Go Red for Women

I'm constantly amazed at the unique opportunities that come from working for P&G here in Northwest Arkansas. I've been introduced to the circuit of lunches that raise money for charitable causes, attending as a guest of either my company, or of a co-worker who volunteers for one of those groups.

I have attended a Susan G. Komen event, a CASA luncheon, and today, attended the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" annual event. Definitely a worthy cause; certainly every one of us has been touched by heart disease in some way.

Did I mention that Kirk Herbstreit was the keynote speaker?!

You know I love to run (I can hear the groans; yes, I know I talk about it constantly). I love football about as much as I love to run. I love college football with a fervor that has only intensified since moving to SEC Country. If you're a college football fan, too, then ESPN's College Gameday is likely an important part of your Saturday routine in the best season of the year (not fall, people - FOOTBALL season).

I have enough like-minded co-workers that we even co-opted the College Gameday theme for our office's annual campaign supporting the United Way. It helps that I'm the co-chair and have input to the theme, but still. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the idea.

P&G's Des, Fowler, Corso and Herbie - pretty good, huh?

So today, combine support of a worthy cause with Kirk Herbstreit, and it's clearly a good day.

But it got better.

I had the opportunity to join the pre-lunch meet and greet with Kirk, which I figured would be a quick handshake and a picture. Not minimizing that - super cool, right?! I mean, how often do you get to shake hands with Herbie and have a picture taken with him? Turns out, the guy is as easy going as he appears on TV. He didn't just shuffle people through the line; he stopped and chatted for a minute, and seemed to genuinely enjoy being there.

Fast forward through lunch to his remarks where he revealed that he'd been through his own episode of managing a heart condition, and we get to the Q&A portion of the presentation. Being the shy, retiring wallflower that I am, I was ready - and got my chance as the last question-asker of the day.

So I asked what was on the mind of everyone, everywhere: How did you manage to keep a straight face during the National Title game when Musburger started talking about Miss Alabama???

Followed by: What do Johnny Football and the Aggies have to do to beat Alabama again this year? (This was followed by several Whoops and Gig 'Ems in the audience - Aggies are everywhere, I tell you.)

Gratuitous Johnny Manziel picture

He answered the Johnny Football question first, essentially saying that he's a sensation akin to Joe Namath who brings a presence and a buzz that's going to make next season a lot of fun everywhere the Aggies go. He also mentioned he's pretty sure that Coach Saban has a plan for his visit to College Station next year, but DUH.

I figured he was going to skip over the question about Musburger, but he surprised me by returning to it - and cracked me up when he said, in obvious honesty, he didn't know what to think. He was like, "Wow - where do we go with this? Back to the game..."

So there you have it, sports fans. He was thinking what everybody else was thinking. About Musburger, I mean. Can't say what he was thinking about Miss Alabama. I didn't ask him that.

Race Report: Inaugural Mississippi River Marathon

Another weekend, another race: the inaugural Mississippi River Marathon.

Self portrait pre race

I must begin with a strong and enthusiastic endorsement for this race. In an inaugural year, I would guess it's 50/50 at best that things will go smoothly. In my opinion, MS River got it 100% right, so kudos to them and the event organizers Start2Finish for their work and planning. It definitely paid off! With just over 400 runners in the full, it was a small race, but felt big time with the attention to detail and support they provided the runners.

First benefit of a smaller race: I parked about 500 feet from the finish line which was also about 500 feet from the buses that took us to the start of the point to point race. #winning (Yes, I know hashtags do nothing in a blog. Roll with it.)

The big yellow buses, ready to go

Second benefit: the pre-race gathering of marathoners felt a little bit like a gathering before a long-run-Saturday. It's not every day that sunrise at the start line is next to rice silos, but chalk one up for a uniquely Mississippi Delta experience:

Add the considerately placed bonfires to keep us warm, and it was a friendly, almost partytime atmosphere while we stood in line for the port-a-potty, dropped our gear bags, and walked over to the start line.

Another cold race day - in the 30s at the start

Not related to being a small race, but a HUGE thing they got right - aid stations and port-o-potties at every mile. Every one, people. I know port-o-potties may seem like a weird thing to get worked up over, but if you've ever needed one in the middle of a run and not had one, you know it's not weird at all. And the aid stations at one mile intervals ended up being the glue that kept my mental state together between mile 18 and the finish. More on that in a moment.

