the 4 weeks to vegas recap.

with only a few weeks left it is most important now to make sure i get all my training in. sometimes to do that i have to switch things up, and this week i did that all over the place! but i got it all in.

sunday~9 miles.
9.09 miles =1:26:57 minutes/9:33 min/mile.

i finally returned to sunday morning running and could not be happier. i was able to carbo load on saturday night the way i wanted to and able to get out the door when i wanted. with the clocks turned back an hour i was also able to get an extra hour of sleep. it was sooooo cold, i found out later some others took hours to warm up after their long runs. it did give me a dry run on what to expect for my first official winter race though. and that i definitely need more winter running clothes.   

a perfect post long-run breakfast!
(after a nap of course.)

monday~4-5 miles.
4.72 miles =40:30 minutes/8:34 min/mile

our fearless leader debi finally returned this week! we had our biggest group in awhile and i actually felt good keeping up with reggie. the hill up and down almost came easy, almost.  

tuesday~rest.
rest

i gladly took the day off from training after putting in some great miles at the beginning of the week. this was also the day i found out the rest of my week was going to change...my brother was coming home for the weekend and bringing his new girlfriend! we were all going to linner (lunch/dinner) saturday afternoon, then richard and i were planning to go out late that night to go see a dj he liked. i decided then i needed to do my long run saturday instead so i could make sure to get it all in.

wednesday~spin class.
6am spin class   

our class was a little fuller this week! before we know new years will be here and so will the resolutions to lose weight, which means fuller classes. i didnt sweat nearly as much this week but was starving afterwards. always a good sign that you got a good one in:) this seemed to carry through all day. it actually turned out to be a good thing since i was trying a new recipe in the crockpot...macaroni and cheese. omg was it good! pretty rich, i could not make it all the time, but it was delicious.

yum yum!

thursday~body pump.
6am body pump class

walking in the class was super empty, i was shocked. this class is usually packed with regulars and by the time class started it had filled with more people, all new faces. the class was great this week. i felt like i hadnt been in awhile even though i only missed a week. so glad to be back.

friday~4 miles.
rest

with the change up in my long runs i had to squeeze in an extra day of rest and knew that needed to be the day before another long run in the same week. i was sooo glad to take it. school had been kicking my butt in a major way with the midterm due. i pretty much didnt do anything except work, homework, and training. by the time i got home i was so tired i didnt even make dinner, i went to cafe rio for some delicious carbo-loading instead. then i was able to go to bed early. perfect.

saturday~rest.
11.22 miles =1:46:11 minutes/9:27 min/mile

going to bed at 1015pm made getting up at 5am so much easier. i had to work at 10am so i had to make sure i was up early enough to get in the miles. it was a little warmer today that last sunday after i started. i began feeling good and kept a great tempo the whole way. i was feeling so good that i decided to add an extra mile on to the 10 mile plan. even with the extra mile it was still my fastest long run to date! i seriously felt great and was really glad i could finally add that extra mile.

total for the week = 25.03 miles + 2 days of cross training

these are the kind of weeks you hope for and are so grateful for training to keep the rest of you sane. i think the only way i got through school this week was to have the training to balance it out. i also proved to myself that even when things come up, you are able to get all the things in you need to. i cant believe i only have 1 long run left before the race! it all started to become a little more real when i ordered my race running skirt and it got here 3 days later! its sooo cute and i cant wait to try out the capri skirt:)

21 days to the vegas rock and roll 1/2 marathon!!!

the 5 weeks to vegas reacp.

happy few days late halloween! this week i finally caught up on things, at least a little bit. i got back on track somewhat with my posts (check them out here and here if you havent). i was also able to regain some focus in my latest class on law and policy in higher education. if you havent seen my facebook/twitter posts about how much i am seriously not loving this class you are missing out haha. moral of the story is there is a reason i didnt go to law school! i even took an extra day off this week to catch up on some sleep. sometimes you just need to take a day for you:)

sunday~rest.
rest.

this was my last sunday with no running for awhile so i definitely made it worth it. i slept late, made pancakes for breakfast, and then we did halloween things! i carved my pumpkin, which i loved. richard tried to do a really cool one, but it didnt turn out so well. we later on decided to get out of the house for some pizza since it was the last day i could have some. afterwards we did what normal people in vegas do haha, went to the conservatory in the bellagio to see the fall flowers. it is one of my most favorite places on the planet so i am always up for going!

