Jumping right back in with a nice long one...

Saturday was interesting to say the least, but I think a little morning chaos can be good for you. We were told we were going to be running 100 minutes on Saturday, on the steepest street in Portland called Terwilliger. So some basic math here, I run about ten minute miles, so I am looking at running 10 hilly miles. Last week I only ran 5, so I was a little unnerved about running this far, and the route. And a slight piece of history here with this street: This is the street the infamous "Shamrock Run" takes place on, the one I ran 2 years ago the day after getting annilated with my brother Mark on St Patty's. I thought I was going to collapse on that run, It is the run that made me start writing my blog. I was still drunk that year and ran 9 miles. Not a good idea.

So every weekend has been funny for Bonnie & I, as we try to figure out who will watch Taylor for our Saturday long runs. Well, we had no one this weekend, but we got the ok from Coach Karl that we could bring Taylor to the workout. Now Bonnie is a Mentor for our running group, so she was going to skip our group run, and just hang out with Taylor, and maybe work one of the aid stations. We figured when we got home she could run on her own, but that's just no fun.

We arrived right at 8am and at around 8:10 I was off. The route for today is run up this huge hill and down the other side, and then come on back. The run was intimidating for me also because on the way to the car I was carrying Taylor in her car seat, and I feel this tweak in my back. Unreal, right before this long run. The whole ride there I was nervous about how much it was going to affect my run. The good news is it didn't at all. I ended up having an unbelievable run, I was so pumped. And it was one of the nicest days we've had all winter, and my back never bothered me at all.

So I am on my way back down Terwilliger and I see Bonnie running up the hill, and no Taylor. Bonnie did bring our jogging stroller but she wasn't supposed to be running. I guess Bonnie got antzy and got the ok to take Taylor for her run. So Bonnie loads up Taylor and starts running up this insane hill with her. You would laugh if you saw how steep this street is by the way. So Bonnie gets about 40 minutes into her run and Linda, one of the running captains, was on her way down the hill and thought Bonnie was insane pushing Taylor up this mountain of a street, so she took Taylor back to our home base. So I pass Bonnie on my way down and I see her, but no Taylor. Bonnie runs by me and says "Linda has Taylor", and then Bonnie's gone. I say to myself, ok, but who the hell is Linda? I have no clue.

One of the best things about doing our marathon with Team in Training is it really is like one big family. I met Linda at the bottom and she was great. Taylor was in great hands and Bonnie ended up having a kick ass run as well. And knowing that we are raising money for cancer research makes every long run worthwhile. That being said, if everyone reading this could find a way to donate just $20, we would come close to our goal of $2,900 that we need to raise. And if you donate on our website, it's so easy, and your name will scroll by on our website, very cool.

You can copy & paste the website below. Bonnie & I are running the San Diego Rock n Roll marathon for cancer, and we need your help. Thanks everyone!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/rnr10/ssullivugm

I'm Back...

Bonnie and I decided that we didn't nearly kill ourselves enough 2 years ago doing the marathon up in Anchorage, AK, so why not do another one? We are running the San Diego Rock-n-Roll in June. Training to me is already funny. I am like Jennifer Anniston in Office Space, really just getting by on minimum flare. I only run when I am forced to and I am yet to even jog a mile on my own. So last week's 7 miler was really easy....Training could be interesting for anyone who is bored and feels like a laugh from time to time. Here we go...

It’s pretty funny the different times I am watching American Idol and I realize one of the reasons this show is as successful as it is, these people are crazy. I mean wow. I watch the show, I admit it, big deal, 1/3 of the rest of the country does too. American Idol gets these people to come try out and then we all get to sit at watch them show how nuts some of them are.

So I was just in Dallas, TX and Bonnie's good friend Carla was there, and she always asks for a blog, so here ya go, this one is for you darling. Bonnie is doing great, and April 18th is the due date, almost 2 months away. We have decided on names, and seeing as we are not finding out the sex, we are not holding back on the names:

If it is a boy, he will be named Jack Cornelius Sullivan. He will be named after my grandfathers, and his grandfather as well, Big Neil.
If we are blessed with a daughter, she will be named Alexandra Kate Sullivan. Bonnie and I just love Alex for a girl.

