Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spamity Spam, Spaaaaam

My brother Pat was visiting us a couple of weeks ago. We went to the Downtown Gainesville Art Festival on Saturday afternoon. This is a really nice festival with lots of artists and lots of food. I commented that if you want people to walk around for a long time and spend money then you need to feed them. Pat commented that Food + Art = Fart. That's my family! As we turned a corner, we saw the Spam truck. Of course I had to take a picture, otherwise I'm sure no one would believe me. Seriously - a Spam truck - at an art festival no less. We had a great time and I bought a couple of wooden puzzles. Of course, you can not mention Spam without Monty Python coming to mind so here is the Spam sketch for your amusement.

Another Thanksgiving Gone By

As I mentioned previously, Brian and I spent the long Thanksgiving weekend in Rockport with the Trimyer family. We had such a good time! It was so good to see everyone. Brian makes the trip to Texas rarely and the last time was last Thanksgiving so he really enjoyed it. The weather was on the cold, damp, and windy side but considering our plan involved lots of eating, football watching, socializing, and card playing, it really wasn't a tragedy.

Thursday morning Joey, Rachel, Maggie and I had plans to run the annual Corpus Christi Turkey Trot - a 4.1 mile race. There was a kids K race, also, and Brian agreed to get up early and come with us to watch Jordan while we ran. That way both Jordan and Joey got to race. It was soooo cold!!! A crazy cold front had come through the night before, and the temps were in the 40's with 20 mph north winds - brrr! The temp wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the wind. Anyway, Jordan ran his race and he did very well. He ran the whole thing by himself. He specifically stated that he didn't want Mommy or Daddy to run it with him. This was the first time that he ran a race completely on his own. It was very fun to see! Afterwards, he and Uncle Brian headed indoors while we ran our race. Joey ran an awesome race, although he is somewhat disappointed for various reasons - check out his blog for details. Rachel and Maggie also had excellent runs finishing very close together. I was very happy with my time especially considering the wind - 36:38 watch time (36:52 gun time), a respectable 8:51 min mile. My time last year was 38:07 - yay for getting faster! I was midpack in my age group and would have had to run an 8 min mile to place in the top three so even though I probably could have run a little faster, it wouldn't have got me any hardware. My goal for this race was to dial in to a sub 9 min mile and try to stay there. It's the pace I need to get comfortable with if I'm going to PR in a half-marathon this winter. I accomplished that, and felt like I could have run a few more miles at that pace so I'm feeling confident that I can meet my goals.

After the race, we headed back to the house for showers, naps, and turkey, of course! - and pie! The list of food that was cooked for us by Bill and Carol during our visit was insane! There was turkey and 2 kinds of stuffing - with and without oysters, gravy, sweet potatoes, asparagus, green beans, rolls for Thanksgiving dinner. Jordan helped Grandma make the rolls, which was very cute to watch. Friday we had sausage, biscuits, and gravy for breakfast, gumbo for lunch, and enchiladas and tamales for dinner - I'm not kidding! Saturday was the highly anticipated seafood fest - fried shrimp - prepared by Joey, fried oysters, oysters rockefeller, and an oyster stew - I forget what it was called but it was super yummy. Interspersed in all the food was the pie - apple, pumpkin, cherry, chocolate creme, pecan. There was also much consumption of leftovers. Between the almost continuous food coma; the cold, overcast weather; and the warm, fuzzy feeling of contentment that comes from being surrounded by loved ones; I slept better than I have in quite some time.

Other high points were a visit by Carol's longtime friend, Stella, who brought a super yummy earthquake cake; testing out Joey's strawberry and sparkling wine holiday beverage - 2 thumbs up; Joey's Aunt Bootie and Uncle Gorman joining us for the Saturday Seafood Fest; watching Buckaroo Bonzai; playing cards with Joey and Brian - our game is Sgt. Major, a three person card game developed by British officers in India. We discovered it via Google during our last trip to Mexico. Rachel had gone to bed and we wanted to play cards so Joey used his phone to find a three person card game. We ended up playing it quite a few evenings on that trip. Last Thanksgiving, we went on a tear and played until 3 am. This year we behaved ourselves - we played every evening but went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Another fun thing is watching Rachel prepare for her Black Friday shopping excursion. Now anyone that knows Rachel, knows that she is very organized, but the way she plans out this day of shopping is amazing to me. After combing the newspaper for the sale info, she decides what stores she wants to visit and then she and Carol plan out the best route according to what time Rachel wants to be at a certain store and which stores are near each other. If I was that organized and focused, I might enjoy shopping more. Armed with her lists, Rachel, Maggie and Carol headed out while the rest of us looked forward to the UT - A&M game. I expected to get some text messages from Maggie - we virtual shop together regularly - but Maggie had no joy with the shopping or at least, she didn't find anything that she had to have. Overall though, they had better shopping results than we did football results.

