In Austin

Hi all! I know I've been very absent from my blog. Brian and I have been in Austin since last Thursday and it's been a very busy, very fun trip. I promise several posts soon. We are heading back to Gainesville tonight. Here's a teaser of posts to come - a new bike for me, a half-marathon PR, Brian's birthday present, winning my age group at a race, and who knows what else. Stay tuned and hope everyone is doing well!

Near Misses and Simple Pleasures

Ok, so this post is a little on the sappy side, but I do have my sappy moments from time to time - it happens. Besides, I'm sure a little sappiness is more desirable to most of my readers than hearing about hocking up phlegm and blowing my nose into my hand during runs or my ruminations on whether or not Nuun gives me gas. Also, it's pretty long, but I guess it'll keep everyone busy for a while.

When I was writing my previous post on Happiness, an essay that I had read in a book popped into my head. It was somewhat relevant to what I was writing, and also to some moments I had experienced on my long run on Sunday.

• I came across a girl who had wrecked on her bike, she wasn't wearing a helmet, and had escaped with a scraped hand and some minor road rash. I know a few of us that can relate to that. She was sitting on the sidewalk talking to her boyfriend on her cellphone - he was coming to pick her up. I made sure she was ok and continued my run.
• There were at least 4 times when I put my foot down on some item in my path that could have resulted in a messed up ankle or me ending up on my ass, but I managed to keep my balance and keep on going. Is sweetgum ball surfing an extreme sport? If not, maybe it should be.
  
• Don't even get me started on the impaired driving abilities of people on their way to church. Let's just say that people on their way to work are much nicer to pedestrians than church goers.
  
• The traffic lights were all in my favor. Translation - I didn't have to stop at an intersection.
  

At any rate this essay, from what I could recall, was on near misses. I tracked it down, reread it, and thought "That might be nice to share at some point." Today I was talking on the phone with my sister, and she was relating to me that she and her husband had made an important financial decision in an incredibly timely moment, and so the essay came back to mind and I figured "What the heck, I don't have any thing else to write about at the moment." That's entirely untrue, but let's just pretend I don't have three or four unfinished posts in the works.

Anyway, the essay is from the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. I'm sure many of you recognize the title. I think my mom got me the book when I was in college, but I don't remember. It's full of essays about life and the human condition, and it has a tendency to be overly emotional and a bit over the top, but the author is funny and writes a lot about his own personal experiences so it's interesting and enjoyable. He grew up in Texas so maybe that's what draws me. I was going to summarize the essay or take an excerpt but then I decided that was too much work so here it is.

My Grandfather Sam called me up last Tuesday to ask if I'd take him to a football game. Grandfather likes small-town high school football – and even better, the eight-man ball played by crossroads teams. Grandfather is a fan of amateurs and small scale. Some people are concerned about how it is that good things happen to bad people, and there are those concerned about how bad things happen to good people. But my grandfather is interested in those times when miracles happen to ordinary people. Here again, he likes small scale.

When a nothing team full of nothing kids from a nothing town rises up with nothing to lose against some upmarket suburban outfit with new uniforms, and starts chucking hail-Mary bombs from their own goal line, and their scrawny freshman tight end catches three in a row to win the game – well, it does your heart good.

Murphy's Law does not always hold, says Grandfather Sam. Every once in a while the fundamental laws of the universe seem to be momentarily suspended, and not only does everything go right, nothing seems to be able to keep it from going right. It's not always something as dramatic as the long bomb or the slam-dunk that wins ball games.

