Dallas, Decatur & 46 days 'til SUS '12

Got an e-mail today from one of our team leaders with lots of orientation details for when we arrive in Jacksonville, which also included the tidbit that there are only 46 days until we all meet up in Jacksonville. It's hard to believe it's so close. The countdown to B&B means a little bit more to me than just B&B. It's also first and formost a fundraising deadline as well, as we must have raised $4,500 to be able to complete the trip, but also just 10 days or so before I will have run another half marathon and graduated college. So some pretty big shit coming up in the coming weeks.

A picture with me & all my racing buddies!

This weekend I ran yet another half marathon. Ran every step. Won't say I killed it, it may have just nearly killed me, but it's just a reminder of how much better I can do if I really put my mind towards the proper training. All the miles for B&B have been demanding a decent chunk of my time, so my exercise time has been split between running & biking. But no excuses & I can't wait to kill it in May.

Just about $1900 left to raise. & there may be some videos posted soon as my most recent mini fundraiser has been that for a $10 donation I will make a whole video of nothing but compliments about the person donating! I was asked by one friend if instead of a video of compliments I would do a minute of insults. I told him that for $10 his insulting wish is my command.

Now, I've been hardcore slacking on this city exploration. So, time to crank out Dallas & Decatur. I met a new friend this weekend racing from Dallas who said if I give her enough notice she may be able to make it out to support us, which would be AWESOME.

Dallas, TX

Known as the High 5 interchange

• According to some pretty well founded rumors this is where we'll be putting a roof on a house...someone is clearly giving us the shaft here...roofing in Texas in the middle of the summer...Yeah.
• 9th largest city in the U.S.
• Host of the Texas state fair which has been held annually since 1886 & brings an estimated $350 million to the city's economy each year.
• Approximately 30% of the population is Hispanic (maybe I'll get to bust out some of my Spanish skillz!)
• & surprisingly enough, the median female income is slightly higher than the median male income.
• Notable people from/residing in the city include: Lance Armstrong, George W. Bush, Vanilla Ice (the rapper) & the Wilson brothers ( Luke & Owen)



Dallas skyline

• In other news, it has been reported that our Dallas hosts is one of the best on the trip & we've been staying there year after year. So, expectations are high as blog posts and personal accounts say nothing but great things about this lady, who is also the Habitat director.

Decatur, TX

Wise County Courthouse

•  As I write this post sources tell me it is 86 degrees. I cannot begin to fathom what June will bring.
• In 1994 Main St. Decatur was designated an official Texas Main Street City.
• The Wise County Courthouse, located in Decatur, is constructed primarily of pink granite from quarries in Burnet,TX.
• Though Decatur is only about 45 miles from Dallas our route will take us 88 miles from Dallas to Decatur. So, for all those wondering if it is really 4,000 miles from coast to coast...let's just say we're definitely taking the scenic route.

So, to sum it up. 46 days 'til orientation in Jacksonville begins, $1900 still to raise, 380 or so training miles still to ride, & almost $57,000 raised so far by all of the SUS teammates put together. :)