Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center







My husband and I visited the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio last week. Hayes was the 19th President of the United States. We had a tour of his home and visited the Presidential Museum. No photography was allowed inside the Hayes home which was disappointing. The Hayes home has 31 rooms and was recently remodeled. Near the Hayes home is where President Hayes and his wife Lucy are buried. Their second son, James Webb Cook Hayes, and his wife Mary Miller are also buried on the property.

Monday, July 23, 2012

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.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Badwater Ultramarathon

Badwater Ultramarathon is a 135 mile race and is called 'the World's toughest foot race'. The course starts at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California. The race ends at Whitney Portal. Temperatures can reach over 120° during the race. The 2012 Badwater Ultramarathon just took place earlier this week, July 16-17.

Badwater is one of the longest and toughest ultras, but there was hardly any coverage of it. I checked Google news and it only had a few preview articles on some of the runners and photo essays. Seems like a race this big there would be more coverage. But sadly there isn't. I followed the entire race on twitter through AdventureCORPS and UltraChicksUnite. If I didn't follow them, I might have not known what was happening and who won the race.

Mike Morton won the men's race in 22 hours 52 minutes 55 seconds. Morton just missed the course record held by Valmir Nunes just by over a minute. According to a short article from Outside, the temperatures were about 10° cooler then normal, only 109° F. Finishing behind Morton was Oswaldo Lopez in 23:32:28. Third was Zach Gingerich in 25:49:40. Harvery Sweetland Lewis III was fourth in 26:15:31 and rounding out the top 5 was Mark Matyazic in 26:24:42.

What the Outside article doesn't mention is who won the women's race. The women's race was won by Sumie Inagaki of Japan. Inagaki's time was 29:53:09. She is also the world record holder for 48 hours. Coming in second was Pam Reed in 29:53:09. Maggie Beach was third in 33:31:04, fourth was Hannah Roberts in 34:26:35 and fifth was Heidi Perry in 35:49:58.

This year's Badwater race had 89 finishers out of 96 runners.

2012 Badwater Ultramarathon results:
1. Mike Morton, 22:52:55
2. Oswaldo Lopez, 23:32:28
3. Zach Gingerich, 25:49:40
4. Harvey Sweetland Lewis III, 26:15:31
5. Mark Matyazic, 26:24:42
6. Philip McCarthy, 26:52:01
7. Marco Farinazzo, 27:59:58
8. David Pioskonka, 28:31:50
9. Kurt Lindermuller, 29:21:12
10. Terry Sentinella, 29:40:24
11. Sumie Inagaki, 29:57:50
12. Dean Karnazes, 29:57:50
13. Jonathan Gunderson, 30:19:00
14. David Eadie, 30:24:22
15. David Jones, 30:33:19

Photo Credits:
Morton: Ian Courless/Talk Ultra
Inagaki: Ron Jones

Thursday, July 19, 2012

5Pointz

I was reading Graffiti New York last week while in between books. I received the art book at Christmas because I love creative graffiti. The book has a chapter named the Five Boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and State Island.

While I was on a page about Queens, it had a photo of 5Pointz. I've heard about it and seen it on TV only recently. 5Pointz is an outdoor space where graffiti artists can legally paint on the walls of a factory building. Artists from all around the world come to Queens to paint on the walls.

In October, I will be running a 50 mile race in Pennsylvania. My husband and I are planning to travel to New Jersey after the race to visit his uncle. While in New Jersey, we usually take the train to New York City to visit. I figured while visiting the area, we could make a stop at 5Pointz. The last time we visited NYC, I only took photos of graffiti while we were riding tour buses. Tour buses do not stop. There was so much graffiti that I wanted to get closer to and photograph.

When I was looking up information about 5Pointz online, I came across an New York Times article about it. The building owner, that the artists paint on, decided to raze the structure and replace it with two residential towers. According to an article from The Guardian, 5Pointz is unlikely to continue far beyond 2013. Good thing we are going to New York this fall. I will be able to see all of the graffiti before the buildings are torn down.

