Tighten Up

On Monday at work we were discussing an upcoming artist installation that will center around Lightin' Hopkins. Turns out Lightin' Hopkins was inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson. Blind Lemon Jefferson was the inspiration for a former collegemate's restaurant in Deep Ellum (Dallas, TX). He name the restaurant The Blind Lemon and the logo was a lemon wearing sunglasses. It's funny how one topic can lead to another.

So while we were discussing artists and musicians I told them that when I was a mere tyke I was given a portable record player and an album. The album was a compilation of various songs and one of them was Tighten Up by Archie Bell & The Drells. I never knew how to dance the Tighten Up but I remember the song...and that was from about 40 years ago.

What I remember about the song is that Archie Bell says that in Houston they do a dance called the Tighten Up. While I'm telling this story one of the ladies said they she remembers seeing Archie Bell & The Drells perform at something similar to the Houston version of American Bandstand.

So one of my co-workers is intrigued by all of this and she finds a video of Archie Bell & The Drells performing the song. Until I watched the video yesterday, I always thought The Drells were the musicians. I love their dance steps on the video. Enjoy!

Marathon recap and other news

OK. So in yesterday's post I mentioned several things that I need to follow-up with and I still have a few comments to make.

I mentioned that the Scotland/Roy hoopla gang was waiting for Todd at Shepherd & Memorial. We were standing on the bridge that separates River Oaks from NoRO. I also mentioned that my battery died before Todd got to us.

Everyday Italian sent me these photos.

here we are waiting.

here we are getting ready for todd.

todd is in the red shirt.

todd's friend mark came in from san antonio to help todd get through the last few miles.

having run several marathons, i can honestly say that it helps to have people along

the way helping you. whether it is to have supplies for you or to run with you.

ok. the dude has run 23 miles and he is smiling????

close up of todd smiling and getting ready for the allen parkway death march. little did he know! :-)
photo credit (previous 6 photos): Ben Montalbano

I took a photo of my finisher shirt. My finisher medal. And my lucky duck socks. About the socks...I'm not sure if they are still manufactured. I have three pair and I only wear them for runs like the 1/2 marathon, a marathon, a 20k, 25k, etc. Don't always pull them out for the short fun runs. I'm not superstitious but I'm just saying...

A few more thoughts & comments:

• I'm don't mean to complain but I had to pass a BUNCH of walkers during the first 3 miles. I KNOW I was in the slow corral and maybe if I hadn't gone to the port-a-potty I could have moved further up the corral. It is what it is.
• I saw two funny t-shirts. A man was wearing one that had on the back: "It is rude to count out loud the number of people that you pass." As I ran past him, I said, "Funny t-shirt." He started to laugh. There was a lady that had a sign on her back that said, "My Indian name is Drinks Beer While Running."
• My music selection was a bit out of the ordinary for the beginning of the run. I had recently upload Mood Food by Moodswings. Realizing that I was going to have some difficulty for the first few miles, I started listening to Rainsong then Spiritual High (Part 1), Spiritual High (State of Independence) and Spiritual High (Part 3). I repeated those songs and then when the crowd starting moving at a pace that I liked I switched to my real running music. My pace picked up just as Rapper's Delight started playing on the nano. About the time that I was heading south on Montrose at Allen Parkway, the first wave of the green group was running toward us and making the turn onto Allen Parkway. Justin Timberlake started singing What Goes Around Comes Around. I thought that was a bit an odd coincidence. And just about the time that I was mentally losing it, Heather Small started singing Proud. This is a song that has been used on The Biggest Loser. The first verse and the chorus are always uplifting when I'm getting tired from running:

I look into the window of my mind

Reflections of the fears I know I've left behind

I step out of the ordinary

I can feel my soul ascending

I am on my way

Can't stop me now

And you can do the same

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

It's never too late to try

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

You could be so many people

If you make that break for freedom

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

• One more comment about the spectators. Will Rogers said something to the effect, "Not everyone can be a hero. Someone has to stand on the side and cheer." Knowing that many spectators got up early on Sunday and braved the chill and stayed and cheered for people they don't know, I'd say they are the heroes.

OK. Time for a shout out to a few people. For the marathon (26.2 miles):

• runnerOne finish time: 3:13:50
• Richard Peoples finish time: 2:52:05
• Lisa Foronda finish time: 3:58:57
• fellow blogger Running For Gold finish time: 3:02:59
• Danny Kennedy finish time: 4:26:15
• Todd Arenz finish time: 5:12:20
• Tim Chafin finish time: 4:47:49

for the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles):

• Monica Kennedy finish time: 2:49:18
• fellow blogger June Bug finish time: 2:24:__
• Chris Casey finish time: 1:56:33
• str8 up with a twist: 2:20:25

And how can I not mention the overall winners? For the marathon:

• (M) David Cheruiyot finish time: 2:12:32 (three time winner)
• (F) Dire Tune: 2:24:40 (two time winner and course record)

For the 1/2 marathon:

• (M) James Carney finish time: 1:02:21
• (F) Kate O'Neill finish time: 1:11:57

In other news...

