Rock and Roll Dallas 2012

On March 25th, 2012, I completed my 58th  athletic event since I entered my first triathlon in July of 2000. I had the great opportunity to once again spend a fun weekend with family and friends. We went to dinner on Friday night in the West End so we could properly carb load, navigated the DART system, and stayed in the newly opened Omni Hotel next to the Dallas Convention Center. My wonderful sister-in-law paid for my two night hotel stay and also an 80 minute hot stone massage after finishing the half marathon.

Rock and Roll Dallas offers only a half marathon, and so they have one of the later start times for a race, at 8 AM. With over 15,000 people and 15 corrals, each separated by a four minute span, and with weather being ever-changing in Texas, the temps quickly climbed and made for a pretty hot time on the road. Picking up each foot and putting them down again for the duration of the 13.1 miles was more a mental exercise than a physical one. Each time I felt the frustration of feeling like I was swimming through molasses, I would see another runner struggling with barriers of their own. I saw a man pushing his wife in a wheelchair while running the entire race. I saw a man, easily in his 80's, take a nasty spill before mile two, and after getting help from others, picked himself up and continue running in spite of busting his elbow wide open with the blood freely flowing down his arm as he ran. Always, always there is inspiration around us if we only open our eyes wide enough to see it and our hearts wide enough to feel it....

I saw passionate people running for a specific cause, whether it be because they were a cancer survivor, lost a loved one to cancer, or were running to save pitbulls. I do love people with a passion in a variety of forms.

The expo was a bit lacking, but I walked away with three free pair of socks, five shirts for signing up for a triathlon in the new series Tri the Rock 2012, two swim caps, some coconut water, gels, and a 15 dollar discount for signing up at the expo. The tri will be in Austin on Labor day weekend. I am way excited about that!

Next up for me is the Jailbreak Run in Austin this Saturday followed by the first annual Austin Beer Fest. I have a truck full of friends and family along for the ride on this one as well. In April, I am signed up for the Shape Diva Dash and the Hell Run. There is never enough time in the day to get it all done.

After getting home Monday afternoon, I unpacked and took a 60 plus mile motorcycle ride around the area to check out the gorgeous blooming bluebonnets. The recent and frequent rains have given us a bumper crop this year, and it seemed to me that looking at them while cruising by on my Triumph made the colors even brighter and my heart just a little lighter. You can't beat that with a stick!

Til next time.....

Jill