Today is Monday, December 23, 2024
National Christmas Movie Marathon Day
On this day in history…
1972- American gridiron football running back Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers made “the Immaculate Reception,” a dramatic catch that is regarded as one of the most famous plays in NFL history.
Spotlight Photo
Happy Holidays!
Quote of the Week
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, doesn’t come from a store. “Maybe Christmas, perhaps… means a little bit more.”
– Dr. Seuss
Happily Ever After
https://www.everafterphotographypnw.com/
Ever After Photography PNW is owned and operated by photographer extraordinaire, Mira Nachtigall. Mira specializes in birth, maternity, and newborn photography. She shares her art each week to help beautify the My Monday Memo. Mira and Rachel’s friendship spans back to 2007 in Las Vegas. They now reside very close in Washington.
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
Dear Humans,
Don’t worry, my human mom hasn’t resorted to washing me in the washer, I am simply exploring. I was even able to get myself out without her help. As of late, she’s been distracted and has let me explore things that I haven’t explored before. What else will I get into?
Much Love, Belichick
Wait, wait, wait! I was done and then then human added something questionable below. This may make it appear that I do want to be washed in the washer, but I assure you it isn’t true. Can you believe she videoed me for more than six minutes watching me try to figure out how to get out of this hamper. Did she help me? No. Did she show me mercy? No. How dare she? She will pay for this act of defiance.
Now…. Much Love, Belichick
p.s. Enjoy the shortened video, I guess.
Brady & Belichick are Rachel’s adorable felines. Brady is a short hair and very dominant and athletic, much like his namesake (Forever Patriots). Belichick, aka Beli, the long hair, was the runt of their litter and is much more passive, until provoked. These two cute boys turned one on May 4, 2024.
‘80 Ladies’ Birthday Lunch
December is not only a holiday month but the special Christmas Eve birthday of Carole, one of Rachel’s friends and ’80 Ladies.’ Rachel has affectionately named this group of friends her 80 Ladies. She met them years ago when she moved to Washington at the local YMCA. It was there they all attended the same Zumba dance class. Now they celebrate each other’s birthdays with lunch outings. They recently met up to celebrate Carole at a local restaurant, Harbor Lights. Good food and even better company. During this holiday season, Rachel is grateful for these friends.
Pictured LT to RT: Jackie, KJ, Janice, Carole (the birthday girl) and Rachel.
Story of the Week
Santa Runs Tacoma
Oh, what fun it is to run on a windy, rainy day, hey! Now read that again but put a Jingle Bells melody to it this time. On with the story…
The Tacoma City Marathon Association (TCMA) recently put on their annual holiday event featuring a 5k, 10k, and half marathon; Santa Runs Tacoma. The 5k would take place with the start and end at Owen Beach in Point Defiance Park, while the 10k and half marathon would take place beginning in Downtown Tacoma and ending at Owen Beach. All routes would provide beautiful views of the Puget Sound.
Pictured above: The 5k course from plotaroute.com. This course was almost all run on the water. Beautiful.
Rachel had originally signed up for the half marathon, as she was feeling confident in her abilities to finally run another half. Her body would have other ideas. With recent delays in training related to calf knots, shin splints, and plantar fasciitis, she has had to tone down her running. There was no way it would be safe for her to attempt a half marathon. A 5k felt doable so she invited her friend, Gracie, to join her.
She also spoke with her friend, Jennie, and asked her to join. You may remember Jennie from last week’s issue. Jennie is an avid gym goer and generally attends the 5 AM class with Rachel at Orangetheory Fitness, but she has never participated in an official 5k event. Jennie was interested in running her very first 5k after turning 50 but had a bit of trepidation about the crowd aspect. It just so happened that this 5k would take place two days after Jennie’s birthday and signing up was a go.
The crowd at an event like this is something that can make any introvert a bit uneasy. Rachel has long experienced the social anxiety that comes along with being in a large crowd, however, at races and events such as these, she seems to ease into a calm space much easier just knowing that everyone surrounding her is there for a common goal, to enjoy a run.
At this event, there were 427 runners/walkers participating in the 5k. Not to mention all of the loved ones that came to support the participants, and the staff and volunteers. That is a lot of people in one spot. Additionally, there were 317 participants in the 10k event and 294 participants in the half marathon (Rachel’s friend, Katie, would be participating in this one). This is more than 1,000 people that intentionally ran on this cold, rainy and windy morning in Tacoma. Only a runner can make sense of this choice.
Ready, set, go…
Why, oh why did there have to be wind?
Rachel will run through just about anything, but wind… wind is her nemesis. Is there anyone that enjoys doing anything in the wind? Maybe someone trying to fly a kite. Okay, so the wind isn’t all bad, but on a day when there is also a light mist, and you are running a timed event, wind is not cool.
As Jennie, Gracie and Rachel made their way through the course, the wind worked against them. Even at the turnaround point, the wind seemed to change direction as they turned and instead of a headwind, it became a sideways wind. Painful. Rachel recalls two specific times when she was physically pushed sideways by strong gusts of wind and had to course correct her body. Nonetheless, the three completed the 5k in a respectable time. Jennie had crushed her first official 5k.
And the winners are…
Pictured above is Jennie on the left, Rachel, and Gracie on the right. Maybe they didn’t win the race, as in finish first, but the goal of any fun run is simply to have fun, and that they did. Winners. Thanks to Jennie’s husband, Stephen, for shooting the video and photos for them.
Pictured above: The Santa Runs Tacoma beanie, race bib and finisher medal, and Rachel’s race results. Not too shabby for such a blustery day.
Another friend was also attempting her very first 5k at this event, Kenzie. Kenzie and her boyfriend, Bill (OTF friend of Rachel’s) have been in previous issues of the My Monday Memo. Kenzie is not a runner like Bill but she and a friend, Maggie, wanted to try out a 5k. They admittedly walked a good portion of the course, but participated, finished, and had fun. Winners.
Hopefully there will be more running events in their future. Why didn’t Bill run? Bill is still recovering from a broken ankle and can’t wait to get back to the sport he loves.
After the run, Gracie headed home but Jennie, Stephen, Rachel, Kenzie, Bill and Maggie all met up at the Waffle Stop for a post-run breakfast (Rachel failed to get a photo of this gathering). Even though they were sweaty and wet from the drizzle, they enjoyed the good food and each other’s company. This was a great way to conclude the morning. Rachel is already looking at future events for 2025 and hopes to work her way up to a half marathon. Body willing. Until next time, be well.
