Olympic Fever

Are you just loving the 2008 summer Olympics? Because I totally am. I've been hooked since the opening ceremony, which was awesome. Awesome, yet a tiny bit scary. Is it just me or did the Chinese government seem to be sending a message to the world....like Hey world, look at us. We have a bazillion citizens who will and must do ANYTHING we tell them to. Yes, and they will do exactly as we tell them-all perfectly in sync. You are now being hypnotized by our symbolic and peaceful movements. You will now do anything we say... Ok, whoa. Gotta snap out of it. Moving on...


How about that Michael Phelps! Did I even know who he was before that Phelps Phan AT&T cell phone commercial? No! But who cares?! Phelps is awesome and I don't think I've ever been so excited and into any kind of Olympic event than I was a couple of days ago when the American relay team beat out those Frenchies. Even better that the Frenchies were trash talking prior to the Olympics. Eat it, France. Ok, ok so that's not very Olympic-ish of me. I am very proud of all of the athletes from all over the world. GO USA!
Aaaaand Michael Phelps just won his 5th gold so far-yet another world record.

Right now I am watching women's gymnastics. Minimum age for this sport is 16. Now tell me the truth...does these girls look 16 to you? I might have thought the second one was much younger, but I dunno...she's wearing some pretty serious blue eyeshadow and she can't possibly be under 16 if she's wearing that kind of eyeshadow, right?
And I really can't wait for the marathons. Women's is on the 17th and men's is on the 24th, the last day. So to close this post, let us learn a little marathon history and pay homage to Spyridon Louis of Greece, who won the first modern day marathon in the 1896 Olympics. Wikipedia says that his race fuel was this: beer, milk, wine, orange juice and an egg. Hmmmm...maybe he's got something there. Maybe that's the secret to winning a marathon...Perhaps I'll try it on my long run this weekend. Here he is, looking like the stud he was:

Let's hear it for the old folks

Greg loves the guitar. He loves to listen to it, play it and watch other people play it. He'll even get down on some Guitar Hero. That's why I scored major points when I got him tickets to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd for his birthday. KWS is a bluesy rocker-type guitarist who taught himself to play by listening to his father's Muddy Waters records. He was only 7 years old. By the time he was 17 he recorded his debut album, which spent 20 weeks at the top of the blues charts (He is now 30). Guitar World named him the third best guitar player...after B.B. King and Eric Clapton. You get the picture. The guy is badass.So last Friday, we headed down to Tunica to see him play at the Grand Casino and MAN, was that an awesome show. I always liked Kenny Wayne Shepherd, but I now have a whole new appreciation for him. Those are always the best shows, you know? The ones that you're just indifferent about going to, but get blown away by the performance.

Ok, so KWS is obviously not an old guy, and this post is about old folks kicking ass and taking names. Friends, I'd like to introduce you to Pinetop Perkins:

Pinetop Perkins is a 94 year-old blues legend and the special guest of The KWS Band last Friday night. He has played with Muddy Waters and numerous other blues legends and continues to do live shows every week. Let me just tell you...old Pinetop can really get down. His assistant helped him onto the stage and to his keyboard, but from that point on, he was in control. He played the keyboard...he sang...he danced...he was spunky! Gotta love that.

Another senior citizen that's been in the news lately is Buster Martin. I'm sure you've heard of him. He's the drinking, smoking 101 year-old who ran the 2008 London Marathon. It took him about 10 hours. He was going for the world's record to be the oldest man to finish a marathon, but the Guinness people said he lied about his age. He was actually only 94. Only 94? Oh, well that's not impressive anymore, is it? Ha. But for the sake of the record, he didn't succeed...A 98 year-old still has that title.

The most amazing thing about this guy is his lifestyle. He still works, he smokes and drinks regularly, has 17 children and plays in a rock band. And he finished the London Marathon. What a rockstar. Maybe that's their secret...Pinetop and Buster are both musicians and live like they are 30. They don't even seem to notice the fact that they're nearing 100. Party on, Buster.

