Team PAWS Update

Only 1 for $20 to goal!

I am quite excited to report I am within $20 of hitting my goal of $500 for PAWS Chicago! For those of you who don't know, I will be running the Chicago Marathon in October on behalf of PAWS Chicago. This is a no-kill shelter that has drastically reduced the euthanized strays in the Windy City and have created a working demonstration how the is possible elsewhere! They also happen to be the first organization I ever ran a race for and am tickled to run my 10th marathon for them!

These are some great people doing wonderful work. Hit the link below to learn more as a status update is not enough room to say it all. I appreciate your support, be it donations or helping spread the word! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

My Team PAWS fundraising page:
http://paws.convio.net/site/TR/TeamPAWS/TeamPAWS?px=1205692&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

Cat of the week pictured: Costa!
http://www.pawschicago.org/costa_/

PAWS Chicago website:
www.pawschicago.org
#nokillshelter #TeamPAWS #TroysRunning4PAWS

9 for $20

Still looking for 9 for $20...

My goal is to raise $500 for PAWS Chicago. This amazing no-kill shelter has transformed the way homeless cats and dogs are handled in not just Chicago, but across the country. When PAWS Chicago was founded in 1997, more than 800 homeless cats and dogs were being killed in Chicago every week, totaling a staggering 42,561 deaths that year alone. By 2010, that number had been lowered to 17,399! These folks are doing amazing work and I am truly glad to help out by running on their behalf.

Please donate if you can or just help me spread the word! Every little bit helps, trust me.

Thank you!

My Team PAWS fundraising page:
http://paws.convio.net/site/TR/TeamPAWS/TeamPAWS?px=1205692&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

Foster of the week pictured: Pots!
http://www.pawschicago.org/2140704pots/

PAWS Chicago website:
www.pawschicago.org
#nokillshelter #TeamPAWS #runningforPAWS #TroysRunning4PAWS

20 for $20

20 for $20 PAWS Campaign!

I am aiming to raise $500 for PAWS Chicago and will be running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October for them. What I am looking for are 20 people to donate $20 to reach my goal. PAWS Chicago is a no-kill shelter that has drastically changed the way homeless pets are taken care of and has become an model for several other cities to follow. Chicago was my home for several years and PAWS was the first organization I ran a race for. I am looking forward to trying to help them out again this year and run the streets of the Windy City for them. Help out if you are able and help me knock out my goal with $20!

My Team PAWS fundraising page:
http://paws.convio.net/site/TR/TeamPAWS/TeamPAWS?px=1205692&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

PAWS Chicago website:
www.pawschicago.org

Thrilled to rejoin Team PAWS

This fall I will be running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for Team PAWS Chicago. This was the first marathon I ever ran and PAWS Chicago is the group I ran my very first race for! I am thrilled to get the chance to race for them again! If you are able to donate to this amazing, no-kill shelter it would be very appreciated! I will roll out more information on this great group as well as progress towards my $500 goal.

Troy's Running 4 PAWS fundraising:
http://paws.convio.net/site/TR/TeamPAWS/TeamPAWS?px=1205692&pg=personal&fr_id=1040

Sour Cream Apple Tradition

A long time ago, in a tiny studio apartment in Chicago I stumbled upon a recipe for a Sour Cream Apple Pie. At that point my friends were still compiling a Thanksgiving feast almost pot luck style, but with a tad more organization. Having never enjoyed pumpkin or pecan pies, I decided to give this a crack. So as to not tempt disaster, I made one a few weeks in advance to see if it was any good. I am of the school that anything baked is best right out of the oven. This pie was horrible right out of the oven.

Thoroughly bummed that I would then need to eat the rest of this pie myself (studio and little money for food), I tucked it in the fridge to endure it the next day. Having a left over burger from work or pie to chose from, I opted to try the pie again. Turns out it was best chilled overnight and for the record, that was not in the recipe. It was good. I made it for my friends and it was a hit. I made it each year we got together as my regular offering.

