Texas Lou

Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

Translation: Oh My Gosh Thank God It’s Friday YAY!

I’m so excited today and here’s why!

• It’s Friday and the beginning of the weekend…DUH!
• We are going to the Top of the Hops Beer Festival tomorrow where we will get to sample many awesome beers and spend time with lots of friends!  We went last year and it was a blast!
• I feel like I am doing so much better at work.  I’m feeling more comfortable with my job, tasks, and asking my coworkers questions plus I am meeting new people and getting involved!
• The weather has been wonderful and it is supposed to stay that way through the weekend.
• I was really good this week at keeping up with my healthy eating and exercising (ran over 11 miles!).  I’m trying to remind myself constantly that this is important to keep me positive and help me mentally and emotionally in addition to keeping my body healthy.
• Lastly, I found out that I MAY be able to spend a weekend in October with my brother, sister, and dad in New York AND go to a TEXANS game (special thanks to my awesome boss for giving me the time off)!  It’s not definite yet, but we’re working on it!

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS weekend!

We are getting dangerously close to the end of summer, and although I LOVE fall and all of the beautiful colors and changing leaves and cool and crisp air it brings with it, I dread the shorter days and decrease in sunlight.  The fall colors are something that I never really saw growing up in Houston that I’ve really come to apreciate here in Virginia.  However, the shorter days where it gets dark around 5 PM is also something  that I never saw growing up that I really can’t stand.  It brings on a serious case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD 🙁 ).

With these last few days of summer and late evenings still filled with dwindling sunlight, I’m trying to soak up as much of it as I can get before the time change.  The Meade Park Farmers Market that takes place every Wednesday afternoon from 3 PM until 7 in Charlottesville is about to come to a close for the season next week so I suggested to Ben that we go for a run to the market after work.  After a beautiful 2.75 mile run to the market in perfect temperatures, we arrived at the market where we bumped into some friends, got to sample some delicious and nutritious bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company, and ended up buying some fresh and local green beans and swiss chard.  We than ran the 2.75 miles back home along the Rivanna River where I cooked barbecue chicken (with authentic Texas Rudy’s barbecue sauce – thanks to Cheryl and Dan), asparagus, and garlic parmesan sauteed zuccini.  After dinner, Ben and I watched 21 Jump Street, the movie and laughed our butts off!  I highly recommend it especially if you’re looking for a good laugh.

It was a great day, made even better by the fact that rather than going and sitting in front of a computer all day, I got to spend the work day volunteering with my company for the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way Day of Caring.  We organized closets, separated donated childrens’ clothing, and made goody bags for young families in the area at the Child, Youth, & Family Services in Charlottesville.  It was wonderful to learn about the organization, help out my community, meet lots of new people, and give my time and effort to such a great cause.  And you should have seen the amazing lunch they provided us!!!

I’d have to say it was definitely a summer day to remember!

On Saturday morning, I ran the Charlottesville Women’s Four Miler for the 5th year in a row.  The race takes place every year on Labor Day weekend, and the money raised goes to support the University of Virginia Cancer Center Breast Care Program which helps  to fund breast cancer research and support local women fighting the disease.

I was really excited about my performance this year.  Despite it raining during the entire race, I beat my record for the course and crossed the finish line in just under 45 minutes.  In addition, I ran the first mile at 9 minutes and 19 seconds which is a HUGE record for me (I usually run between an 11 and 12 minute mile)!  Below are my results from the past 5 years and they definitely show what an improvement I’ve made!

2012 Results

2011 Results

2010 Results

2009 Results

2008 Results

To get ready for the race, the past couple of years, my friends Sarah and Wendy and I have made shirts to wear on race day.  This year, mine said:

T-shirt…$4

Race Registration…$45

E Racing Cancer…Priceless

Sarah and Wendy’s shirts quoted lyrics from the Young MC song “Bust A Move” (get it…bust as in boobies…haha!).

Me, Sarah, and Wendy before the race sporting our creative T’s!

Ben even came out to support us and I want to say a special thank you to him for holding all of our bags and waiting for us in the rain.

Ben and I before the race

Sarah and I waiting for Wendy to arrive with our race bibs.

Ben and I…check out all the pink in the background!

