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By kilax, November 6, 2012 6:53 am

Have you ever been to one of those Fancy Schmancy movie theaters where the seats recline…

you can prop your feet up…

and waiters serve you at your chair?

I hadn’t until this weekend! But I wanted to try it. My sister has been to a few cool theaters in the Kansas City area that offer this style of movie viewing, so she recommended one and we all (me, her, our significant others, and Steven’s dad and brother) saw Argo together Saturday night. 

I think there were only 30 seats in the theater, and they were in rows of 6 seats – so we reserved a whole row to ourselves* ! And the row is set up so that you can’t see anyone else except the people in your row. So it kind of felt like our own private little theater!

And, did I mention, you have to be 21 and older to use this theater? And that they serve alcoholic beverages?!

It was really fun, and I felt pampered, with my feet up (boots off), in a comfy chair, with wait staff. There were only a few issues:

• I got so comfortable I started to fall asleep a bit. Ha! 
• The leather seat made me feel too hot by the end of the movie. 
• Our waiters forgot about us for a bit (you turn on a light for them to come to your chair, and they forgot about our order). My sister said that is not typical.  

Overall, we had a great time (and the movie was great) and I would love to do this again! I think it’s too expensive to see every movie this way (in fact, Steven and I usually only see movies when we have coupons), but this is definitely a special treat!

*This is probably really good, as I got a bit giggly (prior to the movie starting), as I tend to around my sister.

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By kilax, November 5, 2012 8:00 am

Since my brother-in-law Andrew did so well at the muddy 2012 Corn Maze run a few weeks ago, I figured it was time for his first true trail race. I knew I was going to be in Kansas City (where he lives) this past weekend so I sent him an email with a link to the  Shoal Creek Living History Wilderness Run, and asked “Don’t you want to ruin another pair of shoes?!”

Despite this description though – “This challenging cross-country run/walk in beautiful Hodge Park will have you running through the museums village, up and down hills, over logs, through the woods, crossing creeks and more!” – no shoes were ruined. The trail was dry dry dry. But! It was challenging!

Oops, I get ahead of myself. So, I somehow convinced Andrew to sign us up, despite that process being a huge PITA on the City of Kansas City website and despite him injuring his foot at the 10/20 Kansas City Half Marathon. Thanks, Andrew!

Aww, are you cold, Andrew? Okay, I did think it would be warmer than 36° at the start, but I felt great when the sun came out and rolled my sleeves down.

At first (in my mind) this race was just going to be a fun way to get our weekend started – burn a few calories before the tremendous amount of overeating we do together began. But then I saw in an informational email about the event that the first 175 5-miler finishers got medals (there was a 2-mile event as well). And all of a sudden… I cared about being in the top 175. Ha. So I looked at the finishing times from last year and decided that a 10:00 minute mile average would be really good for me on a trail course… and hoped that that would get me in the top 175. Because I need more cheap-o participation medals for my rack.*

The race description was accurate – it was mostly cross country (a small portion of that being single-track) and some crushed rock paths. In the beginning I was talking to Andrew, saying how this was my first 5-mile race. Then I joked that I had never even run 5 miles before! Another runner overheard me and seemed concerned, saying, “This is a very difficult course for your first 5-miler.” Ha ha ha. I told him not to worry, that I was joking and did a trail ultra this year. 

But, it was my first 5-mile race, and Andrew’s first trail race**! We stuck together the entire time, with me running just a few feet ahead of him. We ran up all the hills, jumped over logs and up on to concrete barriers. We walked at the two water stops, and finished in 48:29! We were the 68th and 69th finishers, so we got our participation medals! And I also got first in the women’s 20-29 age group. 

Andrew said he really liked the variety of a trail course. I was reminded of that too, when I was out on the course. But I was also reminded of how damn hard trail races are. Ha! I know 10:00 minute miles doesn’t seem very fast, but it took effort for me to keep it below that pace on the varied terrain and with the hills. I wonder how I will do on the trail races I am signed up for in November and December!

A special thanks to our spectators who disappeared in the middle of the race and somehow had McDonald’s Coffee cups when they showed back up. Hmm. 

They swore up and down that they got the McDonald’s cup from the race volunteers. Then, later in the day, I downloaded the pictures they took at the race and found this:

As I like to say to Data – “Caught in the Act!” Ha ha ha. Apparently this picture was taken so I could see the sticker in the window of the truck two cars ahead of them… at the place that looks suspiciously like a McDonald’s Drive-Thru. 

All joking aside, it was very nice to have Steven and his dad there, and also very nice of them to wait while they announced my 1st place AG award:

I would definitely do this race if I was in town for it again. It was inexpensive (Andrew paid for me, ha!), they had great food at the end (fruit, bagels, soup), in a neat area (history farm and scenic park) and had a friendly atmosphere. And! Yay! Participation Medals!

Have you done any races that randomly had participation medals?

The Girls on the Run 5K I did had them. And other races themed for kids have had them. Hmm… I am seeing a pattern here…

*Obviously, I don’t, but it would be a bummer to be one of the people who ran and didn’t get one. 
**And maybe his first 5-mile race too? 

Comments (13)

By kilax, November 4, 2012 10:08 am

Highlight of the Week: Running Andrew’s first trail race with him (race report tomorrow… hopefully)! Second place highlight – awesome outdoor strength workout on Friday that involved playground equipment… and lots of burpees and pushups. 

