Monday, June 4, 2007

Volunteers, hills, and dogs.

I haven't volunteered at a race since Ultramax in 2004, so I was excited to volunteer at Hospital Hill on Saturday. I was at the Runners Edge aid station, and we were the only one that got the 5K, 10K, and half marathon people. It was really fun being able to see the fast runners come through, since I"m usually at the back of the pack and the fast people are long gone by the time I finish. The race started at 7:00, and the course was supposed to stay open until 10:30, but the police started taking it down before 10. Which meant that any runners still out there were forced onto the sidewalks with nobody to monitor the street crossings, so they had to stand there and wait for a light just to cross the street. Let me say, it really sucks being in that position. Thats what happened to me at Lincoln, and let me tell you, it makes you feel pretty stupid. So, being that I know how it feels, I made sure to stay at the aid station until the last person came through. Even though they had come around and taken our tables, a few of us stuck around with some cups of water and Gatorade. At Lincoln, by the time I was on my last 6 miles, only one aid station was left up. That really sucked, so I didnt want to make anyone else deal with that.

After volunteering, I went home for a quick lunch and then headed out to Blue Springs to go for a ride with Courtney. We found a really great route down through Lake Lottawana that mimics pretty closesly (well, as close as we're gonna get around here) the course for Quarter/HalfMax. Honestly, I wasnt looking forward to that hilly ride. I rode it once before with Court and her friend Amy, a couple of months ago when it was my first time out on the bike since September. It kicked my ass that time. But this time it was actually fun! I dont know if it's my bike, or the fact that I've gotten stronger, but it was a lot more enjoyable. I wish it were a little closer to me so it wasnt such a pain to go ride, but I'd like to try to do it a couple of more times in the next few weeks before QuarterMax. After we got done with the lake loop, we rode out a little ways and stopped at a winery in Lee's Summit. Little did we know taht you couldn't buy wine by the glass, it had to be by the bottle. So we each got a bottle and sat out back to drink as much as we could. They had tiny glasses, so I had two, which amounted to maybe 1 regular sized glass. There was a wedding going on out back, so we entertained ourselves watching that. After I got home, Dan and I went out for a date night, which didnt turn out so hot. I think we deserve a do over :)

Sunday, we drove up to Omaha to pick up the latest addition to our family, a rescued Boston that we've named Walter. He's 2 and a half years old, rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri. The poor thing is missing two back toes, likely they were cut off by the wire cage he was forced to live in for his whole life at the mill. He's very timid, but really sweet and he'll be a fantastic dog once he gains some confidence. He isnt potty trained, but they gave us a belly band to put on him while he's in the house. He likes to mark things, and I think once we get him broken of that habit, we'll be able to let him go without the belly band.

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