Tuesday, October 16, 2007
I Couldn't Have Said It Better Myself
John-Michael included us in one of his posts on his blog...Darissas getting murried.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Priceless
Wine Tasting at Becker Vineyard-$23
An Engagement Ring-$XXXXX
Asking a Woman to Marry You and She Says "Yes"-PRICELESS
I hate to relate my engagement to a commercial marketing campaign, but it is a good one and I did purchase the engagement ring and the wine tasting using my MasterCard (for the points)!
On September 1st, Marisa and I decided to go the annual Grape Stomp at Becker Vineyards between Johnson City and Fredricksburg. For all she knew, it was supposed to be a quiet Labor Day weekend with just the two of us at Horseshoe Bay. The day started with us running to a restaurant two miles away for breakfast with a leisurely walk back to help burn off the delicious breakfast burrito. We then headed off to Becker about 40 miles south of Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls.
To my dismay, when we arrived the parking lot was full. We have been to several vineyards in the hill country and usually there are only a handful of people at each which makes for a very unique and personalized experience. I guess the Grape Stomp is a big hit; there must have been at least 100 couples. To make matters worse, it had started to drizzle so the guests were gathered inside the tasting room and under the porches to keep dry instead of spread across the beautiful courtyard. I was hoping to find a secluded area so that we could have some privacy, but privacy tended to elude me. I had never been to Becker before and was pretty much winging it. The only constraint was that we needed to be in San Antonio by 7 p.m. to meet some friends and family to celebrate.
I was nervous and wasn't too sure about what I was going to say. However, the day before I had lunch with a good friend who told me not to worry about it. He said that it is similar to a Charlie Brown special; all the women hear is "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Will You Marry Me?" Remembering this tended to put my mind at ease. But, I was constantly glancing around trying to find the perfect spot while keeping an eye on my watch...I calculated that I would pop the question around 5:15 because we needed to be on our way to San Antonio by 5:45. I kept feeling the outline of the ring in my pocket to make sure it was still there; I didn't bring the ring in the box because it was too big and would certainly be too obvious.
During our wine tasting, we just happened to be served by the vineyard's wedding coordinator. She and Marisa spoke about weddings as Marisa promoted her event planning business, Charmed Events. At one point in the conversation the coordinator asked when we were going to get engaged. I thought to myself this would be a perfect segue to a proposal but quickly regained by senses and refrained...I didn't want to propose on the floor of a wine tasting room. But if they only knew that the ring was in my pocket.
Finally, I found a great little wrought iron table sitting by itself with a couple of wooden rocking chairs under the porch of the bed and breakfast. We sat at the table and enjoyed the wine with our cheese and crackers. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous with a large oak tree and vineyards in the background along with the smell of fresh lavender and rain. I knew this was the perfect time (not to mention that it was about 10 minutes past 5pm). I got down on one knee and proposed.
Marisa had no idea what I was doing, and I caught her significantly off guard. She accepted simultaneously as she began to cry. There was a couple walking by who probably initially thought this was an unhappy occasion rather than a joyous one. They congratulated us, and we asked them to take a picture for posterity.
An Engagement Ring-$XXXXX
Asking a Woman to Marry You and She Says "Yes"-PRICELESS
I hate to relate my engagement to a commercial marketing campaign, but it is a good one and I did purchase the engagement ring and the wine tasting using my MasterCard (for the points)!
On September 1st, Marisa and I decided to go the annual Grape Stomp at Becker Vineyards between Johnson City and Fredricksburg. For all she knew, it was supposed to be a quiet Labor Day weekend with just the two of us at Horseshoe Bay. The day started with us running to a restaurant two miles away for breakfast with a leisurely walk back to help burn off the delicious breakfast burrito. We then headed off to Becker about 40 miles south of Horseshoe Bay and Marble Falls.
To my dismay, when we arrived the parking lot was full. We have been to several vineyards in the hill country and usually there are only a handful of people at each which makes for a very unique and personalized experience. I guess the Grape Stomp is a big hit; there must have been at least 100 couples. To make matters worse, it had started to drizzle so the guests were gathered inside the tasting room and under the porches to keep dry instead of spread across the beautiful courtyard. I was hoping to find a secluded area so that we could have some privacy, but privacy tended to elude me. I had never been to Becker before and was pretty much winging it. The only constraint was that we needed to be in San Antonio by 7 p.m. to meet some friends and family to celebrate.
I was nervous and wasn't too sure about what I was going to say. However, the day before I had lunch with a good friend who told me not to worry about it. He said that it is similar to a Charlie Brown special; all the women hear is "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Will You Marry Me?" Remembering this tended to put my mind at ease. But, I was constantly glancing around trying to find the perfect spot while keeping an eye on my watch...I calculated that I would pop the question around 5:15 because we needed to be on our way to San Antonio by 5:45. I kept feeling the outline of the ring in my pocket to make sure it was still there; I didn't bring the ring in the box because it was too big and would certainly be too obvious.
