Adventures of Rachele

If you know me, I love my puppy, but I refuse to dress him up like a doll.  I've even resisted my friends pleas to dress him up for Halloween...he'd hate it and probably chew up the costume before I could snap a photo.  Anyways, it's been getting chilly and rainy.  Not only does Dixon hate the rain, he's started to shiver outside.  He hates it so much that he digs his heels in, so he won't have to go out in the rain.  So, I decided to get him a raincoat to keep him a little more dry and warm.  There aren't as many choices for boy dogs, and I cringed when the salesperson showed me something in camo.  In true Seattle fashion, my puppy has a little red raincoat.

Last weekend I was running the Nike 1/2 Marathon with Cindy, Heidi and Jocey.  Mel and Lily ran the full course.  Since Lily ran the Victoria Marathon two weeks before, she qualifies as a Marathon Maniac.  Oh yes, there is a club for those who complete multiple marathons within a certain time period.  The criteria can be found here.  Yes, it's amazing what Lily will do for a hat.  26.2 miles is far!  Doing two marathons in a year is enough for me, but that's why I will never be a member of that club.  Good for you, Lily!

Before the race, Cindy & I and Lily & Heidi taped mini commercials for Nike.  They wanted participants to tell them what it means to be an athlete.  We'll see if we pop up on the website later.  Nike also had all of our names printed in the store window...

It was a tough course.  The full marathon winner finished in 3:01, which is a very slow time for first place.  That just shows how hilly and challenging it was.  Of course, most of us did it in 2005, so we knew what we were getting into.  Or so we thought...we all felt that the hills were longer and steeper this year (even though the course didn't change).  At the end of the race, we each received a necklace from Tiffany's as our finisher's medal and a shirt that was actually fit for women!  The race was inspirational.  The views were breathtaking.  My body is still tired from last Sunday.  It was a great trip.

Someone called me a jock and I was shocked.  Those are those guys on ESPN.  I'm not anything near the images I see on televised sports.  Then it dawned on me--that wasn't the point.  I was taking for granted the lifestyle I lead.  Striving for perfection can be used as inspiration to drive harder or it can be an excuse not to even try.

What does it mean to be an athlete?  Never getting old.  Staying focused on a goal.  Training even when it's hard.  Meeting people I'd otherwise never see.  Respecting my body.  Nourishing my mind.  Discovering that my physical boundaries are so much broader than I can imagine.  Finding inner strength.  Receiving amazing support.  Allowing the tears to fall through the pain.  Longing to run through injuries.  Being smart enough to stay healthy.  Being patient enough to heal.  Thinking that races are just big slumber parties.  Laughing hysterically at silly sayings that no one other than your crazy friends get.

Our clip...

Cindy:"Being an athlete means you never have to grow old."

Me: "Can Cindy come out and play?"

Cindy: "Let's go running!"

Us: "Yeah!!!"

Us: "We are athletes!"

October 4-10th I was in Disneyworld with my parents, brother and sister-in-law.  I'm so behind in blogging, that I'm just going to throw up the photos.  Otherwise, I'll never catch up on posting.  Most of the photos are in Animal Kingdom since the Safari was amazing and I couldn't believe how close we got to the animals.  There are also photos in Epcot around the World Showcase.

Animal Kingdom:

Epcot:

Magic Kingdom:

Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney.  It was a very cool interactive show set in the late 1930's.