A dress for Success :)

Lisbon Portugal. 

One of the coolest cities I've never been to!

This weekend I was in New Orleans preparing mentally not to cry when I saw my firefighting marathoners... 

There was the whole... avoid the Beignets at every turn because I gave up sweets for Lent...

And since there was a bit of a wind/tornado issue in the south I was working on keeping my dress down as I paraded through the streets in my traditional Portuguese dress... yes my traditional Portuguese dress.

The Mayor of Lisbon came into town and brought me this beautifully handcrafted dress to wear as I presented my "book report" on Lisbon. I was hoping that if I did a good job I might get to cross the pond and see it first hand.

Well I haven't received my final grade yet... but I can tell you the two ladies who won a free trip to run the race and visit Portugal would probably give me an A+... although I did make them pinky swear they'd wear the same dress to run the race.

So the good news is... I have a brand new dress... bad news is... I have a brand new dress...
I'm not giving away my swim cap dress... but let me know if there's another one you've had your eye on :)

Rock the Globe with me!

"What would you say you do here?" 

~ Office Space

Well, if you ask my dad he'd probably just roll his eyes, my mom would smile and start telling you about all the tomatoes she's going to plant this summer and if you ask the spectators standing around the finish line at Rock n Roll Marathons... they'd probably tell you, I dance... a lot :)

According to the Meyers Briggs test I'm an ENFP - which in terms of a career path says I need to be with a lot of people doing different things all the time. 

Hmmm... I do have a pretty poor memory but I don't recall seeing my job on the list when I was in high school... So I did what I thought my father wanted me to... I majored in Political Science and as a junior in college I took the LSAT and prepared for my life as an attorney. Seeking Justice...Right? :)

The score came back as expected and the search for a law school began...but things changed, drastically, in my life that year and I shifted gears to avoid total catastrophe. My college counselor and I spent a few hours trying to figure out how to make my credits count towards a degree... even though I wanted to change my major... a little late in the game.  The next thing I knew I was writing stories and ready to tell the world of important current events on air... and really make a difference!

Unfortunately the allure of local news wasn't so alluring once I was in it...

Now what? I headed to California to visit my best friend and decided it was now or never to try my hand in television, of a different kind. I showed up at every office I'd sent a resume to, and after two days of defeat, desperation sunk in. The next receptionist wasn't going to watch this little midwestern girl go quietly when the usual "we'll call you" slipped from her mouth. This poor receptionist was in for it. ha! 

Luckily... it worked. Two weeks later I was sitting down to my Apple computer (never used one of those before) and told to "produce" a show... on boating etiquette... ?????

Sink or Swim Ann.
 I'd joined the high school swim team as a freshman who didn't know how to do most of the strokes or how far one length of the pool was... and I managed to figure that out. So, I shut my mouth, watched the other producers carefully and produced my first show. 3 years later I got an email asking me to audition for a new show about triathlons... A few weeks later we were in the warehouse creating something that had never been done before - TriCenter was born. 

My day job as a producer took me to Fashion Week in New York, then to Charlotte North Carolina for NASCAR, even Honduras for an in depth look into cigar production... and now - I was interviewing some of the most amazing athletes in the world on the weekends and 7am... before my other job. 

Talk about being around a lot of people with a continually changing routine...

Then... 3 years ago this weekend, I was asked to pick up the microphone and join the announcers at 

Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans. 

I got up early, curled my hair and sat in awe as the announcers managed to greet, congratulate and celebrate the thousands of runners completing the 26.2 or 13.1 miles that day. I was nervous and excited and after a few hours I couldn't help myself. I wandered down off the "stage" with my microphone and started high-fiving the endless stream of runners who had so valiantly set out to complete this race. The looks on their faces and sometimes the tears and fist pumps that I saw... made me so proud... of them.
My hair was flat... but my spirits were soaring as two men in full firefighter gear and Oxygen tanks... came around the corner carrying their American Flag high...26.2 miles later.
I could barely congratulate them through the tears. 

Thankfully, they asked me to come to another race... if I had some free time :) 

The next race I got as much sleep as possible - decided to forgo curling my hair - just put it in braids... ha and spent most of my time down on the finish line partying with the runners - energized by their determination to make it to this point. 

Pretty soon I was carving out as many weekends as I could to be at as many races as possible. I'm not quite sure where or when the striped socks came about... :) But my view on life had changed. Expensive cars, and designer dresses, were interesting for sure, but the people I saw,  that I touched on those finish lines, they gave me an entirely different high.

