Sunday, November 29, 2009

Ghostly Time at The Stanley


Saturday was here before I knew it which meant it was time for another team run.  This run was optional because of the holidays.  There are a handful of us ready to take on the Eagle Trail though.  It's so nice out there. Very quiet.  In the spring there's a lot of wildlife. We just had a short 45 minute run.  This week was the first week I've run 4 times in a long time. I think that I'm going to do a good 3 runs/week plan with 2 days of hard cross-training and two rest days. I think my knees will appreciate it.  Total mileage this week was just about 15 miles.  This will be the least mileage I'll see until it's time to taper.

Grandma and Grandpa Walker hadn't been to our house in almost two years and wanted to make sure they came up to see all the work we've done.  They brought Margie and Audrey along for the ride.  After a quick tour of all of our improvement projects, we decided to head up to Estes in the hopes of finding some snow for Margie.  Since she grew up in Hawaii she has to get her fill of snow when she can.  Estes Park is just about 25 miles or so from our house.



Our first stop was The Stanley Hotel.  It's beautiful and best known for the movie The Shining.  Apparently the film wasn't actually filmed there but the mini series that followed was.  We had lunch in at The Cascades Restaurant.  It's the same restaurant where the bar scene from Dumb and Dumber was filmed.  I tried an elk burger with sweet potato fries. It was pretty delicious.  Grandpa, Grandpa and I also enjoyed some wine with lunch. I love nice weekend days when it's perfectly acceptable to have wine at lunch.  After lunch we got ourselves signed up for the official ghost tour.  Since we had almost two hours to kill we headed into Rocky Mountain National Park.
RMNP is huge.  We just did a driving tour since it was getting colder and the winds were picking up. We did however make a stop at the snow play area for Margie to get a bit of snow.  We also stopped to take a look at the Estes Park Valley.




It was back to the hotel for the ghost tour.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect but since I hadn't toured The Stanley before I thought it'd be pretty interesting.  When we first started planning I really wanted to get married in Estes and have our reception at The Stanley, but it was a bit out of our price range.  First stop was a brief history of the hotel in the tour office.  Then it was off to the ballroom and music room.  Apparently when there had been a gas explosion about 90 years ago, one of the employees fell right threw the floor into the ballroom. It's said that it is risidually haunted, meaning that often guests and employees hear music and people talking in the room even when there are no events going on.


We went into the smoking and billard rooms.  The smoking room really did smell like cigars even though the hotel has been smoke free for several decades.  It had a beautiful stone fireplace in it. 




Next stop was Room 217.  This is the room where Stephen King actually wrote The Shining.  He had checked into the hotel during a vacation with his wife.  While there he and his wife reported that they had some paranormal experiences.  The hotel was his inspiration for the book.  Here are a few more pictures from his room.


Jim Carey stayed in the same room for three hours.  After three hours he went to the front desk and demanded to be booked anywhere else in the town.  He waited outside until a car came to pick him up.  Something must have really spooked him.  He won't say what happened to this day.

Right outside that room is what they call the vortex.  A lot of people apparently get very dizzy and some won't even stand in the area.  I feel a butterfly in my stomach but that's about it.  At the top of the stairs I did get a bit dizzy.  The forth floor is reportedly the most haunted.


The 4th floor is were the nannies and children stayed while at the hotel.  The tour guide had the kids try to get the ghostly children to come out.  There really was a cold spot in the middle of the hallway where people were holding out their hands.  I caught this pictures, but who knows. Other than the cold spot and some tingling in between my fingers, I didn't feel or see anything.  I find that I'm a bit of a skeptic. 


It was fun touring the hotel and learning about the ghost stories.  I would like to stay there someday.  We tried for our anniversary but everything was booked.  Maybe next year.  After the tour it was time to head back home.  They dropped me off and headed back to Denver.  It was a great visit with the family this weekend.   Hopefully we'll see them over the summer sometime.

Huskers Win It Again

The Colorado-Nebraska game has become a yearly tradition for Josh and I.  We've gone to the game every since we started dating back in 2005.  This year the game was in Boulder at Folsom Field.  Tom, Margie, TJ, Josh and I all spent Thursday night at our house and woke up early to get ready for Game Day.  I was up at 7ish making pancakes for everyone.  After a quick stop at Walmart and the liquor store, we headed to Boulder.  We got a great tailgating spot right on campus around a bunch of other Huskers.  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  

 

Tom's tiny little shirt that he's proud of.  It is pretty funny.
 
