Dodgers

WOW today really was nice and the weather people said it was going to rain... well that never stopped me! For confirmation check out my post from February (Half Marathon Record Time!)!

I got off work at 6pm instead of the normal 5pm and then got ready to run with Paul... the weather still was holding up until the very end of the run... as we were heading to my in-laws home (our starting point) I heard a noise and then asked Paul what that was... he said... it's rain! Sure enough it just came down on us!

I was wearing my brand new shoes too! Well they are drying up now and weren't too terribly wet but still... I thought we were going to dodge the forecast! I guess I need to work on that part in training.

It is currently POURING down rain with a wonderful display of lightning and thunder! Our first sign that the seasons have indeed changed.

Tomorrow's forecast continues and Turkey day has a 30% chance of rain... in California terms that means the chance of rain is slim to none. If anything we may get a light sprinkle!

I think my main fans are family in Tennessee and my family/friends are in California... It would be cool to get more stamped states though, so if you have friends or family in other states... send them my blog address and help me get more states marked on my cluster map...

::::Snuggle and Stay Dry::::
Melissa

Turkey Trot'n & Happy Thanksgiv'n

If you would like to join in on the fun or would like more information... click here :)

My weekend was very relaxing... Yes, I did run 20 miles on Saturday and dance a few hours at Disney after my hair appointment but the stress free weekend was just what I needed to rejuvinate me for this short work week :)

I would like to encourage you to sign up on my buddy map. I would love to know where all my fans are located...

Sunday was my bowling league day and I think whoever decides who bowls together... sure had a sense of humor yesterday... Our bowling league name is "Strikin Strikers" and we bowled against "Big Knockers"... the president said I could be on both teams, lol! Well the Big Knockers kicked are butt... we did win one game by three points but lost the other two games by a landslide! Truely we didn't stand a chance... they had over 400 pins handicap and we are at 160 or so... therefore we needed to spot them around 250+ pins to win a game! This season we are in last place in our division and getting close to last place in the league... last place folks get towels and first place gets trophey's... I think we are shooting for towels this season! At least towels can be used instead of getting a trophy and having it collect dust.

Today after work I have tap class and then I am going to support a TNT participant with their fundraising event at Lucky Strike and bowl for practice :) Tomorrow I will run with Coach Paul and then on Wednesday it is R & R afterwork... I will pick up our packets for the turkey trot race and then hang out with my friend Megan who is having knee surgery today and will be on the road to recovery by then. Thursday is Turkey Trot Day and eating lots of turkey taco's and pie! I am bringing the pie and fried apples!

Lastly, Jeremy and I got our pictures taken at JC Penny and they look cute. The pix should be ready for pickup December 2nd... I will post them here on the computer if I can get it scanned and formatted right... otherwise they will be in this years Christmas cards :)

If I don't get a chance to post again on here...

HAPPY TURKEY DAY! If you are vegitarian... Happy Tofu Day!
Melissa

Turkey Trot'n in Long Beach

Next week is the turkey trott... I ran twice this week and am struggling on keeping a good pace! I hope Turkey Day is different! I want to be around 9/min miles with a finish time of 55-60 minutes! This is a race where you don't get a medal at the end, lol! You get a pumpkin pie and the satisfaction of running to put less guilt on the Thanksgiving Day feast! It is a blast! I can't wait!!! Jeremy and Coach Paul are running the 10K race and I have two friends Trish and Carla who are walking the 5K!

My area skated the fallen ashes from the fires and I am so glad! Last year around this time we had fires like this and it just rained ash for almost a week at our house... we didn't get one drop all week!

Tomorrow is dance and then I am resting up for a 12-miler on Saturday! I may do more than that since the Honolulu folks are doing their 20-miler that day! We will see!!!!

Thanks for checking on me!
Mel

Operation OC, helping neighbors affected by the fires

Hello to everyone,
This is in the works, compliments to myTNT head coach Darin!

The purpose of this blog is to ask for your help for the victims of the recent OC fires. If there is a burden on your heart to help out, then please read on.

On Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 7 am to 12 noon at Heritage Park in Irvine, there will be an opportunity for you to drop off items to be directly donated to help these folks. All items donated will be delivered to Operation OC, a local charity that is willing and able to take our donations and get them right where they are needed free of charge to the victims.
Here's how this will work:

The following list of items is provided by Operation OC to address the most imminent needs of the fire victims.
*** IF you are donating clothing for fire victims, please make sure that it is new or gently worn. If you have items that you’d like to donate to the Orange County Rescue Mission for the everyday needs they have in helping the homeless, etc. you need to have those items in a separate bag or box labeled “FOR RESCUE MISSION.”

Always Needed Basics

Ready-to-eat food (cereal, powdered milk, canned meals, canned fruits, canned vegetables)
Infant care (diapers, baby wipes, baby Tylenol/Motrin, formula, diaper rash cream, thermometers)
Toiletries (bath towels, wash cloths, hand towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, combs/brushes, deodorant, laundry baskets, laundry detergent, Bandaid, Neosporin.

Special Needs

We are in need of gift certificates to Target Stores, local restaurants, gas gift cards, and phone cards or the money to purchase them in bulk.


