Besties

   And to top off the six-hour diving extravaganza, Britten and Rich stopped by the shop with lunch from Haus for me, and to drop off my race packet for the Groundhog Run tomorrow morning. After all those hours in the pool with only my breakfast of coffee and oatmeal to hold me, you have no idea how good homemade bratwurst with sauerkraut and sautéed onions on a pretzel bun & hand cut french fries taste. Yum! I'm so lucky to have such thoughtful friends. THANKS GUYS!!!!

   And this is my dinner experiment for the week: BBQ chicken sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, Oklahoma Joe's sauce, and either avocado, or pineapple, or both! My twist on the pickles are miso-sesame-cucumbers, and jalapeño-lime salsa (Kristin's recipe). Success!

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.

Time to get Rugged, Maniacs!!!

Frost on the grass, as well as a patch of man-made snow...

   From the event's information page: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, FRAIL OF BODY, OR WEAK OF MIND, RUGGED MANIAC WAS DESIGNED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF NAVY SEALS TO PUSH YOUR LIMITS AND DETERMINE HOW RUGGED YOU TRULY ARE.
   This five kilometer course traverses some of the most rugged terrain the region has to offer, including a ski mountain, which we’ve amped up with barbed wire, fire, tunnels, mud pits, pools of water, barricades, cargo nets, scrambles, swinging pendulums and a host of other obstacles that make this course one rugged gauntlet of glory! After you've conquered the course, you'll have the right to declare “I am a Rugged Maniac!” and you'll get an awesome t-shirt to prove it. So come on out, push your limits and then celebrate with live music, food, beer and other like-minded maniacs!   

   You'd have to be a little rugged (and by "rugged" I mean "stupid") to run a 3.2 mile course with 19 obstacles--many involving water & mud--when it's 25 degrees. I fully intended to do the smart, adult thing and skip the water obstacles, thus avoiding chance of hypothermia--the announcer admonished this of us at the starting line. But in the face of chickening out on the very first, very cold mud pond, all sanity had vanished and I couldn't bring myself to run around it. I also couldn't allow a group of cops to beat me, so I managed to keep up with them. It's tough being a maniac.

Mechanical BS: I think I figured out why my adductor muscles are screaming...

Best costume of the day. Runner up: Super Mario

Quick snow angel break!!!

   After the race we changed into dry clothes and warned ourselves in front of the fireplace inside the lodge, then headed back out to watch the runners. We met a guy with an 180-lb Neopolitan mastiff named Duck. And despite his head (complete with ginormous jowls) and paws being massively larger than mine, his fearsome appearance belied the heart of a teddy bear.

Oh, look--a Duck!

   An awesomely fun day with old & new friends, including Captain Rich's team of police officers and his Chief, Charlie, & Charlie's charming wife Vicki. Charlie was hardcore: he flew through the race easily, waiting up for the rest of us as we straggled along, numb from the waist down from the icy mud-water, hoping to place each footstep securely on the rocky hills and slimy wooden obstacles, despite (potential frostbitten) tingly toes with served by seemingly useless nerves. All the nerve was in our heads and our hearts, and we conquered!
   I placed 556th overall out of 2250 competitors with a time of 52:12.9. Slower than Warrior Dash and Ruckus, but considering how steep the hills were (everyone walked—no one we saw even attempted to jog up them!), not too bad. Difficulty-wise, the course was the hardest for running due to the hills (which seem SO TINY when you're snowboarding DOWN them!), and it was second-hardest in terms of obstacles, after Ruckus. Warrior Dash was the hardest for the run portion due to the heat (over 90 degrees), and had the easiest obstacles. Kind of fun to try them all to compare... and I wonder what will be next for me!

Friday night hangout

RAIN!!!!!!!!

   I was beginning to think we'd never see it again. A nice rainy Friday night. (And the rain continued for over 24 hours... finally!) Fortunately, it couldn't dampen the indoor activity I had planned...
   I go climbing with friends once a month or so. It's a great way to end a long work week, and Ibex is open 'til 10 pm on Fridays. It is SO MUCH FUN. Mentally, I could go all night, but after 3 or 4 hours my fingers are begging for mercy. Better shape up, fingers! We have more climbing to do!!!

Time to make like a squirrel!

We're slightly less blurry in real life. Unless I remove my contact lenses.

Here, as you can see, Britten's cracking me up.

   Surprise, surprise. Just like while I'm planking in yoga, her jokes make it VERY hard to concentrate! She & Rich & I had a ton of fun.

My new favorite path, if only for the name: Serengeti Yeti.

I cannot wait to try climbing in the wild someday...

Jim, on the right, is a lot of fun. And William, on the left, is FREAKIN' SPIDERMAN!!!

   And after our climb, a great, big burger at Clancy's Irish Pub. The rain was still falling, but it was a quick run across the parking lot. About 20 of us hung out and traded stories over our meals. That's what I call a happy hour!

Dinner Experiment

   Some of dishes that Britten concocted last night inspired me to come up with my own version tonight, so I stopped at Trader Joe's this afternoon to procure the ingredients. Roasted pork cutlets with sweet & spicy chili sauce and matchstick Granny Smith apple & mango (this would make a great wrap with Romaine lettuce too); fresh tofu with ginger-soy gyoza dressing, and purple potato latkes with spicy peanut sauce. For dessert, Mary Ann's homemade Texas sheet cake. Kinda fun to play without a playbook and cross your fingers, and everything was soooo good... I'll make this one again for sure!
   Reminds me of a quote I read this week that I love, from one of my favorite chefs, who just happens to be local. And a genius: "Expectations are the death of pure experience."  — Jonathan Justus

A Very Britten Christmas

   Britten's annual birthday/Christmas party was tonight, and she outdid herself by whipping up about 1000 different incredible homemade appetizers on the spot. My favorites may have been the bacon-wrapped baked potatoes with spicy peanut sauce...

   I learned how to make potato latkes and got to pitch in. Chocolate croissants, hot brie toasts, crab puffs, artichoke dip, fontina-stuffed mushrooms, mango salsa, homemade flour de sel caramels, sangria, wine, mead... I think I consumed at least 18,000 calories! She and Rich are great hosts and we had a blast. (Rich was in rare form, wearing his Santa hat and cracking me up with crazy cop stories.) 

   Maybe next time we'll try out her birthday gift from one of her students: yogarrific gingerbread cookies!

   Actually, this baker's site where the cookie cutters can be purchased is very cool, too. Love this dog cake!

Zip Line in Action

   All of my zip line adventure movies are on my Youtube channel, but here are a couple of my favorites starring the biggest goofball in the group (yes, that's me). My only complaint is that the lines weren't 10000x longer and the fun was over too quickly!!!

Get Thee to a Winery

   After our morning fun, we drove a short way to Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, MO, the historic German town, for a wine tasting & lunch...

   We dined on sauerbraten, red cabbage, spaetzel, and potato pancakes.

It's that kid's 13th birthday... And here's his new Facebook profile photo!

What a perfectly fun day with friends!