Photo Credit: wikipedia.org

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Books read in 2012

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal,
Toni Bentley
Chasing the Runner's High,
Ray Charbonneau
The Perfect Mile,
Neal Bascomb
Cleopatra,
Stacy Schiff
The Carrie Diaries,
Candace Bushnell
Summer in the City,
Candace Bushnell
Forgotten,
Cat Patrick
Deja Dead,
Kathy Reichs
Pretty Little Liars,
Sara Shepard
Flawless,
Sara Shepard
Perfect,
Sara Shepard
Unbelievable,
Sara Shepard
Wicked
, Sara Shepard
Killer, Sara Shepard
Heartless, Sara Shepard
Wanted, Sara Shepard
Twisted, Sara Shepard
Ruthless, Sara Shepard
Fairy Tale Interrupted, Rosemarie Terenzio
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Pronto, Elmore Leonard
Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard
Raylan, Elmore Leonard
The Coffin Quilt, Ann Rinaldi
A Life Without Limits, Chrissie Wellington
Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, John Le Carre
Eat and Run, Scott Jurek
Clearing Hurdles, Dan O'Brien

Currently Reading: The Sugarless Plum, Zippora Karz
Up Next: Library trip or Kindle purchase

Monday, July 16, 2012

Kelly Carter Scholarship 10K

The weather was really nice for the race. It was in the 70s and the humidity wasn't too high. The race also started an hour earlier then it did last year. The race was delayed while the clock was put into place. The 5K runners started first and five minutes later, the 10K runners started.

At the start of the race, I just wanted to establish a good pace for myself. Off of my right shoulder was a female runner. My goal was to keep her behind me and then put some distance between us. I heard her footsteps through the half mile. By the end of the first mile, I didn't hear them anymore. I didn't want to waste time looking around in case she was still right beside me.

Besides keeping the other women in the race behind me, I wanted to keep the guy ahead of me close. I was about 5 seconds behind him through the first two miles. Heading to mile 3, we had a hill to climb. Coming up to the hill and over the hill, the man in front of me was starting to get away. I ran through the third mile in 25 minutes. I worked on my pace and trying to keep my splits even.

A water station was just before the mile 4 mark. The man in front of me grabbed a cup of water and walked through the station. Once he finished drinking, he started running again. I knew then it was my chance to catch him. I worked the entire fifth mile running him down. It felt like I was running faster, but I wasn't sure. I worked on my form and was using my arms more. The gap between us was shrinking.

When I ran through the fifth mile, the volunteer called out 43 minutes. I was pleasantly shocked. I ran that last mile in 8 minutes or so. I was on pace to tie my PR or hopefully setting a new one. I continued to pull the guy in. He was about 15 feet ahead of me. I ran as fast as I could during the final stretch. I missed catching the guy by less then five seconds. If we had a little bit longer to run, I think I would have caught him. After the race, the guy said he could tell I was getting closer. Because of me, he ran a PR. I'm glad I helped him run his best race.

I finished the 10K in 54:16 and placed first in my age group. I missed tying my PR by 71 seconds. But I did improve on my time from the first 10K of the year by 28 seconds. I was told by some friends that I was the second woman to finish the race. I knew that couldn't have been right. I told them that I was behind two other ladies. They were a ways ahead of me. I just thought that they already finished. What happened was they got lost and ran extra miles. If those two ladies didn't get lost, I would have been the fourth woman overall and placed second in my age group. I felt bad for them, but the course was marked very well. I hope next time they will pay more attention to the markings on the course.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Breaking Bad

The new season of Breaking Bad starts this Sunday. I was really looking forward to watching it. Now I can't.

I won't be able to watch the premiere because I'm a DISH Network subscriber. DISH Network dropped AMC on July 1 after deciding not to renew its contract "due to the channels high costs compared to their relatively low viewership." Thanks a lot.

I've been a fan of Breaking Bad and AMC's other popular show, Mad Men, since the first episodes. I will be keeping up with the show via episode recaps, message boards and months later when the DVDs appear on Netflix. Even though I will know what is happening, it won't be the same as watching it.

I'm very disappointed, as is my husband who is also a fan of Breaking Bad. But that's life. You don't always get what you want.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Totally Trials fashion show

Some of my Oiselle teammates went to Eugene, Oregon to meet up back in June. Unfortunately, I was unable to join them. The Oiselle ladies hung out, went to the Olympic track and field trials, went running together and were part of a fashion show.

