1st Annual Quartz Hill Triathlon

On Saturday, Quartz Hill (the elementary school where I teach) hosted a mini-triathlon (1.5 mile run, 1.5 mile bike, 1 mile walk) for all the students, faculty members, parents and grandparents that are part of our school community. Being that it was the first year we have done this event, we were unsure as to what kind of turn out to expect. In spite of a small amount of confusion, and participants running through an active construction zone, it ended up being a wonderful experience for the kids and parents, both. Since I was on the planning committee, I did not participate in the actual race because I was partly responsible for making sure things ran smoothly. Seeing what a good time everyone had, I will definitely participate next year!

Race Day!

The 'Rock and Roll' 1/2 marathon finally came! It is quite the event, with around 30,000 participants, a live band every mile of the race and thousands of fans, and local cheerleading squads, who come out to support the runners. Our friends Kate (from L.A.) and Paul (from Abq.) came out to run also. For Kate and I, this race has become an annual tradition to which we always look forward. We stay together the whole race and push each other to the end. We were also lucky enough to have our Arizona friends Kristie, Jason, Kristen and Tara participate this year! Here we all are post-race. We all ran the half marathon except for Paul who finished the full in just over 4 hours. Jeff set a personal record of 2hr 22min. Kate and I finished in 1hr 44min. And the other girls finished under 3 hours, even though Kristen thought they weren't going to make the 4 hour time limit. Good job to everyone!

The Saddest Day...

As most of you already know, Spencer is no longer with us. He died on Thursday morning of what must have been a respiratory infection. The last month has been fairly traumatic for him, with his tunnel caving in, the weather getting cold and his habitat getting flooded from the massive rain we had at the beginning of the month. We are so saddened by this loss and feel awful about the outcome. Although we're not sure we could have saved him by the time we found him on Wednesday, we have learned a tremendous lesson about the responsibilities of owning such a unique pet. The dogs seem to have an understanding of what happened, yet they keep searching his habitat, looking for any sign of him. Spencer will be missed by all of us.