I got sucked into the facebook deal with invitations. Whoopee! I don't get it. I don't know what to do with fb. I don't care that you're going to Starbucks or that you are working late. Maybe you're someone I knew in junior high school or high school. Maybe that's cool to touch base and say howdy. But if we didn't hang out as friends back then, what's the attraction now?
And fb has wiped out blogging that occurred before fb was prevalent. There were some kick ass blogs that I used to keep up with....now, those bloggers have just kinda disappeared. And this blog has also been neglected.
But it's not all bad. I have met some cool people in the local running community! But I just don't know what to do with fb.
And twitter. What the hell is that? So now I'm supposed to get a little phone with a full freaking keyboard and write real-time about my Starbucks frappa-latte WHILE I'm driving down the road. Oh good grief. Not just no! I'll never twitter, tweet, or text...just forget it!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
How in the world have 2 months slipped by....
I hope my faithful blog reader(s) have been wondering where I've been. Sorry! A lot has happened in the past couple of months! Here's a sampling of what will soon be discussed here:
Teaming arrangements that don't happen
BMW Trunk Latch Handle Project
The Rippingtons concert
Dirt Biking in the Sam Houston National Forest
"Fix It BEFORE It Breaks" Project
Very short hair
Broken tooth
Plantar Fasciitis
Featured runner in "Deer Tracks"
Yard cleaned up then big tree fell down
Borrowed a kayak
The Honda lawnmower that just keeps running
YMCA Trail Run in Conroe
Facebook
Twitter
Riding at Rio Bravo
Teaming arrangements that don't happen
BMW Trunk Latch Handle Project
The Rippingtons concert
Dirt Biking in the Sam Houston National Forest
"Fix It BEFORE It Breaks" Project
Very short hair
Broken tooth
Plantar Fasciitis
Featured runner in "Deer Tracks"
Yard cleaned up then big tree fell down
Borrowed a kayak
The Honda lawnmower that just keeps running
YMCA Trail Run in Conroe
Riding at Rio Bravo
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
C'mon Summertime!
I suffered a traumatic experience last week! My neighbor took his family on spring break vacation and asked me to feed his chickens. No sweat, I've done it on previous occasions. It seems the chicken population has grown since the last time I fed 'em.
On Tuesday, I leisurely walked across the street. Relaxed and enjoying the day, I fed the chickens. Then all of a sudden, a large rooster starts coming after me. WTF?! That son of a bitch attacked me! Clawed the hell out of my legs and pecked deep gouges with its beak. So I kicked the hell out of this thing to cease the attack! He came back at me 3 more times. Geez! I had no idea that I was going into battle when I went to feed 'em and that I would come back bleeding. I opened up the gouges and repeatedly poured rubbing alcohol into the wounds. I followed it up with plenty of neosporin. I really didn't want infections from this filthy bird. My legs oozed watery bloody stuff for the rest of the day. OF ALL the injuries I can sustain, it's a freaking rooster that takes me down??
The next day, I wore thick coveralls, leather gloves, and carried a broom handle. All went well, almost. As I'm walking away, I kept looking back. I was over 50 feet away and I turned around to see this guy hauling ass after me. This was after I fed the f**king INGRATE!! He caught a broom handle. He came back for more, 3 more times. I ended up breaking the broom handle on his ass! He HAD to be sore after the broom handle escapades.
After my neighbor returned home he said, "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about the violent rooster, he's a real backstabber". No sh*t, you don't say! I'm gonna fire up the grill.
Because I've had a little Plantar Fasciitis deal, I decided to ride my bike, instead of run this past weekend. Other than Mountain Biking and Triathlons, I haven't ridden in any organized bike rides/races in probably 12 years. Once I caught the running bug, I wasn't interested. I decided to ride in the Tour de Houston. They offered distances of 20, 40, and 70 miles. I picked the 40 miler, that seemed perfect for having not been on the bike.
The cycling society is DIFFERENT than the running crowd! The athletes' physiques are surely different. There is a bunch of cycling etiquette, apparently. You only pass on the left, and must announce that you're passing on the left. One lady started bitching me out because I didn't announce it. Maybe if her slow ass was on the right side of the lane (where it belongs), there would be no problem. The second part of the "rule" is that if you're a slower rider, move to the right side of the lane! DUH! And there were 3 big crashes, where the crashed riders couldn't negotiate diagonal grooves in the pavement! Pay attention, y'all!
