Race Report for 2 Weeks in a Row (or What, Lost again?)

Two weeks in a row!  First the good news.  I have participated in a run for two weekends in a row now here in Fredericksburg!  Last week was the Miles for Marley Run.  What a fun filled, family orientated event, and for a great cause.  After the run, there was frozen yogurt  and  BBQ!  This weekend I ran the Wildflower Run and had a good time (get the pun, my running friends? :-) ).  Met up with several of the "gals" from work and there were several others from HEB running as well.  Also, I got beat by the "cancer guy" ....AGAIN, and yes he was still stopping to take pictures and to encourage others.  The bad new,  I have managed to get "off course" (for those of you who know me, I sure this comes as a complete shock!) and get lost at both races!  

Miles for Marley -Logo on the course 

During the Miles for Marley race, I think I was too busy encouraging, or being encouraged by my coworker, Sandra (ok we were talking and not paying attention to the arrows marking the course).  We ended up missing a turn for the 5k and finished the race with the people running the mile route.  I KNEW we messed up somewhere when I saw the finish line and the clock said 24 minutes!  We even beat Sandra's daughter to the finish line!  I think we walked about a mile and a half.   I decided to re-walk the course so I could claim the 5k but I didn't time myself.   So I'm calling it a "NOT" (No Official Time) as opposed to a DNF (Did Not Finish)!

We did it...and we survived!  2013 Wildflower Run

Yesterday, at the Wildflower Run almost everyone missed a turn, because the arrow marking the turn for the 5K was missing.  I thought it was odd that there was an arrow for the "Mile Fun Run" but nothing for the 5 and 10K.  Everyone was ended down the street when a the leaders were heading back yelling "turn around  5k and 10K is the other way".  It was a bit chaotic and after the race the serious racers were a bit (!) upset.  I only went about a block and half the wrong way though so I'm not complaining.  I also think even with the "extra" leg, the course is not a full 5k.  My garmin watch indicates that I ran only 2.58 miles and had a pace of 13:46/mile, which sounds correct.  My official pace is was something like 11:19 which would be close to a PR for me, and being so humid and my lack of ummm trainning, make me doubt the 11:19.  I also thought the course was short last year!  It was still a great time though!

Next week our store is having its own 5k so I'm going for 3 weeks in a row! 

Well, gotta run!

Trip to Port Aransas - with the Boyles

Sunday February 3rd 2013 I headed to San Antonio and met up with Erica and Tom, and we "ran" the Superbowl Transplant for Kids 7K Run.  It was very cool.  It was held along the Riverwalk near downtown San Antonio, where the Riverwalk is more like a park and doesn't have all the shops and restaurants. The San Antonio River flowed over dams and was landscaped beautifully.  I even saw many birds, including a green or tricolored heron.  My time was 1:03:39 (one hour three minutes thrity-nine seconds) and I walked the entire race.  Pace was 16:46   After the race, I headed back to Fredericksburg and got Leta and all our luggage and supplies for the next few days and we headed to the HEB Lodge in Fulton.

On the Road Again too, Geocaching travel bug

We met up with Stefanie, Mark, Luke and my pal Abby in Port Aransas and spent the night at the Days Inn there, as we couldn't check into the Lodge until Monday.  We ate breakfast at the Hotel and then headed out to do some Geocaching.  Our first find was at Mustang Island State Park and Abby found the cache that was so cleverly hidden, I doubt if I would have found it!  We found the second geocache at the State Park as well and a third one back in Port Aransas.  We 'dropped' our travel bug into the third cache and hopefully it will be moved on!

We check into our cabins we got Cabin 11 and were able to drive right up to it, instead of hauling our food, clothing and supplies back to the cabin. Then we headed out to the beach.  Finding it took a bit of an adventure!  The weather was kind of cool, so we didn't get into the water.  We did see guys using huge kites to propel themselves through the water though and they would leap high into the air, almost "parasailing."  The only bad part of the day was the Giant Crab guarding the beach!

Gives me the shivers!