Ever drop a glass in the sink when you're washing dishes and have it bounce nine times and not even chip? Ever come out after work to find your lights have been on all day and your battery's dead but you're parked on a hill and you let your old hoopy roll and it fires the first time you pop the clutch and off you roar with a high heart? Ever pull out that drawer in your desk that has a ten-year accumulation of junk in it – pull it out too far and too fast – and just as it's about to vomit its contents all over the room you get a knee under it and stagger back hopping on one foot and doing a balancing act like the Great Zucchini and you don't lose it? A near-miss at an intersection; the glass of knocked-over spilled milk that waltzes across the table but doesn't spill; the deposit that beat your rubber check to the bank because there was a holiday you forgot about; the lump in your breast that turned out to be benign; the heart attack that turned out to be gas; picking the right lane for once in a traffic jam; opening the door of your car with a coat hanger through the wing window on the first try. And on and on and on and on.

When small miracles occur for ordinary people, day by ordinary day. When not only did the worst not happen, but maybe nothing much happened at all, or some little piece fell neatly into place. The grace of what-might-have-been-but-wasn't, and it was good to get off scot-free for once. The ecstasy of what-could-never-happen-but-did, and it was grand to have beat the odds against for a change. Or the bliss of just what-was-for-a-day when nothing special took place – life just worked.

My grandfather says he blesses God each day when he takes himself off to bed having eaten and not having been eaten once again. “Now I lay me down to sleep. In the peace of amateurs, for whom so many blessings flow. I thank you, God, for what went right! Amen.”

Happiness is.......

• thinking I am on mile 3 of a 10 mile run and looking at my watch and discovering that I am actually on mile 5 - wohoo! It was 98% humidity so this discovery was the high point of the run, the rest pretty much sucked.
• a phone call with my sister
  
• chocolate cookies
• breakfast with my husband
• the NY Giants beating Dallas to advance in the playoffs
• soaking in the hot tub
• meatloaf and mashed potatoes
  

These were some of my happy moments today. Tomorrow is the opportunity for a whole new list. Hope you had some good moments today too!

Still Here

I realize I haven't posted in a week. I actually have three posts in the works but I haven't been on the computer much lately. We are having absolutely beautiful weather and I have been trying to pack in lots of outdoor time. Tomorrow will be more of the same, and I am looking forward to yet another afternoon spent at the campus pool. As far as this week goes, it's been one of those weeks where I can't figure out where the time went. Oh well!

My training is going well, although I was quite tired on Wednesday. I resumed my stadium workout on Tuesday after a two week break and realized immediately why running hills had been harder than usual on Saturday. The stadium workout went well, but I was wiped after. Usually I ride the bike at the gym for another hour, but I opted for home and some evening yoga. After nearly falling on my face while doing balance poses - much to Brian's amusement - I opted to get down on the floor where I very nearly fell asleep.

Speaking of yoga, I started teaching my class this week. I have 28 people signed up and it looks like I may have two more joining next week - 30 people, that's crazy! The last time I taught a fitness class with 30 people in it was the aerobics classes I taught at the University of MD - that was many moons ago. This is a beginner's class and everyone has such a great attitude. I love teaching beginners - it is both easier and more challenging than teaching more advanced students. Beginners typically know very little about yoga so they are very open to instruction, but they also don't know any of the terms, poses, and concepts so there is a lot more explanation required. All teachers should teach a beginner class - it helps to keep you familiar with the fundamentals of the practice. At any rate, this session is for six weeks and if there is enough interest, I'll continue offering classes.

That's all for now. More soon!

What's Next?

That was the question that I was asked several times during my Christmas visit so I figure I should answer it. I might as well tie it in with a year in review and New Year's resolutions - although typically my New Year's resolutions are goals I set for myself so the resolutions and "what's next" are essentially the same. I tend to avoid resolutions like be a better person, spouse, or friend because I always try to be better at those things - I may not always succeed, but I do try. I'd like to think that achieving the goals I set for myself help me to be a better person, but that's just my opinion.

So here's a quick recap of the year. I won't make any judgments on whether it was a good or bad year. I'm an optimist and I tend to think that the good outweighs the bad, and that even the bad things tend to look better over time. Yes, I am a silver lining kind of gal. I also think that each year is better than the last, and I try not to dwell on the past too much - it happened, it's over, moving on. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy reminiscing - I definitely do - I just prefer to not live in the past.