I have made it now for my family, my in-laws, and several friends. I may be the pie's greatest fan, but it always is well received. Having made it several years, it has become pretty easy too. What I love most about making it is the connection to all those Thanksgivings and so many great times with family and friends. Tonight I made it again, this time for my wife and my parents.

From that tiny studio to now, I am very grateful for all those loved ones I have made this silly pie for.

Sometimes you just need a comfy place to curl up...

1 week...

Biking on Ice Again

We had our first, decent snow the last couple of days. I've been excited and nervous to get the bike out on the snow in the city. In Chicago I did it everyday, but in Chicago there were a lot of people that did. drivers were still on the look out for cyclists. While Denver has made amazing steps towards being much more bike friendly, I wasn't sure how far into the snow that would go. To my relief, there seemed as much attention as per usual paid. I felt more comfortable when I was riding outside of rush hours though. The crunch of bike wheels on fresh snow and ice is truly a great sound to hear again!

About PAWS Chicago

How It Started

This may have been the face that got Tiff and I started on our animal saving ways. Meet Jack Frost. We first found Jack Frost in 2008 while living but a few blocks from Wrigley Field in Chicago. We were casually looking at dogs for adoption online when we accidentally ended up on a "kill shelter" site complete with dates of euthanasia's. That's where we found Jack Frost and his sister Candy Cane (yes it was days before Christmas). Jack and Candy were to be put down on Christmas Eve.

We knew this was a moment we needed to act and for a short but wonderful time, Jack was our first dog till he found a wonderful forever home. Jack was but a few weeks old and best we could tell was a Lab / Scottie mix.

There is an old saying, don't go to the barbershop unless you want a haircut. We were aware that obviously shelters can not keep up with the  overwhelming  needs, but to see Christmas Eve as a date to  be put down was a catalyst for us to try and help. Jack (and his sister) did indeed live to see Christmas and have seen many since. Tiff and I have been active in helping when we can and donating at other times. The reality has not changed much, but we are helping and if that does anything to alter a couple animals destiny, we are glad to have helped

My fund raising for PAWS is in its final weeks. I am no longer trying to hit a goal per se but am still determined to try and raise as much as I can for this 'no kill" shelter that has radically altered how strays can be handled. The euthanasia's in Chicago has declined since PAWS began operation and that's good. Even if you don't live in the Windy City, it shows it can work.

If you can donate, I am grateful. If you can share and spread the word, I am grateful. I will run marathons in Denver and New York City for your support. Most importantly though, dogs and cats like Jack will have a chance to get those forever homes!

http://teampaws.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1052581&lis=1&kntae1052581=E8A44FBEC339431094A2863563EF4D0D&supId=296965664

Chicago Bound

I am about to head out for a quick trip to Chicago. I am heading out to run the Shamrock Shuffle. This is a race I have wanted and tried to run for years and am pretty excited to get out there. This race has so bedeviled me in the past, it held up my move to Denver just so I could do it only to find out it was the next week. It feels good to go do this. I have not done very much lately that has not been towards meeting an end. Redemption of rewards and a few from my brother made this all happen. I am pretty psyched.

Destination Running

My intention was to sign up to run the Chicago Marathon this fall. By my intention, that also means if my wife abides my plan. I have wanted to get back to the Windy City for their 26.2 for a while. It remains my favorite experience. The reason I phrased it in the past tense is that I have done some research on a couple other marathons, Portland and Denver Rock n' Roll. The latter was mostly because I have run it before and was curious about the course. As it turns out, the last mile goes right by my new home. It also winds all around my new neighborhood. The temptation of that kind of familiarity in the final miles of a marathon is more than a little tempting! I am already signed up andd training for the Colfax Marathon, the Denver underdog of marathons. Could it be I am ready to sign up for a second marathon at altitude? Stay tuned.

Cubs Fan

When I moved to Chicago in 2000, I adopted the Cubs as a my new home team to cheer for. It made sense as I lived on the North side and have only lived in National League towns. Plus there was Wrigley Field in all its historic glory. I was quite happy cheering the lovable losers. I was even outside the ivory clad walls the night Bartman went down in goat filled infamy. Even that debacle could not sour my love of the Cubs and their, "always next year."