We returned to the cabin and had homemade pizza and played games until it was time to go to bed.  Stefanie for once did not win every game, but then again she was errr "slightly distracted"(!) by these guys.  Her "dance" was more entertaining than the games!

Terror approached the Cabin!

On Tuesday the weather was a bit warmer and we headed to Port Aransas, crossing to the island on the ferry from Aransas Pass.  We headed to the beach where Luke squealed with delight as each wave hit him!  He loved it all and had no fear.  Even getting mouth full of the salt water didn't face him.  Although I do think the handful of mud that he tried to eat, and the subsequent 'washing it out' by mom and dad did phase him abit!

After the beach we headed out to do some birding and went to the birding center where we did see lots of birds, turtles, an alligator skull(?), and even a live alligator across the bay.  Took this picture so we could try to identify this bird later.

What am I?

That night Abby told us she wasn't "'Literally' born in Austin", and used "finger quotes" to emphasis her statement.  Leta asked her is she was 'literally from outspace'.  Abby has developed a habit of insisting she is correct and failing to back down!  Her and I had a little 'tiff' in the HEB in Aransas Pass about the price of Sprite vs the HEB brand. 

On the final day we were there we did get some RAIN.  It rained so hard, I thought maybe a hurricane was coming in, and we 'literally' had ducks right outside our windows!

 

Altogether another GREAT trip!  Leta and I will be heading down there again in a couple of weeks with out good friends Woody and Bendy.  We are going to get some great birding in!

Gotta run for now...

TDG

January Recap

Listening to the rain.....gosh it sounds great.  Well a quick recap of January.

Theme for January seemed to be "Most of my projects start off slow....then taper off"!  (Stolen from another blogger - Art Davis and his blog, Getting fit at fifty!

Began the month at 210 pounds ended it around 215!  Yikes going the wrong way on that one.  Some other goals that I didn't make progress on included the following:

Didn't run any races although signed up for the "Superbowl Sunday 7K to be run on Superbowl Sunday (2/3)
Didn't complete any sewing projects.
Didn't really do the envelop budget thing, nor save any money.
Didn't make it to church at all in January.

On the plus side, Leta and I did start working on James Dobson's devotions, and continue to discuss getting involved (or at least visiting a church)/
At work I've joined the store's version of Slim Down Show Down, and have started working out and counting calories.
Plus looking at several other upcoming races, but having trouble with the timing because Woody and Bendy are coming at the end of February to spend a week with us birding down at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. I've also signed up for the "Presidential Active Lifestyle Challenge".  I'm already on week 3 of 8.
We have made some progress on some tax issues too.  I even have 2013 filed and there is a possibility of getting a bit of a refund!
Finally, Leta had me purchase some fabric for a new pillowcase, and I have it washed....now to iron, cut it and sew it back together and I'll have a sewing project completed!

Well that's about it for now.  I hope to post some pictures and blog a bit about our recent trip to the Port Aransas area with Mark, Stefanie, Abby and Luke!

Gotta run for now though.....
TDG

Goals for 2013

“Accepting oneself does not preclude an attempt to become better.”
 ― Flannery O'Connor

It has been a week already since my last blog entry, and I thought I was going to make an entry the next day.  I've decided to just list some of the goals.  I've even started on putting them together in a three-ring binder!

I was browsing the H-E-B website early this morning and I noticed on the Health Living Page, that if all my biometric numbers are within the "optimal" range, they will pay a $175 dollar bonus in December!  If they are:

• Blood Pressure (<120/<80)
• Fasting Glucose (<100mg/dL)
• Body Mass Index (18.5 -24.9)
• Total Cholesterol (<200 (LDL<100,HDL >60)

My first goal is to qualify for the Biometric Bonus!

To get there I will need to lose weight.  My goal weight should be in the range of 130 -165, which means my  second goal is to lose a minimum of  52 lbs, or about a lb a week for the entire year, but I only have until have until September 30th!

