happy new year - best of 2008 lists

I realize it has been quite a long time since I've written anything on my blog(s).

I do apologize - it has been a very hectic (but great) past few weeks, but as we embark upon a new year, I must take time to reflect on the past 12 months in a nostaligic recap of my life on the road. These are my most memorable moments for 2008 (not necessarily best or worst, and in somewhat chronological order):

- Getting my first taste of the Big D, and ironically spending the first days of 2008 in Dallas/Fort Worth.
- Telling DSG I was leaving.
- Getting a job, after 6 months of 'unemployment', with Q/Crocs and everything that went along with that decision: weighing pros and cons, packing, training, and basically the sheer uncertainty of the entire situation and what was to come.
- Seeing my sister in her new apartment in SF on the way down for our first event.
- Watching the sun set as we drove along the coast through Santa Barbara, making our way to Huntington Beach.
- Setting up on race morning at the Surf City Marathon amidst torrential wind and rain, consequently soaking us and everything in our possesion.
- Getting stranded in Flagstaff, AZ due to a flash blizzard on my way to the Grand Canyon (which we never made it to) after going 10 mph losing sight of the road as semi's flew by. I pulled off, checked into a HIE and got Moons Over My Hammy from Denny's across the parking lot. The drive the next morning with new fallen snow and the sun shining was easily one of the best.
- Surprising Whitney in Vegas at the airport, eventhough it didn't quite go according to plan.
- Running in my first event, the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, FL and driving over the drawbridge at sunrise with Stephen, which allowed me to get out and take a great picture (not how sore I was for a week after that).
- Getting my new computer, which undoubtedly saved me countless hours over having to use my old one for the whole tour.
- The trips back to OU to see Whitney at school. Athens is so much fun and such an amazing place, we were very lucky to spend as much time there as we did.
- Our night out in New Orleans, followed by Easter Sunday in the Big Easy. This was really the only night, all tour, when we went out to the bars as a team, but it was a lot of fun.
- Being at the Boston Marathon.
- One night in Louisville during Derby Week. Phillip convinced me to go to a concert one evening during a three day stop over in the Bluegrass State which turned out to be amazing. The weather was beautiful, Brett Dennen and Mason Jennings were on stage, fireworks went off, steamboats went by on the river next to the park - very cool.
- Wine tasting in VA with Whitney - who knew there was great wine there?!
- Watching my mom win her age group in the Denver Danskin Tri, backwards wetsuit and all!
- Whitney calling with news of not one, but two simultaneous job offers and her decision to move to Dallas and work for TMA.
- Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, 4th of July. There are a multiple reasons this weekend was memorable: said goodbye to the last of the first team and welcomed in the second team, guerilla marketing plan to run in crocs and make a video of the whole event (which turned out pretty cool), and watching the fireworks from Stephen's hotel balcony (overlooking of the madness that was Olympic Park).
- Stopping for a rendezvous in Nashville with the team and Whitney. Hotel Indigo, BBQ, and relaxation.
- The weekend in Copper, with a laid back event, perfect weather, lots of outdoor activities, and staying right on the mountain.
- Surprising Whitney by coming down to Dallas, riding the trolley for the first time, and setting up meetings that would eventually lead to another memorable moment.
- Going to a game at Yankee Stadium.
- Chicago Marathon. Huge event, great marketing, better food, and the Crocs Block with spray-chalked logos and big balloons.
- Running to Canada and back in the Detroit Half Marathon (followed by an awful decision on the part of my team to buy a case of White Castle sliders - and my awful decision to eat 7 of them).
- My two most memorable events of 2008, both taking place less than a week apart: 1) Running the Marine Corps Marathon with my mom and 2) getting a call on Halloween in NYC Macy's with my mom and Auntie Chris that there was a job at hawkeye, after SIX months of persistence and hope.
- One crazy week in November: driving from NYC to Denver, finally signing my hawkeye contract, packing the Crocs truck with all my things for Dallas, and moving in to our new apartment.
- My last event with Crocs in San Antonio on one day and starting my new job the very next day, realizing everything had FINALLY come together.
- Spending Thanksgiving at home and spending the next week in SF with my sister for my first TNF event.
- Getting a chance to see so many friends and family throughout the year.
- Being able to start the New Year in a great place, with a great job and a great girl.

