the 2012 running recap.

are we really starting a new year already?? we probably all say this every year but, seriously 2012 flew by! there were a lot of really great ups and some definite downs. thank goodness running has been there through it all for me. it keeps me sane!

january~82 miles.

my mom and i returned to disneyland for the inagural tinkerbell 1/2 marathon!! oh man it was awesome and we seriously had a blast. that race also completed my 3 races in 16 weeks and i can successfully say i rocked it:) i probably should have taken a little break after this, but sometimes im a little crazy hehe.

feburary~45 miles.

the color run made its way to las vegas and it was awesome!! the funnest 5k i have ever run. also, remember that im a little crazy and decided to let the cat out of the bag about my next big training adventure...a triathlon!!

march~56 miles.

with one month out from rage i was starting to panic and found out how some people will always try and tear you down no matter what. but then had the most amazing distraction ever, a trip across the pond for nate and katies wedding!!! i officially became an international runner and got to do a running tour around london with a guide. seriously one of the coolest things ever.

april~43 miles.

in my normal, i like to overschedule myself for everything, 2 really fun things happened in the same month. i became a TRIATHELTE and a WARRIOR!! ps my running mileage is low because i was so friggin busy with the swimming and the biking:)

may~56 miles.

finally able to breathe for the 1st time all year i was able to look at the rest of my year and a few things came about. #1 my 3 year runniversary! #2 i won the lottery and got into the nike womens 1/2 marathon! #3 all this craziness really caught up with me and i went into a serious funk. i should have known it would eventually, it just really did kick my butt hard.

june~84 miles.

and just like that i kicked that little depressions ass, on national running day no less! everything is just right in the world when i am training for something and once i realized that i hopped back into it quickly. i signed up for the et 1/2 marathon that happens right outside area 51 at midnight! did i mention im scared of the dark??

july~81 miles.

i finally signed up for a 5k on 4th of july! and the olympics started. i mean if that isnt serious motivation, i dont know what is. those athletes from every country are amazing!! plus i started to see a nutritionist. i had been running for 3 years and hadnt lost a single pound. inches yes, pounds no. so after a disatourus happy hour (mostly in my own head) i took back the power and started seeing joanie. one of the best decision of my life.

august~75 miles.

half #8 in the books! plus i didnt get kidnapped by the aliens while running in the dark. i also began seeing a physical thearpist. after changing shoes i started having pain in the back of my knees so i went to the dr for help. later that week i sat in rons office and he said he could fix me in 9 visits. he did so much more for my entire running life! plus the official training for #nwm started. my dream race was finally happening!!

september~73 miles.

my 27th birthday was a blast with a staycation here in vegas! #nwm training was in full swing and i was actually able to reveal the results from joanie...
18 pounds lost!
44 inches gone!
10% body fat to never be seen again!

october~82 miles.

dream race complete!!! my parents, jessica, richard, and i headed up to san francisco for an amazing weekend full of adventure and ultimately would finalize a big life decision for me. we had a blast in the city and i am so glad my parents and jessica came! this was also the month i ended my 3 and a 1/2 year relationship and became a half fanatic! wow thats a lot of ups and downs.

november~73 miles.

in continuing my trend of ups and downs i finally got to complete a ragnar race with 2 amazing vans of girls!! i have been waiting years to complete and it was everything i was hoping it to be. then i headed back into a little bit of a funk. the heartbreak really set in and some days i just couldnt pull myself out of bed for a run or much of anything. luckily i was a very busy girl of course and got to be surrounded by lots of family and we continued our turkey trot tradition!

december~101 miles. 

what a way to end the year, my first 100 mile month ever on new years eve with my runner group friends!!! it finally got be to winter around here plus i got to see my ragnar teammates at the ugly sweater run in downtown vegas.

2012~851 miles run. 

wow!! i did not think it would get that high or that did so many things throughout the year. and this year went so, so fast. i cant wait to see what 2013 has to offer!!

thankful thursday #2

time for round 2! if you didnt catch round 1, here you go:)

1. running

i cant even imagine where my life would be without running right now. so many amazing things have happened in the last 3 years because of it. running is one of the best stress relievers, something that keeps me sane, allows me to be fit, and its kinda fun to tell people you are when that is the last thing they would ever expect! cant wait to see where it takes me in the future.

after my very 1st 1/2 marathon!