This year the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon series will come to 27 different cities around the world... and our Triathlon series TriRock will roll out in 6 different cities. I wish I could be at them all...  It won't be physically possible... but I'm getting in as many as I possibly can. 

I've found a dream job of sorts for an ENFP, ADD, Virgo like myself :)

You're probably wondering what this has to do with nothingnewforayear... well not much, except that I did get a sweet new pair of kicks... courtesy of Brooks (photo above)... thanks to my job... and if you want to see how traveling around the globe works while not buying anything new... you can... And I'll be in costume... if that's any incentive! ha.

I'm new to all this but if you'd "like" it... then maybe they'll let me do it again next year :)

Rock the Globe with Ann Wessling

P.S. if you're in New Orleans this weekend... We're giving away a free trip to Lisbon Portugal in September to come do Rock n Roll Lisbon... now who doesn't like free trips! Of course you'll have to listen to me first on the Expo stage - but you can suffer through that for a chance to win a free trip. I know you can :)

Conditioning rant

You know you're desperate when you start watering down your conditioner... As in, putting water into the bottle, swishing it around frantically and hoping you'll be able to brush through your hair later. 

Welcome to my world. I fly on Thursday for Rock N Roll New Orleans... I've never been more excited to stay at a hotel! ha

Sometimes I'm a little snotty about what kind of conditioner I use, but that girl is gone.
 I know I could cut my hair and make my life easy, but I did that once as a kid and balled for days. No ponytails, no braids, no nothing. Not to mention I looked like a freak...Then you actually have to do it everyday!

 Maybe that's why all the royalty wore wigs back in the day...
(actually it was because head lice was so prevalent and so they just shaved their heads and threw on wigs)
 but didn't all the pioneer ladies have really long hair? How did they do it without conditioner...? How did they do it period?

My mom used to call it cream rinse... 

but according to my research, that's different from "conditioner"... it's more of a detangler. I guess that's my biggest hurdle...

If I could have any conditioner in the world... it would be Frederic Fekkai's. I was fortunate enough a few years ago to get my hair done at his salon before the Oscars and I gotta tell ya... the stuff is amazing.

 A good friend of mine used to always splurge on Redken All Soft

and you know what... it really does make your hair all soft.

But back here in reality... I'd just be happy with even an average conditioner. The packets my dad sent me are great for the shampoo half... but the conditioner is pretty much worthless. It's some "clarifying" kind, it says... but all I know is that my hair isn't "all soft" and it definitely isn't easy to brush through. I know Pantene gets a bad rap for "coating" your hair but the stuff works wonders for me. Too bad I haven't seen any of that in months...

According to my research conditioner can be credited either to Ed Pinaud back at the worlds Fair in 1900... or Sir Darren Emilford as recently as 1980! Either way I should just be glad I wasn't born before then and shut my mouth I suppose.

Oh and just for kicks... take a look at these
Pretty sure Ali Larter is in this one... Teen Spirit commercial

And this one is just comical - Salon Selectives escapee commercial

Conditioner will definitely be my first purchase... and I might even treat myself to a little Frederic Fekkai :) 

New Kids on The Block

This could be one of the most exciting and unexpected "not new" joys. 

Rumor was spreading like wildflower at the Rock N Roll Pasadena expo that Joey McIntyre had been spotted... with a bag - indicating he was running our race. 

Soon after it was confirmed and women all over Pasadena felt tinges of childhood love surging through their bodies. I'm surprised I didn't sprint to the bathroom and hairspray my bangs into the waterfall I so desperately tried to master to win his love as a kid...

I'll admit... He was that poster above my bed. 

It was those faces I stared at during sleepovers on the other girls'  sleeping bags. 

I'm pretty sure I even convinced myself that my parents were holding out on letting me go to their concert... because they had hired them to play at my birthday party. 

I was certainly not taking this obsession "step by step"... because those boys, Joey in particular had "the right stuff" in my book.

Thankfully I was hit with a reality check birthday after birthday... and I learned to move on. 

Soon after, I wanted Devon Sawa to "keep me" after his Ghost Casper turned into a boy. 

I didn't even know how to play soccer and yet Jonathan Brandis and his Ladybug team sucked me right in.

Don't get me started with JTT...

I could go on... but the point is.... he was my first. 

He set the bar for which all other boys were to be judged.

The crew made a come back as NKOTB but I was all grown up by then. Reality is even harsher and so sometimes you give up before you've even tried. 

