Got all gussied up with the girls to attend this 1950s-themed fundraiser at the Phoenix Art Museum. The speaker discussed her new book about Sylvia Plath, but I was really there for the cocktails and catered food from Postino. Goodie bags included fancy earrings from some designer I know nothing about (Kendra Scott, I think?) and Dior makeup. Not too shabby for Kristen.
TNT Marathon Coaching
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| Rocking our fancy pants. |
After 5 months of 3:30am wakeup calls and endless miles run alongside my amazing Team, all my participants tackled their respective races - and finished! And no one got hurt. Or died. A very successful season. And I made friends with some simply WONDERFUL people. My favorites (shh, don't tell the others): L&R, a fantastic couple who are my parents' age. Long conversations with them as we ran along the greenbelt were the highlight of my Saturday mornings. And B, an adorable old man who decided at the age of 76 that if he wanted to run a marathon he "better get on that." It was such a joy to see him tackle the new mileage milestones with his perpetually sunny attitude. Loved the whole Team, though. Not a rotten one in the bunch.
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| I don't know these people. |
Have you heard of those pedal bar things? Well Cassie booked one for her birthday and it was a blast! Seriously, so much fun. And quite a workout, what with having to move a massive vehicle with nothing but your leg power at 7000ft of elevation. Even so, I highly recommend. And the chilly fall weather in Flagstaff didn't hurt a bit. Boots and scarves for everyone!
Soma Half Ironman Relay
Team Powered by Phở took on the Soma triathlon this year. LTB tackled the 1.2-mile swim, KB destoryed the 56-mile bike, and I slogged my way through 13.1 blazing-hot miles. Ugh, it was a miserable run. But I PR'd by 1.5 minutes, so I guess there's that. Still a fun day with friends.
Pepin Restaurante Español
Went here for a belated birthday dinner with Cassie, who had purchased a pretty great deal through one of those coupon email thingies. SO much fun! It's an authentic Spanish restaurant, so their menu includes Tapas and Paella, as well as delightfully strong sangria, all of which were part of our deal. And, bonus: on Friday nights, they have live flamenco music and dancing. It was spectacular! Our free pitcher of sangria put us on the verge of being unable to safely drive home, so we walked a couple miles to get an enormous, delicious, half-baked cookie, then walked back. O, the sacrifices we make in the name of safety.
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| Possibly dying. |
An actual, standalone half marathon that I ran with Cassie two weeks after Soma. Finally! A race that reflects all the hours and hours of (admittedly slow) training I put in with the Team over the summer! It was a beautiful day, a really nice course, and a heck of a PR: I finished in 2:13:23, a solid 15 minutes faster than Soma, and 17 minutes faster than my previous PR. Zoom ZOOM zoom!
National MS Society Leadership Conference
In early October, I received a call from the president of the AZ chapter of the National MS Society. He was offering to send me (and a guest) to their annual leadership conference, which was in Denver this year from November 7-9. I of course said yes, and both my parents were able to join me. It was exactly what I was hoping for: three days of information, networking, and workshops all centered around research related to, fundraising for, and life with MS. I'll admit that parts of it were very, very hard for me--seeing so many people dealing with mobility issues was a real kick in the gut--but the sheer number of NMSS-funded researchers working on ways to treat and hopefully one day stop progression and cure the disease was a comfort. My own neurologist was actually there presenting her research, which was unexpected and fun. I attended a Team Captain workshop with other top fundraisers (go Team K-Lar!), and had a great conversation with a guy from the East coast who was in my exact same boat 7 years ago: recently diagnosed, trying to DO something, feeling conflicted about starting a team about/for/in honor of himself. It was great to know that I wasn't alone.
Ironman Arizona
A bunch of my friends tackled IMAZ this year, so I spent all of last Sunday (and I do mean ALL - got there at 6am, dropped Mike off at his house at 11:30pm) cheering on athletes. It was SUCH a fun day, and everyone finished their race - woo hoo!
Lluvia Flamenca
Went on a lady date with Liz to see some seriously amazing flamenco and Spanish guitar at Crescent Ballroom, a great lounge right in the heart of the city. Two flamenco events in a month is two more flamenco events than I've ever been to in my life. All the acts were great, but the last half of the show was really something special. They featured this group called Juncal Street, who combine Jazz, Rock, Funk, and Blues with traditional Flamenco. They were A-mazing, and we had second row seats.
¡Olé!
1 comment:
Tired just from reading all of that. Get it, get it grrrrl. You are so awesome. :)
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