Miss America

missamerica.org

Miss America was crowned live on ABC Saturday at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Miss America pageant started a competition back in December called America's Choice. All 53 MAO contestants made a video and the public could vote for who they liked. I watched most of the videos. My choice was Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden. I picked Lexie because her video made me smile and she is a farm girl. I am also a farm girl. I lived on a hog farm for 21 years. Besides hogs, my father grew corn and soybeans. I don't remember if it was in the America's Choice video, but Lexie was a pig wrestler. I never wrestled with my hogs, but I did enjoy hopping in the pen with them, petting them and playing with their tails.

Lexie's platform as Miss Wyoming is 'Raising Awareness of the Importance of Physical Activity in Youth'. Hadden said, "Obesity rates have tripled in the last three decades, so it’s definitely something our society has to change. I just want to promote it to kids and show them physical activity doesn’t have to have a negative connotation, it can definitely be something fun for them.”

After completing her degree at the University of Wyoming, Madden hopes to earn a doctorate in pediatric physical therapy and administer rehabilitation care for children as a pediatric physical therapist.

Associated Press/Isaac Brekken

When the competition started Saturday, Miss Montana - Alexis Wineman was named America's Choice. Joining Miss Montanta in the Semifinals was Miss Texas - DeNae Couch; Miss Utah - Kara Arnold; Miss Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton; Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden; Miss South Carolina - Ali Rogers; Miss Tennessee - Chandler Lawson; Miss Alabama - Anna Laura Bryan; Miss Maryland - Joanna Guy; Miss Illinois - Megan Ervin; Miss Indiana - Merribeth Cox; Miss New York - Mallory Hytes Hagen; Miss Florida - Laura McKeenman; Miss Kentucky - Jessica Casebolt and Miss Iowa - Mariah Cary.

Getty Images/David Becker

A twist in the competition was thrown at the judges. After the semifinals were named, the judges were told to come to a consensus on one more contestant. After deliberation, the judges decided to give Miss Washington - Mandy Schendel another chance. The first competition of the night was the swimsuit. The ladies wore Catalina Swimwear.

Following the swimsuit competition, more cuts were made. The following ladies made the Top 12 and went on to compete in evening wear: Miss Washington - Mandy Schendel; Miss Maryland - Joanna Guy; Miss Texas - DeNae Couch; Miss Alabama - Anna Laura Bryan; Miss New York - Mallory Hytes Hagen; Miss South Carolina - Ali Rogers; Miss Indiana - Merribeth Cox; Miss Tennessee - Chandler Lawson; Miss Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton; Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden; Miss Illinois - Megan Ervin and  Miss Iowa - Mariah Cary.

Twelve ladies were on stage, but only ten of them performed their talent. The Top 10 was Miss Texas - DeNae Couch (baton) ; Miss Tennessee - Chandler Lawson (vocal) ; Miss Illinois - Megan Ervin (dance) ; Miss Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton (tap) ; Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden (piano) ; Miss Maryland - Joanna Guy (vocal) ; Miss New York - Mallory Hytes Hagen (tap) ; Miss South Carolina - Ali Rogers (piano) ; Miss Iowa - Mariah Cary (tap) and Miss Washington - Mandy Schendel (vocal).

 These final 10 ladies were now vying for a chance participate in the onstage question. The ladies who made the Top 5 were: Miss Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton; Miss South Carolina - Ali Rogers; Miss New York - Mallory Hytes Hagen; Miss Iowa - Mariah Cary and Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden.

Once the scores were in from the judges; Miss America was named. Miss Iowa - Mariah Cary was fourth-runner up. Third-runner up was Miss Wyoming - Lexie Madden. Receiving a $20,000 Amway scholarship was second-runner up Miss Oklahoma - Alicia Clifton. First-runner up was Miss South Carolina - Ali Rogers. Rogers received a $25,000 Amway scholarship. That left Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagen as Miss America 2013.

Mallory Hytes Hagen now begins her one year reign as Miss America. Hagen will travel 20,000 miles each month and speak about her personal platform: Stop it Now - Child Sexual Abuse. Besides her personal platform, Hagen is also the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. She will also be the spokesperson for Education and focus on science, technology, education and math (STEM) this year. Hagen who is a student at The Fashion Institute of Technology will receive a $50,000 scholarship provided by Amway.

The Miss America Organization is the world's largest provider of scholarships for young women. More then $45 million was given away in scholarships last year.

Top photo: Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagen, is crowned Miss America 2013 by Miss America 2012 Laura Kaeppeler at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on January 12, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Middle photo: Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, left, and Miss New York Mallory Hytes Hagan, right, wait for the announcement of the winner during the Miss America 2013 pageant on Saturday, January 12, 2013, in Las Vegas. Hytes Hagan won the competition.

Bottom photo: Lexie Madden, Miss Wyoming, competes in the evening gown competition during the 2013 Miss America Pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on January 12, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hudson Cross Country Booster 5K

I ran the Hudson Cross Country Booster 5K this past Saturday. I have been running this race since 2004. I always run it as a birthday present to myself. My birthday always falls somewhere right around this race. It fell three days before the race this year.

