New York City 2009 with Joe

On Friday, Oct 30th, we got to NYC early enough to check into the Renaissance, walk over to the Jacob Javits center to the Expo, grab pizza off the street, light candles in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, go to the top of the Empire State Building, & head to “The Lion King”. Talk about making the most of your day! Our day started at 5am & ended around 11:30pm. The Expo was pretty good with Asics being the sponsor. Joe got me the Bart Yasso book & I bought arm sleeves. I’ve always wanted a pair & finally found some Asics arm warmers for $8! We stood in line with an Austrian runner who told us he was shooting for a 2:30-2:40 time. His name is Markus Poll. He’d done NYC’s marathon a couple times before turns out. He’s an Austrian police officer, races with some sort of team over there. I regret I didn’t take a pic with him but I did get one of him near the finish wearing black. He finished around the 2:41 mark. BTW, “Lion King” was super, duper awesome! If they had allowed photos I would have taken a ton of them. The costumes, stage, the talent…I just can’t say enough good things about that show. If you’re heading to NYC see it!

Saturday, Halloween: We got up early & took the bus tour. It lasted longer than the one Hannah, Cheryl, & I took in June ’08. This guy was named Jerry, a NYC park ranger, who does 2 bus tours a week. So, you can imagine the wealth of knowledge he had to give us. I think his mouth spewed NYC facts non stop the entire time. He was great! He was one of the first folks to spot Sully’s plane in the harbor. I didn’t take many photos on this tour since it was pretty much the exact one I had taken before but he did show us the building where Nicole Kidman lives. Ha! After the bus tour ended, we jumped on the subway for Chinatown & Little Italy. It had been a long time since I had been in a situation to where I could bargain with people like that. Fun!
Chinatown
Little Italy

I got the girls in the office some nice scarves, a swiss army watch for a office friend, & refrigerator magnets to hand out. Joe got Jessica a watch & some other things. It was pretty cool over there. We ate in Little Italy outside in a little café since it was 68 degrees on Halloween in NYC! I got pumpkin ravioli. It was good/different but left an after taste that drove me nuts for a while. We walked until the bottoms of our feet hurt, seriously. We took the subway back up to the Times Sq area & walked around, went to Niketown, watched the fireworks, & enjoyed the sights on the street. People dressed up everywhere. Some were walking around with their kids and/or pets dressed up. It was AWESOME! I started looking around for Yankee stuff for the TX nephews. There wasn’t just the marathon electricity in the air, there was baseball excitement!

Sunday morning we slept in a little & went to a café/diner for breakfast. We watched the first hour of the marathon on a TV in there then walked to Central Park. There was no problem at all with getting a view right on the fence. When the wheel chairs started coming through the excitement really got to me.The announcer was pretty funny. He kept giving updates on where the elite runners were in the packs. Truly amazing to see them come around the corner. I’ll never, ever forget seeing Paula Radcliffe floating in the air…sure she didn’t have a good race by her standards that day but us mere mortal, recreational runners were screaming her name. Derartu Tulu-the winner in front, then number 2, number 3, then Paula's feet way in the back. I had no idea I got this shot until I downloaded the pics tonight.
Moments later I thought I’d lose it when I saw Meb zip around the corner pointing at USA on his chest! The emotion of it all caused me not to get a good shot of him on my camera or on my cell. He was awesome to see! Then before we knew it there was Robert Cheruiyot! I almost didn't get him at all. ha! What a sight he was in his red! Then.....Ryan Hall...so fast & blurry! :)Then Brian Sell soon followed. I barely got the back of his legs so I'll leave that pic off. :(
We waited long enough to see our Austrian friend, Markus, then we left. I almost wish we had stayed about 10-15 mins longer because Joan Benoit Samuelson came through not long after that. Some of the celebrity runners included Dan Jansen (speed skater), Anthony Edwards & Ed Norton (actors), & Alanis Morissette (singer). There were several others but I can’t think of them now. The only person I knew personally from here running was Holly M. She did great with her 4:03:10 finish!
We headed to the Museum of Natural History which was a short walk just up the road. As a matter of fact that’s where all the meeting areas were set up. (Right in front of the museum.) Joe took more photos in there than I did, apparently. The museum was interesting. I'd promised myself I’d do something educational the next visit up & Joe was all about it too. At one point I screamed “Whoo Hoo!” in the museum when I got a text from Erin S. that the Titans had scored a touchdown. (So glad they finally got a win!!!) We spent about 5 hrs in the museum but didn’t really see everything. It was hilarious to hear folks whispering, “Where are the little people?” If you’ve ever seen the “Night at the Museum” movies, you know what I’m talking about.
After we left the Museum of Natural History, we took a subway ride down to 110th to look for “Tom’s Restaurant” (Seinfeld). For the record it’s on 112th & Broadway. Why I had 110th in my head, who knows…but we found it & it was way cool. Simple little diner made famous by Seinfeld.
We then headed by subway back to 42nd Street & Times Sq. I got a pic on the red stairs & in the outdoor seating that is now in Times Sq. From what I had read, I thought it was a bigger area than this but turns out they just basically shut down one lane of traffic. I like it. It made it a little easier to get around there.
Monday, Nov 2nd, we took the subway down to Battery Park for the Ellis & Liberty Island tours. The only difference I noticed was that Ellis has added a lot more personal items to the 3rd floor such as immigrant clothing, teddy bears, shoes, blankets, jewelry, etc… Things that families had handed down from their ancestors that came through Ellis Island. Always interesting but I will NOT go back there for a good while. 3 visits to Liberty & Ellis in less than 2 yrs is definitely enough for me for a very long time.

