Numbers

I was browsing Reddit the other day and found a link to this article, from Wait but Why.  It talked about how long you have left to live (average person) vs. what you can do in that time based on what you do on average.

Say that the average death year is 80 years old (I'm too lazy to google the actual number) and you are 35 right now.  How many times do you have to do your favorite things?

This can be sort of a morbid way to look at things or it can motivate you to DO MORE with your life.  We aren't guaranteed to make it to 80, so this list can be even shorter!  What if I'm 40 or 50 or 60 or somewhere in between when I go?  This list would be cut drastically.

For example, my favorite place in the entire world is Garner State Park.  I love the trees, the river, the hills, everything.  I go on average about every other year.  So, in theory I only have 22.5 more times to go.  And that is only if I live until that long or don't more too far away to drive up there all the time.

I do an average of 12 bucket list items a year.  (Sometimes more, but I shoot for at least 12)  That means I only have time to do 540 more if I do an average of 12 a year.  So, I can either pick 540 to do or get busy and do MORE!!!  I'm going to choose to get busy.  I have one this weekend and I did one on Monday!  If for some reason I can't hike the Grand Canyon or Machu Picchu one day, I need to prioritize to do that when my knees don't hurt.  Or if it is to go to a certain event or meet a certain celebrity, I need to make sure I do that early on because it could be an instance like meeting Richard Simmons.  I am so glad I did that before he closed his studio and retired.

My goal is to travel to one new city and one new country each year.  I didn't go to a new country this year, but I did go to a few new cities, including Washington DC. So, if I continue this way I can only see 45 more of each OR try and double up on my trips.  So, out of all the cities in the USA and all the countries in the World, I only get to go to 45 more.  My personal rule is that if I'm paying for it, I am only going to new places.  My family goes to Honduras a lot, but I have been there so many times.  Don't get me wrong, it's paradise and I love it, but if I have limited time and money, it makes more sense for me to go to new places.

There is a spot in Nacogdoches that as soon as I get there, my body feels "home".  Literally every time I pass it my heart says "I'm home".  It is such a great feeling.  I don't get to Nac as often as I used to now that I don't know too many people there.  I still go back often for Driving Jacks events, but not for SFA events.  I need to make that more of a priority. So if I go back once every other year (not including Driving Jacks events), I have 22.5 more times to be "home". Dude, I got tears when I saw that number.

I read about a book a year, but I honestly want to change that.  Maybe one of my 2017 resolutions will read 1 book a year, but I will be conservative and say 6 books a year (one every other month).  That is 270 books that I can read.  Since I love books (even though I haven't read as many as I could) I need to make a list of the top books I want to read instead of just reading some to read some.

You know, sometimes God grants you things in your heart, sometimes he gives you even more blessings than you can imagine.  I always thought I would be a mom, but now I have decided to stop focusing on the things I can't change and become the World's Best Aunt.  Yep, I am going to spend the rest of my life striving for that trophy because I am a pretty cool aunt. :)  I may or may not be a mom one day, but I have honestly stopped desiring to be one.  If it happens, it happens but I know that I'm running short on time.  So I have 45 more years to get that trophy.  I am going to spend time on the floor playing dolls, hang out in the woods and watch my nephew play in the mud, and be with my nephew while he plays video games (still can't play because I get motion sick).  I want to do things that they want to do, even if I don't feel like it because I won't always be able to do that.

My dad-Keith, sister-Tori, nephew-Cole, niece-Kali.  My other nephew, Hunter, is not pictured. This picture is from their school's fall festival day.

There have been 9 US Presidential elections since I have been on this planet and I only have 10 left.  10 more times to vote for the future of this Nation!  (My math could be wrong on this, FYI. LOL).

WHAT ABOUT YOU?!  WHAT ARE SOME THINGS ON YOUR LIST THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU DO??

