The Big Race

Well, it's only been about two weeks but we finished moving in and getting organized in our new apartment so now I can settle down some and write about our experience running the Bolder Boulder.
We got there a few days early and had some time to relax. Since this is the only vacation I'll really get, it was nice to sit around doing nothing. I hear it's good for getting used to the higher altitude too. Just relaxing a day or so to get acclimated it always nice.
Okay, enough of the boring stuff. Saturday morning, we went and did lunch packing so our entry fee would be free. We signed up the first day it opened so we got to pack lunches which we heard was the most desirable. Well, we got there and found out that there were going to be about 53,000 lunches made so we got to work. It was actually a lot of fun packing lunches. We were supposed to be there about four hours but finished after about two and a half.
We were going to go running for a mile or two one day to see how running in the mountains was. I wasn't too fond of the idea because it would show how much the altitude would affect me but it didn't matter, I got too lazy and we ended up not running before the race.
The morning of the race was exciting. We went out and watched the wheelchair racers start first. They were really fast and it was very impressive. It was an impressive sight. I thought I had it bad running 10 km but they had to go the 10 km using only their arms. I felt like a wimp after watching them.
Then the first runners came through. We watched just outside of Kendall's sister's apartment since the race went right by. We were in a later group of runners so we had plenty of time to watch others.
After a bit, I found out that we had to bike to the starting line. I wasn't too happy about that since I wanted to conserve my energy for the actual run because that's what we went out to do but it ended up not being that bad and I wasn't really that tired once we got there.
They had us line up in our respective heats and blocked us off. We all were walking towards the starting line waiting for our turn to run. It came faster than I expected but I was glad to get started. We have video of it all down below for those interested in watching a 10 minute video of our run. I held the camera the whole way getting clips of various things.
The actual run was pretty fun. There were lots of little things on the side of the road to keep our minds off of the actual run. There were quite a few bands playing music. There were some belly dancers which I guess are a highlight of the race (I didn't really care at all). Then there were the spectators watching just outside their houses cheering us all on. It was really cool being able to see all the different things people did to watch the race. Now that I think about it, there was a slip and slide that some people had that runners would go down. It was pretty funny to see it.
The running was pretty good. I wasn't sure how the altitude would affect us but it didnt' bother us actually. More than anything, the steady climbs are what killed me. I had hoped to run the whole race without stopping but I had to just before the 4 km mark because I had pushed too hard trying to keep our 10 minute mile pace that we had while we ran in Oklahoma...in a gym...with no wind...with no incline whatsoever...with no people to have to run around. So, I ended up having to walk for almost a minute but then I got going again and finished the rest of the race without stopping. Kendall was worried that we would have to stop again several times because I had stopped so early but she didn't have to worry about it. I will say that I started to get tired around the 9 km mark but then it was almost over and I knew it so I found the energy to be able to keep going. It was mostly uphill but then it leveled off when we got to the stadium.
At the end, you go into the stadium where people who have finished are in the stands cheering you on. We went half way around the track and then finished. They had the camera on the finish line so we were able to see ourselves on the JumboTron. It was pretty cool.
We then went and got our lunches, headed to Stephanie's to get the costumes Kendall's mom made for Kendall and Mom and Dad, and then we went to go find them so the three could dress up. They went as Little Red Running Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, and Grandma. It was pretty good. I didn't want to run with a costume on the first race I've ever done so I was myself. We eventually found them and then walked the last 1.5 km or so. The camera was focused on the three of them as they crossed the finish line so they were on the JumboTron as well. As we walked, there were quite a few people that would look and point out little red riding hood. It was fun listening to all of them.
After we all finished, we sat in the stadium watching for the celebration to happen. It was about 50 degrees outside so it felt cold while we sat there. It was perfect for the run but a little too cold for just sitting. Then it rained a little too so that wasn't all that fun. Eventually they started with an introduction for a Medal of Honor recipient and then did some patriotic things. They even had a fly over with four F-16s which was really cool. I really enjoyed it. It was a good way of honoring those who have served our country on Memorial Day.
It was a good run, especially for my first one and we both had a lot of fun. It might be something we do again in the future. We'll see...


Bolder Boulder from Kenta Hood on Vimeo.

Giddy Up

It's been a little while since graduation, but I'm pretty sure that I had the coolest graduation party ever. With that said, I think it is only appropriate that I blog about it so you can see for yourself. What made the celebration so cool? Two words:

MINIATURE HORSES

I should probably elaborate on that statement in order for you to understand why I think (and why you should think) miniature horses are so cool. First, let's examine my early years........

A few girls in our family suffered from mild horse obsessions at a very young age. Growing up in suburbia, we pretty much knew we were never going to own a horse. I did, however, own an extensive collection of My Little Ponies, complete with a very "loved" pony castle, which I later learned was purchased by Santa Claus at a garage sale. I grew out of the My Little Pony stage right into the Breyer Horse collection stage. I proudly displayed them on the highest shelves of my bookshelf where no one could touch them. That lasted until I got sick of worrying about my horses falling down and breaking their legs - which happened twice. So I gave up the horse collecting. But I never quit liking horses.