One of the best things about this race is all of the support it gets from the local community.  People come out rain or shine to volunteer and cheer on the runners and everyone gets all decked out in pink.  We even saw a man with three kids who all had their hair dyed pink (including the father’s beard) and were wearing pink shirts in support of their wife/mom running the race!  It’s the number 1 most popular race in Charlottesville and race registration has closed out in under 12 hours the past couple of years.  I was really lucky to get a spot this year since race registration was on my wedding day.  Lucky for me, my pal Wendy signed me up!  I love this race and I plan on running it every year as long as I’m able.  And one day, if I have daughters, I hope to have them run it with me!

This weekend, Ben and I drove 366 miles to FINALLY visit my brother Mikey in Columbia, South Carolina.  The drive wasn’t bad at all…we drove through Lynchburg and Danville, Virginia, Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina, and finally made it to the beautiful state of South Carolina.  We made the trip in under 6 hours and that was with two stops for gas, bathroom breaks, and snacks.

When we got to Columbia on Friday evening, Mikey took us to one of his favorite brewpubs, the Hunter Gatherer, for dinner and drinks.  We each had delicious gyros and many microbrews.  We also finally got to meet Mikey’s South Carolina entourage (or part of it).  Ross, Katherine, and Josh met up with us for drinks and shared lots of crazy stories!

Saturday morning, we got up and went for a run around the University of South Carolina campus.  I did about 4.5 miles, but couldn’t keep up with Mikey and Ben who at a much faster pace, ran around 7.  It was really cool to see the campus and I also got a taste of the USC Gamecock school spirit from Mikey’s awesome roommate Katherine.  After our run, we hit the farmers market in Columbia, but soon it started raining, so we detoured to the Cock n’ Bull for what Mikey deems the best burgers in Columbia!  He was right…we all had delicious burgers while we watched the Olympics.

Later that afternoon, we got dressed up in our Texans gear and headed to Charlotte with Mikey’s buddy Josh who was gracious enough to drive us.  We stopped for sushi once we got to town and then continued on to tailgate before the game.  Much to our surprise, we realized that drinking on the streets in Charlotte on game day is legal accepted by the local police so we met up with some of Josh’s friends and enjoyed a few cold ones.

Mikey and I tailgating in our Texans jerseys!

Mikey and Josh enjoying cold beer in a hot parking garage.

The hubby and I getting ready for his first pro football game!

The guys at the game.

View of downtown Charlotte from the stadium.

The game was great!  The highlight was in the first quarter when Trindon Holliday scored an amazing touch down!  The night couldn’t have gone better with the Texans beating the Panthers 26 to 13.  Even though it was a preseason game, we made sure to out yell all of the Carolina Panthers fans surrounding us in true Texas spirit!

Sunday morning, we met up with Mikey’s friends for brunch at the Thirsty Fellow where I sampled the bellini, mimosa, and a bloody mary (the Sunday brunch trio)!  Food was great, drinks were awesome, and the company was the best.  But like all great weekends, this one had to end, so Ben and I loaded up the car and headed back to Charlottesville.  The trip was so much fun and I was sad it had to end.  I love getting to spend time with my brother and it was really cool to meet his friends and see where he spends his time.

I can’t wait for another trip back to South Carolina.  Next time I’ll make it a three-day weekend (or longer) and we’ll check out Charleston!

YAY for the weekend…it’s the first one in a month that I won’t be traveling!

Don’t get me wrong, I love traveling, and I had a ton of fun in Washington D.C. at the zoo, in Warrenton for the wine festival, in Texas for Megan’s wedding, and in OBX for the girls’ weekend, but man was I EXHAUSTED from all of that flying, driving, and getting up early so as not to miss a single thing (my motto when on vacation is I’ll sleep when I’m dead)!

Tonight we are having dinner with good friends at Outback and getting to meet little miss Erin (technically I met her at the hospital when she was born, but only through the glass).  Tomorrow is my company’s picnic which I helped plan as a member of the Events Committee.  I love company events like the picnic and holiday party because its so nice to get to talk to people outside of work in a very relaxed setting and meet their families.  On Sunday, we are heading to Ben’s parents’ place to celebrate his mom’s birthday!  I found her the most beautiful, unique gift in OBX last weekend and can’t wait to give it to her!

Besides all that fun stuff, I plan to do some more unpacking and clean up around our tiny little apartment, spend some time with my kitties, get some quality outdoor time, including a 6 mile run, which is part of my half marathon training, and maybe even lay by the pool.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing weekend!

1. Gimme 5 minutes of your time – go to my Team In Training web page at:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf10/leslieelsaifi

There, you will learn more about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and my training and fundraising progress.  In the five minutes that it takes you to review my web page, someone new will be diagnosed with a blood cancer – so money for research and patient support is desperately needed.