Everyone seems to pass me when the horn sounded for the start of the race. I wasn't trying to keep up with anyone. I just wanted to run at my own pace. Not even 1/4th mile into the course, I was already passing a bunch of people that started out too fast.

The course took us into the woods right in the beginning. In the woods are a couple of large hills. I was following a group up the first big hill and took it easy. Coming back out of the woods, I was happy to have passed a couple of more people.

The first mile went well. I ran an 8 something. The start of the second mile took us back into the woods with a couple of more hills. There is where I developed painful stomach cramps. The cramps forced me to slow down. Even when I wasn't running as fast as the first mile, I was still passing people. When I crossed the second mile marker, I had to look down at my watch. My watch read 18:59. The stomach cramps really slowed me down. When the stomach cramps started to go away with just under a mile to go, I knew I had to pick up the pace.

My goal for the last mile was to catch a woman ahead of me. I was starting to run her down. Heading back into the woods for the final stretch of the race, I kept getting closer to her. I knew if I kept my current pace that I might have a chance to catch the woman ahead of me. But with the large hills coming up, I wasn't sure. The course took us back down a large sandy hill. I wanted to make sure of my footing and not fall on my face. I took the hill a bit slower. When I got to the bottom of the hill, the lady in front of me was gone. I picked up my pace to try and catch her. Coming up to another hill, I powered my way up it. When I was at the top of the hill, I saw her just up ahead of me. The trail lead us out of the woods and towards the finish line. I looked up at the clock and read 27 minutes. I picked up my pace and sprinted towards the finish line.

I finished in 28:09 and placed second in my age group. Probably about 10-15 seconds behind the woman I was chasing. That time was just 14 seconds slower then my time in 2011. I was thinking that if I didn't get those stomach cramps and slow down, I could have challenged last year's time. I talked to the woman who finished just in front of me. She thanked me for pacing her during the race. I told her I was closing in on her just before the hills in the woods. I said that is where she gained ground on me. She told me that she loves to run down hills. She ran down that hill at full speed.

I always love running this race. I have photographed many cross country meets and regionals on this course. I only stop at a couple of places on the course when I'm working. When running it myself, I know how difficult and the challenges they face on the tough and hilly course.

Addison Panther XC Open 5K

The temperatures were in the low 70s for the race and it was sunny. I have never run on this cross country course before. I have photographed many races there and only seen small bits and pieces of the course. I am very cautious on cross country courses. I know most of them have uneven running surfaces. I had my ankle braces on to make sure I could run the course the best that I could without twisting my ankles.

About an hour before the race started, I asked the volunteers about the course. One of the high school volunteers wasn't even sure of the course. She had to ask another volunteer to come over and answer my question. It would have been more helpful to have a map printed up of the course. After hearing a description of the course, I did a warm up on the first mile of the course. The first mile included surfaces of grass, gravel, dirt, rocks, roots and hills. One of the largest hills on the course is right in the first half mile.

The turnout of the race was small. The race director was pleased that a high school boys and girls cross country team from Toledo, Ohio drove up to run. When the race started, I found myself near the back of the small pack. I found myself in behind a couple of the boys from the cross country team. I decided to keep with them. I passed one of the boys prior to the big hill in the beginning on the race. When running up the hill, I was right behind another boy. I ended up passing the other boy at the top of the hill. I knew the boy would be right on my heels if I didn't surge away from the hill. I ended up catching up a girl shortly after the hill and passed her too.

Once I broke away from the two boys and girl, I was by myself. Heading towards the mile mark, the course took us through the woods. I was about to make the turn heading into the woods and I passed a girl standing on the side of the course. Her coach just ran out of the woods and over to her. I don't know if she had a cramp or what, but I heard her coach tell her to she needed to get going and head toward the woods. That meant the girl was now behind me. I needed to pick up the pace to keep her behind me.

Coming out the woods, we were running near an open field where spectators were standing. A woman cheered me on, then a few seconds later she was cheering on the girl I just passed prior to entering the woods. I knew she was close to me. For the second half of the course, most of it is on a trail through the woods. The course through the woods was winding. When I made a turn, I was able to see the runners behind me. They were close. I kept telling myself to keep up my pace. I passed the second mile mark in just over 18 minutes. I heard the volunteers shout out times for the runner behind me. I ran around a curve and took a quick peek to see where she was. The girl was about 10-15 seconds behind me. My goal for the rest of the race was to keep her behind me.

The last mile seemed to take a while. It seemed that way because we were running long stretches of straightaways in the woods. If felt like we were never leaving the woods. Heading out of the woods for the last time, we had a short and steep hill to climb. I didn't expect that at all. It was a momentum killer for me. I could feel myself slowing down a lot to climb that hill. Once I was over the hill, my legs didn't have much left to them.

We ran on the warning track of the baseball in the final stretch of the race. On the baseball field, you could see where everyone was. I knew as long as I held my pace, the girls behind me wouldn't catch me. Just ahead of me was another boy. I was running him down until climbing the last small hill. After leaving the warning track, we were ran on the side of a hill which flattened out. We crested the hill and then ran down it. That is where the boy took off. I wanted to take it easy to make sure I wouldn't fall down the hill and land in gravel. Once I was off the gravel and back on grass, I ran as fast as I could to the finish line.

