Fayetteville Half Marathon

Friday (12/10) after work we headed to Fayetteville for Mark to run a half marathon.  We stopped in Russellville at Cracker Barrel on the way because I do love me some breakfast for supper!  We like going to Fayetteville and staying at the Cosmopolitan ONLY because it is on the square...it's certainly not for their accommodations or service.

Saturday morning we slept in since the Expo didn't open until 11:00.  When we got up we walked to the expo to pick up Mark's packet...quite different from the huge expo we just visited in Dallas the week before...but this was the first "Fayetteville Half Marathon" (although they do the Hogeye in April) and had less than 1,000 participants...so a lot smaller scale.  But they just seem to be disorganized...it made me want to get people lined up in the right place and divided between "registration" and "pre-registered" but alas I had to step back, before my husband got really put out with my huffing and puffing.  : )

It's was interesting that this was the first thing you saw as you entered the expo...I knew it was cold but...


Wind Chill 7 -- REALLY??!!??


It actually worked to my advantage that the packet pick-up went quickly.  After a walk around the square and a stop in at Houndstooth the BEST store for Razorback t-shirts.  We had time to go Christmas shopping in Rogers!  Well..I went Christmas shopping, Mark was my chauffeur and sat in the car and either read his Kindle or napped.  But hey...it worked out great for me, everyone likes front door service and not having to search for a parking place during the holidays.  After I was worn out, we headed to my favorite Mexican restaurant, Abuelo's...I SO wish we had one in LR.  LOVE that place.

After a stop at WalMart on the way back to Fayetteville we headed back to the hotel, where upon arrival I pitched a little hissy fit because there was NO WHERE for guests of the hotel to park.  It was CRAZY in the area.  The square was lit up for Christmas and it was beautiful, but made parking a nightmare.  We finally kept driving around until a place on the street opened up...no way were we getting in the parking deck.  Later that evening we bundled up and decided to walk down to Osegueara's...it is LaHacienda North! (Yes, we eat a lot of Mexican food...as my husband says, Mexicans eat it everyday!)  After dinner we walked around the square, rather briskly I might add..it was so cold...but it was beautiful.



Where else do you find a Razorback on the carousel, except for Fayetteville, Arkansas!



I tried to talk Mark into a carriage ride, but he wouldn't hear of it!  I sure was thankful for my new furry boots.

The main reason Mark wanted to do this marathon was because the finish line was inside the new John McDonnell Field, one of the top outdoor track and field facilities in the nation.

Earlier in the week a friend of Mark's grandbaby, Lyla Elizabeth Threlkeld, passed away from birth complications and Mark decided he wanted to dedicate this run to her memory.

 I can't tell you how cold it was...the temperature was 19 and the wind chill was 7 at the beginning of the race.  About 15 minutes in, I saw Mark (here in the pic) and asked him how he was doing, he said he was COLD.  This road had a pretty steep hill coming up and after the race Mark told me at that point he was cold and tired and wanted to quit, but then he thought of baby Lyla and pressed on to finish.








Coming into the John McDonnell Track &
Field Complex - the home stretch!



2 hours and 30 minutes - Best time by 5 minutes!
The clock on the right was for the 5K

 

Thank goodness for the new Hog Hoodie we bought at WalMart the night before!  Mark started out with the hood up and started sweating so he pulled it off...a little while later his head was cold so when he went to put it back on the sweat had frozen on his hood!  He said when they got their water at the stations they had to break the ice before they could drink...when he went to drink his Gatorade from the bottle on his hip...it was slushy...now that's cold people!

Marathons the first two weekends of December following Thanksgiving put a toll on this girl to get ready for Christmas, considering my family's Christmas is the third weekend of December!  Good thing I wasn't having to go into the office all day every day, or I don't think I could have pulled it off!  We're going to have to nix one of the December events next year, or I'm going to have to be a lot better prepared for Christmas before we go!

Dallas White Rock Marathon

The first weekend of December we took a trip to Dallas.  Mark had signed up to run his first full marathon...26.2 miles.  Now to date, the farthest he has run was 20 miles around the neighborhood.  He didn't get to train as hard in the weeks prior...first he pulled a groin muscle and then once that healed, he was out running and was tripped up by a neighborhood dog and ended up with knees, legs, hands and elbows that were banged up.  So the trip was off...then on...then off...then on...well you get the picture!

We left after work on Friday night...stopping in Texarkana to eat at On the Border...since our OTB was out of commission due to the fire, we were craving it so we stopped at first available. 

The host hotel in Dallas was the Downtown Hyatt Regency...can you say I LOVED the bed...very nice.  Since we got in late Friday night, we slept in Saturday morning.  When we got up Saturday, we hopped on to the shuttle and headed to the Health & Fitness Expo at Fair Park so Mark could pick up his packet...which contains his bib and all other pertinent information...no packet...no run!  It was the biggest and best health fair we've been to.  There were several good vendors selling "runners wares", booths with information about upcoming marathons and some other booths of general interest. 