Driving Jacks 10th Anniversary

10 years ago, at 10 PM on January 25th, a group of SFASU students were anxiously awaiting a phone call.  Everything was set up and ready to go, a phone number, member shirts, a Dodge Magnum, fliers, a birthday cake, balloons and even a few people who had been waiting on this day for years.

Driving Jacks first night of operations were a go and all we  needed was a phone call.  We knew there was a need for Driving Jacks at SFASU (any college campus really) but we were still nervous that no one would call.  We set up a "just in case" person to call in but we never had to utilize that person because we got our first call not long after we "opened".  Apparently someone had been itching to be the first rider of Driving Jacks and went down in history.

I still can't believe it had been 10 YEARS!  That is so crazy to me.  I think it's more crazy that I have been out of school for 10 years more than DJ has been operating that long-I always knew it would be great once it started.

The Road Trip with Kali Claire

My parents needed someone to watch Kali while they were going out of town but I had plans all day.  In the AM I had to volunteer for my Rodeo committee, Special Children's and in the evening I was planning on driving to Nacogdoches for the 10th anniversary party.  I said, "I can watch her if she can go to Nacogdoches with me" thinking they would say no, but nope, they said yes!  

Every time I have gone on a 'trip' Kali asks me if she can come too.  I always feel so bad saying no to that little face!  She was so excited to go on a trip and stay in a hotel. My mom even bought her a new little suitcase to bring with her.

We left the house about 2 pm and only made a few stops (chicken nuggets-Kali, Starbucks-me, restroom-both of us) and made it to Nac around 5 pm.  We checked into our hotel room that I had reserved by the phone.  Let me tell you, I will  NEVER stay at Days Inn in Nacogdoches again (see below for story).

Hector got to Nac shortly after we did and we headed to the park with Kali while waiting for Clarissa and Josh to get there.  We also had to pick up the cake at Brookshire Brothers before dinner.

This child loves balance beams.  Remember the railroad tracks from the Polar Express, same thing-she loved this!

Speaking of the cake.  Do you notice anything different here?  The bakery did a great job but ummm...it's supposed to be 10 years, not 90.  Same difference, right?  Haha.  They did do an amazing job on the logo though!!

We made it to the party and it was super fun.  The news was there to do a story on the 10th anniversary and interviewed me.  I will not be posting it on my blog, but you can google it if you want on the Lufkin/Nac news channel.  I look awful and said "amazing" too many times.  Ugh, I always say stupid things in interviews!  I told my sister that if someone makes me into a meme for saying 'amazing' a million times, I will cry!  I tried to get Hector or someone else to take my place, but no one else did and they wanted to interview me since I was the President on the first night.

Kali Claire and Connor helping blow out the candles.

After the event we all went walking around the campus.  Kali decided that she wants to be Lumberjack and posed with Surfin' Steve. #axeemJacks

So, one quick story about Days Inn in Nacogdoches.  DO NOT book a room there.  There were bugs and the place was was not kept up.  That's not my biggest issue (though that is a huge issue).

At 2:30 am we were woken up by people shouting outside our window.  They were in a fight about something and I heard them say something about a gun.  I called 9-1-1 because I wasn't sure if it was a robbery or what was happening.  Someone kept saying "let me in" and "give me the money".  I wanted to leave right then but if it was a robbery and I opened the door to leave, he could have gotten me and Kali too.  I can't just drive away quickly without putting her in her car seat, plus she was sleeping and wouldn't be too much help getting away.  So we just stayed put and I was praying that we wouldn't get shot.

The Nacogdoches Police Department responded very quickly and diffused the situation.  I didn't hear what happened but in my brief glimpses outside I believe I saw someone being taken to jail.  There was a taxi cab outside and my best guess as to what happened was someone didn't pay their taxi bill and the driver was upset and trying to collect his money.  I don't know (I didn't want to go outside and ask just in case the friend of the guy that went to jail wanted to get revenge).

Anyway, the next morning we met back up with my friends at a local restaurant for breakfast/lunch before heading out.

