PCB and RAA

Before I get to my trip to PCB, a quick update on the guys with Run Across America. They are booking it. Right now they are in Illinois and I just got word from Tom that they are going to be in Indiana by dinner time! That's awesome - especially since that means I get to see them either tomorrow or Thursday for dinner!!! They seem to be in good spirits and excited to be moving forward to rapidly.

Tom hit 100 miles on the 3rd - that's 7 days into his journey, but said that now they are averaging more like 25 miles a shift since their shifts run from 6am - 6pm. They are doing 1 mile intervals and covering a lot of miles! Then three guys take over and run over night. Last night they covered 70 miles in about 9 hours. They are amazing. I asked if he's sick of running and he was very quick to respond with "yep"!  I've been loving the pictures (which Tom is posting on the side of the Team Type 1 webpage if you haven't noticed). This one just cracked me up..

At least I know that they are having fun.  It's interesting because there is so much to this journey that you don't get to hear about (and I, of course do, being the wife of the team manager!)  They make this seem like it's been an easy going, super fun journey of 10 guys, just running across the country with no worries.  Let me tell you... it's so much more than running and recovering.  They have had some serious low spots, times when they missed home, were annoyed with each other (how can you not be... you are with the same people 24/7 in close corners), have been injured both physically and mentally, wanted to quit and have questioned why they are doing this.  But they have always come together, hugged it out, and remembered the goal - to show that they, everyday people with Type 1 Diabetes, can do anything.  And they will finish strong, as a unified group, having done something that just the 10 of them (and the 3 crew members) will never forget, and never really be able to explain to us watching from afar. What a journey!!!

So, what's a girl to do when her hubby leaves for 3 weeks - go on a girls trip, of course.  To summarize my weekend:

• I got to see one of my besties Kristin and got to meet the infamous Mandy

•  I ended up meeting Laura, KC, John, Andy, and Wes, as well as getting to spend time with Matty-O, Heather, Frank and Sophie

 

•  I ate a lot of peanut butter M&M's, rice krispie treats, and doritos

•  Learned that Mellow Mushroom has the most fantastic pizza ever (and yeah, I kind of already knew that but sharing it with new people was too much fun!)

•  We got to introduce Mandy to the Wally World of PCB... yep, they have airbrusing there!!!

•  I made signs for the racers, many of which included "that's what she said" phrases and bought a race spectating necessity... a cooler on wheels.

•  I made an Irondiva cup which may or may not have come in handy when cheering along the course and holding cold beverages...

• I met some totally great glowing people from the Boca Tri Club who you would have thought we'd known our own lives
• I saw a record get broken (hello sub8 hour US Ironman record) and witness my new friends have amazing days!
• I laughed until I cried and smiled nonstop
• And... I signed up for another Ironman!  

Couldn't have been a better weekend!

An update and an award

Okay people - this is where they stand...

They are in New Mexico.  They are still running.  They are still tired.

Hahaha - that's about as good of an update as I've gotten.  I went 26 or so hours without talking to him yesterday because they have had no cell signal and when they finally did get it, he was just starting a shift.  So I talked to him for about 6 minutes.  He sounded good, tired, but good and said that they were doing fine. I know he had a long shift in front of him (it was 10pm our time and they were just starting the 8 hour shift so they'd be running through the night) and he was already yawning! I have a feeling that when I get home home on the 15th, he's just going to sleep for a few days!  Here's a great little blog that one of the crew members is keeping.  And the official writer for the Run Across America is one of Tom's teammates, Marcus and his blog is here  Tom is trying to post Marcus's blogs to the Team Type 1 website, but without Internet access, that's just not always possible!  Thanks for the thoughts and well wishes... keep them coming for these crazy amazing guys!

Okay, so on to me.  I'm leaving tomorrow for Panama City Beach.

I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED!!!

And yesterday, Melissa from Double Jogger Diaries nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Thanks Melissa... so now I'm supposed to give you 7 facts about myself.

1. I was born in Queens New York.  I wasn't there long (10 months) and I haven't been back since, but I know that my life would have been very different had we stayed there and not moved to Westerville, OH.  My parents and I are going back next weekend for the finish of Run Across America and on Saturday, we're renting a car and driving through all of the old neighborhoods.  I was told that some of them will be very quick visits - guess they might not be the best parts of town! :)
2. I talk to my mom every day, at least twice a day (it's 11am and I've already talked to her 4 times today).  I can literally call her and not have anything to say, yet we can talk for 30 minutes nonstop.  The hardest time I had with this was when I went to Europe for 4 months, but I still talked to her 3-4 times a week!
3. My husband's name is Thomas Brady Kingery III, but since I've known him, I've called him Brady.  No one else does this and it often catches people by surprise when they hear me say it.  You see, my dad is Tom, my grandpa is Tom, my father-in-law is Tom... so when I first started dating him and we were with our families, it just got too confusing.  I can't remember the last time that I've called him Tom though, except for when I'm talking about him to someone else.  So if you hear me talking about Brady, that's my hubby.
4. I'm totally obsessed with reality tv.  I know that it's trash and rots my brain, but even yesterday, when talking to Tom (see... I didn't want to throw you off with the Brady thing), he asked what was new in the world since they haven't had access to the news and my responses was "Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce".  That's sad... 
5. I love making homemade sandwiches and panini's.  I worked in a sub shop (Jersey Mike's) for about 6 years (high school and college).  It was a piece of cake job, all my friends worked there, I got free subs... you know, everything was perfect (except for me slicing off part of my middle finger on the meat slicer, but that's another story). When I quit, it took me years to walk back in and order a sub because I had eaten there every day for years.  Their subs are really great, but I just couldn't eat them.  Now I can though and I can still rattle off what comes on each sub.  I use a lot of their ideas when cooking at home and Tom often says that I should open a sandwich shop at some point. Maybe...
6. I love to bake, but don't do it very often.  I do cook dinner at least 5 or 6 nights a week.  And I'm not afraid to try some new recipe.  I don't measure things though and many times make the recipe my own by adding something or taking something out of it. I would say 98% of the time it works out great. 
7. I have a rule that I must not think about future holidays until the next one is over.  I'm so not a fan of the fact that right after Halloween, Christmas season starts.  I take that back... BEFORE Halloween, Christmas season starts.  What happened to Thanksgiving (which is one of my favorite holidays) and why must we always rush to the next one? I love love love Christmas, but I honestly think it's a tad ridiculous that in October, the trees and ornaments are out.   It makes my head spin.  Bah-humbug.

So that's all... I had a hard time coming up with 7 things about me.  Hope you enjoyed them.  I'm supposed to tag people, but my mind is on my girl's vacation right now and I must go pack.  I know, not playing by the rules, but just call me lazy a rebel!