This Is Why I Smile

Happiness to me today is...

• * A man with tools who keeps promises
• * Eating ribs
• * Waking up and having a great run

(PS: Arn't those cabinets the ugliest thing in the uni?)

Big Fat Fail

Overall my weekend was nice, but I can't help but feel like a big fat failure.

I got the news Fri evening that my couch would be arriving between 9 and noon. SO, basically that meant that I would have to be up at 5:30 am to get to my running spot to be home in time. Sorry, but F-that. So I got home from Swasome's house around 9. The couch arrived at 10. I made my first trip of the day to Home Depot. My dad called to come over to install my microwave and redo some torn screens. He forgot about the microwave so he didn't have the tools. GER. The damn microwave has been sitting on the floor for over a month. I made a 2nd trip to Home Depot. By then, it's dinner time and I had dinner plans with a girlfriend. My long run never happened. I was seriously frustrated with the day.

Sunday I helped host the baby shower. It was awesome. Then I went back to Swasomes for pool time. We ran errands together, then cooked a healthy dinner together. I mentioned the frustrating Saturday I had and he just texted me to tell me he is coming over tonight to install my microwave. I didn't even have to ask. **Swoon** (Come over bearing tools and you win my heart.) You'll notice - still no run.

So the bad news is that I'm a week behind my marathon training schedule. This drives me bonkers. The good news is that I'm seriously crushing on my new guy and every time we are together I like him more and more. I guess ya gotta take the good with the bad sometimes. I'll get back on track. Starting tomorrow.

Weekend Outline

FRIDAY:

• Lunch today at Chow ~ love this place
• Shopping for baby shower gift
• Movie night with ..... someone sweet and awesome (or swasome as Jess would say). (I promise more details as soon as I'm ready - it's a great story!) (How many parenthesis can I use in one bullet point?)

SATURDAY

• 14 Mile Run - beach path
• New couch arrives (yippy yippy yip)
• Hopefully dad installs fancy new microwave (been sitting on my floor since a certain sea-faring gentleman bought it and didn't install it for me)
• Sat night is still up in the air. I like it like that.

SUNDAY

• Co-hosting fancy schmancy baby shower for my bestie. Thank goodness my "Co" part was more on the organizing and not the paying for side. It's in the hood where a certain famous Laker lives (and several other athletes for that matter).
• Sunday evening - not sure yet either. Maybe hang with Mr. Swasome. OH GOD, did I just nickname him that?????

A Love Letter

To my dearest feet,

It is with the utmost gratitude that I write to you today. While we have had our ups and downs, lost toe nails, bloody cuts and even blisters galore, you have managed to maintain healthy and resilient throughout two marathon training seasons.

As we embark on season three, I want to remind you how much you mean to me. This should be evident by the numerous pedicures and expensive running socks that I have gifted to you in the past. If for some reason you doubt my admiration, I will prove it soon with a new pair of running shoes. It seems hard to imagine that your "new ones" already have over 300 miles on them.

Please know how much I rely on you and how much you mean to me. Stay strong and I will continue to take care of you.

H & K

POM

And That's One To Grow On

Well my dear friends, my trip to Cabo is coming to an end. Overall it's been quite a success. I managed to get both my planned runs in, including 8 dreadful miles on the treadmill, that stopped at least 3 times mid run (probably my fault for accidentally hitting that stupid emergency stop button). I'm not sure of my exact time/pace, but it ranged from 8:30 to 9:20, mostly closer to 9:20. Even being in air conditioning, I can't believe how much I sweat. Embarrassing people. Really embarrassing. It was flinging all over the treadmill and glass wall. GROSS!

A few lessons learned:

1. If you use an ATM in another country, don't expect to get US Dollars out of it.
2. If you're going on a boating cruise and ending up at dinner in the sand, it's probably not a good idea to wear your $500 pumps.
3. If a guy named Rambo pours tequila down your throat on numerous occasions, you will most likely puke and miss the fun festivities the next day.
4. Sunscreen is good. So are hats.
5. Skype is the bomb! (Webcams...extra fun).
6. If you go fishing, it will be a long day in the sun.
7. Blackberry's are cool because you can BBM all the live-long day (for free) with a special boy missing you back home.
8. Just because someone buys you a tequila shot, does not mean you have to take it.
9. Talking down to your spouse in front of other people only makes you look like the jerk.
10. There is no such thing as a free meal (or free trip for that matter).
    

Ok, now here's the fun part. Guess which 2 lessons were learned by me. No prize will be given, but you'll feel extra cool if you know me well enough to guess correctly. Ok, maybe you won't, but play along.

Adios

Hola from Cabo.
It's so hot and pretty!!!

Will try to get some runs in, but not sure when. I have an 8 miler scheduled for the weekend.

Sans Music

12 miles checked off the list. 9:26 pace.
It wasn't easy.
But I burned 1300 calories and I will use all those up tonight at a BBQ!

Since I don't live on the beach anymore, I drove down there at about 6:45am. I had an apple and a hard boiled egg white, then hit the road. Parking is always a bitch, but I figured it was early enough that I wouldn't have a problem. I was planning on parking at a certain persons house because he isn't there and I have his key - just in case I need water or bathroom or anything like that. Well there was no damn parking. So I drove about 20 blocks backtracking to my other friends house. No luck again. So I drove back to the other house. I don't know why. I was just not thinking and frustrated.

