Premiere 10k

   Here I am with Big Jay, the KU Jayhawks' mascot. For some stupid reason I have loved those goofy costumes ever since my parents took us to Disneyland as little kids. Probably influenced me towards becoming an artist. Characters come to life? Awesome!!! But, I digress. This post is about a race.

   Today was my very first 10k, in an actual race with timing. Most I'd done before was the 8k for the Amy Thompson Memorial Day run a few years back. I ran the Electric Run course twice just last month, so I knew I could go the distance. But my training has wavered from work, vacation, and other busyness. I'm glad Britten & Rich ran with me--I probably would have slowed down or even walked some if I weren't trying to be strong for them. Yay, teamwork!

   This was the third year for the Plaza 10k, and they do it right: great shirts, and slick finishers' medals. Great atmosphere, full house: the race sold out! 

Rich was kind enough to pose with both of us.

   Can you tell by the size of my smile, how glad I am that it's over?

Rich & I crossed the finish line together, and Britten was just a bit behind us. Nice race, guys!!!

Aaaand...

   I did well, hitting my goal time of "under 1 hour", landing at about 58 minutes. That will give me something to beat, as I'm registered for the Groundhog Run 10k (underground, at the end of January). I'm still wondering if I have a half marathon in me. Certainly not at this pace. And certainly not without thorough preparation. I'm chronically undertrained for races. But without losing 1 or 2 or 20 of my hobbies, I give all the time I can.

   Just got an email with more detailed results (KC Running Company = AWESOME): There were 418 finishers in the Female 35 to 39 age group and 3139 finishers in the race. Your overall finish place was  1232 and your age group finish place was 124.  Your overall finish percentile was 39 while your age group percentile was 30.  Your time of 59:03.8 gave you a 9:31 pace per mile.

Dog-n-Jog 25th Anniversary

   Today marked the 25th anniversary of Dog-n-Jog (and this year is our Humane Society's centennial, too!). Like last year, Dad, Diane & Lindsey drove in from Ohio to attend the event with me, and help wrangle my crazy dogs. Check out this great photo from Thomas Photographic—Taylor's got three legs off the ground and is pulling like crazy—which he did for the whole mile! We didn't manage to place, as the KC Track Club has joined in and they are posting 5-minute miles (our fastest-ever has been 6:34), so our days on the podium are over, but it didn't detract from a great time.

   I'm glad my family & friends enjoyed the event, and as usual it is fun to see a sea of my t-shirt designs taking over the Plaza!

   I plan to post my own photos & write about the event soon, but for now, here are some from the KC Star: Volume 1  /  Volume 2  and from Thomas Photographic, and an article.

Plaza Lights

   A pretty night on the Plaza, and I planned to walk and shop after getting my hair cut tonight. Little did I know, all the shops were closed by 7 pm Friday! If retail is suffering, don't blame me. My cute new haircut & I were trying to help.

Great Day for a (Trolley) Run

   The sunrise was gorgeous as I headed out at 6:15 am to get to the Plaza in time to grab a shuttle Trolley down to 75th and Wornall for the start of the 23rd annual Trolley Run. Too early to be awake on a weekend, perhaps, but this is one of my favorite races of the year, so I was excited; and I otherwise would have missed the view of the sky.

   Speaking of missing things, I got to the start line only about 10 minutes before the race began, despite my early start. The lines for the shuttles were unbelievably long, and I only made it because they allowed runners in the fastest 2 waves of the race to board first. Next year I'll have to arrive even earlier, or park near the start, and grab a return shuttle after running the race.
   I finished this year’s race with a time of 34:08, 8:32/mile, #1862 overall out of a field of about 11,000. Someday I hope to be fast enough that my placement will actually sound impressive, but this is a very competitive race, with the top finishers often coming in at under 18 minutes (yeah: sub-5-minute miles!). My time (34:08; 8:32/mi) was two minutes slower than last year’s (32:03), which of course I’m disappointed about, but I also haven't been training nearly as hard this year. And was getting over 3+ days of laryngitis. And it occurred to me that last year's race was pre-hip-injury, and back in July I was told that I might have to stop running. So, I feel AWESOME about this year's time! Proof that stubborness has its rewards.