I will do this by exercising a minimum of 2 times per week, tracking my progress, by blogging and logging my journay through the coming year, and entering a minumum of 6 races (1 mile minumum distance).

I would like to finish a minimum of 6 sewing projects.  At least 4 of which using Fabrick already purchased!

My financial goals are to continue to work on our budget system, save more than just what is going into the 401K, increase by 1/2 of a percent and resolve some past issues that are still out there.

Spiritually, I would to be more intentional about devotions, reading the bible and going to church.  A goal of 1 once per month seems like a 'doable' goal!

OK they are now in writing and fairly specific.  Now I need to actually do them and be held accountable.  

YOU have my permission to keep me on track, and/or encourage me!

Gott run!

Still Procrastinating....and Goals for 2013

Yep, it is 2 weeks into the new year and I still haven't formally (or even informally) come up with a list of resolutions for this year.  I have been thinking a lot about goals and habits and what I want to accomplish and change this year, and what I am willing to "pay" to achieve them.  I know many people don't like the idea of New Year's Resolution, but it has an appeal to me.  I sorta think it is a natural starting spot (even if I am 2 weeks behind), but I also get the idea that there is nothing magical about the January 1st date, and I do give my permission to start at any time, now, tomorrow or the first of next month.  Although with my habit of procrastination sooner is probably better than latter!  Leta  and I seem to be naturally partial to the I'll think about it tomorrow"!

Most of the advise I have seen about achieving goals, says to focus on one goal at a time.  There are so many goals and things I would like to change, deciding on which one to start with seems like it will take a lot of thought and time.  Besides how will I determine which is the most important?  My health, fitness, and weight related goals, or my financial goals (the creditors will just have to wait!), and I guess those craft projects will continue to gather dust...

Another method is focusing or emphasizing on one goal for a specific bit of time, say working on the diet intensely for a month or 7 weeks then moving on to working on another goal for the next period time and cycling through the goals and then coming back and starting going through the list of challenges again.

So how do I prioritize the goals, can and should I have concurrent goals and efforts to change habits?  Do I try to track progress.  Again, the advise seems to be write the goals down.  Break goals down into smaller goals or actions that can be taken.  Track progress.  All this sounds reasonable, but then how exactly do I do this?  Do I use spreadsheets?  Blog entries, 44 Things website?  A different one for each goal (this is the one that I think makes the most sense, a spreadsheet for tracking weight history, or developing a budget, the "map my run" webpage for tracking fitness goals, blogging for tracking personal growth etc)?

What does each goal cost?    For example if the goal is something like "Run 500 miles in 2013 for health",   it will take time and energy, gotta get off my butt and turn off computer and lace up the shoes.  Put down "Runners World" and log miles ran, buying the running shoes and paying the entry fees instead of buying the candy bar or eating dinner out. 

Well I just noticed it is almost 4 am and one of my goals is to get to bed earlier so I better end this post.  One of my "ideals" (for those of you that don't like "resolutions") is to blog a lot more 2013.  So hopefully I'll have some more progress to report very soon!  Hopefully tomorrow ;-)

Gotta Run.
TDG

Words to Live By

Recently I've been thinking about sayings, quotes, bible verses, that I think I should try to follow as I continue on this journey known as life.  I don't always (understatement alert!) follow them, but believe I should.  Some of my favorite follow, in no particular order. 

"Treat others as you would want to be treated."

"Do it now!"  < I' really need to work on this one>

"All things in moderation" Hmmmm that is another one I need to work!

"Save for a raining day."  Yikes that my third strike!

"Pay yourself first"

"Save 10% of your income, Give 10% and live on  the rest."

"Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things. "

Please share your favorites!

Disney World Trip 2012 - Where Wishes Come True!

Abby and her magic wand and Wishing Star

After months of planning (ok after months of Stefanie planning), we headed down to Florida for our Dinsey World vacation (Feb. 6 - Feb 13).  Overall it was one of the best vacations I've enjoyed.  Even the flights on Jet Blue reminded me of the times when flying was fun!

