A Bode-less Post

As the title suggests, there is nothing in this post about Bode.  Therefore, if he is the only reason you come to this page, you should just move on with your day because there are no Bode-tales to be found.  This post is about me.  Yes, a bit self-centered, but one out of two hundred doesn't make me an egotist (or does it?)

I was gone this weekend.  I went to Omaha to visit an old friend.  Well, not an old friend, as we both decided to characterize ourselves as "young old-friends."  That sounds much better, especially to me, as I'm about to turn 40 (and have the gray hair to prove it).  Ashley and Bode did not accompany me--they would have, but they knew it was going to be a quick trip.  Spending 17 of 48 hours in a car did not appeal to them, so I flew solo.

The drive on I-76 and then I-80 hasn't changed much in the past 20 years.  However, back in the late 1990's, the Great Platte River Roach Archway was added as some type of frontier memorial.  It's basically a big bridge going over the interstate.  I've never stopped, but did snap this photo on my way out.

I think there is some type of museum inside.  I'm sure I'll stop and visit...some day.  I arrived at Kristine and Patrick Wolfe's home Saturday afternoon.  We went to dinner with their four children (Paige, Abbey, Parker, and Avery).  We also played a quick game of Scrabble--sadly, we weren't done before we went to dinner, and Avery put the board away before we were done.  I believe I was winning, but don't have the score sheet to prove it.

Sunday morning was the Papillion Half Marathon.  I ran this little race, and Kristine ran the associated 5K.  Here is a nice pre-race photo of the two of us.

Note the pretty sunny day.  However, see those clouds in the background?  They became a small issue later.  I had hoped to break the 1:30:00 barrier--no altitude, no hills (so I thought) should have equated to a fast time.  The course was harder than I anticipated.  Rolling hills, but nothing too bad...until mile 12. I was (mis)informed it was "all downhill from here" as I passed the 10.5 mile point.  Liar!  I knew we finished in the stadium, and noticed we were going down hill towards it.  However, we proceeded into a river-valley, and mile 12 to mile 13 was the climb out.  It was tough, and I lost precious time on these hills (you'd think a Colorado boy wouldn't be affected by a Nebraska pimple-sized incline, but I was).  Kristine was nice enough to snap the below photo as I sprinted (sort of) to the finish.

I'm not sure if you can make out the clock, but the photo shows 1:30:14.   My friend Eric pointed out I simply needed to run each mile one second faster and I would have achieved my goal.  I thanked him profusely for his insight.  Complaining aside, I was happy with my results, especially since we had a diagonal rain to contend with the last three miles (yes, another excuse).  Before we left, Kristine and I snapped this self-portrait of the two runners.

Post-race, we relaxed and rested.  During the afternoon, I attended a play/musical in which Kristine played the oboe and her daughter, Paige, played the role of a maid.  Afterwards, the Wolfes were kind enough to feed me a fine dinner of burritos and other Mexican cuisine.  We then played a mean game of Just Dance 4 on their Wii.  I think Parker videoed us playing, and I pray to the Almighty that video never makes it to the web.  It was a wonderful (and too short) of trip to Omaha, especially since I won the final Scrabble game, retaining my crown.  I got home around 1, and am now resting my sore legs and doing my laundry.  I must return to work tomorrow, so I probably should do some prep work.

This concludes the Jeff-only post; future works will be Bode-centric.  Pleasant week to all.