Oiselle held a 'Totally Trials' fashion show on June 29. Besides the upcoming line of clothes being featured. Oiselle had some big name guests at the show as well: MC Hammer and his son, Booby. Check out the videos and photos below of the 'Totally Trials' fashion show. There are so many items I want to have in my wardrobe.



http://www.kval.com/news/local/MC-Hammer-hosts-fashion-show-in-Eugene-160979625.html?tab=video&c=y

http://www.eugeneweekly.com/blog/mc-hammer-and-his-son-booby-oiselles-totally-trials-fashion-show

http://www.eugenepulp.com/photos/Oiselles-fashion-show-with-MC-Hammer-and-Booby-Hammer--161115435.html?tab=gallery&c=y&img=2

Photo Credit: Oiselle facebook page

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Breaking Pointe

I'm thankful that I watch The CW network. If I didn't, I wouldn't have known anything about Breaking Pointe. The CW ran so many promo ads for it. Breaking Pointe is a reality series that followed the ballet dancers at Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. The season finale was last Thursday. The show only had six episodes. I hope that the show gets renewed for another season.

I became a fan of ballet back in 2004. I photographed two local dance companies for an assignment. I focused on ballet. The photos were beautiful. About a year after taking the photos, I called one of the studios and was invited to come back. I went back to the studio and photographed ballet and other classes as well (i.e. hip hop, jazz and pointe). I kept going back until the fall of 2010. My free time schedule changed after I increased my running mileage and started running ultra marathons. Even though I haven't been at the studio, my love for ballet remains the same.

What I love about the series Breaking Pointe is the behind the scenes stuff. I love the footage of the dancers at rehearsal. I love the dancers backstage, getting ready for the final shows of the season. The reason I love it is that is how I saw the dancers when I was photographing them. I was with them at rehearsal in the studio. I was with them at rehearsal at the theater. I was with them backstage when they danced at their final recital of the year. Not too many people get to see that side. I knew how much hard work went into their shows. The dancers made it look effortless. Even though it is anything but.

The cast members of Breaking Pointe are unsure if the show will be back for a second season. I really hope the show does get picked up for another season. Ballet is a wonderful art form that not too many people see in person. If ballet is on television, it can be seen by many more people. That can help ballet grow so much more.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Books read in 2012

I really liked Dan O'Brien's book, Clearing Hurdles. But any book about running and track, I'll like. I found out while reading the book that Dan was adopted, flunked out of University of Idaho and lost his scholarship. After losing his scholarship, he had some brushes with the law, including a DUI. O'Brien went back to college at Spokan Falls Community College and eventually back to University of Idaho. From there O'Brien went on to win three decathlon World Championships and the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

For the next book I read, I can either wait until I get paid to purchase a book for my Kindle. Or go to the library and check out a book. I haven't decided yet.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,
J.K. Rowling
Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal,
Toni Bentley
Chasing the Runner's High,
Ray Charbonneau
The Perfect Mile,
Neal Bascomb
Cleopatra,
Stacy Schiff
The Carrie Diaries,
Candace Bushnell
Summer in the City,
Candace Bushnell
Forgotten,
Cat Patrick
Deja Dead,
Kathy Reichs
Pretty Little Liars,
Sara Shepard
Flawless,
Sara Shepard
Perfect,
Sara Shepard
Unbelievable,
Sara Shepard
Wicked
, Sara Shepard
Killer, Sara Shepard
Heartless, Sara Shepard
Wanted, Sara Shepard
Twisted, Sara Shepard
Ruthless, Sara Shepard
Fairy Tale Interrupted, Rosemarie Terenzio
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Pronto, Elmore Leonard
Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard
Raylan, Elmore Leonard
The Coffin Quilt, Ann Rinaldi
A Life Without Limits, Chrissie Wellington
Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, John Le Carre
Eat and Run, Scott Jurek
Clearing Hurdles, Dan O'Brien

Currently Reading: Library trip or Kindle purchase
Up Next:

