Better Every Year

As this first photo depicts, I may be 30 but I am obviously no worse for the wear...obviously.

I am 30. What does that mean? Well, I'm in a new age bracket for running...that is something. I figure if I keep this running thing up I'll be placing in my age group by about...55. So stick with me on this folks...

My birthday weekend was amazing...full of friends, my AZ families, ice cream, swimming, pure cane soda with twist off lids, fun presents, texts and phone calls.

Sunday was the real day...I was 100% narcoleptic in church and everyone was exceptionally gentle about this. Party that night with friends/AZ family that obviously included the eating of at least one scorpion and also some cake and ice cream. Natals EXCEEDED all expectations when she appeared with her balloon arch extraordinare (see photo). Also in this photo is Amsers, my SDOA (Slide Divers of America) teammate.

I missed all my family and friends in Utah and wished I could have had everyone all together but I am so grateful for what I do have here. I am loved and lucky and very happy.

Including a few photos...just for fun. Thanks to everyone for the fun...calls, texts, presents, coming to the party/ies and really just for being such amazing people. Love you all.

Better than Cake?

Today I turned 30. While many things happened, this video depicts what I feel most people will remember as the "take home message" of the birthday party. There were many delicious food choices available tonight (cake, ice cream, fruit, vegetables, etc). But for Mark, husband of my darling friend Cami...those simply would not do and he chose to impress the guests by eating a live scorpion. I had a feeling that things would take a dangerous turn when the men and boys asked to borrow the black light...so yeah. I pretty much lost all control of my own party but will go down for having maybe one of the coolest birthdays in history. Thanks Mark!

I had a great birthday weekend...more photos and stories to come.

To My Kool-Aid Mom

This is my cute mom. And this is a darling picture of her...on one of her recent trips...in tulip country...in Montana, Canada, or Oregon....where were you Mom and why do I keep forgetting? Well, no matter. It's darling and I have it on my desktop and I love it. It makes me miss home and Sunday nights with grilled cheese and a movie. I'm excited to see you in Mexico in just two weeks.

As Mother's Day is here I'm using blog time to tell you all that I love my mom. She is darling and thoughtful and thinks of the cutest, kindest things to do...from green pancakes for every St. Patrick's Day to red heart Valentine's pj pants on my mission (those were just barely retired Mom) and everything in between.

A few things you might need to know about her...
1-She has a darling dimple on her cheek below her right eye. My niece Ashley has inherited it also and I love it on both of them.
2-She is what you might call a "city girl" but has been known to use the term "muscle it" whenever she's been faced with physical feats...such as driving a 4-wheeler or pretty much anything that involves being out-of-doors with my father.
3-We had a lot of fun but don't think it was all fun and games, I suffered through miserable years of having to re-do jobs such as the bathroom or cleaning out the junk that took turns living in my closet or under my bed... don't worry, I am DANG good at getting even the little knobbies at the back of the toilet...and I know how to make the bathroom sparkle. I'll freely admit my bathroom is not always as clean as hers are...but I know how and take pride in my abilities. For that I'm grateful.
4-She loves surprises. She probably gets less sleep than most small children on Christmas Eve.
5-She is loved by lots of people...including me.

Happy Mother's day to you mom...also to the many people in my life whose mothering affects my life as well as the lives of many others. I love you all...

American River Parkway Half Marathon

13.1 miles is far. I already knew this but yesterday I knew for sure. It was a great day. The weather was perfect, the course was through beautiful green trees. (I got teased for saying that Sacramento was full of "Big tall short little bushy trees" and while my words were scrambled...I was merely saying that they are so different than palms and I appreciated them). I especially enjoyed the banjo band around mile 4 and the curious band of senior citizens dressed in green and white who were assembled to play for us as we passed mile 8. I wanted to slow down long enough to talk to leader of their shindig. They were darling.

While the day was almost perfect, there was a glitch, which in this case means a big problem. We discovered about 2 minutes before the race started that running was prohibited. Yeah, so I registered for the walkers half thinking I'd run part and walk part...but apparently that was foolish thinking. Walkers are serious about walking and discriminate against those who run. Lis (who was registered to run but decided to come with me after having knee trouble and warnings from the physical therapist) and I figured we'd get a few miles in and run anyway. Yeah, that didn't work so well. I laughed when I heard the ladies behind us scream "WALK LADIES, WALK!!!!" I could hear them even over my music and it was both disturbing and comical. So in all we ran less than one of our 13.1 miles and were both really disappointed. I did over 120 miles of running to train...and didn't plan to be not running at all but whatever. It probably won't be my last half-marathon.

