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

Invest in Yourself Country Days 2010

This is a shout out to all my hommies back in the F-town area. I encourage you to run or run/walk the Country Days 5 mile Fun Run. Its not even April yet so you have plenty of time to train. And, unless you drink too much the night before at Joe's like someone I know (rhymes with "Mickey Bees"), you'll be kickn' off Country Days with a rootin'-tootin' good time. Plus, Edward Jones sponsors the race so my dad would love to see you at the start line. I'm sure dad got tired of me sticking my nose in the air last year as I laughed at the fact that they don't even have timing chips (they use popsicle sticks like in the olden days). Maybe i'll bring a potato gun to fire off instead of hearing "Go!". hehe Its not the most technologically advanced race but there are prizes, food, and its a fun, low-key course! Maybe I can see if they will actually put fruity popsicles on the sticks :)
Hopefully I will be able to get away from Springfield and come join you! Comment if you plan to run!
~Aimee

Running in Topeka

Tuesday we driving back home from Colorado when the transmission decided to die in Topeka, KS. I had night class in 6 hours and I had to be at work the next day. The rental car companies didn't have any cars to rent and were really expensive. They wanted to charge $130 + gas for the 54 mile drive to Kansas, then we would need to find a ride to Springfield! Anyways, we ended up staying in Topeka in a hotel where the check-in advise was "if you go out, make sure it isn't dark outside. And, walk to the right of the hotel because to the left is questionable."
When we woke up the next day we decided to take a run. Luck has it that there was a trail that went by the hotel. So, we suited up with whatever gear we had since we hadn't planned on running (I never thought I would run with a lace-trimmed shirt on, but I guess it looked kinda cute) and ran, to the right of course. It was cold and rainy but it turned out to be a nice run since we hadn't ran in about a week (but we were skiing). And, we didn't run into any trouble. Not that trouble would stop us because I have taken self-defense and could drop an attacker faster than gravity. Anyways...
We still aren't running on a schedule yet which is so nice! We don't take a watch; all we do is tie on our shoes. We are just running for the fun of it, not for the sport of it. ...until June :)
~Aimee

We're Back!

Today Aimee and I officially registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon! Chicago is the second largest Marathon in the World (behind NY) 45,000 runners. 10-10-10
http://www.chicagomarathon.com

Bass Pro Marathon

Sunday we were able to put another successful marathon under our running belts, the Bass Pro Shop Marathon. Unfortunately, neither of us met our goals but we are still pleased with the way we ran. The course kicked our butts! Dustin came in 45th overall and I came in the 9th female overall and took 2nd (print out said 2nd, online says 3rd...waiting for the award in the mail) place in my age category.
Before the race Dustin got me good luck balloons and a stuffed flamingo wearing a "26.2" t-shirt. It was really sweet!
Thanks to Ilene and Mike (Dustin's parents) for walking with us to the start line and cheering us on from our house which is one mile from the finish. Thanks to Kevin (Aimee's dad), Dan, and Joey (2 of Aimee's brothers) for surprising us at the finish. And thanks to the Pettit's (Parents of Allison, a former student of Aimee, who ran this weekend in her first marathon) for cheering me on at 5 different places throughout the race. I felt like I had my own cheering squad :)
It was really nice to be able to walk to the start from our house, be familiar with the course and not have to travel to the race. The weather was awesome and the course provided great scenery on the greenway trails. The worst part was the elevation change. We had trained on the same hills, but running uphill from mile 21 to 26 was rough. It was the most difficult marathon that both of us had ran so far. (not the most difficult race...cough, cough...Pike's Peak)
We are already planning our next run...we will keep you "posted" :)