Pat's Run

No, not that Pat. :)

A bunch of people from my tri Team participated in Pat's Run on Saturday. It's a 4.2 mile run that celebrates the life of former ASU football star and Army Ranger, Pat Tillman. His ASU number was 42, so lots of things were 42 themed. By far the coolest part was the finish line, which was located on the 42-yard-line of Sun Devil Stadium - you ran through a chute lined by current ASU football players and throngs of people cheering you on to the finish. AND that part was all broadcast on the stadium jumbo tron. Too much fun!
The race itself went so well! When I started running 15 months ago, I was averaging about a 12 minute mile. That pretty much stuck around ever since, but I've been slowly getting a little faster thanks to my insane training schedule for the triathlon. So I thought I'd be a little ambitious and place myself in the 10 min/mile corral for the race, just to see if I could do it. Ha! I ended up running the race at a 9:45 pace. WOOOO! I was so happy!

Also, one of my friends works for an orthopedic clinic and they were offering free consultations and physical therapy stretching at the expo. So we all got stretched out when we were finished - that was actually really fun. The therapist who was working on me started the hamstring stretch on me (pictured) and said "Dang, girl, you have some LONG legs!" Why, just because my leg spans the length from your knee to above your head?

Anyway, it was a really fun morning followed by a fun evening of hamburgers and mini golf with friends. Not too shabby.

Monday 26th October, 2009

I wonder...

if they have Guinness Stations instead of water stations?

if they hand out four leaf clovers (or better yet - pots of gold) instead of medals?

if Glen Hansard will show up to sing beautiful songs to me? (fingers crossed)

if the entertainment stations will include U2 and/or Riverdance?

So... some news! I applied a few weeks ago and was just chosen to be a Team in Training Team Captain for the summer/fall season. For what event, you ask? Oh. For the adidas Dublin Marathon.

Iiiii know!

I'll act as kind of a mentor for 5-10 of the new TNT marathon participants. I'll offer encouragement and support, provide fundraising ideas and organize group activities, and try to build camaraderie within my group. Oh yeah, and train for the Dublin marathon. :) I'm so excited!

But, first things first: gotta get this triathlon tackled.

Seriously.

How could anyone not love this guy?

Someone recorded this at the show I went to last week.

What Kind Of Week Has It Been

It's been busy, you guys.

But the good kind of busy, for the most part. Lots of firsts and fun things to do and challenges and whatnot. And, since I'm very nearly falling asleep at my computer at 9:30pm, I'm going to go with the theme of:

Snapshots and snippets! (click on the photos to make them larger)

Tuesday: William Fitzsimmons

Since htd was out of town and my phx friends aren't so much with the sad, sad music, I went to this concert by myself. And you know what? I had a GREAT time. Rosi Golan was terrific with her clear, bell-like voice and unassuming stage presence. And William Fitzsimmons was just fantastic. His music is so sad and melancholy, but there's this note of hope that shines through on a lot of his songs. And he has this surprisingly funny and relaxed stage presence that I wasn't expecting at all.

Thursday: Splash N Dash

This event involved a 750m swim, followed by a 4k run. They hold these things pretty much every Thursday for a few months to give local multisport athletes a chance to practice their open water swimming and transition techniques. This was my first open water swim. Yikes. But! I accomplished my goal and was NOT the last one out of the water. And I passed a couple people on the run. It actually ended up being a lot more fun than I was expecting. Who knew??

Saturday: El Tour de Phoenix

The Tour is an annual race that takes place in Mesa and benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The 26-mile race took place along almost the exact same challenging route that my TNT group rode a couple weeks ago. That first trip up the mountain, I had to stop three times and rest for a minute just so I could continue on up. This time I didn't stop at all. Woo! It's nice to see that my training is doing its thing. Also, I came in 59th out of 170 entrants. Being a brand new cyclist, I'm pretty proud of that. :)

Sunday: Tucson

Virginia, a friend from my Georgia days, is currently in Tucson for an orthodontics conference. So htd and I drove on down to spend some time with her and her friend Stephanie. We visited the San Xavier mission and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, drove through downtown, and spent some time by the hotel pool drinking slushies and chatting it up. So much fun! And now I can tell you all kinds of facts about Gila Monsters. I know.

Now: sleep.

The Wind Is Howling

and it sounds like home.

Nothing new to report.

Just wanted to share this. And this.

Enjoy.

Ooooooof.

What a week.

Top 5!

1. Parents. - Mom and Dad came to visit for their Spring Break this week. They rolled into town last Friday night and spent the week generally being awesome. Dad did some work on my house and Mom cleaned and organized and put her little Mom-touches on things. We checked out some local breweries and went to the Team in Training picnic. I love it when they visit!

2. Friends. - I met the wonderful Jo and her sisters last Friday night. Jo and I have been Super Cool Blogger Friends for awhile now and have a common friend connection through Bea and we finally got to hang out. Yeah. We're awesome. :)3. Swim. - It's going better! I think I've finally figured out the proper form, so now it's on to building up the endurance.4. Backyard. - My dad replaced the shade structure and siding on the patio off of my bedroom. The backyard is all spiffed up and I spent Monday finding a good deal on some patio furniture, so I had a few friends over for a cook out on Wednesday evening. The weather was perfect and the food was great. So fun!

5. Bike. - Our long bike rides are getting exponentially longer and more difficult - but also more fun. Today was a HARD ride - about 27 miles with a beast of a hill in the middle. See the red sections on the elevation chart? Oy. But it's so beautiful out there - classic (Sonoran) desert mountain landscape (that clarification was for you, Bea).I need a nap.

Emma Places An Order

by: my sister-in-law.

Emma(to the Starbucks lady): Why hello. I'd like a grande caramel frappuccino with whip. Please.

Mommy: Sorry, Emma, no beverage for you.

Emma: WTFudge? :( You're no fun, mom. (gives sad eyes)

* * *

And would you get a load of those CHEEKS there, folks? I wonder if they make some sort of cheek support device - kind of like a bra for the face. I'm picturing something like those old time toothache wraps. Might be worth looking into...She's so adorable!