Day 49

It's been a while since I (Ken) has written a blog, so I guess it's my turn. Today was a gorgeous day on the road for us. We woke up at 7am this morning to a nice cool and clear morning. When these mornings present themselves to us, I have come to KNOW that blue skies and warm breezes await us. That is exactly what we got, all day today :)

Elyse drove us to Joey's cafe, which is where we ended 2 days ago. We got running by about 8:30, and we all felt pretty good from having the day off yesterday...one thing was a bit different this morning, however. We had another member of nationrun today joining us! Kaitlyn was with us, and we were all as pumped that she was out there with us as she was to be there.

As I said, we got going around 8:30, Kaitlyn, Andy, Matt, and myself. Now...I will also revisit this topic later in the blog...but going into today, our good friends Reynold and John from Columbus, GA were incontestably in the number 1 spots for cameo appearance mileage so far on our trip...they have been sitting at 27 miles and in first place since day 11 of the trip. Our day today was pegged to be around the 27 mile range, but Kaitlyn didn't know exactly how far she was going to make it. The results will be revealed as you read on in the update.

We got going heading west on Route 380. The shoulder was pretty good for the most part! It was really nice running with Kaitlyn, we all got some good talking in today. Most of the time when we run...the dialogue is filled with dumb jokes and weird sound effects...but I felt like all of us had some nice things to talk about today.

About 10 miles into the run, as we entered Denton, TX...we saw a bowling alley. Before the trip, Durkin proclaimed 2 random goals for the trip: He wanted to 1) See a movie during the middle of a run one day, and 2) Bowl a game during the middle of a run one day. Since we saw the bowling alley...we all decided to take a good break and hit the lanes! We got set up in a lane and before we knew it, we were bowling...midday on a Thursday...while the sun was shining and it was beautiful outside!!!

Anyways, my first ball of the game was a strike...for a second I was thinking this was going to be the day that I bowled a 300. That was not to be... for today, the second frame, I bowled a 9 and missed the second ball. I ended up with a measly 144..but it was a strong enough showing to bring home first place on the day. The real story was the battle for 2nd-4th place. At the 8th frame, Matt, Andy and Kaitlyn were only separated by a mere 5 pins. By the time the last frame came, Matt had secured at least a 3rd place over Kaitlyn, but Andy only needed a spare to BEAT Durkin! Any type of spare and that was it, he would win. He got the first 9 pins in the first ball. But with that one pin being the difference between a W and a L, Andy choked and missed it. He fell to the ground, crying and rolling around in complete disappointment. He eventually got it together and we packed up and got moving.

Kaitlyn was still feeling pretty good at this point, so we kept rolling pretty good. 14 miles in we grabbed some quick lunch at DQ and kept it rolling. We kept running at a pretty steady pace for the rest of the day, and Kaitlyn kept moving...I was really proud of her! Her body was getting a bit tight towards the end of the day, but even at the end of the run, she raced Durkin to the ending point in what she describes as "...perfect running form!" She ended up beating him.

Elyse picked us up at around 27.5 miles on the day. So at this point we had Kaitlyn atop the current all-time NationRun cameo appearance mileage list. Again, I will return to this topic in full detail at the end of today's entry! When we got in the car...I had a package waiting for me!!! My parents had overnighted a box filled with a couple goodies. I got my new cell phone, as my other one bit the dust recently (I have a pink razor by the way.) They also included my new shoes from Saucony, and some other gear Saucony had sent us. It was pretty cool, we all got shirts, hats, shorts, Saucony brand chapstick, many pairs of shoes, and various other small things. THANKS SAUCONY!! My parents also sent a bunch of Easter goodies...so it was like getting a nice and early Easter basket from the Easter Bunny, even though I won't be home for Easter.

Elyse then took us, well mainly me, to the Verizon store so I could get my phone set up. I got it all taken care of and I now have a working cell phone. My first call was to my girlfriend, Claire. She was glad to see my number on her Caller ID, and not Andy's or Matt's. It was a nice feeling to use my own phone...now I don't have to mooch phone time from them!

We went back to the house and got showered up. Elyse told us that she was expecting a much more "potent stank" from us on the ride home, but was pleasantly surprised that our smell was quite under control.

We then all went out to dinner at Snuffer's. We sat at "The Last Supper" table as our waitress told us that is what our table was called. It was quite fitting, as this was the last time we got to see most of Kaitlyn's family. It was a really nice dinner, and it was especially nice to see everyone one last time. Everyone in this family has helped us out so incredibly much during our stay in central Texas! On a side note to the dinner...Durkin, Andy and I all got the Double Cheeseburger...which was 1 pound of burger....Durkin and I dominated this thing...while Andy choked once again on the day and only finished...I would say 3/8 of it. It was a poor showing.

After we said goodbye to everyone, we got on our way back home for our last night in Flower Mound, TX. Kaitlyn's flight leaves tomorrow morning at 6:30...so Andy will be going with her to the airport as Matt and I get to sleep in a little extra!! But, we are all super glad Kaitlyn came down. Not only did you surprise Andy and make his life by being here, Kaitlyn...but you really were a delight to be around :) Thanks for coming down and hanging out with us. I appreciate it, though probably not as much and as deep as Andy does, so much! Thanks again!!

I will now talk about our Official & Current All-Time NationRun Cameo Appearance Mileage List. I have attached a nice and easy-to-remember acronym to it...the OCATNRCAM List!

So, before today, John and Reynold from Columbus, GA were sitting pretty by themselves in first place at 27 miles. Today, however, Kaitlyn ran 27.5 miles. We had thought that John and Reynold had been squeaked by in the standings! After doing some Google Maps investigation...we have come to the conclusion that there is a 3-way tie for First place at 27.5 between Kaitlyn, Reynold, and John. Kaitlyn has informed us that when she comes out to San Diego at the end, she will be adding some miles to her total to move ahead in the standings! Reynold and John, we hope you're reading this...for I believe this is a challenge on Kaitlyn's part! For records sake, I will now show our readers the current mileage list of those who have run with us so far on the trip:

All-Time NationRun Cameo Mileage List
1) Kaitlyn Skelley 27.5 miles
1) Reynold Counts 27.5 miles
1) John Teeples 27.5 miles
4) Dave Durkin 18 miles
5) Josh "Sunshine" Mitchell 12 miles
6) Columbus Running Club 7 miles
7) Texarkana Running Club 6.5 miles
8) Scot Mindel .25 miles

That is our current list! Anyone can at anytime add themselves to this list by coming out for a run with us!!! Also, totals can be added cumulatively if...for instance Kaitlyn runs a half mile with us at the end and passes John and Reynold to claim first place! Only time will tell what the end list will show as the victor.

So it's getting quite late, and this blogger is tired. I hope you all have a nice holiday weekend with family and friends. If you go out for a run in the next week...run an extra mile for me :)

Ken

ps - I hear that my good friend Jess Lebowitz just got some NationRun shirts delivered today from Rick Decarr...AWESOME. Wear those things proudly around Oneonta and the rest of the world. I love you!!

pps - I miss you Claire!

ppps - goodnight world