I WAS paying attention to the route signs, YET still ended up on the 70-mile course! I think the race organizers forgot to post ONE critical sign because I wasn't the only one wondering how we ended up on the 70 mile route. I din't want to ride 70 miles because I had lots of stuff to do on Sunday. So I broke off from the ride and "did my own thing" to get back to Downtown. I prolly ended up with 34-35 miles. A mountain bike would be much better suited for assaulting the urban terrain! Subsidence on the sidewalks in Houston? This was about 1 foot tall, the road bike had to go around it! Here:
On my interesting and now-solo journey to return to Downtown, I saw all sorts of cool stuff. I always envisioned "Reliant Stadium" being more impressive than what I saw:
Neat structure Downtown:
And finally, a DELICIOUS Rudy's breakfast taco with egg, cheese, brisket and salsa:
On Tuesday, I leisurely walked across the street. Relaxed and enjoying the day, I fed the chickens. Then all of a sudden, a large rooster starts coming after me. WTF?! That son of a bitch attacked me! Clawed the hell out of my legs and pecked deep gouges with its beak. So I kicked the hell out of this thing to cease the attack! He came back at me 3 more times. Geez! I had no idea that I was going into battle when I went to feed 'em and that I would come back bleeding. I opened up the gouges and repeatedly poured rubbing alcohol into the wounds. I followed it up with plenty of neosporin. I really didn't want infections from this filthy bird. My legs oozed watery bloody stuff for the rest of the day. OF ALL the injuries I can sustain, it's a freaking rooster that takes me down??
The next day, I wore thick coveralls, leather gloves, and carried a broom handle. All went well, almost. As I'm walking away, I kept looking back. I was over 50 feet away and I turned around to see this guy hauling ass after me. This was after I fed the f**king INGRATE!! He caught a broom handle. He came back for more, 3 more times. I ended up breaking the broom handle on his ass! He HAD to be sore after the broom handle escapades.
After my neighbor returned home he said, "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about the violent rooster, he's a real backstabber". No sh*t, you don't say! I'm gonna fire up the grill.
Because I've had a little Plantar Fasciitis deal, I decided to ride my bike, instead of run this past weekend. Other than Mountain Biking and Triathlons, I haven't ridden in any organized bike rides/races in probably 12 years. Once I caught the running bug, I wasn't interested. I decided to ride in the Tour de Houston. They offered distances of 20, 40, and 70 miles. I picked the 40 miler, that seemed perfect for having not been on the bike.
The cycling society is DIFFERENT than the running crowd! The athletes' physiques are surely different. There is a bunch of cycling etiquette, apparently. You only pass on the left, and must announce that you're passing on the left. One lady started bitching me out because I didn't announce it. Maybe if her slow ass was on the right side of the lane (where it belongs), there would be no problem. The second part of the "rule" is that if you're a slower rider, move to the right side of the lane! DUH! And there were 3 big crashes, where the crashed riders couldn't negotiate diagonal grooves in the pavement! Pay attention, y'all!
I WAS paying attention to the route signs, YET still ended up on the 70-mile course! I think the race organizers forgot to post ONE critical sign because I wasn't the only one wondering how we ended up on the 70 mile route. I din't want to ride 70 miles because I had lots of stuff to do on Sunday. So I broke off from the ride and "did my own thing" to get back to Downtown. I prolly ended up with 34-35 miles. A mountain bike would be much better suited for assaulting the urban terrain! Subsidence on the sidewalks in Houston? This was about 1 foot tall, the road bike had to go around it! Here:
On my interesting and now-solo journey to return to Downtown, I saw all sorts of cool stuff. I always envisioned "Reliant Stadium" being more impressive than what I saw:
Neat structure Downtown:
And finally, a DELICIOUS Rudy's breakfast taco with egg, cheese, brisket and salsa:
Thursday, March 12, 2009
OK, I'm back! Been away from the blog for a month...
Sheesh, I have no idea how a month has slipped by and I've not kept my loyal reader(s) abreast of all that happens around here!
Austin Half-Marathon:(Feb 15th)
I'm disappointed with the Austin Half-Marathon and likely won't return.
[BEGIN RANT]
1) What's up with charging $97 for a half-marathon?
2) No race-day packet pickup and they wanted to charge me $7 to park the car to go inside the runner's expo to pick up my packet? You're trying to sell me a bunch of stuff at the expo and you want to charge me 7 bucks to park?? Austin, you're FULL OF YOURSELF! And your traffic sucks badly!
3) Inside the expo it took 45 minutes to pick up my packet, what's up with that?
4) They RAN OUT of tee shirts?! Ninety-seven dollars to run your crummy race and you ran out of shirts? This is 2nd grade math, y'all. Your event filled up well before race day. Each registration has a shirt size listed. Tabulate those numbers and you will know how many shirts to order. Geez.
5) The course bites. Not only is it hilly, NOT fast, but poorly laid out. Route the ENTIRE marathon runner flow through a single-lane alley after mile 3?