Arrival

We flew down arriving in the evening.  We made our way to the "Disney Magical Express" lounge area, and boarded the bus immediately.  We then traveled to our Disney Resort - Port Orleans Riverside.  Lindsay had already checked us in, and so we headed to our room.  When we got there, because we had used the luggage tags Disney had sent us,  our checked luggage had already been delivered to our rooms!

Soon "my shadow" for the next week <the missing shadow reference hinting of Peter Pan, is intentional:-) >, anyhow Abby tells us she is staying with us and not with her mommy and daddy.  Lindsay, who was going to stay in our room, decides she would rather take her changes with Mark, Stef and her little nugget, Luke!

Day 1 - Epcot

 

We met up with Kelly who used her employee fringe benefit tickets to get us into the park, and gave us a brief tour.  After a little bit of walking, ok A LOT of walkig Leta was tired and hurting!  I snapped this picture after we had gone through one of the exhibits, not knowing this scene would later be repeated, only much more so!

The girls also tried out some headgear for Sharon Bisline's  upcoming wedding.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom 

We got up, Leta decided she was too sore and tired to head out for our Character Breakfast and the Crystal Palace, inside the Magic Kingdom.  So she loaded up on her pain and muscle relaxant medications and planned on going back to sleep and meeting up with us around lunch time.  Unfortunately, Lindsay came into our room and noticed Leta wasn't dressed and sorta "persuaded" Leta she needed to come with us immediately!  We arrived at the park met up with Kelly again and entered the park before it was even open!

I thought it was extremely cool, as we entered Main Street only the 'cast members' were there, preparing to greet the guests upon opening.  By this time the drugs were in high(!) gear for Leta who decide to sit down on the first bench we found.  She asked me to get her a drink.  I couldn't find a place that sold soft drinks and ended up eating breakfast, with the rest of our group and Whinny the Pooh, Eeyoer and Tigger 

After breakfast, I raced  back to Leta.  I found her right where I had left her, although she was sprawled out all sideways and ready to fall off the bench.  I rousted her and we headed off to enjoy the day.  Leta admitted people avoided her (I wonder if they thought 'Disney now has a homeless person sleeping on the bench on Main St.?').  She also said the park cast members asked her repeatedly if she was ok, and that she couldn't remember what she said to them, but she did remember falling off the bench one time!

That night we had the Fireworks Desert Buffet.  What a treat!  We had front row seat for the show and fireworks, while enjoying many, many deserts.

Day 3 - Disney Hollywood Studios

We arrived and headed to the Disney Studio Park and Abby decided the first ride would by the "Hollywood Tower Motel".  This was the scariest ride I had ever been on!  We 'free fell' repeatedly in an elevator!  As the ride concluded they snapped a picture of us.  Lindsay is holding onto my arm and Mark, Lindsay and I are all looking at Abby who looks so scared!   We didn't ride it again!

Later we went to a show where they showed how they filmed a 'harbor attack' scene like in the movie "Pearl Harbor"  Somehow(!) Mark got volunteered, I mean he volunteered and got filmed as the Captain who is giving orders to get underway when the ship is attacked and a huge 'wave' of water hits him!

The rest of the day was ok.  We ate a terrible lunch and got our money back from the commissary.  The best part of lunch was the picture I got of Lindsay and Abby.   We also got in trouble because we sat in the handicapped bleachers at the Ready Set Action show.  And then Stefanie had the gall to try to calm Luke and stand off to one side on the 'ramp' into the stadium.  In fairness to Disney they have tried repeatidly to contact Leta to investigate and/or resolve the issue.

We  rode the Star Tour ride, a 'virtual reality' ride where you are seated and there is a movie screen and the seats move a little but seem to move a lot in co-ordination with what is shown on the screen.  Anyhow, We are prepared to leave the Starbase in our 'shuttle' when Darth Vader stops and says he is looking for a 'Rebel spy' and up on the screen flashes a picture of Abby! Then the 'chase is on'.!  It was pretty cool and caught us all by surprise (I think Abby was the most surprised!).