Last but not least was a Saturday run with Joey. Joey and I used to run together regularly when I lived in Austin and it's always nice when we get a chance to run together. It doesn't happen too often. For one thing Joey has gotten considerably faster than me. Saturday was yucky weather but we sucked it up and did 4 miles in 37:13 - a respectable 9:17 min mile. Good for me, a little slow for Joey. I told him he could run ahead if he wanted, but he opted to take it easy and stay with me. Thanks J!

Overall, it was an awesome trip even with the cold weather and the travel delays getting home. I can't believe Christmas is just around the corner!

Off to Rockport

Brian and I are heading off to Rockport to spend Thanksgiving with Joey, Rachel, Jordan, Maggie and Joey's parent's Bill and Carol, and whomever else of Joey's family may be stopping by. Now I'm sure some of you may be wondering why we aren't going to Maryland to visit my family or New York to visit Brian's. There are lots of reasons but the big one is that we consider Joey and his family to be our family as well, and when you move away from your family it's always good to visit.

Back when Brian and I lived in Texas, Joey and Rachel sort of adopted us. I guess moving halfway across the country and leaving your friends and family behind sort of makes a person in need of adopting. Anyway, this was back when Robert Mueller was the Austin Airport and flying back to the Northeast was both costly and a hassle. We started spending Thanksgiving at Joey's parents. Now I could go on and on about how great it is to spend Thanksgiving with the Trimyers, but I need to finish packing so I'm going to sum it up - lots of amazing food, lots of my favorite people in the world, football, and pie. It really is a great way to spend the holiday.

For my family who is reading this, of course we miss you and I wish we could all be together to celebrate Thanksgiving - I'm not sure there is a house big enough to hold all of us, but that's a detail for another day. We love you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Friday Fun

This past Friday, I attended a health fair at the Veterans Administration. I was there in my capacity as a yoga teacher, and the primary goal was to drum up interest for a yoga class for employees at the VA. My friend Barry is the Wellness Director at the VA and during several of our runs we had talked about the possibility of me teaching yoga classes for the employees. He invited me to the health fair and has been telling everyone about me. The response was overwhelming! I had a sign-up sheet for people that were interested in getting more information and over 40 people signed up. Looks like I'll be teaching at least one yoga class starting in January. I know a few of you are thinking "It's about time" and it really is.

It was fun hanging out at the fair all day and talking with people about yoga. I think I did a nice job with my display. I had lots of visuals, I had made a brochure that had some basic info about yoga and about me, some business cards, and a sheet of basic yoga poses that people could take with them.

My Display

I also made the rounds of the other tables. There was a rep from Powerhouse Gym at the table next to mine and we chatted, the VA nutrition consultant was behind me. She was extolling the benefits of dark chocolate. I started teasing her that if she was going to insist on talking about chocolate that she was going to have to give me some. The Gainesville Rowing Club was there. One of my stadium group is a member so she was there representing the club. I am hoping to be able to attend one of their Intro to Rowing classes in the spring and maybe start rowing. That should take care of my current lack of upper body strength really fast. I also talked with the Rock Gym guy. I would love to start climbing again - even if it is inside. Tuesday is Ladies Day so maybe that'll be something new for me to do.

Alberta, one of the Florida Gators mascots - it's Albert and Alberta - was present. She was hilarious! She visited all the displays, had her blood pressure checked, and demonstrated several yoga poses. We even did some sun salutations. She is an accomplished yogini. She was a little upset about my Babar Yoga for Elephants Book. I assured her that gators are just as good at yoga and that perhaps she and I should write a book. It was a really fun day!

Blood Pressure Check

Alberta Demonstrates Warrior II

Big Thanks!

I know the five of you that regularly read my blog are dying in anticipation of the marathon race report - I promise it's on the way. I started this post a few days ago, but my brother Pat has been in town visiting and I've been busy. Hopefully, this will tide you over.

Before I post the actual race report - patience grasshopper - I'd like to say thank you to everyone who helped to get me to and through the race. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, no one finishes a marathon by themselves. Sure the blood, sweat, and tears are all their own, but without the support of friends and family, the race would be a complete sufferfest. So here is what I'm sure is an incomplete list and is in no particular order, but is what comes to mind at the moment.