Sunday morning 4:45am. I receive word that Joey McIntyre is indeed registered to run. The conversation immediately turns to song as the crew sings step by step. I of course download it on my iPhone and am VERY tempted to play it when we see him. But when the time comes and they alert me that he's in corral 3... it's like the little girl who danced and screamed with the other little girls at slumber parties took over. Frantically I tried to shush that crazy crush girl and sound smart over the microphone... I'm not entirely sure what I said, but I know I made a fool of myself and offered him some advice that probably made me look even more dumb... "Hey Joey... just take it step by step"

Are you kidding me... that's the best I could come up with? 

Either way... here's a taste of what our childhood dreams produced 20 some years later...

See... sometimes the "old" does the same trick as the "new" ha!

Lew, Lew, Lew :)

I'm in love. It's kind of all or nothing with me. 

One of the people I love is my 81 year old Ironman Great, Lew Hollander. 

If you've read "My midnight date with a Great" - you probably love him too. If you haven't read it - a quick run through will bring you up to speed, but get some tissues :)

I had three hours to kill in the Houston airport yesterday. Headed back from Miami. FYI I have a lot of people ask me which race is my favorite. I've never really had an answer... but after this weekend, Miami was certainly one of the best race weekends... ever.
My voice is gone after that race  this weekend - for good reason of course... and so my usual go-to (talking to someone to pass time) wasn't going to work. 

Then the magazine wall called me. 

Since magazines are on the "illegals" list this year, I just thumb through a few of them from time to time just to make sure I know what year it is and move on...

 and usually buy some Nibs or Fig Newtons or something. 

The headlines make me ill. More Teen Mom drama, or Kardashian Khaos, Demi is too skinny and Will and Jada??? There's really no need to even flip through them. 

Real Simple is more up my alley right about now. 

Maybe they'll help me out with this whole homemade ornament idea that so fair has been nothing but an #epicfail. 

I'm not entirely sure what that means but I see it a lot on facebook... so I'll give it a whirl. 

Well near Real Simple and some of the magazines that actually offer some sort of "content" I notice someone I recognize. And not the usual suspect. It's a triathlete named Andreas Raelert. and not on the cover of Sports Illustrated. It's Outside Magazine.

Intrigued I pick it up and take a look...but it's when I open it... that my heart starts to flutter...

 There he is. My buddy Lew. The oldest Ironman finisher, 2 time defending age group champ (80+ division) and one of those guys who just always brings me to tears. 

Of course... cover model Andreas Raelert certainly doesn't disappoint the eyes either... :)

I'm know being featured in my blog was probably flattering... ha but to make it in Outside Magazine... Glad I can say I knew you when Lew :) I hope next year you'll land the cover. 

Hostess Cake

 I love birthdays. 

I love cake. 

Therefore...

 I love giving (and eating) cake on birthdays

Logic was one of my favorite classes :)

More than the perfect gift... which is very hard to do year after year - I've learned that some sort of baked good pretty much makes everyone happy on their birthday. 

Not surprising...

This year, a good friend of mine was celebrating his birthday... driving a van behind 30,000 + people running a marathon through the streets of San Antonio. He was in what we call the "tail vehicle". No it's not quite as racy as you might think... ha

 It's a very long day... driving at a very slow speed. He's also responsible for making sure that all the runners are on the right path and that no one gets left behind say... in a port-a-pottie, or in a restaurant, sometimes in bars... Rock n Roll Marathoners are a pretty fun group :)

 It's a very important job, but a pretty thankless one as well. Certainly not the most relaxing or glamorous way to spend your birthday (opening hundreds of port a pottie doors), but that's the kind of guy he is. 

We stayed at a very nice hotel in San Antonio - the Westin on the Riverwalk, but unfortunately in our room there weren't any ovens, or mixers or bowls either and so getting a cake on a Saturday night after we had been working all day, without having a car to get me somewhere... wasn't easy 

But it had to be done, and I was desperate.

I contemplated some restaurants, but with 30,000 runners plus their friends and family in town, and other tourists there... scratching their heads wondering why this random weekend in November was so popular... restaurants were running out of desserts entirely! Let alone had an entire cake in reserves to sell to me...

My scavenger skills quickly took over. The most resources we had within walking distance were pharmacies or convenience stores. Walgreens, was closed... Gas stations weren't very close and so it was CVS. 

I was hoping they'd at least sell the disposable cake tins - no such luck. 

When the beverage distribution guy looked away I snuck one of his cardboard boxes. 

And then I stood in the cookie/candy section for a good 30 min. 