Day 4 - Downtown Disney

Day 4 was our 'down' day.  So we headed down to Downtown Disney.  This is a shopping and entertainment area outside the park.  We took the Disney boat and got on just as it started to pour down rain.  We had some umbrellas so it wasn't totally unbearable, although we all got wet a bit.  We look around at the different shops including the Leggo store:  I remembered how much Matt liked Leggos.

 

And the Ghirardelli Chocolates Store:

   

Day 5 - Magic Kingdom with the Princess and Prince

Today is Abby's big day.  We took her, dressed in her Cinderella's Wedding Dress, to the "Bibbity, Bobbity Boutique"  at Downtown Disney, and got her makeover. We rode the bus to Magic Kingdom and met the nicest retired couple from Tampa.  They had season passes and were spending 8 days at Disney World.  They also collected Disney Pins.  I didn't know what a big deal it was to collect and trade pins!  They are my inspiration!  We  had lunch in the castle and the different Disney Princesses circulated around the room.

 

Luke got his first kiss by a Princess and I got my wish to come true too.  Check out my desert!

   

At some point Abby heard us discussing Walt Disney and all his accomplishments..  She said I think it is so cool he had the same name as the park!"

Every time we walked by or rode the Tea-cups, I remembered how much Erica loved to make me ride them and other rides that caused my motion sickness to ummm 'surface'.  Thank goodness for Dramamine.

That night after we had watched the Electric Parade, we headed back to the buses to take us back to the resort.  As the bus pulled away, the driver changed the standard announcement (to stay seated, etc) to "Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, please be on your best behavior, because we have a Disney Princess on-board" (meaning Abby, because she was still dressed in her Wedding Dress and was all made-up).

Day 6 - Epcot

Day 6 found us riding the monorail system to the Floridian Resort for another Character Breakfast Buffet.  This time we saw Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland, not to mention the Mad Hatter.

 After breakfast we waited for the monorail to take us to Epcot for the final time.    I happened to noticed a man with a camera bag, name tag, lanyard with disney pins and dressed almost like a 'cast member'.  He also had a tag saying it was his birthday.  So I said "Happy Birthday Mike"  And he proceeded to talk and talk and  talk.  Giving us advise (which turned out to be great,  like don't try to ride 'spaceship earth first, the lines will be long, but save it for a 'crowning event as you leave the park!)  He advise me which side of the monorail to stand for the best pictures of the park.  He told us the monorail was almost 30 years old and in desperate need of an upgrade but that wasn't scheduled until 2014.  He also told us, due to the construction at the Magic Kingdom, Mickey's and Minnie's house had been moved and they were living in the castle, but for security reasons he couldn't say any more than that!  I finally asked him if he worked here, and he said no.  But rather he informed us he had been there for opening day, and he showed us his admission ticket!

Departure

Leaving Disney wasn't as easy as arriving.  We had to take our own bags to the Airline Check-in Center and get our Boarding Passes.  We got on the bus and went to several other Resorts until the bus was almost full.  Then we headed to the airport.  On the way, I noticed I had two boarding passes, but none for Leta.  Uh Oh!
I had visions of Leta stranded in Orlando overnight!  But Jet Blue corrected the mistake without us even having to wait in line.

There was a LONG line waiting to clear security,, but since we a family group with an infant, security took us to a special area, where we were quickly screened by TSA and allowed to pass and get some lunch.  On the ride home Abby and I share trail mix (she did the sharing, I got raisins and almonds, she got peanuts, cashews and the m&m's!).  We watched Dolphin Tale, a good family movie on the ride home and we were soon back in Austin.

Final Comments

 We had a great time and one of Disney's mottos is Let the Memories Begin, and we have some of the best memories from this trip.  I wasn't able to make it over to my 5k run, as the bus couldn't get me there in time and a taxi ride was over $80 one way! 

Thanks to Stefanie for her planning, and everyone else for no melt downs.  Even baby Luke was great.  Kelly was so nice and accommodating, what a wonderful ambassador for Disney.