Dine and Dash 2012

I competed in the Roselle Park District Dine and Dash this past Saturday.  It was a running and eating relay race, where the first three team members run a 5k then eat, while the the fourth team member has to eat with no hands.  Sixteen teams registered and we earned the third place trophy. 

Jeff got us off to a great start with a very fast 5k run and then he pounded his food portion: the bread pudding.

Mikelle was next up and even though she didn't have much advanced warning to train she did a great job.  She wasn't a big fan of the wings, but she was able to scarf them down with out too much trouble.

I was the third leg and although I managed to finish the race I couldn't finish the pizza and had to take the ten minute penalty.  I have a pretty decent excuse for "wussing out," but let's not get into my GI issues. Okay?

Have no fear, Vince was there!  He was our closer,owned that skillet cookie, and locked up the trophy for us!

Good times with great people! 

Running into a New Year

Okay, so I didn't meet my goal of finishing a half marathon in less than 2 hours this past year.  No biggie, it's not for a lack of trying, and now it's something to shoot for in 2012.

I did complete my second obstacle course race in my history.  And I did it with friends!

This year I've found something even more up my alley than an obstacle course...a 5K/eating competition!  There's a relay race called the Dine N' Dash in the Chicago suburbs that has each participant run a 5K then polish off local dishes before he member of your four person team may start their leg of the race.  This one is on April 28th, is limited to only 80 participants, and should be an absolute blast.  I'm going to try my best to register and be one of the first 80 to do so. 

This past year I also managed to log over 300 miles in a calendar year for the third time in the last four years.  Not bad for a guy who doesn't really consider himself a runner.  Even better when you consider I don't ever really run between Halloween and Valentine's Day.  Many of those 300 miles came when I trained for my first half marathon.

Here are the options for this year:

RACE A: I can't start training until after my basketball coaching duties are off, so the first race on April 7th may be too early for me. I'm not crying over that one, because I shudder at the thought of a hilly race couse that is 13.1 miles long.

RACE B: The race in Champaign is the same day as the aforementioned Dine N' Dash.  Boy, I hope I'm able to be one of the fist 80 registrants!  I'm not a fan of crowded race courses.

RACE C: This one is the Saturday before my high school's graduation, which my attendance is mandatory.  Sitting in a car for 2.5 hours and then running is not the best of ideas, so add in a night's stay in Quincy.

RACE D: No conflicts with the date, small number of racers, and a relatively flat course.  Plus, I would probably be able to stay with my BFF and maybe even have a couple of other friends run the race with me.

Tom's best friend forever

If you're interested in running a half marathon or training for one with me please give me a shout in the comments!

Happy New Year everyone!

Rocky Mountain Wedding/Vacation

Laura and I left for Denver on a direct flight out of Peoria Thursday morning, picked up a rental car (we will not be buying a Chevy Traverse anytime soon) and stopped by Emily and Steve's house in Golden.  What a cute little bungalow with oodles of character.

We made it to the YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch, just south of Granby, Colorado, by 2 o'clock and the wedding festivities could not wait.  We had a bachelorette party to put on!  After decorating and tracking down food & beverage for the girls I joined a group of 15 other guys. We visited all the bars in Granby (both of them) and then headed up the mountain to a campfire site for some serious celebration.  Stories were told and beverages were consumed.  Good times.

Jed on way up to zip line!

Friday, a group of us went for a 3 mile round trip hike to see a waterfall. It was nothing in comparison to what we saw in Hawaii earlier in the summer, but beautiful nonetheless.  I played nine holes of frisbee golf at possibly the worst frolf course I've ever experienced.  After a nice nap, we went to the zip line!  I backed out.  I had signed up originally, because I'm a chicken I backed out.  The bride, groom, Laura, and Jed all went. It was fun watching, but I value my life and I wasn't climbing that pole!  Next was the rehearsal dinner which featured BBQ ribs.  Over a hundred people attended the wedding weekend from numerous different states and our lodge was soon filled with laughter and appetites.  

John in his wedding attire.

Ruby, the ring bearer.

Saturday morning I went for a run and realized my lungs aren't ready to compete at 8,800 feet up.  Later, Laura, cousin John, and our new friend Marta went paddle-boarding at the lake on the ranch.  I had lost some of my confidence while trying to SUP in Illinois, but I regained it all and more in Colorado.  Thanks, John! . . .   Before long, it was wedding time!

The wedding party.

Life altering event just ahead!