[END RANT]
Before the race, Sonya, Evan, Dennis, & Rick:
I went into the race with Plantar Fasciitis (foot owwie), but still managed a 1:46 time:
HEB did a great job of providing all sortsa GREAT food after the event! HEB is king:
A cool chic who took our group picture, Bianca:
Evan, Chris, unknown, & Kristen:
Rick and Evan enjoying some delicious breakfast:
Park To Park 5 Mile Race, Houston Museum of Natural Science, & Mountain Biking (Feb 21st)
Great little race in downtown Houston! It runs from Discovery Green Park to Herman Park. I ran a decent 37:00 race.
Evan, June, Stephen:
Pam (ran an INCREDIBLE 33:55!), Stephen, Geri, & Evan:
AFTER the Park-To-Park race, I was riding my bike back to downtown to return to my car, when I rode right past the Museum of Natural Science. People who know me know how I'm totally drawn to neat mechanical stuff. Go inside, nah. But WAIT, I'm right here, right now! I locked my bike and went inside to check out all of the neat Energy Exhibit stuff:
AFTER the museum, I decided to go Mountain Biking in Memorial Park. The last few times I've gone, I always ask people "where is the technical stuff" (challenging terrain). This time, a guy told me where the REAL stuff is! It's called "The Triangle"...He told me to ride down the sidewalk to the Arboretum, then RIGHT THERE at the corner of the driveway, there's an almost-hidden trail that "drops in". He told me that as soon as I dropped in, I'd see a tunnel that goes under Memorial Drive. "The Triangle" is the area bordered by 610, I-10, and Memorial Drive. A little known secret! Shh! He wasn't lying:
The Triangle IS thoroughly technical! Be careful, it's ROWDY! The picture does NOT do the terrain justice. Here:
The Houstex Machine and Tool Show, GRB convention center (Feb 25th)
Those who know me know my absolute delight in all things mechanical, especially machine tools! My great friends over at CeeSan Machine and Fabrication not only invited me to ride along with them, they had an admission ticket for me and fed me plenty of cold beers during the show! I just LOVE my friends!
Evan, Curt, Festus:
I'm always so pleased to check out cool tooling:
Hanging out with Danny O from MLC Cad:
The Prickly Pear 10 Mile Trail Race, San Antonio (March 7th)
I had the pleasure of running in the Prickly Pear 10 mile race! Great event! Those who run might be aware of the "runners high" that you experience when the endorphins are flowing (or whatever it is that makes you feel so euphoric). Trail running amplifies the runners' high by about a factor of 10! Prolly because you're so very focused on ONLY the rugged, rocky trail right in front of you! Good stuff! Patti, Dennis, Sonya, & Evan:
I'm pleased with my 1:33!
Austin Half-Marathon:(Feb 15th)
I'm disappointed with the Austin Half-Marathon and likely won't return.
[BEGIN RANT]
1) What's up with charging $97 for a half-marathon?
2) No race-day packet pickup and they wanted to charge me $7 to park the car to go inside the runner's expo to pick up my packet? You're trying to sell me a bunch of stuff at the expo and you want to charge me 7 bucks to park?? Austin, you're FULL OF YOURSELF! And your traffic sucks badly!
3) Inside the expo it took 45 minutes to pick up my packet, what's up with that?
4) They RAN OUT of tee shirts?! Ninety-seven dollars to run your crummy race and you ran out of shirts? This is 2nd grade math, y'all. Your event filled up well before race day. Each registration has a shirt size listed. Tabulate those numbers and you will know how many shirts to order. Geez.
5) The course bites. Not only is it hilly, NOT fast, but poorly laid out. Route the ENTIRE marathon runner flow through a single-lane alley after mile 3?
[END RANT]
Before the race, Sonya, Evan, Dennis, & Rick:
I went into the race with Plantar Fasciitis (foot owwie), but still managed a 1:46 time:
HEB did a great job of providing all sortsa GREAT food after the event! HEB is king:
A cool chic who took our group picture, Bianca:
Evan, Chris, unknown, & Kristen:
Rick and Evan enjoying some delicious breakfast:
Park To Park 5 Mile Race, Houston Museum of Natural Science, & Mountain Biking (Feb 21st)
Great little race in downtown Houston! It runs from Discovery Green Park to Herman Park. I ran a decent 37:00 race.