During our wine tasting, we just happened to be served by the vineyard's wedding coordinator. She and Marisa spoke about weddings as Marisa promoted her event planning business, Charmed Events. At one point in the conversation the coordinator asked when we were going to get engaged. I thought to myself this would be a perfect segue to a proposal but quickly regained by senses and refrained...I didn't want to propose on the floor of a wine tasting room. But if they only knew that the ring was in my pocket.
Finally, I found a great little wrought iron table sitting by itself with a couple of wooden rocking chairs under the porch of the bed and breakfast. We sat at the table and enjoyed the wine with our cheese and crackers. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous with a large oak tree and vineyards in the background along with the smell of fresh lavender and rain. I knew this was the perfect time (not to mention that it was about 10 minutes past 5pm). I got down on one knee and proposed.
Marisa had no idea what I was doing, and I caught her significantly off guard. She accepted simultaneously as she began to cry. There was a couple walking by who probably initially thought this was an unhappy occasion rather than a joyous one. They congratulated us, and we asked them to take a picture for posterity.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Jorge
Marisa and I went to a charity event last night in San Antonio, For the Love of Kids & Harleys. It was a really nice event benefitting children's charities in San Antonio. We had the pleasure of meeting George Strait. He was quite personable and surprisingly funny. We told him that he should make another movie, and he replied that he couldn't because Dusty died.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
I'm Back
I just noticed my last post was back in 2005. I'm going to start blogging again to chronicle my new training program which I plan to begin next week. As luck would have it, I came down with a cold last weekend, but I'm feeling much better now. I stopped running due to various demands both personally and professionally, and before I knew it I gained about 25 lbs...actually I gained it back over the last year and a half. My goal is to train for the AT&T half marathon in Austin in February and lose most of the recent weight. I'll post pictures to track the progress. Stay tuned.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Austin Toros
A friend of mine was kind enough to give us tickets to the inaugural home game of the Austin Toros, Austin's team in the NBA development league that is affiliated with the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and the 2005 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. I must admit that my expectations were very low, but it made for a fun evening. It would be great for kids...I think I'll take my nephew. We had 2nd row seats, and my friends had courtside seats. They left early so we were able to move up and sit courtside for the remainder of the game; the seats were amazing.
Austin Toros first home game.
Unfortunately, the Toros lost 100-95 against the Fayetteville Patriots. Better luck next time.
Austin Toros first home game.
Unfortunately, the Toros lost 100-95 against the Fayetteville Patriots. Better luck next time.
Motive Half Marathon and Turkey Trot
Last Sunday I ran the Motive Bison Half Marathon in 2:14:35 which is a 10:16 pace and a Personal Record. I could have shaved another 4 minutes off my time if I didn't half to wait in line at the Port-O-Let at about mile 8. Despite the fact that the course has a steep hill around mile 5 that lasts about a mile, I ran the whole distance without any walking (except for the bathroom break) and shattered my February Freescale half marathon time of 2:37 . As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I ran the Motive course about 3 weeks earlier and it did give me some much needed confidence. Unfortunately, I think it gave me too much, and I didn't train the last three weeks as much as I should have. It was a great race, and I met up with some friends afterwards to celebrate at Jardin Corona, a pretty decent Mexican restaurant in north Austin.
On Thanksgiving, I ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot around the UT campus. After running 13.1 miles on Sunday, I thought 5 miles would be a piece of cake. For me it was much harder than running the Motive half marathon. I think it was because my body wasn't fully recovered even though I felt great, the temperature was a warm 73 degrees vs a chilly 53 degrees on Sunday, the course was quite hilly, and I ran slightly faster at a 9:57 mile pace. I finished in just under 50 minutes. It always feels great to get up and run before gorging yourself on turkey and all the trimmings. I think I gained 5 lbs this Thanksgiving week, so I need to hit it hard on Monday.
On Thanksgiving, I ran the 5 mile Turkey Trot around the UT campus. After running 13.1 miles on Sunday, I thought 5 miles would be a piece of cake. For me it was much harder than running the Motive half marathon. I think it was because my body wasn't fully recovered even though I felt great, the temperature was a warm 73 degrees vs a chilly 53 degrees on Sunday, the course was quite hilly, and I ran slightly faster at a 9:57 mile pace. I finished in just under 50 minutes. It always feels great to get up and run before gorging yourself on turkey and all the trimmings. I think I gained 5 lbs this Thanksgiving week, so I need to hit it hard on Monday.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Crossing the Finish Line
I am only $230 away from raising my goal of $1,000. Your generous donations are welcome and will enable me to cross my fundraising finish line very soon. Unfortunately, I received the email below a few weeks ago; it underscores the importance of finding a cure for cancer.