This was Margie's first Game Day experience so I took her around the parking lot to meet some of the other characters tailgating. Along the way we definitely found some characters. 
                                     
 
Of course we had to take a picture with Lil' Red.  Check out the coolest way to get to the game and tailgate.  Where they got a hold of this ambulance I have no idea.

 
After a few hours it was time to head into the game. 



Thanks to TJ we had great seats!  We were right onthe 30 yard line 14 rows up.  We were surrounded by Buff fans but had two other Huskers right next to us. It was awesome being able to cheer for the Huskers in the midst of a bunch of Buff fans. 







We were two happy fans.  A lot of the CU fans left half way through the forth quarter when it was undeniable that the Huskers were going to win again. The final score was 28-20 Huskers.  It was a great game as it is every year. 

After the game a couple of middle aged men were apparently being extremely sore losers.  I was just standing at my seat and one pushed me as he walked by.  I have a nice little bruise on the back of my left from it.  Josh of course told him not to push his wife and the guy grabbed Josh's shirt and started pushing. At this point a bit of a brawl broke out and some nearby fans had to pull these two bg guys off of Josh.  I mean really, it was completely uncalled for. I hadn't done anything to either one of the guys. What's worse is that another CU fan and his wife walked by and said it was my fault because we were in their house.  Really?  It's ok to push women around in Boulder.  Awesome.  Shows yet once again how classless CU fans are.  It's no wonder why the Boulder Police department has to send out memos and such to tell the fans how to behave at games.

Luckily, the police caught up with these two assholes at the top of the stairs. I gave a statement as did a few other surrounding fans.  As it turns out one of the guys that was involved was an off-duty police officer.  Way to represent the Boulder force.  They were ticketed and were able to leave. I hope they get in trouble.  That pretty much ruined the rest of my night but at least we were able to enjoy the game.

Go Huskers!



Friday, November 27, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Did you all think about what you're thankful for?  I'm thankful for a lot; my friends, family, my husband and little Lucky, my job, my house, to have the means to head to Italy this Christmas, my health and so much more! 


I hope you've all enjoyed your day as much as I have.  My day started with the United Way's Turkey Trot.  Josh, Grandma Walker, Liz, Ted, Audrey and the Schedel kids and I all headed to Wash Park about 9 am this morning.  I don't think we could have asked for a more beautiful day.  At 10:15 we were off!  After being elbowed right in the chest, I finally broke through the huge cluster and reached a comfortable pace.  The first two miles were awesome. I was enjoying the weather and the scenery.  Josh was long gone so I just listened to my iPod and people watched.  By mile three I was totally overheating.  I could feel my body starting to drag but I held on.  This was my first 4 mile race but I really liked the distance.  It was just long enough for me not to feel bad for totally gorging myself.  Here are my stats:

Time: 35:34             Distance: 4.01 miles                Average Pace: 8:54 min/mile


Overall I feel good about the race but I feel like I would have done better had I not overheated so much. I knew once we got to the starting line that I should have worn a tank top rather than my long sleeved shirt.  Josh totally kicked my butt.  He finished in 28:55 which is a 7:14 min/mile pace.  Not gonna lie I'm kinda sad that he can still beat me.  But then I remind myself that I totally have him beat in distance edurance.  Anyway, after collecting the kiddos and finding Grandma and Liz we headed home to kick off the Thanksgiving festivities.

After some spinach dip, a Hanky Panky (or two) and some cheese and crackers, it was time for the main event.  It was so good I did not want to stop eating but I had to save room for some pie.  I had a silver of pumpkin and apple and sat around the table listening to my grandpa's hilarious stories from when he was learning to ski.  Once we were all able to actually remove ourselves from our chairs, the games came out.  I probably played my worst game of Scrabble ever! 