monday~4-5 miles.
4.72 miles =46:45 minutes/9:54 min/mile.

there were only a few of us since it was halloween, but we knew that going in. this weeks pace was a little slower and i felt way stronger. up the hill seemed to actually come without much resistance and i wasnt struggling to catch up with the long-legged boys!

happy halloween!!

tuesday~8 miles.
8.17 miles =1:19:30 minutes/9:43 min/mile.

i had a really great start and was feelin good and then about halfway my body was over it. with the run the night before and just wasnt feelin the whole 8 miles. plus it was much cooler and i dont think my body was ready for that. definitely confirmed my decision to go back to sundays.

wednesday~spin.
6am spin class.

this weeks class was much better than last weeks. the music was way smoother and didnt jump around nearly as much. i think my instructor though has decided she is going to be a 60 minute class i just am not diggin it. i like the 55 minutes. gives you enough time to clean up, put away your bike, and be out the door by 7am. for some reason the 5 extra minutes totally throws me off!

finally cold enough for some real comfort food...
homemade chili and cornbread!

thursday~body pump.
45 minutes arc trainer.

i had my alarm all set and ready to go for body pump class, then i fell back asleep after it went off, waking back up at 6am. oops. i still got up anyway and went and did a machine i used to do all the time that kicked my butt. i did notice though that i have lost/toned in a couple areas because i moved a little different on the trainer! sometimes you just have to punt:)

friday~4 miles.
5.2 miles =49:18 minutes/9:28 min/mile.

we were due for a storm later on friday, that meant a very windy early morning run. this also meant i had to break out the sweatshirt for the first time and had a major clothes fail. my upper body was really warm with the extra layer, but my bottom half was freezing in my shorts. i couldnt decide what to wear before i left and this was for sure not the right combo. there was wind going in every direction, it was not a fun run. my body felt really good though and i held a great pace!

saturday~rest.

i decided today that i was in the mood to window shop. so after sleeping in and richard off to play video games with his friends, i was off to the mall. i was so proud of myself that i only bought 1 super on sale, super cute leather jacket that i have on the lookout for awhile for! im kind of in this in between stage where my old clothes dont always fit (especially my jackets and some sweaters) but dont want to (aka have the extra $$) go buy all new things. so instead i came home to get rid of things instead to see what i really have in my closet before i buy anything new! i was very proud of myself:)

did i seriously need all of these in my closet??

totals for the week = 18.09 miles + 2 days of cross training.

this week i was able to focus on me a little bit more and get back to the path i need to be on. it was also our first real week of fall. yes in the desert we think its a good idea to wait until to november to do these things. this was also the week signaling less than 1 month to the vegas race! ahhh. im startin to get kind of excited. stay tuned to see how this short turn around works out!

28 days to the vegas rock and roll 1/2 marathon!!!

the homecoming.

this post is way beyond overdue! i got caught up in all the things happening in october that i forgot to tell you all about this part. so if you havent read the post about deployment, you might want to start with that one, then continue with this one :)

after we got the amazing news that my brother was coming home i went into countdown mode, surprise, surprise. the problem was we still didnt have an exact date. kyle kept saying i think its this date, but it could be a few before or after. we just kept sticking to the main one and put making final plans (hotel, etc) on hold till it got closer. finally he called one day and said he was officially on his way. he was making the 12,000+ mile trek home and the original date was right.

in the few weeks before it seemed all we did revolved around planning to go down to san diego. when would we leave? who was going? how were we getting kyles truck down there? how long would we stay? where would we stay? every time we got one answered another one came up. then kyle wanted an opinion. and by opinion i mean this is what were really doing. we finally decided we would leave wednesday night after work in dads truck and erik would follow us down in kyles so we could all be there together.  then we could come back to vegas friday morning and kyle would head back to base sunday. he really didnt want to stay in san diego, he wanted to come home.