This is a reminder of why we do it. On Friday, October 14th, one of our old honor hero is now an honor angel. At the age of 6 years old, Justin Rodriquez said good bye to the world of hurt and pain and hello to a new life with his Saviour. He is now free of pain that he had known his entire life battling a form of leukemia. Carlos and Stephanie worked very hard to keep him going but his body could no longer keep up. Justin did have a bone marrow transplant from his sister in I believe 2002 when he became an honor patient for the marathon team.
Hopefully what we are doing this season and for seasons to come, a cure will be found for Leukemia and Lymphoma and Myeloma. Good luck on fund raising and your event if you are active this season. If you are alumni, think about coming back for another season. The fight is a long way from being won.
This is a reminder of why we do it. On Friday, October 14th, one of our old honor hero is now an honor angel. At the age of 6 years old, Justin Rodriquez said good bye to the world of hurt and pain and hello to a new life with his Saviour. He is now free of pain that he had known his entire life battling a form of leukemia. Carlos and Stephanie worked very hard to keep him going but his body could no longer keep up. Justin did have a bone marrow transplant from his sister in I believe 2002 when he became an honor patient for the marathon team.
Hopefully what we are doing this season and for seasons to come, a cure will be found for Leukemia and Lymphoma and Myeloma. Good luck on fund raising and your event if you are active this season. If you are alumni, think about coming back for another season. The fight is a long way from being won.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Motive Half-Marathon Course
Needless to say, with all of the wedding activities, UT Longhorn games, and craziness at work, my training has been suffering. I did manage to run 18 miles the week of the wedding, but have only run 8 miles in the past 2 weeks prior to Saturday. My Team in Training group has a regularly scheduled long run on Saturday mornings, but I have missed the last three. The last long run I did was 8.2 miles so when I found out this week's run was the whole Motive Half-Marathon course of 13.1 miles, I was more than a little initimidated and anxious. Not only that, we had a "reorganization" at work on Friday so I went to happy hour Friday evening with my new boss and had 6 beers since he was buying. I don't think that's quite the kind of carb loading I should be doing, but the run went surprisingly well. I did the whole run it about 2:24 minutes which included a 7 minute bathroom stop and a couple of water/gatorade stops.
My primary goal was to finish the distance with a secondary goal of running the entire distance without any walking. I accomplished both! It's is really amazing what your body can do if you put your mind to it. Of course, I also remembered why I was out running on Saturday morning, to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I recently received an email saying that our honored hero is now an honored angel, a 6 year-old boy lost his battle with cancer. I feel very fortunate that I am physically able to run and run simply because I can.
This was the run that I really needed to complete to reinvigorate my training, and to give me back my self-confidence. I have already completed the course, so the Motive Half-Marathon in 3 weeks should be fairly easy. My goal now is to establish a Personal Record. Did I mention that the weather was a perfect 58 degrees? There is one mean hill on the course that increases over 250 ft over a distance of one mile. See my heart rate graph below; the red area is the altitude:
Heart Rate, Speed, Distance, and Altitude Graph
As you can see, I need to calibrate my Polar s625x as it only shows 12.8 miles instead of 13.1.
My primary goal was to finish the distance with a secondary goal of running the entire distance without any walking. I accomplished both! It's is really amazing what your body can do if you put your mind to it. Of course, I also remembered why I was out running on Saturday morning, to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. I recently received an email saying that our honored hero is now an honored angel, a 6 year-old boy lost his battle with cancer. I feel very fortunate that I am physically able to run and run simply because I can.
This was the run that I really needed to complete to reinvigorate my training, and to give me back my self-confidence. I have already completed the course, so the Motive Half-Marathon in 3 weeks should be fairly easy. My goal now is to establish a Personal Record. Did I mention that the weather was a perfect 58 degrees? There is one mean hill on the course that increases over 250 ft over a distance of one mile. See my heart rate graph below; the red area is the altitude:
Heart Rate, Speed, Distance, and Altitude Graph
As you can see, I need to calibrate my Polar s625x as it only shows 12.8 miles instead of 13.1.
Married? Yea, Married
Well, Richard and Lauren finally got married in Houston after 16 months of engagement and one postponement. They were originally supposed to get married on the weekend of September 24th, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Rita; they were married on Friday, October 14th instead. As I said in my Best Man speech, things happen for a reason, and I think this makes for a funny story and makes their wedding more unique, memorable, and meaningful. You know they say it is lucky if it rains on your wedding day, so Richard and Lauren should have a tremendous amount of luck since there was a hurricane on their original wedding day.
The wedding was beautiful and went off without a hitch which was a bit surprising since Lauren had to undo the original wedding in 2 days and replan it a few weeks later in less than 5. Also, since it was a Friday night wedding (due to church availability), most of the wedding party were unable to attend rehearsal on Thursday night as most folks don't live in H-town.
Congratulations and Good Luck, Richard and Lauren!
Congratulations! Richard and Lauren are finally married.
My nephew, Kaleb, at Richard and Lauren's wedding. He looks sharp in his little tux.
Matt, myself, Richard, and Steve celebrating at the wedding reception.