The wedding was really beautiful.  It was western themed and the setting was amazing.  Short, sweet, and heartfelt... my favorite type of wedding.  John and I were in charge of the "photo booth" at the reception.  We had to dress everyone up, and take color pictures that would be printed out from a polaroid type camera.  The pictures would then be affixes to a colorful index card with wishes and congratulatory remarks.  It was fun, and I was glad that I could contribute something to the wedding day.

Watch out for Marta!

Sunday morning featured a wonderful brunch hosted by Sarah and Jed.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to Denver, through the Rocky Mountain National Park to look for moose.  Well, Laura and Marta just wanted to see colorful aspen and beautiful sights.  I wanted moose!  Pictures were taken, trails hiked, and rocks were climbed... but alas, no moose.  We did find a near-frightening photo opportunity of Marta though!

Laura and I had a great time.  We didn't get back until late Sunday night, but we met some really nice people, took part in a beautiful wedding, and saw many the Rockies.  Well worth the trip!

Hot couple in the cool mountains.

Warrior Dash

The Course Map

Frank checking for contraband upon arrival in Rockford.

We survived!  Jane, Laura, Jeremy, Mikelle, Sandra, Vince, and myself all traveled to Rockford Friday evening and spent the night at Jeff and Nichole's.  We departed about 6:40 a.m. and arrived at Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, about 7:50.  We checked in, laced up shoes with timing chips, applied face paint, and pump ourselves up.  Somewhere in the mix Jeff's cheeks made an appearance.

We snuck into the 9:00 heat and attacked what is described as "3.08 hellish miles".  The course included 12 obstacles (walls, mud pits, fire, & etcetera).  We deftly navigated the course and we all finished without major injury.  Afterwards, like true warriors, we dined on turkey legs and drank beer!

Before the race: Jeremy, Mikelle, Jeff, Nichole, Math Man, Laura, Jane, Sandra and Vince.

Challenging course, good food, and lots of laughs with great friends.  It was a fun morning!  Did I mention we received t-shirts, plush viking helmets, and a medal for finishing!  Enjoy the pics!

Laura's ready to go into battle!

Jane finished her 1st ever 5k!

Calm before the storm...

My Dunlap Middle School softball season officially concluded this past Wednesday with a quick 10-0 loss to  the Farmers of Farmington.  We finished the year with a record of 3 wins and 18 losses.  Tough year, good kids, not a lot of talent. Still had fun, so all is good.  Off the record, Jane helped coach three games and attended one other; her overall record was 2 wins and 2 losses. Rumors are circulating about her being a good luck charm of sorts.  

This afternoon started the first of twenty-one open gym basketball dates before girls basketball tryouts on Halloween.  It was good to see the team again, and for those of you know that aren't in the know, this freshmen girls basketball job is really growing on me: all the positive's of coaching and teaching the sport, with less pressure, attitude, and parental conflict that comes along with a varsity position.

This Friday we head up to Rockford to run the Warrior Dash in lower Wisconsin.  Laura and I will car pool with Jane, and we'll run in the 9:30 a.m. wave with Jeff, Nichole, Sandra, Vince, Jeremy, Mikelle and some of the Coker's friends.  Should be a blast!  Click on the above link if you are the least bit curious about what we're getting ourselves into. 

Meanwhile, my Cubs have been without an active GM for the better part of a month now.   Crazy!  Who's going to be the next big hire to lead them to the promise land?  I'm hoping for Theo Epstein, the guy that helped bring two championships to Boston in the last decade.  But, a small part of me believes in this person: Kim Ng.  Sometimes all something needs is a woman's touch.

Thursday, September 22nd, Laura and I leave for Colorado to participate in Steven and Emily's wedding.  I have purchased boots and a vest for the western themed weekend.  Should be fun!  Downside is I have to prep for two days of school for the substitute who doesn't know Calculus.

The Thursday and Friday after that I have been requested by the district to attend a workshop for continuing education credits.  More sub plans for my non-fluent subs! 

Did I mention that I'm still trying get a 5K race off the ground as the major fundraiser for this spring's high school prom?

Yikes!  Calm before the storm is right!


Speaking of calms before storms...  enjoy this pick of Gus "hiding" in a box before readying himself for thirty seconds of fury that was soon to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting Mooshie.

Hawaii

Laura and I took a trip to Hawaii.  We left on Saturday, July 9th, and we returned on Sunday, July 17th.  It was a wonderful vacation and much of that can be attributed to the gracious generosity of Aunt Julia and Uncle Bob, who housed us, fed us, and loaned us their SUV for the week.  All the amenities of a 5 star bed-n-breakfast, and then some!  Thank you so much, Aunt Julia and Uncle Bob!

