Fun Run in the Gun!

This past weekend was the Spring Run-Off Race in Gunnison, Utah. My mom and brother (Curtis) were signed up for the half-marathon and I for the 10K. Curtis had to back out because of a stress fracture though - darn it!

Mom and I before the races. Apparently the sun was bright only for me.

Tyler and I drove our new-used car (2000 Lexus RX300) down to Gunnison right after work on Friday. (We seriously love our new car and are amazed at the great gas mileage we get.) We met my parents down there just in time to enjoy the salmon and sweet potato dinner my mom had prepared. Yum! We played some games and headed to bed early.

The next morning was the race! My mom's race started at 8:30 a.m. She had to be shuttled to the start line so we didn't get to cheer her on at the beginning of the race. After she took off with my dad, Tyler decided that he should use Curtis' registration and run the 5K. Then 10 minutes later he decided he should just run the 10K with me. Keep in mind he had NEVER run a race before. The furthest he has ever run with me was two years ago in St. George for about two miles.

We hurried over to my parent's trailer to find some running attire for Tyler. Only thing is...my mom was the only one with any running shorts. First he tried on her running skirt. Uh - no! Then some running Capri's. It was cold outside! They were a little tight in some spots and not tight enough in others, so he pulled some of her shorts over top of the Capri's. It was a sight to behold. At least he had his own shoes and t-shirt.

Tyler stretching in my mom's stretchy pants.

We made it back to the starting line to hear the race organizer review one last time the exact course of the race and then we were off! One guy we named 'bright-green-shirt-guy' shot off fast and was ahead of everyone. Between us and bright-green-shirt-guy were about 10-15 other runners.

Mid-way we are feeling good, but were surprised that bright-green-shirt-guy had not yet passed us again. Hmmm. We turned around where we were supposed to and heard the girl manning the water station on her cell saying, "Isn't this the turnaround for the 10K? Ya. That's what I thought. Well, a bunch of runners kept going."

Wow! I guess that puts us at the head of the pack now!

With only a little over a mile to go a little girl flies past us and I yell to her, "Are you running the 5K or the 10K?" Seriously, she's like 10. She kind of rolled her eyes and said, "The 10K." Like...duh!

Tyler crossed the finish line about 50 yards before I did. Tyler completed his first race and came in SECOND PLACE!!!! Nice job, Tyler! I came in THIRD.

At the Finish Line

We both felt a little bad about the runners that went too far, but hey, part of winning a race is being alert enough to stay on the right course. The medals are all ours!

At the award ceremony when they called the girls name that placed first in the 10K, several little kids yelled, "She cheated!" Huh. No wonder I never saw her on the entire course until she pulled out in front to take the gold. Little cheater!

We finished a while before my mom so we went back down the course to cheer her, and the other runners, on. One guy even said, "More cowbell, please." Oh ya...I was obnoxiously yelling, clapping and ringing two cowbells. Tyler might have been just a little bit embarrassed to be with me...maybe.

I ran the final mile with my mom!

With our silver and bronze medals...and our new car!

Next race...Ogden Half on May 15!

Tyler, you joining us?????

Bye Bye Baby

Thursday night I sold my Mazda6. We had a good 5 3/4 years together! So, here's one last look at my baby! (sniff-sniff)



p.s. Tyler thinks I'm silly for feeling sentimental about a car...

Utah Symphony

Last Saturday we got to hear "Verdi's Requiem" at the Symphony with Grandma Pace. We were so excited that Grandma had invited us to go with her. The peformance was incredible and we loved every second of it!

Then, last night, Grandma called and invited us to join her again. This time for "Pictures at an Exhibition." Here's Tyler and Grandma before last night's performance began.

The first half was modern music. And, well, this is what I saw midway through the first piece, composed in the 40's by Bejamin Britten; "Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes."
The second piece was edgy and just strange to me. The composer, Steve Mackey, a composer-in-residence, came on stage and explained each movement to us. The principle violinist was phenomenal. But, this was not my favorite of the night. Intermission was a welcome conclusion to the first half.

Just as intermission was approaching, Tyler shifted in his seat and crossed his legs. I happened to look down and this is what I saw! My mouth fell open and I couldn't stop laughing! Are you kidding me? You did NOT just wear these to the Symphony! Oh Tyler, you do keep me entertained. I love you. All of you. Even when you wear your biking socks with the white-trash of white-trash emblems on them to the Symphony!

After intermission the symphony performed the title piece "Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorosky. It was amazing! This piece is made up of 10 movements. It is as though you are strolling through an art gallery with each movement describing a different painting. Loved it!

Thank you so much Grandma! We had a great time...

March Madness

Just so you know...it had NOTHING to do with basketball and everything to do with my MAZDA! It just started acting weird and then it died all together. Could it be the battery? We checked. Checker (where I had bought the battery 18 months previous) said, no. I needed a second opinion so we asked Auto Zone. They said, Nope. But the car kept dying and could only be driven after jump starting it. Took it to the Mazda dealership, after leaving it at the shop for several hours, their diagnosis was that the battery needed to be replaced. Interesting! I took the car back to Checker and although they couldn't get their test to say that the battery was bad, they were just done with me and gave me a new battery. Happy with my new battery, we drove as far as the parking lot exit and, yep...the car was back to its same 'ol issues. We barely made it home. Later that night we jump started it again and surprisingly it was still working the next morning. I drove it to work and was feeling pretty happy that perhaps the car dying last night was just a fluke. Had an event that afternoon, go to get in my car and....WHAT? My car had been hit.

Nothing huge, but my front bumper had a gash in it, and after careful inspection found out it was caused by the car that was parked in front of me. Seriously? They had pulled in too far, hit my car, and then backed up a couple inches and just walked away. No note. Nothing. So bugged! How was I sure it was them? The gash in my bumper was the same shape as their bent license plate. I left a note...no one ever called me. RUDE! But, I took a picture. If this is your car you owe me at least an apology!
Later that night Tyler, who does not claim to be a "grease monkey," worked on my car until he had it running well enough to get it home. Yeah! My man is amazing!!! The next day my dad came up (Thank you, Dad!) to see if he could take a look and make sure it was going to keep working, get it back to normal. He and Tyler worked and worked, but by the end of the night it was still not working correctly. (No pic of Dad...darn the darn!)


Now what? Called Mazda, they still thought it was the battery. Seriously? Called a mechanic, recommended by family and friends, dropped it off the next morning and later that day the car was fixed. For the small price of $950. It was the alternator, the starter and several light bulbs that had blown. Apparently it was the alternator the whole time...but because Mazda couldn't figure that out everything else started to go. Oh...let me also say that the Airbag Light is now permanently on, and if I'm in an accident the airbags won't deploy. Cost to fix that as well? Just a small $750. Um...no thanks. I'll drive like I did in the 80's, without air bags. Wish me luck!

A little history: Before my Mazda6 I had a Mazda 626. Similar story. Mazda couldn't figure out the issues until AFTER it went out of warranty. That was fun. Thanks a lot, Mazda.

Oh, and Mazda, in this case, 2 strikes and you're OUT!