The wedding was beautiful and went off without a hitch which was a bit surprising since Lauren had to undo the original wedding in 2 days and replan it a few weeks later in less than 5. Also, since it was a Friday night wedding (due to church availability), most of the wedding party were unable to attend rehearsal on Thursday night as most folks don't live in H-town.
Congratulations and Good Luck, Richard and Lauren!
Congratulations! Richard and Lauren are finally married.
My nephew, Kaleb, at Richard and Lauren's wedding. He looks sharp in his little tux.
Matt, myself, Richard, and Steve celebrating at the wedding reception.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Victory is Sweet
My training really suffered this week, and week-to-date I have only run 4 miles; however, I do plan on going to Town Lake later this afternoon so I should finish the week with a meager 8 miles.
Part of my distraction was that I went to the 100th anniversary of the Red River Rivalry this weekend in Dallas. Since the tickets were going for over $300/each on eBay, we decided that we would just get scalped tickets on game day for less. Due to the sold out crowd there were not that many tickets to be had, and the prices were going up quickly as game time approached, so we ended up getting desperate and paying $280/each for the OU side in the end zone. Ouch! So much for our brilliant plan, we should have bought the tickets on eBay.
The OU fans weren't happy that we were sitting among them...especially since we destroyed them :)
By the way, those aren't index fingers.
Actually, the OU fans weren't that bad except for one loud mouth that my brother offered "a warm glass of shut the f*** up." I have never been to a Texas vs OU rivalry game so it was sweet that we won with the largest margin of victory in 64 years!! We let the scoreboard do the talking.
Final score Horns 45, Sooners 12!!
Vince Young after the game.
Richard, Tyler, Sara, and myself after the game (with Big Tex in the background).
After the game we had dinner with my sister, her fiance, and my nephew, Kaleb. Kaleb is so cute. He wanted to go home to Austin with us, and when we went to the car to leave, he got in his normal seat in the back of my car, put his seat belt on, and wouldn't get out (until his mother started counting...you know the ominous count..I think she only got to 2 and he was quickly out of the car).
It was great fun and I look forward to going again next year.
Part of my distraction was that I went to the 100th anniversary of the Red River Rivalry this weekend in Dallas. Since the tickets were going for over $300/each on eBay, we decided that we would just get scalped tickets on game day for less. Due to the sold out crowd there were not that many tickets to be had, and the prices were going up quickly as game time approached, so we ended up getting desperate and paying $280/each for the OU side in the end zone. Ouch! So much for our brilliant plan, we should have bought the tickets on eBay.
The OU fans weren't happy that we were sitting among them...especially since we destroyed them :)
By the way, those aren't index fingers.
Actually, the OU fans weren't that bad except for one loud mouth that my brother offered "a warm glass of shut the f*** up." I have never been to a Texas vs OU rivalry game so it was sweet that we won with the largest margin of victory in 64 years!! We let the scoreboard do the talking.
Final score Horns 45, Sooners 12!!
Vince Young after the game.
Richard, Tyler, Sara, and myself after the game (with Big Tex in the background).
After the game we had dinner with my sister, her fiance, and my nephew, Kaleb. Kaleb is so cute. He wanted to go home to Austin with us, and when we went to the car to leave, he got in his normal seat in the back of my car, put his seat belt on, and wouldn't get out (until his mother started counting...you know the ominous count..I think she only got to 2 and he was quickly out of the car).
It was great fun and I look forward to going again next year.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
IBM Uptown Classic 10k
This morning I ran the IBM Uptown Classic 10k with my friend Sara.
Starting line of IBM Uptown Classic 10k
Although the temperature was only around 80 degrees, it seemed really hot and I started struggling around mile 3. I guess it was the humidity. Around mile 5 I started to get my second wind and ended finishing in 1 hour and 2 minutes, a 10:07/mile pace. Although that's not fast, it is a personal best for me; I think the last 10k I ran in April I averaged around 11:00/mile.
Crossing the Finish Line.
Afterwards, I had free Mangia pizza and watched the John Wayne Gacy clown.
Freak John Wayne Gacy Clown.
I had 2 beers and 2 glasses of wine on Saturday night and considered that my carbohydrate loading; however, I don't think that works so well. After my 8.2 mile run two weeks ago, I gained significant confidence but had a wake up call this morning. If the half-marathon were today, I would be walking at mile 7; I really struggled to finish this race.
Starting line of IBM Uptown Classic 10k
Although the temperature was only around 80 degrees, it seemed really hot and I started struggling around mile 3. I guess it was the humidity. Around mile 5 I started to get my second wind and ended finishing in 1 hour and 2 minutes, a 10:07/mile pace. Although that's not fast, it is a personal best for me; I think the last 10k I ran in April I averaged around 11:00/mile.
Crossing the Finish Line.
Afterwards, I had free Mangia pizza and watched the John Wayne Gacy clown.
