i'm "the friend"...you know, the kinda funny but not really/kinda cute but not really chick that the hot chick you know hangs out with all the time?? yeah... thats me
i am off to the CO this afternoon and... should be good times.
J.Lee is picking me up at the airport this evening...
a few hours after i arrive...
which means i'll be at the bar for a while, hopefully making new cute male friends... *ahem*.
and afterwards i'll be spending my wednesday/thursday/friday with her until lunch that day, when my bestest bold buddy will pick me up and i'll make the switch.
the rest of the trip will consist of the sister meet-up, the continuance of Amanda Bynes' secret movie watching, and hopefully a really fantastic little 13.1 mile run.
so.. with that, i wish you all a very great end to the month of september, and... i'll catch ya on the flip!
you know when you look at yourself in the morning, and the state of your reflection is so bad that it actually elicits a sound??!
thats never good.
you don't typically want that.
this morning, however, mine went something like... uhmyguh, thasrillybad... and i don't think its gotten better ever since.
i'm not really sure what's going on but the swelling taking place on my face almost requires some sort of back story... or a really good explanation as to why i might beat myself in my sleep.
currently, i'm not too worried. yet. but i do have a rather important meet-up at the end of the week and find this little development to be less than thrilling.
"hi half-sister that i've never met. i swear i don't normally look THIS HUGE!!! i'm really normal sized, i swear i am!
next summer i would very much enjoy participating in a half ironman event type situation. if it is at all possible, i would very very much enjoy participating in said event type situation without the fear of death, dismemberment, or other great bodily harm.
as you may or may not know, it is a common practice of newb athletes, not unlike myself, to hire more experienced athletes to help them in this endeavor. said experienced athletes are often older, wiser, and much better looking than the newbs. not surprisingly they are also often referred to as.... "coach".
having had the highest honor of spectatorship thrust upon me two short weeks ago by IMMOO, it has become evident that to properly dominate the field, i must not only seek out a "coach", but that you, good kind sir, are that man.
i am (almost) certain that with your skills, knowledge, and dashing good looks, there is a fair possibility that i may survive my chosen half-ironman event, and live to, one day, perhaps even do it again.
with that thought in mind, it would be my great honor to officially request your services, in the form of "coach", for my half ironman event type situation.
i'm about to be busy.
"about to be" because right at this very moment, no.. nothing's pressing. but.. if i don't hop to it soon, it will be. and then when my next big project gets dumped on my head in a week, i'll be drowning in DTRA related work and i'll be pissed at myself for not doing more, sooner.
second of all...
i'm days away from a ranting post. i just moved in with my used-to-be-but-apparently-never-really-was very good friend Hallmark Girl, and between the @%#^%! dribbling out of her mouth, being kicked out of the apartment so her parents could sleep in the bed that I'M PAYING RENT FOR, and having to watch her and her new BF play tonsil hockey all morning..
i'm less than pleased.
and last but not least...
i want aero-bars on my bike, but i'm unsure of what kind to buy. a friend suggested this site but i just don't even know how to choose.
ideas!? anyone?!
please!!?!
and.. thats all i got. stay tuned for hopefully a pretty big announcement towards the end of the week!
ok so.. i know typically when recapping a weekend trip, i would start at the beginning... :: holy crap 8 hours is a long drive! ::
maybe throw in a few fun facts like... :: got pulled over in Iowa for going 76 in a 70. they're some sticklers up there, i tell ya ::
and then brag because :: but i got out of it. its amazing what a wink and a smile can get ya these days! ::
then i'd probably go on to tell you all about my crazy night :: seriously cute-ass bartender guy ::
and how i may or may not have been inebriated. :: what!!? he was CUTE. what don't you get about that?! ::
then i'd definitely talk about the blogger meet-ups, finally getting to meet people like IronPol, Wil, Trigrey, Laurie, Wendy, 21C, Walchka and many others, and then i'd probably start in on the race report.
right?!
right.
except this time.. i wanna jump straight to the end.
because the end... is where it really *happened* for me.
for those of you that have never had the opportunity to experience ironman... let me just say the finishline is like nothing you've seen before.
watching these athletes finish up a 9, 10... 15, 16, 17 hour day is beyond amazing.
for most of the day, i screamed and i yelled and i supported the best i could. but although i knew what i was seeing, i didn't FEEL the way i thought i would.
it was a race and... yeah. that was it.
but around hour 10, when Babysitter Girl and i headed to the end, i started to get an idea.
hours 10 - 12 are pretty fun. people are lined up down the chute, all the speedy guys are coming through, and you get a sense of damn. they were really hauling ass out there.
its impressive, and fun, and.. its good times.
hours 12 - 14 are.... more of the same. the crowd really thins out, comparatively, and although its fun to see everyone run in... you start feeling the length of the day. as a spectator, you've been on your feet now since 6am, and... you kinda wanna go sit down!!