i think i actually started packing the weekend before! i did start putting things together that were all going down. i had to make signs of course, and tried to remember all the right pieces to take with me. i also had a race coming up literally the next weekend so i had to run while i was down there, so that meant a whole other clothes had to make it in my bag as well. we were also in one of our busiest seasons of the year at work. school was starting the next week so i had all these loose ends to clean up before leaving. once i got to my parents house wednesday night though i was ready to go before i even walked in the door.

we stopped at cafe rio for dinner and didnt even get on the road till darn near 730p. its only a 5 hour drive, but dang we were getting there late. just before we left the house though, kyle called. now up till this point we had no plan. we didnt know when he was going to be released. or where to even go on base. what time to show up. how long we were going to be there. now for me the planner, this was no good. finally kyle was calling from ship, he could see the coastline and said it was the worlds biggest tease because they had to spend one more night on the boat. he told us to be at base between 10 and 11, to see them come in and then they would off turning everything in. he was hoping to be released before 2p.

even though we got to the hotel well after midnight and i only got about 5 hours of sleep in bed i still pulled myself up to run that morning. like i said, long beach was the next week, i had to go. we were staying in carlsbad and i had mapped out 2 routes before we left home so i knew exactly where to go. i decided while running the 1st day that i was moving. we were actually less than a mile to the beach and the whole route was beautiful. i got back in time to see mom who had also gone out for her walk and to start getting ready.

this would motivate me to run every day!

after a quick shower, fixing my broken signs (the damn desert had dried out my paint and it had all chipped off), we were out the door right on time at 915a. carlsbad is fairly close to base, and werent sure exactly how long it would take us so we left with a little extra time. my parents had been to base plenty of times and knew the general direction we were going. kyle had told us that it would be on a parade deck with lots of red pop ups and bounce houses/grills for the families. we thought we missed it so i hopped out at the px to ask some very nice marines if we were headed the right direction. they took off their hats, nodded, and said yes mam:) not even a 1/2 mile down we found were we needed to be.

we parked the trucks in the dirt, grabbed the signs, and headed over. it was right at 10am and werent sure quite what to do. so we wandered around for a little bit. there were lots of families and signs everywhere so we knew we were in the right place! we started to see a marine every once in awhile come out of his own from the far corner. the problem was they all look the same from that far away and i asked my mom how we would ever find him. we staked out a spot in the corner so we could try and spot him if he did.

standard military...hurry up and wait!

i never get one of just my dad and i:)

not even 10 minutes later the whole company started coming in and the announcer over the loud speaker started talking. i kept trying to find kyle and then realized they were marching right toward me and i was about to get run over! i moved back a little and had finally found him in the back row, super close to where i was. when we went to graduation from bootcamp we had to wait FOREVER to actually have him once they marched in. this time they must have known because as soon as the stopped the commander came out, said "all accounted for?" they responded "yes sir!" he said "dismissed." i took off sprinting to him and damn near tackled him as soon as i got there. it is one of the moments i will never forget!

i love the little boy that is so patiently waiting for his dad!

theyre home!!! my brothers:)
kyle, partin, and erik.

mom, dad, and erik were close behind me and there hugs for he and partin (my other brother and his roommate) all around. the hug order had been decided weeks ago after a facebook post that had me ready to shank anyone that got in my way to try and beat me (you think im kidding, ask my mom about the text i sent her about the other people!). the only 2 i would have let were my parents, but kyle wanted to save them for last. we took lots of pictures of course and then boys said they just had to grab clothes, shower, and we could go. we wasted no time! i finally got to see what the barracks looked like (think super small dorm room) and they semi-unpacked. i was sooo glad they showered, because they seriously stunk!

i had to get one more in with my super cool sign!

afterwards we headed up to irvine to phillys best to meet grandpa and myrna who lived literally around the corner. it was sooo crazy to have him really home! i could actually steal fries off his plate and switch halves of our sandwiches like always. we spent the rest of the day hanging around and going to see grandpas next golf cart. we headed back to carlsbad and surprised kyle with eriks dad who had drove down just for dinner! later on we headed to a local brewery where i was designated driver and listened to the boys stories while they drank. i still couldnt believe he was really here.

it was seriously cool!

we all headed back to vegas the next day. the boys had a 96 and were determined to not stay in california, plus uncle thomas was meeting us in vegas. partin joined in too, it was actually his 21st birthday the day they came home! we did the bbq thing at my parents house saturday night after i got off work. the weekend flew by way too fast and the boys were headed back to base way too fast.