My finishing time was 28:59.05 and I was first in my age group. I didn't run this race last year because it was held the same day of another race that I ran. This course is tough and I think I will be back next year.

Favorite photos from July 13, 2012

Olympic Track & Field Trials

Day 7

After two rest days, the Olympic Track & Field Trials started up again Thursday. I wasn't able to watch it live. I watched it this morning while on the treadmill.

Brad Walker was the winner of the men's pole vault. Walker cleared the height of 18-7.25. This is his second Olympic team. Jeremy Scott was second (18-4.5) and Derek Miles, who finished in fourth (18-4.5), will also be on the team. Third place finisher Scott Roth will not be going to to London. He did not clear the A standard.

Lance Brooks was the winner of the men's discus with a toss of 213-9 feet. With that throw, Brooks met the Olympic A standard. Coming in second was Jarred Rome with a throw of 207-10 and Jason Young was third (203-11).

Evan Jager lowered his PR by three seconds to win the men's 3000m steeplechase 8:17.40. Donn Cabral, NCAA steeplechase champion from Princeton, was second in 8:19.81. Rounding out the team was Kyle Alcorn in third (8:22.17).

Winning the women's 5000m was Julia Culley in 15:13.77. Molly Huddle finished behind Culley in 15:14.40. Third place finisher Kim Conley out leaned fourth place Julia Lucas in 15:19.79 to earn the last spot on the team.

Galen Rupp broke the men's 5000m Olympic trials record held by Steve Prefontaine winning in 13:22.67. Rupp edged out Bernard Lagat by .15 seconds to win. Lagat's time was 13:22.82. Finishing in third was Lopez Lomong with a time of 13:24.47.

Photo Credits:
First: Galen Rupp leads Lopez Lomong, left, and Bernard Lagat during his victory in the 5000 meter at the Olympic trials on Thursday in Eugene, Oregon. (Getty Images/Christian Petersen)

Second: Competitors take the water jump in the men's 3000m steeplechase final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Thursday. (Associated Press/Charlie Riedel)

Third: Julie Culley and Molly Huddle race to the finish line during the women's 5000m final Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene. (Associated Press/Charlie Riedel)

'Far too disruptive'

I ran the Ann Arbor Marathon on Sunday. There were long stretches of streets that I was by myself. I could hear drivers talking to police officers who were blocking traffic. One driver was yelling at the police officer because he couldn't get to the street that he wanted. He wanted to know why the streets were closed. The police officer told the driver that he was just doing his job.

The marathon route was all over the city. Most of the streets that was used as the course are very busy streets. The streets in the downtown area were completely shut down. So many businesses in downtown were open, but it didn't look like too many customers were inside. The customers had no way of getting to them.

I saw this article online yesterday about the marathon. John Hieftje, the mayor of Ann Arbor, said the marathon was a disruption to local traffic. "I thought it was far too disruptive and it need to be better, and I'm speaking solely to traffic and how people getting in and out of neighborhoods were affected, " Hieftje said. If Ann Arbor wants to hold a second marathon changes will need to be made for the event to continue in the future.

I don't know what the race director and organizers have planned for next year. It sounds like if no changes are made, the inaugural Ann Arbor Marathon may be its last.

Ann Arbor Marathon

The Ann Arbor Marathon started out good. I was hanging with a pace group and was feeling good. The pace leader, Heather, told me that the first 14 miles were really hilly. Besides the course being really hilly, it was very humid. The humidity was about 70% or a little higher.

I ran with a handheld bottle for the first time. It was nice having water with me. But I really wanted to conserve my water. For the first couple of aid stations, I drank from my bottle. I drank from the aid stations for the rest of the race. Besides water, I did drink Powerade and I had Honey Stinger chews with me.

Heather was correct. This course was so hilly. The entire course felt like one giant hill. As soon as we ran a downhill another hill was right ahead of us. I was thrilled that I was running the hills well and staying in step with Heather. I kept thinking to stay with her and I could run a great time. I was doing that until mile 10. When coming to an aid station, we would all slow down and get fluids. After drinking the fluids, we would all group back up and run together. I was right behind Heather. I first grabbed a cup of water and drank that. I then grabbed a Powerade. I started to drink it and started choking. I got the fluid down finally, but Heather already sped up and left the aid station. I managed to get a step or two behind her and she ended up pulling away. When I lost the group, I was a little sad. My goal coming into the marathon was to stay with a pace group the entire way. I just failed my goal. The group was getting farther and farther away and there was nothing that I could do to catch up.

Once I was out of the group, I found myself alone. Other people were around, but I wasn't running with anyone. I ran by myself for 16 miles. Along those 16 miles, I did manage to pass some people. These were the people who ran by me earlier. Even though I wasn't with the group, it felt good to still pass a few people. It did lift my spirits.