I think I'll start a band...who wants to join me?

Race Report: Country Music Marathon & Half Marathon

From the sidelines...

I have ran many races in the past couple of years. 18 to be in fact. And never, not once in the past couple of years have I watched a race as a spectator. Sure, I've watched races before... when I was like 3 years old and my mom was running them. But, that doesn't count. I was just concerned with the trophy that my mom won or the matching outfit that she had with my aunt.

But, as a runner, it was amazing to watch the Country Music Marathon this year.

I have to admit though... being a good spectator is kind of a lot of work. I know that sounds ridiculous, but let me explain... and from the very beginning...

Friday night, you would have thought that I was running the marathon, instead of just being a spectator. I didn’t sleep worth a damn. I’m not sure what it was… maybe it was dinner, maybe it was the SVU episodes I watched when I got home from dinner… whatever it was, I woke up about a zillion times. Finally, I just got up and moved to the couch and watched the rain come down outside and scoped out the early morning news reports and updates about the race. Eventually, it was time to head out.

The race course runs basically right past my building (well, technically.. one street up) around mile 2 ish? Now, I took a tailgating chair with me… as well as a diet coke, some water, an apple and my camera. I guess I just thought I’d be sitting on my ass cheering. Eventually, the wheelchair people came by and I stood up and cheered for them. And then sat back down… waiting for the rest of the field. It had rained all morning, and while it was raining at the start, the rain must have scared off spectators, because there were just a handful of people near me.

Finally, the elites whizzed by… and I do mean whizzed by… DAMN. I didn’t realize how fast they run. I tried to get pics, but they ran so fast they ran out of my frame most of the time! I put my camera away and started cheering. I was clapping and cheering at the same time. There are only so many phrases that you can use when cheering for a race... my most popular… “Looking good. Way to go, Runners. Keep it up. Great Start. You can do it. Awesome Job.” Now, I mentioned that there were a few other spectators around… but they were silent. I was like.. WTF? Who stands on the sidelines of a race and says nothing??? I was yelling my head off. A couple of people walked by me and one of the girls said… “So, you’re just cheering random people on?” Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.
At one point, some guy stood in front of me, watching… he tried to engage me in conversation, but I was brief and curt with him. I mean… dude, I’m not out here to chit chat… I’m here to cheer these people on… leave me alone. Eventually, he must have gotten caught up in my cheering and decided to join in and steal some of my phrases and my mojo. Punk ass. It sucked, too, because since he was ahead of me, it looked like he was the original cheerer and that I was the backup. He was looking for some friends or something and was going to run a mile with them. Ugggh. Finally, he left me to my corner and I continued my cheering.

You all know that I don't like to brag or toot my own horn (okay, you're right... I love to brag) but, let me just say... I stood there from the start of the race, until the very last walker walked by. 2 hours and 15 minutes. I clapped constantly, (my left hand felt like it was literally going to fall off) and cheered constantly. It was awesome. I felt like a coach or some shit. And, I have to say… the walkers were the most appreciative… and I can understand why. By the time the walkers were there, all the other spectators were gone. It was just me… cheering them on (which is a hard thing to do because, they go by you slower, so they actually notice the limits of your phrase repertoire). It was fun though, I got lots of thank yous from runners and walkers alike and it gave me a good boost of inspiration going into this upcoming weekend.
Congrats to all the runners! Whether I annoyed you or inspired you, hopefully I distracted you enough to not be thinking about the next 11 or 24 miles for a few seconds.

--The Crazy Girl in the Navy Rain Jacket yelling and clapping after the Edgehill/17th Ave Intersection.

I missed my calling...I wonder if the Grizz need a new cheerleader...

I'm like the greatest cheerleader ever. You should have heard all the encouraging and inspiring words that were coming out of my mouth as I cheered on all of the wonderful and dedicated runners of the St. Jude Marathon.
Amy gave a great mile-by-mile account of the race, but now I'll share a little bit of my side of the story...

