The final assembly for high school came and went this past week. We’ve been attending these for the last 5 years asAnna was playing in orchestra or singing in choir for something during the assembly and also watch Emily dance with the Pacesetters. This was the last one…
What do you do after running 20 miles for the very first time? Stretch, foam-roll, rest…of course, you do all of these. My training plans calls for a 60-minute walk the following day. But, what’s a guy to do when his friends invite him along on a bike ride?
The legs are toast, but it was a fun 32 miles with friends. Looking forward to a real rest day tomorrow (although I’ll be on my feet all day at work).
Anna has been really enjoying her studies in Music Education at Kansas State University. Despite focusing her studies on violin and some voice, she is required to participate in a band comprised of students playing instruments that are not their own.
There was a concert a couple weeks ago and we were unable to attend, but a friend sent us a video of Anna playing the marimba. You’ll find her to the front and left as you are watching. The piece is a theme and variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.
When one follows a typical marathon training program, he or she will steadily increase their weekend long runs from 6 or 8 miles until they run 20 miles about 3 weeks before the 26.2 mile marathon; this will be the longest run achieved before the race. While training for the marathon last year, I injured my Achilles while during my 16 mile training run and I never progressed any farther. In fact, I was unable to run in the marathon and half marathon for which I’d already paid entry fees.
Fortunately, I was able to return to running later in the summer, but I’ve been quite cautious and, frankly a bit scared, as I’ve increased my weekly mileage. I chose a training plan that was 20 weeks instead of the typical 16 weeks. For obvious reasons, when I completed my 16 mile run back on February 25, I was ecstatic. Each week has seen me progress to longer distances and today I completed the final goal of 20 miles.
I chose to run on the Mill Creek Trail, which comprises a portion of the Garmin Marathon that I will be doing in a few weeks. It’s a bit lonely running 20 miles by oneself, but podcasts and the occasional passing cyclist was just enough to keep me entertained.
I’m looking forward to the 3-week taper that will allow me to run fewer miles on each of my training run – all with the intent to allow the body to recuperate and rest before the actual race. I will continue to do my strength training and yoga – along with my foam rolling. It’s exciting to see that this day is finally getting here!
The only downside to the run – I forgot my bandaids and Body Glide; my fellow runners will know exactly how I’m feeling right now!
Emily played with the Shawnee Mission South Concert Band last night. Their final piece was “Trail of Tears” by James Barnes, written in commemoration at the 150th anniversary of the forced movement of the 5 civilized Native American tribes to Oklahoma and Arkansas.
As is our usual custom during spring break, we loaded onto a plane in cooler Kansas City and jetted our way to warmer climates south of the border – once again in Puerto Vallarta. This is our 5th trip to this resort city, all while staying at different resorts.
We chose Fiesta Americana this year because it was only an 8-minute drive from the airport. Additionally, it gave us something we’ve never had before – adjoining rooms so the girls could have their own room (i.e., Linda and I could have our own room).
The view from our balcony was gorgeous.
The grounds were also beautiful.
We often try to attend the evening shows while we are on these vacations, but we only attended the show during our first night there. It was a Hispanica dance show that was truly engaging. Here’s a short clip:
We mostly laid around and enjoyed some peace and quiet. Lots of reading and napping were accomplished. The meals were good and drinks were always easily acquired. Anna and Emily just can’t get enough virgin strawberry daiquiris. Of course, it’s also nice for me to be able to walk up and request a refreshing glass of amber lager as often as I wanted (plus some premium tequila if you ask nicely).
This was our view for the few days we were there:
Anna and Emily got to hang out and reconnect.
Unfortunately, we didn’t plan this well because it was assumed that the college and high school spring breaks coincided – they didn’t. Anna was missing class to join us, so this is how we spent some of our time – doing homework in bar…
And most unfortunate, Anna had to leave 1 day earlier than us to get back for a class she was not allowed to miss. I rode the taxi with her back to the airport; it almost broke my heart seeing her leave, knowing that we were getting 24 more hours of fun and sun.
The good news is that spring break will be easy next year since they’ll both be at K-State. We just need to make sure we stay longer next time!
As promised, here’s video of my quartet singing the National Anthem before the ISU-OSU game on March 9, 2017.
I’m joined by Craig Zernickow (tenor), Kristy Lambert (soprano), and Bettye Hubbard (alto). What a great group!
EDIT: Here’s the version that was on the big screen overhead while we were singing:
Being involved with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus can sometimes have its perks – including getting asked to sing the National Anthem as a quartet before one of the Big 12 Basketball Tournament games.
I met with 3 of my fellow Chorus members early on the morning of March 9 at the Sprint Center. We were escorted down to the floor for sound check and figuring out where we would be standing. We then spent the next hour in the actual Green Room – the one used by performers when they’re at the Center for big concerts. After hanging out a while, waiting for the Iowa State and Oklahoma State fans to fill in the arena, we were summoned to mid-court along with a Color Guard from the KC Police Department. We performed a wonderful 4-part harmony rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, followed by a rousing applause upon its completion.
We’re working to get a copy of the Jumbotron footage and audio; so, hopefully I will be able to post that here soon. In the meantime, here’s a picture of us at mid-court before the teams and crowds arrived.
Once we were done singing, we were able to go sit in the front row right behind the OSU band. This was our view as the game started – with the players on the other end of the court.
After the first game (which Iowa State won), we sang God Bless America for the crowd before the Kansas-TCU game. I didn’t get to stick around for that game because I had to go to work, but it would’ve been a fun game to watch.
Big News: The blog is MOVING to a new site.
featherstonbill.com featherstonbill.com featherstonbill.com
It’s the same blog and same posts, just a new site. The intent of “FeatherstonsInKansas” was to be a place where Linda and I could post things about the family. However, after all these years, it’s only been me posting. Additionally, because it was really meant to be a blog about family happenings, I refrained from posting random thoughts. However, since I’m the only one posting, I’m going to make the blog what I want it to be – family updates AND my thoughts. Therefore, the blog will be moving over to MY site, featherstonbill.com.
So, update your bookmarks – all eleven of you that subscribe to this page; be sure to update to featherstonbill.com
Emily turns 18!
Wow, the youngest child is now an adult. She’s been telling us regularly over the past month, “You only have ‘x’ days left that you’re legally responsible for taking care of me.” Frankly, I’m still quite happy to take care of her – but she is clearly not the little girl that she used to be.
Happy birthday, sweetheart. We love you.