The Raptors have arrived!

The F-22 Raptors? They're here. And tomorrow I get to sit and chat with Raptor pilot Maj. Paul "Max" Moga. I'm excited. Although I had to promise my boss that I wouldn't try to hide in the jet and fly away.

I was supposed to do it today, but then I had a problem getting across the runway.

Because there was a plane crash. An amateur homebuilt airplane stalled in the air and crashed just before the runaway. And two people are dead. So I had to change my plans for the day.

But I did take time out to watch the air show when the Raptor flew. And it was cool. And it gave me chills. And I took a little video. But it really doesn't do the Raptor justice. It is so much cooler in real life. So if you ever get a chance to see the Raptor fly? Watch it. I promise you won't be disappointed.

I read a bit

I can't believe July is done. Where the heck did the first seven months of the year go?

I dunno. But I do know that I managed to read a little bit this month. I finished four books, totaling 1,083 pages. That brings my total to 28 books for the year and 9,057 pages for the year. Not too bad.

So what'd I read? Take a look.

Lost by Gregory Maguire
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles by Anthony Swofford
A Champion's Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis by Pete Sampras and Peter Bodo
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum

And I have exciting news. I actually get to dip into the pile of books I have that has been steadily growing over the past few months. Once I actually get the energy to read, I'm going to start reading Water for Elephants, which has been sitting on my pile for a year. Yes. A year. And before I actually purchased the book? I had checked it out from the library not once, but two times. And I still haven't read a page. But it's going to get read. I'll finish it in the next month if it kills me. Because I've heard it's good. From a lot of people.

They're coming!

The Raptors are coming! The Raptors are coming!

They will be loud. And fast. And if you blink? You just might miss them.

In just over two hours they'll be here. And then I get to talk to their pilot. I'm a happy Badgergirl today.

If they could have, some would have been dancing in the aisles

If you're ever looking for me, one place you won't find me is at a movie theater.

I just don't go that often. I can't justify the price. And there are about a million other things I'd rather do that sit in a theater for hours watching a movie that I don't even know if I'm going to like. Besides, I'd rather rent a movie, or borrow it from the library. That way I can watch it when I want and in my comfy sweats.

But last night, I ventured out to a movie theater for the first time in a long time. Seriously. I think the last movie I saw in a theater was Finding Nemo. In 2003. When I was living in a completely different state. I'm not kidding.

Last night I stepped foot in a theater though. My friend Amanda from the 'burg came to visit and after we got some dinner we headed over to the movie theater to see Mamma Mia! I'd already seen the Broadway version of the show when it came to the PAC a couple of years ago, but I was game to see the movie version.

Besides, who can pass up ABBA tunes? Fun stuff.

The movie? It was good. Just like the stage version. Lots of good music. Lots of dancing. And who can forget about the many extremely good looking boys - including the fabulous scene where they're all outfitted in swim trunks, swim fins, goggles and snorkeling gear?

It was good. Worth the $7 I paid to get into the theater.

Now the movie theater popcorn? That I had a bit of a beef with. Not so good. And definitely not worth the $5.25 I paid for a small popcorn. Oh well. Maybe the next time I take in a flick at a theater the popcorn will be better.

This was the song that never started

When I run, there's two things I need.

My running shoes and my music.

I must have both. Without one? Running is a bit difficult. Seriously. Running barefoot? Not so fun. And the music? It keeps me going and makes the time go by quicker.

Today I was given a reminder of just how important that music is. As in, I ran today WITHOUT my iPod. Not on purpose of course. It was more along the lines of, I got to the locker room at the YMCA and had one of those "Oh crap" moments when I realized that my iPod was still packed away in my work bag, which was sitting in my car. And I was just too darn lazy to go back to get it.

So I decided to run without the tunes.

And it was hard. And I didn't like it.

But the triathlon didn't allow me to use my iPod on the run and I survived that, right? Yes. But see, there were people to talk to. Fellow athletes to cheer on. People standing along the course giving you high fives and words of encouragement. In other words, there were distractions and other things that kept me running.

