11 Things

Before I launch into the meat of this post, I just want to give you a quick running update. I'm still in recovery mode, but I've had several short runs and one spin class since the Houston Marathon a week and a half ago. I'm feeling great, eager to launch into real training again. I still don't have my spring race schedule, as I've purchased another plan from McMillan Running and haven't received it yet. That's a good thing. My 4.5-mile run this morning indicated to me that I do still need a few more easy days. I wasn't sore. I could just tell I was done at the end. Tomorrow I will sleep in!

I also wanted to point out that due to numerous complaints recently about Blogger's comment system, I've changed my commenting to a free platform offered by Disqus. Let me know if this doesn't work for any of you, but I think it will make commenting much easier for people who don't have Blogger accounts.

Finally, I added a new page called "Race Reports" above. It has links to descriptions of all the races I've done since starting this blog in October 2010.

And now, without further ado....

Christi, of The Pedestrian Runner (who is also a cyclist and will be doing the gnarly Triple Bypass Ride this summer), assigned me the 11 Things tag.

You've seen 'em before, but here are The Rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in your tagger's post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blogs and tell them you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this." You legitimately have to tag 11 people!


Here are the 11 Random Things About Me (hopefully not repeating random things I've put in other tag posts):


1. People wonder if everyone in my family has an odd name, but my sister and brother are Mandy and John. (For those who might wonder, my first name rhymes with "Persia.")


2. I met my husband at a wedding in Houston when I was living in New York City and he was living in Denver. He visited me in Russia (I joined the Peace Corps two months after meeting him) and we got married in Missouri.


3. I smell books. My favorites are the old ones, but sometimes the glossy new ones have a nice bouquet as well.


4. Once I manage to get the Boston Marathon monkey off my back, I'm going to learn to play the banjo.


5. I almost never blow-dry my hair. I'm terrible at styling it anyway, and Colorado is so dry that I don't really need to spend the time.


6. Both my mom and my mother-in-law are teachers. Mom teaches social studies and MIL teaches English. They both teach middle schoolers. Needless to say, they both have a great sense of humor and a spine of steel.


7. Right now I'm in the middle of reading the Little House series of books to my twins. We're at On the Banks of Plum Creek. I am LOVING it. I have a whole new perspective on it as a parent than I had as a child (also loved it then). Pioneers were tough folks.


8. My high school mascot was the Kewpie. No lie. Here's a picture:

9. I've broken only one bone in my body. It happened when I was two years old, fell out of bed and snapped my collarbone. I don't remember any pain, but I do remember getting an X-ray. My mom told me she didn't even know I had done it until I complained a little about my shoulder hurting. And she didn't have to do anything other than let it heal. Kids' growing bones, apparently, heal that quickly.


10. Sometimes when I'm running in town, I think of stoplights as gates. I ask myself, How many gates can I get through before they close (that is to say, turn red)?


11. My favorite place to travel to is Ireland. I've been there twice, once as a broke college student and once with Dan in 2004. I love the music, the chill and the rain, the ancient tombs and dwellings, the hip cities, the sea and the cliffs that border it. If someone offered me a chance to visit somewhere new or go back to Ireland again, I'd be hard pressed to turn Ireland down.


11 Questions from Christi:


1. Which actor played James Bond the best?
Dude. Daniel Craig. Hands down.

2. Are you a cat person or a dog person? 
I like them both a lot, but if pressed I'm a dog person. And to refine that, I'm a BIG dog person. No ankle-biters.

3. What is your favorite race to date?
This is so hard to answer because they've all had something good about them. But I really enjoyed doing a series of now-defunct trail races called the Frozen Ass Trail Run, the Frosty Trail Race and the Alferd Packer Half-Marathon. They all involved icy water crossings, mud, sand cliffs--and they were all in the dead of winter.

4. Do you prefer beer or wine?
Wine. No contest.

5. What is the first race that you ever completed?
The Advil Mini-Marathon 10K in Central Park, NYC, 1995. I had no idea I could run six miles. It took me just over an hour.

6. Do you have a coach to help you with your training?
I don't have a coach, but I do buy my custom plans from Greg McMillan out of Flagstaff, AZ. I love his plans. If I could afford the fee to hire him as a coach, I would.

7. If you could compete in any long distance triathlon and race fees were not a factor would you choose IM or Rev 3 races?
No tris for me!! The swimming part gives me the heebie-jeebies. And having to deal with flat bike tires during workouts/races? Meh. If it were a running race.....the London or Great Wall Marathons!

8. How many blogging friends have you met in person?
Let's see....I've met Erin, Jill, Beth, Amanda, Laura, Corey, Kelli, and Holly. I've known Kathy since long before either of us contemplated blogging. And I've met Dimity and Sarah (celebrity mother runners, bloggers and authors).

9. Who is going to win the Superbowl, New England Patriots or New York Giants?
Geez, I don't know. I do know it won't be the Broncos.

10. If you could meet one person alive or dead, who would it be?
Tina Fey. I love her sense of humor. The older I get, the more I think that a sense of humor is the most important virtue a person can have.

11. And finally the big question, do you prefer Star Wars or Star Trek?
It's nearly impossible to choose, much harder than dogs vs. cats. Star Wars evokes my childhood, and beyond that I love the concept of the Force, the theme of redemption and the swashbuckling black/white conflict of it all. Star Trek, however, is much more cerebral, real-life, with complex characters and relationships. I really like them both. Despite the space theme, they're very different from each other.


My Questions for Those I Tag:


1. Which U.S. state do you most want to visit and what would you do there?


2. If you are a parent, what's the most important piece of advice you have for those of us who are also parents (and I want to know this even if your kids are still young)? If you don't have kids, what's the best thing your parents ever did for you, even if it was unpleasant at the time?


3. Name your favorite sport (running, tris, cycling etc.). If you couldn't do it, what would be your next choice and why?


4. If you could pick a totem animal, what would it be and why?


5. What's the scariest thing you ever did?


6. If you still live in your hometown, are you glad you stayed? If you don't still live in your hometown, would you like to go back and live there?


7. Are you a fan of motivational posters?


8. Do you do well on standardized tests?


9. Which countries/regions did your ancestors come from? Do you strongly identify with any of those places?


10. Which do you like best: baseball or football?


11. Name your favorite movie of all time.


People I'm Tagging:


1. Corey 
2. Cynthia 
3. Jessica
4. Kara
5. Katherine
6. Kathy
7. Lacey Sue
8. Mandy
9. TNT Coach Ken
10. Trent
11. Tricia