Sunday, July 8, 2012

Hello???!! (Echo, echo, echo,.....) Anybody out there??

Wow!  What a trip down memory lane.  It's been over a year since I clicked on my own blog.  Sad-yet True.  Fun to read comments from all my old blogging buddies.

Is anybody still reading this thing?
If you are--know that I love you and think you are awesome!

Maybe I'll get back in to blogging....we shall see.

Take Care,
Adrienne

Friday, July 8, 2011

"Let's face it, I'm hotter than you!"

If your not a Twilight fan and haven't seen the movies the above quote will not make any sense to you at all but trust me it is HILARIOUS.
So this dude is a wolf and his temperature runs hot, vampires body temperature is cold so that's why he says to Edward the vampire.
"Let's face it I'm hotter than you"
SWIM TEAM has taken over our lives the last few months but it has been a ton of fun.  Waking up early every morning and sitting out in the blazing sun for an hour then returning in the evening twice a week to once again sit in the blazing sun for another 2 hours.  I LOVE IT!  Actually 118 degrees doesn't even seem hot anymore.  It is completely normal now.  My 11 year old feels a little differently though.  I think his exact quote was.  "I wish somebody made human size coolers with windows on the side so we could just get in them and watch the meet from there."  Kids these days are so soft.

So other than swim team we have been trying to take this summer by storm and fit in as much fun as possible.  We work hard and we play harder.

  Here is a quick rundown:

 My friend Molly (on the left) lives in Nashville and her husband is a dentist for the US Army and was deployed to Iraq for several months so my friend Kate (on the right) who lives in Utah and myself headed to Nashville to visit.  We have been friends since 9th grade.  It was so much fun to be together and we took in a few sites.


 Have you ever noticed that airports have the coolest stuff.  I took this picture of these two books that were side by side in one of the Chicago airport shops.  Which book would you choose for your flight?  Which one do you think I bought? *

 This is a picture of the toilet in the Chicago Airport.  Has anyone ever seen one of these before?  In my opinion this is THE BEST INVENTION EVER!
 Here are instructions on how to use it in case you didn't buy the "how do successful people think" book and you are not sure what to do.
 Since Nashville we have had a few Birthday parties!  Dayton turned 9 years old and we had a pool party to celebrate.
Sadie getting ready to do a few laps.

Birthday boy Dayton opening up his loot.
We have had a ton of visitors this summer which has been a vacation in itself.  My sister's family came for  a week.  My friend Kate and her family came for a few days, my parents came for a week and some of our great friends from Colorado, the Stewarts came for a couple of days.  I was a slacker and didn't take very many pictures.  I guess I was too busy having fun.  Here are a few.
Taking my nieces and nephew hiking at Thunderbird State Park, AZ
It is probably not a good thing that a Yogurtology opened up right down the street from us.   Reece's  concoctions are always the most costly.  He can handle the calories though so no worries.

 My kids have been having fun playing with the trucks old tires.  We aren't white trash at all I promise.
 "Come on Reece, go down the ramp, you'll be totally fine!"
After our mass of visitors left we made a visit of our own to Grandma's and Grandpa's in Utah.  Again I sucked at taking pictures but we had tons of fun, 4 wheelin, sleepovers with cousins, riding horses with friends, visiting old stomping grounds and eating WAY too much food.  (5 BBQ's in one week!! I cannot eat another hamburger)
 A visit to Kennecott Copper mine in Utah.  The trucks are HUGE.   This is one of the tires , it only costs $25,000 and will last a whole year.
I don't really know why my kids are meditating inside a teepee at the  Fremont Indian State Park in Utah.  I guess they are just that zen.
Travis helping a friends kid aim and shoot and Dayton in the background shooting on a camping trip in the mountains  up north in AZ.
Lots and lots of swimming to beat the heat.
We all went to the Blake Shelton Concert for the 4th of July!  So fun.
Blake Shelton is hot!  Go Miranda.
Fireworks afterword were so great!!!  I love the USA!  (No offense Canadians--eh?)
I haven't been running too much in this heat but I have been going to my new/old gym Lifetime Fitness.  I went to Lifetime when I lived in Colorado and LOVED it but there wasn't one close to me here in AZ. I tried some other, closer gyms (4 to be exact) over the past year and I didn't like any of them.  I guess I'm a gym snob.  So after being in AZ for over a year I decided not to try anymore gyms and return to Lifetime.  It's a 20 minute drive but it's worth it.  Am I crazy?  How far are you willing to drive for a great workout?  Are you a gym snob or do you hate gyms? I guess it boils down to the fact that I am not very self disciplined and I need others to make me suffer get a good workout.  The Lifetime here in Scottsdale is pretty much the same as the one in Colorado but there are a lot more girls with fake boobs here in Scottsdale so I guess I'll have to put that on my list.  As they say, "When in Rome....."  Anyone have an extra 10k I can borrow for the new girls?    Single guys should move here.  You will not be disappointed.  I'm not jealous of these hot chicks at all, damn them, they all seem very nice.  
Most girls at the new gym look like this.  Just change the hair color to your preference.