World Trade Center sculpture sitting in Battery Park. (temporarily)

We headed back to the Renaissance to get a late lunch/early dinner in Times Sq & to get our bags. Note to self: read the menu more closely because nobody needs a lb of sandwich meat in one sitting, seriously! I should have taken a photo of these sandwiches! You could have fed 3-4 people off one sandwich.

Below are pics of Times Sq (Recognize "Cake Boss" fro TLC?), Rockefeller Center, & Empire State Building.

Flying over NYC at night is breathtaking, especially with a full moon overhead. I could see Times Square blinking. I wonder how a pic would've turned out taken through the window of the airplane? Ummm...

I could go to the city every year for a few days & never get bored ever...thanks Joe. The next time I write about NYC, I hope it’s the 2010 race report from BOTH of us.

What will I do on the next trip besides run a marathon? I have a good mind to stick my head into Kleinfeld's Bridal & scream, "Just Say Yes to the Damn Dress". (It's on TLC, too...it's my Friday night addiction. ha!)

Next up is Thanksgiving & man is it fast approaching….heading back to Waterford, Michigan for some craziness with the cousins. Joe, the kids, & I are driving up this time around. I’m doing a 5k walk with Carrie & Patti, the Detroit Turkey Trot in the parade. Now to find an insane costume….uuuummmmmmm….Party City here I come…

What I missed at work...ha! ha! ha!

Oct 30th
Looks like I missed some funny costumes last Friday!Katrina as “Jack Daniels", Michelle as “Vampy Vampire”, Brian as "Brianna" & Nanami as “Hippie”.
Brian gets the prize for obvious reasons. “Tramp Stamp” ha!

More later in the week...

We stood on the fence at mile 26.1.....I know she got 4th but damn Paula Radcliffe can fly, literally. She was airborne here!

These are all from my cell & Joe took the fuzzy ones. :-P Joe bought me Bart Yasso's book & Bart signed it. Very nice man.

Yep, we found it & we ate there. We both had the theme song in our heads the whole time we were there. (Tom's Restaurant...made famous on "Seinfeld")

My hands stopped shaking long enough for me to take some awesome pics at the top of the Empire State Building.
Fuzzy me & Fuzzy Brian Sell at the Expo. I was a "poser" in my CMM '07 shirt so don't laugh.

We had a great time (Thanks Joe!). When I get my computer back at home, I'll download the awesome pics I took of Olympians....got a great one of Ryan Hall!

Halloween in the village, Zoo Spooktacular, Wild Things, & Packing...

