On Blogging

Again...it's been a long time.

I guess writing my thoughts on this space lost its luster. A lot of cool things have happened, and life is busy. So organizing thoughts and photos into "this" took the backseat over spending time working, loving and living.

We went to Europe. We ate, we drank, we laughed. And we cried when the dog sitter lost our dog. (still a sensitive subject so I'm going to leave it alone)

I have had NO training schedule since my last full marathon in February and it's been great. No races. No pressure. I run when I want and have been yoga-ing, spinning and lifting weights. It's been fun and refreshing.

BUT...I'm ready to get to back to business.

I have a few new goals on the horizon...in the head - not on paper yet.

Maybe I'll blog again and share them soon....

Catching Up.

Hello there.

I have been so quiet that I'm not really sure how to just jump back in without sounding like a weirdo who has been pretty bad at blogging lately.

{Nutshell - My Life}

Work, Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years, New Babies (and baby showers), friends/family in town, running, celebrating our 3rd Anniversary, volunteering at my 1st Ironman (whoa), preparing for the Holidays AND thoroughly enjoying them (parties yes please), making new goals, a trip up North to a haunted hotel, marathon training in full effect and eying some more races), running a 10 mile race and a half marathon...which resulted in a new PR, booking some trips (oh boy!) and embarking on one amazing one....life.

So yeah...all that. I won't spend the time going back through the details. I was sick on and off about 3 times over the Holidays which is never ideal but I am 100% now and feel great. My running took a bit of a hit with all that and I am noticing it quite a bit in my speed, endurance and my lung capacity. That's OK, I feel healthy and injury free so I'm content with that.

Coming up...

February 2nd - Desert Classic Half Marathon (training run)
February 17th - IMS Arizona Marathon 

The last few weeks at glance, in numbers:

• 43 miles
• 47 miles
• 34 miles (setback week, whew)
• 46 miles
• Current week (tapering) 12 miles

I am extremely sore today from a couple of new HIIT workouts the past 2 days, so I skipped today's run in lieu of rest so I have 2 full days before my half on Saturday.

Looking forward to:

•  The Phoenix Open this weekend. Party time, excellent.
•  Super Bowl Sunday!
• A night in Sedona to celebrate my Dad's 65th Birthday...it's a surprise, shhh.
• Girls Weekend in San Fran.
• Our FIRST trip to Europe. I.cannot.wait.
• Working on my race calendar and trying a new to me distance, gulp!

How about a mini photo bomb?

What's new with you?

hello there.

You know when you avoid a phone call because it's been so long...and you aren't sure where to start?

Yeah...

I just returned from 6 days in Paradise (the Dominican Republic) and am ready to blog again.

RnR SJ Race Recap

I still have a bit of a wedgie about my performance at the RnR on Sunday. I've been stewing over my race the last few days and will chalk it up to this:

1. I was mentally lazy the last 5K
2. I got warm/sun in face half the race (bad excuse from a Phoenician)
3. I wasn't rested (traveling the day before isn't ideal + crappy night's sleep)
4. I was hungry

My biggest issue really....I just need to try harder. I need to make it hurt, push myself. And that means DURING training and DURING the race. Why put all these miles on my legs and then not see improvement? All of this stuff was purely "me".

Yes, I beat my PR from February by seconds, (1:53:41 vs. 1:53:12) but I have put in a lot of miles since then and I should be making strides (pun intended) in my goal times.

But I'm over it now and it's time to move on. To work harder. Maybe I need to run less miles and the ones I do run I need to really push myself on? Ideas anyone? I am happy I can do this, to run and all that jazz....but let's face it, we all want to be better for ourselves. I do anyway.

The race itself was well organized as all RnR's are. Fast and efficient expo, I picked up and my packet and bailed so I can't say how it was from that standpoint. My biggest beef with RnR...not an option to get your bib ANY other way but picking it up. We had to drive to San Jose twice and that could have been avoided if they had a paid option to mail your shit. 

The race start was uneventful...I freaked out a tiny bit when I saw I was in Corral #3 and super close to the start line. I have only ever run the RnR in Phoenix and I was in Corral #7, which was a HUGE corral for a HUGE race. Not that any of this matters. J-Johns were plentiful and it was kind of cold so I stripped my jacket off and handed it Gio right before the gun went off. 

The course was boring and fairly quiet (except all the cute and peppy cheerleaders lining the course) and my splits were pretty good until I hit mile 10 and then they kind of sucked. Looking at them just pisses me off as I could have hit my goal if I would have tried a little harder. I guess it wasn't my day. 

Now that I think about it, I have never had a TERRIBLE race. I read stories about people having horrible, painful (OK Ragnar hurt) or emotional races but I don't, I just have good or OK and I'm alright with that.

I think my mind was not in the race, but with my friend waiting at the finish line and with the streets of San Fran. I couldn't wait to be done. And when I crossed the line, I was done.

