Race Report: GYRIG 5K

Race: Get Your Rear In Gear 5K

Distance: 5K

Goal Time: None

Actual Time: 1:10:??

This 5K was really just a chance to do something active with the family while my sister was visiting.  In our family, Beth and I lead the health kick, but it has rubbed off on Theresa as she works off her baby weight and to Mom as she works to keep her diabetes in check. I succeeded in bribing Beth to do this event as a chance to meet Scotty in person.  Mom was relieved when I told her that Brackenridge Park is flat and shady - quite the opposite from her previous 5K experience.  Theresa came along for the ride with the kids in tow.  I was really glad that Amanda decided to come out too!  She kidnapped Brittany and bribed her with brunch to round out our posse at the event.  

It was cool and breezy  on race day.  The course was perfect - shady and picturesque.  We took a short break about halfway, but we had to stop a couple of times to put the wheel back on Theresa's wagon for the kids.  We just chatted and made faces at the kids the whole way and crossed the finish around 1:10:00.  As walkers, we weren't officially timed, but I'm proud of it considering we started at the very back and had the few stops.  Brittany didn't start out believing me that it wouldn't be too bad.  Just get her chatting and the time just flies by! I hope she's a convert and that she and Amanda and I will do another walk together in the future (hint hint!). 


It was a great way to start the day.  Afterward came brunch with everyone at the nearest IHOP, then our family split off for more playing in the park.  It was a beautiful way to spend the a gorgeous San Antonio spring day. 


I'll end with a shout out to Cotton "Pa" Hobson, my brother-in-law's grandfather who died of colon cancer a few years ago.  Beth dedicated her walk to him. 


Other race reports: 
Scotty's Race Report
Running Raider
Amanda's report
Official Photographs

Check back later for more pictures! (I'll upload them soon, I promise!)

The Gerard Butler Double Feature Weekend

This weekend was incredibly busy, going to and fro to different family events to entertain my visiting sister.  Gerard Butler is one of our favorite actors so it was a no-brainer that these movies were on our radar. We made it to two movies, both with Gerard Butler as one of the key cast members: Bounty Hunter at Alamo Drafthouse was our "twin date," and How to Train Your Dragon was something we watched with our mom.

Bounty Hunter follows a reporter chasing a story who fails to appear at her court date.  Her ex-husband, a bounty hunter, takes the job of bringing her back to jail for skipping bail. 

I was hoping that this movie would be the next Mr. and Mrs. Smith - no pun or social commentary intended.  It wasn't.  I think it could have been with more work on the script or better storyboards or photography.  It ended up just being a cute movie instead of a great movie.  I had a blast watching this with my sister, but overall it's forgettable.  However I highly recommend Breckenridge's Agave Wheat seasonal- a very refreshing hefeweisen.

Again, I was put off by Gerard Butler's "I haven't shaved in two weeks" look.  Perhaps that was applicable to this particular character, but to me it just looks messy and lazy.  It still does the trick for my sister, so there's still at least some demand for it somewhere.

How to Train Your Dragon follows Hiccup, a teenage viking that is the laughingstock of his town because he is too puny to fight dragons, the town's main occupation.  He uses his ingenuity with mechanics to catch the dreaded nightfury and prove himself to the clan in a way he never intended.

Dreamworks did a great job with this movie.  Everything came together well: characters were unique individuals, the animation really established the culture and environment, and the story was really moving.  (No, I didn't cry.)  I'm definitely going to buy this when it comes out.

The cast on this were all relatively up-and-coming younger actors as the viking teenagers- America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, and Jay Baruchel. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they will do next.  Gerard Butler does a great job as the town chief and Hiccup's father.

We saw this movie at Santikos Silverado.  I was reminded again why I prefer the Drafthouse, even besides the food and beverage service.  Perhaps the mistake was ours by seeing a PG movie on a Sunday afternoon.  There were kids screaming in the theater every thirty minutes or so.  It completely ruined a poignant scene.  The 18-and-up-all-shows rule at Drafthouse has sheltered me for a long while.

If you're going to see a Gerard Butler move, go see How to Train Your Dragon, or rent Timeline or 300. I imagine Bounty Hunter will go down on the list of movies that no one will remember.

Angel Time by Anne Rice

I finally finished Angel Time by Anne Rice.  This book is the first in her new Songs of the Seraphim series, focusing on the intervention of angels into the human world.  Angel Time follows Toby O'Dare, a professional assassin who is offered a chance at redemption.  It is a Christian historical novel that looks into Jewish-Christian relations in Europe in the Middle Ages. 

This is my first time to read Anne Rice, Christian fiction, or a historical novel.  I'm thinking that it's just not my thing which is why I really contemplating abandoning it.  The book is written from mostly Toby's point of view, with a short stint from the angel Malchiah's point of view.  The whole middle was mostly listening to other characters relate previous events.  I was only intrigued by the first few and final few chapters where the main character was actually doing something.  Maybe I'm too used to fantasy books where the main character is actively slaying dragons or some such. 

