Happy Birthday Emily!

My sweet Goddaughter Emily turns 12 today! I love you so much, Emily!

And, Emily's birthday marks the anniversary of my ownership of Millie! Hard to believe that for 11 years I've had my precious cat. It was on Emily's first birthday that her mom, Traci, informed me that she was looking for a new home for Millie. Traci got Millie as a little teeny furball when we were in college, and there was no way that sweet cat could go to a stranger. I left Austin that day with one of the best gifts anyone could have given me! Great memories...

Perfect Pace?

Apparently, it has been "discovered"... Hmmm...

The Thrill of Victory...

My brother Dave and I participated in a duathlon in Bryan/College Station today. He biked 12 miles and I ran two 5k legs. It was pretty cold, but not windy, and I ran the best 2 5k's I've ever run. Dave had a fabulous 12 miles on the bike. We were excited to have finally done a race together and to have done so well. The great news is that we placed first in the co-ed relay division! We got a great plaque (you know, its all about the hardware). The other side of this story is that there were just two teams in our division, but the other team had a good runner so we had to give it our all and not slack off. We did, and I can finally say I won a race. I will never, however, be able to say that in any marathon or half-marathon. Many thanks and love to our great team manager - Dad!

The best part of the weekend was being with my entire family for my mom's birthday on Friday. My brother, SIL, nephews and niece were there, my grandparents who live there, my grandma from Wisconsin, and my parents of course. We had a very full house, but it was a great time. The boys love love love their Auntie Kiki! And my niece is 6 months old and is just so beautiful.



One family member who was missing was my beloved cat Millie. She had a little "incident" on Friday morning... I got up early to workout on my elliptical, let her out onto the patio, and an hour later, went to let her back in. She was gone. Gone from my third floor patio. Which meant one thing...she fell. Granted, I had visions of some predatory bird swooping in at 5:30 in the morning to snatch her off the patio, but I figured that was pretty remote. I did expect to find her dead though. That's a fall of about 20+ feet, and for an old arthritic cat, well, I expected the worse by the time I made it to the first floor and out the front door.

I was calm, but started calling her name, like she was going to respond to that (never). Then I did a little whistle I do that she responds to in some way 65% of the time. It worked. I heard her meow from the front of my next door neighbors garden area. She poked her little head out from under a bush, a look of bewilderment on her face. I scooped her up and hugged her, and later thought that might not have been the best idea in case she had broken something, but she didn't wince. I checked her out and saw that her nose and mouth area were a little bloody. To be on the safe side, I took her to the vet, and they said all tests and x-rays were just fine. To be on the safer side, I left her at the vet over the weekend, just in case. And that calmness I noted earlier must have been adrenaline, because I was completely mentally wiped out by 10 am Friday morning. I can't wait to bring her home tomorrow. Poor little Millie!! She's gonna get lots of loving!

Congrats to my friends Stacy and Shubh on the baptism of their son Romit today!

The Joys of Godmotherhood.

Even though I have never wanted children of my own, I am very blessed and honored to be surrounded by them at many times and have the opportunity to be a part of their precious lives. There has been no greater joy for me in recent years than being an Aunt and a Godmother, and "Auntie Carolyn" to my friends' children.

Almost 12 years ago, my friend Traci asked me to be her daughter Emily's Godmother. Wow, I was stunned that someone would bestow such an honor on me (especially after our wild college days :)). I remember holding Miss Emily when she was 4 days old, and now she has blossomed into a beautiful young lady. I got to see her dance last weekend in a competition, and I was in awe of how mature and graceful she is. Sadly I have not been able to see Emily over the years as much I as would like, as we have never lived in the same town, but she will always have a special spot in my heart, and I hope I do in hers.

This past weekend, I was again asked to be a Godmother, this time to Travis James, the son of my friends Angela and Jason. Its amazing how being given the title of Godmother suddenly makes your relationship with a baby, a child, a growing young person, all the more serious and important. To know that your friends trust and respect you enough to want you to play a role in their childrens' lives, well, it brings life into perspective. No matter what we are facing, especially during these current difficult times, children need all the love and positive support they can get. I hope to bring more of that into Travis' life...I say "more" because based on what I saw this weekend, that little boy is going to have a lifetime full of love and support from his family, as does Miss Emily from her family.

I really don't know my own Godparents (two sets) well at all, but I know who they are, and they are special to me because they were special enough to my parents to be asked to be my Godparents. I hope that my Godchildren, as they get older, can say they know me well and that I somehow in some way, made a difference in their lives.

The five-hour drive from Houston to Baton Rouge: It sucks. I-10 sucks, that long stretch over the LA swamp sucks, and all of the construction and 18-wheelers suck. Ten hours of driving suckage was worth it though for the baptism and to see my dear friends.

Running update: Got in a couple of good runs last week, and plan to hit the track again tonight and tomorrow. I've also been doing some work on the elliptical machine in the mornings, and have joined a Pilates class that I hope to get to three times a week. I haven't been out to run with the Knuckleheads recently but hope to rectify that this coming Saturday, since I'm actually going to be in town.

Armadillo Dash 1/2 Marathon

I ran the Armadillo Dash Half Marathon in College Station this morning. It was nice to get out of Houston for the weekend and see my family...I hadn't been back since Christmas. We saw the Aggie men's basketball team beat the crap out of Iowa State yesterday, then I carb-loaded (probably too much) before settling in for the evening.

This morning was a balmy 32 degrees. For me, that's just about perfect running weather, but it was very windy. I was concerned that would cause a problem...however, for the majority of the race, it really wasn't an issue. The course was pretty boring, and I think I saw a grand total of 10 spectators, but hey, it was just a half. No big deal. Since we drove the course on Saturday, I knew what I was in for...some rolling hills and long stretches of nothing. But once I plugged in my iPod and the race started, I was half-way done before I knew it, and I was having a strong run. I was on target for a big PR, until mile 9-10, when we turned due north and were punched in the face with the strong winds. I felt like I was running with something dragging behind me, and it was cold. Thankfully, it was just for a couple of miles, but it was tough. I was very glad it was just a half marathon and not a full. After running so many fulls, its nice to know you get to stop at 13.1 for a change.

Regardless of the wind at the end, I kept on truckin' best I could and did end up with an "official" PR: 1:55+ . I say "official" because I ran the first half of the Houston Marathon this year about a minute faster, but who cares! That was unofficial. Considering the windy conditions, which I think added about 1.5 - 2 minutes to my time, I was pleased with the race and how strong I felt during and after. I proudly claim this PR. It was a good way to start my serious training for the Nashville Marathon in April.

All in all, I would definitely run this race again. There were plenty of water stops and there wasn't a huge slew of runners that made the beginning miles difficult to manuever. I think about 600 or so ended up actually finishing the race in the alloted time, so it was a smaller group than what I'm used to. The really nice thing was being able to be dropped off right at the start line (thanks Dad!) after waiting in the warmth of the car for a while. And my mom and dad were right there as I crossed the finish line...that was very special! They are my biggest supporters and I was appreciative that they were there. Though, I almost didn't recognize my mom...she was so bundled up in clothes. Once I got the feeling back in my face and could move my lips enough to talk, I informed her she was not allowed to complain about the cold weather, which she stood in for about 15 minutes, since I ran almost 2 hours in it!

In other running news, I am signed up for the Chicago Marathon this year. I'm really excited about that. I also entered the lottery for the NY marathon, so if by some slim chance I get in, I'll defer to next year. Hard to believe that in just two short months, my official marathon training season will begin again. I'm just glad I'm back in my running groove...