"i'm not slow, i'm just enjoying the course"

listen up, friends...a super cool thing is coming up and you ALL will be interested in one way or another. on july thirtieth of this year there will be a 5k race at tipton park in bloomington, il and you are personally invited! it only costs twenty bucks (kid and family discounts available) and you get a sweet shirt to wear for years and years. ready for the cool-cool news?!

all the proceeds are going to Dorie's Promise, which is an orphanage in Guatemala. more specifically, the money raised will build a playground for the kids at the orphanage. i don't know about you, but that pumps me up! i just picture all of the kids seeing the playground for the first time and just going crazy!

i'm going to challenge all of you to participate. yes, all of you. in fact i'm going to break it down so that it will apply to each and every person reading this (obviously impossible, but i will try anyway...you know, like what a politician does).

"newbie, but stoked to run" runner: if you're this person chances are you've thought about running a 5k before, but never pulled the trigger. you run on occasion either outside or inside, but normally hold steady to about a mile or two at a time.

"been there done that, but will do it again and again" runner: you've run a 5k. in fact, you probably ran one last weekend and have already lost your free shirt. you're down for whatevs, man.

"no freakin' way" runner: (my favorite type of person) you don't run unless being chased, right? when i talk about running you shake your head and think i'm crazy. right now as you read this you are saying, "i am not running this 5k no matter what he says." well, that's fine...you can volunteer then. we need the extra hands! just let me know! BUT, if you want to step out on a limb and do something crazy that you'll never forget...sign up to run!!

"this is part of my marathon training" runner: this person is a Runner...yeah dude, capital 'R' kinda runner. hardcore. black toenails. thirty pairs of running shoes. talk about splits in their sleep, fartleks, what kind of food they're using for fuel, and probably how they qualified for boston once or twice. who cares (i do kinda, and it's cool if this is you), but sign up and rock the 5k! oh, and bring a few of those extra running shoes with you to the race..the 5k for Orphans has partnered with soles 4 souls to collect shoes for those in need.

"i'm going to win, because i race" runner: ok...bring it on! and don't even brag about your two percent body fat and five minute miles.

"aw crap you got me" runner: if this is you...you can do it! basically what has happened is you were probably hanging out minding your own business not running and someone came up and asked you to run in the 5k for Orphans. you froze because you heard the word orphans and felt bad so immediately said yes without even knowing what you were saying yes to. (haha, you know who you are). good luck!

dang, i didn't realize how many types there were going to be. oh, i almost forgot my fail-safe type of person...the "can i just walk and still show my support" walker. and the answer is yes! we'll be having a one mile walk, too! so anyway, by now you get what i'm saying. anyone and everyone can do this. you will see every type of person there and that's what makes it great! if you're on the fence...allow me to gently push you to the side where you will find yourself helping orphans and raising awareness for the orphan crisis we have in this world. with almost 150 million orphans worldwide...i think forking over twenty bucks, sweating for less than an hour and possibly embarrassing yourself is worth it, right? i even have an awesome site you can go to start training for a 5k that literally starts from the couch! trust me folks...this works...it helped me get started running. although you don't really have the nine weeks it suggests you take to train...you can at least start it and walk/run the race!

see you on race day!! (i'll be at the finish line cheering you on...and not because i beat you, but because that's where i'm helping).

so...what kind of runner are you?

trail running

yes, ugli fruit is ugly

i'm a little late posting about the new food of the month for may, but hey...better late than never? i don't think i like that saying. oh well.

this month (may) emily and i tried ugli fruit. yes, it is spelled hipply with an 'i' and not a 'y' at the end. and yes, i might have just invented the word 'hipply' which means to do something while trying to act hip and cool. back on track...ugli fruit is unbelievably ugly. we weren't really sure what our new food was going to be until we were walking through the store and came across it. we didn't even know how to pick one. they all looked old and moldy and gross and disgusting and nasty and run on sentence like. after at least three minutes we were finally able to pick the best looking ugli fruit they had. friends, don't worry, they put a sticker it that screams 'ugli' so you won't confuse it with your grapefruit at home.

the texture of this thing was a little weird to say the least. it was soft and squishy (think old, moldy orange) and even had weird dark spots here and there. emily did a little research (google) and figured out the best way to prepare it. she went with the old school cut it in half and eat it approach...which i feel was the best decision. it looked a lot like a grapefruit combined with an orange, but with a thicker rind. seriously...the rind was almost a half inch thick. i was a little let down by the taste of the ugli fruit. i was expecting it to be packed with flavor, but it was basically like eating an orange and grapefruit at the same time. yeah, lame! don't get me wrong, it was good...just not awesome.

ugli fruit:

-would i recommend it? sure...for ugli people (see what i did there?)

-easy to prepare? umm...yes. eat it like an orange.

-availability? we found it at hyvee (which is just fun to say)

-health benefits? it's fruit, dude. tons of vitamin c.