So I have noticed when you tell people you are not finding out the sex, you can get some interesting reactions. For all you parents reading, I’m sure you were asked the million-dollar question a ton as well:

“Do you know what you are having?”

And then we say, “nope, we’re not finding out.”

You would not believe the reactions! I will say to the people that are not parents yet, who swear they have to know, you should at least consider the latter. Keep in mind I am only saying what I know, but it has been pretty fun for us guessing. I said I would never want to know and Bonnie was kinda leaning towards finding out, which was good for us because we knew we would be talking openly about both options. We are both glad we are not finding out.

I had a lot of cousins growing up, and my cousin Brian was a few years older than me. In my family with cousins, the cousins kind of paired up according to age. Well, I paired up with Brian, he let me. Brian and his wife Lisa have 5 lovely children. Guess how many they found out the sex on? None.Four girls and a cool little dude name Jack. Brian, I love that name Jack by the way...So when I said on a blog we were considering finding out the sex , Brian emailed me and said "you are going to get a lot of advice from a lot of people when you are having a baby, so I mine as well give you mine: don't find out."

I find myself telling the story often of you and Lisa not finding out the sex with all five when this topic arises. And for your information, you guys are almost famous out here on the west coast, very cool. People almost fall over when I tell them. And then I always follow with how Neil and Jess have never found out on their two and will not on their third coming at the same time as us. Is not finding out making a comeback?

I hope everyone reading this is doing great. We miss all of you guys. Cheers.


Sean

What's new in Portland...

So I am trimming my beard the other night, and I don't see a ton of trimmings in the sink, huh. Then I look down and see the hairs of my beard resting peacefully on my belly, ouch. So in case anyone was wondering how much I've been running, or just how good of shape I am in since the marathon, there's your answer. Yeah I am pretty much at my fattest weight ever. But I'm still under 200, for now..So with the pregnancy, supposedly it's a whole thing where the guy puts on weight with the mom, ya know to make her feel better about her weight gain. Yeah, that's what I've been doing...

On a serious note, I am very happy to report that our lovely Bonnie is doing awesome. She is very lucky, and grateful. And speaking of being grateful, I am very happy to report all tests have come back fine with the baby thus far. And Bonnie is officially showing!!! So funny, she was getting a little perturbed that at like the 5 month mark, she was still not showing. She has a little poochy, nothing too crazy, yet. I hear the last few months of the pregnancy fly by, so here we go. We are now just under the 6 month mark. They say the baby is fully developed and is just growing now. By the way, I love saying “we” are pregnant. As if I am carrying a little bambino inside of me too. Not the case. But on that note, “we” are due on April 18th. I plan on frolicking and doing the no pants dance for at least part of that day. We are not finding out the sex which has both of us so excited and constantly guessing. I think her insane running kick she was on this summer has helped her out a bunch. We had our 3rd ultrasound recently, these things are like crack. You cannot get enough of these things. I am sure the baby would love that analogy.

So I finally got engaged, God it took her long enough….But man it was worth the wait. I totally said yes! I took Bonnie for a nice get away weekend down to Bend, OR and did the old “knee-dance”. It was cool, she had no idea, which was my biggest concern. We went for a Mt bike ride through this cool park and we pulled over and I finally got her to put her bike down after asking her to like five or six times. I swear at one point I almost grabbed the damn bike and threw it on the ground. That would have gone over smooth I’m sure…I had my bottle of expensive (ha) champagne in my backpack ready to go. I tried to buy non-alcoholic before I left but I guess who bothers to drink that? Well no one is making it, at least not out here in alcy-ville. It was funny bc I popped it out after she said yes, and Bonnie was like “well I guess you have to drink the whole bottle now, I'm pregnant”. The cork went flying off and probably killed a deer when I popped it. So we sipped and dumped, and then I just tossed the empty bottle out into the woods...I am kidding, we smashed it off a rock by the lake...no.