During one of the long hill climbs, a paramedic crew riding bikes passed me. I really thought of stopping and asking them for a ride back to my car. I was tired and the long hill climbs were not fun. I ran up all of the hills. I figured I would finish the race faster by running instead of walking the hills. When running up the hills, I looked about 5-10 feet in front of me. Always staring at the street. I only glanced up once or twice to see how long before I crested the top of the hill.

The last six miles felt the longest. Knowing you just had a 10K left felt really good, but 6.2 miles is still a distance away. The miles clicked off slowly and we ran up many more hills. Around mile 24, I ran by my car. It was parked across the street from Michigan Stadium in a high school parking lot. I thought of just skipping the last two miles and heading straight for my car. I desperately wanted to stop running and just sit down. But I didn't. I didn't because I don't quit anything. I was two miles away from the end. I was going to finish and get my medal.

I was running with a couple of guys during the last mile. We all were side by side. It was nice to run with someone again. When we hit the last turnaround, I passed many more people. Most of them were walking. I wanted to join them in walking, but the finish line was less then a half mile away. I just kept plugging away. There was no sprinting into the finish line. I was just running the same speed I ran for the second half of the race. I was so happy to see the finish line. I was even more happy to run over the timing mats. I was done. I finished the race in 4:50:07. This time was 10 minutes slower then my last marathon. But with all of the hills, it is understandable.

I drank some water, grabbed a banana and half of banana nut muffin and started walking the 1.1 miles back to my car. A guy came and walked beside me. He said "great job" to me. I said thanks. He said I pulled away from him at near the end of the race and he couldn't keep up. I didn't even realize that he was that close to me. It made me feel a little better to know I ran away from someone at the end of a grueling race.

Finishing time: 4:50:07
Overall place: 407/580
Age Group: 22/36

Models

I have been watching some candid reality shows about modeling. These reality shows give an inside look to the world of modeling.

When I was growing up, my first love was drawing. I would look forward to looking at the Sunday paper because of the models. The ads I really liked looking at were the drawings of the models wearing the items on sale. The company that ran the clothes ads, used drawings instead of photographs. I would love to draw pictures all of the pretty models.

Fast forward to the present, instead of drawing models, I would like to photograph them. A couple of years back, I had a session with a model. It was fun. We had several clothes and location changes. Since I don't have models banging down my doors for me to photograph them. These reality shows are the closest I'll get to models.

The first show that I watch is Scouted. This show follows girls that are scouted by model scouts and are sent to New York City to try to break into the modeling world. The model scouts that are a part of the show are from California, Texas, Virginia and Utah. Once the girls are scouted, they are sent to One Management in New York City. They then meet with a team consisting of a creative director, director of scouting, an image and style consultant and a model mentor. First there is a meet and greet, trying on a wardrobe, hair, makeup and then the photo session. The girls then meet back with the team and the president of One Management to find out if they will be signed to the company.

The other show I watch is Remodeled. The show follows Paul Fisher as he travels to different agencies that are in The Network, which are small-town model agencies that Fisher controls, to help them find more talent and make more money. In the first episode, Fisher was able to help turn around an agency in Minnesota and sign some models. Besides Fisher working with the modeling agency, employees of Fisher's took a group of four models to New York to book them for Fashion Week. We get to watch as they go on castings. What was really refreshing was one of the models was a male. Usually on model shows, you never see a male model. They do exist.

I don't know if the show will always split time between Fisher and the working models. It may just stick with Fisher working on the small town agencies. But I find it interesting. Besides the working models, it is nice to see the model scouts do a little bit of work also. The show just premiered on Tuesday. So I will have to keep watching to see what happens.

Miss America

It is no secret. I love pageants. I have been watching them since I was a little girl. I would make paper sashes and wear them around the house until they ripped apart. Now as an adult, I have been photographing local pageants for work since 2000. You could say that is really the only girlie thing about me.

The 2012 Miss America Pageant was held Saturday at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada. And I watched it live, of course. Laura Kaeppeler, Miss Wisconsin, was crowned Miss America 2012 by Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011. Kaeppeler beat out first runner-up, Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma.

Kaeppeler started the competition off wearing a white bikini. During the evening gown portion, she wore a stunning black beaded gown with lace on top and short sleeves. Kaeplleler said the inspiration of her gown came from Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's wedding gown. I could see the similarities in the lace. For talent, Kaeppeler performed a beautiful operatic rendition of "Il Bacio". The last part of the competition was the onstage question. Her question was whether Miss America should declare their political affiliation. Keappeler answered, "Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they represent everyone as well. And in these economic times, we need to be looking forward to what America needs, and I think Miss America needs to represent all. "

Kaeppeler's platform is Circle of Support: Mentoring Children of Incarcerated Parents. She wants kids of incarcerated parents to feel less alone and to have mentoring and a relation with their parents. Her father, Jeff, served 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud when she was starting college.