We're all home now, plus Tom, TJ and my cousin Margie.  Tomorrow we're heading to the CU-Nebraska game in Boulder.  It's going to be another beautiful day here.  We're going to tailgate a bit and then meet up with the rest of the fam at The Harvest House on the way to the game.  It's going to be to go to the second game at Folsom Field this season where my team beats the Buffs.  Go Huskers!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Food


I'm so excited for Thanksgiving tomorrow. My family loves food and we always have lots of really good food especially on holidays.  This year my family from San Diego is coming in which means my Grandma will be making pies...yum!  For my family Thanksgiving is really a full day of grazing.  From spinach dip in a bread bowl (I'm making) to Hanky Pankies (you don't even want to know what's in them because it's so bad for you, but tastes oh so good) I'm sure that I'll probably take in a bit more than I normally would on a daily basis...most of which will be before the main course.  What's a day or two of indulgence every once in a while right?  Plus I'm running the Turkey Trot in the morning at Wash Park.  That's an extra 400 calories I'll need to consume on Turkey Day.

The night of the premiere of this season of The Biggest Loser when we all went to Tawsha’s, we were lucky enough to have Erin, a nutritionist join us. She did a body fat analysis on me which gave me all sorts of good information. I learned that at that time I had about 19% body fat and that if I do nothing all day (like lay on the couch) I burn about 1500 calories. So with my activity level I need to be eating about 1900 calories/day to maintain my current weight and feed my body properly. This means when I go on a 4 mile run like the Turkey Trot, I need to eat about 2300 calories.   So lately I've been tracking my food on SparkPeople. I've been really interested to see what I'm eating on a daily basis and which nutrients I'm lacking on.

Now 1900 calories/day may not seem like that much (or way too much) to some but I’ve discovered through my food tracking, I rarely get to my 1900 calories/day. This is not good. I’ve been trying to include more snacks in my diet and making sure that I eat every time I’m hungry. It’s amazing how many fruits and veggies you have to eat to get a substantial amount of calories. Of course if I ate a meal at McDonald’s I’d have no problem, but that’s not the kind of food that will fuel my body properly. However last night I did get an ice cream cone from McDonalds after the gym to try to bump up my calorie intake for the day.  So delicious.  Now I know that this is the opposite of what most people struggle with and I'm not trying to complain at all.  Just thinking aloud.

Between this new information and all that I learned from marathon training last season, I've decided that I am approaching training differently this time around, especially when it comes to food.  Last season I know that I was not fueling my body properly and I was not cross-training nearly enough. So this season I'm looking to make sure I'm eating enough and also cross-training at least 2-3 days a week to try to avoid injury.  This is what I did foodwise last season: Before a long Saturday run I'd eat my PB&J toast, after the run I'd eat my PowerBar Recovery Bar (only on 10 mile or longer runs) and then a normal lunch and dinner. Even though I was burning lots of calories I was still worried that I'd overeat and actually end up gaining weight.  Because of this there was no way I was making up enough calories which left me tired and probably effected my performance. I had no idea how many calories I needed to eat on a daily basis, just that for most women it was between 1200-1800, which is still less than what I need.

Now with the new information I have I'm going to make sure I do it right. My plan for this season, PB&J toast or oatmeal before my run. After run, quick snack with protein and carbs or a PowerBar Recovery Bar on runs longer than 10 miles, big lunch and normal sized dinner with a few snacks thrown in there. It will be really important that I track food on those days to make sure that I'm getting enough.

I would love some suggestions on what to bring to work for lunch. I’m bored to death with the same old sandwiches and Lean Cuisines. I haven’t been cooking enough lately to have much leftover to bring either. What are you favorite lunches for when you’re at work or on the go?  Any awesome recipes I should try?  I find that I'll make the same few dinners a lot. 

Monday, November 23, 2009

One Run Down...

The season got off to a great start on Saturday.  The weather was beautiful, perfect for a long run...but we only did a 5k.  The team met at Bobolink Trail (who came up with that name?) in Boulder a little before 8am. A few people thought I was nuts for wearing capris and not pants, but I knew that by the time we were done it'd be about 40 degrees outside and I'd be hot in pants.  After some introductions and announcements from the coaches we were off!