• My sister Sarah who has the makings of an awesome Sherpa. Not only did she and her husband give up their bedroom and sleep on an air mattress for four nights, but she called me the Monday before the race to get my shopping list so she could have food for me. She cooked for me, took care of ordering my pre-race pasta fest, went with me to the Marathon Expo, got everyone to the pre-designated cheering locations, AND drove me to the Staten Island Ferry on race morning. FYI to my IMFL gang - she may be joining us for the race. Did I mention the finish line flowers? Oh yeah, and she has four children under the age of 6. What a rock star!
• My sister's hubby, Chalmers, for giving up his bedroom, but mostly for going to the chosen post-race restaurant ahead of everyone else and getting us on the list for a table. Having to wait for a table after a marathon would not be fun.
• My nieces, Olivia and Elena, for helping to make a super awesome sign for me, and coming out to cheer me on.
• Joey, Rachel, Maggie, and Jordan - they are always a huge part of any event I do even if they aren't there. Joey, Maggie, and Rachel were taking responsibility for getting me registered for IMFL '08, since registration was occurring at the same time as the marathon. Joey had a shirt custom made for me to run in with it's very own Trimyer Original design. Rachel got me a pair of soft, fuzzy slipper socks that I wore constantly in New York 'cause it was cold. The socks have sockmonkeys embroidered on them. I know everyone is jealous - my sister sure is! Jordan drew me a good luck picture that I kept by my bed - what a sweetie!
• My hubby, Brian, who didn't necessarily do anything above and beyond what he normally does leading up to the marathon because he takes such good care of me all the time that there really isn't a whole lot more he could do. It was so much fun having him cheer for me and take pics. He gets big props for not saying a word when I wore my tiara through the entire post-marathon dinner.
• Brian's parents, Bob and Chris. I think they were more excited than I was when I first announced that I had gotten into the NYC marathon. They took us out to an awesome restaurant on Friday night, came into the city on Sunday to join the cheering squad, found an excellent post-race restaurant, and parked their car close to Central Park West, which meant we didn't have to deal with getting a cab once I finally got out of the park. Awesome!
  
• My friends and fellow Florida Track Club members, Tom and Barry, for convincing me back in June to join them for a stadium workout on Tuesdays and a 3 mile hill run on Thursdays. Those workouts made most of the hills during the race seem easy.
• Emily, Vicky, Liz, Mom, and Greg for pre- and post-race good wishes, and the rest of my family as well. Even if they aren't always sure what I'm up to, they always make a big deal about it when they find out. Thanks y'all!
  
• My coach, Brandon Marsh, for putting together an awesome training program. I can not say enough good things about my training, and I am looking forward to working with Brandon for Ironman.

Thanks Everyone! I love you!

NYC Marathon - all done!

The race is done. You will have to hold your horses for a full race report and pics 'cause I'm tired. Here are a few tidbits - the Staten Island Ferry is awesome, people in Brooklyn LOVE the marathon and are by far the best cheerers I've ever experienced, running over the Queensboro Bridge 15 miles into a race sucks ass, having a shirt with your name on it in a spectator heavy race totally rocks - thanks Joey, knowing you've got people waiting for you at mile 18 and 24 is a serious motivator, finishing on an uphill is a bit rough.

My time was 5:07:30. My goal was 4:40 - more to come on the discrepancy. My time was a 43 minute improvement over my last marathon so I'm happy. I also feel much better than I did after my other two marathons. Wohoo!

The Expo

Friday, Sarah and I heading to the NY Marathon Race Expo. It was by far the craziest race expo I have ever been to. There were people everywhere! There were lots of volunteers to direct the athletes so picking up my race number and packet were relatively easy. Once we were done with that, we headed out into the expo for some shopping. It was really crowded! We covered most of the expo, but we were going pretty quickly so I'm sure I missed some freebies. I did score a bandana from the Livestrong booth and an autrographed photo from Stepheno Baldini, the current marathon Olympic gold medalist. After doing some shopping, we decided it was time to go. I get agitated if I spend too much time in large, crowded, noisy places - it's why I avoid places like Walmart and Home Depot. I bought some pretty cute things, but my favorite purchase by far is the FDNY t-shirts that were being sold at the Expo exit. There was a group of firefighters selling shirts with the FDNY logo on the front and "FDNY Stand Back 200 Feet" on the back. Of course I had to have one! I got one each for the twins and one for me and my sister - in pink. Anyone that ever thought I needed a warning label has now gotten their wish. The shirts were $10 and all proceeds go to FDNY - a great shirt and I get to feel good about it too.

New York at last!

Last night Brian and I flew to New York. It was an uneventful trip, which is always good when air travel is involved. Before our flight, we met Joey in the Jacksonville Airport - he and Maggie are in Panama City Beach this weekend to volunteer for Ironman Florida which is on Saturday. They are going to register for IMFL 2008 on Sunday and hopefully get me registered, too. We had a nice dinner and hung out for a bit while waiting for our flight. I'm totally bummed that the marathon and IMFL are on the same weekend - I really want to be there!

We flew into La Guardia so we had an awesome view of NY City all lit up at night. We flew over the Verrazano Bridge - the race start, saw the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building lit up Orange and Blue - the marathon's colors. I can't believe the race is almost here.

We spent some time chatting with my sister, Sarah, and her husband, Chalmers, before heading off to bed. This morning has been low key. Sarah and I are heading to the Race expo in a bit while the twins nap. Brian has opted for babysitting detail over the Race expo.