Freak John Wayne Gacy Clown.
I had 2 beers and 2 glasses of wine on Saturday night and considered that my carbohydrate loading; however, I don't think that works so well. After my 8.2 mile run two weeks ago, I gained significant confidence but had a wake up call this morning. If the half-marathon were today, I would be walking at mile 7; I really struggled to finish this race.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Long Run
I met with my fellow Team in Training members in the parking lot of Austin High School at 6:30 on Saturday morning. We started by listening to a heartfelt story of a fellow runner who had lost a friend to Hodgkin's disease. It really puts running in perspective and makes me realize that I am running because I can, and, for that, I am very thankful. One of the TnT sayings is that running long distances and raising money is difficult, but try chemotherapy.
The planned run was 7 miles down Lake Austin Blvd and in the beautiful neighborhood in and around Scenic Blvd on the North Side of Lake Austin. The course was great because it had a significant number of hills which was great training. Plus, the view of the lake and the amazing houses kept me "sightseeing" instead of thinking of the run. This week's run was going to prove to be a confidence builder or confidence buster because the furthest I have run recently is 6 miles, and that was several weeks ago.
The group that I was running with got lost; it was a case of the blind leading the blind. Luckily, I had my Polar watch that keeps distance so I could still tell how far we had been running even though we strayed from the original course. My goal was just to complete the original 7 miles wherever that happened to be and walk back to Austin high, if necessary. However, once I hit the 7 mile mark, I couldn't stop. Everything felt great and I was in the groove experiencing runner's high. The final run was 8.2 miles in 1 hour and 26 minutes or a 10:30/mile pace including 2 water stops. What a great run!!
Unfortunately, I was only able to run 8 miles earlier in the week, so my weekly mileage was 16.2 miles. I was shooting for 20 miles. Next week's long run is supposed to be 8 miles, but I won't be able to run with the group because I'll be in Houston for my brother's wedding. I am planning to get a couple of runs in at Memorial Park.
The planned run was 7 miles down Lake Austin Blvd and in the beautiful neighborhood in and around Scenic Blvd on the North Side of Lake Austin. The course was great because it had a significant number of hills which was great training. Plus, the view of the lake and the amazing houses kept me "sightseeing" instead of thinking of the run. This week's run was going to prove to be a confidence builder or confidence buster because the furthest I have run recently is 6 miles, and that was several weeks ago.
The group that I was running with got lost; it was a case of the blind leading the blind. Luckily, I had my Polar watch that keeps distance so I could still tell how far we had been running even though we strayed from the original course. My goal was just to complete the original 7 miles wherever that happened to be and walk back to Austin high, if necessary. However, once I hit the 7 mile mark, I couldn't stop. Everything felt great and I was in the groove experiencing runner's high. The final run was 8.2 miles in 1 hour and 26 minutes or a 10:30/mile pace including 2 water stops. What a great run!!
Unfortunately, I was only able to run 8 miles earlier in the week, so my weekly mileage was 16.2 miles. I was shooting for 20 miles. Next week's long run is supposed to be 8 miles, but I won't be able to run with the group because I'll be in Houston for my brother's wedding. I am planning to get a couple of runs in at Memorial Park.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Running for a Reason
I recently joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training to help prepare for the Motive Bison Stampede half marathon in November while raising money for a good cause. This organization provides a coach, training program, and most importantly an environment of individuals committed in finding a cure for cancer. My goal is to raise $1,000 for the event and will match any donation up to $250 made on my donation website. Additionally, I donated $50 just to kick it off. By the way, all donations are tax-deductible.
I am sure that at some point in our lives cancer in one way or another has affected all of us. We all know someone who has been affected. Modern research has made huge strides in finding a cure; however, there is much work still to be done. The Society has invested more than $424 million in research, and I would like to do my small part in increasing this amount. Won't you join me?
I am sure that at some point in our lives cancer in one way or another has affected all of us. We all know someone who has been affected. Modern research has made huge strides in finding a cure; however, there is much work still to be done. The Society has invested more than $424 million in research, and I would like to do my small part in increasing this amount. Won't you join me?
Richard's Bachelor Party
We went to New Orleans for Richard's bachelor party last Thursday and returned Sunday less than 12 hours before Hurricane Katrina hit. We had a really great time doing the requisite bachelor party activities including gambling at Harrah's, boobs on Bourbon Street, and plenty of Hurricanes and Hand Grenades.
Drinking hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's on Friday night. We were oblivious that Hurricane Katrina was on her way to New Orleans.
On Saturday night when it was apparent that Hurricane Katrina was heading towards New Orleans, it got pretty scary because United and Delta canceled all of their flights out of the city. We were scheduled on a 12 noon flight out on Southwest airlines on Sunday, but were worried that Southwest would cancel its flights as well based on the speed of the hurricane heading towards NOLA. We decided that we would just rent a car and road trip it home; we thought that would actually be fun. I started calling all of the rental car agencies around 10pm, and all of them were sold out.