Evan, June, Stephen:
Pam (ran an INCREDIBLE 33:55!), Stephen, Geri, & Evan:
AFTER the Park-To-Park race, I was riding my bike back to downtown to return to my car, when I rode right past the Museum of Natural Science. People who know me know how I'm totally drawn to neat mechanical stuff. Go inside, nah. But WAIT, I'm right here, right now! I locked my bike and went inside to check out all of the neat Energy Exhibit stuff:
AFTER the museum, I decided to go Mountain Biking in Memorial Park. The last few times I've gone, I always ask people "where is the technical stuff" (challenging terrain). This time, a guy told me where the REAL stuff is! It's called "The Triangle"...He told me to ride down the sidewalk to the Arboretum, then RIGHT THERE at the corner of the driveway, there's an almost-hidden trail that "drops in". He told me that as soon as I dropped in, I'd see a tunnel that goes under Memorial Drive. "The Triangle" is the area bordered by 610, I-10, and Memorial Drive. A little known secret! Shh! He wasn't lying:
The Triangle IS thoroughly technical! Be careful, it's ROWDY! The picture does NOT do the terrain justice. Here:
The Houstex Machine and Tool Show, GRB convention center (Feb 25th)
Those who know me know my absolute delight in all things mechanical, especially machine tools! My great friends over at CeeSan Machine and Fabrication not only invited me to ride along with them, they had an admission ticket for me and fed me plenty of cold beers during the show! I just LOVE my friends!
Evan, Curt, Festus:
I'm always so pleased to check out cool tooling:
Hanging out with Danny O from MLC Cad:
The Prickly Pear 10 Mile Trail Race, San Antonio (March 7th)
I had the pleasure of running in the Prickly Pear 10 mile race! Great event! Those who run might be aware of the "runners high" that you experience when the endorphins are flowing (or whatever it is that makes you feel so euphoric). Trail running amplifies the runners' high by about a factor of 10! Prolly because you're so very focused on ONLY the rugged, rocky trail right in front of you! Good stuff! Patti, Dennis, Sonya, & Evan:
I'm pleased with my 1:33!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Weekend in Review! Weekdays are needed to give pause/recovery from Weekends!
I've been working diligently for the past few years to eliminate my monetary debts. Going into the weekend, I was finally DEBT FREE! No mortgage loan. No car loans. No credit card debts. No big machinery loans. Feels GOOD! My mantra has been, "I'm gonna take back my weekends!" Done deal.
So how did I score on taking back my weekends? Let's see: Saturday morning, I drove down to the Buffalo Wallow 6k Race down at Waugh and Memorial Drive. It was a great cross-country event. Further evidence that my anonymity (after relocating back here) is gone, I saw folks I knew at the event. Of course there was Coach Bill, Adrienne, and Gaslight. I hung out and chatted with Gaslight after I was done running. Neat lady, hardcore about her Houston running scene! There were runners EVERYWHERE! Not just my race, but everywhere for miles and miles. Houston's running contingent is stout! Photo credit, Bill D:
Earlier in the week, my good friend, Jeff, suggested that we go mountain biking on the Ho Chi Minh Trails that are within Memorial Park. Well, he opted out so I went anyway! It had probably been 12 years since I'd cycled there. I asked a rider if there were any "technical trails" (challenging). He said, "very technical" and pointed me in the right direction. Having done most of my mountain biking in Government Canyon (Helotes), Crown Ridge (San Antonio), and Hill Country Natural Area (in Bandera), I'm telling you that Ho Chi Minh is not VERY technical. Technical, yes. VERY, no! In all, a really cool place to ride! I had a blast, can't wait to go back!!
A typical picture of what the technical areas look like:
Really COOL sort of chute:
From there, it was off to just "go see people". This is RARE for me! I was in no particular hurry! I went and visited my good friends, L & J, who have put their home up for sale. I'm pretty tough on them. They still have stuff all over the place and I tell them they're NOT moving anytime soon. That's what the prospective buyers will think. My Realtor told me the same thing. I'll be damned if I didn't clear the whole house out after she barked at me! So it's my job to pass it on.
It IS important to be wary of under-arm perspiration whilst riding one's Harley on the 610 loop. This guy figured out the solution:
Next up was a visit to my buddies over at Cee San. Apparently, they TOO have taken back their weekends! Place was a ghost town:
I then went to my MOM's for lunch and fixed their treadmill. Great visit. Later in the day as I was prepping some dirt bikes, my buddy Matt came by. Damn, I've known this guy for 38 years! Hadn't seen him in prolly 25 years. I was gonna say he's a bit freakish, but then noticed the pic of my lovely tie-dye shirt. Oh well:
Then came Sunday! Had a great time at the track! It had been watered a bit much for my liking, but had a super time and passed a couple of riders. Yeah BABY:
I was going to go to my first "Hashing Run", but I got scared and the afternoon was overcast and windy. Next time! These hashers (Click on the link) are just nuts! Go to the "Hashing 101" section. That would indeed make me a 'virgin'!