So I get all set up - dorky ass fanny pack, water, iPod, Garmin. Oh shit... my headphones are broken again! I love my headphones because they stay in my ears, but I swear they break about every 4 months! If I hadn't driven and dealt with that morning drama, I probably would have thrown in the towel. But NO, I had to get this run in and prove to myself that I'm back in training mode. So I toughed it out with NO music.

The run was ok. There were some parts where I wanted to just stop and walk. But I didn't. I didn't realize how the music really pushes me and keeps my mind occupied. Some body parts were tight (hips) and sore (knees). I'm definitely craving some Bikram now (going tomorrow morning).

Still thinking about the table. Might go get tomorrow after yoga, but get chairs at IKEA to save a little moola. Oh, I'm dragging my friend SZ to yoga for the first time. She is the one that ran the 5k with me last weekend. I love that I'm getting her into all my things :) She has a truck so we can get the table after class. And she's handy so she can help me put it together too! Thanks SZ!!!

Foto Friday

Since the only thing on my mind today is finding the perfect dining room table, I'll spare you the details. Instead we'll revert back to FOTO FRIDAY.

June 12 = 12th pic in the 6th folder:

This was taken on Easter. Before we eat, we always have to hold hands and pray. Yep. I pray!

The silver fox in the red shirt is my dad - remember the one who told me to diversify my workouts! The hottie in the black and white shirt is my grams - lookin' pretty good, I do say so myself. I'm not allowed to say her age. Actually I don't think any of us really know her age. I call her Nanny-O because she reminds me of Jackie-O.

Ok, I lied. I'm not going to spare the details of my dining room dilemma. My dream table... dark wood, square with a leaf to make it a large rectangle. Not the tall "bar" type that are popular, but the short, regular kind. Not curvy or fancy - just straight lines, sleek. That's all I ask for. I've been looking everywhere and finally found it! But it's a lot more money than I wanted to spend. I can get the same table without the leaf for about half the cost. But I really want the leaf so that more than 4 people can sit/eat at the same time - in the event that I ever have more than 4 people over. Which I probably won't because I'm neurotic. But I still want the option. Friends, I have been looking and looking. Should I just buck up and pay the price for what I really want?

Oh yes, also running 12 miles tomorrow. Planning on driving down to my old beach path. Just hope this naggy allergy cough goes away.

Starting Point

This is going to be quick and painless. I just wanted to document my starting point for this training season.

Sun: 10 miles - 1:34 = 9:28 pace
Wed: 4 miles - 37:18 = 9:19 pace

Those were both hilly runs so I guess I'm not in as bad of shape as I was thinking. We'll take a look back come September and see where I'm at.

I'm finally getting into the swing with my morning run. The only drawback is that it take a little more time than my old run. Just to get to the starting point of where I can run, I have to wait through FOUR stoplights - just to get to the other side of the freeway. It's a bit annoying, but I'll deal.

She's Running; She's Actually Running

CORONA DEL MAR 5K
I was running this race with my friend SZ. She walk/ran a 5k years ago, but this is her first race after getting back into running. She did the Cto5k program on her iPhone (walk/run combo plan). I picked her up at 7am and we talked about her race goals. She said she thinks she will be around 32-35 minutes. I asked her what her dream time would be and she said to break 30 mins. So I told her that I will run with her and get her to her dream goal. We got to the starting line and I talked with her about not going out too fast. The race started and we kept a nice easy pace. I talked to her the entire time. We stopped and walked twice, but I pushed her to start back running as soon as she caught her breath. I actually had so much fun pacing and coaching - almost more fun than running my own race. We got to about .5 miles left and I told her we had to keep that pace to reach her goal - and at the final stretch I said "Run like a banshee from hell!" Her final time was 30:14. I felt like a proud mama :)

There isn't much in regards to spectators or music, but the scenery is nice. The best part about this race is the food after. Finishers go thru a shoot called "restaurant row" and that's what it is - they have pizza, tacos, sushi, bagels, pastries, fruit, etc. I settled on an orange, yogurt parfait with berries and a bran muffin. Ok, I'll admit I had a creme brule, too. We grabbed our goodies and sat on the lawn looking at the ocean. I think she's hooked because now she wants me to help her with a half marathon plan!!!!

OFFICIAL MARATHON TRAINING RUN
Sunday morning marked my first official marathon training run. I haven't run 10 miles since February! I set out in my new hood - ran a warm up mile over to Back Bay. I have to say that I struggled mentally a little bit at the beginning, but the run over all went really well. There are a heck-of-a-lot more hills than I am used to (remember my beach path is as flat as I was in 7th grade). But I loved the challenge of the hills. What I struggled with was my own ego. For the life of me, I couldn't keep my old pace. I averaged a pace of about 9:38.

Once I let go of my expectations, I really enjoyed the run. It was warm & humid and was a sweaty betty. Here is the only other issue that I had with Back Bay: I brought my water bottle fanny pack - but I'm a big thirsty lady. I could have polished off that bottle in the first half. BUT there are no water fountains to refill. So I had to ration my water. I think for any longer distances I will have to go back to beach path just for water and potty purposes.

Besides that, I went on another fantastic date. It's such a fun story, but I'm not ready to share yet.