Trust me, you have no idea how scary they really were... :-P
The village has a little cookout, costume contest, etc…(Joe’s neighborhood.) I LOVED the pet costume contest!
We went to the zoo Sat night. Pretty cool!
We also saw “Where the Wild Things Are…” For the record, tweens will think it’s boring but this 42 yr old liked it. It’s got an underlying message to it & it makes you think about how much fun it was to be a kid playing & pretending. I did a “study” on this book for a class in college & even did a shadow box for a speech. Maurice Sendak & I go waaayyy back. He won the Caldecott Medal for Where the Wild Things Are, 1964.

In a few days, our fun will start in the big city.
Hopefully in a year I’ll be writing that we’re BOTH doing the marathon.
(For the record, Joe got in but took the deferment because I didn’t get in for the 2nd yr in a row. A good thing since I’m still injured!)
This time around we’ll watch the elites finish, check out the Expo, & go about our business of thoroughly taking in the city. I wish I lived close enough to go back for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. One day I’ll plan a trip around the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

October!

*back to spinning again & loving the sweat...
*looking forward to Halloween in New York City...
*"Lion King"...
*Empire State Building...
*touring the city again...
*seeing my favorite statue, "Lady Liberty"...
*....and so many thanks to a super terrific boyfriend...
*can't wait to see my fantastic Michigan family for Thanksgiving...
*loving my football games even though they're not winning like LAST YEAR...
*shin is not quite there yet but prediction is for early Spring....a slow running start & hoping for some late Summer/Fall runs with my favorite people in 2010...
*totally enjoying all that's fun, great, & positive in such a wonderfully, blessed life...

It is what it is...

Rain: (and a few other obligations)
Kept me off the bike all last week….
Last week was all gym or nothing...
I made my quads sore from squats.
I was on the elliptical 2 days in a row for 65 mins straight, plus I did some exercises that the doc recommended for the shin. It made the muscles in my shin sore.
I made an appt for an X Ray on Oct 12th since I’ll be in Nashville late on that Sun night anyway. (Code Blue game against Indy)

Spinning Again: Back in that spin class saddle
Next week I plan to start hitting spin again. (They’re closing this week for deep cleaning.) I’m going month to month for a while since there’s no use paying for a whole year when I hope to be outside come Spring.

Football: Dang it!
The weekend in football for us was a loss on West End & another at LP.
Both should have won…sigh… I am glad that USC got beat by Washington & MTSU pulled out a squeaker win over Maryland. Oh, and Tullahoma won in Lincoln county. Go Wildcats!

Friends: Reconnecting & letting go a little...
Through the magic of Facebook, I found a lady that I worked with in Germany (like 19 yrs ago!). We taught preschool together for DOD. The kids in our room are now 23 yrs old! I've missed Sheila all these years.

In the coming months, Hannah & Jeff are relocating to Houston. Jeff has a job opportunity of a life time he can’t pass up. I told Hannah she moves more than most military people. Ha! I’m going to miss my “fun” couple. She has been & will continue to be one of the sweetest, positive, funniest women I know… “Houston, I have a problem, you will have my Hannah.”

Steve F. (former running buddy) text’d me about free titans tickets Sat night as we were leaving Vandy. Wow, his seats are 134 front row behind the bench. Since I had my 2nd row seats already I took a pass on them but dang I hope he keeps us in mind again!

Austin Jay: My nephew broke his arm
He was going for a lay up & another kid fought him for it in practice. CRACK! He’s in a cast for 7 weeks. Thank God it was his left arm because as my sister said, “Thank God, he can feed himself.” Basketball season starts in exactly 7 weeks for him. Yikes!

Below a few pics from the busy weekend:
Jessica & Joe on the "South Nash Dask 5k" courseView from seats Mechelle McNair & her boys during the coin toss. (bless their hearts)
T-Rac with troops T-Rac during Michael Jackson dance numberLittle Cheerleaders during dance performance (half time) We went to the pregame breakfast at "McFaddon's". Saw Erin & Wayne there. Kevin Dyson usually does the pregame shows so I got him to sign my jersey. He wrote his name & under it, "Music City Miracle". :)

Hope everyone's weekend went well. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet weekend coming up.