I recalled that the birthday boy had a hankering for doughnuts... At another race I remembered him stopping for some and so I thought he might actually enjoy a random smattering of some good old school pastries...

I was trying to imagine how we could incorporate some stuff with a little bit of a theme. I'm sure if I had had more time I could do better (I hope anyway)

I loaded up on Hostess cupcakes, Twinkies, Doughnuts and Raspberry Zingers (for a little dash of color)

I snuck a clean napkin from Room Service to class it up a little and set to work. 

It wasn't my finest creative moment, but it sure hard not to eat half of it in the making... and that's always a good sign!

The Raspberry Zingers were supposed to be a heart in the middle... I have a lot of improvement in that area...

The next morning I ran to the "lead vehicle" and put the box in the truck. It would make it to the start line before I would so they would safely tuck it away on the announcers stage. 

We sang to him as he made his way across the start line that morning, but he had no idea what was waiting for him at the end!

I got a message that said it had made it's way to the finish and was under the table. 

I'm one of the announcers at the Rock n Roll Marathons so when I got to the finish line I grabbed a microphone and headed down to start high fiving and cheering all the runners in. 

The next thing I know I'm in the midst of a dance party and one of the other announcers asks about the goods under the table. I tell them it's a surprise, someones birthday. The looks on their faces gave them away. 

"You didn't eat any did you?" I asked

Silence. 

This is what it looked like... hours before the birthday boy even made it to the finish...

Luckily, the birthday boy, as I mentioned, is a pretty awesome guy. He was pleased with a little bit of a sugar rush after a long day of shaking port a potties...

So was I :)

Happy Birthday to one of the nicest guys I know. 

We love you John!!!

Love, 

All the Rock n Rollers

LUV Southwest

Customer Service has slowly become important again.

 It's largely in part thanks to companies that took it upon themselves to take pride in their customer service again...even though the world had become accustomed to dealing with an obstinate and thoughtless person on the other line... that's, if you could got past the thoughtless and "hard of hearing" robot recording...

Zappos.com is one of the most amazingly accommodating companies on the planet...

 but they could be in a close race with Southwest airlines...

Not only are they simple, they are... simple. Boarding is simple, booking is simple, changing your plans and your flights is simple. It's almost so easy... it's scary. And yet they're one of the few airlines MAKING money. 

I was delayed slightly in Chicago last night and they were in an "oversell" situation. I'd never heard of this from Southwest...

All too often I've been in a situation where this happens, but always with other airlines, and naively, I've eagerly jumped on the chance for a "voucher"... Sounds great right? A free trip for taking a later flight! WRONG. 

USAirways proved to be the most formidable when trying to cash in that voucher. It actually ended up being impossible to use... without making my life MORE complicated, or my flight MORE expensive. No joke. I could only use it during times I didn't need it... or I could put the dollar amount towards when I DID want to use it, but the trip cost would still far exceed an amount I was willing to spend. 

So I carefully listened as the Southwest employee explained what they would offer. A $300 voucher PLUS the cost of the one way fare that got you there. No blackout dates and as good as cash - meaning you could put $98 towards a flight to one destination, and $120 towards a different flight, etc. I was impressed. I already know that working with Southwest to cancel and change flights is as easy... No change fees, no nothing, but wow... 

(I was also enjoying a Diet IBC Root Beer in a bottle, a cup of Broccoli Cheddar soup from PotBelly's and the Colts vs. Saints game... which didn't hurt, but I'll still give 80% of my happiness to Southwests SIMPLE voucher system :)

As I boarded my Southwest flight I sat next to a gentleman who had been with me Saturday morning running our Rock n' Roll 10K race in NYC, and then boarded a flight Saturday afternoon to run our Rock n' Roll St. Louis Marathon the following morning (Sunday), and was now headed home just a few hours later, like me...

 I thought he deserved a cocktail (he did too), so I handed the flight attendant one of my free drink tickets (also a courtesy of southwest airlines, just for flying with them) to get that guy a celebratory beverage. Well aware that positive comments are far fewer in this world than negative ones, I also let that flight attendant know that I feel in love with Lorna Doones 100 calorie snack packs thanks to them. 

(So much in fact that one of my friends bought me a box for my birthday)

Lorna Doone's aren't available on all flights, including that one, but I just threw it out there anyway. They were being so LUVing with their vouchers, and drink tickets, and fun announcements over the PA... I wanted to show them some love too. 

 A few minutes later he arrives with our drinks and some peanuts... and the very last bag of Lorna Doone's leftover from the previous flight... Did I mention how much I LUV Southwest? 