My quads were very sore yesterday morning. By late afternoon, I was feeling much better. I went to LeFittes yesterday for a lite workout. Only did some abs, back chest and arms.

I didn't feel like running this morning so this evening I did a spin class. Worked up a good sweat and was STARVING when I got home.

Speaking of coming home...

I got home I had a family matter to address. In a previous post, I mentioned that something was going on in Ft. Worth.

My mother has been having some health issues and today she went to see a neurologist. She has Parkinson's Disease.

Prior to today, the face of Parkinson's Disease was Janet Reno and Michael J. Fox. It now has an all too familiar face.

It's sort of good news/bad news. At least we now know what has been causing the health problems. I don't know much about the disease so I guess I will spend some time doing some research. She was very pleased with the doctor. The doc is going to start her out on some mild meds.

That's it for today. Check back on Wednesday afternoon. I might have a funny surprise for you. ;-)

Sunday recap

Before I start with Sunday, let's go back to:

Saturday night
On our way to 5p Mass at Univ. of St. Thomas, a storm started to blow into town. By the time we left UST it was pouring down rain. I knew it wouldn't last long and I was hoping it would sort of cool things down a bit.

After dinner we returned to NoRO and it was windy and bit cool. I left the sister, brother-in-law and The Calvinator in NoRO and headed over to ERO/Montrose for a Mardi Gras Party at Kenny In Montrose (KIM) & Steve In Montrose (SIM) house for the party. I didn't stay too long because I was a bit tired. It is sort of a ritual for me to make a quick appearance at the KIM & SIM's house and to find Richard Peoples.

Richard is an avid runner and runs circles around me...literally...at Memorial Park. Richard can usually be found in the elite group at runs. I live my running life vicariously through Richard. I'm sure I irritate him because he trains and trains and does everything right and then I show up and say, "Yep. I'll be there in the morning!" as I'm drinking a beer and he is drinking water. More on Richard later.

Sunday morning

OK. It was a bit on the chilly side due to the wind. When I went to walk The Calvinator at 5a it was 43 degrees Fahrenheit. I had laid out my clothes and planned on layering but I kept telling myself, "Dress for the end of the run."

The sister and brother-in-law followed me downtown. We went in separate cars because they were running the 5k and I didn't want them sitting around for a couple of hours waiting for me. I knew where we were going to park and we left with plenty of time. Everything was going as planned until...

We got to the Toyota Center parking garage and it was CLOSED! So now we're stuck in a traffic jam of people (at 6a) who are all scrambling to find parking somewhere. It was a madhouse and stuff like that makes me anxious. People were running out in front of cars and people were driving on the wrong side of the street and I was cussing.

We found a surface lot for $2 each and I bid them adieu. They were going to sit in the car for awhile and watch a movie.

I made my way to the GRB and it was packed because it was cold outside and everybody was trying to stay warm. Anxiety goes up again. It wasn't supposed to be like this and because of the parking situation it is now 630a. I had planned on being inside the GRB by 615a. I always allow time to pee and this was cutting into my pee time.

I make my way through the crowd and accidentally find runnerOne. It is sort of appropriate that I find him because we only see each other before 7a in the morning. I walked over to him and said, "I showed up." He laughed and said, "That is the hardest part about today." I laughed and agreed.

runnerOne on the left. me looking frumpy on the right...my shirt was all gathered because I just put on the belt. i swear!

So we went through our ritual of covering the nipples and applying Vaseline and Body Glide to our feet, underarms and inner thighs. You sort of lose all amount of modesty in situations like this. There were people everywhere doing the same and getting psyched up and waiting to pee.


a couple guys who were in the GRB near me and runnerOne. they ran the 26.2 miles in costume. i guess if you're a super hero, anything is possible.

runnerOne and I bid our adieus, wished each other a good run and he went to check his gear. I wasn't far behind him.


one of the many gear check areas. look at all of those bags!

There were two start times on Sunday. The fast runners for the marathon and the 1/2 marathon got to start at 7a. Those of us on the short bus got to start at 710a. Good thing because I used part of that time standing in line waiting to pee. BTW...I did pee before the run started.
one of the port-a-potty lines

When I checked my gear I made the last minute decision not to layer and to wear shorts, a running shirt and cheap gloves. Let me tell you...there were times that I wished I was dressed in thermal underwear.

It was a beautiful day for the run. Not a cloud in the sky. Going into this run I knew that this wasn't going to be a PR for me so I decided to have fun. I wore my running belt and packed the cell phone and camera with me along with the iPod nano.
sunrise while waiting
photo credit: Houston Chronicle

Enjoy the photos with some additional narrative.

The Start Line

i was in the black corral with the slow runners and the walkers.

The spectators
Part of what makes the run fun are the people who come to cheer and make hoopla! I think the chilly weather may have been a factor in the low number of spectators at the beginning of the run. There were not as many on Quitman but there was a band playing and a lady was heating up the grill to cook fajitas. There was a lady with a sign: Si se puede!