This year has definitely been a year of progressively improving health and fitness. Last year at this time, I was taking heart medication, having blood pressure issues, and dealing with plantar fasciitis. The majority of health issues cleared up and I was given a clean bill of health by my doctor in May. The plantar fasciitis took much longer to improve, but was pretty much gone by September. I ran the AT&T Half-marathon in February, started my triathlon season in March, did the Tour de Pain (3 races in 2 days) in August, and completed the NY Marathon in November. I did six triathlons this year: two sprint distances, one sprint distance tri turned duathlon, one quarter-iron distance (not quite an olympic distance), one half-iron distance, and one olympic distance - that is the most I've ever done in a year. I completed my 2nd half-ironman tri and set a PR for both that distance and the Olympic distance. I also set a marathon PR. Overall, I'm pleased with my racing accomplishments and healthwise I'm feeling really good.

My goals for 2008 are to complete Ironman Florida in November - that's the big one, to PR in a half-marathon - I have to beat 2:08, and to PR in a half-iron and olympic distance triathlon. I am racing the 3M half-marathon in a few weeks so I'm shooting for the half-marathon PR soon. If I don't make it, I will try again a month later. I'd love to break 2 hours, but I'm not quite sure I'm there yet. I'm doing the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May - I'm already registered so unless something major comes up, I'm definitely there. This is the half-iron distance. I set a PR last year with plantar fasciitis and on a harder course so another PR is looking good.

The other thing I have in the works is teaching yoga. I'm starting to teach a class next week and I would really like to get a few regular classes going. I worked really hard to complete my yoga certification and it'll be nice to put it to use.

That's all for now. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship and never in want.
-Irish Toast

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire
-Irish Blessing

Kick in the pants

It's been a few days since I've posted so I figure I should write something. It's going to be short because it's dinner time and I'm hungry. Brian and I eat out every Saturday night so we need to be going.

Things have been pretty low key here in Gainesville since returning from our Christmas adventure in Maryland. The city is quiet and campus is like a ghost town while the students are away. Brian has been working and I have been trying with mixed results to find a workout groove again. For the past few weeks, I've not been loving running - swimming and biking, no problem, but running - yuck! There are a few reasons, but I'm going to put it all under the umbrella of runner's burnout. It's been really hard for me to motivate to do a running workout that didn't involve other people, and even then the run often sucked. Sometimes I really feel like I need someone to come and give me a kick in the pants. Since I didn't have any takers for that offer, I figured it was time to give myself a kick - so to speak. Today I decided I really needed to suck it up and do my long run as scheduled by my coach. It was 90% humidity and the idea of 1:45 hrs on the concrete was not helping my motivation so I headed to the gym to use the treadmill. I figured I hadn't been on it in a while so maybe it wouldn't be such mental torture. With the 2nd half of the Texas basketball game as my companion and the occasional text message from Joey, I managed the 1:45 just fine-10.5 miles total. I feel good and more importantly, I feel motivated again. Maybe the week off from running was just what I needed.

Christmas Cheer

This is just a quick post to share some photos from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I thought those of you that are working tomorrow - I'm so sorry about that - might want some entertainment, and I figured the three of you that read my blog that weren't present for the mayhem that is a McDonold Family Christmas want to see some pics. Brian and I are traveling back to the warmth of Florida tomorrow so maybe a longer post is coming - or maybe not.

Happy Song

I have to start off this post by saying that the Holidays make me sentimental and this is definitely a bit on the mushy side. You have been warned!

I was out for an easy 3-mile run today. It was a bit on the chilly side - the thermometer said 35 but I think it may have been closer to 40. Regardless, it was much colder than I am used to or prefer. I said a silent prayer to the geniuses that have developed all the varieties of cold weather technical fabric. More on that in another post. So I'm running along listening to my ipod and a particular song comes on that I happen to enjoy. It's a mushy, happy song in that 80's pop rock style - think Katrina and the Waves "Walkin' on Sunshine" and you'll be in the right ballpark. The name of the song is "You're a Friend of Mine" and it's a duet by Jackson Brown and Clarence Clemons (of E Street Band Fame). No, I'm not kidding. It's about lasting friendship and it's sappy and sentimental and yet it resonates with me on a certain level. I've included the lyrics and a YouTube video. Be warned - if you don't like the saxophone and you have an aversion to the 80's then stay far away from this video.