2. Gimme 5 friends. Send this blog post to five of your friends or colleagues and help me spread the word about what I am doing!  Maybe they will want to make a donation as well!

3. Gimme 5 months of training to get ready for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.  It is a ton of work, but it pales in comparison to what people facing cancer have to go through every day.  During the five months I’m in training, approximately 21,600 Americans will have died from a blood cancer.

4. Gimme 5 hundred thousand Americans who have contracted blood cancers in the past five years.   Help me help others with cancer to win their battle.  LLS is helping patients live longer, better lives and you can help too!

5. Gimme a donation and I’ll give you 5 reasons I’m grateful for it.   You can make a secure credit card donation online, or if you prefer, send me a check payable to LLS.  For those of you who have already donated, here are 5 reason I’m grateful: (1) That I’m healthy enough to even attempt this endurance event; (2) That while cancer survival rates continue to increase, your donation will make a difference (3) Because without your donation, all I am doing is running 13.1 miles – it is your donation that is the real purpose of all of this; (4) That so many people continue to believe in me trying to make a difference; (5) For the names of your loved ones that I will wear on my shirt on race day.  These give me a lot of strength during the half marathon, and I am grateful for you sharing them with me.

So if you haven’t done so already but would like to, go ahead and use your fingers to write a check to LLS or key in a credit card donation online.  In return, I’ll use my legs and feet to run 13.1 miles, and you’ll automatically get all five reasons for my gratitude applied to you as well!

Sincerely,

Leslie Elsaifi

My sister signed up for the Team in Training Houston chapter and will be running the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco with me.  This makes me so very HAPPY!

Running is one of the hobbies that she and I are both interested in and I am so excited that we will get to share this experience.  Plus we will have each other to share fundraising and training tips with.  I also kind of like to think of it as a free sisters’ weekend as well.  Although it’s not really free since she has to raise $3500 and I’ve got to raise $3900.

Thanks to Team In Training, we will finally get to run together!

If you’d like to make a donation to my sister, Carrie Elsaifi, check out her Team In Training website located at http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/nikesf10/celsaifi.

And don’t forget to donate toward my effort as well (http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf10/leslieelsaifi).

Last week, I joined an organization called Team In Training.  I have been researching this organization for a while and am really excited to finally become a member!

The way that Team In Training works goes like this:  Team in Training sponsors runners, cyclists, and triathletes by providing them with training, coaching, and inspiration and funding all of their race expenses (race registration, airplane tickets, hotel rooms).  In return, the athletes raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Team in Training is now ” the world’s largest endurance sports training program”!

I wanted to join Team In Training not just because it seems like such a great organization in all aspects, but because I wanted to do something good with my ability to run long distances.  When I ran the Shamrock Half Marathon (my first half marathon) back in March, I did it just to prove to myself that I could finish it and also for the free beer.  Now that I know I can reach the goal, I want to do it for others instead of just for me.

I signed up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon which will take place on October 17, 2010 in San Francisco, California.  I’m really excited about this race and also extremely glad to be traveling to San Francisco since I haven’t been there since I was five years old and therefore don’t remember much from the trip.  I am also super motivated to reach my goal of raising $4000 by October.

I’m asking every person who reads this to PLEASE donate toward my goal by going to this website.  Even if you can only donate a small amount, please do because every little bit really does count!

The way I see it I’m getting so much out of this experience:

• The opportunity to meet, train with, and become friends with a great group of people
• The opportunity to travel and spend time in a beautiful city
• The opportunity to raise money and awareness for a wonderful cause that can help save so many lives
• The opportunity to prove to myself and others that running the one half marathon wasn’t just a one-time lucky shot

I hope you will check out my page at http://pages.teamintraining.org/va/nikesf10/leslieelsaifi and donate toward my goal.  And please check back often to see my progress.

Thanks for the support!

Last night, I attended my weekly softball game with my work team, the VGT Lucky 7’s.  When you put a bunch of software engineers, quality assurance engineers, and software project managers together with a bunch of softballs and bats, the outcome is not always so great.  As a matter of fact, the VGT Lucky 7’s have a history of being one of the worst teams in the league.

But not yesterday!  Yesterday, we played an AMAZING game.  We were down by two, and came back in the final inning to take the lead by 5 points.  I made 2 runs!  It was the first time I’d ever made it all around the bases and back to home in the 2 seasons I have been playing softball!  What an awesome feeling it was to score a run AND win a game!  I guess this is why they say sports are good for one’s self esteem!