The Texas Madness Massacre

Yesterday SFASU Men’s Basketball competed in the NCAA tournament against Utah.  Like last year, the alumni of SFA had watch parties all over Texas (and even one in Virginia) so that we could all watch the game together.  I deleted my FB profile a while ago and I had not seen the men’s basketball updates like I usually did through my newsfeed. After a quick google search that said they had made it into the tournament, I called the Alumni Association office to see if they were hosting watch parties like they had last year.  They were having them in several Houston areas locations and asked if I could host one at Lucky’s Pub.  I wouldn’t have to do anything except put out some SFA Alumni materials that they shipped to me.

I made it to the game (and got a GREAT parking spot) at around 6 pm.  The kickoff was originally supposed to be around 6:30, but it got moved back to just after 7 pm.  I put out the free koozies, pens, pins, and hyper-color cups for everyone to take.  I think we had about 300 people there. 

I met up with some Driving Jacks members and we all sat together.  I looked up and I saw Hector coming over to where we were sitting.  I didn’t even know he was in town (he’s been in California for work the past 1.5 months)!  We all sat together and watched the game.  

Some of us really got into it……LOL. 

That's not my hand in the way. haha.

The game was fun to watch, but the end was sad.  SFA lost to Utah 50-57.  They played a good game and I am happy that they made it far!  They had a wonderful season and played their best. 

As for Texas…all five teams that made it to the tournament were kicked out last night. Baylor, SMU, Texas, Texas Southern and Stephen F. Austin logged a combined 0-5 record.   Whomp, whomp, whomp.  It was like the Texas MadnessMassacre (I saw that on an article comment and though it was funny, hence the name of this post).  Two of the teams were favored to advance, but they were beaten too (Baylor and SMU).

Now I will go back to not caring about basketball.  Or Football.  Or baseball.  Well, baseball will be on my mind when this little guy starts playing.  He joined a “K-Ball” team and has started practicing.  His first game was supposed to be Saturday, but it got cancelled due to rain.  K-Ball is a precursor to T-Ball, which is a precursor to baseball. 

My very cute nephew, Cole

Planning a Color Run and Raffle

This is take 2 of the How to Plan a 5K fundraiser post from a few years ago.  The 2014 Driving Jacks 5K and raffle raised just over $8,000 via a color run and raffle.  These are a few things we did to make our color run and raffle successful. 

Note:  This is a supplemental post on how to plan the Color Run and Raffle portion of the 5K.  If you want to know how to plan a 5K in general, go to the post above. ^^^^^^

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets.  Go to www.HowtoPlana5K.com to purchase the ebook to have access to the forms we used (including a bonus section about creating color runs)

A few other changes for the 2014 race
1.  We had three categories this year:  A timed 5K (not typical at color runs, but added participants), a non-timed 5K, and a Sleep In and Hit Snooze Option-best idea ever!  These are the people who wanted to donate to the 5K, but couldn't make it that day.  We mailed them their official 5K shirt after the race.  The price was the same as the color run ($20).

2.  The volunteers had tie-dye shirts this year instead of purple ones.  They also had to sell at least $30 in raffle tickets to get a tie-dye shirt.

3.  We changed the route up this year and people loved it!  The same route each year gets boring, this year it went through the azalea trail at SFA.

4.  Social media-this year we created a FB page for people to "like".  In the past, we have always created events on FB, this time we created an actual page.  Go here to like us! :)

5.  We had a sign for the participants to take pictures in front of that was donated. Loved it!

Color Run F.A.Q.

Did you need a lot of volunteers?
We planned the 5K the exact same way as a regular 5K, but instead of needing volunteers for a water station only, we needed them for throwing color on the patrons.  We had about 6-7 volunteers at each station, and two stations had 1-2 people at the water stops (just before the participants got to the color station).