BUT!!! then its the end. there are a few hours left, and these are the people that really need the support. the crowd starts to grow, the music is blasting, and mike riley really revved it up.
you could start to feel a buzz in the air. everyone, absolutely everyone there wanted the same thing... for each and every athlete to make it down that chute. we were willing people across that finishline. screaming SCREAMING at them to run.
each new hour the crowd grew more and more. minutes 13:59, 14:59 and 15:59 were insane.
they. were. in. sane. we were all going nuts, trying to urge each athlete to make it under the 14, 15, 16 hour mark.
and then the last hour, it just never stopped.
there was a man, 78 years old, named frank. he was out on the course, shuffling along, and with an hour to go he had 5 miles left. mike riley kept giving us updates and at mile 25, we knew he could hear us.
the crowd. went. nuts. i have goosebumps just thinking about it.
we chanted, we cheered, we probably all wondered whether he'd make it and..
that's what i want to share with you today.
(below, is when he's at mile 25. we knew he could hear us, so we started to cheer)
(below is frank coming down the chute. i've watching this now 4 times today and the tears keep rolling down. i hope i hope i hope you all can sort of get an idea of the finish from this!)
(and below is his speech at the end. he's a funny little old guy. cutest lil man EVER. he talks about "the damn hills".. that maybe they should "hire a contractor to flatten out the course" and "knowing each of the athletes from their backsides".
he was the last athlete to cross the line.
he. is my hero.)
i'll post pics of the weekend tomorrow. today.. i want everyone to get a chance to watch frank come down that chute.
everyone from kansas city and everyone from blogland finished. under 17 hours. i have absolutely no voice, and a ton of pictures to go through. so don't waste your time on MY blog today... go congratulate our brand new IRONMEN!!!!
well folks, i'm heading out tomorrow for IMMOO '07 spectation extravagannnnnnnnnnza!!
SO. for those of you who'd like to follow along, here's what i know.
a.) for a list of who's racing and what bib number they are, go here.
b.) for pictures and fun stories about what all's going on all weekend... go here.
c.) if you're spectating but still need to get in a training run saturday AM... go here.
d.) if you're wondering where "here" is... go here.
and, if you're not so much into going here, you can come HERE and get updates as well.
jeanne, of not born to run will have control of my blog, and i'll be calling her frequently to tell her whats up.
what she actually decides to post? no clue! but.. it'll be fun, either way.
and with that.. and new tires on the truck, an oil change, several wardrobe choices packed and a full batteried i-pod, camera and laptop.. i think i'm good to go!
have a fantastic week, and for those of you already in, or heading up to IMMOO...
so i'm pretty much like THE coolest new kid on the block.
bar none.
not to mention the most fabulous, fastest, and cuh-UTE-est! i mean please.
(also humble. shy. reserved. i really need to come out of my shell... jeez.)
anyway.
this past weekend i had 8 miles on the plan. after friday night's moving fi-as-co though, i didn't get to bed until 3am and was loathe to wake up and run, so...
saturday was ow-tah.
sunday, however... was on.
sunday morning i awoke feeling pretty good. i've been a little wary of the 8 mile distance because, for those of you that remember... me and eight miles don't really get along.
HOWEVAH!!
as i sort of mentioned before... THINGS HAVE CHANGED!!! and i am once again ruler goddess of all things running.
where's the proof?
IN. THE. PUDDING.
here's what's up.
because i'm no longer really training with a group, and i can't run 8 miles straight without some sort of water station situation, i chose a series of two 4mile out and backs, hitting up my car and the contents with-in, at the half-way-almost-there-you're-a-rockstar!! point.
this!!?! was a brilliant plan on my part.
as i headed out for the first 4-mile run, i felt pretty good. i hadn't been on this particular trail in quite some time so it was nice just letting my mind go and enjoying the verld around me.
by the time i got back to the car my watch read 42:ish minutes and i was quite pleased.
not being one to really do math in my head though... i didn't realized how pleased i should be. just that it was under 44:00 which means i ran less than 11 minute miles.
this doesn't happen often for me so.. again. with the pleasing feelings... what-nots.. and what have yous.
after a quick pouring of gatorade into my mouth, i was out again, for the final 4 miles.
and this is where it gets tricky.
for the last 4 miles.. i felt good. i felt like ya know.. i was movin. things were going well, but when i got back to my car, stopped my watch, and checked my time, it read...
1:27:29
i knew something had to have gone wrong.
that's a 10:56 pace for.... EIGHT. MILES.
i'm good, but..
i'm not THAT good.
so.. i went home, decided i probably ran an 11:10ish pace, figured i must have cut the run short somehow and went on with my day.
but.. BUT... BUT!!!!
then.. there was yesterday.
and the "ok i'm sorry, but WHAT!!?!!"
yesterday i had 4 miles on the plan. i was running from my new abode and, not being terribly familiar with the area, sort of set myself up for lots of downhill on the way out, and lots of up on the way back.
that being said, i got back, checked my watch and realized...
3.9 miles... 11:01 pace!!?!!
ok i'm sorry, but WHAT!!!?!
with that i realized sunday's run really probably was that fast, so...
i don't know what's going on here my friends, but i think it's pretty apparent...
i am THE coolestcutest fastest new kid on the block.