And now the most important list - best food of 2008! I ate my face off last year. I ate out for practically every meal (because we had to) and was lucky enough to taste delicious cuisine from all over the country - here's my best, in no particular order:

- Black Bean and Steak Chili from the Weber Grill in Chicago
- Beignets from Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans
- Chocolate Chip Cannoli from Mike's Pastries in Boston
- Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth
- Filipi's Pizza Grotto in San Diego
- Oregano's in Scottsdale
- Fish tacos in SoCal
- NY pizza from Rosa's
- Chop't in DC
- Jack's BBQ in Nashville
- Mars Cheese Castle outside of Kenosha, WI
- The Buckhead Diner in Atlanta
- Crabcakes from Clyde's on M Street in Georgetown
- Corned Beef from Attman's in Baltimore
- Lou Malnati's in Chicago - best deep dish pizza by far, although Gino's East and Giordanno's aren't bad
- In-n-Out Burger
- Tony Luke's Philly Cheesesteaks...in Philly
- The Med in Boulder
(I'm sure I've forgotten some, so please call me out on it)

2008 was one heck of a year, crazy to say the least - here's hoping 2009 is even better, for everyone!!

piles and piles

I have so much stuff. Why do I keep the most inane objects, which eventually accumulate to create a massive amount of items I could never need, nor want for that matter?

At least I can justify the clothes. They go out of style, what have you, but the rest of this junk is ridiculous. Here is a before picture of the clothes-cleansing process:

And here is the after:

That's right, two large contractor garbage bags full of clothes that will be donated. What's funny (or not) is that I actually did this last Christmas with Whitney, who enjoyed pilfering through and purging my closet a little too much. I suppose it's a good thing, though, to make the tough decisions: will I ever need this troll doll again or will I wear this tie that was worn during 8th grade. Of course, the answer to both is a definitive "NO", but it takes time. Lean and mean, that's what I'll be running after this weekend - at the very least, I hope I got rid of enough to fit in our apartment.

swingin'

Often times throughout this political season I have felt as though I were right in the candidates shoes on the campaign trail. Driving around the country, in a different city almost every day, and sending out a message for the people to hear. We're promoting rubber shoes instead of running for president, but that's not important.

Never more have I felt like we're making the final push than this week - hitting the crucial battleground states leading up to the election. We made a stop in DuBois, PA followed by our stay in Cleveland tonight, Iowa tomorrow before landing in swing state Colorado for election results. It's a long road, but someone's got to do it - power to the people!

that's amore

Well, the moon has hit my eye like a big one of these:

Rosa's Pizza. It's one of a million similar pizza shops in New York City, but it sure is delicious. I ate there three times this trip, each time getting a slice of the Margherita. Euphoria in my mouth. For your viewing pleasure, here is a previously posted picture because it just looks so good:

One thing that amazes me about virtually every store front in the City is the trap-door basements. Notice the metal square in front of the building:

These all lead to secret wonderland's of magic and wishes. Actually, I do constantly find the forethought put in to designing big cities truly fascinating. It's interesting this is simply "they way they do things" here. Delivery trucks stop on streets, clogging up all but the width-plus-one-inch of a car to fit through, unloading their deliveries to "true" New Yorkers through ground holes like this:

Pretty cool system. Of course you don't see this anywhere else because it won't work anywhere else, but each city has it's own system and that's what is amazing. Goodbye NYC and goodbye Stephen, you'll be missed. (I guess that kind of sounds like Stephen died, but he didn't; he's just going on a Mediterranean cruise and I won't see him again - thanks for everything.)

all hallow's eve

Happy Halloween boys and ghouls, it has turned out to be a very happy day indeed.

pom-mania

Look, pomegranates are hot right now. The flavor, the fruit, it's all very trendy and awkwardly sour-yet-delicious tasting. But here's a new one:

Iced coffee from POM, the original pomegranate juice maker. At least when you go to the website they don't try to hide anything:

My question is this - what could possibly make a company specializing in fruit juice want to make iced coffee? That's like ESPN televising a spelling bee or Crocs making high-heeled shoes. It's flat out bonkers. But I suppose if your brand is hot, why not try ice? Ironically, I turned the corner after seeing the iced coffee sign and this fell into my lap:

I just couldn't escape it. Perhaps I should wash down some of this delicious New York pizza from Rosa's with a cool glass of POM.

And if I don't finish the pizza? Eat it cold for breakfast the next morning with a POM iced coffee...oh, now I see!

brrr and stuff

In less than a week, it has turned f-ing cold. I'm not the most prepared either, at least not until next week when I get to go home, collect all my personal belongings and move them to Dallas. Until then, I will wear the same clothes I have lived in for the last nine months - because what's another week, right?

I thought this was a great Nike ad.

I really love when cities rally around and truly support road races. I have already seen television commercials, news telecasts and the like, creating an unmistakable buzz for "the world's greatest race." I almost feel like running this weekend...almost, and there is no chance in hell. We have to get back across the country toot-sweet, darn!

And I've done it again, little sleep. I should probably change this cycle.