Going to Game 5

As I post this, Glen is on a midnight flight to Detroit to watch his most favorite hockey team, the Red Wings, play in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. I will be watching the game from home looking for him in row 17 behind the Penguins bench sitting next to his partner in crime Steve, but this guy is his new BF who managed to get these fantastic tickets and give Glen a weekend to remember. Thanks Tom.

A great day for a triathlon

Swimsuit (check), goggles (check), awesome borrowed roadbike (check), water (check), shoes & socks (check), bagel and peanut butter (check), bib number 818 (check), anxious (check), listen to "I run for life" one more time for motivation (check), powerade gel bites (check), and Starbucks dark chocolate with espresso treats (check) - gotta have the right fuel.
It was my third one and I was not really nervous - well, until I was asked "ready to go?" , but with a thumbs up the day began. The heart was pumping, the swim stroke was strong and my breathing fast - but wait I caught up to the swimmer in front of me and had to pass - progress already. Then 2 more and then the I hear "last lap, great job" then the stairs to get out of the pool (thank goodness because my arms felt like wet noodles) leg one done. Running, barefooted as I tore off my swim cap and goggles like a seasoned pro I ran past strangers saying "go 818" - people who have been though the self induced misery understand what its like and are willing to give support to anyone starting off. Its great!

Arrived at my bike station and hurridly put my shoes and socks on - no getting outta my swim stuff this year, strapped on the helmet and headed to the bike course - oh, the hills of Birchwood Loop. I got passed by a mountain biker - drats - but as I watched her go by I realized she was channelling the strength of Wolverine - me not. Oh, a down hill and me the speed lover, tucked on my handle bars and rode it out. No brakes for this gal. Then the hill - yikes, failure - had to get off and walk it but that stretched my legs out for the last 2 hills and those I powered though - i think the gel bites had finally kicked in. I turned into the finish bike shoot pedaling to the dismount area and got off the bike - oh, were those tree trunks or my burning quads. I had to look down to make sure. 2nd leg done.

Off goes the helmet, bike back in the stand and onto the run - well actually jog/power walk - this girl hates to run. As runners were returning to the start you could see the smiles on their face and an encouraging comment to keep on - you are almost there. A 14 yr old and I traded jog and speed walk intervals - I would pass her she would pass me - until at the end she won out and crossed the finish line before me - but thats okay - she had a lower number then me which tells me overall I beat her out. HA! Triathlon done!!!!!

Then I came home and had this for dinner - yum Dutch Harbor Crab

2009 Iditarod Restart

We were offered a great opportunity to go to our friends cabin on Willow Lake where the restart of the Iditarod has taken place the past few years. We packed up for an overnighter and headed north Saturday evening to avoid the traffic and got cozy in their Toyostove heated cabin and woke up the next morning to breakfast burritos and coffee. As their friends arrived so did the food - we could have fed a small village with what we had and of course plenty of beverages to wash it all down with. They have quite the set up there - a firepit on the lake, plenty of parking space for your snowmachine, and a sledding hill for Seth to go down. I am not even sure if he realized there was a mushing event going on.

I scored a VIP badge from a gentleman I met while working the gallery the day before and got to schmooze with a lady from Virginia who paid $10,000 to ride in Rick Swenson's sled at the ceremonial start. She said it was an incredible experience.

The Shot

picture from a sculpture at David O'Keefe Studio

Click here for the shot of the day for Phil

Mickelson backflip

It was about to be a 3 way tie today, but Lefty made an amazing shot that gave him a birdie chance to win. As he is addressing the ball to putt, you are just holding your breath that he does not choke and today the ball fell into the cup. Bring on the Open we are rolling

Go Phil

These two make watching golf entertaining. Tiger the cool cat under pressure makes the sport look so easy. Then there is Lefty, the maverick, who you root for every weekend. His shots out of the sand traps are legends in the making - I just wish he would hit more fairways. The Masters begins today and I am hoping for a showdown.

The Last Great Race

The Iditarod began on Saturday, March 1st. Its quite the exciting time downtown for the ceremonial start and then they restart in Willow. If you own a plane most people follow the mushers from checkpoint to checkpoint or campout in the middle of no where and wait for the mushers to mush by. Have hot chocolate (or I am sure some other elixir) a chair and a warm coat and you can sit out there to cheer them on. Visit this site from our newspaper - they have photos from all the checkpoints along the way or go to the official site of the Iditarod and use their link to the GPS locator link. 15 mushers opted to attach 2 Ibs. GPS so that we can track their location and speed. Iditarod goes techy.

Go Team!

We are a sporto family, depending on the season we like to watch Michigan win (especially when they play Notre Dame), check in on the Buffs to see who they should not be losing to, Dallas to see if Romo is going to choke or carry the team, even though the Red Wings lost a bunch of guys to other teams we still root for them. Saw a game in the Joe Louis Arena and it was awesome. Always hoping Phil will make it to Sunday and be the last to putt out and Glen watches Mark Martin make left turns (I check in about every 100 laps or so)and whenever we go to Phoenix we are always looking to see if the Dimondbacks or The Suns are playing - just a good excuse to go to Cooperstown again. Yes, we did see Alice Cooper there doing a photo shoot. Did you know he is married to a soccer mom and lives in the burbs?