I ran the first mile or so with Martha one of my mentees. She's super nice and a great runner. She has an adorable 5 year old son.  I'm really looking forward to getting to know her more.  The next few miles I ran with Aaron and Amanda.  They are just super interesting. They met in language school in California and are both in the Air Force. Aaron speaks Hebrew and Amanda speaks Farci.  I told her that I'll have to see if my uncle's family with pratice speaking with her.  Here I thought my Italian lessons on CD were tough.  They are also great runners. They are even going to go for the Double Header with me this season. I'm super excited that my mentee group all runs about the same pace.  It's so nice to have people to talk to when I run.  Plus, that gives us a lot of time to get to know eachother and me time to make sure that they are enjoying TNT

Just as I thought I was getting hot towards the end of the run.  I was ready to peel off my jacket but then realized once I had it off I'd probably get cold just standing and stretching.  I was really relieved that I was able to run without my IT band or hamstring hurting. I tweaked my hamstring just the tiniest bit at the gym last week.  I swear, if it's not my knees, it something else. But that is why I'm definitely focusing on cross-training this season and really taking care of myself.

After our run we headed to a local coffee shop for a little chit chat.  Everyone on our team seems to be really excited about the season.  We are going to have a great season!  Maybe after a few weeks I'll be able to talk more people into doing the Double Header.  Might be a bit of a stretch. 


I have to say one of my favorite parts of participating in TNT is meeting all these awesome people. I've talked to people and read the blogs of people that are or have participated in TNT before that only did the fundraising. Most of them didn't go to the group runs of do anything of the actual team stuff. Granted, fundraising is the most important part but I just don't think that they know how much they are missing out on. I mean really, why not have these awesome people to get to know and talk to on those long runs? Last January when I started my first season with TNT I never thought that 10 months later I'd be getting together with some of my teammates every Tuesday for dinner and The Biggest Loser. Or that I'd be working with Tawsha on her Wedding Preview Event. I'm so blessed to have gotten to know these awesome people and I can't wait to get to know the new team.

After some lunch, a quick nap (I stayed up late watching movies with Rache and got up early) and some construction in our kitchen, Josh and I headed to the gym for another quick workout.  I'm totally not a two-a-day workout kind of girl but it felt really good!  I did 25 minutes on a bike, 10 minutes or so of abs and push-ups and a few other free weight exercises.  I think it really helped keep my muscles loose.  Plus, I burned lots of calories which let me indulge at Paul and Courtney's holiday party later than night.

I hope you all had a good weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to donate.  This is the last week for the t-shirt contest.  It's between Nancy and Tom right now.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Team Website and Shoe Clinic

You get to hear about me a lot on this blog, through my emails and facebook.  I was thinking that maybe you'd like to meet the rest of my team. Tawsha aka superwoman, setup a team web site. It has information about our fundraising events, individual team members, photos, etc.  If you're ever interested go over and check it out. It is also where you can buy tickets to our events securely through PayPal.  Speaking of fundraising events, don't forget to buy your tickets for the Winter Wonderland Event by Nov. 30th!

Last night we had our shoe fit clinic. We all headed to Road Runner in Westminster to have shoes fit just for us. They start by having you stand on a heat sensor.  Apparently I have super high arches, which don't seem to fit will with my wide, Fred Flinestone feet...thanks Dad.  :-) Then they have you jump on the treadmill to have you run for them.  The man on the left is Charlie, one of our awesome participants. The good news though is that my gait overpronation has gotten a lot better. I think that my stride must really be improving.  I tried on a few pairs of shoes even though my Asaics still have 100-200 miles left on them. I think next time I might try out some Sacounys.  They were super comfortable, more so than the new Asaic 2150.  Luckily, when I buy my next pair of shoes, I have a full 60 days to try them out.  If I don't like them, I can take them back.  What a deal right?  It was really hard not to go a  little crazy buying all sorts of fun new winter gear, especially the beanie that has built in earphones.  Ah the temptation.  But being reasonable I reminded myself that I get hot and always end up taking my hat off mid-run.

I was happy to see that two of my three mentees were able to attend.  It was great talking to Aaron and Amanda again. They are such a cute couple.  They're new to Colorado and are trying to meet some new people which is good because Josh and I could use some more friends that live in the Boulder/Longmont area.  They are really excited about training with TNT this season and are already thinking about switching to the Double Header (Canyonlands and Nashville) which would be awesome. Right now I am one of the only people training for Canyonlands and the Nashville Full Marathon. It would definitely be nice to have people to run with on my long runs.

