2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge Portland

This weekend was our Livestrong weekend starting on Saturday for the Livestrong Village for packet pick-up and again then the actual event today, both at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton.

Yesterday we had an opportunity to meet former World Champion Time Trial Cyclist Mari Holden - she also won a silver medal in the Sydney Australia Olympics also in time trial both in 2000. Today she actually rode the 70 mile route, leaving between 7:30 and 8:00 this morning as was back at Nike by 11:30...CRAZY!

RUN OR RIDE?

At first when I suggested doing the 5K to Tom it was because the volunteer opportunities had not yet been posted on Livestrong just yet. Crazy me decided a 5K would be fun. Really though, after several weeks into the training I realized that this challenge will be really special because we had to put so much into it. Last week when I was finally able to run 30 minutes straight this running thing started to stick! So, in the end the training was well worth it and I feel better and have more energy. Now running will be a regular part of our physical fitness routine

LIVESTRONG Challenge Day

This morning we made our way over to the Nike Campus and had to park at least a half a mile away from where the staging area was....that was a really good warm up to our run. Another cool thing is just how many people actually do the 5K run/walk - hundreds! The start was slow, but once we got going we just kept a steady pace so that I would still have enough umph at the end to make a strong finish. I thought the route was pretty good, mostly flat which had a stretch in the shade - with the temps so high yesterday, the streets were still quite warm. As a cancer survivor my finish was in a different lane than Tom so I could receive my yellow rose. Once I received that I just plain ol' stopped. I was done! I DID IT!! Our approximate finish time was 40:37-ish, not bad for a first time 5K-er! (actual time was 39:47)

POST EVENT

We essentially had our lunch at 9:30 this morning which included beer. I did not partake in the brew, but opted for the FRS and water instead. We didn't eat before we left and had a couple of Shot Blocks when we returned to the car so we were good and ready to eat! Salmon Burger and Apple for me and LOTS of water! It was nice to hang out and people watch for a while. Since Lance would not be arriving until 12:30 we decided to head home as I was starting to get a little too much sun - although it felt good. There is always next year!

The day was so amazing and I reached my goal. With my success today I look forward to running in other events and hopefully improving my time and running again in the 2009 Livestrong Challenge!

Military Dancing Boy

What day is it?!

Had a hard time getting out of bed today…it’s Friday right? Had an even slower time getting out of the house to go to work! Made numerous trips looking for or retrieving items…i.e. it’s a little chilly, I think I’ll wear my arm warmers. Where the heck are my arm warmers?! Which reminds me, I REALLY don’t know where they are. Oop, forgot the cyclocomputer, yet again…back and forth back and forth. WHEN will the madness end?!

Finally, I’m ready to head out…I lock up the bike shop and grab my bike and get ready to head out…what the heck?! I have my FLIP FLOPS on…

Did the week start over again and it’s really Monday?

OOPS...

I'M DONE TRAINING!

Yesterday after work Tom and I met at the Salmon Creek Trail on the Felida end and left my car and went to Klineline in his truck to park it and run the trail. This was my test to see if I could actually do 3 miles of running without stopping. To stop would declare my wimpiness. Evidently I'm no wimp because I made it! We figured it took about 40 minutes - I forgot to bring along my watch, but I think that may have been a good thing as I probably would have been checking times and getting all crazy or something.

The only bad thing about starting where and when we did is the wind. It is always windy on the flat parts and we would be running against it. Also, in the last mile there are several not flat parts and I rather like running routes that are flat. About a month ago I ran a real hill when I decided to run down 151st street to Seward Road and back up Bliss Road. I don't even like riding that on my bike, running it was horrible! But I made it even then. Yesterday once we reached the 3 mile mark it seemed to have come so fast and it was so exciting to actually do it! Training since March has finally paid off and I plan to continue this running thing along with riding. Although, riding will be my main sport of choice, I want to continue running to maintain my current condition and hopefully improve on it.

I'm psyched for Sunday and this Livestrong Event will be even more special. Not a day of training went by that I didn't think about all the stuff I went thru to get to where I am now. Even this last April I decided to make a big step and make a change in my MRI schedule from having scans every 3 months to 6. This is something that I started to consider way back in January after I had gotten a REALLY good look at my MRI films at that time...man, my brain is COOL! Since then I have been feeling really confident about my survivorship and am looking forward to living a long and active life.

Making that decision was easy and hard - easy because I really am tired of going to the doctor and hard because I am always reminded of the fact that the tumor can come back - but it was the best decision I made since committing to run a 5K!

I'm a RUNNER...

Feeding the birds?

Tom is really big on putting out bird food for our winged friends and small furry creatures. This morning I spied other bigger furrier "friends"...

This is the second one I saw this morning...then her brother came along...

Random Discoveries...

Okay so earlier this afternoon I was out taking photographs of my new compact crank to send off to one of the guys at Performance Bikes and I was flipping through all the different settings on my digital camera...that thing is FANCY! It does color, not so much color(?) sepia and black & white. Who knew?!