A week flew by...

Thursday morning:
Up bright n’ early for Harvey’s
Elliptical & crunches

I watched THE game & was up till 11pm. VERY late for me.
It was a rough fought game as most of you know & honestly, the Titans should’ve won. It is unheard of for Bironas to miss 2 field goals. Stripping that ball away from Hines Ward was a “gift”. We gave the “gift” back, ya know… This Sunday is the home opener against the Texans. Joe & I will be there…2nd row from the field. Can’t wait!

Friday:
I pushed mowed the yard & as usual I put that in my marathonguide.com log as cardio. Ha! I was in bed by 8:10pm.

As like every year, I always think of where I was on 9-11-01. I was in my office in my last job wondering if the world was coming to an end. Seriously, I bet called nearly everyone I knew to see where they were, what they were doing, & if they were flying that day. I think we'll all have a heavy feeling on this date for the rest of our lives...

Saturday:
I rode the 34 mile portion of the Elk River 100 course. I saw Lisa (spin instructor from the Rec Ctr). She has a beautiful Trek bike.
I ended up with 37 miles since I accidentally finished on the 50 or 100 mile finish route. ha! Yes, I read the orange mark on the road & yes I did see the street where I was supposed to turn but I put the accuracy of the orange mark first before pulling out the cue sheet to check the street. My Bad! The extra miles sure didn’t hurt me. Let me tell ya, Lynchburg is hilly, especially Harry Hill (or was it Hairy Hill?).
I haven’t had a chance to download my garmin but I’m sure when I do I’ll totally recognize that hill on the grid. I had to push my bike up that thing for about 10-15 minutes. At the top there were some course monitors sitting on the back end of their truck. They did NOT look at all surprised to see me pushing my bike. I told them that they needed to call it “Harry Hell Hill”. I stayed less than 2 minutes at the food stop at mile 17.3. Long enough to grab 2 small cookies & wipe my glasses off. I wanted that ride over so I could get to Nashville. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun. I had a few minor dog chases but I ride with “Halt” so I was armed. I had one, huge, happy dog gallop along side of me for a while smiling the whole way. Seriously, I said, "hey buddy" & he looked over at me & smiled. He wanted to play. :-) All in all, I’m glad I did it. I needed to ride somewhere more exciting than the base for once.

Saturday night:
Seriously, I never thought I’d say this but I put that “Taylor Swift” concert up there with the “Bon Jovi-Daughtry” one I saw in ’08. She rocked that house! It was more like a production, a play, with a concert wrapped around it. It was worth every penny I spent on the tickets. Every radio station in town was there doing some sort of activity. It was almost like Disney World with the little (and BIG) girls all glittered & glammed up. Jessica sang karaoke before we went inside. “Glorianna” & “Kellie Pickler” opened for Taylor & they were ok. Taylor finally came on at 9pm & that girl didn’t stop until after 11pm. She isn’t nominated for “Entertainer of the year” for nothing, let me tell ya! Let’s just say I wasn’t worth killing on Sunday morning…but it was worth it! I’m so glad Michele C. from work got tickets at the last minute for her, her mom, & twin daughters. She got some awesome pics.

"Love Story" Her dancers ripped that big dress off & under it she had on a wedding dress. Jessica singing karoke at the 102.5 booth. She picked the blue concert shirt & believe it or not they were reasonably priced. At one point she was standing on her chair with the girls next to her yelling. ha! Faith Hill showed up! She was all over that place. She sang in an open walk way, walked down the steps, got on a rotating platform right in front of us, & she put on the Preds jersey while confetti fell from the ceiling (in the shape of hearts). What a great 19 yr old talent she is... When I looked at who was coming this concert season I wasn't thrilled at all but I'm so glad I went for this one! How am I ever going to top this with the Tween Bee? ha!

Sunday:
The only exercise I got was walking to the stir fry restaurant in the village with Joe for a late lunch.

