Virtual Race: Global Warming, My Ass! 6.66 Mile Run

This morning I met my co-worker Abbey and a few of her running team mates in Carson City for a nice trail run up Ash Canyon. It was a beautiful sunny morning, if a little brisk with the wind blowing, but once we got going it was absolutely perfect weather for a run. I'm sorry to say that I'm not at the top of my game right now because of off and on lower back pain. Not sure what I did this time, but I'm working on the moves my physical therapist got me started on. I'm feeling pretty good, but because of my lack of quality trail runs lately I found myself getting winded pretty quickly on the uphill half of our run (which felt more like 2/3). It was a beautiful trail and I'd like to get another go at it, but maybe at a slower pace. Abbey and her team put in so many miles in these hills I swear they are part Bighorn Mountain Sheep!

I had a goal in mind: I signed up for a virtual race called "Global Warming, My Ass!" which is a 6.66 mile run any way we wanted to complete it before March 16th. I thought today would be a good day to knock this one off. However, it's a good thing that the host of this race isn't choosing prizes to give out to the winners because that's not a category I'd fall into with my slow-poke pace of an hour and a half. Yes, I did a lot of walking. But first things first. Here is a pic of us getting started: (Abbey is on the far right waving me forward- I'm the one in green)

The pavement only lasted for a few minutes and then we started in on the uphill. What a fantastic view of the mountains! And the sky was super blue today, which contrasted even more sharply with the white clouds floating overhead.

Here's a typical shot of Abbey's hair, wildly swinging in tempo with her pace. I don't know how she runs with her hair down- that would drive me batty.

As I mentioned earlier, I got winded pretty quickly on our uphill climb and the group had to wait for me several times. Here they are in their (unpanting) glory:

Here I am coming up the hill, in last place, with the valley below me~

And following Abbey- looks like she's giving me the skinny of the trail and its history...

And a glorious photo of the valley below us, and soooo much sky!

I learned that it is mandatory to "fly airplanes" around the hairpin turns going back down hill (here I was able to keep up! :)

And the rest of the group following suit~

Fellow TLD (Team Library Dork) runner Turi also made the trek down to Carson for this wonderful trail run, even if he already completed his 6.66 mile run (with a MUCH faster time). He also is going to run this 6.66 mile distance 6.66 times. Overkill or just super enthusiastic? He never does anything half-assed. :) Nice profile pic here~

And a photo op of Abbey, me and Turi:

And one final watercolor photo of my braided hair, just for fun~

Thanks to Abbey and her running team for including me in your Sunday run! And also to Razz for hosting the virtual run!

Scott and Sara Got Married!

Yaaaaay! I missed the day and all the fun, but my mom and older brother were able to go to Yellowstone where they tied the knot at a little chapel after a fun weekend of winter sports, including snowshoeing and dog sledding! They wore saris they bought when they visited India last year. A little S&S background: they met at UNR in a swords class where they were learning a Japanese style of the sport, and officially started dating on 3/2/01. Nine years later they were married on this same day, 3/2/10. I LOVE fun numbers like this, and the fact that they remembered this day nine years later shows what a loving and unique relationship they have. I was lucky enough to talk to Scott about 45 minutes before they got married, and he couldn't have sounded happier. My mom said Scott was glowing, with the most serene smile on his face and complete joy emanating from his being throughout the entire three minute ceremony. Sara is one intelligent, beautiful, athletic girl, and I couldn't have picked a better match for my baby brother. My best wishes and hopes go out to both of you, and that you will have happy and fulfilling lives. And come often to visit me (and cook for me Scotty) because I miss you both like crazy. Love you both, and my most sincere welcome to you Sara. Please take care of my Scott :)

Verdi You've Gotta Be Crazy Run 5K

Saturday night it started snowing. I thought it had stopped when I went to bed, but I woke up with a good foot on the ground outside. And it was still snowing! What!?! I thought they might even cancel the race (You've Gotta Be Crazy Run, put on by the Silver State Striders). I hadn't gone running while it was snowing since... well, this same race last year. Well, TLD still made the trek out to the Verdi Branch Library, which Dave manages. Man it's nice to have a warm library to hang in with the crew instead of freezing my tookas off out in the cold waiting for the race to start (which I did, until about 5 minutes before the horn blew). Thanks Dave! Here is a photo of all the brave souls who showed up to run crazy in the snow:


And we're off! Here is Chris leading the pack out:


Turi and I ran the entire race together (You can see me barely, but I was looking at Hannah playing in the snow on the sidelines):


And here is the cutie snowy Hannah:


I started out slow to get in a good warm-up, and also because I didn't want to slip in the snow. But actually, I didn't have any problems with it being slippery, and it was so beautiful to see all the snow-covered trees. I enjoyed the scenery on the way up the hill, and when the big downhill came, I picked up the pace and started to pass people right and left. Last year I won a water-bottle, but I gave it away to a sort of co-worker on Thursday, so I wanted to pick up another one. Well, I didn't end up placing because there was a 20-year age group split (19-39), but I did get 5th which isn't bad considering. My official time was 28:52, and Turi, ever the gentleman letting me go through the chute first, came in 2 seconds behind me. Chris, of course, won. Here he is at the end:

And then he turned around (after a 10+ minute wait) to run the rest of his team in, minus Dave who sat this one out because of a recent calf injury.

Here we are all together back in the warm cozy library:

And the best part? Post-race coconut porter brownies that Turi baked! Oh, and some beer I picked up for the guys on a recent trip to Colorado with Kevin.


And as a final note, I'd like to thank all the volunteers who so dedicated-ly prepared for and ran this race in cold uncomfortable wet-down-the-neck-of-your-jacket weather! I can't express enough gratitude towards these people who give their time so I can get in a great workout! :)

Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book has been on my to-read shelf since my junior year in high school (so about 15 years). Well, funny enough, the teen book club that I host at the Carson City Library chose this book to read as their January book (YES! They chose a classic!), so finally had the opportunity to stop putting off reading it. It began as I expected- a 1932 vision of what the future might hold. Surprisingy, some things have come to pass, where as others... I shudder to think, still could. The idea of Stability, sought out to the point of opression of all strong emotion, is a scary thought, even if it does end wars. Soma. For drug induced holidays and happiness. Yikes. The book ended differently than I had hoped it would, but completely understand why it had to happen that way. Aldus Huxley accomplished in me what I think he meant to- this book was written to draw forth strong emotions and got my brain whirling. Made me never want to see a world in which this one takes place~

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The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a great book at perhaps a third grade reading level, for those kids just getting into the longer chapters. They aren't long and introduce more difficult words, but not too often. A touching story with a predictable ending, but still not quite how I'd imagined. Peter is a lovely boy, one any mom would be proud to call her own. It said on the back cover that it is a must read-aloud book, and I quite agree. For those of you that like to read in the car on long trips~ :)

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