Tag Archives: Maui

We Have Arrived…

… in Reno, that is. I probably mentioned it like once a long time ago, but we are here for the Reno 5000 Series Downtown River Run. I may have even possibly mentioned (or not) that both James and I have dropped down in our categories… him to the half, me to the 10K… this won’t count towards our 50-state goal for either of us. James wants a PR this spring, so we’re holding out for a race closer to home… the North Olympic Discovery Marathon and Half in Port Angeles; one that is at sea level as opposed to 4800 feet. (Reno is in the mountains… I never knew!) We’ll go to Las Vegas to eventually conquer Nevada, but for now we’re just here to have a good time.

We’re staying at Harrah’s Downtown, right at the start line and super close to the river. After getting off our little propeller plane (I kid you not) and checking in, we took a lovely walk to see what the downtown had to offer.

I’ll say this… Reno is clean. The only other downtown that I’ve seen this clean is Tulsa. But downtown Reno is a happening place. It’s beautiful, and it’s so refreshing to see people and government officials taking pride in their city (as opposed to Seattle which… never mind, don’t even get me started).

Anyway, the river overfloweth. A dam floodgate near Lake Tahoe has been released to allow for melting snow over the next couple of months; therefore, the river is flowing high, fast, and furious. Wouldn’t want to be on it, but it is a beautiful sight:

#spottedthebird! He was patient and posed nicely for me until I was done taking his picture. I’m out of my element, so I don’t have a clue what he is… where is my Sibley bird-watching book when I need it (and if any of you actually know what that book is, you’re my new BFF)!

As for news from the home front… the child is leaving Sunday on his first trip without Mom or Dad. He’s going with a friend to Maui for the next 2 weeks. I think I forgot to tell him he’s not allowed to grow up.

Now I’m off to go explore Reno and the raging river some more. After two leg cramps in the middle of the night last night from being poorly hydrated, I’m sucking down the Nuun and water, and need to stretch out the tightness. I logged 4 miles yesterday… we’ll aim for another 4 today, then the race tomorrow. Should be a great time!

#spottedthehusband 🙂

My Brother

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As I headed to Target today to brave the masses, I started thinking about my brother. For those who aren’t aware, he passed away last November from bone and lung cancer.

He used to say some of the most profound things to me. Completely out of nowhere. One night when he had come over to visit, he looked at me and said, “I still find it hard to accept that I can eat a gallon of ice cream for dinner if I want.” Because he was an adult now, and adults get to do what they want. Nevermind that he was almost 30. 😀

My brother, sister, and I all used to work at the same place (my sister and I were typesetters and my brother was the computer programmer/tech guy). Sis and I were hanging out in the back room with him for a little break, and he looked at us and said, “Just think… if a bomb went off right now, Mom would be childless.” Okay, a little dark, but still… things that make you go hmmm…

And the things he used to do to me when I was itty bitty little, like 5 years old. One time when I wouldn’t leave him and his friend alone, he found something resembling a coat hook in the carport and hung me up by my underwear to get me out of his hair. He got into a bit of trouble for that.

And once when my sister and I were sleeping in a camp bed on the floor, he put tuna fish in our ears and let loose 6 hungry kittens. He kind of got in trouble for that too… after my mother stopped laughing.

Here he is teaching my cat Zeus to read the newspaper shortly before Christmas dinner in 2000:

He also was the first to teach me, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” It was a lesson I learned well, way before I had ever heard of the book. And, true story, it’s all small stuff.

Yet, at the same time, it’s the little things that really matter in life, isn’t it. Such as a hug. Or a kind word. Or a smile. Or 5 minutes of your time.

In January, I ran my first race of the year in his memory:

My sister-in-law told me to look for a blue butterfly while in Maui as that would be a sign from Kris. I saw one blue butterfly the whole entire 7 days we were there… at mile 11… and anyone who runs half-marathons (as opposed to full-out marathons) knows the emotional breakdown happening at mile 11. I also saw a rainbow… on his 16th wedding anniversary.

So tell me, who have you hugged today?

Aloha! Echoes Of My Neighbourhood #6

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Aloha from sunny Maui!

While the race here wasn’t all that we hoped it would be, the recovery has been fantabulous! We’ve had lots of these to ease our pain…

Fabulous views…

Great pool time (for which I had to paint my nails as they are completely destroyed and black and blue from the race… it’s one of those silly foot photos so be glad I did, but you might still be able to see the bandaids)…

Lots of fun and different sights…

Gorgeous flowers…

Lovely Koi…

Breathtaking sunsets…

And daily outside running… yes, the streak continues, blistered feet and all!

It’s been a fabulous vacation!

Thanks to Jackie at A Cooking Pot and Twisted Tales for the Echoes Of My Neighborhood challenge! This is my special neighborhood for the week!

Maui bound! 50 in 50

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The Motivator, a.k.a. James, a.k.a. my husband, has come up with the idea that we’ll join the “50 in 50” club… 50 marathons in 50 states. I don’t run 26.2 miles yet, so while he’s doing the marathon part of it, I’ll be doing the half-marathon part of it. The bling is equally nice in both. And oh yes indeedy, that is one of the big factors for which race we run… whether or not the bling is worth it. We (okay, he, it was all him) have compiled a lovely spreadsheet full of races, states, and the time of year so that we can plan accordingly. We figure we can pull off maybe 4 or 5 per year, so it’ll take us about 10 to 15 years to complete this little goal. We have the next 3 already planned… Maui, Olathe, and Missoula.

I should mention that James is already 2 states ahead of me. He has Washington, Oregon and Arizona, and after running the Chicago Marathon in October, he will have Illinois. Right now, I only have Washington and Oregon. After September, I’ll have Idaho, so I’ll still need Arizona and Illinois, and he’ll still need Idaho… but I digress…

We have officially registered for the Maui Oceanfront Marathon for January, about 12 weeks out from Chicago, just enough time to lather, rinse, repeat. While the bling probably isn’t my favorite, who can resist 26.2 miles (or 13.2 miles) of whales, beautiful oceanfront, and mountain vistas?! While I was registering for it, the online form clearly said, “You are not registered until you click this button.” I hesitated for about 5 minutes, closed my eyes, then clicked. It’s set in stone now… no backing out. But actually I look forward to it… okay, not the actual running part, but more “I’m going to Maui, yay!”

In April, I insisted we do the Garmin Marathon in Olathe, Kansas, “The Land of Oz.” Every bling has something to do with The Wizard of Oz. I missed out on the Cowardly Lion this past year, but I can’t wait to see what they’ll have for next year! Looking forward to it!

After April, will come the Missoula Marathon in July… flat and fast, so they boast. Gawd, I hope so. The bling hasn’t been pre-approved yet, so I don’t have a clue as to what it is, but James really wanted to do this one, so I guess sometimes I have to concede, bling or no bling.

The real beauty about this 50-in-50 idea is that we will be visiting every single state. We plan on making most of these little trips fun little run-cations where we get to do a little sight-seeing as well. It seems families don’t get to spend much quality time together these days with our overly busy lives, and this will allow us that much needed time to just be together (and get a little exercise as well). Yeah, I think this is a good idea.

I leave you with this oh-so-true marathon training tip from The Onion:

Visualize your success and how good it will feel to accomplish something hundreds of other people will accomplish before you that day.

Happy running! 🙂

Never A Dull Bling

The trials and tribulations of a 40-something novice runner

Tag Archives: Maui

We Have Arrived…

My Brother

Aloha! Echoes Of My Neighbourhood #6

Maui bound! 50 in 50

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