Browse Author: beakatude

Strong work, boys!

This morning, Jesse, Jimmy, Pish, and Jay finished their first metric century, which is 100 km or 62 miles. The event was called the Cool Breeze Century and it started in Ventura, went up to Santa Barbara, and back to Ventura. While the boys rode, Eleen, Debbie, and I drove behind them, in front of them, stopped for some luch, met them at rest stops, and took lots of photos and video. We didn’t know where to start or how to get around with the lousy directions without a map so we hopped into my car that had GPS. The hills looked rather brutal but the boys performed well.
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Afterwards, Jes and I went to my parents’ house for my dad’s 61st birthday party. Man, each time I go to one of these things, there seems to be more and more people I don’t know showing up. Each person brought a Thai dish or dessert and someone even brought Thai karaoke. I was so stuffed by the end of the night. They sure do know how to throw a BBQ! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Are you ready to go?

Camp is all done. Closing ceremony made me cry again and moving day was the fastest ever! I’m still sick, a little sad about leaving camp, but looking forward to my 2 weeks off.
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We’re at La Quinta Inn and getting ready for Jes’ metric century ride. The bike is pumped, the boys are in their rooms, and Jes is a little sick. They’re meeting in the lounge at 7:30 and roll-off is at 8 am. Woohoo!!

ah…playtime!

I woke up this morning with broken legs. My legs are so sore. I hobbled around like an old lady all day. I hope this doesn’t last long.
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In other news, the past two weeks of Camp have been very busy and I’ve been stuck in the office most of the time. But now that it’s the 3rd and last week, the paperwork is done and it’s time to play! I spent most of my day outside taking photos, chatting with old friends, and reminiscing with Brooke, who came to visit today. My 3rd summer running this dog and pony show has been bittersweet but I’m going to enjoy it now. Bring on the waterslide!

Goal met.

The AFC Half Marathon is all done! Getting up in the morning wasn’t as painful as I expected. Unfortunately, there were some party girls down the hall that kept everyone else up and Nikki ended up with only 1 hour of sleep. We were out the door by 5:15 and on the charter bus by 6 am. My peanut butter sandwich was not very appetizing so early in the morning but it did its job. My time goal was 2:15 and I finished in 2:12:35!! Yay me!! Nikki finished under 2 hours, which was her goal so she did well too. Now we’re home. I took a super nap in the car, super nap at home, and my headache is finally gone. *sigh* It’s too bad I have to go to work tomorrow.

Do you have a banana?

Tomorrow is America’s Finest City Half Marathon. I’m in San Diego now after a long drive through traffic. I picked up my race packet this afternoon, checked into the motel room, and had a nice carbo-load dinner in the Gas Lamp District with Jay and Nikki (our neighbors). On our way back to the motel, we had to find part of my breakfast for tomorrow morning. We walked all over the place looking for a banana. 7-11? Nope. Rite Aid? Nope. Cafe across the street? Nope. Mini-market next door? Nope again. Finally, we asked the lady at the front desk, “do you have a banana?” and she gave us a funny look. She agreed to look for one but asked “what are you going to do with it?” Silly girl, it’s my breakfast! Turned out that she didn’t have any. Oh well. Now it’s time for bed…gotta be up at 4:30, out the door by 5:15, and on the shuttle to the starting line by 5:45. Race starts at 7 am! Wish me luck!

the old man returns

Today at Camp, our buddy, Kurt Rambis, came by for another visit! The campers and volunteers had a good time shootin’ hoops with him and I took him around the campus for the usual tour. The rest of the week has been pretty interesting. We’ve found volunteers coupled off in an empty room, kids throwing up, a petting zoo with ponies and bunnies, and we’re almost out of ice packs. What’s funny is that this is all very normal for Camp. There’s one more week left after this one and it will be my last. It’s been fun. It’s been tiring. It’s also time for me to pass it along to the new staff.