I hope everyone is having as much fun this summer as I am.  Keep up the blogging and tell me all about your adventures and running.  I need the motivation.  

*Of course I bought the Knock knock jokes book, Why would I need the other one, I already know what I think. 

 (Yes Adam I am copying your * thing you do.  What are you going to do about it?  That's what you get for running your SYTO 5k while I was out of town.  :) Just teasing, I just like the * thing you do.  Keep up the good work.)

Happy Running,
Adrienne

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Pat Tillman Race Report

Pat Tillman is a local and national hero but I've realized since moving to Arizona that The Pat Tillman Race is sort of like "The Race to Run" if you live in the Phoenix area.  Sort of like how the "Boulder Boulder" is the Race to run if you live near Denver.   The short story on Pat Tillman is that he was a professional football player who was inspired to give up his career to join the armed forces after the 9/11 attacks on the USA.  He joined the elite Army Ranger program and was deployed several times.  Sadly he was killed by friendly fire and his death was "covered up" by the military.  
Pat Tillman (left) and his brother Kevin (right) both enlisted in the army after  the 9/11 attacks.
Pat played for the NFL (AZ Cardinals) and Kevin was drafted by the Anaheim Angels for baseball.
Some things I learned about Pat Tillman that are less known are:
*He graduated from ASU with a 3.83 GPA in 3 1/2 years (impressive) in Business Marketing.
*At one point in his NFL career he turned down a $9 Million dollar offer from the Rams out of loyalty to the Cardinals.
*He ran marathons and tri-athalons during the off season
*When he decided to join the Army Rangers he asked his friend J.R. Rosania (a professional trainer/tri athlete) to train him and help him prepare for war.  He was also planning on competing in his first Ironman (Hawaii) when he returned from his last deployment in Afghanistan.  Of course he didn't make it back.  J.R. Rosania dedicated    his Hawaii Ironman race to his friend and wore his Cardinal #40 in the race in Pat's honor.  
*One thing I found particularly interesting especially since I am very active in my religion as a mormon is that Pat had read the Bible, Qur'an, and The Book of Mormon but was an atheist.  *He was 27 when he died.  I don't know about you but I don't know a lot of 27 year old football players sitting around reading the Qur'an.
*His widow Marie was his high school sweetheart.  Friends have said that before Pat was killed they would have said he was the stronger person in the relationship. Afterward they changed their mind and said that she was the stronger person.  From what I have read about her she seems to be a quiet, private, behind the scenes type of person and sometimes that is perceived as weakness.  Obviously that is not true.


It seems he had lived a lot of life in his short 27 years.  It was an honor to run to support his foundation that is used to provide scholarship funds and support to military families.  


I realize these pictures are super exciting.  They were taken quickly before we headed out to the race.
I like the tech shirts they had for this race although it was a HOT morning and
 I was wishing I  had stuck with my usual tank top.
Anyway........


The morning started off well enough except the fact that we underestimated how long it would take us to park and get to the starting line with a crowd that size.  We ended up parking 1.5 miles away from the start line.  We both had to go to the bathroom and we had about 20 minutes until start time so we ran from the car to the start for a lovely 1.5 mile warmup.  About a mile more than I usually warm up.  :)  We ditched each other before we even made it to the start because Travis was starting in corral 1 and I was in 9 so he was anxious not to be late to the start.  I think his Facebook status best describes his start.