Gio asked me "do you want to hang out, sit down or rest?" and I said "nope, let's roll". She was the dream race crew. She woke up early, had my pre-race breakfast on hand, drove my ass around, cheered me on (I saw her 2x on the course and she yelled SO loud and took pictures and gave me the play by play on all the girls outfits and was very perplexed at the amount of makeup she saw on girls faces) and told me she was proud of me even though I was grumpy for like, 5 seconds afterwards.

The End. 

Actually we went and drank a few cocktails and ate some food...and Matt put up with us for 2 solid days, he is angel because I know we are annoying...

Walked around (Fleet Week in SF is awesome) and caught part of the airshow...

I felt super "fall like" (or Lumberjack-ish) in my plaid shirt and you are welcome for this high quality vanity shot...

I soaked up some Cali sun...

 We watched bad TV, I shopped (hello Lululemon), drank wine, ate pizza and ice cream cones on a street side cafe and laughed MY ASS OFF until I went home Monday night.

 And ya know what, good friends are better than "OK" races.

4 Day Weekend

It all started with an 80 minute massage, champagne and the pool....not a bad way to start if I do say so myself. The JW Marriott Desert Ridge is a favorite of ours, so I couldn't pass this one up.

I bought a deal through TravelZoo.com and it did not disappoint!

My bags are packed, my Garmin is charged and I'm heading out to San Fran tomorrow am - can't wait! There is a TON of fun stuff going on throughout the weekend so I have a feeling we will be busy girls.

(From facebook RnR page)

Busy race weekend, best of luck to everyone running/racing!

Ready as Ever....

I'm going going back back to Cali, Cali.

Yup. 9 days and it's Rock 'n' Roll San Jose (how the eff did I get roped into running another RnR).

Oh yeah.

This little pixie was planning on running it with me, only I'll be running solo due to some old injuries that have popped up in little Gio's knees. I'm bummed yes, but taking care of her body is #1. She says she is excited to cheer me on. She's crazy. This is small for a RnR event, only about 12k runners (include mini marathon) so I am pretty happy that it will be slightly less of a clusterfuck that RnR tends to be. I'm more excited to eat, drink and be merry with my frayonds - the race is just the icing on the cake.

I busted out my last long run this morning. I had a 5:15am wake up call so I could get it done before work and because my weekend is jammed pack (and I want to drink wine tonight, for reals). I ran 12 miles. It was non-eventful. A little tight in my right hip, as usual. It was a reasonable pace and the weather made it a quick and painless run.

My week should end with 36 miles and 3 days of HEAVY weights. I feel good about that. 

Do I feel ready? Yes. Am I going to PR? I sure hope so....but I won't be upset if I don't. I don't feel like I have the speed to do it, hopefully I'll surprise myself.

And hopefully the course is flat. And the weather is cold.

Gio tells me "pack shorts or a dress for the day and a sweater at night".

RIGHT. Did you forget where I am from? That's full on winter for me.

Off to work for a few hours, stuff my face and hopefully have 2 FULL says off. Psh. (um hello pizza party tonight and Dback game tomorrow)

Anyone doing anything SUPER fun this weekend?

Will Ride for Food

{Whoops....forgot to post. From Friday}

At the recommendation of our friendly neighbor upstairs, we hopped on our cruisers and headed down to the Hippie-filled town of Ocean Beach to check out a restaurant Guy Fieri visited on Triple D called Hodads. He told us it was about a 2.5 mile ride, easy peasy.

It was 5.25....with a HUGE hill both ways. Lil off. On a single speed beach cruiser, it felt long.

I earned my burger. OK, not really, but hey, the little jaunt was a nice one. It's been chilly the last 2 days so it felt nice to ride in the cool beachy weather. It's out last day here so we wanted to do something fun and off our beaten path.

I am not a big burger person (or a red meat person really) but I was game to check this little place out and Wade is a HUGE burger guy, so I kicked my prissy burger attitude to the curb and rolled with it.  It was on point and I got about 1/2 way through my burger before throwing the napkin in. It was stacked high with beef, onions, a bacon patty (yup), lettuce, pickles, cheese, tomato and mustard/mayo.

Washed down with a cold beer.

Yum.

I'm going to go lay down and be fat now.

A Sunny Tuesday

We woke up to BEAUTIFUL weather, overcast this morning and a sunny breezy afternoon!

• 3.25 mile boardwalk run

• 12 minute HIIT workout...on the beachfront patio

• 1 mile dog walk

• 9.5 mile beach cruise to La Jolla

I'd say it was an active Tuesday! We also squeezed in a Mexican lunch and a couple of cold beers with limes....and a little shopping.

We are heading to Del Mar in a couple hours to have early dinner and drinks with a friend, and tomorrow.....we are going to be beach bums.

AFC Recap, 2012 Version

AFC Recap from last year here.

Well. I did it. And it SUCKED. OK, not really.

I'm not going to type out a full play by play because let's be honest...does anyone actually read that? And oh ya, I'm still on vacation!