You're a Friend of Mine

Striking out?
Well count me in
I'm gonna stand right by your side through thick or thin
Ain't no doubt
Gonna win
A walk through hell ain't bad compared to where we've been

Oh, you can depend on me
Over and over... over and over
Know that I intend to be
The one who always makes you laugh until you cry
And you can call on me until the day you die

Years may come and go
Here's one thing I know
All my life
You're a friend of mine

That argument
I can't forget
We fought so hard I don't think I've recovered yet
The girls we knew
Who thought you were cool
I never introduced my favorite ones to you

Oh, you can depend on me
Over and over... over and over
Know that I intend to be
The one who always makes you laugh until you cry
And you can call on me until the day you die

Years may come and go
Here's one thing I know
All my life
You're a friend of mine

Travelin' Blues

Today Brian and I made our annual holiday trek to Maryland to spend Christmas with my family. Christmas with my family is always super fun - really anything with my family is always a good time - so we don't mind making the trip, but today was a rather trying travel day. It was by no means the worst holiday travel experience we've ever had, but it wasn't the best either. Mostly I just wasn't expecting things to be as chaotic as the were.

We flew out of Orlando, which is a 1.5 - 2 hour drive - I allowed for 2 hours, since it's the holidays AND Friday, and I scheduled us to leave so that we would be at the airport 2 hours before our flight. The point to adding in all the extra travel time wasn't because I thought things were going to be crazy, but because I didn't want us to feel rushed and stressed out. Well, it was a bit crazy. Traffic was heavy, the airport was insane, I was hungry so I was getting grouchy. It seemed like no one had planned for it to be that busy - like all the airport and airline employees forgot it was Christmas. Everyone was being pleasant, though, which was nice. If people had started getting ugly, I might have come unhinged. Between the line at the Southwest counter and the line at security, we barely had enough time to get some sandwiches that weren't McDonald's and get to our gate. We arrived at our gate just as our flight was beginning to board. The flight took off with no problems, our luggage made it to Baltimore, and my brother picked us up at the airport. I ate on the plane and felt much better, and Brian still thinks being married to me is a good thing. We are here with family and everything is good again. Like I said, not the worst travel experience, but not the best.

What Really Matters

I have the Google Desktop Sidebar on my computer and one of the features is a slideshow. At first I though it was just loading random images, but then I would notice one of my photos would pop up. It turns out that it will pull images from your computer. I set up a folder with photos I like and now when I am working I get to enjoy a nice slideshow.

It's the holiday season which means shopping, and I have been doing more than my fair share. Those of you that know me, know that I LOVE giving presents to the people I love so I don't mind the shopping. I do most of my shopping online so it's not much of a hassle and I don't actually have to get dressed to do it. As I was shopping on my computer accompanied by the faces of those I am shopping for via my slideshow, I thought I'd take a moment to pause and share with everyone what is really important to me. See the slideshow below. Happy Holidays!

I realized as I was trying to find pictures of everyone that I am lacking in photos of certain people, and I am especially lacking in large group shots. If you have an pics you want to share with me, feel free to email.

Slow Down!