Today:
Crunches & weights (chiropractor appt took a lot of time)

Tomorrow:
Weather permitting a ride or it's back to the gym or on the trainer in the living room. Yuck!

Happy September!

Hey Paul, can I have your Terrible Towel to clean my bike?

In case you didn't know Vandy won Sat night much like UT won. I think the scores were almost the same. It was a fun evening on West End.

Sunday:
Rest, Rest, & more Resting....
I actually threw together a low fat pie. :-P

Monday:
Rode the Lenox village hills & over into another neighborhood for 13+ miles. Yes, it was short but it was like 90% hills. My quads wanted to scream. I worked out with some 5 lb free weights too.

Tuesday:
A Bit sleep deprived so I chose Harvey's instead of riding.
Weights, crunches, & elliptical

Wedneday:
Rode 23.22 miles
After I loaded the car & started heading home, I took note of how dark it was getting. It was only 7pm. :-(

Tomorrow:
I'm getting up EARLY for some time on the ellipitcal at Harvey's & some crunches. In the evening, I'm going to be in front of the tv cursing the "Terrible Towel" at the 6:30pm kick off time. The only Steeler fan I know of is Paul S. but I'll pretend he's just joking about that. ha!

Fired up!

My week ended on a fired up/positive note.

My TX nephew, Austin Jay, made his Freshman high school basketball team. In a school around here, no big deal, right, but in his HUGE, competitive school, it's a big deal. They have so many kids that there's TWO Freshman teams this year. My sis thought she'd get a break since AAU had ended. ha! In a city where the Spurs are the rage, you better believe there's some competitive basketball going on in the school systems. Go Austin! I'm so proud of him. :)

Joe's company had a fund raising event with stuff like a dunking machine, football throw, etc... Guess who won the football throw? AND, he won lower level tickets to the Colts game on Sunday night, Oct 11th. He must have been channelling Peyton's arm. I thought I'd jump out of my chair at my desk & scream. Those tickets are so expensive & hard to come by... Go Joe!

I had a short but interesting ride in the Raus community out near Motlow after work yesterday. I was trying to check out the Elk River course. I think I found Little Richard's house. It's just beautiful out there & NO traffic! I pray I don't end up lost next Saturday. Thank God, they provide a cell number to the sag vehicle. ha!

This morning I did about 17.5 miles before pilates class. On my ride, I saw Chris & Carla B. running through the base. They're preparing for the Murfreesboro Middle half marathon. I cannot wait to be 100% fracture free so I can run with them again. They plan to do a portion of Elk River next Saturday, too.

In an hour I'm off to show some gold. :-P
Have a fantabulous Labor Day weekend!

Feeling the Fun Times of Fall upon me...

Right now (until it gets too dark), I'm riding Mon-Wed-Fri.
Tues-Thurs I hit the gym. Sometimes I try to ride on Sundays if there's time for it. Since I've pushed my goal to do a century ride into 2010, there's no pressure to ride more than 20-30 miles at one time. I'm ok with that because of the shin. So, I've been doing just more of the same...23 miles on most days that I do ride. I'm truly enjoying it just because I'm seeing new things. Things I don't notice while driving. This area truly is a beautiful area to ride. We are so lucky in Coffee County.

On tap for this Labor day weekend...
Well, as you know, it's Football time in Tennessee!!

Will Lane Kiffin's new & hopefully improved Vols win some games?
Will Vandy have a repeat year & go to another bowl game?
Will anyone beat Florida? ha!

We're going to "show our gold" Sat evening. I'm excited!! (yes, this MTSU grad will become a Vandy fan this season)
My degree is blue, my blood is orange, but I'll be cheering for the black n' gold this season!

My guess is that the Titans won't have the year that they had last year but I think they have a good chance to make the playoffs again. Maybe this time, they'll stay in there for the big show. Anything is possible, ya know...
Joe spent 3 hrs on a conference call this past weekend doing his draft. He's in a a league with 16 teams. I had to leave on my bike ride because I kept wanting to cheer when someone I like got drafted. :-P

Looking ahead to Christmas, Joe bought our plane tickets to San Antonio for Dec 23-27. He's so nice to me. I hope the beagles like him. :-)

Fired up & anal over what? Speed? I really am a duffus!