2. country music

we grew up on country music, my dad always played it in the car, well truck really. i tried to fight it in the beginning i wont lie lol. but now it is one of the main things i listen to no matter the mood. through this break up though it has been especially helpful and i was so damn excited last night when i pulled out the previous taylor swift cd and found all the songs i had been looking for to express everything the last few weeks. sometimes the only way to truly convey how you feel is through a song.

3. social media

i know it sounds a little silly but i joined twitter about a year and a half ago not really sure i was even into it. now it has exposed me to sooo many more people and networks then i ever could have imagined! it helped me get into the nike womens 1/2 marathon and so many people i have never even met have sent so many well wishes in the last month. getting to share in others journeys to their 1st 1/2 marathons and their everyday adventures is completely in reach because of social media. it brings this very large world were in just a little closer to us all.

betsy and i in san francisco!

4. blogging

since graduating from college i really missed writing but didnt really know what i could use to fill that void. i liked the idea of blogging but was never sure what to write about. when a girlfriend finally suggested writing about living with your boyfriend i knew i had something good to finally write about! now its turned into so much more and the extension of the social media from above. i love the community it has allowed me to be a part of the people i get to connect with.

5. technology

living in our generation we have been very blessed to have the kind of reaches and access we do. it is because of technology that i can still talk to my brother deployed half a world away with just my phone. or allow me to drive and talk to best friends in different states and even countries sometimes. it allows me to blog and find a new recipe for dinner all in the same place haha. it sounds silly, but i dont know what i would do without it!

weve come a long way from these guys:)

stay tuned for round 3 next week!

the english wedding.

as amazing as the entire england trip was, we were actually there for a real purpose, a wedding! one of my best friends nate was getting married to an amazing girl named katie he met while studying for his masters at durham university. i had met her for a few hours when they came through las vegas about 2 years ago and knew they would be great together! soon enough we were all across the pond for the big day.

the bus came to pick us all up from st johns at 1130a to be to the church on time for a 1230p service. it was actually almost warm during the day and the sun was trying its hardest to poke through for a beautiful day. we arrived a bit early and were able to score great seats, i sat with alyses family! nate had taken his rightful place up front and looked cool as a cucumber. when they handed out the orders of service soon after we got our 1st clue this whole day was going to be quite a bit different than we were used to. it began with the bride walking down 1st and the bridesmaids after. katies dress was beautiful and it fit her perfectly:) after the vows there was actually a full sermon complete with hyms. the service was very thoughtful and the hyms went very well together with it (despite the wanna-be opera singer behind us who kept cracking me up, ha!). afterward the bride and groom walked down the aisle hand in hand to there new life. we werent allowed to take pictures during the ceremony, but i of course snuck a few.

theyre married!

once exiting the church i was super surprised to see the bride and groom outside talking to people! some of the boys had given us confetti as we left so i figured we would do that and be on our way. oh no. we did the confetti (which was soo pretty and fun) and then bride and groom mingled with everyone and took pictures with the guests. after hanging out for awhile the wedding photographer started with the official pictures, while we were all still there. it was a little weird, i wont lie. finally it was time to head to the hotel for the reception. we were super hoping for some food because it was almost 3p by the time we got there and we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast at 9a.

the families!

the whole wedding party!

there was full open bar at the hotel for cocktail hour with a super fun punch that was very citrusy and fun. we got the brilliant idea to start adding a shot of malibu to the punch which made it taste even smoother so we proceeded to suck it down like water. there were a few very cute appetizers floating around, a beef and potato puff pastry and a small pancake with a mango sauce and fruit to top. they were both delicios, but after about 2 hours we were starving! the bride and groom had arrived in their very fun car to mingle and take photos on the beautiful grounds, which meant more appetizers and drinks. once inside we formed a receiving line to make our way into the ballroom. that meant chatting with the brides parents, the grooms parents, and the newlyweds. about 45 minutes later we were finally through and able to see the beautiful room that was soo bright and airy.

alyses family!

nate and i :)

i got to sit with most of nates family that i had spent the week with so we chatted away and waited for the food. we discussed the differences in an english wedding and even met katies brother and his wife! the food arrived a bit later after everyone had sat down, starting with potato leek soup. i wont lie, i was a little leary because i had never tried it, seriously sooo good! light even so it didnt fill you up. next was the main course, a full pot roast dinner! complete with popovers, delicious veggies, an amazing potato thing, and of course the beef which was sooo good. we dove right in and im pretty sure i wiped my plate clean :) afterward there was dessert, not cake, full blown dessert. im not exactly sure what it was, but man it was good! then tea and coffee to top it all off. now i should have been stuffed but instead, nicely full. now in america the bride and groom always mingle during dinner, in the uk not at all. everyone sat firmly in their seats until we were all done. afterward they did speeches and cut the cake. then there was a whole second part we had no idea about!