"Pat Tillman race update: slept in to give me just enough time to get to Sun Devil stadium (had a "red eye" the night before and needed to catch up on sleep)...road closed. won't make it in time to start, so park 1.5 miles away. run to the stadium and bathroom line...I had to pee!..3 minutes to start, I jump out of line and run to the starting line with a full bladder. 4.2 miles later..... new Pat Tillman PR!"


He forgot to mention in his update that he jumped over the gate into the 1st corral winning him lovely looks from the other runners.  (I told you he would find a way)


Travis ran the Pat Tillman last year with a time of 25:15 so his goal this year was to get in under 25 minutes, beat all the girls (last year 3 beat him but he didn't know this because they started after him so their chip time was faster but they weren't "ahead" of him during the race) and have a less than 6 minute pace.  His official time for 2011 was 24:59!  Goal achieved with 1 second to spare.  Pace 5:56. Goal Achieved. Overall place was 64 and this year their were 6 girls that whooped him!!  Too bad buddy.  :)


My Race:


I had plenty of time for a potty break and afterwards I got in line at the very back of corral 9.  And we were off.  Actually corral one was off and we followed about 10 minutes later.  As we were running the group I was in was slower than what I wanted to be running.  They were at a steady 11 minute pace.  I kept thinking that at any second the crowd would thin a bit and I could make my way around them and pick up my speed.  It never thinned.  So I spent the next mile weaving my way in and out, around, over and through people.  It was really annoying. At one point I turned sideways to get through the 10 across group that decided to stop and walk after the first mile.  Walking is fine but why do you line up in a running corral if you are going to walk?  I don't get it.  I was on the right hand side of the crowd and there was a water stop at mile one on the right.  I don't normally drink water in a race this short but everyone else apparently does because once they saw the water stop they all charged across right in front of me and bombarded the water stop.  Awesome!  
Mile 2 a dude jetted right in front of me and then puked!  Super Awesome.  
Mile 3 was pretty cool where a pack of army dudes were chanting and that was fun up until one of them took out one of those orange construction barrier things because he "didn't see it" then yelled up at his army buddies that they should have told him about it.  Good thing it wasn't a cliff.  
Mile 4 I thought "I'm just going to salvage this race and run as fast as I can into the stadium"  So I pick up the pace and start my kick and a 12 year old literally steps on the back of my shoes and I do the arm thing to keep myself from falling over.  So at that point I just give up and fall into step with the other masses where we shuffle across the finish line.  I had a soft goal of coming in under 40 minutes knowing it was going to be crowded and I just wanted to see what it was like to run with a mass crowd in a race.  I thought this goal had a lot of wiggle room but I crossed in 43 minutes.  This tells me I definitely don't know how to run very well in crowds.  I think a lot of energy was lost running to the start line and also darting in and out of people.  The beginning of races are always stressful to me because of the crowd but then when it thins out I settle down.  The fact that it never thinned out was not a good thing for me.  


The finish line was very anti climatic.  They had the ASU football players lining the chute to the finish line but they were just standing there not cheering or anything...LAME. And then once you crossed the finish line it was all business of people continuing to "move you along" to make room for the people still coming in.  


I found Travis, we walked out, grabbed some Powerade and a banana.  Walked through the expo and then we decided we better head out because our oldest son was watching the other kids at home.  We ran the mile and a half back to the car together and that was probably my favorite part of the race.  We headed home and on with the day.  


I realize this race report sounds negative.  I think the problem is that the race didn't meet my expectations.  My expectations were likely off.  I will run this race again but maybe this would be a good one to do with kids where I'm not trying to necessarily "run" but just enjoy the event.  I know it is possible to run fast in a race like this because Travis did it and Jeff over at  Running Through Phoenix PR'd  and lots of my other friends did just fine so I guess it's just me.  I just need to figure out how to run more efficiently during this type of event. I also realized (I think I already knew) that I enjoy running to "escape" the craziness of life and have some "me" time so running with this many other people doesn't really fit into why I enjoy running.  Lots to learn.  Lot's to learn.  And so the story goes.  


I might note that this is the 4th race I have run this year (2011).  Before 2011 I had only run 4 races TOTAL in my life so at least This Non Race Runner is still Putting herself out there.  I'm growing by leaps and bounds :)


Happy Running Everyone,
Adrienne

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Race Update!

