Fear for Safety

Alright, I have to be the first to admit this post has nothing to do with running. Well, unless you count the running I did from the car and back. This was just too good to pass up, so let me explain.

Aimee and I are driving (not running) home from Buffalo Wild Wings this afternoon following the Braves/Cards games and we see a car going down the left hand lane in the picture shown above. (Just FYI this is the intersection of Campbell and Sunset) We are in the lane to the right of the turn lane, they are in the lane to the left of the turn lane driving right into oncoming traffic! Cars are swerving around them and the light turns red. They stop, still in the wrong lane! I get out, run over and it is the two oldest ladies I have ever seen. I'm not sure but the combined age of these ladies might out date the U.S.. I tap on the window and tell them they need to get over into the turn lane and they ask me if they are going the wrong way and if they can still get to Ryan's (Buffet). I tell them again to just get over which they do (finally) and continue to drive down the turn lane all the way to Ryan's! Yikes! Hopefully there was no wait at Ryan's, I mean it was 3:15 in the afternoon.

~Dustin

Frisco Fifty 10 Miler

Yesterday we ran in the Frisco Fifty 10 mile race. It was a very small race that went along the Frisco trail. We started at Willard Middle School and ran to a spot 10 miles down the way where a shuttle bus waited to take us back to our cars. It was such a peaceful run. I forgot my watch which ended up being a blessing. There is something to say about going on a run without constantly calculating a pace in your head and then either reprimanding or encouraging yourself to run faster, keep the pace, or slow down. I felt so good the whole time. I never felt too out of breath. At one point I was about to pass a man as he said, "you gonna be my anchor?". He had one of those high tech GPS watches (by the way Santa, I think they are REALLY cool and one would go nicely with my wrist) that started to beep. I asked him what mile we were at (indicated by the beep) and he said we were three miles into the race. He told me he wanted to finish in 85 minutes. I thought that I would be really impressed with myself if I could keep that pace. When he said he was ahead of pace, I thought, "sweet!", but I knew I would only run for about 5 more miles and then walk a bit. I had only told Dustin that I would run this with him on
Wednesday and it was finalized when I received an email on Thursday from active.com stating that I had been registered for the 10 mile race. I haven't been training for this and I haven't ran over 8 miles since the Bass Pro marathon the first week of November. So, really I figured it would be the typical conversation (my last few marathons) where I run next to someone who plans to finish in about the same pace as me, and they end up passing me towards the end because I have bonked. So frustrating! So, I passed him and focused on passing the 2 girls in front of my that looked to be about my age. Between miles 5 and 7 I actually kept a good pace and passed both of them. After that I spotted a pony tail not too far in front of me. I tried to speed up a bit and began to close the gap until mile 9 where she sped up and I could only match her pace a few yards behind her. As I ran through the finisher's tunnel (a field with orange cones and a guy with a clipboard taking our names) Dustin wasn't there to cheer me on because he didn't realize I would be finishing so soon. I ended up finishing in 1:22, a PR and under BQ pace (it's just 16 more miles lol). I took 2nd in my age category and received this cute little trophy. It has train tracks on it and came with a toy train that goes on the tracks. So unique! What a pleasant surprise :)
Dustin is awesome. He did well too, of course. He is a talented, dedicated runner. He came in forth in his age category, which, unfortunately doesn't get him a trophy. But I am so thankful that he is so patient with me that he slows down to allow me to run with him on the weekends-and I really don't think it bothers him. He actually encouraged me to run with him a few times while he was training for this race. I love running and it feels so good to hit the pavement again. I am still a little sour about the way I performed in the Bass Pro Marathon. Dustin wasn't happy with his performance either, but he is able to shake it off. If it weren't for those weekend runs, I would have never done so well. Now I have a little boost in my confidence level and I am anxiously anticipating training for Chicago.
Thank you Lord for allowing me to have such a great husband. God is good.
~Aimee

A Little Life Mystery

Why is the sun yellow? (that reveals its temperature) Why is the sky blue? (nitrogen in the atmosphere scatters blue light) Why is the grass green? (chlorophyll and chloroplast) Why do bugs fly right where you need to run?

This I do not know the answer to. But, for some reason as the temperature increases, and the days become longer and nicer and I enjoy running more than ever, the bugs seem to find their way into my path. I am not just talking about a few bugs either, but a steady stream right down the whole South Creek Greenway Trail and I mean the WHOLE trail. They follow the middle of the sidewalk, mouth high, turning with each twist of the concrete. It's amazing! How do they know right where to be to tick me off during each of my runs? Are they always there? Is anyone else annoyed by this? This must be one of life's little mysteries.

~Dustin

Running in CA

The weather in Ventura, California is awesome! It seems like every time I am there it is 70 and sunny. Plus, there are exotic flowers everywhere that give the air a continual floral aroma. There is also an endless supply of sidewalk that calls out, "come, run and walk on me". It's a runner's paradise. I was sad that Dustin wasn't with me (girl's trip) to run around the neighborhoods together, but I still managed to get in a few miles. Mostly I walked with Suki. She is a 150 pound Akita dog that would sleep outside my bedroom door, waiting for me to come out. I call her "the Beast". Funny, when we walked together no one seemed to want to be within 50 feet of us. :)
Being in California made me want to move out there. I had almost completely convinced myself until I inquired about the cost of living. To RENT a house similar to our home in Springfield would be ~$1500 a month. Whoa! Maybe we will just stay here and visit from time to time :)
~Aimee

Wind

Finally good weather is here and running has been nice, but mother nature could not leave well enough alone. She's kinda like "I'm gonna make it warmer but that comes with 30 mph winds!" Suck.
Today I was going to do a tempo run, so I decided to run straight into the wind on the way out and that way it would be at my back coming home. Good idea; not so easy to accomplish. Similar to a few weeks ago when Aimee and I were in KC's Power and Light District. There was this jungle juice that came in a bucket: one bucket good idea, three...not so much.
I'm not sure what running in a wind tunnel is like, but I am sure that's what I looked like to the north bound National traffic this morning. There were times when I was sure I was moving, but not moving. I was very thankful to reach the turn around point because the return trip was a breeze (no pun intended).
Days like today remind me of playing high school baseball in north town Aurora. I still believe the constant wind from center field increased my fastball by a few mph. I also think it might have kept me from hitting a few HR....maybe not.
~Dustin