The Final Race

Today was the CNYCL Championships at Jamesville Beach. For those not from here, that's the Central New York County League Championship. It's the first post-season race of the season for cross-country. It's also the last for the JV runners. Only the Top 10 runners for each team proceed from here.

Eric snapped a photo of Mr. Andrews taking a photo...

The JV runners at the starting line. I'm not sure if they're praying or concentrating. Or both.

On the line today for the JV runners was that "10th" spot on the team. Whoever came in first today (for Liverpool), gets to run next week. The Top 5 runners are all in a pack at the 1 mile point.

The conditions were a bit muddy...

And down the stretch they come! Alex's friend Sean over took the lead (for Liverpool) right at the end (he's right in the center of the photo). Followed by Adam Zinger (right) and Alex. (You can see him coming up behind Zinger -click on the photo to see it bigger.)

Alex still sprinted to the end. He caught this guy from C-NS and finished in a time of 18:42. And with that, it is done. A very successful first season of High School Cross Country is over. Alex started the season with a time of 25:50 in his first timed 5k run. And he ended today, some 2 1/2 months later, running an 18:42. I'd say he has very worked hard and has a lot to be proud of.

Of course, he's going to need a new pair of shoes before next year...

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* If you would like to see the results from today's race, they are here. Check the JV Race, Alex finished 19th out of 254 runners.

Halloween Eat Fest

Our department at work had a Halloween "Open House" today. Which basically meant that Andrea and I made lots of goodies and people stopped by our department all day long and helped us eat everything. We had 3 crock pots full of goodies, there were chips and dips, and brownies and cakes and cider... and sooo much candy...

Andrea is the one in the orange spider shirt, she's the Print Artist who designs our monthly magazine. The others in the picture (l to r) are Caitlin, our PR manager (and magazine editor), Judy the VP of Underwriters... and Skip the web guy.

More Open House visitors... Amy, the Membership Director and Steve, our IT guy. We had lots of guests all day. This was just a small sampling of them...

Caitlin and Andrea spend lots of time together designing and editing the magazine. Our Open House was a big success. I'm not so sure we got all that much work done though...

Green Lakes and Homemade Bread

Today we continued with our fun adventures. These outings have been a great thing for everybody. Alex gets his run in, Jenny and I get some exercise and Eric gets some X-Box time!

We went to Green Lakes State Park. They have some great trails. Alex really liked all the loops around the lake. He had to run for 60 minutes today. He's in the blue jacket in the background. Jenny is keeping her eye on him...

It was another beautiful day in Central New York.

In fact, it was a great day for a swim!

Oops. Jenny needs to learn how to read!

One thing she is learning, is to behave when other dogs are around. These little adventures are teaching her to tolerate other dogs. Usually she turns into Cujo when she sees another dog. If you look close, you can see a dog behind her in this picture. I've turned her attention away from the dog and she's actually being good. This is a huge step for her! But we have a long way to go...

She just loves to explore everything. I pretty much let her go wherever she wants. I'm thinking she wanted to take that boat into the water!

Another beautiful scene at the Lake.

And another great adventure for Jenny. I wonder where we'll go next time!

Earlier today, I made some homemade bread. Which I have never done before. I made a regular loaf and a mini-loaf. I remember my mom used to make bread when I was growing up. It sure makes the house smell good!

The mini-loaf is adorable. I think I might make some mini-sandwiches for lunch tomorrow.

Jenny goes to Jamesville Beach

Jenny has been enjoying getting out of the house more lately. It's helping her disposition. Well, not really. But at least it's getting her out of the house and tiring her out! Yesterday we went to Jamesville Beach. Which is more than just a beach. It's also where they have the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in June.

Jamesville Beach is also host to several cross country races (HS and College) every Fall. This field will be filled with people this same time next week for the CNYCL Cross Country Championships.

Jenny enjoyed running through the leaves in the woods.

And Alex enjoyed running through the fields and the trails, with Jenny watching. (He's getting ready for the CNYCL Cross Country Championships next weekend...)

So while Alex ran the course, Jenny and I stopped to smell the roses.

Jenny also tried to go for a swim.

We walked and walked and walked. And took in the beautiful scenery.

We rested for a bit on a bench.

We even saw the Big "V". Half of the Big "W"?? I was going to dig for treasure, but I left my shovel at home...

Mostly we just enjoyed being outside on such a beautiful fall day. In another few weeks, those leaves will be gone and the ground will be covered with snow...

The Great Debate

Last night we watched the NY Governor's Debate. I have to say it was one of the most entertaining shows I've watched in a very long time. We watched the entire 90 minutes of the debate.

Sure, there were semi-normal candidates. Like Mr. Paladino, the Republican candidate. He didn't yell or swear at anybody. And during his closing statement, he claimed that he's not angry, just passionate about helping the state.

And the Democratic candidate, Andrew Cuomo. He's the son of a former NY State Governor. And the apparent "front runner". (Did you also know that he was dating Sandra Lee?? The Food Network Star and author of the Semi-homemade cookbooks...)

Then there was this guy. He's apparently from Syracuse. And he promised a government job for every unemployed person in the state.

This guy was our favorite candidate. He was well-spoken, intelligent and had the best ideas to fix the State of NY. He even had a great sense of humor.

Then there was a former "Madam". She was all about legalizing marijuana, gambling and prostitution. Her best line of the night... “Career politicians in Albany are the biggest whores in this state. I might be the only person sitting on this stage with the right experience to deal with them.” She might have a good point.

Then there was Jimmy McMillan. This guy stole the show. If you've watched the news today, you've probably heard about this guy. He ran on the platform of, you guessed it "Rent is Too Damn High". And that's really the name of his "party", and it's really on the ballot. He was also all for gay marriage and said “If you want to marry a shoe, I’d marry you.”

The best candidate of the night, in my opinion, was this adorable canine. She was running on the platform of "More treats for all dogs." She's getting my vote, on the cute factor alone.

Invitationals & Hot Dogs

The regular x-country season is officially over. Today was the Liverpool Invitational. There were about 20 teams from around the region present for the meet today.

They divided up the runners into 4 races. 2 Varsity races, 2 JV races.

It made for a longer day as a spectator. But I think the runners liked it.

I know this guy did. He's showing off his "2nd place" card at the finish line.

He also got a nice t-shirt for finishing in the Top 7. Alex's friend Spencer also got one.

In other news... Jenny is mad at me again.

Jenny's Day Out

Jenny enjoyed an evening out at the park yesterday.

She had the walking trail all to herself.

She sniffed everywhere she wanted.

She saw beautiful views of Syracuse.

And saw piles of Christmas lights for "Lights on the Lake".

She even saw a boat and a beautiful sunset.

She also thought it was an excellent idea that Wegmans had litter bags for public use.

Jenny had a wonderful day out at the park.

* Jenny's owner may or may not have taken some Photoshop liberties and made it look like she wasn't wearing a leash...