Boilermaker 2009 Finish

We really did it! Thunder and Lightning finished the 2009 Boilermaker and here's the footage to prove it. Once you take into account the 11:30 minutes it took us to cross the start line, you end up with my official time of 1:57:46 and my dad followed just 5 seconds later.

In the following video, skip to last minute and you will see my dad on the upper left corner - in a grey shirt and his army hat. In the last 43 seconds I come in on the bottom right - orange tank. I cross, smile and turn to see my dad.

UPDATE: The player doesn't seem to be working. Here's a link to the clip: http://www.wktv.com/boilermaker/50545952.html

Thunder and Lightning Will Strike Again!

This little snippet appeared on the Boilermaker site today. Just over a week to go until the big day. Lord, beer me strength!

Thunder and Lightning Strike Last‏

So this past weekend, I went upstate to celebrate Father’s Day and run the Summer Sizzle with my dad. As you know, I’ve been training for the Boilermaker – which is 9.3 miles – so a nice little five mile run three weeks before the main event seemed like a great idea.

The Summer Sizzle has prizes for family teams – mother/son, mother/daughter, husband/wife, etc., so my dad and I registered as a father/daughter team. Team name? Thunder (my dad) and Lightning (me). Oh yeah, baby! And the team name is especially great because most other teams have names like “Team Smith.” Suck on that, bitches!

Women and men run separate in this race, with women starting at 8:00 AM and men starting at 9:00 AM. I’ve been training for a while and was hoping to run this race in 65 minutes – a 13-minute mile. Respectable pace, nothing to be ashamed of, and great for me as I’ve only run outside a handful of times. So, that’s the goal.

Us, pre-race. So full of hope.

The women line up. I stay towards the back because I want my mom to get a good picture of me (what a blogger doesn’t do for her readers).

Check out my guns!

And then, I can’t catch up. I can see the last couple people, but most of the women are long gone.

You know what happens when you’re the last person in a race? It depends on the race. In some, you get followed by a police car, or an ambulance. In this race? You get followed by a person on a bike. For the entire five miles. A person on a bike right next to me. Sometimes going a little bit up ahead and circling back. Sometimes dropping behind me a bit. Sometimes putting on the brakes on the downhill to not get too far ahead of me. You know what that sounds like? “Squeak! Squeaakkkk! SQQQUUUEEEEAAAKKKK!”

You know what else happens when you’re last and being accompanied by the bicycle? With every traffic checkpoint you pass, you get to hear this exchange:

Cop directing traffic: This the last one?
Bike person: This is the last one.

So, there I am, running along, singing “Gimme Some Lovin” in my head to help me pace myself. And I’m dying to walk for a minute but feel all this pressure not to walk because PERSON ON A BIKE FIVE FEET AWAY!!!! And I periodically lose sight of all other runners, but it's cool because I've got a personal escort on a bike to give me directions - "you're going to turn left up here."

The course is actually kind of neat and takes you through a turnaround in the park about halfway through. As I come out of the turnaround (with my escort), approaching us are two fire/EMT guys on bikes.

Me: Are they here to make sure I'm not dead?
Bike person: They are always late.
EMT bike guy #1: Sorry we're late.
(No joke. That exchange actually happened.)

So, to recap, I'm just about to start my last two miles and I now have THREE PEOPLE ON BIKES FOLLOWING ME. They are very encouraging the entire time - "you're doing great," "I couldn't do this that's why I'm on a bike." But now I'm to the part of the run where I'm a little emotional. It's my first race over 5K. I know I'm last. I'm telling myself that it's okay to be last, no big deal, that the important part is that I'm feeling good and that I'm doing it. And I've got my entourage telling me I'm doing good. And I've got all the checkpoint traffic folks telling me I'm doing good. But the adrenaline is pumping and I'm getting emotional. And I'm trying really hard not to cry, which just makes me feel like I'm about to hyperventilate. It's a vicious, vicious circle. But no way in HELL am I going to let myself cry, because THERE ARE THREE PEOPLE ON BIKES and then it will be a "production." So, I slow down my pace for a couple minutes to try and catch my breath and then just keep on keeping on.

At this point, I'm in the last mile. And I figure I'm probably looking at a 75 minute run rather than a 65 minute run. But then I hear a clock tower signaling 9:00 AM and I think that maybe I'm not as far behind as I thought. And I know they are getting ready to start the men's race. My bike escort (the original) tells me to stay to the right because the race starts/ends on the same stretch of road and she doesn't want me to get plowed by all the men. So I'm in the home stretch.

Hey, Mom! Check out my entourage!

And I'm running, waiting for the men to start running towards me. And then I realize, they are HOLDING UP THE MEN'S RACE UNTIL I FINISH. Are you effin kidding me??? I've got three people on bikes behind me and now 82 men (give or take) waiting for me to finish before I can start? Can this get any more humiliating?

Yeah - see the 82 men lined up, waiting?

Thankfully, the answer is no. The guy who's job it is to start the race asks the men to give me a round of applause as I finish. I turn the corner towards the finish line and finish in 1:02:47 - just over 2 minutes LESS than the time I was hoping to finish in. AND - a perfectly respectable time!