Monday, July 09, 2012

Friday, July 06, 2012

Books read in 2012

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
Winter Season: A Dancer's Journal,
Toni Bentley
Chasing the Runner's High,
Ray Charbonneau
The Perfect Mile,
Neal Bascomb
Cleopatra,
Stacy Schiff
The Carrie Diaries,
Candace Bushnell
Summer in the City,
Candace Bushnell
Forgotten,
Cat Patrick
Deja Dead,
Kathy Reichs
Pretty Little Liars,
Sara Shepard
Flawless,
Sara Shepard
Perfect,
Sara Shepard
Unbelievable,
Sara Shepard
Wicked
, Sara Shepard
Killer, Sara Shepard
Heartless, Sara Shepard
Wanted, Sara Shepard
Twisted, Sara Shepard
Ruthless, Sara Shepard
Fairy Tale Interrupted, Rosemarie Terenzio
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Pronto, Elmore Leonard
Riding the Rap, Elmore Leonard
Raylan, Elmore Leonard
The Coffin Quilt, Ann Rinaldi
A Life Without Limits, Chrissie Wellington
Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, John Le Carre
Eat and Run, Scott Jurek

Currently Reading: Clearing Hurdles, Dan O'Brien
Up Next: Library trip or Kindle purchase

Thursday, July 05, 2012

Wednesday, July 04, 2012

Gymnastics Olympic Trials

The women's gymnastics Olympic trials came to an end on Sunday. I didn't watch the trials live as I was already sleeping when it started. I watched the trials Monday afternoon.

Even though I know who won, it wanted to watch it. I gasped when Nastia Liukin fell from the uneven bars. I was sad for her when she finished her balance beam routine. Liukin received a standing ovation and with that her gymnastics career was over. The gymnastics career of Alicia Sacramone is most likely finished too.

Gabby Douglas had a wonderful final night to win the all-around title over World Champion Jordyn Wieber. The trials ran long and my DVR cut off. I didn't get to see the announcement of the team heading to London. The members of the Olympic team are Douglas, Wieber, Aly Raiman, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney.

According to Bela Karolyi, "this is the deepest team in the world." Hope these young ladies can come back from London with some gold medals.


Photo Credits
Top:
Gabby Douglas competes in the floor exercise during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials Sunday in San Jose, California. Douglas won the women's all-around title and qualified for the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. (Associated Press/Jae C. Hong)

Bottom: Jordyn Wieber leaps from the balance beam during the final round of the women's Olympic gymnastics trials Sunday. Wieber was named to the U.S. Olympic team. (Associated Press/Gregory Bull)

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

The runoff

I was really looking forward to the runoff between Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix on Monday. Tarmoh and Felix crossed the line in a dead heat for third place in the 100m 11.07 back on June 23. Carmelita Jeter won the event in 10.92 and Tianna Madison was second in 10.96.

Tarmoh and Felix both decided on Sunday to have a runoff to determine who would be the third athlete on the women's 100m Olympic team. The runoff was scheduled to be run Monday in Eugene, Oregon. NBC was to going to air the runoff live during the Olympic trials swimming coverage.

Tarmoh released a statement on Monday morning saying she was withdrawing herself from consideration. Tarmoh wrote, "I Jeneba Tarmoh have decided to decline my 3rd place position in the 100m dash to Allyson Felix. I understand that with this decision, I am no longer running the 100m dash in the Olympic Games and will be an alternate for the event."

Tarmoh is an alternate for the 100m team and is eligible for a spot on the 4x100m relay team.

I'm sad for both ladies. Tarmoh thought she was on the team and then she wasn't. Felix thought her chance for a double was over. The results shouldn't have been called official when they weren't. I hope Tarmoh will get a chance to run in London on the relay team. Tarmoh will get her change again. She is still young and a strong sprinter.

Photo Credit: Allyson Felix, left, and Jeneba Tarmoh speak after the finish of the women's 200m at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials Saturday in Eugene, Oregon. (Associated Press/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Monday, July 02, 2012

Olympic Track & Field Trials

Day 8

Jillian Camarena-Williams was the winner of the women's shot put. Camerena-Williams threw 62-10.5 to earn her third U.S. outdoor title. Also joining her in London will be second place finisher Michelle Carter (60-11.25) and NCAA shot put champion Tia Brooks from Oklahoma (60-2).

University of Colorado had two athletes make the Olympic team in the women's 3000m steeplechase. Emma Coburn was the winner in 9:32.78. Finishing in second was Oregon Track Club's Bridget Franek in 9:35.62. Franek held off Coburn's Colorado teammate Shalaya Kipp. Kipp was in third with a time of 9:35.73.