he will be stateside for awhile now. he is stationed in california, so not too far away. he was recently home again for a 2-week leave. i saw him a few times, but not nearly enough to make up for the 7 months he was gone. but now i can pick up the phone and call him when i see something funny. or text him ridiculous pictures when i want. deployment was one of the toughest things i have ever been through. i have so much respect for those that do this on a regular basis. thank you to all the troops and their families that keep our country safe!

the october running recap.

total run mileage: 73.94 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 27.52 miles
# runs: 13
# rest days: 15

# xtraining workouts: 4

favorite run: meeting up with debi and the group for her 40-miler. it was a week after long beach and i wasn’t even sure i could do it. i felt great and was able to keep up with the speedy girls up front!

most hardcore run: the long beach ½ marathon! i had a 10-minute pr that day. it just all feel into place for me that morning and i rocked that race. i had to push harder than i ever have before. i also proved to myself that i am a racer, like on a serious peoples level.

current reads:  i finally  finished heart of the matter by emily giffin!  it was soooo good. i got almost to the end and literally could not put it down, as with all of her books. definitely recommend it.

i also started and finished sisterhood everlasting by ann brashares the author of all the traveling pants books. i literally sat down and read it in a week actually in 3 sittings. it fast-forwards 10 years after the last book and its like we never left. omg i could not put it down, it was amazing. and i cried about 4-7 times throughout:)

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: online shopping for my fantasy winter wardrobe. if i had an unlimited budget, oh the things i would buy…

source

current obsession: pinterest! have you joined?? seriously it is addicting (ill send anyone an invite if you need!).

current drink: water, water, and more water. also gatorade to replenish all the sweat!

current song: country must be country wide by brantley gilbert. (hes pretty cute too!)

current wish-list: fall to really be here! we had a taste last week and it was glorious. we tend to go into fall for about a week then its into winter. one day i will live somewhere with 4 seasons... 

source

current need: to start making a christmas list. i know that sounds silly! but my list is more than what i want, its things to do, buy for the apartment and others. its an extensive list haha!

current triumph: a 10-minute pr in long beach. im gonna ride that train as long as possible:)

current bane of my existence: the crazy amount of work in my new class. my instructor is kinda mean and really picky. this class also has a discussion and paper due every week. thats a tooonnn of reading.

current goal: to not let the bug in my ear knock me off my game. the bug keeps reminding me how close vegas is and that this is going to be hard. i need to keep it at bay so i can rock this race. #6 here i come!

source

current indulgence: ice cream! hands down my #1. i got it back after long beach and only had a month to love on it. pizza was a very close 2^nd though. 

oh, yum.

current excitement: the holiday season is here! halloween is the official kick off of my absolute favorite time of the year.

the 6 weeks left to vegas recap.

the i feel much better putting up the 6 weeks this time vs my mistake last time. and by much better i just mean slightly less freaked out! this quick turn-around is starting freak me out a little, i wont lie. but i think im startin to get a handle on all of it.

sunday~rest.
rest.

gladly taken after the running around saturday!

monday~4-5 miles.
4.72 miles =43:38 minutes/9:14 min/mile.

i returned to my runner group 1 week post knee/pavement injury. the guys were glad to see me back and my knee was healing pretty well. i was able to keep up with derek all the way up and down the hill, even in the dark. it is really starting to get dark early and im wondering if we need to start meeting a little earlier. that or i need some reflective gear!

tuesday~6.5 miles.
6.73 miles =1:08:39 minutes/10:12 min/mile.

this is pretty much the exact pace i was doing on long runs in my last cycle so i am stoked. during this run i had the definite realization that i was in training for another race. i have been a little freaked out about doing such a close turn-around. plus my mom that is also training with me was up to 9 in the same week. i was feeling really behind, but evened out a little bit after this run. i set out when it was still dark and probably should have worn at least a short sleeve shirt instead of a tank top because it was just chilly enough. the route came easily and i felt good throughout the run! plus i got a great 2 hour nap when i got back before going to work:)

wednesday~spin.
6am spin class.

i had a little trouble gettin out of bed wednesday for spin, and pretty sure the only reason i did was the potluck at work we were having later that day. i had to get my calorie burn in early so i could enjoy all the goodies! this class was not the greatest. there werent many familiar faces, the music was great, and the instructor still had 1 too many songs to end on time. i was super excited to get back to spin, but this class deflated me a little. hoping next week is better!

chocolate goulash.
my backwards motivation!

thursday~body pump.        