On a different note, Bonnie, the dogs and myself, and most likely the baby are moving back to Boston. I guess we just want to see how much or little the baby actually cries at night...jk. But seriously, it is just “back” to Boston for me, but I think Bonnie is ready to take on the Bostonian ways. I have been teaching her to use her horn when she drives to get ready. We do not have any set date for the move, but we are for sure having the baby here in Portland. Tentatively I guess we think the end of next summer or early fall is when we would like to move.

It was a tough decision to make seeing as neither one of us are from Portland. The main deciding factor for us was that if we are moving mostly bc we are having the baby, we should keep the baby’s best interests at heart. With Thomas James and Sophia both being so young, he/she will have cousins to grow up with as kids. And the fact that Neil and Jessica are just baby making machines and are now having their THIRD baby, how couldn't we be back there? And Jess is due now officially ONE WEEK AFTER US!!! Are you kidding me??? It feels like a sign. These little rugrats could come popping out on the same day, unreal.

I really don’t have too much more to report at this time. Oh actually, Bonnie and I had our first official adult snow day today, and we only had 4 inches, and it was all last night. Man, we didn't even get a day off of school back home unless we had 6 inches the morning of....We miss all you guys and we hope to see you all soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone reading from Bonnie and I, Cheers!

Sean

Whoops!

So what it is they say about laughing at yourself? Fool me once....we won't be fooled again? Wait no, well whatever, let's just say this: if you laugh at yourself, shouldn't the people you know be able to laugh at you as well? Sure, why not.

So yesterday my company was putting on a software release kickoff for the new 2009 software. It was at OMSI here in Portland, the Oregon Museum of Science Institute. . Anyways, it was about midway through the morning session and I needed to use the restroom. So I walk out of the room and walk towards the bathrooms, right outside the room actually. So I am in there and the door opens next to me. Almost annoyed because there was 3 stalls and no one else in the other one, but whatever. So I look down because you always do when you can see the shoes, but something threw me off.

The shoes were small and the socks weren't socks, no they were, they were STOCKINGS! Holy crap I was in the wrong goddamn bathroom!!!! I started to freak. I was actually looking now thinking is there anyway those could be a dude's shoes? No frigging way. My heart almost stopped, and of course, since she is not a dude, she will be joining me for sure. Zikes! So she turns around (obviously) and watching a pair of shoes turn around has never been so scary in a stall. My first thought now is if I can see HER shoes.....Oh shit! I now slide my size 12 Freddy Flintstone shoes over as far as I can to the right. At least I was in the end stall if we had company. I am dying right now. How did I do this? So my hairy legs are literally as far off to the right as they can be without me falling off. Now I am in complete freak out mode. Do I try and beat her outta there, or do I wait it out? What if we have company? Oh my God, I am like how the hell did you screw this up, and how do I get out of here unnoticed.

So I decide to play beat the clock and get the hell outta there. All I am thinking now is it probably smells like a dude in here, and can she, or has she seen my feet? She would totally know those were not women's feet/legs. So I am almost ready to go and the door opens, crap! Now I have no clue when I am getting out of here. And of course it's a woman and a kid, chaperone probably, it's the frigging Museum of Science! And of course the place is already crawling with kids. I have to get outta here. The woman next to me leaves the stall, thank God. The other woman is in the third stall and the little girl is just washing her hands, I think. A lot of chatter was going on, I know that, and it wasn't helping. I knew I could get by the little girl, well because she is small. I was ready to run but I couldn't do it because the ladies toilet flushed. Damn it! Now I wait again. They finally leave and I am so embarrassed it is not even funny. I now start to walk out PRAYING no one else is coming in and no one did. I saw the woman and the kid outside but they missed me (I think). I ran into the men's room, washed up, and there was a dude in there, I felt like high fiving the guy, but I didn't.. I got out of it I think, but what a horrifying experience. And then I had to go back to my professional work event. It was fine though, I shook it off like a relief pitcher. We can all laugh about it now, Bonnie and I sure did last night. Whalzy, this one was for you brother, get well soon.

