My Beautiful Family

October 31, 2011 By 3 Comments

While in Denver, I jumped on the opportunity to have some new family photos made & the fabulous Tami Wilson took some great shots that I now treasure.

It was lots of effort getting everybody coordinated, through traffic & down a hill, but it was so worth it for these priceless shots that I will treasure.

This is the shot I will be hanging in my house- just the girls!  Did you know it was the 3 of us living together for the first 7 years of my life?

There were lots of being silly outtakes and trying to stay warm as a cold front rolled into town bringing chilly gusts of wind.

*ADORE*

One of my other favorite pictures because it really just captures everything I love about mom & John.

My other favorite from the day- my mom has totally been my rock lately and I love her so much!

Tami & I ventured a little further down the hill and into the woods to chase the setting sunlight and get out of the wind.

 

 You can see a few more pictures on Tami’s blog and I encourage everybody to take the time and make the investment in some high-quality photos that you will treasure for years to come.

Thank you Tami for taking such wonderful photos and making memories that will last forever!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Looking at these pictures reminds me that not everything in October was awful, but I’m certainly happy to se it go! Hello November :)

Filed Under: family, photography

It’s Not Fall

October 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

Ok, so maybe late October is typically fall here in Houston and it’s 41 degrees out this morning, but those trees aren’t turning gorgeous shades of red and yellow.  They are pine trees that have died from the severe drought here in Texas.

Flying around Houston really gives you a feel for the magnitude of the crises here with huge chunks of trees all dead or dying.  One of the driest years ever recorded had produced massive fires that raged all around the state:

Since wildfire season started in November, more than 3.8 million of the state’s 167.5 million acres have burned in some 24,000 fires, according to the Texas Forest Service. Roughly 2,800 homes were destroyed.

It’s very sad as it will take years for the forests and the ecosystem to recover from this natural disaster.  With winter approaching a few recent rains, things are improving:

The Drought Monitor stated that 90.87 percent of the Lone Star State was considered in extreme or exceptional drought. That was down from 91.87 percent a week earlier and the peak of 96.99 percent in the October 4 report.

Many of the lakes around the state are down 10, 20, 30 feet or more from their normal levels and are practically unusable.  At Lake Houston, even many piers that go out many feet from the original shoreline are still standing high and dry above the receding water line.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Treadmill, yoga & then watching Dad participate in the father-daughter Elvis-themed half-time show this afternoon.

Filed Under: airplane, houston, nature

Downtown Denver

October 28, 2011 By 2 Comments

I really didn’t get to do too much sightseeing while in Denver since  I had my family in tow & we were trying to spend time with our family there.  I did do a little picture taking as I headed downtown on Friday to pick up my race packet. There are some really fun buildings downtown, including this beautiful condo.

The Colorado Convention Center was very new & modern- I loved all the big bright windows, very different than the Houston Convention Center.

One of my favorite things about Denver is the public transportation (it even runs through this building) and the thousands of miles of hike & bike trails that connect the entire city and suburbs.

Inside the convention center was bright & airy- filled with some very interesting art.

Just walking around looking for lunch, we passed by the performing arts complex and I adore little covered galleria areas like this where people are protected from the weather and can hangout socializing before and after performances.

There was a great mix of steller old buildings, adorned with intricate brick details, set among the many fancy new ones.

Didn’t have time to explore the capitol grounds or the Civic Center park, but that’s just another reason I need to get back to Denver for a visit.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Awesome fall run with friends this morning & an exciting weekend ahead.

Filed Under: Colorado, Travels ->

Denver Rock n Roll Marathon Recap, Part 2

October 27, 2011 By 3 Comments

**Read about my race preparations or Part 1 of my race recap**

My first meetup with my parents was on an out & back stretch just south of Cheeseman Park.  I ran & waved at them near mile 12 and then stopped for a snack and to refill my fuel belt near mile 13.5 on 7th Ave.  That’s what I look like with half of a PB&J sandwich shoved in my mouth and one glove shoved down my shirt- thanks for taking pics mom!  This stretch was very scenic & quiet- beautiful tree lined neighborhood and a slight uphill after mile 12 eastbound.

Two more miles south through nice residential areas found us entering our 3rd park- Washington Park, where we would do a giant loop inside and then continue further south.   This park was very pretty, with 2 large lakes and lots of pretty flowers to distract us on miles 17-19.

Exiting the park, I met up with my parents for a 2nd time around mile 19.5 where I grabbed more food, even shoving it down my back pocket!  I wore my favorite shirt again this race & love having random fans cheer me on and all the words of encouragement from other runners who enjoy reading my shirt.

A little further south and then we finally turned and headed north.  We crossed over Cherry Creek twice and the majority of the route was scenic as we passed a variety of homes and mostly flat roadway- except this last hill around mile 25.5!

At the top of the hill, I was rewarded with a great shot of the Governor’s mansion & a final turn into downtown.  The end was back near the start- so close to the capitol and a gorgeous little park.

I ran all the way up that hill and managed to sprint across the finish line!   I was very worried about the altitude, as I came from sea level.  I am very glad I arrived in Denver several days early, drank tons of water and got myself as acclimated as sI could be.  I could still tell & slowed my pace quite a bit, but I am still very happy with a chip time of 4:50:58.

I love this photo!  John caught it with his cell phone as I was running down the last chute!  I was so happy I saw them & so stinkin’ happy to be finished!