If you do not have any of these items and would like to make an online donation, you can do so at: https://www.rescuemission.org/1donate/online/donate.htm

PHASE 1
Go through your pantries to find any of the items listed above.
We will try to have some extra boxes, but if you have some too, that would be great!
After our training on Saturday (the Winter TEAM is revving up for Honolulu in December and P.F. Chang's in January!), we will take all of the donated items over to Operation OC to drop them off.

PHASE 2
If you don’t have the chance to drop off your donations this Saturday at Heritage Park, you can drive the items to the Operation OC yourself.

One Hope Drive, Tustin, CA 92782 (Mon—Sat, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) 714-247-4300

They know we are coming on Saturday and are prepared to accept all of our donations.

Note to GPS and Mapquest users: in the event that the new One Hope Drive address does not yet display on your GPS device or on Mapquest, please use the previous address: 15635 Landsdowne Road, Tustin, CA 92782

If you would like more information on Operation OC, please click the following link:
www.operationoc.com

Please consider helping the victims of these fires through these tough times. Together we can make a difference.

Pass this on to ANYONE you think might like to help out...we would love to have a huge turnout for this drive!

For a map on how to find Heritage Park in Irvine (corner of Yale Ave and Walnut Ave near Irvine High School), please click the link below. The drop off will be at the back of the parking lot by the recreation center (where Team in Training usually meets each Saturday for those who know): Heritage Park, Irvine (click to view map)

Fires

This weekend has come to an end and I am finally able to update :) Yesterday while running with my mentee Melisa she pointed out the fires from a distance. During this run her phone had gone off 3 times and she didn't know why! Well the answer became apparent after the run and when she was heading home she found out her area has been evacuated in Yorba Linda!

My mom's house is close to the Green River fire but not close enough for evacuation. My brother and his wife were in between fires (Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda) and were unaffected also!

Therefore no loss in relation to my friends and family are to be reported :)

The air quality is just terrible... it smells bad at times but since the wind has died down... that has gotten better and good ol' Huntington Beach looks pretty good.

Last night Jeremy and I went to Disney and boy did that make us thirsty! It was so dry and being in the City of Anaheim didn't help since that put us closer to the fires. The plus to this was that the dance floor at Carnation Plaza was nice due to the ash droppings... it made for a slipper floor and that in turn makes it easier to dance!

Before Disney I went to my friend Gwynne's baby shower that was also in Anaheim. This got cut a little short as the road closures started to worry some guests... Gwynne did make out like a bandit with bouncers, swings, clothes, and a bunch more goodies though.

So my weekend began with a 14 mile run - then baby shower - ending with Disney .... notice the lack of napping involved... so today... I slept in until 11:15am! That is right, I missed church by a landslide! I slept so good that I think I am going to take my shower and try and get more sleep before I tackle all that work on my desk tomorrow!

For those of you new to my blog or haven't heard yet! I gotta job promotion starting November 1st as an Accounting Manager for CenterStone Communities. I am in the hands-on learning process right now and this adjustment is taking a toll on my abilities to write to you in my blog as between work and hobbies.... I end my days sleeping so good that Jeremy has mentioned my snoring to me on more than one occasion this week!

Thanks for checking on me! I do not plan on running again until the air quality changes but in place of running I will get some exercise on my wii fit and I have tap on Monday (tomorrow) and on Thursday. I am hoping by Tuesday or Wednesday I will be able to get in some miles... we will see!

Good night and have a blessed week!
Melissa

Pictures and update

Hey there... here are some pictures that I thought you may enjoy seeing... sorry it has taken so long! I have been super busy at work (I got a promotion) and trying to keep up on my routine of marathon training, tap/swing dancing, and bowling in my spare time. YIKES! I have a lot on my plate!

This is hanging on my fridge and is from my second cousin Kaitlyn, she and I had a blast in TN while I was visiting! We miss each other very much and I love the artwork and letter she sent me while I was traveling home exactly a month ago tomorrow!
This is the arrangement from my co-workers! How sweet is that! My office smelled wonderful!

This is the Witches Brew arrangement Jeremy picked out for my birthday... I love the orange roses and the vase looks cool too... notice the candy I got on my birthday from the Fall Festival at my dad's church... that was the leftovers! We had to make a big dent in it to have the candy fit in the bowl!

This picture was taken the day after Halloween at Disneyland... the picture is dark but in real life they decked out Disney very nicely for my birthday!

Santa Clarita 1/2 Marathon pictures are in... Click on our names to view the pictures... we haven't bought any yet but when we do I will post them so you can print the pictures...

Melissa Pires

Jeremy Pires

Coach Paul

This was a rough race for Paul and I... the non-trainer Jeremy beat his record by nearly 2 minutes with a 1:54 finish time. I had a 2:10 finish time and Coach Paul had a 2:08! It wasn't my best race but it was fun! I hit a wall at mile 6 which is highly unusual for me... but when my body got hit with the cold and flu just weeks before the race... I did this just to finish.

I had dinner tonight with Paul and his wife Diana... so I got home really late so be prepared for a long entry tomorrow as my energy is depleted tonight!

Tomorrow will be more in depth, I PROMISE!!! Enjoy the pix :)

Thanks for checking in on me...

Love,

Melissa