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

Can we make the color?
Well, we started to make it, but that was a disaster!  While it was drying, it got mold on it and we couldn't use it.  Making your own is MUCH cheaper, but you have to do it correctly, or it will be a waste of time/money.  To give you an idea, to make 150 lbs of color powder, it would have been $100, but to buy it, it cost us $675.  I am not 100% sure why ours didn't turn out, but I think it had something to do with the water/food color/powder consistency and/or that we stored it in a garage.  If you do make it, I would suggest leaving it in a temperature controlled room without a lot of moisture to avoid the mold growth like ours had.  Also, when we did make it, we went to a food supplier and bought 50 lb bags of corn starch and then added water/food coloring.  You can buy corn starch at Wal-Mart for $1/lb, but we got ours for $20/50 lbs-see a difference?  Make a small batch before you decide if it is worth your time and effort.  We watched a Youtube video on how to make it.

So, where did you buy the color then?
We bought ours through Chameleon Colors.  They were nice, professional, and shipped it to us in a short amount of time.  They already have boxes of it made, so we didn't have to wait.

How much color do we need?
We had about a lb per participant.  I researched it and it said anywhere from 1-2 lbs per person.  We found that 1 lb was plenty for all of participants and we even had some left over!  We had a 25 lb unopened box and a little bit of other color as well that we used for the fight at the end.

Did you have a fight at the end?
Yes, in the registration packets we gave all the participants a snack size ziplock bag of color.  Plus, we had the leftover color from the color station in a pile in the middle.  There was a HUGE cloud of color.  Some runs have a color cannon, but we just had them throw it at each other in a 'fight'.

Did you give your participants some in a goodie bag?
Yes, we made snack size ziplock bags of color and gave it to the participants in their goodie bag.  They sell color packs where you can buy them already pre-made, but we decided that we didn't need to buy them.  They were 'fancy' and we were a small race that didn't need all of that.  We added about a handful or two to each ziplock.

Did the color come out of the shirts?
We had a info sheet on how to get rid of the color that we put in their participant bags.  I just googled how to get the color out and typed it up in word.  I am not sure if it came out, I stayed away from all that color! :)

Was the cleanup bad?
We had four color stations, 1 was easy, 2 were ok, and 1 was a nightmare.  3 of them we put a plastic tarp down to minimize the mess.  We got a roll of it at Home Depot for around $20.  We laid it down on the ground and duct taped it.  The volunteers were on each side, throwing the color.  It helped the mess A LOT!  At the first stop we were able to use a leaf blower to clean up and it was a breeze.  The next two had a few patches that we poured water on, but the last stop was a disaster. They didn't have a plastic sheet down and the color was everywhere!  I know that if we didn't have a sheet down on all of them, it would have been a lot worse.  We used the left over water from the water station buckets to clean it up, and then refilled them instead of lugging around a water hose.  We also had a push broom to help clean up.

What supplies did you buy specifically for the color portion of the race?
We bought plastic sheet roll that is super thin (sort of like those restaurant glove material) to keep the mess minimized.  We also bought squeeze bottles (6 for $5 at Sam's) to throw the color and a push broom for clean up (we actually borrowed that).  Plus the color too.

Did you have a timed start?
Most color runs do not have a timing system, they just say start and you finish when you finish.  I am a runner myself (and love giving out awards) and we figured we would get  lot of registrations having both a timed and non-timed race.  It was an added expense $800, but it worked out.

Where did you get the awards?
OMG!  Aren't they awesome?  I wanted something custom made this year, so I looked on Etsy and found a seller that makes custom awards.  His name is John and his site is called I Love Geocaching and he is AWESOME to work with. We got them in the shape of Texas and there is a cutout heart where Nacogdoches is, plus our logo.  I added a lime green ribbon to make them into ornaments.  We also used Crown Trophy to make some plaques for us for the overall winners.

Did everyone wear the same shirt?
We had the participants wear their white participant shirt (or any white shirt they wanted), but the volunteers had tie-dye shirts to wear.  We bought the shirts directly from the manufacture since it would cost about double for the screen printing company to provide them.

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

Raffle F.A.Q.'s
How many raffle items did you have?
I believe it was around 44.