I ran the Pat Tillman 4.2 miler race this morning and I came in 9922 place!!!! YES, YES, YES!!  That was EXACTLY what I was hoping for!  :)

Just teasing, full race report some time Sunday.
Race was at least interesting if nothing else.
Stay tuned.
Happy Running and Good luck to my friends running Ragnar, Boston and other Races this weekend!
Love you people!

Adrienne

Monday, April 11, 2011

Keepin it Real

A few weeks ago Travis and I just happen to be going for a run at the same time so I asked him if he wanted to run with me.
His reply.........
and I quote..... 
"No"
12 years later, the Honeymoon is over.



This morning I got an email from the people from the Pat Tillman Run Race that Travis and I will be participating in this weekend.
It was an email telling us what are bib # is and what corral we will start from.
So my bib # is 7342.  
Travis's bib # is 538.  
So immediately I started wondering what this all means.  I've never run in a "Big" race before.  The Pat Tillman is expecting 30,000 people.  That is more than a little nuts in my book.  
Anyway back to the analyzing of the bib #'s.  

First thing I thought is my bib # is much higher than Travis's so I'm guessing that shows that I am a much slower runner than him.  Not news to me.  I registered myself way before I registered him so I know it's not assigned by order of registration.  
Although receiving this # doesn't really bother me one way or another does a specific bib # bother anyone out there?  Especially if you are running with friends and they have a lower #?  Just curious.

The second thing I thought of was that although Travis's # is much lower than mine at #538, does this mean that their are 537 people registered that expect to run faster than him? Seems that way to me.  Last year Travis ran this race and placed 72 overall.  So unless there are some much faster runners this year I am thinking I must have screwed up his race time when I registered him for this race.  Hopefully he will be in the 1st starting corral.  
But if not than.......
You know what they say......

Karma's a B*tch!  What goes around comes around buddy!  Next time I ask if you want to run with me you say YES!  

If you've been following me for a bit you know I'm totally teasing.  We all know if Travis isn't in the first corral he will find a way to push, shove, cheat and weasel his way up there and he will be just fine.  I say all this about him with love.  

Hopefully I'll see some of you out there this weekend!
Happy Running,
Adrienne

Friday, March 25, 2011

Do you know what the running blog world needs?.........

More filler posts
(This one is dedicated to you Kovas)

Presenting My ABC's of me.  Like Patrick says.  Complete Narcissism.
A) Age: 34
(B) Bed Size: King
(C) Chore You Hate: Laundry, Any takers?
This is the hallway outside my laundry room on Monday.  All clean clothes were eventually sorted, ironed and put away+ about 4 suitcases that needed to be unpacked.  

(D) Dogs: 1 80 pound pure bred weimaraner whose favorite snack is carpet.
Travis makes me take Jasper on night runs and Jasper makes me run faster so I guess it's a good thing.  Too bad he is a total wuss and only looks fierce!
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Waking up seems to help with starting the day.
(F) Favorite Color:  Pink
(G) Gold or Silver: Yes
(H) Height: 5'8"
(I) Instruments You Play: Sadly none but hope to take piano soon.
(J) Job Title: Mom but it's pronounced MOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!
(K) Kids: We are on the 4 no more plan.
(L) Live: Peoria (N. Phoenix) Arizona 
(M) Mom's Name: LeeAnn
(N) Nicknames: Kickbutt Honeycutt (maiden name)
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays: 5 baby deliveries, 1 bone tumor removal, 3 overnighters with kids with seizures, 3 overnighters with kids with RSV.  I think that's all.
(P) Pet Peeve: Passive Aggressive people.  Either be aggressive or don't be. But don't pretend you aren't when you are.
(Q) Quote from a Movie: Dumb and Dumber
Jim Carey: "What are the chances of you and me getting together?"
 Girl: "One in a million"
Jim Carey: "So your saying I have a chance!"
(R) Right or Left Handed: Right
(S) Siblings: 5 total 3 brothers, 2 sisters.  I'm #4 in the line up.
(T) What time do you get up? In the morning? Or in the middle of the night?  Morning around 7:30 am.  Night around 1 or 2 am.
(U) Underwear: Every day
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: ??  I like most if they are prepared correctly.
(W) What Makes You Run Late: Sadie (2 year old) stripping down naked 2 minutes before we are heading out the door.  It's her new thing.  
(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: Teeth, hand, back, knee.
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Key lime pie, sesame chicken.
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: The gorillas that eat their poop, it's super gross yet mesmerizing at the same time.



