Marathon #3 - Disney

Yes, I did it again!! Am I crazy? Somewhat, I think I am, or maybe just addicted to the whole culture of marathons and the people who come back time after time to this challenge. There is something cult-like about this whole experience. After each marathon I have said, "This is the last one - maybe a few half marathons - maybe!" But, then, I do a few half marathons and it's just not enough. After all, if you are not totally wiped out, where's the challenge?

This was the second time I completed the Disneyworld Marathon, and I spotted some of the same people on the course. Once again, I wore my bright orange Tennessee jersey, and I guess it made enough of an impression last year that the same people recognized me again. At about mile 16, I caught up with the LSU fan who was doing the marathon with his daughter. He told me that LSU fans love their new coach from TN - former defensive coordinator John Chavis. Then there was Mary, from Morehead, KY; at age 63 she has done 22 marathons. And, you think I'm crazy?!

And the results are - drum roll......... 7 hrs 3 min. Not my best time, for sure, and 3 minutes short of my goal. I really just needed to step it up a bit for the last 5 miles, but I just lost track of the time after I left MGM at mile 24. My pace through mile 20 was just fine at 5 hrs 17 min, and it should have only taken me another 1.5 hrs to finish the 26.2. Oh, well.... what can I say.... I finished, I got the medal and the t-shirt. Of the more than 20,000 who started, only 15,000 finished, so I'm proud to be part of the 75% who finished.

Best of all was having my own cheering section - Marci and Ryan, Jim and Martha Fallis, and - best of all - my wonderful husband, who practically ran the race with me. I saw him at miles 2, 9, 12.5, 19 and he actually walked with me from mile 22 to 23. Marci and Ryan were at mile 16 in Animal Kingdom and mile 24 in MGM. Martha and Jim were at mile 9 and at the finish, where Martha had her camera working overtime. At all those spots they showed up with nutrition bars, oranges, bananas, Gatorade etc. and an extra measure of moral support. And, at mile 20 I got a text message from Jimmy cheering me on - the wonders of technlogy!!

Will I do it again? Probably. Right now, I'm cooling my heels in Big Sky and praying for fresh powder so I can hit the slopes. When we get back to Florida in a few weeks, I'll start back in training for the Nashville half marathon. The amazing thing is that after this marathon, I had no physical problems. A few aches and pains were worked out immediately after the finish with about 20 minutes of stretching, a couple of Tylenol and the requisite ice bath. The next day, I was totally mobile with none of the blisters that crippled me last year for a week.

So, yes... I think there are some marathons left in me. The day after I finished, I got an email announcing the inaugural "Rockin' the Strip" marathon in Las Vegas in December 2009. Sponsored by Elite Racing, these Rock 'N Roll marathons are terrific events with bands at every mile. Disney has been fun, but it does cut into my skiing time.

So, here we go again. There is something to be said for "use it or lose it", and I fully intend to use it as long as I can. The answer to the question, "Why do you do it?" will always be, "Because I can!!"

Christmas Limo

OK - I know it's not Christmas anymore! But, the limo ride in Nashville and the Christmas lights were the best. Marci and Ryan had arranged for a PT Cruiser limo to pick us up just at sunset and we set off for tour of some of the gaudiest Christmas lights I have ever seen.

This tradition goes back a long way with our family. For years, we would all jump in the car the week before Christmas and find the "tacky Christmas lights" in Chattanooga. We never did the tour in a limousine - this was a first.

When we went out to get into the limo, Will immediately exclaimed, "It's a movie star car!" The car was stocked with hot chocolate and cookies. It was decorated with tinsel and Christmas light bulbs and the driver was decked out in a red sport coat and drove like a frustrated Indy car driver. If you have ever ridden the Rockin Roller Coaster at Disneyworld - you get the picture!

The tour started in Bellvue and wound through west Nashville all the way down to Brentwood and Franklin. At George Jones' home in Franklin, we found Santa Claus sitting in a gigantic rocking chair. Will climbed up in the chair and got a coloring book and crayons, and a Christmas card from George and Nancy Jones.

