The crow & the butterfly.

This weekend went by amazingly fast. As I sit and try to think of all that went on my mind is flooded with answers.  It is so hard to believe that today is already January 18. The month is more than half over and every day is getting closer to the big 3-0.

My family and I are huge fans of AMA Supercross. We love riding dirt bikes of our own and really love watching the races week after week. Last weekend marked the start of the season in Anaheim for Round 1. It was an exciting race and felt so good to watch it with our friends in Yuma. They are into the racing just as much as we are, if not more. I guess you could say that for me personally, Supercross is my football, or basketball. I learn about the riders, follow their injuries and lap times and root for my favorites every week.

Saturday, the 16th, was Round 2 here in Phoenix at Chase Stadium. Of course we bought tickets, and of course we went. We have gone every year for the past 5 years. (actually my 2nd date with Paul was to Supercross in San Francisco back in 2006). Part of the whole experience is getting to the stadium early and walking through "the pits" and going inside to watch the riders practice. We got there right at about 12:45 and went straight into the pits to see the riders hanging out by their bikes, mechanics working on the bikes, families and friends sitting around visiting waiting for the big race later on in the night.

Our favorite rider is Ryan Dungey. Ryan won the AMA Supercross championship last year for the lites class (which means he was riding a 250) and this year has moved up to riding the "big bikes".  He did amazing at the first race last weekend, keeping pace with James Stewart  and taking 2nd place. This weekend in Phoenix he ended up winning 1st place. He's an amazing rider. He's also a very personable guy. We were fortunate enough to get to meet him and hang out with him for a bit after the race (thanks to my good friend Jason Curtis). He was just a normal kid who was excited he won and wanted to talk bikes with Paul. It was so refreshing to see a rising star be so personable and down to earth. He reminds me a lot of Travis Pastrana.

Back to the pits, while we were walking around we saw a friend of mine, Jason Curtis. We talked with him for a bit and one thing lead to another, we ended up spending a lot of time with him for the rest of the afternoon/evening. We didn't even sit in the seats that we bought. He came down to our seats with guest passes and we were able to come up to the Press Box to sit with him and a few of his friends. Those seats were pretty amazing. You could see the whole track and it was nice to be in good company. Not to mention the seats were cushioned instead of hard plastic. It was thanks to him that we had an even better experience at the race and were able to meet Ryan Dungey afterwards. It was definitely a night I'll never forget. Joey was so excited as well. Afterall, Ryan Dungey switched to #5 this year for the big bikes....that's Joey's number!

Saturday came and went. When we got home we were greeted by our friends from Yuma who were also at the race. They were sitting in a completely different section that we couldn't even get to with the tickets we had. Had a great dose of toddler on Saturday night and I didn't want the night to end. I was amped up and went to bed with a smile.

Sunday brought feelings and emotions that I didn't know existed. My friend Tennille likes to run marathons. She had signed up for the PF Chang's Rock & Roll Marathon here in Phoenix and not only was it a marathon, it was the Ultra Marathon. I had never been to a marathon of any sort and really didn't know what to expect. She had little baggies that she had given to me and a map of where to meet her at different markers on the course. When I got to the first meeting point, it was mile 13. (Actually I believe 16 or 17 for her since she was doing the Ultra). As she approached me, tears filled my eyes and I felt like a proud mother. She is a really good friend of mine and I am so proud of what she was doing. There were so many people running. People standing on the sidelines cheering, it touched me. I'm not exactly sure why or how yet but I know it did. Not sure if I was feeling like a failure because I wasn't out there doing that and I complain at even running 1/2 mile? My friend was running 31 miles!!!!

I met up with her again at mile 20 and she was starting to get pretty sore and tired. I had walked against the runners for a bit so I could speed walk along side her for a while. I'm not sure if it helped her at all or not, but I know it felt good to be supporting her. After we parted ways again, I rushed to the finish line. Parking in the area was horrible. I finally made it the finish line and had plenty of time to spare. Stood on the sidelines watching as many runners passed through the finish line. 1st time runners, vet runners, full marathon, ultra marathon, 77 year old runners. I couldn't believe that there were 30,000 people running in this marathon. That's an amazing amount of people. So many of them working so hard to reach the finish line. It was an amazing experience that I honestly don't even know how to put into words yet.

Now it's Monday and it's rainy outside. I don't really miss the gloomy days of California. I love the sunny days that kiss my skin. I'm hearing that we are supposed to get this weather for a full week and I'm not really looking forward to that. I was hoping to get outside and work in my backyard a bit, trim some palms and just read my book with the sun shining down on me. I guess it would be better if it was actually raining and not just cloudy and cold. Maybe it's time to bake some more yummy cookies??