On to the trip and some pictures!

Ocean, palm trees, and clouds... ahhh...   Hawaii is so beautiful!  Temps were in the mid 80's and the winds were consistently 15-20 mph.  Just gorgeous weather!










A rainbow!  Hah!  It rained on and off pretty consistently, but we didn't see our first rainbow until the second to last day!

Chinaman's Hat with palm trees whizzing by.  So many things to see and so little time!

Here's a diagram of the memorial that rests atop of the USS Arizona.  We visited the memorial and were able to see parts of the ship beneath the water.  Quite an educational and humbling experience.

We visited the Bowfin, a submarine at Pearl Harbor.
Seamen used to sleep on torpedos?  Whoa.

FYI: submarines are not meant for anyone over the height of 5'6".

 A few lines of "Go Cubs Go" scribbled on a baseball.











The other side of the ball: A plea to Alexander Cartwright to have some good fortune fall upon my Cubs.

The ball was placed at Cartwright's grave next to numerous other baseballs.  For those not in the know, Cartwright is given credit for inventing the great game of baseball.  I figure if anyone has pull with the baseball gods it would be this guy.  Worth a shot, right?

Cartwright Field in Honolulu.  Not exactly pristine, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Stand Up Paddleboard... quite a work out!
I did great in the channel, but I fell FIVE times in the ocean.  Laura only fell ONCE.  She has mad paddleboarding skills. 

 Shave Ice - better than snow cone... no kidding!

We tried the Shave Ice at Aoki's (my favorite), Matsumoto's, and Island Snow (where Obama gets his shave ice).

It is served with ice cream at the bottom with azuki beans upon request.  Laura's not a fan of the azuki beans.

 Temple!  Not one nail was used in its construction.  It was surrounded by a moat filled with... wait for it... koi!  You thought I was going to say 'alligators', didn't you!

Aunt Julia volunteers her time, as a tour guide, at the Hawaiin Cultural Center in Honolulu.  She gave us a tour of China Town.  We stopped in a few bakeries, shops, and markets.  We did not stop here; the sign is protected by the historical society.

 I'm sorry we stopped here.  Man, China Town has it all.

 For the bird lovers! You know who you are!

A Brazilian Cardinal.

A Black Swan.  This one was patrolling the moat at the Temple.













Those are just some of the highlights of the trip.

We also enjoyed food at a Korean restaurant, went to two botanical gardens, climbed to the top of Diamond Head, traversed a trail to a fantastic waterfall, visited Punch Bowl, got stuck in traffic on the North Shore, had fish tacos, ran on the beach (4.65 miles barefoot!), had jumbo shrimp sold out of a van, got stuck in Shark's Cove, saw a blow hole in the rock along the ocean, dabbled with kimchee and Spam Musubi, drove through Dole's pineapple fields (not literally), and generally had more fun than a couple should be allowed.  

Things Tom Dislikes

1.  Being hot.  The heat.  Humidity.
2.  Blood and stories referring to it.  (Okay with my own most of the time.)
3.  Mushrooms. (Learning to live with them on pizza, but it's a slow go.)

Running the Chicago 13.1 half-marathon this past weekend did nothing but reaffirm my distaste for the heat.  I trained pretty extensively: 200+ miles over the three previous months.  But my problem was that those miles were logged in fairly cool temperatures.  Saturday was anything but cool.  I had a personal goal of finishing in under 2 hours, but I gave that up at mile 8 when my pace wasn't cutting it any longer and my tank was was empty.  I ended up walking quite a bit the last 5 miles, something I never did in my training, and I settled for a time around 2:14.  For my efforts I may have ended up with a mild case of heat exhaustion; well, that's at least what my intestines and stomach were trying to relay to me.

No worries.  I'm good now.  I'm still not too pleased with my time.  I'm not used to falling short of my physical/athletic goals that I set for myself.  I'll rebound, and may even try another half marathon.  But, Mother Nature is a bearcat, and I'm in no hurry to get back out there.

Just for those that are curious... The start time temperature of the race was 78.  When I finished it was in the middle to upper 80's.  They administrators "black flagged" the race when I made it to the 11 mile mark, which meant they would no longer keep time and we were supposed to slow down or walk.  Ten ended up going to the hospital and there was one unfortunate casualty.  Pretty miserable running conditions on the whole.

Update: I have found pictures of me during the race, although they are all copyrighted and I figure that I shouldn't post them on the web.  C'est la vie.