Monday | October 29, 2012: 3.1 m run (w/Anne)
Loc: Half Day FP, Temp: 48°/45°, Time: 38:51, Pace: 12:31 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | October 30, 2012: rest
Wednesday | October 31, 2012: strength + 6 m run (w/Bobbi and GRCers)
Strength: Spartan Circuit + core, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: really sore in my hips
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 41°/37°, Time: 1:02:06, Pace: 10:21 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: somewhat labored from class
Thursday | November 1, 2012: rest
Friday | November 2, 2012: strength (incl. 1.75 m run)
Strength: Suburban Assault Workout, Difficulty: hard, Felt: challenged
Saturday | November 3, 2012: Shoal Creek Living History Wilderness Run (5 m run, w/Andrew)
Loc: KC, MO, Temp: 36°/39°, Time: 48:29, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: somewhat taxed
Sunday | November 4, 2012: rest

Notes:

• Well… I think I got my rest week!
• I used to be really good at working out when I travel, but lately, my travels are so filled with activities, that unless I find a race, the only way to fit a run in is to wake up super early… which is hard for me when I am staying up much later than I am used to. Wah wah wah. 
• The closer I get to the end of the year, the more I know I won’t make all of my 2012 running goals, as I am running out of time (har de har har). And that’s okay. I think my focus for next year should be on #8 on that list. Ha. I say that every year. But really. 2013. Yep. 

Comments (5)

By kilax, November 3, 2012 7:56 am

How is it that I turn in to a zombie race morning?

Okay, maybe not exactly a zombie – I am not craving human flesh. But the alarm goes off and my first thought is usually, “Why did I sign up for this race? I just want to sleep in!” Even for big races that I have been training for… I sometimes have these thoughts. 

And the race I am doing today doesn’t even start until 9:00 am. Ha! Granted, we were up until close to 1:00 am. Anyway…

Do any of you pop out of bed a bundle of energy race morning? Or do you stumble out zombie-style?

This probably has to do with the fact that I usually sleep poorly the night before a race, and my body just wants more sleep when the alarm goes off. 

The winner of the Anjolee Jewelry Giveaway is #9, Amanda –  TooTallFritz. Amanda, please email me at kilax@ilaxstudio.com to claim your prize! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Comments (26)

By kilax, November 2, 2012 6:08 am

Daylight saving time – for it, or against it?

Starting next week, the sun will set earlier in many areas.

This Sunday at 2:00 am, most of us will gain an hour of sleep, as we leave Daylight saving time (DST). The wikipedia page on DST is quite interesting – both the history of it, and the pros and cons of it.

Anyway.

Short answer – I would be happy to keep one time year round,  but I think it would be DST, with more light in the evening. I have to get up when I have to get up in the morning, and the light then isn’t helping me too much (and I don’t mind running in the dark). I just get really bummed in the winter when I get home from work and it’s already dark. And not to mention, moving the clocks around really seems to mess with me!

Has anyone ever lived somewhere where they did not practice DST? What did you think about it?

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By kilax, November 1, 2012 7:02 pm

I try to keep negative thoughts to myself, but I had to write this in hopes it would make me feel better. Hopefully I will be in better spirits tomorrow… or after I hit publish!

Oh! Look! It’s raining boxes in our neighborhood!

Wow! Some ended up in the marsh! That’s odd…

Hmm, how did these boxes get here? What a fun game to find them all!

Sigh. 

Steven usually works from home every day, but was gone yesterday for meetings. Today he noticed that FedEx said they delivered a package yesterday, but he didn’t get it. “Why don’t we look in the marsh,” I suggested. 

We found some of our stuff, and boxes for three other houses. Someone took the boxes from all the houses facing the street, and opened them destroyed some items and scattered the rest around. We still don’t know where some of our stuff is. 

I know that this is not a big deal. This week has been awful for many people dealing with Hurricane Sandy (and other real problems). I shouldn’t be upset. But this really made me sad. One of the packages for someone else was fresh pears from Harry & David. I bet those were a gift. One of the boxes for someone else had a food mix in it that was opened. 

I didn’t put our Halloween pumpkin out, because I was afraid someone would vandalize it. Now I feel less crazy. But, I still feel sad. 

Anyone have a good story from their day to cheer me up?

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By kilax, November 1, 2012 4:55 pm

Political race, that is. Did you think I was talking about something else? Ha ha. 

We were in Iowa this past weekend, and one of my family members commented on the annoyance of living in a swing state with all the political calls and mailers.

“That’s weird!” I said, “we haven’t been getting any political mailers!”

Steven looked at me like I was crazy. And told me that, yes, we in fact do, he just recycles them after he gets the mail. So I never see them.

And boy, was he right! We came home on Sunday to two days worth of mail – about 20 political mailers.

And this one came last night:

WHAT?! WHO DOESN’T LIKE KITTENS?!!! I CANNOT VOTE FOR THIS PERSON.

Ha ha ha. Just kidding. I don’t even know who this person is, and didn’t look at the back of the mailer. It did get my attention though!

Anyway, I am very happy Election Day is next week. I am ready. As a highly anxious person, not knowing who will be elected is making me feel really uneasy. And… that is all I will say about that! Ha!

Does election season make anyone else feel highly anxious? Any funny mailers arriving at your house?