Sean

Let's move to Portland and make some babies!

Who knew that when I spoke these words to Bonnie, the first time I mentioned I wanted to move to Portland, that they would be taken so literally? Not me. Seriously the first time I told Bonnie I wanted to move to Portland, those were the exact words I said to her. And here we are 8 months later and we can officially say we moved to Portland and we are going to have a baby! Careful what you wish for eh Sully?

We have a "bun in the oven"
Bonnie is El Preggers
My boys can swim
Bonnie is knocked up
Bonnie is "eating for two"

You see where this is going. We just found out on August 22nd, on good ol' Tim McLoughlin's birthday! Happy bday Timmy! We are 6 weeks under way, well 7 now. We had our first ultra sound last week at 6 weeks, and it changed my life. Seeing your baby on the monitor for the first time, as I am sure all you first time parents know, is nothing short of mind blowing! You now KNOW you are pregnant. The baby is the size of a grain of rice, but has this amazing little heart beat that could bring the toughest of guys to their knees. We were not trying, we just got lucky. And I love thinking Big Neil may have played a hand in this. This was meant to be for us.

I feel very blessed. That 24 hours after first finding out I was going to be a dad, was the greatest 24 hours of my life, aside from the day I met Bonnie. We are both extremely excited and maybe a bit nervous.

Are we going to find out the sex of the baby? We have not decided, but funny thing is Bonnie swears it's a boy, I concur. I think we are leaning towards finding out, it might kill me to know I could know and don't. People are asking us what we would prefer, and I think we would both love to have a boy first, but we will both be very, very excited to have a baby girl as well. We will be stoked for different reasons for either, just a healthy baby please. I come from a family of four boys, I have always dreamed of having my daddy's little girl, so we shall see.

Anyways, I wanted to share this with everyone. Our due date is April 19th.
I wish I could have called and personally told everyone who reads these blogs the news, but there are not enough hours in the day. And on that note, I am still planning on calling everyone from donating for the marathon. Sorry it has taken me so long. I changed phones and I have not re-entered everyone's phone numbers. No sim in my phone, so it takes so damn long to do them all manually. I may need some of your phone numbers as well, but I will let you know if I do. I will call at some point, hopefully sooner than later, unless I have already seen you in person and thanked you.

Anyways, I hope everyone reading this is doing great, Bonnie and I sure are. Cheers!


Sean

A chat with Bonnie

It is not often that we get the opportunity to sit down and speak with people that have accomplished amazing feats. And when someone accomplishes a few of them in a relatively short time span, I feel it's worth hearing about. Especially when that someone is the one and only Bonnie Killion. I know my last post was pretty random, I will be honest, I was looking for something to put out there. I miss writing to everyone. This is not that; this is a pretty cool story.

So I told Bonnie I wanted to interview her, she laughed, then she realized I was being serious, and agreed. Bonnie just completed a daunting task, she hiked Mt. St Helens, which is quite an accomplishment. It is a volcano located in Skamania County, WA. Bonnie had no idea what lay in store for her and a few others last Friday when they took on Mt. St. Helens, but there was just no way they could have really.

The Interview:

So you hiked Mt St Helens, how did you get involved in hiking it?

I went to a barbeque with Kurt at his friend Kristy’s house. She and her boyfriend Cliff were getting a group together to hike Mt St Helens and they asked me to go.

Did you know much about the volcano that is Mt St Helens or the hike itself?

I knew nothing of the hike, just that it was a volcano that exploded.

How much in advance was the barbeque from the hike?

A little over a month

On a scale of 1 to 10 how much of a hiker would u consider yourself?

3.

