Tag: Peoria

Two Halfs Before 5

Based on the truckloads of email complaints I’ve been getting lately, apparently I have not been posting fast enough for all my fans.  Sorry about that, but been kind of busy as of late thanks to some recent big events.  One of which is shooting the crap out of Owls and Picas, but that is for another time.  Today’s topic is the other big event this month – the River City Half Marathon which I ran on May 18th.  For those counting, this would be the SECOND half marathon in this early race season.  In fact, this is the second half marathon before I normally run my first 5K of the season.  This isn’t a normal year and the reason the training season started in the cold of Winter.  River City was suppose to be the first of the year but a late decision added the Height’s race earlier (link here).  One thing for sure, the race organizers for these two events know how to select medals.
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For sure, the shirt wasn’t as cool as the Heights’ one and overall the swag was pretty weak.  When I came home from the expo I showed Linda the goodie bag and the only thing it had in it was the shirt and the bib, a beer bracelet and 4 clips.  As the norm, my personal (dare say now professional) photographer was along for moral support .. and to snap pictures of course.

That was the pre-race picture noted by the fact it was FREEZING.  Think it was close to 39 at the start and the morning was spent trying to decide what the race time apparel was going to be – long sleeve or short sleeve, shorts or running pants … decisions decisions.  Pretty mixed between the other entrants so opted for the shorts and long tech shirt – same selection for the Heights and it seemed a little colder this race day.

Hit the jump to read about how the race went

Continue reading Two Halfs Before 5

Left ’em hanging at the Courthouse

A week ago, I was heading out for a quick lunch in downtown Peoria.  Local restaurants bring carts downtown by the courthouse with various menu items.  Now that I have multiple offices for an assignment I am on, I get the benefit of being able to enjoy a larger variety for lunch.  As I walked past the courthouse I saw an individual of African American descent (is that the proper classification these days?) walk past an individual of Anglo Saxon heritage standing by a retaining wall.  The guy standing must have said something to the guy walking by because he turned back to talk to the guy standing.  As soon as the walking guy recognized him, he put out his right hand for the standard greeting handshake.  He literally stood there with hand out for close to 30 seconds while conversing back and forth.  The standing guy never took his hand out of his pockets nor even changed his expression to acknowledge the extended hand.  Finally the shake initiator raised his elbow up higher to draw further attention to the request for a shake… no response.  In a last desperate attempt he switched hands and tried to get the guy to shake the other hand but that was met with the exact same lack of acknowledgment.  Finally the guy turned back and continued on his way.  I found this very strange.  There was no change in voice tone that I could tell so it was not an issue of being angry, just a complete lack of desire to shake his hand.  I wish I could have actually heard the conversation to be able to determine if the visuals matched what was actually going on.  For all I know the standing guy could have been completely paralyzed in both arms and was unable to remove them from his pocket – of course, Biden would have demanded that he extend his arms anyway – maybe the standing guy saw him spit into both his hands earlier in the day.  He certainly could not have felt threatened in the presence of the universal sign for “I am not carrying a weapon” and he did not even twitch to the opposite direction.

Anyway, I thought it was odd and that is what this site is all about.

Yeah for Wal-Mart

Something incredible was happening to Peoria on December 4th 2007.  Were we welcoming home our military cargo/transport heroes home from Iraq.. nope.  Were we completing our multi-year revamp of one of the oldest sections of I-74 to enhance the driving experience for our visitors.. nope.  Hold on to your seats now…. Michigan State’s glorious basketball team was coming to play our Bradley Braves.  I know, I know you’re giddy just thinking about it.  So, Michigan State, representing their 46,045 students ,was coming to take on the Bradley Braves with a 2006 enrollment of 6,127.  Truly a David and Goliath moment.  It was so big that ESPN was going to carry it.  We’ve hit the big time now.  The big night came, the lucky ones got tickets to Carver Arena to witness the historic event in person, while others popped their popcorn, poured their drinks and settled into their favorite chairs.  It was a close game, but the Braves fell short of toppling the mighty Spartans 66-61. …. and then things started taking an ugly turn.

Continue reading Yeah for Wal-Mart