The Final Four

It isn't the final four that I hoped for, but that is alright.

The women's basketball final four will be played on Sunday. The first game of the night is Stanford vs Texas A&M. I was really hoping Baylor would have beat A&M on Tuesday, but no dice. Baylor couldn't defeat Texas A&M Aggies for a fourth straight time. The Aggies defeated Baylor 58-46 and earned their first trip to the final four. I hope Stanford can get the win and head back to the final next Tuesday.

The second game of the evening is Notre Dame vs Connecticut. A Big East match up. Notre Dame has played Connecticut twice this year. Both games ending in defeat. Notre Dame played Connecticut in the Big East Tournament final and lost by 9. I'm hoping for a different outcome for the Irish Sunday.

I would like to see Notre Dame play Stanford in the women's final, but I don't know if that will happen. It will probably be another showdown between Connecticut and Stanford. That game wouldn't be bad to watch. Whatever happens I will watch the final.

Ultras

I'm always looking for my next race. I scour running websites a couple of times a week looking for a race close to my house. I have even been looking for marathons this year. But I think that boat has passed. All of the marathons I've looked at wouldn't fit into my schedule. So 2012 will be the year I run my first marathon.

Besides marathons, I have been looking at ultra marathons. I'm running my first ultra, a 50K, on September 24 in Hell, Michigan. It is apart of the Dances with Dirt series. I know I will be very sore and tired after that unbelievable trail run. It will be hard, but I'm expecting that.

Two weeks after DWD is a 50K and 50 mile ultra marathon called Can Lake. It is the 9th annual race around Canandaigua Lake in western New York. The run is a point-to-point on a mostly flat course. It is a race that I want to do. I just don't know how I will feel after DWD. I should probably hold off on signing up for this race in October and save it for next year. But it just sounds so fun. If I don't run it this year, I will definitely have it on my race calendar next year. Already on my calendar next year, besides my first marathon, is the Chicago Lakefront 50K.

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson
Second Wind: One Woman's Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents, Cami Ostman

Currently Reading: The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell
Up Next: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell

Elite Eight

The field for the women's basketball championship elite eight is set.

Two games will be played Monday night. The first game of the evening is Notre Dame vs Tennessee. The second game will be Gonzaga vs Stanford. I would love to see Notre Dame and Gonzaga win. Notre Dame hasn't been to a Final Four since 2001 when they won the national championship. Gonzaga has never been to a Final Four. These games on Monday will be tough for both teams. They are facing a pair of great teams with plenty of experience playing in elite eight games.

The other two games will be played Tuesday night. The first game of the night is Duke vs Connecticut. These two teams met in the regular season in January. And it wasn't too good for Duke. Connecticut defeated Duke 87-51. I hope this time around the game will be closer and Duke can play more competitively. The second game of the night is Texas A&M vs Baylor. This will be the fourth time this season that the Big 12 opponents meet. Baylor won all three previous meetings by small margins. I hope Baylor can beat them again and make it to the Final Four in Indianapolis.


Photo Credit for Notre Dame: Associated Press/Al Behrman

Photo Credit for Duke: Associated Press/Gerry Broome

Sweet Sixteen

There are so many basketball games that I'm looking forward to watching. Of course they are women's basketball games. The women's basketball Sweet Sixteen games take place Saturday and Sunday. In every match up, I have my favorites.

In the Spokane region, its Stanford vs. North Carolina and Gonzaga vs. Louisville Saturday. I'm been a fan of the Gonzaga team for a couple of years. Last year, Tiffanie Shives, a player from Michigan was apart of the team. I followed her career. When she was a high school player, I saw her play in person many times. Shives was a wonderful basketball player. Now she has graduated. This year's team is lead by senior Courtney Vandersloot. Vandersloot became the first player in Division I history, women or men, to score over 2000 points and have 1000 assists in their career. I watched their second round game and she is a phenomenal player. I hope the Zags can keep going.

In the Stanford/North Carolina match up, I would like to see Stanford win. I don't have a good reason for picking them. You could call me a typical Duke fan. I'm not a fan of North Carolina. So it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see them lose against Stanford.

In the Dayton region, Tennessee plays Ohio State and Oklahoma plays Notre Dame Saturday. In the first game of the day, I would like to see Tennessee beat Ohio State. Usually I root for Big Ten teams to win. Not this time. I like Tennessee's style of play. They are gritty, tough and do what needs to be done to win. I hope Tennessee can keep up their high intensity play to win.