Happy Friday Everyone! Have a great weekend.

P.S. Thanks Tom for being an awesomely supportive brother and donating another $50!  You rock.  I really appreciate you donating the money you work late nights slinging wing for.  See, even broke college students can spare some money, can't you too?

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Screening and TNT Kickoff



I am happy to report that Forgetting Dad was very well received this weekend.  It was an odd feelng having strangers watch a film about your family and comment on what they think is really going on with your grandfather.  It was funny when people chuckled at my grandma and commented on my mom's 80's chic wedding hat/veil combo.  Rick did a great job during the Q&A after the film.  It cannot be easy getting up there in front of those people.


After the film we went out for a couple cocktails to catch up.  Seeing Rick twice in just 13 months was a treat.  We heading to The Samba Room on Larimer so we could actually hear eachother.  I think that may have been the first time that I got to hang out with Rick outside of famil events.  Before we knew it, it was already 1 a.m. so we headed out because I had to get up early for the official TNT kickoff. 

Bright an early Saturday morning I headed back down to Denver for the 2009 Spring TNT Kickoff.  I was super excited to see my mentees.  I had met each of them a the informational meeting we had at REI in Boulder a few weeks ago.  I think they are all going to do awesome this season and I can't wait to get to know them. 
Now that the season has officially kicked off, the fundraising is moving into high gear.  Tickets to our very first event are now on sale. The Winter Wonderland event is going to be on December 12th from 11-3pm at the Cinema Grill. 

We're going to have Santa Claus there for pictures with the kids, food and a bake sale. After getting pictures with Santa, the families will be able to go enjoy a holiday movie complete with pizza, popcorn and beverages.  It's going to be awesome.  If you're interested in purchasing tickets please click here.  If you do decide to purchase tickets, please shoot me an email to let me know.  I hope you all come, it's going to be so fun!

Oh yes, today's miles:

Time: 25 minutes         Distance: 2.6 miles

I did not have a good run. Between my super tight IT band and the extremely hot gym, no bueno.  Off to roll on my torture device aka foam roller to try to get it relaxed so I can get another run or two in before our timed 5k on Saturday.  Good thing we won't be up to more than like 5 miles for a few weeks. If I have to just x-train to keep my IT band from turning into a big problem, no biggie.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Forgetting Dad

Tonight Josh, my brother Tom and I are going to see my Uncle Rick's film Forgetting Dad at the Denver Starz Film Festival.  We all had a chance to view it when we were in California for my mom's wedding over the summer but I want to make sure I am there to support my Uncle Rick at this screening. He's flown in all the way from Germany for it.  He's lived in Germany for as long as I can remember but he never misses an important family event.  He even surprised me and flew in for our wedding last year.  Anyway, the film has been playing festivals all over the world and was even submitting to Sundance. Unfortunately it was not accepted this year, but it has won awards world wide.

Forgetting Dad is about my grandpa, Richard Minnich.  When I was 6 years old, he was in a car accident and developed amnesia shortly thereafter.  At the time I didn't fully grasp the situation. I just knew that when he came to visit for my First Communion the following spring, that he was a great playmate. We even did multiplication flashcards together because that is what we were both learning in school.  We practiced cursive together and played games for hours.  He seemed like he was one of the kids and would much rather play with Tom and I than be with the adults.  I remember him travelling to Omaha with us on the same visit to see my Grandma and Grandpa Walker. He loved every moment he spent gardening with them.  There is even a great picture of he and my Grandpa Walker in their straw hats.

I don't remember what he was like before the accident but the rest of my family does.  His amnesia has impacted my mom's side of the family greatly.  When my mom, aunt and Uncle Rick were in high school, Grandpa Minnich remarried and had two more sons, Justin and Matthew.  I never really got to know them well, because at the time of the accident, Justin was just 8 and Matthew was just 4.  After the accident Grandpa and Loretta divorced and the only time I remember being around my uncles was on a brief weekend visit when I was 13.  That visit was also the last time I saw my grandpa. My uncles, aunt and mom have all struggled to understand what caused his amnesia and why he hasn't gotten his memory back.