My playlist: On to the Next One (Jay-Z f. Swizz Beatz); Headsprung (LL Cool J); Tear it Up (Yung Wun f. David Banner, DMX & Lil' Flip); Elevator (Flo Rida f. Timbaland); DJ Got Us Falling in Love Again (Usher); You Be Killin’ ‘Em (Fabolous)

Sake to me!

   Tonight was the annual Shinnenkai Celebration with the Japan-America Society, held at the Marriott on the Plaza. A shinnenkai (Japanese 新年会, literally "new year gathering") is the Japanese tradition of welcoming the arrival of the New Year, usually by the drinking of alcohol. And drink we did... once the ceremonial sake barrel was broken by Fran, Sachie and the others, we all toasted to health, happiness and prosperity in the new year. Patty and Mickey, above, were kind enought to buy me a drink prior to the toast and our fabulous dinner, too. 
   The evening was so fun: I met some new friends, Natsuko and Hiroshi, and Shelley. And Bobby Watson, the director of Jazz studies in the music conservatory at UMKC not only performed, but delivered a heartfelt speech. He and 11 of his students had the opportunity to perform in Japan last year, and several of the students spoke as well. Paraphrasing Bobby, he said that America is a great country, but it is humbling to know how much we can learn and be inspired by places that are centuries older. Too true!
   We all had lots of time to eat, drink, meet and visit, and it was a great way to kick off the new year. 開けましておめでとうございます！

さちえさんは私の初めて日本語の先生だった。

Sachie was my very first Japanese teacher:

私達はいい友達：

   今晩はプラザのライトがまだとても明るいです。The holiday lights were taken down last weekend, but the Plaza is still pretty and festive at night:

That's a wrap!

   Update 12/9/10: just received word that because the Humane Society successfully filled 132 three-hour shifts with volunteers, The Plaza will be donating $7,500 to the shelter animals—and that amount will save the lives of 150 homeless animals!

    I got a text this afternoon that another volunteer was needed for gift wrapping tonight and headed to the Plaza after work. I worked with Barb, the sister in law of a coworker who also happens to be an HSGKC board member. We had a blast. She works at Starlight Theater and was super-fun to talk with as we folded tissue paper and wrapped a couple of gifts.

   I left at 8:30 because we had a couple of last-minute gifts come in for wrapping, so we each took one and stayed late. In my haste to get out of the cold and get home and eat, I totally forgot to run by Urban Outfitters to pick up the "Japanese Dog Calendar" (aka shiba inu calendar) that Alison tipped me off to. As you might expect, when my dogs learned this they were furious. Be nice, guys... Santa is watching!

Big Martini '10

   Tonight was the annual "Big Martini" fundraiser for the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City, my first time attending. It would have been an absolute crime to waste a night like tonight indoors. (Although I felt a little guilty for not running with the dogs.) Gorgeous weather, good cause, and the drinks were flowing, so everyone was in a great mood. (Each attendee got four free drink tickets. But I wisely cut myself off after one lemon drop & two cosmos... it is a "school night," after all. Besides, that's 3x what I normally drink in an evening!) I didn't win anything in the live or silent auction (not that I didn't try... I was bidding on about 8 different things!), but had a great time hanging out with my HSGKC friends on the McCormick & Schmick patio. Hi to Ron & Angela, Jeri, Robin, Lauren, Jon, Mark, Bruce, Jana, Michelle, Amy, Karla & more! Hope it was a huge success...