Betty Thompson, Miss Oklahoma, was the first runner-up. Her platform is Milk: It Really Does a Body Good. Thompson started the competition as ABC's America's Choice pick. She was chosen online by viewers voting for their favorite contestant. Thompson wore a red bikini in the swimsuit competition and a white sequined dress in the evening gown competition. During the talent portion, she performed an Irish step dance to "Warriors" . Her onstage question was whether the government should weigh in on what we feed our kids. Thompson said, "I believe that parents should be the ones who are teaching their children how to eat and then it wouldn't be the government's responsibility to step in".

I was disappointed that two ladies didn't make it into the Top 15, Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger and Miss Kansas Carissa Kelley.

Wertenberger performed at a local pageant I was photographing last summer. She was intelligent, charming and could dance. I thought she had a chance of making it far into the competition. Wertenberger didn't walk away from Miss America empty handed. She was second runner-up for the Quality of Life award, which is for community service. She also won the Duke of Edinburgh award - Young Americans' Challenge. This award was created in 1956 by Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Young Americans' Challenge is a non-competitive, self-development program for young people ages 14-25.

As for Kelley, Saturday was the first time I had ever seen her. When she said she came from a state that had some characters like Amelia Earhart I instantly liked her. I am fascinated with Earhart. How did she just disappear without a trace? Anyway besides mentioning Earhart, I thought she was a stunning woman. Kelley's platform is "No Kid Hungry". A partnership between the Miss Kansas Organization and Numana, Inc., which holds food packaging events and sends meals to areas of greatest hunger, was set up. Kelley visited Haiti recently to meet with over 200 children who received the Numana meals. Besides the children in Haiti, she also has worked in food banks in Kansas.

After Kaeppeler's win, she has already started her year of service as Miss America 2012. Kaeppeler will travel the country to encourage all young women to pursue a college education and will focus on interest in the arts, science, technology, engineering and math, also know as STEM. She will also travel almost 20,000 miles every mouth to speak about her platform Circles of Support and as the official National Goodwill Ambassador for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.

First photo: Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler reacts after being crowned Miss America Saturday at The Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. (Associated Press/Eric Jamison)

Second photo: Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson competes during the 2012 Miss America Pageant Saturday. Thompson was named first runner-up behind winner Miss Wisconsin Laura Kaeppeler. (Associated Press/Eric Jamison)

Third photo: Miss Michigan Elizabeth Wertenberger (Alan Carson)

Olympic Marathon Trials

For the first time, the men's and women's Olympic Trails Marathon will take place on the same day and place Saturday in Houston, Texas. The top three men and three women will represent the US in the marathon at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The men will start first at 8 a.m. The women's start will be fifteen minutes later at 8:15 a.m. The marathon course starts and finishes in downtown Houston in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. They will run on a 2.2 mile inner loop through downtown Houston and then run an outer 8 mile loop to finish the marathon.

There won't be a live video feed from the race unlike the ING New York City Marathon. The marathon will be tape-delayed and shown later in the afternoon at 3 p.m. (EST) on NBC. I will be watching twitter and hopefully there will be updates there.

Looking forward to finding out which men and women will be representing the United States in the marathon for the upcoming Olympics.

The New Girl

I've been going to the same dentist office for four years now. The experience has been good. My teeth are in good shape. No cavities so far. The only major issues I had done were having my wisdom teeth removed. Other then that, I have only been in for cleanings and x-rays.

I have gotten along with my dental hygienist. She has been working on my teeth for the entire four years. We could joke with each other and talk about our lives. Earlier this week, it was time to head back to the dentist. I was sitting in the waiting room and I heard my name being called. I looked up and it was someone new. I was thinking to myself, "where is MY hygienist?"

As we were walking back to the chair, I asked the new hygienist where the other hygienist was. She said that the former hygienist left and she heard so many good things about her. The new hygienist offered to take my coat and my hat. I handed her my coat, but decided to keep my knit hat on. I wear my hat everywhere.

While the new hygienist was working on me, I kept thinking of what my old hygienist did. Their work procedure was very close, but different in a couple of areas. She did good work. But it really felt weird to me to have a stranger's hands in my mouth. When her hands weren't in my mouth, we made small talk. I know that she is married and has a dog.

After she finished, she rang for the dentist. The dentist came in and looked me over and said my teeth looked really good. Once the dentist left, I said that the old hygienist and I had a running joke. For the four years I've been attending that dentist office, I have only seen the same dentist twice. Every other time, it was someone new. The new hygienist asked if I had seen this dentist before. I said no. She said maybe we could have that running joke too. I told her we could.

The new hygienist was really nice and did a good job. I know I'll get used to her and hope we can have the same friendly relationship I had with my previous hygienist.

Detroit Free Press Half Marathon

I was pleased with my half marathon time. I finally ran under two hours on this course. Got it done on my fourth try. I wasn't very close to my PR time of 1:55:18, but that didn't matter because I ran a 50K last week. My only goal for the half marathon Sunday was to go under two hours.

I started the race in corral A, which I thought was weird. Corral A is for very fast people. I'm a faster runner, but not that fast. I don't know how I ended up in it. When I registered for the half marathon, I put in my projected finishing time as two hours. Oh well, I was pleased not to start in a huge crowd. When we started running, I stayed off to the side of the street. I didn't need to be in the way of other runners.

