Wedding

I rarely go to weddings because most of my friends have been married for 10+ years. So it was a a treat to be invited to the wedding of a beautiful couple this weekend. I traveled to the heat of Phoenix, which abruptly cooled for me, and partook in the celebration. The groom is a firefighter so all his groomsmen wore their traditional uniforms, which made them all look quite dapper. It took place right where I used to work, so many memories returned--back when life was much simpler and cheaper. Unfortunately, I was one of two people at the wedding who attended solo and I didn't really know anyone but the bride and groom, so I was left to conversate with strangers.

It seems like deja vu

Three months ago I found myself in Los Angeles helping out my sick uncle and my grandfather had flown in to help. I also ran a half marathon that same weekend on the streets of Colorado Boulevard and along the path of the Rose Bowl.

Cue three months later: I found myself in Los Angeles helping out my sick uncle once again and my grandfather flew in from Utah once again to help out. I also completed my 44th half marathon on the streets of Colorado Boulevard and the Rose Bowl, running on nearly the same course. But uncle appears to be worse.

Yes, I was incredibly slow, even three minutes slower than my previous slow time. Slow goes without saying for this past year.

#44 half marathon done

Photos: Half marathon; trying to vogue after the race

Weekend

So I didn't spend Mother's Day with my mother, but I did get to see family. Photos: my cousin's kid acting silly; my brother and his girlfriend; my brother and me. He is sporting a Gavin Rossdale type of look right now.

Happy belated Mother's Day!

ITU San Diego

After having to report on ITU races in Sydney and London last year, it was nice to be in person (although not as exciting of a locale) for a race with friends from Phoenix who are racing their first ITU course. It's nice to be with age-groupers doing something different in the triathlon world. Nothing about completing an ITU appeals to me because I'm not that aggressive of a racer, but they are going to kick some tail this weekend I'm sure.

An interview with my favorite triathlete:
http://rev3tri.com/big-matty-reed-ready-for-the-hat-trick/

Goyte

Saw this online and had to post. In another blog post I wrote about my obsession with this song.

#43

I ran my 43rd half marathon that ended in a safari park. I figured out that the reason I am not running well is for the past year, my legs have felt like lead whenever I run. I don't know why. But they are very heavy and so it is everything just to take one step in front of the other. So my times have fallen 2.6 minutes/mile, which is really frustrating and I really have no idea how to get my fitness back.

But the race itself was incredibly fun. We ran through a vineyard and the owners handed out Gatorade in wine cups. We also ran up a hill in the sand, but to keep our mind off the pain, there were jokes along the way, such as "Did you hear about the race between two giraffes?" "It was neck and neck."

Many dressed up as animals with tigers, lions and zebras running by me. One guy dressed up as Tarzan and wore nothing but a loin cloth. He had on a Tarzan wig and ran barefoot. Everyone got a good laugh.

At the finish line, we ended up in the middle of a Safari Park and got to go to the park for free. At mile 12, I ran past lions, elephants and after the race, walked around to see the flamingos, bats and cute pigs.

It was one of my favorite races with gorgeous views and people were having fun. It was a really positive race with stunning vistas and the locale couldn't be beat...but my legs need something...what? I don't know. I am so frustrated. I feel like throwing in the towel with running. My times have dropped by 35 minutes in a half marathon. I don't even tell people my finish time because I'm so embarrassed.

#43 half marathon done

Happy birthday to me!

It is my birthday once again...every year it seems to happen.

I threw out my back last night and now can't move. I hope that isn't an omen of my year. I am with family today and will spend it going to watch a TV show being filmed and eating white cake with white frosting--my favorite.