I decided to be a kick-ass friend and wake up early to take Amy downtown so she wouldn't have to worry about the stresses of traffic and parking and directions. We rocked out to AC/DC to get her all good and pumped up.
Then Amy got out of the car and followed the sea of people and I drove home and went back to bed for 45 minutes. You are probably thinking...smart move,April...you are going to need all the energy you can get! And you would be so right...

So then, after "5 more minutes" and then "5 more minutes!" Greg started to get irritated with me and told me that he was not my snooze button. Jeez...touchy...maybe he should have taken a nap too. Anyway-we then made 2 very kick-ass signs. I forgot to take pictures, but mine was double sided and the first side said:
GO AMY! You're the best! #1 Woo Hoo! (very original wording, I know...it took me awhile to come up with that). It even said sponsored by 26point2ers! Can't pass up free advertising, right? I'm a marketing guru.

The other side of my sign said Cheap Trick! with an awesome drawing of a rock-and-roll hand. If only you could see my artistic ability. I'm also an art guru.
Cheap Trick is an "inside" thing between us and maybe one day we will let you in on its awesomeness, but probably not.

Ok and now for Greg's sign...he insists that his was the best and it was good...I'll give him that, but Greg, everything doesn't have to be a competition!! (my sign was better)
I mean seriously, everything is a competition with him....but I'm pretty competitive too, so I'm up for the constant challenge. Like we even compete for who loves who the most. I know you're thinking...so what? All couples do that..."I love you more!" "No, I love you more!" Yuck. Gag me with a spoon. Yes, I did just type that, shut up.
But we don't do it like that. We say "I love you the most and I win!" It got so ugly at one point that we just agreed to say "I love you the most and WE win."
Man, I totally got off track there, but my point is that we are both very egotistical and self-centered people. It's a good match.
So anyway, his sign said C'mon Amy, Get Cocky. In case you didn't know, Amy is a former Gamecock...or um, still is a Gamecock? Once a Gamecock, always a Gamecock, right? And just so you know...when we were seniors in high school, Amy actually said to me, "I'm going to South Carolina just so I can yell, 'Go Cocks!'" Really. (sorry Amy, but that is too funny not to share. I'm sure I'll pay for it...)

Soooo Greg and I packed up the car with our signs and some chairs and headed to mile marker #20! We had prime seating right up front. Ok, so there weren't that many other people at mile 20, but whatever. I got the camera ready and the cheering began. Here is a little sampling of my awesome and original cheering:
Let's go runners!
Great job!
Looking good!
Woo Hoo!
20 miles down!
Only 6 more miles!
Almost there!
C'mon guys!
You got this!
You can do it!
You OWN this!
And the list goes on and on. And yes, I did make those up all by myself. Don't even think about using them without my permission...I had them all trademarked or copywrited or whatever the correct term is. You will have to pay some heafty fines if you choose to steal...
Tons of runners were really thankful for our support and showed their gratitude with waves, smiles and words of thanks. One guy even came and sat on my lap for a little bit. However, I must say that one guy looked like he was going to snap Greg's head off when he told him that he could do it!! (the guy just happened to be heaving on the sidelines when Greg said it so maybe it wasn't the best timing...)

After cheering for an hour or so, our STAR...our FAVORITE FRIEND (Amy) came running by! Yay!! She looked solid and strong and ready to run 20 more...ok, actually she looked pretty tired, but I guess that's ok since she had already run 20 miles. So we held up our signs, cheered loudly and snapped a few pictures. Then it was time to move to the finish line.

We were looking into the distance for Amy's pink shirt...turns out that it's like the year for pink shirts or something because we were fooled by Amy Impostors multiple times. But then I spotted her (Greg would tell you that it was he who spotted her, but it was really me) coming through the gate and around the field.
Yay!!! She did it and I am so proud of her!

So then we went to Huey's, drank tequila and partied on Beale Street.
The End.