So how did I score on taking back my weekends? Let's see: Saturday morning, I drove down to the Buffalo Wallow 6k Race down at Waugh and Memorial Drive. It was a great cross-country event. Further evidence that my anonymity (after relocating back here) is gone, I saw folks I knew at the event. Of course there was Coach Bill, Adrienne, and Gaslight. I hung out and chatted with Gaslight after I was done running. Neat lady, hardcore about her Houston running scene! There were runners EVERYWHERE! Not just my race, but everywhere for miles and miles. Houston's running contingent is stout! Photo credit, Bill D:
Earlier in the week, my good friend, Jeff, suggested that we go mountain biking on the Ho Chi Minh Trails that are within Memorial Park. Well, he opted out so I went anyway! It had probably been 12 years since I'd cycled there. I asked a rider if there were any "technical trails" (challenging). He said, "very technical" and pointed me in the right direction. Having done most of my mountain biking in Government Canyon (Helotes), Crown Ridge (San Antonio), and Hill Country Natural Area (in Bandera), I'm telling you that Ho Chi Minh is not VERY technical. Technical, yes. VERY, no! In all, a really cool place to ride! I had a blast, can't wait to go back!!
A typical picture of what the technical areas look like:
Really COOL sort of chute:
From there, it was off to just "go see people". This is RARE for me! I was in no particular hurry! I went and visited my good friends, L & J, who have put their home up for sale. I'm pretty tough on them. They still have stuff all over the place and I tell them they're NOT moving anytime soon. That's what the prospective buyers will think. My Realtor told me the same thing. I'll be damned if I didn't clear the whole house out after she barked at me! So it's my job to pass it on.
It IS important to be wary of under-arm perspiration whilst riding one's Harley on the 610 loop. This guy figured out the solution:
Next up was a visit to my buddies over at Cee San. Apparently, they TOO have taken back their weekends! Place was a ghost town:
I then went to my MOM's for lunch and fixed their treadmill. Great visit. Later in the day as I was prepping some dirt bikes, my buddy Matt came by. Damn, I've known this guy for 38 years! Hadn't seen him in prolly 25 years. I was gonna say he's a bit freakish, but then noticed the pic of my lovely tie-dye shirt. Oh well:
Then came Sunday! Had a great time at the track! It had been watered a bit much for my liking, but had a super time and passed a couple of riders. Yeah BABY:
I was going to go to my first "Hashing Run", but I got scared and the afternoon was overcast and windy. Next time! These hashers (Click on the link) are just nuts! Go to the "Hashing 101" section. That would indeed make me a 'virgin'!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Great weekend, I'm loving it!...
Good times were had by many this past weekend! I was REALLY looking forward to going dirt biking! Didn't happen, BOO! I worked a bunch on Saturday, but I'm not complaining...my client needs her products and it's interesting and challenging stuff!
I traveled to the Bill Crews Remission Run on Saturday. It was the first year for this fantastic event. I didn't see too many spoilers in my age group, other than the ultra fast Jacob Mazone. I figured maybe I could earn some bling, take home a prize. It was a tough course and my fortitude wasn't strong late in the game.
I thought about leaving before the awards presentation, but resisted. The time I came in 1st place in Masters' division, I wasn't there for the award. It's anti-climactic for the organizers to give out awards to people who aren't even there! So I stayed. I scored 3rd Place in the 40-50 division! I won a heart-warming book, written by Dana-Susan Crews that told of Bill's winning battle over cancer! Thanks! I'm so glad I stayed!
Sunday, I went running with The Woodlands Running Club and had a great 7.5 mile run and met a couple of folks while running. Good times!
I went home, worked a bunch more, then showered and went to Brenham to deliver a new computer to my mentor, Glenn. Super cool guy that I met in 1986. He's an engineer's engineer, truly a bad-ass when it comes to R&D of internal-combustion engines, among many other things! Over the years, Glenn has kept me pointed in (mostly) the right direction. But he hasn't been too generous with the 'atta-boy's'. I'll show him some neat stuff and he compliments my effort, but will often provide a little additional suggestion. JUST ENOUGH to have me striving for higher career performance and seeking his approval! Good stuff!
Anyway, his computer was probably 20 years old. I got him "tuned up" with a modern Dell from eBay for $150. Since my work was done for the day and I've been on a quest to "take back my weekends", I was actually not too hurried when I visited. That's rare! After several hours I was suddenly in a hurry!
I had MORE socializing to do, Superbowl Party! Quite the sociable guy yesterday. At the party, I hung out for almost 4 hours, not particularly in a hurry. Rare.