I then started calling other airlines to see if we could book an earlier flight just in case our flight was canceled. Every airline was sold out to every city serviced by the airlines. By this point, I wanted a contingency plan, and just wanted a flight to Houston but would go to Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland... anywhere but New Orleans. Additionally, the city was about to announce a mandatory evacuation and initiated "contra flow" in which the major highways out of the city were changed to one direction. The folks at our hotel said during the last hurricane, the roads were so congested with people evacuating the city, that it took 6 hours to get from downtown to the airport.
We decided to leave for the airport at 1:30 am to provide for any delays and to go stand by on all the earlier flights to ensure we made it out. Luckily, there was no traffic at that time of the morning, and it only took us 30 minutes to get to the airport. While in the taxi, we heard someone on the dispatch looking for a cab to drive some folks to Houston for $700. In the back of my mind, this was my contingency plan if we didn't make a flight.
Sleeping in the Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans.
Once at the airport, I withdrew $1,000 cash from the ATM machine in order to hire a taxi or bribe someone to pick us up while hitchhiking on the highway if we didn't make a flight. Luckily, we finally got on a 9:30 am flight to Houston. As soon as we took off, the pilot came on and said the storm was 37 miles south of New Orleans and said to look out the left side of the aircraft to view the storm. It was an amazing sight; I wish I would have taken a picture. I am very thankful that we got out when we did and have tremendous sympathy for those who did not and for those who lost everything, including their lives. I have been glued to CNN, Fox, and MSNBC all week long. The devestation and chaos is unbelievable.
Drinking hurricanes at Pat O'Brien's on Friday night. We were oblivious that Hurricane Katrina was on her way to New Orleans.
On Saturday night when it was apparent that Hurricane Katrina was heading towards New Orleans, it got pretty scary because United and Delta canceled all of their flights out of the city. We were scheduled on a 12 noon flight out on Southwest airlines on Sunday, but were worried that Southwest would cancel its flights as well based on the speed of the hurricane heading towards NOLA. We decided that we would just rent a car and road trip it home; we thought that would actually be fun. I started calling all of the rental car agencies around 10pm, and all of them were sold out.
I then started calling other airlines to see if we could book an earlier flight just in case our flight was canceled. Every airline was sold out to every city serviced by the airlines. By this point, I wanted a contingency plan, and just wanted a flight to Houston but would go to Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland... anywhere but New Orleans. Additionally, the city was about to announce a mandatory evacuation and initiated "contra flow" in which the major highways out of the city were changed to one direction. The folks at our hotel said during the last hurricane, the roads were so congested with people evacuating the city, that it took 6 hours to get from downtown to the airport.
We decided to leave for the airport at 1:30 am to provide for any delays and to go stand by on all the earlier flights to ensure we made it out. Luckily, there was no traffic at that time of the morning, and it only took us 30 minutes to get to the airport. While in the taxi, we heard someone on the dispatch looking for a cab to drive some folks to Houston for $700. In the back of my mind, this was my contingency plan if we didn't make a flight.
Sleeping in the Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans.
Once at the airport, I withdrew $1,000 cash from the ATM machine in order to hire a taxi or bribe someone to pick us up while hitchhiking on the highway if we didn't make a flight. Luckily, we finally got on a 9:30 am flight to Houston. As soon as we took off, the pilot came on and said the storm was 37 miles south of New Orleans and said to look out the left side of the aircraft to view the storm. It was an amazing sight; I wish I would have taken a picture. I am very thankful that we got out when we did and have tremendous sympathy for those who did not and for those who lost everything, including their lives. I have been glued to CNN, Fox, and MSNBC all week long. The devestation and chaos is unbelievable.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Running Update
This week was a pretty good week for running and exercise. I woke up at 6:15 am on Monday morning and ran 4 miles before work. After work, I went to the gym and did some circuit training with the weights. I am a member of 24 Hour Fitness, and they have a circuit training area that includes machines for abs, seated squat, seated leg curls for hamstrings, leg press for quadriceps, bench press, shoulder press, tricep press, seated row, and bicep curl. I haven't worked out with the weights in a while so my muscles were sore all week long.
On Tuesday, I ran 4 miles and then offset all the exercise with a wine tasting and dinner at Fleming's. Wednesday I hosted dinner and a movie night with some friends and grilled Prime filets that I got from Central Market. I have never bought Prime beef from the grocery store before, but it was amazing. The cut of meat really makes a huge difference!! We watched Love Actually on DVD which the girls suggested (I wanted to see Wedding Crashers), and it was pretty good. I had very low expectations for this chick flick.