6am body pump class.

there was a routine this week and i could not be more excited! it definitely kicked my butt, but it was sooo good. i was a little sore throughout the day. definitely worth it to get a new body pump track though! 

friday~4 miles.
6.2 miles =58:58 minutes/9:30 min/mile.

it was nevada day here, so we had the day off! i slept in a little then went for a run around 8am since its a little cooler. i wanted to sleep more but we had family in town and i was meeting them around lunch time, so i had to get up a little earlier than i would have liked. i was a bit sore from body pump but set out anyway. the wind was fired up and was in my face the whole first leg. when i got to the turn point to head back i decided i was feeling good and would go down to the next street. turns out the next street didnt go anywhere so i had to go one more. i actually really liked the little change up and who will say no to an extra mile when your feelin good?!

saturday~rest.

source

i finally saw ides of march! seriously good. definitely go and see if you havent!

totals for the week = 17.65 miles + 2 days of cross training.

this week i had my first real long run of my training cycle and that made everything very real. it was also a tough week for me emotionally with so many things going on. this usually happens when i really kick a training cycle in gear and it was the 2nd week in my new class (which by the way is pretty difficult and i am so ready to be done already), not 2 things to put together wisely. but i made it through and got all my training in!


35 days till the las vegas rock and roll marathon!!

the 7 weeks left to vegas recap.

i think my countdown strategy might be freaking me out more than i think! ok, its probably all in my head instead. i do feel a little better now that i realized last week was actually week 8, making this week 7. when i saw 6 weeks i almost had a heart attack! this week was a little interesting and some definite adjustments needed to happen.

sunday~rest.
rest.

i gladly took this day to recover after my craziness from saturday, and really the whole week.

monday~4-5 miles.
4.72 miles =44:45 minutes/9:28 min/mile.

finally the return to my runner group! i missed these guys and dennis came back this week after a stress fracture in his foot. we had great weather and i got to chit chattin a little too much (surprise, surprise), didnt watch where i was going, tripped, and fell right into the rocks on the route! and i fell hard. i pounded my right knee into the ground, scuffed up my elbow, and got a few scratches on my left hand. i picked myself up after a few mins and continued up the hill. the guys gave me a hard time of course, but i finished the miles! i didnt even cry haha. came home to clean it up and put lots and lots of ice on it for the night!

real athletes get up and keep going:)

tuesday~5 miles.
rest.

after my pretty rockin spill on monday i could barely get out of bed tuesday. it hurt to have anything touch it and i hobbled around pretty much all day. i had to go to the doctor for something else that day, so i got a really good antibiotic cream to help it heal. definitely a rest day.
 
wednesday~rest.
rest.

i had already planned this as a rest day if i wanted it since it was only my 2nd week back into training and gladly took it. my knee was still pretty swollen and i for sure needed another day.

thursday~body pump.
4.2 miles =39:02 minutes/9:16 min/miles.

after taking off 2 days midweek i decided to run thursday intstead. my body didnt totally love the idea, i must say. it felt heavy and i struggled a little bit to keep pushing. my knee was ok, hurt a little, but the rest of me just wasnt in it. i was super shocked when i got back to the house though and had a really good pace. i did feel good the rest of the day though, so i knew it was worth it.

friday~4 miles.
5.2 miles =49:25 minutes/9:30 min/miles.

with thursday being a kind of flop according to my body i definitely had to pull myself out of bed friday morning. but as soon as i got out to the pavement i felt really good. my body found a rhythm pretty easily and i felt really good! my mind went off to somewhere else and i was home before i knew it!

saturday~rest.
rest.

training rest, yes. life rest, not so much. i worked in the morning and then went to take some pictures for jesis new makeup portfolio in the afternoon. then i finally got to see my brother and he, richard, and i went to dinner at fuddruckers. it was a long day, but i had a blast!

check out all of jesis photos and the other shoots
she is doing on facebook!