I was sitting in the short but rather intense traffic that is rush hour in Gainesville listening to my favorite radio station 100.5 The Buzz - for those of you that were fans of 99.1 WHFS back in the day, this station is for you. The station streams online so check it out if you like. Anyway, they played Christmas in Las Vegas by Richard Cheese followed by Slow Down by Reel Big Fish. As I was grooving to the song, it took me a moment to realize that this was a NEW Reel Big Fish song. Very cool! I also realized that this was a rather positive song with some pretty feel good lyrics - a bit of a departure for Reel Big Fish. They tend to have a sarcastic edge to their songs even when the music sounds upbeat. I'm sure it's not too hard to imagine the gist of the song based on it's title - you got it, it's all about slowing down, relaxing , chilling out. I thought it was a particularly appropriate topic given the time of year and how absolutely crazed and stressed out people can get around holiday time, so I though I'd share. There wasn't much on YouTube since the album is so new, but I managed to find something so take a deep breath, let it out, and enjoy a few minutes of fun music. Oh, and feel free to dance - I have been!

For those of you that are Reel Big Fish fans, the name of the new album is Monkeys for Nothing and Chimps for Free. Too funny! You can listen to songs on their website or myspace page.

Too Cute!!!

This is the picture I got in my birthday/Christmas card from my sister. Awesome! She commented that it was likely that all family pictures for the next few years were going to be from Halloween, since it was too hard to get everyone together in one place long enough to take a holiday family pic. Happy Halloween, Merry Christmas - it all works!

Art, Math, Science? - all of the above

Last night I was doing some Christmas shopping. I was looking at some different toy websites and saw something that reminded me of the spirograph I had as a child. I loved that toy! I still enjoy toys especially puzzles, legos, toy cars, and coloring books, and Christmas time makes me a little nostalgic for some of my childhood toys. Think what you will about that, but I personally think the world would be better off if more adults played liked kids on occasion. Anyway, I was curious if some version of the spirograph was still made so I did a Google search. Lots of websites having to do with fractals came up, and the science geek in me took over. I found this website, Mandelbrot Explorer, that allows you to zoom in and out on the Mandelbrot set. The image above is one that I "created".

Now what exactly is the Mandelbrot set, you might be wondering? Here is a basic definition I found on a website. "The Mandelbrot set named after Benoit Mandelbrot, is a fractal. Fractals are objects that display self-similarity at various scales. Magnifying a fractal reveals small-scale details similar to the large-scale characteristics. Although the Mandelbrot set is self-similar at magnified scales, the small scale details are not identical to the whole. In fact, the Mandelbrot set is infinitely complex. Yet the process of generating it is based on an extremely simple equation involving complex numbers." The website also gives a basic explanation of how the image is generated. Wikipedia also has good info.

I'm sure a few of you have noticed that the above image bears a striking resemblance to some sea shells - particularly the nautilus and the fossil ammonites. All natural objects, living or not, exhibit fractal geometry at some level, and this observation is part of the math known as Chaos Theory. I'm going to stop there - I believe that's enough education for one day, and Chaos Theory kind of makes my head hurt. If you want to have some fun, go to the Mandelbrot Explorer and play around. Be careful, though, it is definitely a timesuck.

By the way, I never did find out about the spirograph. I am definitely too easily distracted!

Holiday Time Already?

It's been a week since Thanksgiving and I am in serious holiday denial. Seriously where did the time go? It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride this year - an introspection that I'll save for another post - but I really can't believe that another year has come and gone. Now before anyone thinks I'm getting all Scroogey - I love the holidays, I'm just completely unprepared for them. I got a request from my Secret Santa for gift ideas and I drew a complete blank. That is really unusual for me. I know some of it comes from living in Florida - it's very odd for me to think about Christmas when it's 80 degrees out. Not that I'm complaining about the warm weather - I'm just saying warm weather and holidays don't make a connection in my brain. When we were in Austin, we had the Trail of Lights in Zilker Park so even if we were wearing shorts and sandals, we had a holiday light display to put us in the mood. I told Brian we need to go find some light display this weekend.

This past Friday, we went to Brian's department's holiday party. This was the first year they had a party. The department chair decided that there was enough faculty and staff to warrant a party. Wohoo! We had fun! Lots of yummy food, beer and wine, good music, and excellent company. Here's a pic of me and Brian at the party.

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!