How did you get raffle items?
We made a list of the people we wanted to donate and then sent them a letter telling them about Driving Jacks and asked for the donation.  We mailed/dropped off/emailed about 140 requests and got back about 50 raffle donations plus sponsors.  A lot of them were people we knew that wanted to donate and who had businesses or worked at businesses.  People to ask are friends to sell items (like Mary Kay, Scentsy, etc), sports teams, tourist attractions in the area, restaurants, etc.

Who did you sell to?
Everyone!  We ran out of time, otherwise we would have set up a table at a grocery store or Walmart type store.  We mainly sold them to our friends and family.  I personally sold about $400 in tickets, the top person sold almost $700.  I tried to post about it on my personal FB page about once a week.

How many people sold raffle tickets?
Ummmm.  About 30?  I am not sure, but that sounds about right.

What were you 'big' items or top prizes?
An Apple iPad (donated) and a GoPro Camera (bought)

Where did you keep the tickets?
We had a raffle drum that I borrowed from my stepmom. I didn't want to buy one just for this event, but I am glad we had one.  I think you can get them for about $100 online, but a lot of elementary schools or car dealerships have them-ask if you can borrow one.

Did you give your top sellers any prizes?
We purchased three gift cards for the top two in sales ($50 and $25) and one random winner ($25). In order to be in the contest, you had to sell over $30 in tickets.

Who drew the winners?
We had someone who did not buy  tickets or sell tickets draw the names.  I didn't want someone to think it was rigged or anything, so we chose someone who didn't have anything to do with the tickets.  We also recorded it for anyone to see (just in case).

Where and when did you host the raffle?
The drawing was held at 11 am the day of the race.  We had time to finish cleaning up and then head to the office to draw.  I didn't want to lug all the prizes to the start/finish area and then worry about the wind and stuff.  It was easier to keep it all in one place.

What did you tickets say?
The State of TX is very specific about what needs to be on the tickets, I'm sure other states do as well.  I would check what your state requires.  Our tickets had our name, date and time of raffle, address, official rules, and the prize listing on one section.

Were you able to get ahold or everyone?
Yep!  We just called the number on the slip.  We did leave some voicemails, but they called back right away.  You always call back quickly when you win something!  It also helps to call everyone, leave messages if you have to, and then go back to the ones who you left messages for.  If they see a number a few times, they figure it is someone important.

Did you buy any raffle prizes?
We only bought one item, the GoPro Camera, all others were donated.  We needed to get the tickets printed and at that time we only had one 'big' item donated, so we voted to buy the other big item.  Some organizations buy all of their big items, but we only needed to buy one.

How much did you end up making from the raffle?
I am not sure the exact totals for the raffle.  We had sponsorships and registration fees to add up, but then expenses. It's hard to tell.  I do believe that without the raffle, we would have had a lot less profit, probably only about $3,000-$4,000 instead of $8,000.  (that could be bad math though!)

Where did you buy the raffle tickets?  Did you make them?
I got them online through a printer.  We order 4,000 of them and sold probably about 2,500-3,000. I don't have the exact totals in front of me.  We spent (with shipping) about $175 on the tickets.  I didn't want to print them ourselves because by the time we created them, bought the paper and ink, etc., we would have just spent that time on something else.  It is an expense, but worth it.

Edit:  I have now created an entire website about planning a 5K and also ebook with forms, spreadsheets and sponsor packets. 

SFASU NCAA Tournament

A few weeks ago, SFA's men's basketball team played in the NCAA Basketball tournament in California.  I got to see first hand how much the alumni of SFASU really cares about it's school and its legacy.  It was a very fun filled weekend! My FB newsfeed was filled with tons of images that cheered the guys on!  SFA spirit really showed that weekend.