Grandpa Minnich is now remarried and lives in a remote town in Oregon.  He was unable to come to my wedding because of heath issues, but still sends cards that he draws on and lovely letters.  Someday I hope that I'll see him again and come to know him.  Until then, all I have is the film which opened my eyes to what everyone else was going through when I gained a playmate but everyone else lost their husand and father.

I'll let you all know how the screening goes tonight. It's showing twice, once tonight and an afternoon showing tomorrow.  You can view the trailer here.  I tried to get a big group of Josh and I's friends to go, but so far I've gotten little response which is disappointing.  Oh well.  What's important is that Josh, Tom and I will be there for him.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

My Big Day Planner


I am super excited to let you all know that I am doing a little moonlighting on an awesome bridal event. My friend Tawsha, who I met through TNT last season, just published her wedding planning book, My Big Day Planner. A few months ago I put on my wedding dress again and posed for a few pictures for an ad she put on The Knot and The Wedding Channel websites. (See picture below) It was super fun. Anyway, back to the event.

The Wedding Preview Event, presented by My Big Day Planner, is going to be held in March in Denver. I’m going to be assisting Tawsha in the marketing and public relations aspects of the show. I’m really excited to get started and support her new business venture. I know that the event and Tawsha are going to be really successful! This preview event isn’t going to be like the bridal shows that I avoided like the plague while Josh and I were planning our wedding. Tawsha is hand selecting local Colorado businesses to participate. Each company will be filling out an application, from which Tawsha will choose the best of the best to represent their services at the event. There will only be one vendor for each service i.e. one photographer, one bridal salon, one caterer, etc.


On event day, each vendor will have a booth, but there is going to be so much more going on! There’s going to be a DJ playing awesome music and a dance floor where instructors will demonstrate their skills, and guests will be able to bust a move. There’s also going to a show displaying example weddings for each season. This is going to be an event where brides and their families will be able to get to know vendors and really get a great idea of what they want their wedding to be.

I’ll keep you all updated as we move along. Too bad the inaugural event wasn’t a year or two ago, I knew so many people getting married then! In the past 3 years we’ve been to more than a dozen weddings. So far this year, it seems there are only two on the horizon, including my friend Kailen that got engaged just about two weeks ago. Congrats again Kailen.:-)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Even Celebrities Have Leukemia

Yesterday I was reading the news like I always do and read that Kareem Abdul Jabbar is battling Leukemia.  Most people know him as the NBA's all time leading scorer.  Yesterday he announced that he has a rare form of the cancer called, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.  Just over 5000 people will be diagnosed with this particular form of cancer each year.  There are approximately 22,500 people living with it in the United States, including Jabbar who is currently in remission.  CML patients all have a chromosomal called the Philadelphia Chromosome (PH).   See the picture below for an explaination of how the chromosome develops.


Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia is one of the form of leukemia that can be treated with Gleevec which was developed entirely by funding provided by The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  It is reportedly the drug he is taking in order to keep his leukemia under control.  Since it is a chronic form, he will have it for the rest of his life.  The LLS was able to raise the money for the researchers who developed Gleevec by fundraising through programs such as Team in Training.  I cannot emphasize enough how important donating to this cause is.  So far I've been able to raise $1300 with your help. Please keep the donations coming!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Happy World Run Day!

Today is World Run Day. I had never heard of it until I was looking for a list of winter races on Active.com.  So of course being a t-shirt junkie and needing some extra motivation to get for a run longer than 4 miles this weekend, I signed up.  The website lists all of the participants all over the world. They ask that you commit to running a distance of your choice as well as donate to a charity. Well the charity of course is a no brainer for me....LLS.  So this morning I got myself up around 7 to start my prerun routine which includes PB&J toast as well as the morning news.  I've had a strange cramp in my calf for the past few days so I decided rather than getting stuck on the far side of MacIntosh Lake I'd just head to the gym.  That way if I couldn't work it out I'd have other cardio options available.  I'm happy to say that I made it through all 7 miles easily.  I ran it at a nice easy pace.

Time: 68:43       Distance: 7 miles        Avg. Pace: 9:49 min/mile

It was a pretty good run even though it was on the dreadmill.  My longest run since 1/2 marathon 3 weeks ago and probably the longest run I'll have few the next few weeks until training really kicks into gear.  Have a great rest of your weekend!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Another race to do and a contest!

