2009 - We Hardly Knew Ya

Before we turn the calendar for the first time in Twenty-Ten, I figured that I better get out a quick-hitter year-in-review post. I thought about writing in complete sentences but then I decided to just do this:

Miles run - approx. 1370
Married miles on the "runningmoon" - approx. 24

Ironmans - 1
Porto-potty shuffle Ironmans - also 1

times splashed - 1
times dashed - 5
times dashed masquerading as Chuck Norris - 1
times splashed 'n' dashed - 3
PR races - 1 (half marathon)

sports hernia surgeries - 0!
"bad coughs" - 1

Notre Dame basketball losses attended - 1
Notre Dame football losses attended - 3
Notre Dame football wins attended - 0
Notre Dame losses responsible for - probably 4
Gallons of KoolAid drank upon Coach Kelly's hiring - several

wives qualified for the Boston marathon - 1
best buds qualified for the Boston marathon - 1
my jealousy - increasing

hill repeats up Lovers' Lane in the Presidio - 60
Chartered trolley repeats up Lovers' Lane in the Presidio with my brand new wife and our families - 1

skirmishes with mounted policewomen - 1
vehicles commandeered for wedding related purposes - 1
times I married my best friend and love of my life - 1

2010 is shaping up quite nicely already. Jeffro Miami nuptials, Boston Marathon, Hawaii 70.3, UM@ND, ND@SC, plus some surprises along the way. Stay tuned!

#66 in your program, #1 in your heart

Two weekends ago, MattHogg raced his first half marathon. Making good on a drunken promise, Team Vazac travelled back East to witness this feat. Knowing Matt had covered that distance twice before in training, we knew finishing wasn't going to be a problem. The only question was how fast.

Big #66 didn't disappoint.

Matt rocked it. He blew away his pre-race goal (sandbagger!) by over five minutes. Go outside and run a mile. Do it under 8 minutes flat. Then do it 12 more times. That ain't easy. Then try to do it accompanied by an overly-chatty in-law with a shaky hand. That's what Matt did - all the while bringing sexy back to running. What a champ!

Congratulations to you, Matt. It was an honor to run with you. Keep up the training and you'll have a great chance to move up the hierarchy of Vazac endurance athletes (look out Andrea!). But remember: we're all just racing for second place.

Roundhouse Kicks for Everyone

On a crisp winter day in San Francisco, Chuck Norris delivered roundhouse kicks to the field of the Kaiser Half Marathon. Although he finished within one second of Andrea, she swears that she never saw him.

Of course, Andrea knows that if you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

I consider her very lucky.

Runs that aren't races...

...in beautiful places with bright shiny faces and moderate paces. So tie up your laces for a run that erases your blues awwwwwaaayyyyy!!
-Andrea

Yesterday was a bitter sweet day for Team Vazac. We headed up to Rodeo Beach for a trail non-race put on by the good folks over at Pacific Coast Trail Runs. Only seven weeks into my post-bilateral sports hernia life, I was relegated to being superfan.

Andrea, of course, rocked the house. She finished only 18 seconds off the podium in the 20k race, after having not run as much as she'd like to over the past 5+ weeks. Check out this form! After the race she proved how little the hills took out of her by rubbing her belly and patting her head at the same time.

A big congrats to our friends Donna & Dave who exceeded even our high expectations in their first ever trail race. They were nervous about the 8k race (with over 1000 feet of climbing) at first, but I promised that the proper medical support would be on hand. This is a very tough race, here is the first of many, many hills. Their post-race reward? Growlers! Side note: never mess with Donna in the finishes chute. She'll get you every time.

Congrats to all the racers! (sniff sniff, single tear....)