totals for the week = 14.13 miles + 0 cross training days.

i felt pretty good about this week in the end. i had my first fall while running and took a couple forced rest days, but i was still able to get my miles in like i was supposed to! i feel like im finally starting to get this training/life/flexiblity thing handled:)

the weekday wedding.

before i met richard i had never been to a wedding during the week. i had been to saturdays and sundays, but not a weekday. we have now been together for 2 years and have now attended 4 weddings, 3 of which were during the week!

thursday 06.24.10 tony and tinas wedding.
tina was a family friend of richards and got remarried to her high school sweetheart:)

monday 08.09.10 mike and loras wedding.
all 3 of them are best friends and we got to travel to santa barbara for this one:)

saturday 06.11.11 chris and ingrids wedding.
i work with ingrid and chris is a former marine:)

monday 10.10.11 nick and jesis wedding.
nick is a friend of richards and jesi and i have started getting closer, jesi also took our pictures:)

nick and jesi began dating in june and engaged in march. it was a whirlwind, but when you know, you know. they were then getting married in october. talk about a whirlwind! there was quite a bit of drama leading up to the wedding with other friends in the group. but really, when is there not wedding drama. and at the end of the day as long the bride and groom are happy, thats all that matters. most of the wedding was done by jesi, the ultimate do-it-yourself bride. she did all the decorations, made the flower girl dress, she probably would have made the cake if she could. check out her blog for ideas and to follow her process, seriously its awesome!

we traveled back from long beach early to make it in plenty of time for the wedding. it was being held at springs preserve and i had never been. i had seen pictures and heard from others it was going to be beautiful. i wasnt sure how my body was going to feel going to a wedding the day after a 1/2 marathon and was a little nervous how i would dance all night. but i sure as hell was not going to miss this event for anything:) we made it back in time for a quick nap and then i went into girly prep time to get ready. even still, we actually left on time!

turns out the bride was running a bit late so we had plenty of time to check out the venue and meet up with our friends to catch up. we scored great seats for my picture craziness and the sun had dipped behind the perfect tree to keep things light, but not glaring in our eyes. finally we started to see groomsmen and heard the bride had arrived, it was time to get married!

the ceremony was beautiful, and i bawled like a girl as soon as the first groomsmen and bridesmaid came out. from there it was all down hill on the crying front and then i went totally over the edge when they read their incredibly sweet vows to each other. then it was time to party!

 we made our way upstairs to a ballroom type area that had a dining area and patio with a dance floor. the first stop was of course the bar, it was soda and teas all around! this was actually was a dry wedding, a new experience for most of our group haha. we passed the time with the amazing hors d'ouevres and a popcorn bar! the whole room had a rustic feel, it had the bride and groom written all over it. jesi had done an amazing job with the decorations!

it was finally time to see the newlyweds as they were ready to enter and we were ready to eat some dinner! smiles and cameras were all around as they bounded in the room together. they had a super cute table in the front with a sample of each of the hors d'ouevres. around the room they came and the cameras continued to snap as the prime rib came dangerously close to the boys at the table on its way to the carving table. being so close we did have the honor being 1st in line for the carving station and the mash potato bar! seriously popcorn and mash potato bars in the same place?! heck yeah:)

after dinner it was time to dance, had to work off all that food we had dove into! the bride and groom had their first dance, it was of course beautiful. the bride then danced with her dad and the groom with his mom. it was all so romantic. then it was time to boogie! we all danced together and had a really really good time. it was so great to have this small group all together, without the drama, without mean girls, without the outside world judging. then there was of course the throwing of the bouquet. all the single ladies lined up at the opposite end of the dance floor, i tried to stay in the back. jesi kept turning around to look at me, i think she was trying to figure out where i was. all of a sudden the bouquet came flying at me! it was an excellent not catch because she had literally hurled it too far, but i quickly grabbed it off the floor and claimed my prize. everyone immediately went to richard with googly eyes and elbows saying, "look who caught the bouquet!" soon after it was time to head home and let the newlyweds be married.

 it was such a great wedding and i was so glad we got to share in their joy! i cant believe another couple got married. are we really all to that age now?? wow. kind of make me think im a grown up:) well either way one thing is for sure, i love love and weddings.