In the other game, Oklahoma vs Notre Dame. I hope the Irish can pull this off. Notre Dame has a couple of players that I like. Brittany Mallory and Devereaux Peters are my favorite players on this team. Mallory is a feisty player that will do anything to help her team. Peters is a great post player. Hopefully she can stay out of foul trouble and stay on the court.

On Sunday there are more great games. In the Philadelphia region is Connecticut vs Georgetown and Duke vs DePaul. Connecticut will be playing Big East rival Georgetown for a third time. The previous two times they played Connecticut won by close margins. I hope Georgetown can play them tough, but I want Connecticut to win. In the other game of Duke vs DePaul, I want Duke to win. I'm a Duke fan and I would love to see them in the Elite Eight. They have a tough challenge against a good DePaul team. I hope Duke's Jasmine Thomas can lead them to a win.

In the final region of Dallas, its Baylor vs Green Bay and Georgia vs Texas A&M. I want Baylor to beat Green Bay. It should be a great game. I hope Baylor will be able to hit their 3s and be able to use Brittney Griner as much as possible. I want to see Baylor win because besides Griner, I want to see Melissa Jones keep playing. Jones is such an amazing player. She sacrifices her body for every play. Finally in the Georgia/Texas A&M game, it would be nice to see Georgia win. But I think A&M will pull out the win. If A&M wins, they could possibly meet Baylor for a fourth time this season. Baylor is 3-0 against them this year, but all three games were really close. But we have to wait and see how Sunday's games go.

Fine weekend for US runners

If you didn't know. I love running. I love to run and I love to watch and read about elite athletes running. This past weekend was so great for elite running.

The weekend started with the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field in Eugene on Saturday. Some of my favorite track athletes had a great day at the Oregon Preview. Geena Gall, former University of Michigan runner who now runs with the Oregon Track Club, won the women's 1500 meter run in 4:18.12. Nicole Blood, another OTC runner, finished third in 4:26.80. In the women's 2000 meter steeplechase, Bridget Franek, former Penn State athlete who is also with the OTC, won in 6:25.31.

After running 32 miles on Sunday, I watched the replay of the 2011 NYC Half Marathon. Both the men's and women's races were exciting. Especially the finishes. Galen Rupp had a wonderful debut in the half marathon. During the race, Rupp clipped Peter Kamais and both of them fell. He was so close to the win, but ultimately finished third. Britain's Mo Farah, Rupp's training partner in Oregon, won the half marathon by outsprinting the New York City Marathon 2010 champion Gebre Gabremariam in the final 200 meters to finish in 1:00.23. Gebremariam was second with a time of 1:00.25 and Rupp third in 1:00.30. Caroline Rotich of Kenyan won the NYC Half Marathon in 1:08.52. The 2010 NYC Marathon winner Edna Kiplagat finished second in 1:09.0 and Kara Goucher finished third in 1:09.03.

Also on Sunday was the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain. Vivian Jepkemoi Cheruiyot of Kenya won the 8K race in 24:58, Linet Chepkwemio Masa, also from Kenya, finished second in 25:07. Shalane Flanagan of the United States finished third in 25:10. Flanagan became the first non-African born medalist in the even since 2004. With Flanagan's third place finish and the finishes of fellow Americans Molly Huddle (17th), Magdalena Lewy-Bouler (18th), Blake Russell (20th), Alisa McKaig (28th) and Lisa Koll (40th) the United States finished third as a team with 57 points. Kenya and Ethiopia were first and second.

In the junior girls 6K race at the World Cross Country Championships, Stanford bound Aisling Cuffe finished 17th in 20:15 and University of Washington's Katie Flood finished 19th in 20:17. Can't wait to see Cuffe and Flood battle it out on the PAC-10 course this fall. Should be some exciting races to come.

Photo Credit: Associated Press/Juan Jose Ubeda

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson

Currently Reading: Second Wind, Cami Ostman
Up Next: Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell

Duke vs Michigan

I really didn't want this third round game played. The reason is I like both teams. I'm been a Michigan fan forever. When Michigan started having their down years, I started following another team. And that team was the Duke Blue Devils.

I was not a fan of Duke in 1992. I didn't like them at all. Michigan had the Fab Five and I wanted them to win it all. I was disappointed when Michigan came up short again Duke 71-51 in the 1992 National Championship.

What really turned me onto Duke, besides Michigan being in a slump, was Coach Mike Krzyzweski. He can turn any group of players into winners. He always stresses hard work, defense and team work.

