I arrived last night and so far nostalgia fills the air of the great memories at last years Bloomsday. Though it was my first time running the event I had seen bits of the course as I have been to Spokane on numerous occasions since my early College years. Upon arriving I met by a nice lady named Karen who kindly drove us to the hotel and from there I decided to venture out and check out the town like I did last year. On my run I was met with some honks in some of the neighborhoods outside of town. Alot of people were showing me some love, shouting, "kick some ass on Sunday." So that was quite inspiring to say the least. I couldn't help but immediately ponder thoughts of last years finish as I crossed the Riverside bridge during the run.
I remember last year the feeling I had coming down the final stretch, with all the cheering fans and knowing that I had won the Washington State Road Running Championship! Nothing feels better than knowing you have accomplished a great feat that you have set out months to prepare for, the taste of success is quite addictive. Today, I along with another teammate and friend visited two Elementary schools here in Spokane to share our life stories and how we got into running and did a little Q & A. I have written up a blog entry about our amazing experience however, I won't post until I have some pictures ready to put with the blog. On the way back from the schools I got to see a place I always love to see when I come to Spokane, the falls! Its a pretty sight to see so if you ever go to Spokane you must visit this specific area. The water beats down the rocks so aggressively that the water is almost purely white and gives a sense of violence with the turbulence and speed the water is traveling at. I was surprised to know that a few people have actually jumped into the falls and a few others have even drove into the falls with their cars!!! WOW crazy. I wouldn't even put my foot in this water out of fear of being literally swept off my feet and down the strong currents. Reminds me alot of the whirlpools commonly associated with this river I had come across in Nordland (Northern Norway).
Now I'm off to meet up with my buddy Mike and maybe even check out some of the local food and I'm actually wanting to see the new X-Men movie, lol, yeah I know kinda childish. Coming up as a kid I loved mutants and the idea of possessing special powers. I like to think I possess special powers sometimes hahahahaha just kiddin. I will post the blog about the visits soon, but for now here is the brief post on the Bloomsday website:
http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/News/News120.htm
-From the website-
Runners to visit Spokane elementary schools
—With the annual Bloomsday Run fast approaching, students at two Spokane elementary schools will get into the swing of things in a special way. Taking advantage of a special opportunity this year, the students of Madison Elementary and Pasadena Park Elementary will enjoy a presentation by Kenyan distance runner Caroline Rotich and American Joe Gray on Friday, May 1.
Caroline is a top Kenyan runner who attended high school in Japan, and Joe is a post-graduate student now living in Washington. Caroline placed 11th in Bloomsday 2008 with a time of 42:23. Joe won the Washington State Road Racing Championships as the top Washington finisher in Bloomsday 2008. Joe placed 25th overall in last year's run with a time of 37:19.“Caroline and Joe are fantastic runners and we are thrilled to have them back for Bloomsday 2009,” said Jon Neill, Bloomsday’s Elite Athlete Coordinator. “Both are great ambassadors of the sport and possess the hard work ethic necessary to be a world-class runner.”
Pasadena Park Elementary (8508 E Upriver Dr, Spokane Valley, WA 99212) will host the first presentation at 10 a.m., and Madison Elementary (319 West Nebraska Ave., Spokane, WA 99205) will host the second presentation at 1:30 p.m.
The two presentations will last between an hour to an hour-and-a-half each, with the talks being mainly a question and answer format, with questions coming from the students at each elementary school. After the presentations, there will be an autograph session for the kids. The runners will have lunch with the students at Pasadena Park after the morning presentation.
I remember last year the feeling I had coming down the final stretch, with all the cheering fans and knowing that I had won the Washington State Road Running Championship! Nothing feels better than knowing you have accomplished a great feat that you have set out months to prepare for, the taste of success is quite addictive. Today, I along with another teammate and friend visited two Elementary schools here in Spokane to share our life stories and how we got into running and did a little Q & A. I have written up a blog entry about our amazing experience however, I won't post until I have some pictures ready to put with the blog. On the way back from the schools I got to see a place I always love to see when I come to Spokane, the falls! Its a pretty sight to see so if you ever go to Spokane you must visit this specific area. The water beats down the rocks so aggressively that the water is almost purely white and gives a sense of violence with the turbulence and speed the water is traveling at. I was surprised to know that a few people have actually jumped into the falls and a few others have even drove into the falls with their cars!!! WOW crazy. I wouldn't even put my foot in this water out of fear of being literally swept off my feet and down the strong currents. Reminds me alot of the whirlpools commonly associated with this river I had come across in Nordland (Northern Norway).
Now I'm off to meet up with my buddy Mike and maybe even check out some of the local food and I'm actually wanting to see the new X-Men movie, lol, yeah I know kinda childish. Coming up as a kid I loved mutants and the idea of possessing special powers. I like to think I possess special powers sometimes hahahahaha just kiddin. I will post the blog about the visits soon, but for now here is the brief post on the Bloomsday website:
http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/News/News120.htm
-From the website-
Runners to visit Spokane elementary schools
—With the annual Bloomsday Run fast approaching, students at two Spokane elementary schools will get into the swing of things in a special way. Taking advantage of a special opportunity this year, the students of Madison Elementary and Pasadena Park Elementary will enjoy a presentation by Kenyan distance runner Caroline Rotich and American Joe Gray on Friday, May 1.
Caroline is a top Kenyan runner who attended high school in Japan, and Joe is a post-graduate student now living in Washington. Caroline placed 11th in Bloomsday 2008 with a time of 42:23. Joe won the Washington State Road Racing Championships as the top Washington finisher in Bloomsday 2008. Joe placed 25th overall in last year's run with a time of 37:19.“Caroline and Joe are fantastic runners and we are thrilled to have them back for Bloomsday 2009,” said Jon Neill, Bloomsday’s Elite Athlete Coordinator. “Both are great ambassadors of the sport and possess the hard work ethic necessary to be a world-class runner.”
Pasadena Park Elementary (8508 E Upriver Dr, Spokane Valley, WA 99212) will host the first presentation at 10 a.m., and Madison Elementary (319 West Nebraska Ave., Spokane, WA 99205) will host the second presentation at 1:30 p.m.
The two presentations will last between an hour to an hour-and-a-half each, with the talks being mainly a question and answer format, with questions coming from the students at each elementary school. After the presentations, there will be an autograph session for the kids. The runners will have lunch with the students at Pasadena Park after the morning presentation.
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