And I'm WAY WAY WAY overdue with a huge THANK YOU to Candice, over at I have Run, for my new Runnerd Sticker.  I have a place at my desk with all my folders and sadly my running folder wasn't even labeled?  No longer.  Perfect spot for it.  Thanks girl!




You know your a RUNNERD when: 


You have 20+ people coming over to your house for book club at 7 pm and a small feast to prepare for them and you head out your door for a "quick" 4 miler around 5:15 pm with a disaster mess of a house and having cooked NOTHING yet.  Get home, quick shower, quick hair, speed (in car) to the store, (leaving husband and kids to clean) buy a bunch of stuff that looks like you made it, speed home (arrive at 7:15) throw all the stuff on "pretty" plates and stash all the store containers in the pantry closet.  Later the ladies are asking for recipes and you let them know you'll email them to them.  


This may or may not have happened 2 nights ago.


How do you know your a Runnerd


Another BIG Thank you to RIO over at Her name is Rio and She Runs for my new RUN magnet.  How cool is this.  I havent' found the perfect spot for it yet so it's still a work in progress.  First I wanted to put in on my fridge but I have one of those fake stainless steel front fridges so magnets don't work on it. ANNOYING! So I ended up sticking it on my oven? 

Hmmmm.  I'm thinking I'll have to get a new fridge.  


You know your a Runnerd when:
You buy a new fridge for your Run Magnet.  




Happy Running!
Adrienne

Monday, March 21, 2011

Drama+Anger=PR!

Sweet!  I just got a new PR this morning!

This morning I posted a long post after a long break and am happy to get all that out of my system.  Of course just blogging about it doesn't make everything magically better but RUNNING DOES!

Have you ever used running as therapy before?
Running is my #1 therapy.  Chocolate and Diet Coke #2.

I got to the gym and jumped on the treadmill and started in on what was to be a 5 mile run at at 9:45-9:55 pace.  Well the 9:40 pace was not cutting it.  Too much adrenaline that needed to get out.  I moved it up to a 9:20 pace a few miles in.  Still not working.  Moved it to a 9:00 mile pace at around mile 3.  Nothing happening.  So at mile 4 I cranked the treadmill up to a 8:34 pace.  I've never run this fast before but finished out the last mile at a new mile PR of 8:34!  YAY for ANGER!

Have you ever felt an emotion so strongly that you felt like you could run and run and run forever?

The only thing missing from my run was that it was inside on a treadmill and should have been outside in the pouring rain or up the side of a mountain.  For just a few brief moments I felt "Dean like"
Have you guys been following Dean?  Seriously so inspiring!  As of today he has run 1259.39 miles in his Run Across America Challenge that he is doing in order to raise money to fight Obesity in Children.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Get out from under the rock you have been living under and check out the info here.
 I was actually registered to "Run with Dean" while he was here in Arizona for one of his 5k's he was doing.  The registration fee was a whopping $50 which is pretty steep in my book for a 5K but I felt like it was one of those "experiences" that was worth it.  Unfortunately with the "drama" that is currently swirling around me I chose to bail on it at the last minute.  I could give you a list of excuses but truth is I should have just sucked it up and gone anyway but instead I chose to stay in bed crying like a sissy.  Dean wakes up and runs 40-50 miles a day and I couldn't even get out of bed for a measly 3 miles. Old habits die hard.  My friend Christina has a quote on her blog that I think is great.  It says "You never regret the runs you do just the ones you don't do."  So true.  Good news is my $50 registration fee went towards the charity so I'm happy with that. I won't give my power away and miss out again.  Lesson learned.  My next run is the local Pat Tilman 4.2 miler in a few weeks, time to get ready!

After running this morning I wasn't angry anymore.  It's time to let it go and move on.  It's just not worth the time, effort and emotion that it is taking from me.  I so grateful that I'm able to run. You can start out feeling one way and through the course of the run even if it is a short one you can experience every emotion under the sun.  Usually at the end when your tired, sweaty and exhausted you some how feel rejuvenated.  Even if it's slower than some and not as consistent as others it really is a great tool for me to help me stay grounded and keep a clear head and did I mention I have a new mile PR?

Happy Running,
Adrienne