her dad made a beautiful speech.

their speech was so full of love!

yay cake:)

 

we were cleared back into the cocktail area and found out they were changing the room around. now by this time it was about 8p and the bus we found out was actually going to return at 1130p. we had no idea english weddings were this long! once the ballroom was ready we returned to find a disco, haha! and there was a buffet line set up for more food, im not kidding. it was about this time though (830ish) alyses family and i decided we were going to call a cab to take us back a little earlier since we all flew out the next day super early, hadnt packed, and found out it was daylight savings time so they sprung forward! soon the bride and groom came in to do the 1st dance and it was just beautiful to watch them so in love:) 

the 1st dance as husband and wife!

for some reason at this point we actually decided we were hungry. so we would stay for the food and to try catching the bouquet. the buffet was mostly appetizers and cake! the cake was delicious as was everything else that day. we headed out soon after, probably around 930p back to the hotel. we were exhausted! these english weddings are like marathons. and apparently they are all just like it! 

the next morning i headed to the airport to begin my long journey home. i was very excited to see richard and sleep in my own bed. as well as not be cold every i went to use the bathroom and have some american food. but i love england, i would really move if i could. i got to know katie sooo much more and can not believe how either one of them were so amazingly calm all week with the craziness of that many people plus a wedding. i had an absolute blast that week. and i would not have been anywhere else but at that wedding to celebrate their love. i was able to not think about anything and purely enjoy the fantastic people i got to know and celebrate an amazing couple take the next step in their lives:) 

nate and katie
march 24th, 2012

the easy durham day.

the durham cathedral.

after a crazy, crazy week with early mornings and long train rides we were all very excited to keep the day simple and spend it around town. the only real plan for the day was to meet katie and the girls for nails at 230p in the square then on to dinner the rehearsal dinner with the whole group. so that meant sleeping in a little bit then going for a run around the town.

i ran wednesday morning just around the college and the river, but we had walked around for a few days so i figured i could venture out a bit. it was a crisp morning and i had a plan after looking at the map, but that went ayre quickly when i took a wrong turn. i found a new town map and thought i figured my way around but got distracted by a trail and then got totally turned around! luckily there was a bunch of people setting up an event nearby and i was able to ask for directions. turns out i wasn't really that far off, just didn't go down far enough to hit the right streets.
                                                  
unfortunately with a few wrong turns meant i was too late getting back for breakfast so i went back to my room and got to spend some time talking to richard before he went to sleep:) afterward i went to meet up with andrea and amanda so we could spend sometime shopping before getting our nails done. turned out andrea wanted to sleep and read so amanda and i ventured out for coffee and to explore the city. she had been there before to visit nate meaning she knew her way around a little bit. we stopped to have a scone and a hot chocolate snack at a tea house that was so so good.

fresh cream :)

soon enough it was time to meet the group and lunch, i was starving! we went to this super quaint cafe and i even branched out to have the corned beef and potato pie. whoa, i know. i imagined it would be a little bit like a pot pie or at least have some sauce in it, not so much. it was very good and an excellent side of cole slaw (which by the way was super different at every place we went to!) with it. after everyone was finished eating we headed to a nail bar, which was exactly that. i had planned to actually have a pedicure only and not do my nails. turns out all they did were nails and it was only to paint! that means wayyyy cheaper, it was only 5 pounds, hell yes! they did an airbrush french thing, it was so easy and fast.

alyse, her mom, and i headed out to accesorize to buy alyse a super cute passport holder amanda and i had picked up there, but never quite made it. we walked through a very small mall and were stopped dead in our tracks by fish. yes fish. as in a fish pedicure! i had never seen anything like it but alyse was wild over it. she had seen it on tv and always wanted to try it. i have very ticklish feet and wasnt so keen on sticking my feet in a bowl with a bunch of fish. but when the guy told us we could have wine while we did it and it was only 10 pounds i decided just to do it.