I was slightly worried going into this race for a few reasons:

1. It was hot. 72 degrees at the start line. And in San Diego, that's hot. And this course is hilly
2. My left knee/muscle thing I have had issues with in the past felt a little off.
3. Being sick a week before the race left me feeling less than confident. (I know, so stupid)

Rockin our Lulu Gear

It was hot. Like all my clothes were soaking wet hot. It was a combo of sweat/water I dumped on my head at every aid station/people hosing down runners from their hoses.

Being an AZ girl, I wasn't too worried about the weather. And I did fine. I drank water at EVERY station (which I don't always do) and plugged along at a comfortable pace. Once I realized how warm it was I settled into the run and just tried to enjoy myself. But holy moly was it hot. I could feel my skin burning. No escaping it either. No shade. No breeze.

And I did. Races are so fun. 13.1 miles goes by so fast. So many people to watch. Signs to read. High fives to give. I knew I wasn't going to PR and I was totally good with that.

That hill at the end was just as ugly as I remembered.

I was crusty and wet at the finish line. But I was smiling. I felt good. No pains. No aches.

I rode my shiny new cruiser the rest of the day. Grubbed on the beach. Oyster Shooters. Had a few beers.

Ended the evening with some delicious pizza. More beers. More cruising.

We are moving rental houses today...rough experience with the one we are in but all things happen for a reason. This reason is, the new place is ONE house back from the beach/boardwalk in Mission Beach. I'm so excited I can't even stand it.

Wade and I have a date tonight at one of our favorite San Diego restaurants, George's. I brought a fancy new dress and I might even wear wedges vs. flip flops.

Off to the beach.

Road Trip, An Epic Start

Hello From Sunny San Diego!

For reals, it's hot as balls here. This air conditioned princess is not used to living in houses without modern day air. #1stworldproblems

We arrived yesterday afternoon after a fantastic drive where we "almost" ran out of gas in the middle of the desert. Not going to name names or anything, but it wasn't my fault. We were suckin fumes and ended up pulling into a scene straight from a bad horror movie flick. (did I hear screams?) Wade bribed some young guy to put a gallon of gas into the truck to get us the 10 miles up the road to a real gas station.

Wade claimed he saved the day. Scuse me?

This was the nice part of it.

So I sat pissed off for 10 whole miles (that's a long time for me) until we hit gas. And Subway. I was more upset about my eating schedule being interrupted.

I have been anxiously awaiting this trip solely for this purpose.

 You bet yo ass I got a new beach cruiser after Pinkie was stolen in Newport Beach earlier this summer.

So after the awesome car ride, we officially started vacation last night. Beer, beach and sushi.

Race tomorrow. I will be a sardine at the end of this thing. So sweaty.

I have zero expectations. (OK I mean very low) This race is fun. Scenic. Hilly. Humid. I don't feel prepared for some reason. Oh well.

Here we go.

I need a new name for my Cruiser....suggestions?

Hometown Visit

I wasn't sure I wanted to do a recap of my weekend up in Washington...mainly because I didn't do a whole lot that deemed worthy of reading about. But I thought I'd do a short and sweet one, mainly for myself.

My Mom and I flew up to Seattle last Thursday to visit Grandma. I was really looking forward to this trip for a few reasons:

1. Get outta the heat and visit my old stomping grounds.
2. Spend time with my mom, we have NEVER taken a trip together as adults.
3. Visit Grandma and spend her Birthday with her.

The entire weekend was laid back and low key...we spent the weekend AT my Grandma's place and she lives in a retirement center. I was not super excited about this for obvious reasons, but it ended up being really fun! We spent the weekend watching the Olympics (I.can't.stop.watching.), eating, shopping, wine tasting, beer touring (my sis and bro-in-law joined, so fun) and taking walks. Grandma doesn't get around too well anymore, so my Mom and I spent one afternoon shopping and doing our own thing.

But at "just" 92, my Grandma is still sassy and smart and still hovers behind me telling me how to do things and trying to make me food, but of course, with age, comes changes and it breaks my heart seeing her slow down. I can't stress how happy I am that I took this weekend to just spend time with her. Eating PB toast each morning brought me back to being a kiddo, and it was nice to feel that way again!

I ran 2 of the 3 mornings I was there and one of the highlights of my weekend was running along the trails behind the property she lives on. It was cool, humid (82%) and hilly as shit. I had a huge smile on my face as I ran through the trails that were flanked with blackberry bushes on either side...it really brought me back to my childhood.

Runs like that are the reason I run.  

I also ran inside at the new gym on the property which is brand spankin' new and extremely high tech. It was so funny to be working out alongside a bunch of retired Seniors. They were all really friendly and were cracking jokes the entire time...for once I was the youngest fastest, and strongest!

Leaving was tough...but I was really excited to get home to Wade and my furry critters. Best part...18 roses at the airport from my sweetheart. xoxo.