At the YMCA? People are all plugged into their headphones. It's silent except for the whirring of the cardio machines. The only thing that distracts me? The red numbers on the machine display that tell you how much longer you've got or how far you've gone. And those distractions? Not very motivating since the time seems to crawl by and the miles go by even slower.

Today's run? It was tough. I needed the tunes.

I needed Kanye West to tell me, "That don't kill me / Can only make me stronger" or even Eminem to give me advice about seizing the moment, "You better lose yourself in the music / The moment you own it you better never let it go, oh / You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / Cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime."

And while not all of the music I listen to while running has inspirational lyrics, they all have one thing in common. A decent beat. One that makes me put one foot in front of the other. One that keeps me running. And it helps that the lyrics and music distract me. Takes my mind away from thinking about how long the run is or how painful it is.

That's about all I thought about today. How long it seemed the run was taking. How it seemed like I was running eight miles instead of just two. And how it seemed like the little red numbers on the machine were never going to hit 22 minutes.

One thing is for sure, next time? The iPod will definitely be in the gym bag.

I wonder what the record is

I answered questions.

Then they pricked my finger and watched the blob of blood slowly fall.

I got a seat with a view and a pink squeezable rubber ball. Some iodine and another prick, although this time the needle hurt a bit going in.

Then the blood began to flow. And four minutes later, the blood donation bag was full, the Bloodmobile lady was removing the needle and I was on my way to a chocolate chip cookie and a glass of OJ.

Granted I now I had one less pint of blood in my body. But it's for a good cause. And like I said, it took me four minutes to fill up the donation bag.

And maybe I should have thought about that whole less blood in my body thing a bit more when I got home from work. I didn't go running, which was my initial intent when I got up this morning.

No, but I decided it was perfectly OK to go for a 10-mile bike ride.

And now my head is aching just a bit. Probably not completely from the lack of blood, but I'm sure that has a tiny bit to do with it.

My best and worst, at the same race

I may not have done anything super exciting during my vacation, but I wasn't a complete bum.

I took a couple of bike rides, went swimming with The Rugrats and met a friend for dinner.

Oh, and I ran my absolute worst 5K ever. And to think, last year at this time, I set a new personal best when I ran the Sunset 5K, a race run in conjunction with Paperfest in Kimberly.

Maybe my awful time had a bit to do with the weather. Since it's a race run in the evening, it was hot. The mercury was hovering in the mid-80s and the dew point? Yeah. Dew points in the 70s aren't so comfortable to sit in much less run 3 miles. So it was hot. And humid. And I was sweating buckets before I even lined up at the starting line.

And let's not even talk about the lack of water. One water station. And normally that would be OK, especially since we passed it twice since it was a two-lap course. But then the race organizers should at least make sure there's plenty of fluids at the finish line. Because they were lacking a bit on the water at the end.

And even though I took a few bike rides earlier in the week and my legs felt OK, while I was running Friday they just felt like a bunch of dead weight. At times, it was difficult to put one foot in front of the other. Maybe I wasn't as recovered from the triathlon Sunday as I thought I was. Mental note to self, the next time you do a tri, make sure not to schedule a 5K for a few days later.

But I ran it. And as much as I wanted to quit, I kept "running." At a very, very, very slow pace. I only stopped to walk once, right near the end when I was faced with the nasty hill to the finish line. But once the finish was in sight, I ran it in.

And I still cringed when I saw the time on the clock.

40 minutes, 30 seconds.

Ouch.

I blame it on the heat. And the humidity. And that I was still recovering from my triathlon Sunday. And besides, my 5K times can only get better from here on out this year.

It's done already?

My vacation? It's over.

While I didn't do anything super exciting, it was still nice not to have any big plans. A whole week to do whatever I wanted.

And now it's over. And back to the world of work for me.

*Sigh*