I wish I was sponsored by Southwest airlines, because then the whole world would be privy to the honest-to-God hailing reviews I give them. But they're that good... I'll do it for nothing...

By the way... I mentioned how they have "fun" announcements... here's a perfect example. This is COMMON... And in case you were wondering LUV is their Ticker symbol and their home airport is Love Field in Dallas. How appropriate.

Swim Cap Chaps

   As uncoordinated as I may be... I was drafted to a relay team a few days ago. I'm pretty sure they invited me because I have a slight affinity for costumes and there was a costume contest component as part of the event. You know what... I'll take it!

 I was offered the invitation just a few days before the race so there wasn't a whole lot of prep time... not to mention that the actual "event" wasn't exactly defined. That meant there was no real understanding as to what kind of costumes were needed... in order to win. Were we going to need a lot of dexterity to physically move around, or was it a game of the minds which wouldn't require much movement at all? Were running shoes necessary to stay competitive, or could we outfit our shoes as well? All these questions were largely unanswered, so I had to make sure we were outfitted for anything... without buying anything new... My heart was pounding. I couldn't let my new friends down, but I was secretly peeing my pants... with excitement and fear. These are people who do Ironmans... for fun. They might stuff me in a dumpster afterwards if I let them down!

  As many of you know, I have too much stuff which is why I'm doing this, so multiple rolls of colored Duct tape were in the house, as were a multitude of swim caps! Leftovers from the swim cap dress.

 Our team name was "the furry one, and four fantastic fillies". The relay required us to carry a stick horse and jockey helmet, and was taking place at a horse race. Rummaging through the house, and imagining what my teammates might have accessible to them, we put together a plan. Not my best (which is probably why we didn't win the costume contest) but we managed to make up for it in raw "galloping" talent... some may disagree :) but I didn't end up in the dumpster.

that's my game face... ha! that's duct tape under my eyes, and a swim cap. If you notice the girl behind me, she has a star made of duct tape on her shirt and she's wearing a Brooks running skort. Brooks is one of our races official sponsors, so we all had those already!

We're the team on the far left, and yes... those are chaps... made out of swim caps. The swim caps also went over our feet to make us look more like horses, and the striped socks... well I just love striped socks and I also have a plethora of them.

But what I was really proud of, was the team on the far right... a bunch of boys, who bought nothing new, used the resources available to them (those mylar marathon blankets)and... made quite an impression. One of them even made a tie!

We even brought out the solar powered, PVC stereo from the back of the tandem to the party! Aside from winning... :) the swim cap chaps were definitely my favorite... is there a market for this somewhere??! ha

round #2 - one in one out

In order to obtain a level of sanity around these parts - the rule was made, if something came in, something must go out.

well... it's that time of year, and since Brooks shoes are the official running shoe of the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon Series - I got a new pair!

If you recall, I received a sweet pair of K-Swiss shoes a few weeks back and so I gave my niece a sweet pair of Under Armour shoes. Good news - she likes them! She sent me a picture of her first day of school wearing her new sneaks... and sporting a pretty rad new backpack :)

The one in one out rule applies to anything. This means that just because I got a pair of shoes doesn't necessarily require another pair of shoes go out... rather SOMETHING must be gifted in exchange. Well I know a few things my friends "covet" - I hesitated using that term because of the negative connotation but it's true! ha

Well it seems much of my Rock 'N' Roll "gear" is what is most desired... but who knows... is there something I'm missing? anything I've got that you want? Or you think I have? ha

Out of desperation comes innovation?

I enjoy looking like a fool. Part of my "ann-foolery" includes fun ribbons in my hair. Bad news. They don't sell old ribbons down at AMVETS, or the Goodwill, or the Salvation Army...

This weekend is Rock n Roll Chicago, and I was starting to worry about the ribbon situation. I think there's an expression out there along the lines of, out of necessity stems creativity, or out of desperation comes innovation... anyway... it's true.

Ms. ADD, Ms. impatient... took two seconds to think about  it... and rummage around a little... and bam!

I have a plethora of staff badges from a myriad of different races. 

and if you just cut those suckers off... you've got yourself some real nice ribbon :)

If you're in Chicago... I might see you wondering around the expo, or you might hear me getting all crazy at the start and finish lines of the big half marathon - otherwise there's a good chance I'll be stuffing my face at Lou Malnati's :)

Here's how it turned out!!

That's my friend Dave Mari who ran the race, and documented the new bows for me :)