The last house we visited was the ultimate Christmas house. Not only did the owner decorate his own house, but he also decorated every neighbor's house who would let him. The whole street was lit up with displays depicting Santa Claus playing basketball, a green dragon, a toy dump truck, pink flamingos (no kidding!!) in addition to the more traditional stars, Christmas trees, icicles on the roof eaves, etc.

When we got back, we ate the delicious dinner Marci had prepared, went to bed and got up the next day to go to see the Grinch on Ice. I was preparing for the marathon, so I did a 21-mile workout instead.

OK - now my Christmas blogging is finished!

Happy 100th Birthday, Fuzzy!

I have never known anyone who reached their 100th birthday. I know this is quite common - at least if you watch Willard Scott announce centenarian birthdays on the NBC Today Show. But, REALLY - I have never known anyone personally who reached this impressive achievement - until, Ruby Haynes, aka "Fuzzy". What's even more special is that she was my mom's best friend and 1st cousin. My mom would have also been 100 years old this year.

Now, this isn't just any 100-year old. First of all, does she really look like she's 100? You might guess 80. How many people still ride their bicycles (3-wheelers) at 100 years of age? Or even 80 years of age, for that matter? And, how many pills do you take each day if you are over the age of 60? For myself, I take 3 (including a "baby aspirin"), and I consider myself healthy. Fuzzy takes 1 pill per day. When asked what her secret was for living so well and so long, she talked about eating well and staying active - can't get away from the diet and exercise routine! Boring, I guess, but face it, it's worked for her.

We had a great party - two parties, actually - on Saturday and Sunday. So many relatives I haven't seen in years came in for this celebration and to pay tribute to this remarkable woman. She still attends church every Sunday, so part of the celebration was a covered dish dinner after church services in one of the local elementary schools. There was plenty of time for sharing stories and memories and many spoke of the impact Fuzzy had on their lives. The principal of the elementary school was in the Brownie Troop Fuzzy led and many remember her from Ruby's Kindergarten.

Fuzzy started a kindergarten after World War II because she believed children needed a head start - and this was years before the Head Start program was even thought about. She loved to teach and put herself through college in order to realize her life ambition.

As I write this, I am reminded of the women in my life who have paved the way for my generation of women to achieve what we have been able to achieve. In the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament I find the phrase "We drink from wells we did not dig.." Surely Fuzzy and my mom and other women who surrounded me dug these wells from which I so freely drink today. And, I am grateful, as this year comes to a close, and I think I have just discovered my New Year's resolution - "Keep digging those wells!!"

Stairway to Heaven

Whew! It's been a fast and furious December. My blogging habits have definitely taken a big backslide. I'll try to post more frequently this week and catch up on all the happenings.

We have so many beautiful outdoor spots here and we have been in the process of making it more user friendly. The first floor deck is now completed, thanks to our friend and semi-professional carpenter Lee. I can't wait for the first spring days now! We should have plenty of room for cookouts looking out over the gorge.

For the last two weeks, we have watched our stone staircase take shape from the upper parking lot down to the front door and then around the house to the new deck and continuing on down to the point. Our visitors can now park on the upper lot and walk down the stone staircase without having to hop over roots and overgrowth. In the spring this path will be lined with pink and white mountain laurel - should be breathtaking!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season and that you have had time to spend with those you love and care for.

Let It Snow!!

It's winter here on the mountain. We awoke this morning to snow on our third floor deck and it has continued to snow all morning. Are we in Montana??


The Cumberland Mountains continue to dazzle us with year round beauty. No sooner had the leaves fallen off the trees, the snow arrived. Now, we aren't sitting on the deck watching the sunset, but we have enough windows all around that we can enjoy this beauty from the comfort and warmth of our own living room, or bedroom, or just wherever.


The little chickadees are still here and were all over the feeder this morning. Most of the migratory birds, like the "snowbirds", are gone south. We still have a few species around - the Tufted Titmouse and the Nuthatch.




