Crisis Averted

Registration for the Boston Marathon opened this morning at 9:00 AM (EST). Last year it closed in record time, on November 13th. This year I figured it would close quicker, but I figured I'd be able to just do it when I got home from work. WRONG! Luckily someone let me know it was filling up and I was able to do it while I was at work. Registration closed at 5:03 PM, which means 19,000 people signed up in about 8 hours. That's ridiculous! I feel bad for the people that couldn't sign up because they don't have computer access at work or something! I was panicking for a minute there...Heck I almost didn't get registered myself! I was worried that my friend wouldn't be able to register and I didn't have her phone number or email so I was trying to find a way to contact her. My buddy at work reminded me I should probably sign up before it was too late, and I was like "oh yeah!" I finally did get a hold of my friend and she had found a way to register. Phew!

So what does this mean for the future of Boston? Well, I don't think we know yet... it could mean stricter qualifying times (for women and possibly also men)... it could mean fewer charity runner spots... it could mean changing the day/time that registration opens... I don't think they would increase the field size because I think only so many people can fit in Hopkinton... I vote for shaving 5 or 10 minutes of the female times. Maybe 5 off the male too if they want. That's from someone who made the current time by 3 seconds...

Officially registered for the 115th running of the Boston Marathon!!!

Just Keep Swimming!

Guess they found a new fish in the South Pacific. It's a ghostly white snailfish - not sure if it has a specific name yet. Kind of cool looking though! To me.

Weekend Thoughts

Wednesday when I got home from work I was pleasantly surprised by a package - my gear that I left at the finish line in NH. A BIG thank you to the Clarence DeMar people!

Today was a 9/80 day (off work) so I did a little shopping, trying to finish my Halloween costume. It wouldn't be any fun if I told you what the costume is, so all I will say is that I learned how to put on suspenders...ha!

Tomorrow is the Baltimore Marathon. I found out just last week that one of my roommates is running! How did I not figure that out before last week?? Got an LVM friend in town for the race too. Good luck to everyone running! I will be getting up bright and early to help man the water stop before the 6-mile mark. I will be wearing my orange wig :) After cheering on the runners I'll be heading to the bar to watch the MSU-Illinois game. Go Green! No let down week!!

I put air in my bike tires (since I haven't ridden it since I moved) so that I can get around easier tomorrow. Driving would be a major pain. My own long run will have to wait until Sunday. Which is probably for the best anyway, to give my hip extra rest. Thursday's successful run was definitely a good sign. Only 15 weeks until Houston already!

New Template

Alrighty. I'm really excited about this new template. Thank you to Lasantha at Premiumbloggertemplates.com (I got it from btemplates.com) for putting this together. Obviously not specifically for me, haha...

Let me know what you think! :) I'm sure I'll be playing around with it from time to time.

Four Seasons

So, based on a few comments from my Uncle on my Facebook status about listening to James Taylor songs with the months in them, I was inspired to think of playlists like that. And, well, I love making lists (and music)...

The Four Seasons (with Frankie Valli?)
Your Winter - Sister Hazel
Springtime - Mike Errico
Cruel Summer - Ace of Base / Bananarama
Autumn Leaves - Eva Cassidy (French popular/folk song)

Months
October Road - James Taylor
November Rain - Guns n Roses
A Long December - Counting Crows
January Friend - Goo Goo Dolls
February Song - Josh Groban
The Imperial March - John Williams (cheating? haha)
Pieces of April - Three Dog Night
Mayday - Dispatch (again, cheating?)
Evening in June - Van Morrison
On the 4th of July - James Taylor
August & Everything After - Counting Crows
September Grass - James Taylor

(Incomplete) States
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
California Girls - Beach Boys
Connecticut - Bing Crosby
Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles
When You Dream About Hawai'i - Bing Crosby
Indiana Wants Me - R Dean Taylor
My Old Kentucky Home - (Stephen Foster)
There's A Girl In the Heart of Maryland - Bing Crosby
Especially In Michigan - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Theme From New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
Ohio - Neil Young
Oklahoma/Texas Line - Rascal Flatts
Pennsylvania Polka - Frankie Yankovic
Tennessee Waltz - Norah Jones
Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Meet Virginia - Train
On Wisconsin! - (Univ. of Wisconsin's fight song...)

"Counting" Crows...
One - Three Dog Night
Two Days in February - Goo Goo Dolls
Three Times A Lady - Commodores
Four Wheel Drive - CW McCall
It's Five O'Clock Somewhere - Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett
Every Six Seconds - OTown (yeah...)
Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
Eight Days A Week - Beatles
Cloud Nine - Temptations
Ten Years Ahead - Soundtrack of Our Lives

I tried to pull from my iTunes collection first...

How the Mighty Have Fallen

College Football comment...

I could write about #1 Alabama being upset at South Carolina or MSU's awesome game against Michigan (GO GREEN!!), but I'll choose to comment on Kentucky's cheerleaders. They were shown holding up signs that said "Yell With Us" and "Make Some Noise" ... come on, really?

BURN THEM

I am beginning to run out of words already at how angry this makes me.

http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/tennessee-firefighters-let?xg_source=facebook

This is outrageous! That policy should be thrown out the window with the people who put it in place. It's hard not to be disappointed in mankind when there are stories like this. Just following orders? Screw that. They should be ashamed.

Do they respond if someone hasn't paid their $75 but their kid is trapped?

Bump. Set. Spike.

I played 6 games of volleyball tonight (double-header), for the first time in about a year. That combined with 9 days after a marathon? Sore legs! Not used to moving and twisting like that. Good news is that my hand held up (i.e. sprained right thumb from basketball last winter). It took me a game or two to feel comfortable again. I had some nice digs, and towards the end I started passing better and even had a few good hits.

Went out for a 3-mile run after work today and felt pretty relaxed doing 7:45 pace. Cool. I still have to nail down my training plan for Houston (today was day one)...

I booked a room for Boston! And a flight for Christmas. Now I just need the flights for Houston and Boston :)

Work's been pretty crazy the last month or so. Even put in some overtime last week! Some of it is frustrating, but it's better to keep busy (and get things done!) than not have enough to do.

Rain Rain Go Away

Come again...like in a month - we've had enough for now.

Big win for MSU against Wisconsin yesterday! Go Green!

Tigers finished off the season with a win to get back to .500 (81-81). Stay healthy next year, kids.

Did my first run (2 easy miles) since NH this morning. Legs were a little tired my right hamstring was a little tight. AKA time to start training for Houston!

Been looking at hotels for Boston. Anything downtown is like $250/night. Yikes! Looks like the outskirts for this dude.

Did some Halloween costume shopping today. All I have to say is it's hard to find candy canes this much before Christmas!

Laterz.