Tell me how your day starts the day of the hike?

I woke up at 4:20 am, but I didn’t eat anything.

What? Why?

I don’t know I think bc I had a ton of bars and snacks in my back pack.

How many of you were going?

There were 12 of us going.

So you get to Mt St Helens?

Yeah, and it takes about 45 minutes to get the permits, and then another 20 minutes to the parking lot to begin the hike.

So how was check in?

We got there at 7 30 am and bc there was a glitch in the computer system, they sold 450 permits and they normally sell 100 per day. So by the time we arrived, 300 people already checked in

How was the weather?

Crappy, rainy, no sun, overcast. About 60 degrees maybe

What is the elevation of St Helens?

8400 ft, and as Cliff explains it, the temp drops 3 degrees every 1000 ft in elevation.

So take me to the beginning of your hike?

We drive to the lot at 3700 ft and that’s where you start your hike. We were all pumped and ready to go. We were hoping it would be sunny by the time we reached the summit. We begin the hike and the first 2 miles are through a forest area. There’s some incline but it’s super easy.

Ok then what?

Well as we’re hiking through the forest, people are coming back down towards the lot.
And everyone that passes you, you ask them how it was, and they are all saying that the conditions are miserable. They are all bailing. Once you step out of the tree line, you have no shelter from the weather. So most of the people are turning back at the end of the tree line because the weather is that bad.

How far in is that?

2 miles in.

Out of how many miles?

5 miles up, 5 down

So people are just giving up it’s so bad?

It’s so bad that no one wanted to go. The thing with St Helens is the view, so why the agony with no views.

So what did the 12 of you do?

We’re kinda spread out throughout the forest, and its Tara and I in the lead. So right out of the forest, Tara and I wait for everyone. A couple other people are with us, and then Cliff comes. He says most of the others (out of the 12) have turned back; they do not want to continue. Now we have 5 out of 12 left. And some of the people are out here from Wisconsin.

So they just bailed even though they came all the way from the Midwest for this?

Actually, the wife bailed, the guy was one of the 5 still left. The weather was just brutal.

So now there are 5 out of the 12 left, then what?

It’s me, Tara, Cliff, Chris and Joe. So we leave the trees and we come to this huge incline field of boulders, like huge boulders, bigger than 3 people put together. There are different ways you can hike up; there’s a field of boulders in the middle of 2 exit glaciers, or you can go up the 2 narrow exit glaciers. Some are hiking up the glaciers with their poles.

So it’s either go up through boulders or through the glaciers?

Yes. We went boulders. So Chris heads for the glaciers bc he has poles. Tara and I are following Cliff. And he is going fast as hell, his fastest pace doing St Helens. He is the only one of the 5 who has done it before, it’s his 5th time.

So you guys hike the boulders, how long does that take, and how hard is it?

It’s about 2 miles, and the steep incline starts. The boulders are a steep 2 miles. Not that hard but it took about 2 hours to hike 2 miles. It was very strategic, hoisting myself up and not falling in between boulders. And the weather is getting worse and worse. My weather proof boots are soaked. While in the boulders, people are coming back down saying you can’t make it past the boulders, it’s too miserable and too windy. One couple even said its 20 degrees colder at the top of the boulders bc of the wind, and it is cold in the boulders. Meanwhile Cliff is hiking in shorts right now.

So as far as you know, has anyone hiked past the boulders?

No, no one has gone to the top.

How many people did you see turn around so far roughly?

Over a hundred.

Wow. So why did you guys think you could make it?

At this point we are not thinking we can or can’t, we are just hiking. We are kinda bothered by everyone saying it can’t be done. The consensus was let’s see if we can do what everyone says cannot be done.

So you get through the boulders, then what?

Right before we are done with the boulders, we stop and Cliff puts on 2 layers of hiking pants and rain pants. Tara already has on 2 layers, and puts on her wind pants.

How bout you?

I take off my shoes and wring out my socks. And I have no extra layers, and I am still in my one layer of hiking pants soaked to the bone.

