Vote or Don't Vote on November 4th!

Well, I know at least 5 friends look at our site, so I did my part.

What about you?

WASSSUP 2008

A lot has happened in 8 years. This ad is from the same director as the original. He went out and grabbed the same guys to shoot this spot. I hope you guys enjoy it.

We've SEEN This Spider!

When we lived in Australia, we took a trip up to The Great Barrier Reef when our friends Darrin and Stephanie came to visit us. After we went snorkeling, we spent a day in the rainforest on a tourist's tour - very cool. But one of the things all four of us will remember till our dying day is the HUGE Golden Orb Weaver spider we saw in the forest!

The spider itself was as big as John's hand with his fingers extended, and the web was about 4 feet by 5 feet or so, about 4 feet from the path we were walking. It was fascinating and not a little terrifying to see such a ginormous spider!

Then yesterday I saw this story on an Australian news site. This Golden Orb Weaver spider caught a BIRD in its web and is eating it!!! Now THAT is the kind of thing I'm trying not to think about as we get ready to move back! LOL!!

Comin' Round the Back Stretch

(Kitty) Only four weeks to go! Less, since this is Tuesday already! Four weeks left to try to get in better and better shape to make our 13.1 mile run! Woo-hoo! We're excited, but more than a little nervous. I haven't actually run 13 miles yet due to "life" interrupting our running schedule. John probably ran 13 the day I ran 11, but yesterday during our 4 mile run his knee started hurting. It's probably nothing, but all these little setbacks make us nervous about the final outcome.

Still, everything I've read says that running has as much to do with your mind as your body. John and I have "decided" we ARE going to finish the race, hills and all. (Eek! Did you hear us whimper when I said "hills?") We ARE going to finish. We ARE going to finish. We ARE...

BROTHERS BIKE RACE

I have been working some long hours lately, but thought I would post some pictures of my brother (since I don't have much of a life right now.) Here he is in a bike race where he placed 16th place out of 40 riders. Nice work bro.

Running Off Kilter

(Kitty) Some days are just harder to get through than others. John worked 13 hours on Saturday and was just too flipping exhausted to run Sunday morning. Then Monday morning he woke up sick and was in bed most of the day. Tuesday morning, today, he felt better and we did our 30-min brisk walk. Thank goodness! I think my body is actually [gasp] getting used to exercise! I felt much better after our walk today.

So - barring sickness or unforeseen disaster - we should be running again tomorrow, 6 miles down the beach and back. I think I'm actually looking forward to it! :)

Back in the Saddle - Not Quite in the Groove

(Kitty) So today we ran 6 miles, twice what we did two days ago. Yea! We've never taken water or energy gels with us for a 6 mile run. John can run it in an hour without me, and I run it in about 85 minutes. We figure it's not that long a time to wait for food and water.

BUT now that I'm learning more about how this all works, and how my body in particular works, I'm taking "food" and water for anything over 4 miles, because it takes me 51-54 minutes to run 4 miles, and I've found increased energy if I eat an energy gel at about an hour into the run. So today I filled up my four water bottles, strapped on my water belt, put some stuff in my belt that looks and tastes like gummy bears, and off we went.

Because I want to start working harder during the short runs to increase my strength and endurance, I tried to run a little faster today - and I did! I also ran uphill instead of my usual shuffling jog. Of course, at the top of the hills I had to walk for a minute to get my heart rate down! But even with all the extra walking I did in between bursts of speed, I still hit the 4 and 6 mile marks at one of my best times! I'm exhausted but happy!

John, of course, did awesome as always! Dwight and I pretend to hate him because he's such a natural athlete. He's going to do so well at the Half Marathon! By the way, if you want to see more about what we'll be doing, just visit the Pasadena Marathon web site. We'll update you again next week!

10 Days Without Running = EEK!

(Kitty) Due to a series of scheduling conflicts, followed by 5 days of vacation where running shoes were packed but never worn, it has been 10 days since our last run. It's kind of funny and sad - our last run was 11 miles! Today we made it 3! LOL!! Now we really only were scheduled for 4 miles today, and we could have made it 4, but... John decided that me passing out from lack of oxygen would be a bad thing. LOL!! He suggested we stop at 3 and walk the last mile home because he knew if he kept going, I would, too. He's right! {grin}

But this week - with only 5 weeks till the big race - we are going to follow another runner's training schedule. We'll still be running 2 short runs and 1 really long run, but on 3 more days we'll be walking for 40 minutes and doing strength training. Oh, and trying to eat properly. :)

We'll let you know how it goes! If you have any advice, feel free to let us know! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!!!

Take a minute to join me today in wishing John a very happy birthday! Send him an email or an ecard or post a message here! And if you're friends with his twin brother, David - send him a message too! Happy birthday, Dave!

Happy birthday John! I love you!!

Umm...It's Barely October

(Kitty) Okay, today is October 1st, but two days ago while it was still very much September, I looked across the grocery store parking lot to see "Scott's Christmas Trees" setting up!! What?! Trust me, if anyone is a long-term planner, it's me. But come on, guys!