Fun party:
My friend Curt built this really cool table:
Party animal! Man about town:
I traveled to the Bill Crews Remission Run on Saturday. It was the first year for this fantastic event. I didn't see too many spoilers in my age group, other than the ultra fast Jacob Mazone. I figured maybe I could earn some bling, take home a prize. It was a tough course and my fortitude wasn't strong late in the game.
I thought about leaving before the awards presentation, but resisted. The time I came in 1st place in Masters' division, I wasn't there for the award. It's anti-climactic for the organizers to give out awards to people who aren't even there! So I stayed. I scored 3rd Place in the 40-50 division! I won a heart-warming book, written by Dana-Susan Crews that told of Bill's winning battle over cancer! Thanks! I'm so glad I stayed!
Sunday, I went running with The Woodlands Running Club and had a great 7.5 mile run and met a couple of folks while running. Good times!
I went home, worked a bunch more, then showered and went to Brenham to deliver a new computer to my mentor, Glenn. Super cool guy that I met in 1986. He's an engineer's engineer, truly a bad-ass when it comes to R&D of internal-combustion engines, among many other things! Over the years, Glenn has kept me pointed in (mostly) the right direction. But he hasn't been too generous with the 'atta-boy's'. I'll show him some neat stuff and he compliments my effort, but will often provide a little additional suggestion. JUST ENOUGH to have me striving for higher career performance and seeking his approval! Good stuff!
Anyway, his computer was probably 20 years old. I got him "tuned up" with a modern Dell from eBay for $150. Since my work was done for the day and I've been on a quest to "take back my weekends", I was actually not too hurried when I visited. That's rare! After several hours I was suddenly in a hurry!
I had MORE socializing to do, Superbowl Party! Quite the sociable guy yesterday. At the party, I hung out for almost 4 hours, not particularly in a hurry. Rare.
Fun party:
My friend Curt built this really cool table:
Party animal! Man about town:
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Evan is thoroughly ENERGIZED by running a fast race...Issues challenge to Heidi...
Heidi's a tough chic! She's been running a lot faster than me leading up to last Sunday. She came down with food poisoning that lasted until way too close to the race...so I beat her by less than a minute. Not that it was intended to be a competition, that's just the way it happened. Two things have changed since then.
She's talking ABSOLUTE SMACK about kicking my ass in the half-marathon distance, AND I've gained HUGE confidence and will NOW TRAIN to ensure ABSOLUTE PREVALENCE!!
Let's train together for a couple of 1:35's....We'll hafta run some big hills, repeatedly! ARGH!!
Hey Heidi, I just signed up for the Austin Half-Marathon, February 15th....The race is 96% full. If you wanna kick my ass in this race, you best get signed up! This is a performance challenge! You don't have what it takes!! Whatcha Gonna Do?? You sure talk a good game. :):):)
Gonna THUNDER IN AUSTIN!!
BRING IT!
PACK A LUNCH!
She's talking ABSOLUTE SMACK about kicking my ass in the half-marathon distance, AND I've gained HUGE confidence and will NOW TRAIN to ensure ABSOLUTE PREVALENCE!!
Let's train together for a couple of 1:35's....We'll hafta run some big hills, repeatedly! ARGH!!
Hey Heidi, I just signed up for the Austin Half-Marathon, February 15th....The race is 96% full. If you wanna kick my ass in this race, you best get signed up! This is a performance challenge! You don't have what it takes!! Whatcha Gonna Do?? You sure talk a good game. :):):)
Gonna THUNDER IN AUSTIN!!
BRING IT!
PACK A LUNCH!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Houston Marathon Report/My Half-Marathon Run...
First, there's Sabrina. She's my running bud who has turned into QUITE the celebrity! I'm surprised she even hangs out with me anymore. It seems she wrote a really great story about how she found running after the death of her mother and how she's since elevated her performance. Yesterday, she ran a GREAT marathon with a finishing time of 3:52. Her celebrity is enormous! In this pic, she's shown in a television interview:
If you've kept up with my ramblings here, you know that blistered toes have been the #1 show-stopper for me in the past couple of half-marathons. Because my training bites, and my mileage base is quite low, my toes don't have the requisite callouses. Per Roger Soler's advice, I was going to tape them up. At the running expo, I saw Mick at the Luke's Locker Exhibit. He showed me these great socks and LaErica sold 'em to me! What a GREAT IDEA/INVENTION...I wish I'd thought of it first! In the first couple of miles they were awkward and irritating. I thought they might be a show-stopper. Then my socks and I really got into the groove!! I love my new socks, ZERO blisters!:
Here, moments before the race, I got a pic with Stephen Smith:
I carried my camera and cell phone. I called my MOM at mile 7 and it just about derailed my run. Turning the fanny pack around and unzipping it to get the phone took more energy than I'd have liked...talked to MOM after crossing over Allen Parkway. I was pretty brief with MOM, sorry.