What about up top?

I have a tank top, a running shirt and a thin rain coat. All 3 are completely soaked already. I have a fleece in my backpack but everything is entirely soaked in there. Tara gave me a pair of socks soon after and as soon as I put em on, they were soaked bc my shoes are soaked.

So you have no dry shelter?

No

So then what?

Now we see the last couple we can actually hear with the wind, and they said they made it up about 200 ft up the volcanic ash. From the boulders to the summit, its 1000ft and it’s a 70 degree incline, and it’s all ash.

So the couple made it up 200 ft?

Yeah and they could not take the wind and cold. We still have yet to meet anyone who has made it to the top. Oh wait, we saw one other couple after them that made it within 100 ft of the summit and turned around bc they could not do it.

How could you get that far and turn around?

That’s what we were thinking. But we have already lost Chris and Joe awhile ago. So it’s just me Tara and Cliff. By the way, Tara and Cliff are complete rock stars.

Sounds like it. How is the hike through the 1000 ft of ash?

Miserable, it was the hardest part of the whole hike.

Because of the weather or the ash?

The weather.

How bad was the weather now?

50 -55 mph winds with rain and volcanic ash pelting you all over. You had to keep turning the other way so it didn’t pelt you in the face.

How long did it take for you to hike the ash?

About an hour, and we didn’t stop. We stopped once to take cover behind a big boulder for like 2 minutes. I had asked Cliff earlier when we were hiking up the boulders what the hardest hike he had ever done was, and he wasn't sure. Now as we are all 3 huddled behind this boulder he looks at me and says "this is the hardest hike I have ever done". Made me feel alot better because I was thinking in my head that I was a wuss compared to him & Tara.

Describe your approach to the summit?

You can’t even see it, Cliff and Tara were about 20 ft ahead of me and I could not really even see them with the wind and the rain. Picture trying to climb up gravely beach sand where every step you take you slide back down.

Did you even know you were reaching the summit when you did?

We finally meet the first guy that reached the top. He said you're almost there, just 700 ft to go, which made me want to cry. So we continue on, and now we meet a few others who have reached the top and they say about 300 ft to go. I am now bending over to avoid getting blown off the mountain. I could not even open the hiking poles Dave and Jenn gave me.

So are you the only lunatic out there with no poles?

No, Cliff and Tara didn’t have them either.

That’s good. Describe the summit?

I finally see them stop just ahead of me but it looks like more mountain to go so I am trying just to catch up to them so I can have a break. I get there and I see it’s the top. I asked them if this is it? I thought we had more to go so I did not want to think it was the top and be wrong. But yes, we reached the summit!

How was the summit, the views must have been awesome with that weather?

You could see about 50 ft into the crater, but nothing around you. We could not even see 10 ft down from where we came from.

How long did you stay?

About 5 minutes, about all we could bear. A quick video and some satisfaction for getting there. We were the 5th 6th and 7th people that day to reach the top.

Was the hike down much easier?

Going down the ash was easier bc you could slide and sprint down the ash. Every step you took you slid 5 ft. With the boulders you were now hidden from the wind a little. But the boulders going down was the 2nd hardest part for me bc it was never ending, and going down boulder to boulder was so time consuming bc you have to guess on what boulder to go to next.

How long did it take you to get up and down?

4 hrs up and 2 ½ hrs down.

How great did it feel to reach the summit?

I didn't know I reached the summit. I saw Tara and Clidd standing there but I did not want to get too excited and realize we were not there.

What did you say when I first saw you about what you would rather do than hike that again in those conditions?

Oh I said I would get up and run a full marathon the next day hands down before doing that again.

I am proud of you babe, you should be too.

Thanks



*Here is a video taken by Tara at the summit of St Helens. The person walking in on the video that looks like a killer in a scary movie is Bonnie. Check out that weather, makes you really want to go, hiking eh?

www.youtube.com/user/mrsrealson