Friday I ran 4 miles on the dreadmill and Saturday I did 8 miles at Town Lake although I only ran 6 of them. After that I got some new shoes from a friend that works at RunTex. I changed from the Asics GT-2100 to the Brooks Trance 5. I wanted the Asics Kayano, but they didn't have my size. Today I went to the gym to work out and then ran 3 miles on the indoor track (my friend said that if I run on the treadmill or indoor track and don't like the shoes, I could bring them back for a full refund) to take the new shoes for a test drive. The shoes don't feel nearly as "cushiony" as the Asics and seemed really long and flat. I didn't have any discomfort, but I like the Asics much better. I think it's just that I am used to the Asics, so I think I am going to find some Kayonos in my size or just go back to a new pair of GT-2100s.
So, that gives me 21 miles for the week. I haven't broken the 20 mile mark since before the Freescale half-marathon. Additionally, I have added incentive. I am weighing in at around 204 lbs, and haven't been sub-200 lbs in probably a decade. So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel to reach this milestone. For the past 2 weeks I have been on the Abs Diet which a friend recommended and lent me the book. It is really a common sense approach to eating healthy, eating 6 small meals a day, and exercising. The theory is to increase metabolism through eating the right foods and building muscle mass.
I haven't really lost any weight in the past two weeks since I have been on it, but I feel great. I haven't eaten any fast food in 2 weeks (with the exception of a late night Whataburger last weekend after Richard and Lauren's wedding shower party at 3:30 in the morning). Also, I usually have 2 diet colas at work a day. For the past 2 weeks, I have only had 1 choosing to drink only water, green tea, or milk. I went to Whole Foods 2 weeks ago and loaded up on healthy foods and snacks, it was expensive at $143. But, since I have been eating in and the groceries have lasted over 2 weeks, it is probably cheaper than my normal diet of eating out every night.
On Tuesday, I ran 4 miles and then offset all the exercise with a wine tasting and dinner at Fleming's. Wednesday I hosted dinner and a movie night with some friends and grilled Prime filets that I got from Central Market. I have never bought Prime beef from the grocery store before, but it was amazing. The cut of meat really makes a huge difference!! We watched Love Actually on DVD which the girls suggested (I wanted to see Wedding Crashers), and it was pretty good. I had very low expectations for this chick flick.
Friday I ran 4 miles on the dreadmill and Saturday I did 8 miles at Town Lake although I only ran 6 of them. After that I got some new shoes from a friend that works at RunTex. I changed from the Asics GT-2100 to the Brooks Trance 5. I wanted the Asics Kayano, but they didn't have my size. Today I went to the gym to work out and then ran 3 miles on the indoor track (my friend said that if I run on the treadmill or indoor track and don't like the shoes, I could bring them back for a full refund) to take the new shoes for a test drive. The shoes don't feel nearly as "cushiony" as the Asics and seemed really long and flat. I didn't have any discomfort, but I like the Asics much better. I think it's just that I am used to the Asics, so I think I am going to find some Kayonos in my size or just go back to a new pair of GT-2100s.
So, that gives me 21 miles for the week. I haven't broken the 20 mile mark since before the Freescale half-marathon. Additionally, I have added incentive. I am weighing in at around 204 lbs, and haven't been sub-200 lbs in probably a decade. So, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel to reach this milestone. For the past 2 weeks I have been on the Abs Diet which a friend recommended and lent me the book. It is really a common sense approach to eating healthy, eating 6 small meals a day, and exercising. The theory is to increase metabolism through eating the right foods and building muscle mass.
I haven't really lost any weight in the past two weeks since I have been on it, but I feel great. I haven't eaten any fast food in 2 weeks (with the exception of a late night Whataburger last weekend after Richard and Lauren's wedding shower party at 3:30 in the morning). Also, I usually have 2 diet colas at work a day. For the past 2 weeks, I have only had 1 choosing to drink only water, green tea, or milk. I went to Whole Foods 2 weeks ago and loaded up on healthy foods and snacks, it was expensive at $143. But, since I have been eating in and the groceries have lasted over 2 weeks, it is probably cheaper than my normal diet of eating out every night.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Best Running Cities in the US
See the article on MSN.com. Austin was ranked number 11, Dallas 15, and Houston 21. It's nice to see that the race to run in Dallas is the White Rock marathon. I am looking forward to it. I ran 20 miles last week despite a major drinking binge over the 4th of July weekend. We did the Texas Hill Country wine trail and visited Lost Creek vineyard near Marble Falls and Flat Creek vineyard just outside of Lago Vista near Austin. Anyways, I am not used to drinking wine and it was flowing like beer. Needless to say, it caught up to me fast...really fast.
Lance Armstrong Foundation Night at Dell Diamond
My soon-to-be sister-in-law works for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and invited us to the LAF night at the Dell Diamond last Saturday night to watch the Round Rock Express play. We had a really good time. My nephew, Kaleb, is a really great kid.
Kaleb is a Lance fan.
Kaleb eating cotton candy at the Round Rock Express game.
Kaleb and Uncle Dave.
Kaleb is a Lance fan.
Kaleb eating cotton candy at the Round Rock Express game.