On Friday we had a watch party at Lucky's Pub in downtown Houston.  They gave us the backroom of the bar thinking we wouldn't have that many people, but little did they know that we packed out the place with over 300 people!  I got to see a lot of people I went to college with, it was interesting that I had no idea how many SFA alums lived in Houston!  My friend Teri came with us (I told her to wear purple) to the watch party too and she cheered for SFA like it was her school!  That's what friends are for. :)

The game was a nail bitter to say the least!  The game was pretty much neck and neck, though sometimes we were up by 10 or they were.  Towards the end of the game we were starting to lose hope, but one of players got 4 points to tie up the game.    Then, one of the VCU players missed a 3 pointer and sent the game into overtime.  We went wild!

The next 5 minutes were a nail bitter for us, but the boys played well and SFA won the game!  On to the next round!!!  How exciting for them! I know that the VCU students were upset, especially since it looked like they were going to win at one point-I even saw one kid with a smug look on his face, but it just wasn't their game.  I really felt sorry for them, especially as one kid was crying on camera. :(

We were called a Cinderella team by the press for making it to the next round.

The next morning the local paper had a headline of Stephen F. Awesome.

The next game was scheduled for that Sunday evening.  I got there early to help setup the bar for the party with another alumni that I met on Friday.    Unfortutnely, we were losing most of the game by 5+ points.  The guys tried hard to hold them off, but the team was much more experienced and they were meant to go on to the next round.  God already had it worked out as to who was going to win.  SFA played well, but it was someone else's turn to win.

The players were really upset at the loss, but only one team can go on to the next round.  It was heartbreaking to see how sad they were.  I truly believe they thought they were going to go all the way.  I wanted them to.

If just one more student heard about SFA or is debating which school to attend, and they heard of SFA from this tournament, I say awesome!  I love my school and a little ole' town called Nacogdoches.  I would encourage any student to at least look at the campus before making a decision.  It may not be the biggest campus or the most exciting town, but there is something about those piney woods that gets in your soul.  I fell more in love with my school more in the weekend of this tournament.  This tournament showed me how proud I am to be a Lumberjack and what an honor is was to go there.  I loved it then and will always love it (even if they choose a new ugly logo).

Axe 'em Jacks!

The Driving Jacks 5K is Almost Here

 Some of you might remember the Driving Jacks 5K from last year where we raised $6,000 for the Driving Jacks Endowment Fund.  This year the 5K will held on April 20^th, 2013 and you will for sure not want to miss it!!  I, unfortunately, will have to miss it because I will be in Kenya, but I encourage everyone to attend.

What is Driving Jacks?  Driving Jacks is a nonprofit, student led organization at SFASU that gives FREE designated driver rides to SFASU students and anyone in the Nacogdoches, TX community.  Driving Jacks raises money through donations and fundraisers so they can continue operating.

Last year, the Driving Jacks alumni hosted the first annual Driving Jacks 5K (read my recap here) and it was a huge success!  Over 125 people registered for the event and we raised over $3,000 plus we had a very generous matching donation of $3,000 for a total of $6,000.  I was the Event Director last year, but this year I bowed out because I knew I would be busy with marathon training for the majority of the year.  Then, in January, I found out that I was going on my mission trip to Africa which was the same time as the 5K.  I was bummed that I couldn’t make it, but I did donate a Kindle to the door prizes so one lucky person will get that!!

Please think about registering for the 5K.  You can run, walk, crawl, skip, or any other way you want to complete the 5K.  In addition, if you choose not to run (or can’t make it to Nacogdoches that day) you can register for the 5K and I will mail you your 5K shirt!  You get to sleep in and help us raise $$ for Driving Jacks, it’s a win-win situation.

La Porte by the Bay Half Marathon 2012 Recap

On Sunday I finished my 3^rd half marathon and the final race in the Texas Bridge Series!!  The La Porte by the Bay Half Marathon was my first half marathon I ever completed and I completed it again for a second time in 2012.  My Uncle Roger and Aunt Laura also completed all three races in the Texas Bridge Series (see the Kemah and Galveston 10K recaps) with me. 

When you complete the Texas Bridge Series you get TWO medals!  The one of the left spins (the wavy part) and they both have glitter!!  I <3 glitter.

