The River Bank Run Results Are In!!!

I have just completed my run and have improved my time from last year by about two minutes.

Now a few hours later, I feel good and must say I am glad I bumped into my friend Sally who pushed me as much as I pushed her. I was lining up when I saw her next to me and we agreed to run until the other felt the need for speed.

I have Sally to thank for telling me as we turned the last corner to go for it. This shove helped me get the time I wanted!

Honestly after a night before that included a wine tasting event and then a wedding reception, when my head hit the pillow at midnight I did not think I woudl be running in the AM.

I stepped outside at 6 AM...hmmm... no rain, no excuses this year. So I grabbed a coffee, a cliff bar and headed downtown.

The weather was a perfect temp for running. While it was in the mid-40's I did have to do a bit of a strip tease while running over the 6th Street bridge because I was sweating in my running out fit.

For fashion sake I wore a blue and bright orange Adidas jacket and pants. Underneath was my favorite new UnderArmor shirt that really helps wick away the sweat.

I even wore my iBelieve cap on my iPod shuffle for luck but the damn thing kept slapping around like a hell-bent nun in gradeschool. Next time I will go natural...I mean.... without the Divine Design element.

I had placed a collection of tunes to help me pace myself. I knew that if my soundtrack got past "I Love New York" by Madonna I was in deep trouble. But as it was Madonna was just starting her tune when I turned the Monroe Center Corner and saw the finish line ahead.

As Madonna wound up, I felt like winding down but instead I sprinted focusing my eyes on the sign as I sped down Ionia, ignoring the crowds around me.

And in those final seconds when my mind attempted one last time to get me to slow down, I said, "No." Volume high, I crossed the finish line full stride.

I may not have had the best time of the day nor won a medal or a prize, but I gained something I could not buy.

I earned the right to say I showed up and I did it.

A few notes from the road....

The event could have done a better job of signage, since I do not recall one sign that indicated mile marks. One runner remembered a person holding up one finger, the good one, but thought they were telling her they were "number one". It was only when she looked back did she see the sign.

And next year, let's fix that big pothole on the West side of the 6th Street Bridge as well.

I really liked the design of the logo this year.

The best part of this event was the free massages and a beer tent. Not that I stopped for a massage or the beer but if I had somewhere to place a soggy three dollars I just might have.

But yogurt, bananas and icy cold fresh orange slices hit the spot. And then I simply went home.

Until the next race.....

Event
Fifth Third River Bank Run 5k
Year: 2006
Bib: 808
Last name: ALLEN
First name: TOMMY
City: GRAND RAPIDS
State: MI
Overall: 1864 (out of 3797)
Chip time: 29:34

My iPod Shuffle "Cross" Soundtrack:
Demon Days - Gorillaz
Utopia - Sofia Loell
Illuminate - Latrice
Rise (ROCAsound House Mix) - Samantha James
Feel Good Inc (Single Edit) - Gorillaz
Hung Up (Bill Hamel Remix) (Edit) - Madonna
Sunrise (Jason Nevins Remix) - Duran Duran
I Love New York - Madonna

West Michigan Whitecaps JUMP THE SHARK!

It was bound to happne since they have always walked a fine line but on Sunday, May 7, the West Michigan Whitecaps officially jumped the shark when it was announced it was Dance Day.

So for your consideration I offer up these four photos.


1. Pledging to an eletronic flag.


2. A woman in a rip off of the Iconic I "Heart" N Y Shirt that reads, "I HEART JENISON VOLLEYBALL"



3. New healthier oil for fried food. What is the point of counting fat grams in your fries after 2 huge beers, a hot dog and a melting moment ice cream bar?



4. Underage (and almost entirely white) dancers bumping and grinding to hip hop tunes a bit off the beat. It was as they say on Seinfeld like watching a full body dry heave.

Congrats West Michigan, you knocked it out of the park this time.

(I will still attend because for all its faults, it is still a great place to have a good time with friends.)

SPOTLIGHT: GR Code Pink

This past weekend GR CodePink was out in full force looking for some face time with Michigan Congressman Vern Ehlers as he hosted what was billed as a Town Hall Meeting.

But ol' Vern must feel he does not need their votes must less the need to communicate with a group within the hall or he may have been more cordial with their attmepts to ask questions.

While I was out of town I could not attend the meeting, but this AM in my mailbox was a letter from one of the members of Code Pink who had trouble getting Vern Ehlers attention.

This is a reprint of Anne Gossett's letter she has sent to Vern Ehlers:

Dear Mr. Ehlers;

I recently attended your town hall meeting in Grand Rapids and I was really disappointed by what I heard. Not just with you, I was indeed disappointed with your responses, but with my fellow attendees. I was not called on, as you systematically avoided our area, but I can hardly blame you; my pink wig must have been quite disconcerting.

My problem with the tenor of the meeting was due in part to the truly self-serving nature of the questions asked. It bothered me that the general message of most questions was, "Will you fix my problem for me?" Very few seemed particularly global and , if they were, it was generally a xenophobic reaction to a perceived ethnic group destroying their way of life. Well done! I say to you. Well done! Washington has done a superb job of convincing Americans that their neighbors to the south are at the root of their every disconsolation. Well done! Keeps them off that pesky Iraq and Iran topic, doesn't it?

My question, however, did not have to do with my situation personally. I was incensed to ask a question when I heard you agree with that obviously very angry and misguided man that morals today were in a state of decline (not very original, I think when everyone turns 50 they become convinced of this fact). I've written you form emails before regarding my support of gay marriage and received your form reply. It basically said that if you don't personally support something, you won't support it in Washington. How exactly this equals representation is a bit of a conundrum for me, but I digress. . .

My question is this: You identify yourself as a Christian. Can you please explain to me (I wonder if you have a form letter for this one) exactly how it was Christ-like to authorize and continue to support a preemptive war against a sovereign nation? A war, with no end in sight, which has killed thousands of US citizens, 100,000+ Iraqis (mainly children) and has wounded numbers we will never know (not because they are not knowable but because we choose not to count). Was there a passage in the bible that said to turn the other cheek unless you have some specious intelligence information? I guess I wonder how you can hold to your self-defined Christian values so strongly on a subject as innocuous as gay marriage and yet let them fly out the window on a situation that seems to eschew every teaching of the Christ from the beginning to end of his life?

Can you sleep at night knowing the blood of the dead is on your hands? I hope that Christ shows more mercy on your soul than you have shown them.

Yours in Peace,
Anne Gossett

"And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're going through" - David Bowie

To join GR CodePink, Link Here