Day 263: Last Week of Winter Break

The boys are out of school this one last week for Winter break. Today two of them, college boy Brandon, and teenager Spencer, headed to Disneyland with friends. The other boy, Harrison went bowling with friends. At 10 p.m. tonight they all ended up back at the Simon house with about 7 other teenagers for an outside basketball game. I tell you it just keeps on goin'! Here, there, and everywhere are these boys.

I, of course, want them reading Charles Dickens masterpiece, Great Expectations (which is their reading assignment for the break), or working on their driver's education on-line, or filling out those college transfer applications, or, or, or.... ahhh, well they'll either get to it or they won't! One thing is for sure, they are having a lot of happy days together over break, and for that I am grateful.

Day 142: The Day After

Today is the day after the big run! I'm feeling great. My legs are sore, which is to be expected... and I'm still dealing with past blisters which have never completely healed, but all and all I feel terrific! Woke up early and have been on the run all day.

In reviewing my race time we calculated that I ran just shy of a 14 minute mile for 13 straight miles, which put me at the finish line in 3 hours, 1 minute. Sure I'd like to increase my time, but it's the distance that trips me up. I love to run super fast! Love to run sprints and shorter quicker distances, but for long distance runs I've got to pace myself so that I can sustain my energy to make it to the finish line. It would however be great to tighten that number up so that I can run the full marathon in March in a faster time. May add that to my goal list!

The race course began at the entrance to California Adventure Theme Park. The first 4 miles of the race took me through this theme park and then through Disneyland while Disney Characters cheered us runners on ... and keep in mind this race began at 6 a.m.! We ran out of Disneyland through Main Street and headed for the streets of Anaheim which were lined with Cheerleaders and school bands from a dozen or more local high Schools! So darling were all these young people to come out in uniform and cheer us on!

This was the Ferris Wheel in California Adventure all lit up with Mickey Mouse in the Center. This is what it looked like when we ran through the park!

Then we ran toward Honda Center and then we ran through the most amazing part of the run ... through Angel Stadium! We ran through the tunnel that all the athletes travel to enter the Stadium. We ran around the bases while the stands were again filled with spectators cheering us on. Family members had made signs for their loved one's wishing them Good Luck ! Little children were waving & cheering Go Mommy, Go Daddy as their folks ran by! It was very much a family and community event that gave you energy to keep going.

Running through Angel Stadium I of course could not stop thinking about two things. Both made me choke up as I was running in this beautiful stadium. One was thinking about the young pitcher Nick Adenhart just 22 years old who had his debut pitching night just a year ago at Angel Stadium only to end up dead later that night after being hit by a drunk driver. I could feel his families pain as I ran that Stadium. It gave me a painful sick feeling in my gut.

The other emotion I felt was visualizing my three sons as they take the field as pitchers and what that feeling must be like. When my son Brandon exits the bullpen and makes that sweet jog to the pitcher's mound while the stadium is packed with parents and adoring fans... what that sensation must be like... I tasted it for one sweet moment and I can see the attraction to this feeling.

That's how I felt when I ran across the finish line... pure exhilaration! The nerves were all gone, I just felt pure jubilation that I had made it... I had finished a very long goal and I was alive to share the memory!

Day 92: Mickey, Minnie and Me

I'm so excited! I just scored a ticket to run in the Disneyland Half Marathon on Labor Day Weekend! The run is 13 miles and will be a great prelude to the full Marathon next March. For those of you who follow my Blog you know that one of my goals for my 49th year leading up to turning 50, is to run a marathon. That's 26.2 miles for those of you that were not sure how long this physical challenge is.

The run at Disneyland takes you through the rides all the while having Disney characters cheer you on! How fun to run through the amazing rides and the entire grounds of this magical amusement park. Certainly beats the sidewalk pavement through a boring neighborhood.

So on Sunday, September 5th I will take off at 7 a.m. working toward my goal of completing a half marathon.

I'm looking forward to the fun of the race and being surrounded by all my favorite characters. And now that I have the ticket I am committed to even more intense training. I've been increasing my miles weekly, and have been loving my longer beach runs in Santa Monica.

Brian made me a play list to listen to while I run with all my favorite tunes. Yesterday I ran with the Ipod for the first time and was inspired by all the motivational songs he recorded. I'm sure the music will help me stay motivated as the miles increase and your mind can play tricks on your brain!

I will continue to keep you all posted as to my running progress and of course I will post fun pictures of me, Minnie, and Mickey when I complete the run at Disneyland!