Whining

It was a dark and hot and humid morning....oh, heck, it was just another dang Summer morning in San Antonio.  But I made it out of bed to hit the Labor Day Whine 5 Mile Run.  Sunday, I ran 14 somewhat hilly miles and dropped 5 1/2 pounds of sweat - really, I weighed before/after.  So, I spent the rest of Sunday alternating water and juice and water and juice and....I actually was rehydrated for this morning's race.  But I was tired and my feet/knee were sore, so I took the 5 mile sunny, hot, humid, and HILLY run easy.

So - here we are after the 45-minute drive, waiting to start

And I started off slow, made it up the first hill, down the next, then got slower.  And basically just coasted - and took it really easy (e.g. I was slacking). 

Until, just after mile 4, when I was pounced by 2-time Olympic marathoner, Liza Hunter Galvan.  I had joked with her a couple of weeks ago that, after she won, she could give me a piggy back ride up the last hill (at about mile 4.7).  Anyway, she had already finished, was running some cooldown miles, turned around, and dragged me in to the finish line - but no piggy back ride. 

Here's the proof that I beat her (okay, yeah, she'd already finished a first and maybe a second time before this, and was practically running backward to 'maintain' my pace, and maybe went home to feed the chickens too, but still - photographic proof!).  What it really is is me repaying the favor by showing Liza how much easier it is to pose for crazy pics when you run a twee bit slower than a sub-6:00 pace!  Thanks, Liza.

After the race, I again "rehydrated" - with Sangria.  (The race is held at Dry Comal Creek Vineyard - and I always support our sponsors.)

Incidentally -  the "bib bag" (Am'o bag) I have there was made by Liza & her family - you can check them and other 'recycled material bags' out at http://www.geegeebags.com/GeeGee_Bags/Welcome.html

Thanks to Ceci, IAAP, Scottydog, Tom Lake, and SARR for the pics!

Historic post - Ode to the Olympics

So, this is so what I would look like in Beijing, accepting the gold. Not quite as compelling as señor Phelps, I guess. My only gripe with that super-freak-athlete is that they keep airing his amazing performances when I should be trying to get to bed. Ah well, another week and a half or so and I'll get some sleep instead of crazily trying to watch EVERY event televised. Gotta love the Olympics.

This was actually me accepting an age group award at the Incarnate Word Run for Brainpower (ahem, no comments, please) in 2007. Obviously, the race wasn't very big, if I was winning. Actually, here's the ugly race pic:

Check out that awful time - eek! In my defense, the night before went a little long. And it poured all Summer, so I finished with pounds of mud on my shoes.

Side note: Way to go to Tim, the crazy guy who biked from Denver to Milwaukee. Check out his great road stories here - including losing an important bag (who needs GPS and cash anyway) and the crazy and awesome folks he met along the way. Welcome home, Tim. He didn't even get a cheesy medal for that!