For me, this book was a snooze-fest. I really wanted to like Anne Rice, but Angel Time just didn't do it for me.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I don't remember how I came across Stardust, but I know I was attracted first to the movie, then to the book.  I am notorious for picking up random "B" movies from the local movie rental establishment, especially bad sci-fi/fantasy.  I don't even remember this movie coming out in theaters in 2007.  Either way, it was a random pick off the wall for a movie rental sometime last year.  I immediately loved it.

In the tranquil fields and meadows of long-ago England, there is a small hamlet that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 years. Just to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here, in the hamlet of Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. And here, one crisp October eve, Tristran makes his love a promise -- an impetuous vow that will send him through the only breach in the wall, across the pasture... and into the most exhilarating adventure of his life.  - from neilgaiman.com.

The movie was great. Great story with adventure, excitement, and a melt-your-heart love story.  Great cast including Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, I adore Claire Danes, and I think that's what attracted me to this movie first. (I absolutely adored Stage Beauty.) The male lead Charlie Cox also did a great job.  As soon as I saw the DVD in the previewed pile for less than ten bucks (my requirements for adding movies to my already ridiculous collection), it was mine.

After that, I discovered Neil Gaiman as an author.  I read Neverwhere last fall, which I picked up because the cover cited Stardust.  It is only now that I managed to finish Stardust the novel, and it is even better than the movie. 


The ending is different than that of the movie, which I understand why the movie people changed it for a more dramatic culminating point.  I loved the sword fight scene at the end of the movie, but the real ending has so much more finesse.  It's so subtle, you don't even see it coming, but it doesn't hit you like a slap in the face, more like a brand-new pillow cased in Egyptian cotton.  It lets you know that all is right with the world, there are unseen forces pulling strings behind the scenes, but the good guys get rewarded in the end.

His style is different than what I remembered about Neverwhere.  In this book, his voice is fairly whimsical, mainly accomplished through asides about miscellaneous creatures in the land of Faerie.  He uses third omniscient to jump between characters, and it is amazing how much you can tell about a person without having to know their thoughts.  As a novice writer, after reading this I realize much I rely on being able to know the character's thoughts in order to advance a story.

I highly recommend the movie, but even more so the book.  Your life will be enriched by it.

Race Report: Run Wild for Brainpower

Race: Run Wild for Brainpower 5K

Distance: 5K

Goal Time: 36-38 minutes

Actual Time: 37:44 (12:10 min/mi)

Alamo Series Tally: 1 of 1

This is my second March 5K benefiting University of the Incarnate Word’s Track and Field team.  They advertised the course as flat and fast around the UIW campus. This was my first time to run this event, but it was well organized and fast indeed.

This is the first of 2010’s Alamo Series, which is a collection of nine local races leading up to the November Rock’N’Roll Marathon/Half Marathon.  If you finish seven or more races, you get some pretty nice swag –embroidered clothing with the Alamo Series logo.  I finished 6 last year, missing the first two events.  I’m going to try to do the longer of the available distances at these races.  The longest events are a 20 miler in September and a 25K (15.5 miles) in October.

I really had some motivation issues race morning.  First it was twenty degrees colder than I was expecting – in the 30s when I woke up, rising into the 40s during the race, with a wicked cold wind.  Then I didn’t want to make breakfast.  I got to the race start with my stomach growling and mumbling something about coffee. I wanted to ditch the race, go home and curl up under the covers.  I had to call my personal cheerleader/life coach (my sister) who yelled at me for even thinking about getting fast food breakfast and guilted me into staying for the short time it would take me to finish the short race. Then they delayed race start, which meant I would definitely not be done and cleaned up in time for my editing group. 

Once I got rid of the stress of trying to do too much in a day, I relaxed a bit.  The race itself was nice.  I should have worn my trail shoes for the bits of off-roading along the course, but my regular shoes did fine. Again, my HR monitor was out of batteries so I just ran how I felt. I kind of zoned out and hardly looked at my watch.  The campus was pretty, red brink with white stone accents that made me miss the architecture of Texas Tech a little bit.

I really wanted a 36 minute time, but I’m happy with my 37:44, my fastest 5K yet in 2010. Granted, this was much less difficult than the recent trail runs and not nearly as hilly as the AHHS run.  According to the stats I keep, I did a lot better in the field than in my February runs.  I was in the 95^th and 90^th percentile in my age group for the Eisenhower 10K and the Salado 8mi, respectively.  I was 82^nd percentile at the AHHS 5K, and 55^th percentile yesterday.  (Yes, I know I’m a nerd about numbers.  At least I’m not yet as obsessed with number of miles per week.)   My time is pretty average for me, so I’m curious to see if this was an anomaly or if I have in fact improved compared to others in my age group.

Scotty’s Race Review

All Results

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