Jabba made sure to wake me up at his scheduled 5:11 am feeding time and I got dressed and packed my bag so I could change after I was done.  I started making a breakfast of oatmeal but when I tasted it, it was gross!  Since I was moving I had to use a serving stirrer that was HUGE so it didn’t work out to well.  I decided to just eat cheese and crackers on the way so I wouldn’t have to stop anymore.  I left my house later than I planned and got to my aunt and uncle’s house at about 6:40 am.  We left their house about 6:50 and got to the race at around 7:30.  They forgot their bibs so while I got my timing chip they went to see if they could get a new bib (they could).  I went to the porta potties (I loved how they had pink ones for women only at this race-no guys peeing all over the place!) and then got in line towards the back so people wouldn’t have to weave around me.

I decided to wear my SFA tech t-shirt for the race and  I got so many ‘Axe ‘em Jacks,”  “Go Lumberjacks”, “Lookin’ good Ladyjack” and more SFA comments that I need to wear this shirt a lot more often!  I counted and it was 7 people that said something.  I usually don’t have that many people commenting on my race wear choices.  Everyone loves a Lumberjack! :)

Ok sorry, back to the race.  The first two miles were weaving around people and getting in my groove.  At mile 3 ish I started remembering things from last year like where my family and friends were hanging out to cheer me on or where there was a bathroom last year (I had to pee!).  I walked A LOT this year since it was so hot and miserable.  It's December, it should NOT be this hot.  I wasn’t very prepared for this race this year mentally since I was moving the day before and was stressed out with that.  (Poor Jabba did NOT want to move.  More on that later).

Mile 4 is when I saw one of those big rig trucks and made the pull sign with my arm and they honked the horn.  I used to LOVE doing that when I was a kid. :)  The bridge was a killer this time around. I did a walk/run combo going up both sides and flew down on the other side.  Mile 8 I stopped to use the restroom since I didn’t think I could hold it to the other side of the bridge.  The line took forever!  Seriously, it was 3 or 4 minutes and I almost got out of line but I didn’t because I had to pee so bad.  After I used the restroom I went back over the bridge and finally I was at mile 10. 

Around mile 11 I started talking to a woman that lives way up in north Texas in Wichita Falls.  She is part of the Marathon Maniacs group and we chatted until mile 12.  I remembered from last year that once you turn the corner at mile 12 you can see the big green inflatable finish line.  I started to pick up the pace and every time I passed someone who was walking I tapped them on the shoulder and tried to motivate them to finish running with me.  One guys shirt said ‘your pace or mine’ and I told him my pace, stop walking come on.  At first he looked confused and then he said ‘oh, the back of my shirt’ then he started running with me.  I must have passed at least 20 people on that last mile.  I ran to the finish with my big group of stragglers and we all finished together.  Gotta finish strong! :)

 My final time was 2:35:16, which is a PR of from last year’s race at 2:52:05.  I didn’t beat my personal best from October, but I did get faster than last year.  I think if I wouldn’t have stopped to use the restroom I would have PR’d.  I think my time is pretty good considering that it wasn’t that much difference (6+ minutes) on a completely flat course.  I finished #50 in my age group out of #101, and #313 of #631 out of the women.  I was #753 to finish out of #1221, almost exactly half in both categories of women, but not half of the total participants. 

Afterwards I got some food to wait on my aunt and uncle.  I got a piece of pizza, oranges, bananas, water, and two sausage on a stick.  I was hungry!  I had taken some jelly sports beans and some gummies on the course, but I was very hungry when I got done.  Running Alliance Sports does a wonderful job of taking care of their runners before and after the race.  They are very organized and I have loved every race I have done with them (5 total now).  They always have plenty of food/water at the finish line and wait until everyone is done to pack up.  They even had shuttles taking us to the parking lot (about a mile away) so we wouldn't have to walk further.