Around mile 10 I started feeling done with the idea of it all and I later warned Lisa that I was tempted to punch the cheery girl at the water station near mile-marker 12 when I heard her high-pitched enthusiastic squeals aimed in my direction. But instead of violence I nicely took the dixie cup o' Gatorade from her little hand and said "Not more excited that I am" when she said "I'm like, so excited that you are almost done!"

We finished in just over three hours which put us 65th out of 394. I'll take it. For the first (and maybe last) time ever, my name was on the FIRST PAGE of race results. Maybe I should ditch running and become a professional walker. I may have some real potential. Never. I'd rather be a slow runner. Forever. I just have to try not to think about the fact that some runners can complete a FULL marathon in the time it took me to do a half. I will get that thought right out. Let's be honest, some Kenyans could complete a marathon in the time it might take me to chug through a 10k. Whatever. They're from Kenya. It's not my fault I'm from Kaysville.

I'm grateful for the experience. It was a nice weekend. I slept every time I sat down (even before the race) and I'm pretty sure Chandra's parents wondered about their daughter's new narcoleptic friend. Not sure why the severe sleepiness but I'm hoping a good 9 hours tonight will get me back on track and ready for the real world ahead. Thanks Lis for loving me even during miles 9-13.1. I'm sure you could have found a nicer exercise buddy for those miles but I'm glad you stuck with me.

It was a good trip and I'm beat. I'm taking a few days off and then will get back to training...my next goal is to complete a 10k race with a decent time.

Photo 1: Hazel, Me, Lisa, Chandra. Hazel and Chandra did the 5k and had a good time. They were nice enough to take us early and wait for us after their race.

Photo 2: My race number and finisher's medal.

Photo 3: Lis post-race chilling (literally, ha!) with frozen hash browns which apparently are just as nice as ice.

Photo 4: Lisa and I. Note the "I love Mom" shirt. Yes, do I own 5 dry-fit shirts? Yeah. Do I use them, Nah. My $1.34 shirt(s) (I have 6) from Old Navy is tried and true. I don't even care about the random people who make smarty pants comments.

The Half is Here!

Alright folks. This race is really happening. In 3 days. My bags are packed, I've managed to keep all joints, limbs, and muscles in good working order (though I DID almost disqualify myself from this event by falling off a curb during a very exciting conversation while walking with my darling friend Cami two weeks ago...luckily my quick reflexes (or divine intervention) saved me from any kind of ankle damage).

Now I have to not get paranoid. Tonight I packed every thing I will possibly need on race day in my carry on (just in case of lost luggage)...who cares if I have to wear sweaty shorts for the 2 days after, so long as I am happy on race day, all is well. I'm even tempted to wear my running shoes on the plane, just to make CERTAIN nothing happens to them....but that seems a bit extreme. I wonder if it's normal to be this paranoid. I have been exceedingly careful this week with my body...to avoid random meteors, falling palm branches, anything that could jeopardize my ability to participate in this dang race. Truth be told, the only injury I've sustained in the past 4 months involved laughing too hard with Areta last weekend while stretching to reach the gum I'd dropped in the car-which resulted in a strained muscle in my back for about 2 hours. All better now.

I'm excited. Nervous. Thankful. It will be an amazing experience...whether we are fast or slow...the company will be excellent, the scenery beautiful, and I will be grateful to be having the chance to do something that once seemed impossible.

150 in 11

So...this morning I completed my goal of 150 miles in 12 weeks...1 week ahead of schedule. :) I'm ready for the 1/2 marathon a week from Saturday. I'm so excited. I've got my shoes all figured out, have found some great double-layer anti-blister socks (WrightSocks) and have made friends with body glide. It's a great life.

No Nalgenes?!?!? NO!!!

Friends, this is a dark day for me. I just read an article that Nalgene is taking away a bit of my heart in the form of its polycarbonate water bottles that may have been predisposing me to cancer now for the 6+ years I've been best friends with them.

This surely is a joke. A late April Fool's trick? Right? Sigh. I've been through all the stages of grief in the last 5 minutes: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. I'm a quick healer. I've decided that the good news is that I have a good reason to stock up on BRAND new non-cancer BPA-free water bottles. This could be a good thing. But will I really throw my old ones away? Do I really have to stop using them? Because cell phones, microwaves, fluoride and the slew of burnt things I've consumed in my life might have already gotten me, right?

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100200558&GT1=31025