The Long Run

Appearances: CCS Finals in Gilroy

If you're looking for something to do this weekend head down to the CCS Track and Field Championships Friday in Gilroy.  I am the master of ceremonies so I will be giving out some awards.  As a former CCS athlete I remember how exciting this meet was so I am really looking forward to going back and cheering all the athletes on.  If you see me, say hi! 

Things I Love: Flight of the Conchords

On Monday night, I had a chance to see the Flight of the Conchords Concert at the Berkeley Community Theater in what was the final stop of their tour. Despite some major problems with a fire alarm beforehand, the show started only 20 minutes late, for which the tour manager kindly apologized...a far cry from your typical concert where tardy starts are the norm.

The show opened up with a comedy routine by Arj Barker, who plays the pawn shop owner in the series and who also hails from the Bay Area (Marin County to be specific). He was a pleasant surprise and quite entertaining, delivering many jokes that had me laughing quite loudly. From the looks of it, he's planning to be at Cobb's Comedy Club in SF in early July. He seems like a really cool guy, so if you're around I would recommend attending.

The guys from Flight of the Conchords (Jemaine & Bret) were hilarious. Their ability to improvise and play off each other and the audience was impressive. When I first heard about the tour, I wasn't sure how well their act would translate to a live performance. When I left, I kept thinking that their show was one of the best concerts I had ever been to. Although the ridiculousness of their lyrics makes it more of a comedy skit than a concert, I was impressed by how much I also liked the melodies of their pieces.

I was going to try to list what song I liked best, but they were all pretty hilarious. My favorites from the TV series are "Too Many Mother 'uckers" & "Foo de Fa Fa," both of which the played. I would have to say that their performance of "Sugar Lumps" definitely stole the show though, as they left their chairs to display their dance moves and ended up grooving with an audience member's camera phone. 

Sunday Funday

Yesterday I had a great time taking full advantage of my Sunday. It seems the entire running community has headed up to Bouler for the Boulder Boulder 10k, so I was able to meet up with a lot of friends.

I started the day with a long run in Denver, accompanied by my good friend Dan DeMartini and two of his former teammates from Occidental, Robbie and Gaylan. We ran on the Highline Canal Trail, starting off from a parking lot off Colorado St. about a mile south of where it intersects with Hampden St. We started out going south on the trail, following the canal and enjoying the the beautiful houses and green rolling countryside. It was wonderful out and back 12 miler. The trail was wide and tree shaded, and tt snaked along the canal route with slight undulations and an excellently maintained surface.

After the run, we went to brunch (of course). Gaylan, who goes to graduate school at the University of Denver, directed us to Pete's University Park Cafe on the corner of University and Evans. The menu had more choices than I could handle, so I stuck with the egg page, ordered something with vegetables, and smilesd widely when my food came.

After that I headed off to Boulder to visit the family of my friend Jim Moriarty, who I met 3 years back when we sat next to each other on a flight from Indianapolis to Denver. Jim assured me that after visiting Boulder would never want to leave. He was right. I spent the day with his son Jimmy, daughter Melissa, and friends (Carlos & James)...all of whom were some of the nicest people I have ever met. Since Melissa and Carlos were racing Boulder Bouler, we relaxed for the afternoon watching planet earth and playing with Jim's new puppy Sophie.

I got to end my day with all my friends enjoying a delicious dinner at Upstairs on Pearl St. (an extension of The Kitchen). There were 8 of us total, and we had a great time. We started with some appetizers, all of which were delicious. For our main course, Melissa and I shared the Lamb burger (which was perfectly seasoned) and the Semolina Gnocci with mushroons (unique and delicious). I would highly recommend the restaurant.

All in all, a wonderful day!

Stashies at Nashies: The Mustache Debate on Flotrack

The boys at Flotrack decided to grow mustaches (stashies) for Outdoor NCAAs (Nashies). Ryan Fenton (of Flotrack) and I discuss the best fate for his facial hair. Below is what he decided on.

Summer Sandals

Being the girl that I am, I love shoes. When I was in Paris last summer for the Golden League meet I splurged and bought myself some Dior heels. I decided to carry on the shoe shopping tradition on this trip, so when I had some time to kill out here in Colorado Springs I hit the shops.  There are a few cute boutiques downtown lining Tejon St. I wandered into Colorado Co-Op and found some great summer sandals by Corso Como (an Italian brand that I have always found to be quite comfortable). The style is called Santorini, which coincidentally is one of my favorite Greek islands. I went with the brown version. They have a nice padding under the ball of the foot and they seem to stay secure on my feet...all of which is very important when I am racing because I need to take good care of my feet. Plus they're versatile: I have worn them with both jeans and dresses, and have been quite pleased

Kids & Curries

Thursday night I joined my friends from the Runner's Roost (a great running store in downtown Colorado Springs) for an Indian buffet at Little Nepal. Well, since a few of them are British, we actually went for "a curry". I was excited to see that one of the guys, Jeff, brought his adorable 8 month old son. What could be better than kids and curries? And no Phil, I didn't try to mix the two together.

Crazy Signs

On Thursday I did some hill repeats up on Gold Canyon Road. I passed this mail box/sign/?poo bag? on each of my intervals, and it made me laugh every time.

New Pictures

I just posted some picture from our Seven Falls adventure last weekend. Check them out in the photo album on the left of the screen entitled Colorado Springs OTC 2009.

Hanging out in Colorado Springs

When we're not working out, Leo, Ryan and I try to find "big time TKs" (time killers).

Saturday we watched the new Star Trek movie. The audience was filled with young boys and older men, but we did see the Michigan swim team leaving after the show, so I guess there were a few other Olympians in the audience. The movie was of fun. The plot reminded me a lot of Star Wars, which I watched a million times as a kid. Since it's pretty obvious that everything is going to turn out for the best, so it was a great happy-go-lucky film to watch.

Sunday we took a drive out to Seven Falls where we found inspiration at Inspiration Point and admired the beauty of the Rocky Mountain Range. Leo and I keep talking about how we want to go on an adventure, so our mini-hike (1 mile) was a nice mid-season substitute. Ryan really wants to go fly-fishing...instead he got to stare at some trout. Afterward we took a drive to Manitou Springs, which is a cute little town on the road leading to Pike's Peak. Cook said we had to try the Bison burgers at "this great place out there," so we did some research, found the Keg Lounge, and were not disappointed.

Here are some pictures from our adventures. I have posted more in the photo album.

 

Colorado HS Regional Meet

Leo, Chris Lukezic and I all met up at the Colorado High School Regional meet last Friday in Colorado Springs. We met a lot of great kids, but we had particular interest in the boys 3200m race. Jesse, the son of our favorite local chiropractor Jeff Matthews (seen in the photo), placed 3rd!