The run started off well until getting on the Ambassador Bridge. It was really windy on the bridge. I couldn't feel the wind leading up to that point because the buildings on the street blocked it. The wind on the bridge slowed down my pace by a minute. When I got off the bridge, I really worked to get my pace back to where I wanted it to be. Over in Windsor, practically at the same time, I saw four people that I knew. It was nice to see friendly faces in the middle of the run. I ran with one of my friends for a stretch, but we got separated when I went to the aid station to get a drink. I caught back up with her in the tunnel. She was walking because her hip was bothering her.

Running in the tunnel heading back to Detroit, it was warm and I could tell I was slowing down. Coming out of he tunnel, I ran faster to get back on track once again. At the ten mile marker, my watch read 1:30. I was back on track. Over the last three miles I did slow down. At mile twelve, my watch said 1:48/1:49, I knew I needed to hurry if I wanted to go under two hours. Making the final right turn onto the longer straightway to the finish, I picked up my pace. I did pass some runners heading into the finish line. I crossed the line in 1: 59: 19. Not my fastest half marathon, but it was the my fastest half marathon run in Detroit. I was happy with my time and effort. My legs felt pretty good over the course of the half and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Results
Chip time: 1:59:19
Overall place: 1717/8469
Gender place: 619/5296
Division place: 128/881
6.2 mile: 55:29
7 mile: 1:02:36
8 mile: 1:11;38
12.2 mile: 1:53:15
Tunnel: 9:02
Pace: 9:07

New York

My husband and I drove to the great state of New York Wednesday morning. The trip to New York has a propose. A race.

I will be running my second ultramarathon Saturday morning. It is the Can Lake 50K in Canandaigua, New York. I'm really looking forward to this 50K. Unlike my first 50K (Dances with Dirt - Hell, Michigan) this is a road race. I won't have to worry about tripping over tree branches, rocks or walking in water. Another great thing about this race is my time should be faster. I ran DWD in seven hours. I'm hoping to run this ultra in five to six hours. One factor that could slow my time is the weather. The race starts at 10 a.m. and it is supposed to reach 80 degrees. I'm hoping to get through these 31 miles without any issues.

Besides driving to New York for a race, my husband and I have done some sightseeing. We first stopped at Niagara Falls. The falls were gorgeous. Especially with the rainbow that formed by the falls. After visiting the Falls, we headed to Rochester to check into our hotel. On the second day, we visited the Rochester Institute of Technology campus and the Barnes and Noble bookstore at RIT. We stopped at RIT because my husband attended there for two and a half years. Following RIT, our next stop was the Mt. Hope Cemetery. Famous people that are buried there are Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Besides visiting their grave sites, I had my camera out photographing beautiful cemetery statues and mausoleums. I could have spent the entire day there. So many things to see and photograph.

We left the cemetery around lunchtime and I called Oiselle teammate Jen. My husband and I had lunch with her at Nick Tahou's. That restaurant is famous for their Garbage Plates. I didn't get one, but Jen and my husband did. It looked good, but I wasn't that hungry. After lunch, my husband took some photos of Jen and I. Jen is a fantastic runner and person. I was so glad to finally meet her.

Our next stop was the Susan B. Anthony House. When my husband and I are on vacation, we always stop at places that are history related. We were given a tour of the house she lived in and learned about her life and work. My favorite thing at the house was a dress that she wore. It was a black silk dress and very lovely, especially for the time period she wore it in. After the house tour, we headed across town to the George Eastman House and International Museum of Photography and Film. Loved looked at the camera's that were used throughout the years. I really loved Eastman's home. So grand. At the Eastman house, I learned that he committed suicide. His suicide note was on display. It was eerie to see. Eastman died with a gunshot to the heart at the age of 77. His note read, "Dear Friends, My Work is done. Why wait?"

This trip isn't over yet. I still have a race to run. But I have been enjoying so far. Upstate New York is a wonderful place to visit. I hope we can make it back again.

Weekend update

I had a very pleasant weekend. It started with a trip to one of the local ice cream shops in town. They advertised that Friday was the return of the pumpkin flurry. Since I love anything pumpkin, I asked my husband if we could get some ice cream. I ordered a pumpkin flurry and it was so good. It had vanilla ice cream, pumpkin, graham cracker bits and whip cream. I will be heading back to the ice cream shop plenty of time's this fall to get the limited time pumpkin flurry.

After eating ice cream, we headed down to Toledo, Ohio. My husband and I did a little shopping. He got some new clothes as did I. After shopping we met up with one of my sister's and had dinner together at Don Pablo's.

Saturday morning was the start of a 24 hour run challenge on dailymile. I decided to run in the virtual 24 hour race because it would be fun. Challengers didn't have to run the entire time, just logging miles whenever you had the chance. I ran an easy six miles in the morning. I could have run more that morning, but I needed to get ready to photograph a college cross country invitational. The invitational started at 11 a.m. By then, it was hot and humid. I felt sorry for the runners. One of the women passed out during the race and was unable to finish.