Kaleb and Uncle Dave.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Dallas White Rock Marathon
Well, it's been almost two months since I have blogged. You can definitely tell it's summer time because it seems like the frequency of posts has decreased on most of the blogs that I read.
My friend, Patrick, sent me an email the other day saying that he is going to run the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 11. I asked if they had a half marathon (and they do), but said to myself, "screw the half, I'm doing the marathon." There is a guy that sits one row over at work who recently ran the San Diego marathon. If he can do it, so can I. It took him 6 hours to complete it, and I figure I can do much better than that. He doesn't look like he is that great of shape...but either do I.
I have been running about 3 miles, 3 times a week just to offset all of the heavy beer drinking this summer. But, I will increase my training beginning next week. If all goes well, I will try to get back to Town Lake this Saturday and do a long run of 5 miles. With the heat in Austin, I have been having difficulty running 4 miles which used to be my bare minimum for a run. I have been using the Pose Method and have increased my running pace to sub 10 minute miles which is quite a bit faster than the 11:30 to 12:00 minutes I was running before.
My friend, Patrick, sent me an email the other day saying that he is going to run the White Rock Marathon in Dallas on December 11. I asked if they had a half marathon (and they do), but said to myself, "screw the half, I'm doing the marathon." There is a guy that sits one row over at work who recently ran the San Diego marathon. If he can do it, so can I. It took him 6 hours to complete it, and I figure I can do much better than that. He doesn't look like he is that great of shape...but either do I.
I have been running about 3 miles, 3 times a week just to offset all of the heavy beer drinking this summer. But, I will increase my training beginning next week. If all goes well, I will try to get back to Town Lake this Saturday and do a long run of 5 miles. With the heat in Austin, I have been having difficulty running 4 miles which used to be my bare minimum for a run. I have been using the Pose Method and have increased my running pace to sub 10 minute miles which is quite a bit faster than the 11:30 to 12:00 minutes I was running before.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
John-Michael
My friend and former roommate John-Michael was on the news this morning; he is the President of the Austin History Center.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
2005 Texas Round-up
My brother, sister, cousin, and I ran the 2005 Texas Round-up 10k on Saturday morning in memory of our mother (and aunt). Thankfully, a cool front blew in Friday night and the temperature changed from the high 80's on Friday to the low 50's and windy on Saturday morning. I told my brother and cousin that this was perfect running temperature, and they didn't need long sleeves. However, as we stood waiting at the starting line, they were cursing me because it was cold, and the race was delayed 10 minutes. We happened to be standing right next to the starter's platform where Governor Rick Perry introduced Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, along with Clay Walker who sang the National Anthem. See the the video from News 8 Austin.
Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, Duchess of York; Clay Walker; Rick Perry; and the Pilgrim's Pride Chicken
Starting Line of Texas Roundup '05
Before the race.
As the race got underway, it began raining lightly which lasted, intermittently, throughout the run. I went out really slowly and focused on running with good Pose form; however, I still managed a PR at 1:08 or a 11 minute/mile pace. I have always been a slow runner, but I really feel that I had a lot left over after the race and should have pushed harder towards the end. It is a PR mainly because I have never run a 10k race before. I have run the Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5k back in 1994, the 5 mile Turkey Trot last November, the Freescale Half Marathon in February, and now the Texas Round-up 10k.
Although my sister works out on a regular basis, she only trained for a couple of weeks going into this race, and she ran it in 1:04, slightly under a 10.5 minute/mile. That is awesome!! Similarly, my brother ran it in 1:11, and he didn't train at all. My cousin didn't train either and decided to run it the day before when he found out we had an extra registration packet since Lauren got called out of town for business with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Everyone did a tremendous job (although I think the non-trainers are walking funny today); mom would be very proud!!
After the race...we finished!!
In memory of mom...we miss you!!
Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, Duchess of York; Clay Walker; Rick Perry; and the Pilgrim's Pride Chicken
Starting Line of Texas Roundup '05
Before the race.
As the race got underway, it began raining lightly which lasted, intermittently, throughout the run. I went out really slowly and focused on running with good Pose form; however, I still managed a PR at 1:08 or a 11 minute/mile pace. I have always been a slow runner, but I really feel that I had a lot left over after the race and should have pushed harder towards the end. It is a PR mainly because I have never run a 10k race before. I have run the Schlotzsky's Bun Run 5k back in 1994, the 5 mile Turkey Trot last November, the Freescale Half Marathon in February, and now the Texas Round-up 10k.
Although my sister works out on a regular basis, she only trained for a couple of weeks going into this race, and she ran it in 1:04, slightly under a 10.5 minute/mile. That is awesome!! Similarly, my brother ran it in 1:11, and he didn't train at all. My cousin didn't train either and decided to run it the day before when he found out we had an extra registration packet since Lauren got called out of town for business with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Everyone did a tremendous job (although I think the non-trainers are walking funny today); mom would be very proud!!
After the race...we finished!!
In memory of mom...we miss you!!
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