I saw my uncle at the bottom of the bridge and my aunt towards the middle of the bridge so I thought they would be about 30 or 45 minutes behind me but I kept waiting and waiting and never saw them.  I thought I should get the car but then decided to wait for them since they shouldn’t be very much longer.  At the four hour time limit (I finished at 2:35) they started to pack up and I was beginning to get worried.  I told the race people at the finish line that I would hold on to their medals so they could have one.  They said they would wait for a few more minutes for them to finish and after that they would give them to me to hold them.  I would have hated for them to complete all of htem and not get a medal.  At four hours, 15 minutes I saw them coming in.  Thank goodness!! They got their medals and water then went to sit down.  What happened was that my uncle’s shoes broke at mile 8ish and he could barely walk in them.  Poor thing had blisters on his feet.  My aunt didn’t want to leave him so she stayed behind and finished with him.  Her phone died so she couldn’t call me to let me know what was going on.  The important thing was that we all finished and had lots of fun! 

                                                                                                                                      

My next race is an 18 mile race in Sugarland next Sunday.  See ya there!

Battle of the Piney Woods

The Battle of the Piney Woods was this weekend and it was held at Reliant Park.  BotPW is a football game between  the best college ever, Stephen F. Austin State University and their rival Sam Houston State University.  SFA and SAM have been playing this huge rivalry since 1925 and I have attended 5 out of the last 8 BotPW's.  The game had a record number in attendance at 26,185!!

On Friday night I went to a party hosted at the Westin Hotel off of Gessner towards West Houston.  I saw a few people that I knew, networked for a little bit, and went shopping at the t-shirt table. :)  As I was driving out of the parking garage I saw this SUV and I had to take a pic.  Love it!

Some of you might know that SFA hasn't always had the best football team, but we have heart!  Some years are better than other years at football, this year is not one of those better years (so far) unfortunately.

I went to the drink/food area and got a drink.  I didn't see any margaritas so I had to settle for beer. 
Beer Guy:  What kind of beer would you like?  Me:  I don't know, I don't like beer so you can choose.  I just need something to take the sting out of when SFA loses the game.  Beer Guy:  That's messed up.  Me:  I know, but I don't think SFA will win.

Best shirt ever! There were  some really funny SFA and SHSU shirts at the game that people were wearing.  There was one that they showed someone wearing on the jumbo screen that said "Lumberjacks take it up the Axe" haha.  I think that is really funny, you have to have a sense of humor.  My favorite shirt against SHSU is below.  Best shirt ever!  (for those of you that the jokes are lost on, SHSU is in Huntsville and Huntsville has a huge prison in the town.  Convicts=Orange.  Get it?)  (SFA's mascot is the Lumberjack, we 'raise' our Axe or say 'Axe 'em Jacks' or 'Kiss my Axe'  or 'Kick some Axe' hence the 'Take it up the Axe' shirt.)

Driving Jacks members and Alumni were plentiful at the BotPW!!  There are a few missing, but this is a majority that we could find.

Every time the Lumberjacks would score a cannon would go off, the cheerleaders would carry flags across the field, and the Lumberjack mascots would do pushups until they counted the score of SFA's points.  (picture courtesy of Spencer Streetman!)

The SFA band at halftime performing.  I am not sure what all songs they played, but I know that My Girl was one of them!  Sam Houston's band performed also, but I wasn't paying much attention. Sorry. :/

At the end of the third quarter we were behind by about 20 points.  We tried to catch up and came close at 41-52 when we had the ball, but the passes were incomplete at the 29 yard line and the SHSU Bearkats won the game. :(  If would have been able to make that pass we might have been able to tie the score up.  That's ok Lumberjacks!  #NextYear we will #KickSomeAxe

At the end of the game we all hold up our Axe and sing our school song. This pic is of the band and football team. 

I loved the game even though we lost.  I got to see tons of my SFA friends that I haven't seen in awhile except for on FB.  Next year we will come back with a vengance Sam and beat some Bearkat bootie.

Axe 'em!