The first "Dallas White Rock Marathon" in 1971 involved a ritual of placing your hand on a rock embedded into the shore for good luck...a ritual started by the Grecians in 1896.  Below is "The Legend of The Rock."



Well..Mark wasn't taking any chances!

 After we finished with the Health Expo we went over to the Holiday Gift Expo...it was pretty much a bust, expo for the Texas Toffee we sampled...man was it good!  I have to admit there was a lot of crafts happening for kids at the expo, so that was nice for those that had kids. 

This was the first year for the marathon to be held at Fair Park which was pretty cool...it was the site of the old Texas World Fair and home to the Cotton Bowl. 

After our business was taken care of at the Expo, we went back to the hotel for a little rest and then decided to walk down to the West End area for dinner.  We ended up at Hooters...imagine that!  It was REALLY cold and VERY windy.  I wasn't expecting such chilly weather.

Mark had a dilemma of trying to decide what to run in the next morning...how many layers...but Superman had to be on top...of course!  Here was the final outcome.  Thank goodness for Under Armour Cold Gear!

As Mark had to be on the shuttle headed for the race the next morning at 6:30, we turned in early.  Since I couldn't ride the shuttle on race day...it was only for "runners"...I opted to take the DART later in the morning...and since Mark would be running for "a while", I decided to sleep in a bit and catch the first hour of the marathon on TV...yes, they broadcasted the first three hours of the marathon locally in Dallas.

This is a shot of one of the corrals starting out...there were over 22,000 runners and there were over 15 different corrals...which means, Corral A starts and then a few minutes later, Corral B starts and so on and so on...that way you don't have 22,000 people starting at the exact same time!  Mark didn't get out of the start gate until around 9:00!  Sure am glad I didn't hurry down there to watch them start at 8:00!  heehee!  I got down there in PLENTY of time to roam around and freeze to death while waiting for him to cross the finish line.

Now, I have never taken "the DART" before and had no idea what I was doing.  Once I found the station outside our hotel, I had to figure out how to buy a ticket and then the schedule and be sure I got on the DART going the right direction!  And as my luck would have it, when I got to the platform, there was not another soul around and as I'm trying to figure out how to buy my ticket, some guy walks up to me wanting money...of course!  I got spooked and went back inside the hotel and was contemplating taking a cab!  But then I heard the DART coming and by the time I got back outside to the platform and purchased my ticket, it had gone again!  But there were a couple of people who got off to transfer so I felt a little safer.  I did finally make it to my destination...after only taking one wrong transfer...and by the end of the trip, I was a navigating pro!

While I was in the process of getting TO Fair Park, this is what Mark was doing...

 

RUNNING!

Yes, he ran for 5 hours and 40 minutes!!  The clock at the finish line says 6:27, but remember, he didn't get started until almost 9:00.  If you look real closely on the left, I am in the red jacket (with the hood up!)  I was so proud of him.  To date the farthest he had run was 20 miles and a marathon is 26.2 miles.

Mark headed to the finishers area to retrieve his medal, some nourishment and have his picture taken while I waited outside.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a nap (via the DART)... : )

Later that night we decided to head back to the West End area for dinner (since it was close), but opted to take the DART instead of walking since the weather was so miserable.  We found an upscale Mexican restaurant (I can't remember the name) that was really good.

Monday morning we slept in, got ready and then headed for home.  We did hit a Hooter's in Texarkana (another one for Mark to add to his list)...but I won't be going back, the service was terrible and the food was worse!

It was a great weekend and we get to do it again the next weekend in Fayetteville.

Southwest Vacation By the Numbers

This is my LAST post regarding our recent vacation to the Southwest.  I just wanted to do a summary of our vacation by the numbers:

• 6 states in 10 days and 3 time zones -- I never knew WHERE I was, what DAY it was or what TIME it was!
• 14 attractions
• 3 new Hooter's locations to add to Mark's ongoing list
• 1,576 photos
• 3,805 miles
• 29 hour drive to get home to my own bed!

A lot of planning goes into a trip of this type.  We go without reservations, but you need to have a plan as to where you're going to be when and how long it takes to get there from the last location!

Some say I'm a little OCD, but here's a a snapshot of our travel itinerary.



It's a little hard to read, but we stayed pretty much on course!

And you must have a few planning guides:

Now to start planning where we're going next year!

Southwest Vacation - Headed Home

Saturday morning we got up and got ready to head home.  We had a couple of side trips along the way so we got started early.