Michigan and Duke faced off in the third round Sunday. Watching the game, I cheered for both teams. I complemented both teams when they had great plays and said things like, "horrible pass." Michigan grabbed a Nolan Smith rebound with 8.7 seconds left and drove down the court. Michigan was trailing Duke 73-71. Darius Morris pushed the ball downcourt and shot a jumper in the lane with two seconds left. The ball bounced off the back of the rim and Nolan Smith grabbed the rebound to end the game. I was happy that Duke won and will move on the Sweet 16. I was disappointed that Michigan lost such a close game to Duke and give Coach Krzyzweski his 900th win. Why did they have to be in the same bracket? GRRR!

I hope Michigan can make another run in the tournament next year. They have many players coming back, so all of the pieces are already in place. Duke will lose Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith to graduation. But they have plenty of players returning also. I hope both squads will have great seasons in 2012.


Photo Credit: Associated Press/Bob Leverone

125.4

I just had the best running week of my life. For the first time ever I ran 125.4 miles in one week. Wow. It is something I really didn't plan. It just happened.

I had a great week with runs of 22, 26.2, 20.1, 12, 13 and 32 miles. I loaded up my mileage earlier in the week because I was unsure of how much free time I would have. Monday night, I photographed a boys regional semifinal basketball game. Tuesday night, I photographed a girls quarterfinal basketball game and Thursday, I photographed a girls semifinal basketball game. All of the basketball games were out of the county. That meant I had longer drive times to all the games. I was really disappointed on Thursday. The local running group held an impromptu St. Patrick's Day 5 mile run. I really wanted to run that. I couldn't. Like I said, I had to photograph a basketball game. The game was in East Lansing at Michigan State's Breslin Center. On Friday, I kept my run shorter because I knew on Sunday I would really be running long.

I started my long run Sunday around 5 a.m. My goal at the start of the run was 32 miles. The week before I ran 31.1 miles, so I knew I would be able to run 32 without any issues. And I did. The only issues I had during the run was I had to stop twice. Both stops in the run were for a bathroom break. Other then that, my legs felt really good. I probably could have run for a couple more miles. I plan to keep increasing my mileage on Sundays. My ultimate goal is to run in 50 and 100 mile races. I think I'm on the right path to reach those goals.

Random things

I watched the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday on ESPN 2. During the women's mile run, a certain runner caught my eye. Besides my favorite runner from Oregon, Jordan Hasay, it was Duke's Kate Van Buskirk. Van Buskirk finished second in the mile behind Hasay. She was back in sixth place during the race. With two laps to go, she started to move towards the front. With 100 meters to go, Van Buskirk charged toward the front and finished behind Hasay by seven tenths with the time of 4:33.71. I thought she ran a wonderful race and her blue streak in her hair reminded me of Anna (Willard) Pierce. I liked it and her colorful socks.

It has been a very busy week at work. I traveled to a nearby college in the next county over on Monday to photograph a boys regional semifinal basketball game. I traveled out of county to photograph a girls quarterfinal basketball game Tuesday. And on Thursday, I traveled to Michigan State's Breslin Center in East Lansing to photograph a girls semifinal basketball game. So much travel in one week, late nights and not enough time sleeping. I'm really looking forward to the end of the winter sports season. It ends next week. There is one boys basketball team still alive in the state tournament. They will be playing in a state quarterfinal game Tuesday evening.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Jordan Hasay

The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships took place over the weekend in College Station, Texas. I didn't watch the event live on the internet, I was waiting for the ESPN broadcast delay on Wednesday.

One of my favorite college runners, Jordan Hasay from the University of Oregon Ducks, won two individual titles. Hasay won the mile and the 3,000 meter run. In the mile, Hasay won in a time of 4:33.01. That was a new PR for her and she broke the school record which stood for 29 years. In the 3,000, she out kicked Shelia Reid of Villanova to win in 9:13.71.

Hasay also helped the Ducks score points in the Distance Medley Relay. The DMR is a 1200m, 400m, 800m and 1600m. Hasay anchored the Duck team but finished second to the DMR team from Villanova. Villanova won in 10:52.52. Oregon finished in 10:52.90.

The Oregon women's team won the team title with a total of 67 points. Second-place Texas finished with 38 points.

Photo Credit: Bob Levey/Associated Press

Selection Sunday/Monday

I'm a fan of college basketball. My favorite teams on the men's side are Michigan and Duke. My favorite women's teams are Michigan, Duke, Baylor, Connecticut, Tennessee, Iowa and Michigan State. On Sunday and Monday was the selection shows for the NCAA tournament.