At 8 p.m. Saturday night, I got on my treadmill and logged some more miles for the 24 hour race. I finished about 15 minutes before midnight, but I ran another 24 miles. That brought my total for the day to 30 miles. I could have probably gone a couple of more miles but at that point I had been awake for 20 hours. I was tired. I finished the challenge in ninth place with 30 miles and third woman overall. The winner of the challenge ran a total of 64 miles.

I woke up early on Sunday morning. After sleeping less then five hours, I was awake at 6 a.m. I thought about running, but I decided to take the day off. I finished up some work on the computer and worked on statements for an upcoming gallery exhibition that I'm in. I mentioned that I was tired and I ended up taking a two hour nap before noon. I also feel asleep on the couch while watching TV later that night for four hours. When I woke up, the clock read 11:45 p.m. With that I decided it was really time to head to bed.

I enjoyed my three day weekend. I wish I could have more of them.

Michigan football

The season opener for the University of Michigan Wolverines starts Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Wolverines will be playing Western Michigan Broncos.

Much has happened since last season. Former coach Rich Rodriguez was fired on January 5 and on January 11 Brady Hoke was hired. Hoke was head coach at Ball State and San Diego State. He did spend eight seasons in Ann Arbor coaching the defensive line before leaving for Ball State to start his head coaching career. Hoke was on Michigan's coaching staff during the 1997 National Championship season.

I'm very optimistic about the upcoming football season for the Wolverines. Under Rodriguez, the Wolverines were awful. His coaching record at UM was 15-22. I think the Wolverines can do better with Hoke at the helm. He has been apart of the system, on staff during their National Championship season and he knows Michigan's style of football. Hopefully things will get better in Ann Arbor. I don't think I could watch another season of horrible football at Michigan.

Sarah

I was reading the book William and Kate: The Love Story by Christopher Andersen a few weeks ago. In the last few pages of the book it mentioned Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. The blurb mentioned that she was going to have a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network, OWN, in June 2011. The show was called, Finding Sarah.

Reading that sentence, piqued my interest. I really didn't know that much about Sarah. Sarah married Prince Andrew when I was almost 7 years old. I vaguely remember their wedding. In 1996, Prince Andrew and Sarah divorced. They had two daughters during their marriage, Beatrice and Eugenie. Probably what I remember about her most was she was a spokesperson for Weight Watchers.

I did a search on the TV and found the show Finding Sarah. I DVR'd all six hour episodes. I found out that so much has gone on in her life. The biggest scandal was when she was caught by a newspaper reporter selling access to her former husband Prince Andrew for $40,000. Sarah is trying to rebuild her life after the scandal.

The six part series, follows Sarah as she changes her life. Over the course of the series, she receives help from Dr. Phil McGraw, Suze Orman, a shamn and a horse whisperer. Besides receiving help mentally, she also gets physical help also. Sarah wanted to get back into shape and agreed to do a 26 mile trek in Yellowknife, Canada with a trainer.

Throughout the six part series, the viewer can see the changes in her. The Duchess has come to terms with her past failures, family issues, scandals. After all of it, she looks at herself differently and has a better self worth. I enjoyed the series. It was a wonderful journey for Sarah and the viewer can see the changes in her. I hope she continues to have a positive outlook on life and to do what's best for herself.

Weekend update

Since I didn't have a race Saturday morning, I decided to take a rest day. I shocked my husband when I said I wasn't planning on running. He said that it was weird because I usually run. Taking the day off of running, let me do some other things.

After picking up a few items at the grocery store, I watched the movie Love Actually. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked this movie. The huge cast was mainly British actors in the leading roles, except for Laura Linney. This movie is about love shown through ten different storylines. What really made it interesting is how some of these characters interacted with other characters from the movie. Some where friends, co-workers and family. The movie flowed well and connected everything. The character I enjoyed the most was Rufus. Rufus was only a minor character, but he was played by Rowan Atkinson. Rowan Atkinson is well known for his role as Mr. Bean. Atkinson played the role of a jewelery salesman who can't wrap a gift fast enough for Alan Rickman.

I was a little confused at the end of the movie. Most of the characters are meeting loved ones at Heathrow Airport. Alan Rickman just got back from a flight alone. He is met by his wife, played by Emma Thompson. Alan and Emma's characters kissed each other on the cheeck. They didn't look too in love to me. I had to Google it to make sure they were still together. I guess the movie could have made it more clear. Yes, I'm a nerd.

I woke up with my husband's alarm on Sunday morning. After he went to work, I ran 20 miles. I could have probably run a couple more miles, but I thought 122 miles run for the week was enough. I can always run more this week. After my run, I read and took a short nap before going to my niece's birthday party.

My niece turned three on Sunday. My sister hosted a lunch for family for the occasion. My niece blew out her candles on her cake after lunch. My sister gave her a piece of cake. She said she didn't want it. It didn't go to waste. I ate it. That cake was very light, fluffy and delicious. I can never turn down cake. I bought my niece a Beanie Baby lion named Midas. I bought it because it is something that I thought was cute and I actually wanted it for myself. Yes, I'm 32 and I still have stuffed animals. #Nerd.