With Jon:

With my friend & director of development, Robin Rowland:

With board  member Bruce Kay:

(Previous 2 photos by Robert Schraeder)

Cute desserts by Kodi's Cakes (photo from Facebook):

A quick shot as I was leaving the party:

And a week later, I got a thank-you letter in the mail...

with my own photo on it! LOL

Plaza Art Fair 2010

   Last night after work I met Maureen, Renee & some of Maureen's non-work-friends at Kona Grill on the Plaza for some happy hour drinks & sushi, and then to walk the Plaza Art Fair. The weather was a gorgeous 70-ish degrees, and the Plaza was more mobbed than I've ever seen it in my whole time in Kansas City! The Fair itself is cool, with over 240 artists selling their work, food, live music and more. But it was so crowded that it was nearly impossible to walk around & enjoy, much less actually see some art. By the time I got there at 6:00, all of the nearby parking garages were already full & I parked all the way up by St. Luke's (which turned out to be a nice walk, actually). Given all that, Renee & I planned to meet up in the morning to jog with our dogs, have breakfast, & see some art.

Guess who loves to ride in the car:

   We met at Loose Park at 8 am & did about 31 minutes of brisk jogging, 2 times around the track, which is about 2.5 miles. My hip felt great, but I got winded easily since I had to lay off the training almost 2 months ago. All four of the dogs (Aki, Taylor, Rosie & Boo) were in heaven. It was a beautiful, cool morning, 55 degrees, perfect for running. But a funny thing happened. We heard this funny sound approaching & this dude comes blazing around the track on these crazy contraptions called "Kangoo Jumps" shoes that gave him all kinds of bounce & speed...

...and on the third or fourth time he passed us, I realized it was Bob, my hairstylist of the last 10 or so years. LOL!

I never noticed the gold crown on Hall's department store before!

   After the run, we walked downhill to the Plaza & got takeout from Panera (mmm... my favorite baked egg souffle with bacon & spinach!). I stood outside with the dogs while Renee got the food & coffee, and it was so funny because Rosie & Boo look enough like giant shibas that virtually everyone who passed by thought they were all related, and thought that they were all MY dogs! Yeah, just call me Jen the Dog Whisperer Wannabe. We ate across from Brio & then we walked around the Fair.

Boo & Rosie at home

   Here's a view from the south side of Brush Creek, with the Chinese lanterns on the bridge and a few of those 240 white tents:

   Even as it opened at 10:00, the fair got crowded quickly. The dogs were tired & well-behaved from the run, but there were still crowded sidewalks to navigate, kids & strollers all over, noise from the crowd & the live music, and the smell of food being grilled everywhere. Add that to the fact that Aki HATES to wear a harness, and DOUBLE HATES to be coupled to Taylor, and she was a bit of a grouch. At one point, Taylor accidentally brushed up against Aki on one side & an old man's ankle on the other, and Aki snarled to warn him. The old man whipped around & sternly said to me, "HE TRIED TO BITE ME!"

   I saw the whole thing & there was no doubt that this guy was full of B.S. In fact, it took all my strength not to flippantly say, "Aw, shut up, you old fart!" But I bit my tongue & kept walking. It's a good reminder of how litigious people can be. You gonna sue my dog for touching your ankle? Jerk. Minutes later, two adorable little girls swarmed my dogs without warning & gave them giant hugs. Oh yeah, these dogs are dangerous...

   Dick Daniels already had a nice crowd, and since his work was my favorite I wanted to show some photos of his booth. Make sure to check it out if you're down there this weekend—definitely worth the trip!

That was fun! Thanks, Renee!!!
And check it out: Dick with Mayor Funkhouser & Gloria:

Martha Stewart Express run

   I started early this morning with a 7 am run on the Plaza with a group from KC Express. It was a fun run to promote the Martha Stewart show moving to the Hallmark Channel. We were asked to bring Martha-related props, so I brought my dogs. C'mon, Martha loves dogs. (Ok, she has chows & French bulldogs, not necessarily shibas, but still...) We had a fun time & the weather was PERFECT for running—could not have been better. My gimpy hip actually felt pretty good & I was able to run nearly the whole course, stopping for traffic lights along the way. Afterwards I sat outside Panera with Jeanne & Danielle & enjoyed a pastry. Perfect start to the day. You can see all the photos here.

   (I'm not in the group photo because my canine alarm clock hit "snooze" this morning!! I was 5 minutes late.)

Danielle crossing the finish line:

...with the pups & me not too far behind:

Jeanne & friends:

Taylor makes friends everywhere he goes: