and almost almost famous again

Yep, I'm a fame ho.  Even though I didn't chase this one....

There are some great race directors in San Antonio - I am but a rookie - and Ceci's one of the top dogs.  Her Dia de los Muertos 5k is this Saturday - FANTASTIC race.  Last year, I dressed as a jellyfish - you can spot me in the last minute or so of this piece for 1/8th of a second - just don't blink.  And, if you are in San Antonio, register - there is still a little room left http://diadelosmuertosrun.com/ 

http://www.foxsanantonio.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/vid_12513.shtml

What - I forgot to mention that I was, again, almost famous?

After attending a luncheon today with George W (we weren't at the same table), one of the announcers who follows my posts emailed me that I had not posted this.  Really?  I didn't?

Really. I didn't. Holy cats - you know I love to look cruddy on camera like this - while promoting the Women's 5k!  This was actually from back in September - it's here


Or you can also look here

http://www.woai.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3755175

Yes, I was dead tired and not prepared to be interviewed, but the 'reporter' did a wonderful job.  And I am, again, almost famous.

Hippopitoodlepotamus Run

Ho hum.  My annual marathon is run, so now what?  Let an 85-pound pitbull drag me up 3.1 miles of hills, you say?  You're ON!  Oh wait, I already did that on Saturday. 

Gwen and I hit the rescheduled SNIPSA Race for the Rescues 5k last Saturday.  She would like me to mention that she's been dieting and is likely closer to 80 pounds, but it's hard to do the pick-up-the-baby-hippo-dog-and-jump-on-the-scale thing.  Maybe we'll tackle that challenge this weekend.

But, back to last weekend.  I alternate dogs for these races, so it was Gwen's turn to 'race.'  Here we are beforehand.

She's pretty competitive and went into full-out zombie mode

Freaky, no?  Then, she lunged and ate the photographer's brains!

Not really.  Gwen is just overly enthusiastic with kisses (and accompanies them with a complimentary head butt). 

So, we got off to a FAST start, but Gwen was soon distracted by chasing the biggest boy dogs she could find and wallowing in dogpools like a hippo.  (The apple, it seems, does not fall far from the tree.)  But, we 'sprinted' to the finish, looking like champion runners - in a speedy 47ish minutes.

And then "we" sniffed a bunch of butts and took this lovely pic

Gwen would like me to mention that objects in this pic appear wider than they really are.  I'm pretty sure she's correct. 

So, after that adventure, I let her drive home.

Not really - zombie hippopitoodlepotamuses are TERRIBLE drivers.

Gwen would also like me to mention, though she was an off-the-street stray rescue, you should support SNIPSA.  I've volunteered with those folks, and they do a wonderful job TRYING to help reduce the stray population and kill rate in San Antonio.  Gwen says give them some money or adopt your own hippopitoodlepotamus (or other, slightly inferior, breed) from them. 

Thanks to scottydog, Benson photography, and Michelle for the pics.

Shiny things

I can't believe I forgot to post non-ugly pics of the best part of every marathon - the medal ***ooooo shiny things****!  Yes, it is a fairly useless "prize," but I treasure my shiny medals - and this one was cooler than  most:

And, as my fellow Brak Pak'ers pointed out - it is also suitable as a weapon.  But I don't want to get blood on my shiny medal, so I'm not going to try it.

Marathon #6 - Hartford

About 19 years ago, my good college buddy, Tara, suggested that we try out the Army - and I said "sounds good" - and off we went to Basic in Fort Knox, KY....

and I ended up in the real Army for the next 8ish years.  (We were about six years old in that pic.)  Fast forward to 2012 - the year I dislocated my patella, became hypothyroid, and discovered I have terrible arthritis under my kneecaps.  But, dangit, I was still going to run a marathon and searched for a flat, cheap-ish one. 

So, Tara suggested that I come run the ING Hartford marathon "with" her - and I said "sounds good."  So, there I was on October 13, 2012, freezing my buns off at the 35 degree start.  Didn't sound (or feel) good. 

(We're still about 25 years old.)  And here we are with team MAD (Making a Difference) - don't hate me because my pants are cool.  This group rocked - 7 private portapotties for 44 folks - most excellent.

This was my slowest finish - but it was the first marathon where THAT voice did not creep into my head and say "maybe you can't do this."  (Somewhere along the 26.2 miles, that voice always finds me and haunts me for a mile or so - until I grab it by the throat and choke the life out of it.)  This time, I was just taking it easy, and that voice never found me - maybe the voice found the Kenyans (or Tara - who finished in a blazing 3:37ish - but that's unlikely), and it didn't get me. 

The ugly race pics did get me, however.  Here are my cold running pics along the route:

Man, the fat face got me!

And then there was the inglorious finish....through the arch

That was pretty cool.
And they announced "Sally Seeker from San Antonio" - and I did a crazy running chicken warm-up

Then, I went full out crazy running chicken to the finish - check out the chicken wings

And that I did - finish.  But why does that chick in the blue look so happy about it?

I caught up with Cliff around mile 24 and we finished the run together (nevermind that he carried that flag the WHOLE time)

and then I finally looked at my watch and said "really? you couldn't break 5:00?"

But, in the end, I did it - broken-ish elbow, bad knee, and all.  And Tara managed to capture a not-so-ugly-I-rock-this pic

And then I froze a little more

But it was good. And now, Tara says, "we should run this"

And - wait for it------I say "sounds good"
Thanks to Tara, Kevin, and Brightroom for the pics - and super thanks to Tara for hosting me - it was really a great trip (especially when it warmed up).