I didn't go big with her present because I knew my brother and sisters would do that. My niece got many gifts. When she was opening them, it looked like Christmas. My brother-in-law, my niece's dad, said "she's not spoiled" in a sarcastic way. Everyone spoils them. She loved all of her gifts. She couldn't decided to play with first. My sister, her mom, bought her some Disney princess glamour shoes. It was a 4-pack. Once the box was opened, my niece tried on all of them. She decided to wear the blue pair. She looked so fancy in her heels.

It was a nice and relaxing weekend. Spent time watching a movie, reading, running and seeing family. I wish I had more of these weekends to enjoy.

World Cup Women's Soccer final

There was a Hollywood ending. Only it wasn't for the United States. This ending belonged to Japan.

Japan's women's national soccer team defeated
the United States 2-2 (3-1 PK shootout) Sunday to win the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.

Both teams playing in the finals wanted the win. The US wanted it because they came back from almost being defeated twice. Japan wanted it to help their country heal. Life has been hard on the Japanese since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated their country.

The United States played well, was up twice on Japan and let the game slip away. They have nothing to hang their heads about. They played excellent for almost four weeks. I watched every USA game on TV. I cheered at every goal, save and win. I can say that I wasn't a soccer fan before the FIFA World Cup, but now I am.

I am already looking forward to the 2012 Olympics to see what these ladies can accomplish there.


Photo Credit: Associated Press/Michael Probst

Bachelorette Party

My sister's bachelorette party was this past Saturday. It was held at an upscale restaurant in the town that she lives. The backroom of the restaurant was reserved for the party. The theme of her party was "Sex and the City." Sex and the City, the movie, was shown during the party on a huge pull down screen.

The party started off well. Everyone was talking, drinking and having fun. The room which the party was held, was lined with windows. At one point, a truck full of guys walked up to the restaurant. My sister's friends were joking that those were the strippers hired for the party. A couple of minutes later, the manager of the restaurant came back to tell my sister that she told the truck full of guys that a party was going on in the back. As soon as she told my sister that, these guys are in the backroom with us. They came back and asked what the party was for. My sister's friends said it was her bachelorette party. That made the hoot and holler. One of the guys grabbed a chair and had my sister sit on his lap. I could tell she was a little embarrassed by it, but she played along. The group of guys stayed for a while, then went back into the restaurant.

During the course of the party, note cards were passed around. On the note cards were things that the group wanted my sister to do. It was a little like Truth or Dare, but with dares only. A little while later, the guys were back. This time my sister's friends pulled out the card that read " slap an ass" and told my sister to do it. The guy who's lap she sat on earlier was more then happy to cooperate. He bent over a chair and waited for the slap. My sister played along and did it. Then the guy offered to give her a lap dance. Which he did. After a few laughs the guys left again to go back up front.

Things calmed down a bit while we ate dinner. The food was wonderful. The steak was cooked perfectly and the green beans were delicious. After dinner, the guys came back again. The guy who had his ass slapped and gave my sister a lap dance, was asking my sister some questions. He was asking about her fiance and what she did for a living. She then asked the guy what he did. He said he was a spotter for a NASCAR driver. He pointed to one of his buddies and said that was the crew chief. All of the guys he came to the restaurant with worked on a NASCAR pit crew. They were in town because the NASCAR guys were racing at Michigan International Speedway. After their conversation, he congratulated my sister on her upcoming wedding and left the backroom.

Once again my sister's friends decided to pull another dare card for my sister. This time the card read, "get a guy to give you his underwear." All of the girls thought that the younger guy in the group would do it. They all ran out of the backroom hoping to catch him before they left. They did. I didn't want any part of that, so I stayed in my chair. I did hear a lot of yelling and cheering from the restaurant. A couple of minutes later my sister comes back. She said he did take off his underwear and give it to her. She gave them back to him. I couldn't believe that this guy willingly gave away his underwear. Awkward.

When I got married ten years ago, I also had a bachelorette party. My party was very tame compared to my sister's. I went to a local bar with my friends and my sister and had a couple of drinks. I hope my sister enjoyed her party. It was wild and her friends took pictures to prove it.

Weekend plans

I will be running another relay race this weekend. It is much shorter then the Ragnar Relay I participated in last week. Ragnar was almost 200 miles from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois. This relay race is on a trail and is only 12 miles. There are three people on each team and we run about four miles each on the trail. The part of the trail race I'm not too fond of is running through water and mud. This relay race is called the Mud Wallop Dallop. It promises that we will be covered with mud and water when we finish. I will be bringing extra clothes to change into after my leg is done. I don't think I could walk around in wet shoes and socks for too long. It just feels so gross.

Besides the trail relay race Saturday, later in the evening I will be attending my sister's bachelorette party. This bachelorette party will not be wild or out of control. We are meeting at a fancy restaurant to eat, drink (everyone but me) and enjoy my sister's company. I hope my sister will enjoy this get together and the last few days of being single. I can't believe she gets married next week. I hope she has a long and wonderful marriage.