Day 9

The men's 20K race walk was won by Trevor Barron in a new American record time of 1:23:00.10. Tim Seaman placed second in 1:02:06.57 and third was Nick Christie in 1:27:29.48.

2011 World Champion Christian Taylor was the men's triple jump winner. Taylor won with a world-leading jump of 57-10.25. Finishing in second was Taylor's former Florida teammate, Will Claye. Claye jumped 57-7. In third place was Walter Davis was a leap of 54-9.25. Davis will not be heading to London because he doesn't have the Olympic A standard.

Chaunte Lowe won the women's high jump in a new meet record of 6-7. University of Arizona's Brigetta Barrett finished in second at 6-7 also. Barrett was second because she had a miss at 6-4.75 and Lowe didn't. Rounding out the Olympic team is Amy Acuff. Acuff cleared 6-2.25 and made her fifth Olympic team.

The men's 110mH was won by World Indoor 60m hurdles champion Aries Merritt in 12.93. World Champion Jason Richardson was second in 12.98 and Jeff Porter finished in third with a life-time best 13.08. Porter will join his wife, Tiffani, who is on Great Britian's 100mH team, in London.

Allyson Felix had a huge victory in the women's 200m final. Felix won over a star studded field in a new meet record of 21.77. Coming in second was Carmelita Jeter with a life-time best of 22.11. In third place was Sanya Richards-Ross in 22.22.

Day 10

The women's 20K race walk was won by Maria Michta in 1:34:53.33. Finishing in a close second was Miranda Melville in 1:34:56.92. Erin Gray was third in 1:35:40.05.

Brittany Borman threw her lifetime best, 201-9, to win the women's javelin Sunday. Kara Patterson placed second with a throw of 196-2. Kim Hamilton finished third in 190-5. Hamilton didn't have the A standard, so fourth place finisher Rachel Yurkovich, who did have the standard, will be heading to London.

Women's long jump champion, Brittany Reese was told her last jump was a foul. Reese protested and her jump was ruled legal by the video system. Reese won the long jump with the distance of 23-5.5. Chelsea Hayes was second with a leap of 23-3.5 and Janey DeLoach was third with a jump of 23-0.75.

World Champion Lashinda Demus won the women's 400mH in 53.98. University of Arizona's Georganne Moline set a new PR to finish second in 54.32 and T'erea Brown was third in 54.81.

The men's 400mH was won by Michael Tinsley in 48.33. Two-time Olympian Angelo Taylor finished second after hitting the last hurdle in 48.57. Kerron Clement, a two-time World Champion nipped a falling Bershawn 'Batman' Jackson at the finish line to claim third in 48.89.

Morgan Uceny won the women's 1500m in 4:04.59. Shannon Rowbury was second in 4:05.11. 2011 World Champion Jenny Simpson finished in third with a time of 4:05.17.

Leo Manzano passed Matthew Centrowitz in the final stretch to claim the men's 1500m title in 3:35.75. Centrowitz came across the line second in 3:35.85. Third place went to Andrew Wheating in 3:36.68.

Wallace Spearmon ran away from his competitors in the men's 200m to win in 19.82. Maurice Mitchell was second in 20.14 and placing third was Isiah Young in 20.16.

Jeneba Tarmoh and Allyson Felix will have a run-off today at 8 p.m. EST on NBC. Tarmoh and Felix finished the 100m in a dead heat for third place on June 30. The winner of the run-off will be the third member of the U.S. 100m Olympic team.

Photo Credits:
First: Shalaya Kipp, left, Bridget Franek, center, and Emma Coburn celebrate advancing to the Olympics after finishing the women's 3000m steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon Friday. (Associated Press/Eric Gay)

Second: Jillian Camarena-Williams reacts after the final round of the women's shot put at the Olympic Track and Field Trials Friday in Eugene. Camarena-Williams won the event. (Associated Press/Charlie Riedel)

Third: Leo Manzano, center, leads Matthew Centrowtiz, right, to the finish line in the men's 1500m final on Sunday in Eugene, Oregon at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. (Associated Press/Eric Gay)