seriously the coolest thing i have ever done!! you have to sign a waiver about not having open wounds/sores on your feet or major surgery in the last year then spray your feet down with something, and let him check them out just in case. then they literally go in the bowl and the fish swim right toward them! it felt super weird at first and i freaked a little, but wow it felt amazing. they eat all the dead skin off your feet and swim around in the bin. it was some of the best 15 minutes ever! it also gave alyse and i so much time to chat and really get to know each other. we had heard so much about the other from nate over the years but i dont think we ever even met. for seriously 2 days my feet were the smoothest/best feeling they have ever been in my whole life!!

ahhh!

we headed back to st johns to change and head to the rehersal dinner. as soon as we sat down i started to feel in a fog. dinner was good, we got to meet some people from katies side and others in the wedding. the lemon cake with the cream sauce we had for dessert was fantastic! the kids were heading down to the pub once we were all finished and i decided to make a better choice and just go back to my room and sleep. over half our group had various forms of sickness all week and i was determined not to catch it! plus we had the wedding the next day, i could not be sick for that.

they give great speeches :)

it was sooo cool to finally see where nate had been all the years and where he met katie. plus i got to bond with alyse and we have a great story to tell others! i fell asleep pretty early that night very happy :)

the search for nessie.

now that i had been over quite a bit of england i was super excited about getting to see a new country! still part of the uk, but something very new. the minute i told anyone i was going to scotland they always asked about the lochness monster. it was so funny! so thursday morning we headed to our earliest train that we darn near missed because we left a bit too late from st. johns. most of us were not awake on the train ride up, the travel was really startin to get to us.

the view from the train.
when nate yelled at me to wake up lol.

about 2 hours later we arrived in edinburgh to a completely new scenery! it was so gothic and dark and daring, very cool. we split 2 smaller groups again because 13 people are wayyy too many to try and wrangle together. we started off heading up the street to the castle where the queen stays when she comes stay in scotland. i couldnt get over how different it all looked from england and that there werent nearly the amount of people as the last few days. it was actually quite nice and allowed us to slow down a bit.

 once we made it to the top of the hill we decided it was time for lunch! i was hungry already (surprise, surprise) but we couldnt decide where to go. i was all in for the rave reviews we heard about jacket potatoes, i was dying for some carbs in my life, but the place didnt have seating so we would have had to sit outside and it wasnt the warmest day ever. we ended up at an "american" place that had quite the variety on the menu, for sure an american thing, but it still tasted uk-ish haha. i was so hungry though it didnt even matter!

i did see this very stylish hat on the way:)

afterward we headed to the top of the street to see edinburgh castle which was gorgeous and had a fantastic view of the whole city! the castles there were much bigger and taller than the ones in england, so interesting. also at the top of the hill was the scarf factory where they invented plaid!! I was so super excited because I seriously love plaid if you didn't know. it was really cool because all the different patterns and colors stood for different clans that each family hailed from, I never knew that! you could even have your own kilt made there:)

the view from the castle.

seriously huge!

soo cool. i heart plaid!

not far down the road and around the corner was another harry potter place i had to see. the elephant house, as in where jk rowling went to write the original harry potter books!!! she's even rumored to have a flat or home near there. we vintages shopped nearby for awhile to pass some time and so amanda could show us some of the places she went to while studying abroad. i realized while browsing that i am not a good vintage shopper lol. the things just don't look right one me haha.

nerd alert!

ahhh!

we headed back to princes street the big shopping street to browse for souvenirs and head back to the train station. i purchased my nessie stuffed animal and magnet for my parents, turns out we were much too far south to see her. after picking up some authentic shortbread and actually finding the shirt in richards size i had looked all over york for we needed to meet our group to return to durham. i could have seriously spent a few days there but we had to get back for the rehearsal!

he played so beautifully!

everyone was passed out asleep not long after the train left the station and it was a great 2 hourish nap back! we returned to st johns to drop our stuff and headed to the church. alyse and i finally realized why nate was always huffing and puffing while walking anywhere with us on the phone, cause holy crap the hills there are steep! once we reached the church we were glad for a break.

the church was beautiful and was actually celebrating its 900th anniversary this year! it was freezing inside but the pastor had us laughing and the whole wedding party buzzing while we were there. i sat back with alyses super nice husband brad and took loads of pictures of course, which turned out to be a good thing because we couldn't saturday!

once finished tearing up we were free for the evening and amanda and i headed back running into alyse and brad who i joined for a drink at the pub. the next day was pretty free and we could actually sleep in and and the nap had helped so we stayed out a little getting to know each other. it was so nice to sit down with such normal people my age and not have any cares other than we're going to have another drink or not. 1 was all we ended up drinking and then heading back to st johns to turn in. it was a great day :)