Sushi Rice Bars

This is a recipe by Allen Lim, Sports Physiologist for Team Garmin / Slipstream (NY Times)


3 cups medium-grain Calrose or sushi rice, cooked
6 eggs
Soy sauce or Bragg Liquid Aminos (a soybean-based liquid protein concentrate)
A handful of prosciutto or cooked bacon
Salt
Balsamic vinegar

Scramble the eggs with the soy sauce or the Braggs Aminos. (“The guys like the flavor of the Braggs better than the soy,” Mr. Lim said.)

Add the prosciutto or bacon. Pile the rice, eggs and pork into a 6-by-9-inch pan.

Pour a small amount of balsamic vinegar and soy on top.

Salt to taste.

Mix and mash into the pan.

Let sit for 20 minutes, then, using a silicone spatula (“anything else and the rice will stick,” Mr. Lim said) cut it into 1 1/2-inch squares.

Wrap in foil.

Yields about 24.

This seems like it would be easy to make and tasty since there is prosciutto to be had...

Weird Neighbor

Okay, so we have lived in this house since 1998 and this is bad, but we don't really know our neighbors. We are nice to each other and give each other a wave as we drive past one another, but that is about it. I guess we are people that like to keep to ourselves...just maybe.

So this picture is our neighbor, Brian, who lives across the street from us and thru years of observation we have found that he likes to mow his field in the late hours of the day no matter what time of the mowing season it may be...the later in the day the better seems to be his motto. Once a few years ago he was mowing AT NIGHT...it was dark and how on earth would you know where you have already mowed? His tractor does not sport a headlight or a muffler for that matter, so we could hear him mowing to his hearts content. Tom had had it one night and actually went across the street, somehow got his attention and asked him to not mow anymore (come to find out the noise ordinance goes into affect after 10pm). It's been a few years since then and we still hear him out there around 9:00, but that's okay. If he plays by the rules we stay happy.

Another odd thing about him is that he seems to mow in a very random pattern, well, there is no pattern really. It's like he just likes to drive around and around and hopefully he'll cut some grass in the process. He certainly will not win any landscaping awards. Oh, he never finishes mowing so it always looks awful!

A couple of days ago I noticed him out mowing early in the afternoon - which was shocking in itself. It didn't take long to figure out why, a political sign was being placed on his property. Joy. At the time I thought that I should get a picture of this to document that he is capable of mowing in the daytime hours before 5PM, but I wanted to finish my errands and put the task on hold until my return. I should have taken the picture then, when I came back...not even thirty minutes later...he was done and he just mowed around the sign. Weird.

So here we are after dinner time on a weeknight and Brian is happily driving his tractor in circles around his property. He has less than 3 hours to finish mowing.

Food from my childhood...

For some reason I decided that I wanted to make some of the dishes that my mom made while I was growing up. Must be the time of year, June always was the time that we would have Gado Gado (Indonesian Steamed Vegetable Salad) with peanut sauce and sate (or satay). Tonight I am going to make Lumpia (egg rolls) and might even make Smoor Kip (chicken cooked in sweet soy sauce) this week. Shopping for the food reminded me of the shopping trips with my mom and planning meals as we went along.

I hope things turn out...I really miss those days!

I WANNA RIDE

As much as I am enjoying the fact that I am becoming a runner...I have to say that I miss being a cyclist. With all the days that we train during the week for the 5K I have not had many opportunities to ride more regularly. If I had to look back in my 2007 ride log I would find that I did a lot more bike commuting by this time last year than I have done so far this year and that is really irritating me...especially with the gas prices going up almost daily.

My goal for next week will be to ride to work at least a couple of times just for the sake of my sanity.

Pioneer Century

Yesterday we rode the 45 mile route of the Pioneer Century. This ride started at the Clackamas Fairgrounds in Canby and it is one of the best rides we have done. They are well organized, have great snacks at the rest stops and a fabulous lunch at the finish.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, it's getting harder to find people who ride that are available to do these rides with us. There are plenty of rides ahead of us and I am sure that I can get one or two of the guys at work to ride with us.

Farewell to our friend Lindsey

One of our favorite people at Starbucks is leaving!!! As much as we are going to miss Lindsey, we know that she is moving on to follow God's will in her life. A few months ago she announced that she would be starting an internship with Mark 2 Ministries working with young women with developmental disabilities at the Young Life's Wild Horse Canyon Family Ranch located in Antelope, Oregon (the former Rajneeshpuram Ranch). She is leaving the Couve, for the Desert!


Lindsey has such a sweet spirit and her love for God is evident in so many ways in her life. It has been a privilege to get to know her and a blessing to call her a friend and our sister in Christ. She will be missed, but we'll always be connected in one way or another.

June 1, 2008

This last weekend was my annual beach trip with Robin...off to Cannon Beach!

This is what we do...

Go to Mo's (click for the cheesy song)

Shop in Seaside at the outlet mall - Van Heusen is our all time favorite

Lunch at Cranky Sue's did someone say crab cakes?

Visit Center Diamond Quilt Shop (neither of us really do much in the way of quilting anymore)

and a new favorite....

Drinking coffee at Sleepy Monk.

Without the men (both young and not so young), we enjoy being leisurely and hanging out with each other. Every year we always think we'll try something different, but it doesn't usually pan out. Maybe next year!
Here's the view we had this year...it's a beauty!