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

Contest Closes Tomorrow

Just a reminder, the Song Challenge ends tomorrow. It's still yours to lose, reader! Yes, you!

Song Quiz!

I saw this on a couple other blogs and have been wanting to do it here for a while. I set my MP3 on shuffle and below are the first lines to the next 25 songs. Post your guesses in the comments (or email me). Points will be given for song title and artist (50 points total). The person with the most right answers will get a prize, to be determined by me. Ooh! So enticing, I know.

All guesses must be received by midnight on Friday, July 10 (Eastern Time). And no cheating on the internet, people! Or by looking at other people's posted answers. Have some integrity.

1. You better watch who you talking about, running your mouth like you know me.
2. I don’t mind you coming here and wasting all my time.
3. Shot through the heart and you’re to blame.
4. I used to ride with a vending machine repairman.
5. There’s a time and place for everything, for everyone.
6. Homeboy, I came to party - your girl was looking at me.
7. I’m lying alone with my head on the phone.
8. They’re picking up the prisoners and putting them in a pen.
9. Cause you’re beautiful (like no other).
10. Are you ready for the new sensation? Well, here’s the shot heard ‘round the world.
11. There’s another world inside of me that you may never see.
12. I never meant to cause you any sorrow.
13. Work ourselves, fingers to the bone, suck the marrow, drain your soul.
14. When you first left me, I was wanting more.
15. Oh, you gonna take me home tonight.
16. When I start making love, I don’t just make love.
17. Love, I get so lost sometimes.
18. Well, I see him on the TV - preaching about the promised lands.
19. Load up on guns, bring your friends.
20. I live my life like there’s no tomorrow.
21. I won’t let you down, I will not give you up.
22. Living easy, living free, season ticket on a one-way ride.
23. When I come to the club, step aside.
24. Captured effortlessly, that’s the way it was.
25. Here is the money that I owe you.

Happy Fourth of July

In honor of our nation's birthday, I present to you Mr. James Brown and his song "Living in America." This song stands the test of the time.



Also, please take a minute to remember our soldiers, both near and far.

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!

Listening Lounge Farewell: The Mamas & The Papas

Clearly, I'm not that regular in updating the sidebar any more, or since last fall for that matter. I'll be using my new blip.fm station to update the Listening Lounge moving forward.

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...

Anatomy of a Table Flip

I'm working on my entry about the weekend and promise it is worth the wait. In the meantime - check out my favorite scene from last week's Real Housewives of New Jersey finale, director's cut. The two-part reunion airs tonight and Thursday (and I'm sure 200 other times) and I cannot wait. If you haven't been watching, find thee a marathon STAT and learn all about "bubbies" and "chuckies." You won't be disappointed.

Fun at the Seattle Aquarium, Part One

I had a really great weekend at home and a ton of fun at the race with my parents yesterday. And I know I've said it before, but I really am going to try and be better about blogging with a little more frequency.

Here as proof that I'm not just feeding you the same line again, a video from my trip to the Seattle aquarium. The biggest freaking otters I've ever seen. But cute even so. Enjoy!

Text Message Hall of Fame Entry from My Mom

This just in from my mom. Too good not to share.

billy joel is back on the market. get going. you only have to stay 5 years. do not sign prenup.

She is a wise woman, y'all.