How did this horse obsession start? I guess I could blame my older sisters Shelly and Stephanie (the latter who spent part of her childhood pretending to be a horse named "Parkie General"). But I think the real culprit was a little known Australian film that is mentioned with hushed tones in the Michaelsen household. I speak of The Man From Snowy River. I had a crush on Jim Craig. And I wanted to ride a horse like he did.

In my opinion, this movie has one of the best chase scenes ever. As a child, I did not have the patience to watch the entire film just to get to the exciting part at the end. I think I wore out the last 15 minutes of that Beta tape. Ohhhh....it is excellent.

And the music is good, too.

Anyway, so my dormant horse obsession was recently awakened by a visit to a miniature horse show at the county fairgrounds. As our inner cowgirls stirred within us, Maren and I schemed ways in which we could convince Mom and Dad to buy a couple of miniature horses for their little farm so that we..uh...I mean, the grandkids could play with them on vacation. The plan? Lure Mom and Dad to a miniature horse farm the next time they were in town. Which just happened to be for my graduation.

I think Mom and Dad were smitten. I sure was.

Soooo cuteAnd the kids loved them







Well, most of them, anyway

Can I have one? Pretty please?

I think this experience had a major impact on Kenta. He's gotten a little horse-crazy himself lately. Here is a recent conversation that we had:

Kenta: I was at the Rib Crib today with Dad and they had some footage of the horserace....oh, man..what's the name...? The one that's right after the Kentucky Derby? It starts with a P?

me: Oh! Um... yeah - the Preakness?

Kenta: Right! The Freakness -

me: (I interrupt with peals of laughter) Preakness! (emphasis on the P) "With a P".

It's okay. A common blunder- probably due to the fact that he has never seen The Man From Snowy River. We will have to remedy that.

The Bachelor(ette)

Yes. It's true. I finally graduated. Last Saturday they gave me a piece of paper that says I am now qualified to play the harp. What a glorious day. Here's how it went:

Somebody had to get things started by carrying the banner into the auditorium. For some reason still unknown to me, I was chosen. Perhaps they felt sorry for me because all my friends from freshman theory class are graduating with their Masters this year and I am still a lowly Bachelor(ette).



Do not ever pity a Fine Arts major. We realize that we will never make large amounts of money. But we get paid to play and don't have to sit at some boring desk job. Still aren't convinced that Fine Arts is the way to go? I think this next clip speaks for itself. This is a segment if the graduation ceremony just prior to the keynote speaker (who was an actor/director -very entertaining).



I was given an award during the graduation. It was really hard listening to them talk about my accomplishments because, frankly, all the other kids who got awards did WAAAYYY more stuff than I did. But I won't complain. The best part of the pretty plaque was the check taped to the back :o)



And here's the best part. A funny side note to this is that before the ceremony all the graduates were given a blue sheet of paper with their names and majors on it for the announcer to read. Since I was carrying the banner, I didn't meet with the other kids beforehand and, therefore, did not receive my blue paper. It wasn't until the ceremony started that I realized I didn't have a paper like everyone else. In a moment of panic, I asked myself "What would MacGyver do?" I had to be resourceful. I ripped a page from my program in half and borrowed a pen from a lady behind me. I then borrowed another student's blue paper and copied down the info I needed. Nothing was going to stand between me and graduation.



And none of this would have been possible without my biggest supporters



My cute husband



My parents and the best harp teacher ever, Ms. Leblanc

It feels good to finally be ejimukated and grajimukated.

'Tis the Season

So, Kenta and I were about to continue our Thursday night ritual of dinner, followed by pilates (for me, Kenta just stays at home and plays with the computer or his RC stuff), followed by the only half an hour of TV that we watch - The Office. We excitedly sat down to watch it and turned the TV on. Instead of our friendly Office friends, this is what we saw:

I do not live anywhere near Pawnee, Oklahoma. I have never heard of Skedee, Jobes, or Esau Junction. I doubt that people actually live there. So why do we have to watch hours of "possible" tornado coverage (notice that it clearly states in bold letter "Poss Tornado") in a part of the state that is predominantly occupied by thousands of square miles of grass, with the occasional trailer park or herd of cows? This event has inspired me to write the following. Feel free to sing these lyrics to a popular children's song that you may know:

I turned on the TV and what did I see?
Gary England shouting right back at me
Spring has brought me such a nice surprise
Funnel clouds forming right before my eyes
I can take the remote and turn to channel 3
But Mike Morgan's shouting just as loudly
It isn't really so,
But it seemed to me
The Office was more important than my friends in Pawnee

*disclaimer - I actually do not know anyone in Pawnee - it just rhymed


If you aren't from Oklahoma, or have not lived here for awhile, or maybe you still live here - whatever the case may be - you will get a kick out of the following. *side note* I NEVER pass on a youtube video unless I think it is absolutely worth watching.



So, my friends, this is Oklahoma weather. Yes, we have fancy radar and good graphics and some Doppler schmoppler thing, but we also have weathermen that do all kinds of crazy stuff like chase tornados while screaming commentary into the camcorder and nonstop tornado coverage that lasts for 3 hours at a time on every major TV station. But, folks, that's what keeps us safe. And I'm not too bitter.

They promised to rebroadcast the episode of The Office that we missed.

At 3:00 a.m.