I didn’t stick around for any of the post-race stuff or get any goodies.  Since my parents were right at the finish line, I just hopped over the fence and went with them.  I assume they had all the usual stuff like the other Rock n Roll races, but I do think the concert started pretty early for those wanting to finish the full marathon.  One big happy family- this is several marathons together now for us :)

Here is my finishers medal for Denver, as well as my heavy medal for completing my 5th Rock n Roll event this year.  I didn’t have to wait for it to be mailed to me this time :)

So back to my chip time & clock time…..urgh! This is a bad story, but there is a happy ending.  My Garmin was off about 01. to 0.2 tenths of a mile early on during the race, but held fairly steady afterwards.  My stomach was upset and I had to make 1 bathroom break, so that probably added 203 minutes to my time, but I couldn’t have survived without it.

This is my gear all packed and ready the night before.  The top bag is what I have my parents to meet me with- I  loved the cookies the most & I’ve got brownies ready for my next race.  So now notice my shoe, with the timing tag attached.  Except, that’s’ not the timing tag- it’s the instructions on how to attach the OTHER half of that strip.  Yes, I was careless and not paying attention, attached the wrong half and had no official time for my race.

I was sick to my stomach after looking at my photos and realizing this, so I emailed the corrections team and RnR, showed them my Garmin and all the pictures.  Thankfully, they were kind enough to give me an official time and credit so I can get my 6th and 7th heavy medals for my San Antonio and Vegas later this year.  All in all, one of my favorite RnR races- very scenic course, very flat, easy access to start & finish, good crowd support, easy access for fans/followers, good weather (although they are moving it 2 weeks earlier next year).

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY:  I’m thinking I need some new boots since I’m getting back into dancing- wonder where I can find these!

Filed Under: Colorado, family, fitness, Travels ->

Denver Rock n Roll Marathon Recap, Part 1

October 26, 2011 By 2 Comments

**Read about my race preparations or Part 2 of my race recap**

The first weekend in October, I headed to Denver with my family to run the Denver Rock n Roll Marathon, my 5 RnR event this year, my 5th marathon this year & my first race of the fall.  I’d picked this once because I love Colorado & I wanted to spend some time with my family.  Earlier this summer, I’d convinced my mom, step-dad John & Gram to make the trek to support me and also visit our family there.  Getting into downtown that morning was easy & I arrived fairly late- I had no desire to stand out in the cold any longer than necessary.  We started and ended at the same location, which is always preferable to some of the point-to-point courses that RnR likes to use.  There are many gorgeous buildings and a great park downtown- the start line was right beside the US Mint.

Since I was running this race alone & my tummy had been a little temperamental lately, I decided to splurge and purchase $150 gear at the expo to gain access to the Brooke VIP Porta Potty.  I figured I’d waited in enough lines this year & this bought me a few extra minutes of sleeping in.  Plus, it was colder than I expected & I needed a heavier jacket and I wanted some cool RnR t-shirts since I’m a little bit of an addict at this point.  The bathrooms were awesome- short wait, tons of last minute things you  might need (hair bands, mints, chapstick, lotion, etc.).   I do really wish they would create & pass out maps of the start & finish line- it really helps with confusion.  There were thousands of people looking for bag check & wandering around lost.

I did splurge and get the professional photos (left above)  and getting to the start line was chaos.  The streets were narrow and the corral was taking up the whole road- leaving only a very small sidewalk for people to leave the main area & walk backwards towards the higher numbered corrals.  I just stood in place for about 5 minutes on a curb unable to get back to my corral- they should have had signs directing the higher number corrals around the block instead of down the sidewalks.  Got off to a great start from the back of corral 10 and the wind wasn’t too bad.   This time I decided to strap on my new camera since my fingers were going to be cold and/or glove covered much of the race.

I love running downtown- a great way to see gorgeous buildings, lots of things to be distracted by and the roads were nice and wide.  Ran by some great old places like Union Station (I’d seen it in the dark before) & checked out Coors Field (too bad I wasn’t there with hubby earlier this year).

Within 2 miles of the start, I’d taken of my jacket and was enjoying the morning sun warming me up.  Unfortunately, I lost a glove during this transition and ran the rest of the race all Michael Jackson 1-glove (and hand warmer).   We wound through a mostly empty downtown & then headed north through some more residential areas.

I really loved this RnR course- my favorite so far.  But it’s easy when Denver has tons of parks dotted throughout the city.  We hit 3 major parks with gorgeous lakes on the full course & our first one was by the zoo.

So calming to be running among the trees & beautiful flowers running through City Park.   I didn’t care much for the looping- it stinks when you can see people snaked 4 times back & forth in front of you, but it was a really flat & fast course for being in Denver.

I’ve seen many signs during my marathons, but the center one totally cracked me up.  I use that line all the time.  Several laps and loops around City Park & then we headed south through more residential areas.

The RnR inflatable greeted us as we entered  our 2nd park Cheeseman Park and where the half-marathoners split to head back towards downtown & the full marathoners continued south through more beautiful tree-lined streets.

This is obviously from the day before, when we were driving the course, but it shows how pretty the park is & I’m sporting some of my new RnR gear.

This was on Saturday, after it had stopped snowing & it was very cloudy and cold out!  I could run all day staring at the mountains and all the gorgeous trees everywhere.

Part 2 tomorrow!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Clean house, clean puppies and cold front on the way tomorrow.

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