Felt Like Tina After A Round With Ike....

I know it has been awhile since my last post. All I can say is that life has a way of getting in the way. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but it does take up a lot of time. So let me recap...

Since the last time I posted not too much had happened until this past week. The training for the Expedition Everest 5K has went excellent. We leave this coming Thursday and head to Disney!!! Last Sunday started out quite nicely. Chris and Double D showed up at the house for a Sunday morning 5 mile run. The run went well with a finishing time right around 52 minutes. We let Double D set the pace, since he has not been training for 6 months. This was also Chris's first run of that distance. While we were running we had noticed that it was a little more windy than usual. Not windy enough for us to see what we would be in for later in the day though. After the run we hung out and talked for awhile before Chris and Double D had to make their way home.

Sunday was also my 17th wedding anniversary. Autumn had been sick on Friday and Saturday but said that she was feeling better on Sunday. So I wanted to go out for lunch to celebrate our anniversary. We decided to head to Cheddar's, which is one of my favorite restaurants. By this time the winds had picked up significantly. So, we put our name on the list and waited. While we were waiting the power at the restaurant went out. The hostess then walked to the front doors and locked them, so no more people could enter. The power was only out for maybe 10 minutes. Not long after the power came back on we were seated. No sooner than the appetizers hit the table the power was out again. Our waiter came over and said that it was going to be a few before he would be able to put our order in, which was fine since I had a plate of chips and salsa in front of me. After probably 15 minute he came back and gave us the option of waiting or leaving without owing a thing. We chose to leave, which turned out to be a good thing since they were without power for 4 days.

We then decided we would head home, since just about everywhere we passed was without power. Along the way home we noticed numerous trees blown down or broken and plenty of roofs and siding missing on homes. As we pulled onto our street I was hopeful that we did not have any damage to the house. I was wrong. We have some roof damage. I was able to get it secured for now, but am waiting on the insurance adjuster to take a look at it. The power was out at the house. Luckily the weather had turned a little cooler, so opening the windows kept the house comfortable. While I was on the roof securing the damage I received a voice mail from one of the managers at work who gave me the great news (sarcasm) that we would be closed that night. Oh well, just meant I did not need to take a nap. I then made phone calls to Chris and Gibby, my fellow Yeti's, to make sure that they were aware.

After sitting around the house for awhile longer we decided to take a ride around the area and look at the damage and find somewhere to eat. Lots of trees and homes were damaged in Jeff, Clarksville, and New Albany. We ended up heading to a Pizza Hut in New Albany, which was the least crowded of every place that we saw and were there for almost 2 hours. As we headed back home we were hoping that we would have power, but we did not.

We were without power for almost 4 days! Our power came back on at 1:22 pm on Wednesday. I know this because the fan in our bedroom woke me. I don't think I have ever been happier to be woken that early in the day. After 4 days with no electricity all of the food in the fridge was gone. We had been surviving on PB&J and fast food, and cold showers. The kids were out of school for the entire week, which had to suck for them being stuck home with no power. Luckily we were able to charge gameboy's and ipod's with the car chargers, so this gave them some relief.

Things seem to be back to normal now. Although my parents still do not have power. They live out past Charlestown in an area with not too many homes, so it may be awhile for them. I talked to my brother who lives near Cincinnatti and he has damage to his home, but never lost power.

I do want to say thanks to Chris, Kevin, and Double D for all of the "Do you need anything?" and "If you need to shower or wash clothes or anything the house is available". It makes it nice to have a group of friends that you know you can count on. So, Thank You.

On a happier note, we are only days away from the Everest Challenge!!! It is going to be a great trip and I can't wait to go. I will definately blog and post pics once we return for all of you who are not able to go.

So until next time.....

Yeti Out!

23 minutes, seriously?

The title pretty much says it all. Today Chris, Double D, KG, and myself headed over to Slugger Field for the 1st annual Shirley Stufflebeam Memorial Race Against ALS 5k. Chris, Double D, and myself chose to bike over. KG had to drive, since he had a soccer coaches meeting shortly after the run.

The ride over was a pretty good warm up and fairly leisurely. As we crossed the Ohio on the 2nd Street bridge we were greeted by KG. Once we made it to Slugger Field we met up once again with KG and placed our helmets and backpacks in his mobile locker. We then locked up the bikes and made our way to the packet pick up tables. There were plenty of bagels, bananas, and power bars to be had prior to the race. Chris and I chose to try out the power bars, which actually looked like molded vomit. They were decent. More taffy like than I expected. We then made our way to the starting line for the run.

It took awhile for the run to get started. I guess that could be expected since this was the first annual run. They finally got things underway and we were off. Double D hung with Chris and I for about the first quarter of a mile then we gradually pulled away. We started out at a faster pace than I like to run but soon settled in on what I assumed was my normal pace, or close enough to it to be comfortable.

As we ran along near the river we could smell the wonderful aromas of dead fish and cat food. Made for a pleasant run. The course was pretty flat with only one small hill, which was not much worse than the hill that we run almost every night. As Chris and I made our way through the course and back towards Slugger Field we spotted the finish line. At that point we decided that this was the time to pass our target, which we had been keeping in our sites the whole way. We were able to pass him with not too much more effort, but as we did we saw the clock near the finish line. To both of our amazement the thing read just over 23 minutes. That is when we turned it on. Chris ended up finishing in front of me with a time of 23:36 I think, and mine was 23:42. Not sure on the exact times just yet, since they won't be posted until tomorrow night. I will change those if needed. I did not have what it took to catch Chris as we took off. As we sat at the finish line in disbelief we watched for Double D and KG. Double D finished with a time just over 27 and KG finished just over 29. I think that everyone finished in within the times that they had set for themselves. Great times by everyone!

After the run we headed to the site of the awards ceremony, where there were still plenty of bagels and fruit. We ate our fill and relaxed. After awhile Papa Johns Pizza was brought in. None of us were too interested in it. We pretty much knew going in to this one there would not be any awards won by any of us, since they were only giving out awards to the top finisher in each age group and ours was 30 - 39. Still had a great time. After KG departed we hung out for a bit, then decided it was time to head home. The ride home was decent except for the hills near Walnut Ridge Cemetery. Those things are pretty brutal, but the shortest route to the house.

That will more than likely be the last run before the Disney trip. We may run the Chicken Chase, which is a 4 mile run. Not sure on that one yet. We still need to find out more info. So as far as I am concerned the next run will be the Everest Challenge. Chris and I had said that if we did it in 25 minutes we would be happy. Well I guess we should be happy. I think we will easily accomplish that.

So until next time.....

Yeti out!