From the TrueFaced Blog

I can add nothing to what John says in this recounting of a trip with the family dog and the faith lessons learned... Enjoy.

Danger...Please Be Advised...

Recent reports have linked Barney & Friends (tm) videos with runny noses and trance-like states in some toddlers. Mylar blankets have *NOT* been proven effective in prevention.

You have been warned.

Mission Accomplished

We finished! The weather was quite chilly, but it made for a great day after the race got started and the sun came up. I finished in 1:57:16, under the 9 minute pace we set, and Brian was just a few seconds behind me.

More details and pics to follow, but as of now I seem to be recovering well. I'm glad to have set--and be finished--with this goal.

Now on to North Carolina and beach-side recovery...

One Down...One To Go

I finished the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon this morning in 1:51:04 (unofficially), much faster than I figured I'd run. Now I shift my focus to the race in Columbus tomorrow morning...

Also, both Deepti and Hailey finished on pace, capping off very successful first race training/race cycles for both. They claim they never want to run a mini again, but you know how that goes.

The weather was wonderful, the race was well organized (and on time!), the volunteers very helpful, and the post-race cookout was phenomenal. This race was much more enjoyable than last year when I ran the marathon--having other folks to share the experience with can't be overrated.

I'll post more pictures and details later.

My First NFL Game

My roommate Barrett won a couple of tickets to last weekend's Colts' game, and he was kind enough to take me along.

We first had dinner at a great micro-brewery downtown near the Circle Center mall. I'm not much of a fan of micro-brew beer (too strong), but they had a pale ale that wasn't too bad. The bacon cheeseburger was AMAZING.



Lucas Oil Stadium is the new home of the Colts, but they unfortunately had yet to win a game at home this season.



The stadium is the NFL's first with a retractable roof AND a window that opens in the front. I'm not sure why they claim this as such a big deal, but it was pretty cool. Apparently they have to decide a few hours before the game whether the roof is going to be open or closed for the game. Does this mean if it starts pouring rain in the middle of the game they have to leave it open? Wouldn't that be great...I'm sitting getting soaked and there's a roof you can close?!



As you can see, we had really good seats. The only drawback was that as the sun made its way across the stadium, we ended up in the heat of the sun in the late afternoon. It occurred to me after we left that season ticket holders of the RCA Dome are probably experiencing this for the first time... In spite of the open roof and window, there wasn't much of a breeze.



I can almost see how the NFL can support the salaries they pay their players...of the 63,000 that Lucas Oil can hold, I'd guess at least half were wearing > $100 in Colts gear. Sell a few $3.50 bottles of water, LOTS of $7 beers, and...well...it adds up.

Here's the obligatory self-portrait to prove I didn't just get these pictures from Flickr.



The game was really exciting...and the Colts ended up winning 31-3. Special thanks to Barrett for picking me to go along with him....

Happy Feet

I'm really excited about my new Birkenstock sandals. I've wanted a good pair of sandals for a while, and with a beach vacation and a trip to India both scheduled for the end of the year, the time seemed right.

I'm finding that my friends are right...they take a while to break in, and this isn't exactly the best time of year to be wearing them all the time, but I think they'll be in perfect shape by the time we leave for India in December.

Ponytail...Birks... All I need now is a few tie-dyed shirts and I'm golden..