Oh... and one more thing, we are building yet another deck. Our good friend, Lee, who is quite a carpenter, is building the deck for us on the ground floor. This is the first step in the landscaping design. The deck is just 5 steps down toward the point; then the path to the point leaves from this new deck all the way out to the point of our lot. The boulders are already here and the work on this project will begin as soon as weather permits. The idea is to have all this work done by spring so that we will have yet another beautiful outdoor space to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Families are Thanksgiving - and, oh yeah, FOOD! Here's our Thanksgiving menu:

Turkey with Cranberry Glaze

Apple Raisin Stuffing

Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes

Garlic Cheese Grits

Broccoli Cheddar Bake

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Souffle

Cranberry Marshmallow Salad

Bread Pudding Bars with Vanilla Creme

YMMM!! And best of all, most of it was prepared ahead of time at the Dinner Afare. Marci prepared the Garlic Cheese Grits, a family tradition and favorite. I prepared the Cranberry Marshmallow Salad and Jim prepared the Green Bean Casserole, both old family recipes.

BEST THANKSGIVING MEMORY: Will was anxious to perform the Merry Christmas song in Spanish - Feliz Navidad. As we all listened attentively, Will started singing, "Elise Bobby Dodd" - too cute. Of course, we had to immediately call our real life friend, Bobby Dodd, and let him hear his newly christened namesake song!!

But, really best of all was having our whole family together. Check out our pictures to the left. From our family to yours, a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Lady Vols vs. Lady Mocs

I'm always so impressed with the determination and discipline of the Lady Vols and Pat Summitt. So, we were thrilled that we had tickets to see them in Chattanooga. Jim's brother and sister-in-law, Jack and Pat, got the tickets and all 4 of us headed down the mountain for the game.

We stopped first at Jimmy's and got a big hug from Will. They were actually headed out to see the opera at the Tivoli that night. So, we didn't stay long - but long enough to get our "Will fix"!

The Lady Vols are a young team this year with all of their 2007 national championship team now playing in the WNBA. We were anxious to see the new talent. On the other hand, we had no idea what to expect from the Lady Mocs, but we happened to be sitting next to a former Lady Moc who was very excited about their team.

The first half (and frankly, the entire game) was very close. During the first half, the Lady Mocs were open on so many 3-point shots, I really just couldn't figure out whether the Lady Vols had no respect for the Lady Moc 3-point shooters, or just weren't effectively playing defense. In the 2nd half, I found out as the Lady Mocs proceeded to nail every 3-point shot they took.

Actually, two things could have swung this game either way: (1) the Lady Mocs could have hit all the 3-point shots in the first half and won; or, (2) the Lady Vols could have hit their foul shots - unbelievable!! There were more fouls called in this game than any I have ever seen - 29 in the 1st half alone - so, there was ample opportunity for the Lady Vols to win this one going away on foul shots alone. I would bet that they will be spending day-in and day-out at the foul shot line this week.

The Lady Vols were up by a few points at the half. During the halftime, we were entertained by the Sugar Mocs, a rhythm dance troop of students who performed to the music of the pep band.

The Lady Mocs came back out in the second half and started hitting the 3-pointers. Half way thru the period, they had an 8-point lead and showed no signs of slowing down. Slowly, however, the Lady Vols started making their way back and finally hit a couple of 3-pointers themselves.

Then the most amazing thing happened. The Lady Vols had a 1-point lead with 35 seconds left in the game. They took the inbound pass and froze the ball at half court and the Lady Mocs let them do this while 21 seconds ticked off the clock!! By the time the Lady Mocs challenged them, it really was too late. They had no choice but to foul, but in my opinion, they should have fouled them as soon as the ball was inbounded. The Lady Vols weren't hitting their foul shots anyway.

Miraculously, the Lady Vols missed their foul shots, and the Lady Mocs got the ball for an inbound pass. They couldn't get the ball into play, and called a time out with 2.6 seconds left. Problem was - they had no time outs left so they were charged with a technical foul. The Lady Vols made both foul shots and ended up winning the game 66-63.

This one came down to coaching - Pat Summitt is just hard to beat, all other things being equal. Both teams played hard, but the UTC coach was just outcoached at the end of the game. Great game! I'm looking forward to the next 4 years watching this team grow.