Monday:
23.2 miles
Ave speed 16.5 (I was faster Sat. on the same route)

Tuesday:
weights, crunches, & I pushed mowed the back yard. (yep, I still count that as cardio!)

Wednesday:
23.35 miles
Ave speed 16 (Tired legs & heat got me)

I really want to break that 17 mph barrier that appears to be out of my reach right now. Seriously, I had an average speed once of 16.9! I do NOT ride flat routes so I'm sure if I rode flat I'd break it but it's still frustrating. Why am I concerned about speed? Because I am my father's daughter.... ugh!
Have I mentioned how much I'm loving these NEW tires lately?! I think I'll call Alex tomorrow to see if he misses me & tell him how much I love the Michelins. ha!

Getting back on track...

I had 5 days in a row off from the bike & the gym.
Too many things going on, too many things to organize in my mind...
Sometimes there just isn't time & the last week & a half was touch n' go.
(I had 2 days at the gym & one day on my bike, plus I did mow the FAST growing grass one evening.)
I'm reexamining my life in general. Where am I going to be 1 yr from now? Ya know...questions like that? It's time.

Backing up to last week, I don't regret taking some time off work & hanging out. I was sad to see Deb & the boys leave but I will most definitely see them for Christmas in San Antonio. I was going to resist posting pics & bragging but Austin got co-MVP on his Basketball team. Yes, we know he loves it. He dreams of the NBA. :-) I am so proud of him & all his accomplishments. AND not to leave Avery out but my favorite muffin head was looking at caps while his brother tried on school shoes in Hibbets. He kept trying on a blue/orange Univ. of TN hat. I thought he was confused because everyone breathes the Longhorns in TX & they're orange too. When I pointed out that it was U of TN not U of TX, he wanted it anyway. He wore his University of TN cap the whole time he was here. I just wonder what his FL loving father said when he saw it. :-P Steph, me, & Deb...probably the first pic in 4+ yrs we've had taken together. Aunt Diane (from MI) took a better one but hasn't sent it to me yet. Deb got to see some MI relatives she hasn't seen in 20 yrs! Austin & Avery at "Piggy's Place". This place has been around Tullahoma since the 80's & my sister sure remembered that she loved it!

Joe, Jessica, & Joey on a rock down at Rutledge Falls. The water was cold but once you got used to it, it wasn't bad. We brought food & had a picnic. It was fun. Ahh, the "simple" things...I did get in some good hiking today. Not strenous but I did get my heart rate up a few times. The hip flexors & quads were going, "What the hell?"

Tomorrow I'm back on track with the biking....I only did 23 miles on Sat so I'm hoping to get in some good riding this week. I can tell it's getting dark earlier but I feel like I still have 2 good hours after work to get some riding in... I'm sad to report that the "Leaves of Lincoln" is cancelled this year. I will be doing a portion of the Elk River Valley 100. I had hoped to do the 50 that day & that's still not out of the question but I have to save some energy for the Taylor Swift concert with Jessica that night. I cannot believe it's almost Sept!! This cooler August weather is almost too freaky. Makes me wonder if we'll have an early Fall.

Family & Friends

The week & weekend:

Full of family, friends, & a Titans preseason game
(No time on the bike or in the gym)
Considering the loss of my appetite lately, I'm A Ok with the 4 day break.
Tomorrow is a new day...
I did some weights & ab work last Tues before I decided to mow in the rain. Yeah, I know...I stopped when I saw lightening. :-P
I rode last Wed just 0ver 17 miles before I finished my yard.

I won't bore anyone with new pics of my nephews or pics I took at the Titans game. :-)
I missed my family as soon as they walked out the door. I cannot thank God enough for the job my sister & Mark have done with them. As I have said many times before, they're raising two very well adjusted, super smart, athletic, & very polite boys. She is and has done absolutely everything I know I would have done if I had kids. My sister ROCKS in so many ways! :)

some fun & some sweat

I did what I said I'd do on Sat...weights, elliptical, & some abs...no time for pilates class, though. :-(
We had a great time at the Adventure Science center. I crawled up into the top of the cone & looked at the sky line of Nashville. Joey, Skylar, & Jessica...I really enjoyed the Solar System room. You can see what you weigh on each planet.