Men: I'm glad that Duke was seeded #1 in the west division. The Blue Devils play Friday at 3 p.m. against #16 Hampton. Michigan is also in the west division. Michigan will be playing Tennessee Friday at 12:30 p.m. If Michigan and Duke win their opening round games, they will play each other in the second round. Boo. Not fair because I like both teams.

Women: UConn, Baylor and Tennessee were all named #1 seeds. Duke was picked as a #2 seed in the same region as UConn. On Saturday, Duke will face Tennessee-Martin, Iowa will face Gonzaga and Tennessee will play Stetson. Sunday's games that I will be watching are UConn against #16 Hartford, Michigan State plays University of Northern Iowa and Baylor vs. Prairie View. I'm sure that all of these teams won't have any problems getting by their first opponent.

I'm a little sad that Michigan women didn't make the field. They did beat Ohio State twice, but they had some very bad losses against Minnesota twice (GRR!) and Illinois. Michigan will face Eastern Michigan Thursday.

Books read in 2011

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso
On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell

Currently Reading: Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes
Up Next: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Steig Larsson

Miles run in 2011

Following Sunday's run of 31.1 miles, I have run over 1000 miles for 2011. I can't believe I achieved the thousand mark already. It took me until June last year to reach 1000 miles.

At the beginning of the year, I didn't expect to be running over 100 miles every week. For my New Year's Resolutions, I stated that I wanted to work towards that and maybe do a 100 mile week once a month. Once I hit 100 miles for the first time, it was really special. I was very proud of myself. I continue to run 100 mile weeks because I love it. I have told my husband that I want to become an ultra marathon runner. I want to someday run 50 and 100 mile races. It is not something everyone can do. But I feel I can do it. I know I have the endurance to do it.

2011: 1021.6
2010: 360.5
2009: 189.1
2008: 210.5
2007: 96
2006: 102
2005: 84.1
2004: 58.7

Random things

Today is a short work day for me. I only need to work five hours and I'm done. It is really nice because I need a break. I spent most of the day and evening at The Palace of Auburn Hills photographing state individual wrestling finals last Saturday. The finals themselves took a long time and the drive home also took a long time. It rained all day then switched over to snow. Driving conditions weren't the greatest. But some drivers thought so. Passed a few of them stuck in ditches. Besides that long day, this week I traveled to two out of county girls basketball games. Both evenings I got to bed later then normal. But like the trooper I am, I got up the next morning at the same time for work: 4 a.m. I'm looking forward to relaxing and getting more sleep. Since I don't have any games to shoot this weekend, I can do exactly that.

My sister told me last night that I'm too skinny. I don't think that I am. Over the last few months people have commented on how I look. They always ask how much weight I have lost, which is 80 pounds. The next question is do you want to lose any more? I do want to lose another 10 pounds. When I tell them that they usually ask why? Most people tell me that I look great and that I don't need to lose anymore. I would like to be another 10 pounds lighter because I know it will help with my running. If I weigh less, I hope I can run a little faster and lower my PRs again. I just want to run as fast as I can.

I will be watching so much college basketball today. I mentioned that I like the conference tournaments last week. Starting at noon, I'm be watching the Baylor vs Kansas State women's game. At 2 p.m., Michigan vs Illinois men's basketball and tonight at 7 p.m. Duke vs Maryland.

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is the start of Lent. It is also a day of fasting. Usually I have no problems fasting, but I did this year.

I had to photograph a basketball game out of the county Tuesday. The round trip to and from the game was 130 miles. I like to run twice on Tuesdays. I run in the morning when I get home from work. Then I run again later in the day. I planned on running long Wednesday since I had to work Tuesday night.

I took a banana and a protein bar to work with me on Wednesday morning. I ate both of those before 7: 30 a.m. After I left work, I got on my treadmill for a long run. I decided to run a marathon. I don't know if running a marathon was a smart idea. When I hit 16 miles, I really felt like stopping. I told myself to run to 18 miles. Once I got to 18 miles, I told myself to run to 22 miles. When I reached 22 miles, I knew I would be able to run the last four miles. When I was doubting myself, it was because I didn't know if I could make it on a empty stomach. I did.

After running, I had a glass of water with a protein mix. That filled me up for about an hour. I was hungry. I couldn't deny myself any longer. I broke down and ate some food. But not too much. I ate a small cinnamon raisin bagel, a handful of raisins and a banana. I know that those healthy snacks will carry me through until dinner.