The Houston Marathon is a GREAT VENUE!! And inside the GRB Convention Center, HEB spared no expense or effort. Fantastic spread! Bananas, bagels, cookies, muffins, coffee, hot scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, hot sauce, the works! Here, having some breakfast with some of my running buds:
After stretching and packing it up to go, I went outside and there was a festival-like PARTY going on! Sausage-on-a-stick, free beer, lots of fun stuff everywhere:
I've always thought I'm so clever to take a mountain bike to marathons. Parking stress is nonexistent, stress-free. Park a mile or two away and just roll into and out of the race. Finding a place to pee is easy. Chain the bike near the start/finish line. Great idea, right? Well yesterday, for the 1st time, I goofed! I LOST MY FREAKING BIKE!! I was sure that it hadn't been stolen, as there are people everywhere. I'll be damned if I didn't walk around for OVER an hour, looking for my bike! Geez. The scenery of the race venue changes A LOT from the time you take off until the time you finish! Where there were massive scaffolds covered with huge banners for the 2 starting lines, there were none! And it appears they built up a huge finish line while we were running. Quite the feat. So it confused me. I ended up walking all the way back to the car, a long way away, AFTER walking for over an hour looking for the bike. Recall that the very premise of the bike trick is to REDUCE walking. I drove the approximate route that I rode to the starting line. Well, THERE'S my bike!! I'll try to pay attention next year!
There were some GREAT performances out there yesterday! GREAT RACE!
Sheesh, the whole bunch enjoyed PR's (personal record), except me!Adrienne just ran a STELLAR 3:05 PR! My friends Sabrina and Carolyn both ran fantastic 3:52 PR's! My friend Pam ran a fantastic 3:28! Very stout! Cassie and her husband Manny, ran super impressive 2:05's, despite being uninspired by the race beforehand! She bested her previous record by 5 minutes! Way to go, girl! Lots of great running out there, thanks folks! I had planned on running a 1:40 half-marathon, although I don't deserve such a number at the present time. I ended up with a 1:39! I THUNDERED in Houston! I'll take it!
If you've kept up with my ramblings here, you know that blistered toes have been the #1 show-stopper for me in the past couple of half-marathons. Because my training bites, and my mileage base is quite low, my toes don't have the requisite callouses. Per Roger Soler's advice, I was going to tape them up. At the running expo, I saw Mick at the Luke's Locker Exhibit. He showed me these great socks and LaErica sold 'em to me! What a GREAT IDEA/INVENTION...I wish I'd thought of it first! In the first couple of miles they were awkward and irritating. I thought they might be a show-stopper. Then my socks and I really got into the groove!! I love my new socks, ZERO blisters!:
Here, moments before the race, I got a pic with Stephen Smith:
I carried my camera and cell phone. I called my MOM at mile 7 and it just about derailed my run. Turning the fanny pack around and unzipping it to get the phone took more energy than I'd have liked...talked to MOM after crossing over Allen Parkway. I was pretty brief with MOM, sorry.
The Houston Marathon is a GREAT VENUE!! And inside the GRB Convention Center, HEB spared no expense or effort. Fantastic spread! Bananas, bagels, cookies, muffins, coffee, hot scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, hot sauce, the works! Here, having some breakfast with some of my running buds:
After stretching and packing it up to go, I went outside and there was a festival-like PARTY going on! Sausage-on-a-stick, free beer, lots of fun stuff everywhere:
I've always thought I'm so clever to take a mountain bike to marathons. Parking stress is nonexistent, stress-free. Park a mile or two away and just roll into and out of the race. Finding a place to pee is easy. Chain the bike near the start/finish line. Great idea, right? Well yesterday, for the 1st time, I goofed! I LOST MY FREAKING BIKE!! I was sure that it hadn't been stolen, as there are people everywhere. I'll be damned if I didn't walk around for OVER an hour, looking for my bike! Geez. The scenery of the race venue changes A LOT from the time you take off until the time you finish! Where there were massive scaffolds covered with huge banners for the 2 starting lines, there were none! And it appears they built up a huge finish line while we were running. Quite the feat. So it confused me. I ended up walking all the way back to the car, a long way away, AFTER walking for over an hour looking for the bike. Recall that the very premise of the bike trick is to REDUCE walking. I drove the approximate route that I rode to the starting line. Well, THERE'S my bike!! I'll try to pay attention next year!
There were some GREAT performances out there yesterday! GREAT RACE!