Now to the mopey whining, accompanied by a dose of self pity. It was a tale of two races, soundtrack by Bob Seger: "Running Against the Wind." Again. Seriously. I can't catch a break with the wind. Check out the flags:

Tale of two races: What I did wrong

My first mistake: I had no plan, no strategy. Which on one hand seems about right for me, and on the other, is a shocking lapse. I had focused so much energy on running a Boston Qualifying sub-3:40 in Houston three weeks earlier; upon achieving that, I clearly spent too much time enjoying the afterglow. Which meant on race morning for Mississippi, I literally walked up to the start line thinking, "I wonder how I'll do today?"

Start line: What'll I do today? DOH

Stupidstupidstupid rookie mistake (made worse by the fact that I'm no longer a marathon rookie). I had no idea whether I planned on trying to improve my time from Houston, back off just a little but still run a sub-4:00, or just enjoy the run and the scenery for the experience while marking one more state off the long quest for the 50 State Marathon club.

My second mistake: I went out waaaaaay too fast. My splits on the first five miles illustrate my second mistake in black and white:

Sub-8:00s, anyone?

My third mistake, which directly contributed to my second mistake: not enough rest between races, pushing too hard on what should have been recovery days (or even a recovery week). By mile 6, my legs told me I had arrogantly assumed I didn't need a break in my training. Arrogant, egotistical, stupid, naive, etc., etc.... over 26.2 miles, you have a lot of time to think of synonyms. But they all added up to the same thing - I just didn't have the oomph in my legs or the spring in my step to keep up the sub-8:00 pace I set early on, or even the 8:20 pace I needed to improve on my time from Houston.

Tale of two races: What I did right

It took me about two days of mental self flagellation to realize that some things did go right. Now that I figured them out, they kind of offset my annoyance with what I did wrong. Kind of.

My first got-it-right: By mile 12, when I realized how physically demanding it was to keep that BQ pace in the face of a sustained 10-15 mph head wind, I made the call. This wasn't going to be a better day than Houston; it wasn't even going to be a BQ. So back off now, and do what I could to enjoy the rest of the race. I wish I'd made the call around mile 8, but hey - mile 12 was better than making the call at mile 20, right?

Trucking right along... until I made the call

By the time I got to mile 16, not only was I not at a BQ pace, I couldn't even keep running. I began walking through the aid stations, getting some blessed relief. (Side note: what nobody tells you when you're all amped up about a flat, fast course is that the lack of any elevation change means the exact same spots on your feet take a pounding for a straight 26.2 miles. DOH.)

With the aid stations a mile apart, I was able to mentally break down the last 8 miles, promising myself a one minute walk break if I would just keep running to the next aid station. Mental game, yes, but one that I played with success.

My second got-it-right: Even before I fully backed off the punishing pace, I made a mental effort to note what was cool and unique about this race. Like, the start line was in Lake Village, AR, right on Lake Chicot, the largest oxbow lake in North America. And the first several miles were right on Lakeshore Drive. Lakeshore Drive, Lake Village, AR, but still - Lakeshore Drive. Eat your heart out, Chicago.

We came off of Lakeshore Drive and headed down US 82. About mile 8, as we ran with fertile fields of the Arkansas Delta on the right, here comes a small plane practically dive bombing out of the north directly across the highway, just barely ducking under the telephone lines to crop dust a field, then pulling an incredible vertical climb to just clear the top of the lines on the opposite side of the field. Repeat three times, and you start to think the people running 26.2 miles aren't crazy at all. It's the guy in the twin prop plane playing chicken with live wires who's the real nut job.

Definitely one of the coolest moments, and to me a huge draw for this race, was running across the mighty Mississippi on one of the most beautiful cable stay bridges I've ever seen. With recent rains the river ran strong and swift, and it was impossible not to be impressed by its awesome power. (On a side note - can't wait to see the professional photos, as they picked a sweet spot just over the crest of the bridge to capture a moment. #winning Yes, again with the hashtag.)

Image courtesy of Google Images

My third got-it-right: This one took me a couple of days and the perspective of a friend to figure out. Today, I realized that MS River taught me that every race has its own purpose: not every race can be a PR, not every race is one in which I can improve upon the last. Sometimes, I just need the race to be an affirmation that my mind and body can make it through 26.2 miles, or that there is nothing that can compare to seeing places through the lens of running a marathon. I think I'm lucky that I figured this out with MS River, because it's true of every race I run. And since I'm only 4 states into a 50 state plan, there are at least 46 to go that will have their own purpose.

