meet some of my teammates to pick up my bib, and I had to take a friend her bib.

SATURDAY

RACE DAY! This was my seventh time running the Charlotte Marathon. I’ve run the half five times and this was my second year in a row running the relay. I was really hoping to run the half again this year but several factors came together to cause me to decide it wasn’t the best idea a few weeks ago. Luckily, I got a last-minute invitation to join a relay team so I didn’t have to miss out!

Finn and I ran the fourth leg of the marathon relay which was miles 15-20. The weather for the race looked like it was going to be high 40s, rainy and windy so I was stressed about running with Finn! Thankfully, the rain held off and it was just super windy. I bundled him up and felt like he was pretty protected being nestled back in the stroller. He was happy to snack on graham crackers and do some people watching. He didn’t fuss once.

The first mile was the worst mile and I questioned my decision to run. My body was cold (like not warmed up cold), the headwind was insane and we were running up hill. I felt like I was running into a wall. We made a turn around mile 16 that took us away from the wind and it was all easygoing from there! Seriously, night and day difference.

I ran the fourth relay leg last year too and it’s a good one that takes you through NoDa and Plaza Midwood. Both neighborhoods had big community cheering stations where people were out brunching, cheering and having fun. It felt so festive! I did have to clarify multiple times that I was not running the full marathon with the stroller and only the relay as I got cheers from spectators. Can you imagine a full marathon with a stroller!? I would feel worse for the babe than the parent pushing the stroller! That’s a long time to sit in a stroller.

Before I knew it we were pulling up to mile 20 and passing on our tracking device to the final runner on our team. We finished our leg with about a 9:05 pace. Finn and I weren’t quite done running yet and had to run another mile back to where I had parked the car at Optimist Hall. I took it super slow and that mile was an almost 11 minute mile. We finished at 6.2 total so a nice 10K for Saturday morning.

Back at Optimist Hall, I transferred Finn from the stroller to the Ergo and headed in to walk around and grab something for lunch. First, we stopped by Pet Wants to get a treat for Zoey. We got her a big rolled beef cheek that she’s obsessed with. And then we stopped by The Dumpling Lady for some dumplings. I had been thinking about how much I wanted to try them since my first trip to Optimist Hall!

As you can see from the photo above, Finn was getting sleepy so I got my dumplings to go and ate them when I got home. I had the pork and chive dumplings and they were really good. I cannot wait to try more things from The Dumpling Lady!

Finn took a long nap on Saturday but he woke up crying about an hour and 30 minutes in and I had to go in to comfort him. I could tell he wasn’t ready to wake up yet so I scooped him up and ended up holding him in the rocker for another hour or so while he slept and I worked on my phone. I never do this and loved the extra cuddles.

Once he was up a friend brought her daughter over for a playdate. These two were just tooooooo cute! 🙂

Our final stop on Saturday was a small get together with three of my friends, their husbands and our littles for a pizza and s’mores party.

Perfect end to the day and we were home and in the bath by 7:30p.

SUNDAY

CUE ALL THE ANGELS SINGING! Finn woke up on Sunday morning at 5:40a and was inconsolable. I’m not sure if he had a night terror or what but I was not hopeful that he would go back down. He did and slept until 8a! When I heard him babbling away in his crib and opened my eyes and looked at my phone, I couldn’t believe it. He hasn’t slept this late in forever and ever. It was magical.

Saturday was busy but Sunday was low-key and close to home. We spent tons of time outside. We took a long walk with Zoey and played in the backyard. I also did some cooking and baking. It all felt so nice and homey. <3

And that’s all!

QUESTIONS

What’s your favorite race? 

Have you run a race with a stroller? If so, what’s the longest distance?

Have you ever run a relay race? What did you think? 

Last time you ate s’mores?