Sheesh, the whole bunch enjoyed PR's (personal record), except me!Adrienne just ran a STELLAR 3:05 PR! My friends Sabrina and Carolyn both ran fantastic 3:52 PR's! My friend Pam ran a fantastic 3:28! Very stout! Cassie and her husband Manny, ran super impressive 2:05's, despite being uninspired by the race beforehand! She bested her previous record by 5 minutes! Way to go, girl! Lots of great running out there, thanks folks! I had planned on running a 1:40 half-marathon, although I don't deserve such a number at the present time. I ended up with a 1:39! I THUNDERED in Houston! I'll take it!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It was only a week ago....
If you read that topic right down there, 2 topics down, I wrote about wanting to blow off Wednesday Night Track run. I emailed my running buddy with whom I have a "standing appointment" for this Wednesday Night thing. My email, "you going tonight?"....Her reply, "of course!" So I blushed and thought I need to not even ask, just SHOW UP!
So surely I wouldn't send a message like that today, as the answer, "of course" would further make me look like a wimp.
I showed up. I showed up 45 minutes early to make this my "long run" before my Half-Marathon on Sunday. My last-ditch training. Schucks, I've still got .43 weeks left to train (laughing)! Had a GREAT TIME, lotsa great folks showed up! We all ran a pretty relaxed paced and chit-chatted the whole time.
But apparently SOMEBODY elected to NOT SHOW UP!! (Where's my "shaking head" emoticon? And while I'm digging up emoticons, might as well splash in a few "rolling eyes" emoticons, too). Hey, it's all good!
And in other news, I found this to be quite funny! Dealing with bill collectors:
So surely I wouldn't send a message like that today, as the answer, "of course" would further make me look like a wimp.
I showed up. I showed up 45 minutes early to make this my "long run" before my Half-Marathon on Sunday. My last-ditch training. Schucks, I've still got .43 weeks left to train (laughing)! Had a GREAT TIME, lotsa great folks showed up! We all ran a pretty relaxed paced and chit-chatted the whole time.
But apparently SOMEBODY elected to NOT SHOW UP!! (Where's my "shaking head" emoticon? And while I'm digging up emoticons, might as well splash in a few "rolling eyes" emoticons, too). Hey, it's all good!
And in other news, I found this to be quite funny! Dealing with bill collectors:
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Excellent Running!
I ran with Susie's group in the forest this morning and took my dogs. All went well, great run!
It's easy for the dogs to hack off other runners by getting in front of them, then stopping. It didn't happen this morning, thankfully. I'm working on this. They really should run by my side, without exception. They're as energetic as can be imagined, so I get their side of the story. I'm working on this, it's a tough one...
I ran prolly 5 miles with a few of the trail runners, then we (me and 2 dogs) hooked it over to the RTW 5k race. We got there with only a moment to spare. My younger brother gave me a couple of dog crates for Christmas (2 of their 3 dogs died recently :(:(:(...) Mackie, the big American Bulldog just LOVES the crate! I set it up yesterday and put her blanket in there. She immediately claimed it and hangs out in there a LOT!
So if you recall that I've had running-with-dogs issues since the disappearance of the old Border Collie, I now have the solution. I ran both dogs in the forest, and kept the big dog in the crate, in the back of my truck while Tessie (Border Collie) ran the 5k race with me. It worked well.
Lotsa running this morning, 8 miles.
BTW, bad news! The lady at the Exxon station, where most of the trail running group parks, told me they were gonna start towing our cars! Geez. Like we're hurting anyone. Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just say'in...
It's easy for the dogs to hack off other runners by getting in front of them, then stopping. It didn't happen this morning, thankfully. I'm working on this. They really should run by my side, without exception. They're as energetic as can be imagined, so I get their side of the story. I'm working on this, it's a tough one...
I ran prolly 5 miles with a few of the trail runners, then we (me and 2 dogs) hooked it over to the RTW 5k race. We got there with only a moment to spare. My younger brother gave me a couple of dog crates for Christmas (2 of their 3 dogs died recently :(:(:(...) Mackie, the big American Bulldog just LOVES the crate! I set it up yesterday and put her blanket in there. She immediately claimed it and hangs out in there a LOT!
So if you recall that I've had running-with-dogs issues since the disappearance of the old Border Collie, I now have the solution. I ran both dogs in the forest, and kept the big dog in the crate, in the back of my truck while Tessie (Border Collie) ran the 5k race with me. It worked well.
Lotsa running this morning, 8 miles.
BTW, bad news! The lady at the Exxon station, where most of the trail running group parks, told me they were gonna start towing our cars! Geez. Like we're hurting anyone. Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just say'in...
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