As we got closer to Montrose and as the sun started to warm up the temps, the crowds started to increase.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

even elvis showed up...big and little elvis!

photo credit: Houston Chronicle
the two guys on the right were in their pajamas. when i ran past them they offered me a mimosa. how nice! i didn't accept the beverage. i was trying to figure out where to ditch my gloves.

here are margo and viv. they are the epitome of race supporters. they were cheering and hollering. margo brought bananas, oranges, tissues, pringles and other goodies. by the time i got to them i was getting a bit hungry. the snack hit the spot. if you look at the blue balloon, you can see my name. :-)

somebody always has to be a joker!

this was around mile 11. mile 11.5 is where I sort of mentally lost it because the longest run that I did leading up to sunday was 11. don't get me wrong. i respect the distance of a marathon and a half-marathon but i became a slacker. you see...last year, i got up to 20 miles in training runs before I decided not to do the whole marathon again...so last year, a few weeks before the run, I switched to the half-marathon.

i didn't accept the beer. i didn't want to belch for 2 miles. and besides, beer makes me pee especially when it is cold outside.

The Runners

If you have ever participated or watched a marathon, you have noticed that there are all different types of people out there. All different shapes and sizes, male & female, from young to old, and all different types of ethnicities.

So speaking of runners and peeing...

so here we are around mile 4 or so just as the course passes over i-45. to the left (out of the photo) are two cops. i mean what are they going to do arrest hundreds of men for peeing in public?

i can't remember this guy's name but he shows up at most of the runs in houston and carries the flag. i believe he was running the marathon yesterday. can you imagine carrying a flag for 26.2 miles?

this is what separates the show offs from the slackers. :-) this is the turn around point for the 1/2 marathoners. at this point we only had about 4.5 miles to go. the marathoners had another 16.something to go.

the good thing about the turn around on montrose at richmond is that you can see if anyone is behind you!

the approach into downtown from allen parkway. at this point the marathon course is running parallel to the 1/2 marathon course.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

this is a great photo showing people crossing the finish line after running the marathon and the half-marathon.

Post-Race

So after we all finished, we were ushered into the GRB to get our medals, t-shirts, H2O, food, and gear. People stand around and wait for their friends and family to come into the building.

I made my way back to NoRO. AttyHou's brother-in-law was running his first marathon and Scotland/Roy hoopla group was waiting for him at Shepherd & Memorial. I took two photos and then realized my battery was dead so I never got a picture of Todd when he came running by.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

this photo was taken toward the beginning of the run. when they passed by us around mile 23 they were still wearing the sombreros.

Back to Richard Peoples...he finished 3rd in his age group. Way to go Richard!!!!

I'll have a few more photos posted on Tuesday and a few more comments.

Half marathon (quick update)

Today's run went as well as could be expected. Since I really wasn't ready for this run, I decided to enjoy the run. So I took the camera with me and snapped photos along the way. I also stopped and chatted with people along the way.

Margo and Viv were along the course making hoopla on Montrose. Good Egg Neighbor Mike was on the course. Montrose Ken 'n Rick were out there cheering.

Working on editing the photos and hope to have those out here on Monday with a narrative.

Today I went downtown the George R. Brown (GRB to us Houstonians) to pick up my race number and packet at the Expo. Until today I didn't realize that the GRB was celebrating its 20th Annivesary. I remember the first time I saw the building I thought it looked like a landlocked ship.
The marathon will bring $30 million to the city. Not bad for a weekend event.

The expo has all kinds of stuff! Free stuff and stuff you can buy. There are people from other marathons there promoting their events. Hummer, Best Buy (The Geek Squad), Michelob Ultra were just a few of the major exhibitors. The Roger Clemens Institute at Memorial Hermann was the major sponsor.

This is where they divide the show offs from the slackers. Us slackers had to go to the right to get out packets. The show offs went to the left.
After I got my packet I had to get my chip activated. This chip will track our splits and also make sure that people don't cheat...like Rosie Ruiz.So after the chip was activated, it was time to hunt down my shirt.
I walked to the other side of the exhibit hall in search of my participant shirt and this is what I see! They're only going to give me half a shirt because I'm only running 13.1 miles? How rude.

As you can see, there's all kinds of stuff going on at the expo. I tried a new energy bar...well it's new to me. LÄRABAR According to their website:

LÄRABAR is a delicious blend of unsweetened fruits, nuts and spices - energy in its purest form. Made from 100% whole food, each flavor contains no more than six ingredients. Pure and simple, just as nature intended. 1 SERVING OF FRUIT * NO ADDED SUGAR * UNPROCESSEDRAW * NON- GMO * GLUTEN FREE * DAIRY FREE * SOY FREEVEGAN * KOSHER

The other cool thing that I found is a towel for The Cal Mobile. Well the driver's seat. It is an oversized white towel with an adjustable elastic band to keep it secure so that the towel isn't sliding down the seat while you drive. You can see a picture of it here.

It was time to mosey back to NoRO. The weather was really nice again and I would like to have enjoyed some time outside but I have some out of town visitors arriving tomorrow so I had to str8en things up back at the house.

Oh...I wondered about my 1/2 shirt. I opened up my blue bag that they gave me at the expo and it is a full shirt...not a midrif.