Sunday, we did a little tax free shopping. All I bought was shampoo & conditioner but that wasn't tax free. I don't need one thing really.
No work out on Sunday unless you want to count cleaning house.
The TX sister & boys are coming in Thurs morning. I cannot wait to see them! We've got a super busy weekend coming up. Joe & I are going to the 1st home preseason Titans game on Sat night, too. I also got our tickets for the opening game of regular season today for Sept 20th. :)

Today I beat my 30k route time by about 3 minutes. I did it in 1:05:06. The difference? Fresh legs, I guess... I finished out the exact same route from last Monday with just over 26 miles for the day. You could have wrung me out twice I was sweating so much & starving! Saw Paul before I started. He had just finished 23 but didn't look sweaty. What's up with that, Paul? :-P

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?!

John Hughes:
"Ferris Bueller’s Day off”
“Trains, Planes, & Automobiles"
“Home Alone”
“Sixteen Candles”
“Breakfast Club”…need I say more?
I think about when I saw these films, how old I was, who I was with, & where… John Hughes films Rocked! I will never forget skipping class with Brian C. & going to the theater to take in a private viewing of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". We saw it before the public saw it because we worked there. :)
Who can forget dreamy eyed, young John Cusack in “Sixteen Candles” with Molly Ringwald or Judd Nelson in “The Breakfast Club”? The scene where Ally Sheedy is dancing in detention is priceless. What is it about this summer that my “youth” seems to be dying?

Me & my Fuji:
With the heat back, it’s slow going but not as slow as say 2 months ago…
I've decided that a century ride just isn't going to happen this year simply because I refuse to do one until I'm riding a certain speed. I want to be a little stronger on the bike but I'm not ruling out a ride in Sept or Oct. I'm having so much fun on it, seriously. I could do an entire post on the stuff I've seen but I don't have time.

Last Saturday: Pilates class, 30 mins on the elliptical, & crunches.
We went to a coworker’s wedding. Congrats to Judi & BB!

He does auctions & real estate on the side. This sale was final! ha!

Last Sunday: I rode just over 17 miles before heading to the Titans training camp. We had a blast! I'm going to wear my D. Mason #85 jersey even though it's Nate Washington's number now. Maybe I'll get Nate's signature on it, too. Cousin Patti's favorite, KVB! Fisher & those tanned legs... (I didn't get a pic of Finnegan but I got a message from April to "blow him a kiss or give him a love bite, whichever." I laughed!) ahhh, Kerry..... They looked sharp in the heat but who knows what the season's going to be like.... I'm just ready for fall, yall...Monday: I rode a rolling 30k in 1:08 then I finished it out at 26.12 miles total for the day at 16.9 mph overall. (fast for me, slow for others).

Tuesday: I did weights, crunches, & mowed the yard.

Wednesday: I rode just a 13.72 because I had been in the ‘boro getting the back tire changed to a Michelin. The Continental on the back had picked up some glass on Monday. It had to have happened at UTSI because the tube wasn’t holding air for more than a minute or two. Thank God, I didn't get stranded! It was a small piece of glass but a deep puncture. Sorry but I’m not riding on patched tires. This is the first time a flat was due to me running over something. All the other flats happened due to the rough edged Continental on the front & the hot car back in June. I know more about bike tires right now than I ever cared to know...

Thursday: I rode about 19-20 miles…Garmin was dead since I accidentally left it on all night. I will eventually buy a bike computer as back up.

Friday: I rode 33.09 miles. The plan was for 35 or more but I had a bid I was watching on ebay. Yeah, I know...lame but I rode faster because of it & I won the bid. :-P

Saturday: Tomorrow I'm going to do weights, abs, & the elliptical. I'm meeting Hannah, Jeff, Skylar, Joe, Joey, & Jessica at the Adventure Science Center. Should be a fun day!