I know I ate more food then I should have on Ash Wednesday. I couldn't help it. I'm always really hungry after running long distances. I'll be sure to fast better on Good Friday. I won't plan on running a marathon that day.

Books read in 2011

Besides reading the usual books about John F. Kennedy and his assassination and vampires, I've been reading books about running. If you didn't know, I love to run. I run over 100 miles a week. I'm really enjoying reading the running books because they me inspire to keep running and to be the best I can.

The Laughing Corpse, Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned, Laurell K. Hamilton
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: The Return: Nightfall, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Origins, L.J. Smith
The Vampire Diaries: Stefan's Diaries: Bloodlust, L.J. Smith
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner, Dean Karnazes
The Kennedy Detail, Gerald Blaine with Lisa McCubbin
The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours After, Steven M Gillon
50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathon in 50 Days, Dean Karnazes
The Brotherhood: A Precinct 11 Novel, Jerry B. Jenkins
127 Hours, Aron Ralston
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters, James W. Douglass
My Life on the Run, Bart Yasso

Currently Reading: On the Trail of the JFK Assassins, Dick Russell
Up Next: Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss, Dean Karnazes

Lent

After thinking about it for a while, I have decided what I'm giving up for Lent 2011. I will be giving up buying snacks at the grocery store.

Usually every Saturday morning I go to the grocery store. Certain items always find their way into my shopping cart. These items are oatmeal raisin cookies, cornbread and Town House Flipsides crackers. They are not bad items, but I can't seem to control myself around them. When I open the package, I can't stop. I could eat an entire package in one sitting, which isn't too good.

Since losing 80 pounds since last October, I have been maintaining my weight. Some days it goes up, but it usually comes back down. My ultimate goal is lose another 10 pounds. I really want to to weigh a certain amount for the first time in my life. If I am always stuffing my face with these delicious snacks, I'll never get there.

My house will be empty of these items starting on Wednesday. I know I'll miss them, but it is for my own good. I hope with giving up the snacks I can lose a couple of more pounds. Many years ago I gave up pop (that is what we call it in the Midwest). After Lent was over I never went back to drinking it. Sometimes if my husband has a pop, I'll take a sip or two. But I don't have the desire to drink a whole bottle. I don't know if I will feel that way about these items. It would be nice to lose the constant craving of eating the cookies, cornbread and crackers. Maybe after Lent it will be like how it is with pop, a small taste that can satisfy me.

ABC's

(A) Age: 31
(B) Bed Size: Queen
(C) Chore You Really Dislike: Cleaning my house.
(D) Dogs. Two German Shepherds: Blitzkrieg and Kelly.
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: A banana and Kellogg's Protein Bar.
(F) Favorite Color: Green.
(G) Gold or Silver? I really like silver, but my rings are gold.
(H) Height: 5'6"
(I) Instruments You Play: None. I never took piano class or was in the band like my brothers and sisters.
(J) Job Title: Photographer & photo technician.
(K) Kids: No children
(L) Live: Adrian
(M) Mom's Name: Mary
(N) Nicknames: D, D-Red, Delo, Honey, Mitten.
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? None
(P) Pet Peeve: People who drive under the speed limit.
(Q) Quote from a Movie: "Bad language makes for bad feelings." RoboCop 2
(R) Right or Left Handed? Right
(S) Siblings: Two brothers and four sisters.
(T) Time You Wake Up? Mondays-Fridays: 4:00 am; Saturday-Sunday: sometime after 5 am.
(U) Underwear: Yes.
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Asparagus.
(W) What Makes You Run Late: Nothing. I'm early to everything. I can't stand being late.
(X) X-Rays: Only at the dentist.
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Enchiladas.
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Tigers.

Ragnar Relay Series

This is the best week ever! I was excited to open up my email this week to see that I had an invite to join a Ragnar Relay Team for the Chicago Relay. Of course I accepted. How many opportunities does one person get to run in something this cool?

The relay is June 10-11 and it starts in Madison, Wisconsin and ends in Chicago. One of my teammates is Krista. I met her a couple of years ago at some friends' wedding in Ohio. This time I will be able to talk to her more then 30 seconds.

I'm really looking forward to the challenge of running this overnight relay. It is something different and 2011 for me is all about doing something new. I'll be running with a new group of people, visiting a state that I have never been before, Wisconsin, and running a relay of 197 miles. It should be very fun!