There's more than just a lesson about a marathon in there, huh?

It took a little bit more mental endurance this time than I expected, but that made it just a little bit more rewarding, too. Two donuts and one cool finisher medal later, I'm ready to sign up for the next one.

Shipley Donuts. That's right. #winning

Land of Oz, here I come. Who's in?

Friday Feature: Caroline's GT schoolwork

Proud mom brag: Caroline is in the Gifted and Talented program at school. I am not only proud, I am grateful, since the hours on Tuesday and Thursday that she spends in the GT classroom are, hands down, her favorite hours of the week.

The subjects they study in GT are totally different than typical schoolwork. Recently, they completed a block of instruction on Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Caroline learned not just about the historical figures, but was challenged to consider whether they were real or myth; whether they did good or bad by stealing from the rich to give to the poor; whether Robin Hood was a hero or a villain.

The poster and accompanying song lyrics that Caroline brought home this week clearly put her in the camp of: he was a good guy!

Wiggle wiggle, tug tug, and then...

Finally!! John FINALLY lost his first tooth!! At school, no less, warranting a visit to the nurse for the tiny plastic tooth case that is the envy of kindergartners everywhere who have yet to lose that first tooth.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that the age of 5 years, 9 months is late to lose your first tooth. In fact, it strikes me as a little bit early. But John has had this thing going on for several weeks where his two bottom teeth right in the middle front started growing in. Behind his baby teeth. Because they hadn't fallen out yet.

Weird.

What is it with baby teeth that makes me nostalgic? When you think about the biology behind losing teeth, it's frankly a little bit gross. Small piece of calcium, dentrite material, nerve and blood exceeds its "good 'til" date. Rather than making a graceful and painless exit, it hangs on while the small owner sticks (usually) filthy, germy hands into his mouth to wiggle wiggle, tug tug. Eventually, sufficient germ infested manipulation has occurred, and the tooth comes out.

Enter misty eyed nostalgia. Especially for the first lost tooth, I exclaim how big the small person is getting, and talk of the tooth fairy becomes topic #1 at the dinner table. Suddenly it's not about the body expelling a now-useless part, it's about getting paid. Cash money, please.

In this case, my little man is stuck using the pink tooth pillow I made for Caroline because 1) he's kid #2 and kid #2 always gets the short end of the stick, and 2) he was in possession of extra teeth for so long I kept figuring I had one more weekend to get a tooth pillow made. Oops.

I have it on good authority that the pink tooth pillow will still result in cash money.

Fridge full of food and nothing to eat

You know, nothing to EAT, like a teenage girl with a closet full of clothes and nothing to WEAR (you really have to say it out loud with the proper whiny emphasis to get the full effect).

Justin called me at the office around 5:30 to tell me the kids were totally discombobulated (a frequent condition when hungry) and on the edge of rebellion (a condition not usually tolerated) when presented with the dinner plan of leftovers.

Here is the current state of leftovers at our house:

So, naturally, here is what we did for dinner tonight:

Hooray for coupons and gift cards!!

Super Bowl Sunday

I'm a huge football fan. Despite the fact that my Cowboys didn't make the playoffs this year, haven't won a playoff game in three years, and the last Cowboys Super Bowl win is a distant memory, I still devour every moment of postseason football.

Hard truth: I'm not really a 49ers fan, and frankly, I actively root against the Ravens.

This year, the interest was less in the game, and more in the hype around the Harbaugh brothers; less in the outcome, and more in the commercials. (Thank you, Oreo cookies, for bringing me to tears, I was laughing so hard.)

Lucky for me, I can always count on the Super Bowl for a smorgasbord of finger foods, the buffet of snacking delights that we call DINNER.

And once the food is put away and the dishes are done... Well, only 9 days until pitchers and catchers report.

Let's go, 'Stros!

Friday Feature: Caroline's schoolwork

I've mentioned that Caroline loves to read. There are about a zillion and one great things associated with reading, one of which is it helps you learn to spell without you even realizing it.

This week, Caroline brought home another perfect score on her spelling test, with an extra point for using the bonus word in a sentence. She's such a good student. Too bad she says she doesn't like school. Not sure I believe her though.