It wasn't until I moved three blocks from Wrigley that I started to disdain the red and blue. It wasn't even the team that did it. It was the obnoxious fans. At games and especially outside the ballpark, they were the most unruly and disrespectful group one could amass. The masses clad in blue and red seemed to get more rude, more obnoxious, and more out of control every year. I used to love going to the games and see a dad there with his kid and imagine how that had happened for generations in those very seats. Anymore it was like a frat house without class the next day.

I was done and in rebellion, turned in my "C" for a "SOX" on my hat. I rooted for the South Siders and jeered the "losers" often.

Now a couple years removed from my Windy City home, I am finding a nostalgic desire to return my fan dome back the Cubbies. I will not go to Coors Field when they play here (the Chicago fans are mostly embarrassing), but I do find myself want ing to cheer them on again this year. I was a fan long enough to believe in the next year idea. Besides, I would rather be cheering for them when it happens than bandwagon it in September.

Plus, barring a miracle, my Chicago and Denver loyalties will yet again not be put too much to the test.

Chicago!

Man it feels so good to be back in the Windy City. This town definitely grew on me and I have been surprised at how much I have missed it since returning to Colorado. We had some time on our hands after we arrived and just got to chill in a couple old haunts for a while. The ability to just unwind somewhere without an agenda felt so natural, at times it was hard to remember we didn't live up the street. There is still just something so comfortable about feeling at such ease in such a large city.

Happy Picture Friday

Happy Picture Friday

That Old Familiar

Sometimes you just miss some of the simple thing that were easy to get. I was chatting with some folks from Chicago last weekend and we were discussing the beauty of Dunkin' Donuts in Chicago. That was when it occurred to me that I loved the DD mostly because I could grab one or some coffee at every L station anytime. It was always available, everywhere I went. That may be the ultra saturation by a corporation, but it was also just good comfort too. It's a bit of a tug of war with ideals for sure.

Head Trips

It's one of those days where my mind keeps wandering to all the great places I have had the chance to go. I am dizzy with the mental field trips I have been taking all morning, especially back to my old neighborhood in Chicago. It's fun to to wander in my head but am constantly trying to remind myself to look down to where my feet are. It's also a pretty damn good place.

Says It All Today for Me

Ah, the Windy Windy

To all my friends in Chicago, surviving the arctic conditions, please stay warm. I was catching up on the news of the tremendous storm and the unusual disaster of Lake Shore Drive becoming a literal parking lot as it hit. The spirit of the city seemed to resound as I was reading about residents braving their way to the frozen cars to deliver food and water from close by homes. That was the Chicago I grew to love and appreciate. The additional reports on the emergency crews working hard also reminded me of how well the city comes together. Then I got to "official comments" from city officials like, "To those who were “very inconvenienced,” Raymond Orozco, chief of staff to Mayor Richard M. Daley, issued an apology, but would not single out anything in particular that the city might have done differently." It reminds me again of the most tiresome aspect of Chicago... its leaders. I wonder if Daily actually just sold off the snow removal equipment along with the Chicago Skyway or the parking meters and just didn't tell anyone about it.

Nostalgia

Over the last couple days, the memories of Chicago have been playing pretty constant. One of my goals before leaving the Second City was to figure out why people like living there so much. I did and then some. It was a fantastic town to live in for the better part of the last 10 years. Always I had this belief that Colorado would again become home some day. I am not sure if it's because there was such a brief time to realize that someday was about to happen (3 weeks to be exact) or that my affinity for Chicago was going to take longer to say good bye than I imagined, but its been tough. I know I have a natural tendency to desire the greener grass, but it's hard to remind myself of that when it has a good grip on the mind. Chicago became home and Denver has always been home for me. When I can get out of the mental tug of war and just enjoy that I have a couple great towns vying for the title of home in my head and just enjoy home much appreciate them, it helps. From Mile High City to the Windy City, I miss ya!