In the meantime, my dad has started the race so I go wait with my mom for him to finish.

Here comes Thunder!

And here he is in the home stretch!

Thunder came in at 56:42, making our combined father/daughter time 1:59:39 (if my math is correct).

Note that his official time is different than the clock time.
Pretty sure that is my fault.

The winning father/daughter team time? 1:12:15.

All in all, we were both pretty pleased with our times and with how we felt when we finished.

Even so, Team Humphrey better watch their backs next year, because Thunder and Lightning strike last...

The Heat is ON!

I've been talking for a year about how I hope to run the 2009 Boilermaker, scheduled for July 12. Or, roughly 96 days/13.7 weeks from now. I mean, if my 61-year-old father can run it, what's my excuse? No offense, Dad. So, I've been meaning to start training. I've been to the gym twice in the past two weeks, sidelined temporarily by 1. a hangover (week one) and 2. the flu (week two). But I'm hopeful that this week I can really get a plan in motion.

Kate's had good success with Hal Higdon's training plans, so I started there. And then I found a modified (slower) version of his plan here, so I think I'm on the right track.


No choice now. Registered. Crap. Time to do this, bitches.

First milestone? A 5K on May 9 as part of the Cinco de Katie celebration. Or as Shirtless Dangordit has started calling it - Cinco de 5Katie. It's going to be so good.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy birthday to my super awesome Dad!!!!


And in continuation of my apology to Jason - additional pictures from Melanie Gras 2008! This might actually cause Kristen to break up with me. Oh wait - she doesn't read my blog. I'm safe!

Say Good-bye to Afghanistan Time

My dad is home, so I'm taking the Afghanistan clock off Musings. See you later weird 8.5 hour time difference!

Welcome Home!

Alright kids. The holidays are done - and were awesome, thanks for asking - my dad hit the US on Christmas and I had maybe the best New Year's ever. My travel is slowing down for a little while at least(still have Christmas in Albany on the horizon). And I have a sweet new laptop (Merry Christmas to me!) with wireless access (or I will, once I can figure out how to set-up my router). All in all, I think that Musings is definitely back in business.

And the first order of business? Welcome home members of the 427th! We missed you and we thank you!

Pics from my dad's homecoming on New Year's Eve



Video Links
News coverage of my dad's homecoming

January 7 Homecoming

Somebody's Got Some Splainin To Do!

Bet the girls were super-psyched to hang out with a great-grandpa!

The Man Has Rhythm!

My dad always wanted to be a drummer. Here's his big break:

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

38 glorious years. Happy anniversary to the best parents ever!

Thinking of You, Dad on Flag Day/Father's Day

This weekend brings us both Flag Day (which commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 - thank you, Wikipedia) and Father's Day, so it makes sense that my dad is on my mind a little more than usual.

I've been trying to think of what to do to both mark the occasions and honor him at the same time. I think I've decided on doing some shopping for the orphanage that his unit is supporting.

For a couple different reasons, it's been a few years since I've been with my dad on Father's Day. I'm really looking forward to spending the day with him next year. Until then, this post's for you, Dad. I love you and miss you so much. I'm so proud of you and so lucky that you are my dad.

May is Military Appreciation Month

May is actually Military Appreciation Month and brings us both Armed Forces Day (this Saturday) and Memorial Day. Here's a little information on both (thanks to Wikipedia).

Armed Forces Day - May 17
In the United States, Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. The day was created in 1949, and was a result of the consolidation of the military services in the Department of Defense. It was intended to replace the separate United States Army, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard> Days, but observance of these days, especially within each particular service, continues to this day.

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions and air shows. Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of May, and Armed Forces Week begins on the second Saturday of May and ends on the third Sunday of May. Because of their unique training schedules, National Guard and Reserve units may celebrate Armed Forces Day/Week over any period in May. The purpose of Armed Forces day is to honor Americans serving in the five services - the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Memorial Day - May 26
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May (observed in 2008 on May 26). It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. It is also traditionally viewed as the beginning of summer by many, for many schools are dismissed around Memorial Day.

If you're looking for ways to say thanks to our troops, here's a few ideas.

Let's Say Thanks (sponsored in part by Xerox)
USO Operation Phone Home
United Through Reading
Operation USO Care Package

Written in the Stars?

My Mom and I are both Pisces and yesterday I was reading our April horoscope on Astrology Zone. In addition to the weird (and completely on point) message that we'd either be spending money during travel near April 20 by being in a best friend's wedding (Hello, Angela!) or on a child (my Mom's trip to Disney with Dan, Charlene and Jocelyn), the horoscope included this awesome nugget:

It looks like you'll be traveling near the full moon April 20. If you do, you'll soon see that you couldn't have chosen a better time to go. No matter what the reason for your journey - to have fun or conduct business - your mission will be accomplished. News from someone based in a foreign country could make you very excited and happy, and that news would arrive over the very same weekend, too.

If your birthday falls on or very near February 20, you will see clearly that long distance travel sparkles very brightly for you at this April 20 full moon. News from people at a distance couldn't be better.

The weirdest and best part? This morning, my Dad called my Mom to say he arrived in country safely and is getting settled. That's the best news we could have ever asked for. Here's hoping for a lot more of it over the next year.