2011 Austin Marathon

Ever since we have lived in our house, the Austin Marathon's route has gone by the house. I enjoy watching the runners go by because I am always in amazement that they have the determination to run 26 miles. This gal is lucky to run 2 miles without having my body revolt against me. There are runners of all shapes and sizes that run this race. There are looks of pain, joy, exhaustion, blank stares, determination, and wariness on the faces of the runners. I love to go to the corner near our house to join the rest of the people who showed up with signs to cheer on their loved ones. They all get so damn excited to see their friends/family run by, and it seems to give the runners an extra boost with the cheering.

I went out back with the pups to enjoy the cool morning and to keep an eye out for the runners. Chewie was watching with me :)

This was the first person we saw competing in the marathon. As he rolled by he waved at me and said Good Morning :) He was holding a conversation with the motorcycle cop while going down the street.

This is how I enjoyed the marathon this year, with my coffee

This lady jumped out of her seat to cheer on her friend/brother/boyfriend/husband and he ran by. She was quite the cheerleader and it put a huge smile on my face to watch the sweet interaction

I did a double take when I saw this guy run by... ummmm... Now I know I already said I'm not much of a runner, but isn't he supposed to be wearing his shoes?

While watching the runners our neighbors dog Romy came out to visit. I ended up walking her back to their house because she was perfectly content staying by my side while watching the runners.
If it wasn't for the marathon tag he was wearing, I would have though he woke up, saw the marathon going by and figured he would join wearing just normal clothes

Polka Dots?

After spending a couple of hours watching the runners go by, I went out to meet friends at Union Park to enjoy some mimosas. Our friend Mike ran in the Half Marathon and a few people met up to congratulate him.

Austin Marathon

This morning was the Austin Marathon. We live along the race way so we like to head outside and cheer on the runners and take some pictures. Luckily this morning/afternoon was nice weather, so the runners had that going for them. Personally I don't believe that I will ever finish a marathon in my life time. I'm not a fan of running and I only do it for cardio to keep my ass in check.

I love taking pictures of the runners and what is funny, a lot of times you'll find at least one person smiling. But this guy... the guy in the orange shirt and black pants (behind the guy in the front of the photo in yellow)... took hamming it up for the camera while running to a new level :) I believe he is showing me some thigh. :) Nice!

I probably should have put on regular shoes and not just my house shoes :)

This little boy was so cute! He sat there with his hand out for runners to slap as they ran by.

WooooHoooo... he got a slap from a runner

There were a lot of people along the road ways with signs cheering on all of the runners

Mister Chewie checking out the runners going by :) I did have the scarf on before I got hot, so I decided that Chewie would look more distinguished with a scarf

This was the first people that I saw that had stuff on them for Valentines day. It was at this point that I looked at Jim and said Happy Valentines day... I had completely forgotten!! We aren't big Valentines day people... maybe get a card and go to dinner

(but NEVER on Valentines Day).

These two had a cute heart shaped message on their back. The guys said "Fuck Hills, Fuck V-Day" and the girls heart said "26.2 only with my boo"

Taking self photos with my large camera is hard since it is so large and heavy

Another great costume... Her shirt says "Hey Cupid Fetch Me a Beer". How in the hell can she run wearing that hat and heart shaped glasses.

And then the race just wouldn't be complete without an appearance from Cupid

While we were walking along our street, we stopped to introduce ourselves to our neighbors. We are pretty bad about stopping to talk to neighbors but we wave if we drive/run by. They were nice enough to give me a bloody mary while we talked. They seemed like nice people, and I am going to try to be a better neighbor and stop to say hi more often.