Our first stop was the Meteor Crater in Winslow, Arizona (yes you all have heard that city mentioned in a famous Eagles song - and yes it took me all the way home to finally put all the lyrics together in my head!).  The Meteor Crater is the breath-taking result of a collision between a piece of an asteroid traveling at 26,000 miles per hour and planet Earth approximately 50,000 years ago.  Today, Meteor Crater is nearly one mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference and more than 550 feet deep.  (or to the unscientific eye -- a big ol' hole!)

When we got there the electricity had just gone out, some of the visitors had just gotten out of the elevators after being stuck for 20 minutes!  Thank goodness I only had to climb TWO flights of stairs this time!



LOVE this picture of my shutterbug!

A few miles down the road near Holbrook, Arizona we stopped off at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  This was one of my favorite spots of our trip...we'll have to go back sometime because soon after we arrived, the sun started going down.

Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees, that lived about 225 million years ago.  We brought home a beautiful piece of the forest to put in our yard. 

The fallen logs were HUGE.

There is nothing more beautiful than an Arizona sunset.

 



The Painted Desert

After we left the Painted Desert, it was around 6:30...or dinner time! The original plan was to stay the night in Albuquerque, which was about 4 hours away.  My husband had the brilliant idea to drive all the way home.  That way we would be home around 3:00 on Sunday rather than around 11:00.  So we set out toward Arkansas.  The nearest Hooter's was in Albuquerque so that's where we set our sights for dinner...yes, dinner at 10:30 at night!  I guess it really doesn't matter if you're not going to sleep!

Somehow I was the one who ended up with the 11:30pm to 6:30 pm shift...HOW'D THAT HAPPEN?  Well...with a few bottles of 5 hours energy...that really only last 2 hours!  After about an hour nap, we stopped for breakfast at Denny's in Oklahoma City.  And drove in our driveway at 2:30.  After it was all said and done, it was the better solution, but in those wee hours of the morning I was tempted to pull into the closest Best Western! 

Southwest Vacation - Day 7

Friday morning we got up and first order of business was to head to the famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.  You know the one on "Pawn Stores". We were hoping to catch a glimpse of Rick,  Big Hoss, Chumlee or the Old Man...but no such luck, they were "in a meeting."  The shop itself was pretty interesting, seeing some of the items that we'd seen on the show and they are making a mint on souvenir t-shirts, mugs and various other sundries.  There were security guards inside and outside!  CRAZY!  I was a little surprised by how small it was...it looks much bigger and impressive on TV!

 

 

Next stop was breakfast!  First place we saw was Denny's, so that's where we stopped!  Now, it's become one of our favorite places!

Next stop:  The World's Largest Gift Shop!  (to pick up a few souvenirs)

Then we decided to drive to the far end of the strip and park and then walk that end of the strip. 

MGM Grand was impressive with its miracle mile of shops and huge casino.  They also have three lions that are kept in the Lion Habitat, but they were pretty lazy.  Another of their attractions is the CSI Experience where you get to analyze forensic evidence and test your investigative skills.  I think my brother in law, Andrew, would love that.



This was amazing to me...screens and screens of sporting events
 to bet on.  They even posted odds on the upcoming
Arkansas game.  pretty wild!



The Mirage offered a tribal volcano/fire/water show that was entertaining as well.

The Venetian had outdoor and indoor gondola rides around its property with an authentic Italian to serenade you along the ride.  Our Gondolier was Figaro.

New York, New York was all right.  It had very interesting architecture details inside but not quite as over the top as some of the resorts.  They did have a Coyote Ugly bar that I thought would probably be pretty fun.



Replica of the Brooklyn Bridge



 

See the miniature Coney Island in the background?




Restaurant where you literally choose
your

Made ENTIRELY of jelly beans.

 



















Before we headed back to our room to rest for a bit we decided to have a snack at the Hooter's Casino so Mark could add another location to his list. 

Here's a few more shots from the strip.



The Monte Carlo

  

The Excalibur


 

The Luxor





Ipods, Software, Cell Phones from a vending machine -- REALLY?



Harley Davidson Cafe

 

Rent your Dream Car for cruising the Strip.

Big Spender didn't win anything, but this girl won $19.00 on a Quarter Slot machine!
Not bad odds.

 After a little nap, we ventured back out to the strip for a gondola ride and dinner.  Although our choice was the Cheesecake Factory, we found ourselves way down on the seating list so we opted for Mr. Taco in the cafe court of the Fashion Mall!  Nothing fancy, but good.  We saw a couple of guys wearing Hog Shirts -- kinda funny seeing someone from Arkansas so far from home.

My take on Vegas is too many people, open drunkenness, overwhelming number of casinos with their smoke, lights and noise, brazen prostitution from girls walking the street to vendors handing out girlie cards inviting you to their show to trucks driving around with pictures of life size scantily clad girls advertising "Hot Babes" - we deliver - college girls $69. -

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am not prudish or relatively naive, but this was all just a little too much for me -- Been there, done that -- it is appropriately names "Sin City."