Can you believe it’s already November? I can’t. Thanksgiving is just a mere three weeks away! This month there is a lot going on. My Uncle Rick is going to be in town next weekend for the showing of his film “Forgetting Dad” at the Starz Denver Film Festival (more on that to come) which is also the weekend of the official Team in Training season kickoff! I can’t wait to meet all of our new teammates on the 14th.

The following weekend is our first team run which is going to be a timed 5k. This will help everyone get into the correct training group and find their running partners. Nothing helps more on a long run than having someone to talk to. I’m interested to see what my conversation pace for a 5k is now these days.


Thanksgiving weekend my dad’s side of the family: Grandma and Grandpa Walker, Aunt Kath, Auth Suze, Uncle Todd and their three kiddos, are all coming for the weekend. This means good food and lots of it all weekend! This year I am going to try to be as healthy as possible though it’s tough with delicious food, wine and of course a beer or three before we go watch the Huskers trample the Buffs in Boulder.  Trying to be healthy over the holiday weekend is part of what lead me to register for the United Way’s Annual Turkey Trot last night. That and I'm ready for another short race.  The 4 mile race is Thanksgiving morning around Denver’s Wash Park. I’m excited to work up a sweat before indulging in my holiday favorites. Josh is going to do this race with me as is my stepmom Liz. I’m really looking forward to the race. The last time I did it was when I was in high school…long before the days of being a runner. Hopefully I’ll be able to pick up the pace and finish in well under 40 minutes…maybe 35ish or so.

Tonight I’m going to attempt my first ever tempo run. We’ll see how it goes. It should be a great indicator of how fast I’ll be able to finish the Trot.


Now back to fundraising and the contest mentioned. For the past two weeks or so there has not been a single donation…not one which makes me sad. So in order to get those donations to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society going again I thought I’d sweeten the deal. Everyone who donates up until Thanksgiving will have the opportunity to win this awesome t-shirt which was specially created for the Rocky Mountain Team in Training group. Yep, that's right, I'm going to reward you for your tax deductible donation to LLS.  I mean who doesn't love a good t-shirt?  I will randomly draw a winner next Wednesday I only ask that you donate a minimum of $10, no maximum of course! Good luck everyone and let’s get the donations going.

Update to come on how the tempo run went later.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween...a day late


Happy Halloween everyone.  I hope you all had a great time.  I spent my morning with these lovely ladies.  Jennifer and Tawsha are my fellow mentors for this season of TNT.  We're all super excited for the season to start and have tons of fundraising events in the works.  Hopefully this will make it easier for our new teammates.  Some of the events on tap: murder mystery dinner party, gift wrapping at Borders, Percentage of Sales Night at California Pizza Kitchen, Holiday Movie viewing with Santa and all and more.  We're hoping to have a wine tasting party too. I know you will all want to attended these events. They are going to be a blast!  Anyway, back to the meeting.

We all meet at the REI in Boulder for a informational (after you see the video you'll have to join) meeting.  We had six people show up and five of them signed up!  The one person who didn't was there just to learn more about what TNT is all about as she is currently battling Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.  That is the same type of cancer my Uncle Ted had.  Luckily he's been in remission for more than 10 years now.  This woman took a moment to thank everyone who was at the meeting because we are all fighting to help patients just like her.  She's about to start her final round of chemotherapy next week so she will not be joining us this season, but hopes to in the near future.  Let's help her out by donating to the cause shall we? 

After the meeting, I finally found some ski boots and got ready for the rest of the evening.  Josh and I finally carved our pumpkin, made some homemade pizza and settled in for a night of scary movies and trick or treaters.  We were really surprised at how few we had this year. Maybe they all have swine flu. 

The best thing about not going out on Halloween....no hangover!  I got up and went for a quick 4 mile run, which was really tough today. I can feel my stupid cold in my chest every time I try to get moving.  I've taken the last fews days (ok almost a week) off of running to see if it gets better, but it's still being difficult. Here are my stats:

Time: 36:46        Distance: 4 miles       Avg. Pace: 9:11 min/miles

Off to a new thrift store in town to see if there's anything we just can't live without.