Run, Run, Run . . . I guess it's what I do

It's official, running is my Hobby! Not sure why I didnt choose basket weaving or something a little less strenuous, but I didnt, so I supose I will continue to run . . . .

Less than a week after the LV marathon, I found myself on the starting line of the Jingle Bell 5K in Balboa Park. My friend Sara (who until Saturday was my Facebook/Blogger friend . . . you should totally check out her blog, Rookie on the Run, she is one of the funniest bloggers ever, and she shares our "meeting" story there) invited me and seriously, who could possibly resist such a festive event?? I was stoked Sara thought of me and even more thrilled she wanted to dress up! I have decided she is SO my type of amiga :)


I was a bit nervous when the alarm went off at 5am (after I hit the pillow at 2, oops) Saturday morning and the rain was still falling outside. I put on my festive colors and jingle bells and rushed out the door to meet my friend. Sara brought me an adorable elf hat . . . we looked pretty dang cute :) haha. We got to the race in plenty of time to register, look around, and even got a pict with good ol' Saint Nick! The rain stopped long enough for the event to take place. The run was beautiful, and the company was fantastic! I am thankful today for new friends and my few friends who actually enjoy running :)


So my next endeveor?? My sissys and I are putting a team together to run the Southern California Ragnar Relay in April! Shawna ran the relay in Las Vegas earlier this year and i was so, totally jealous. Our event will run from Santa Barbara to Dana Point (can you picture how beautiful that run will be?? awww, heaven for sure) We are looking for 12 people to join our team. The cost is $95 per person (plus later fees to rent cars and possible a night in a hotel)! It should be an amazing time. (Seriously, I cant sleep at night I am so excited) Over the course of approximately 24 hours, each team member runs 3 times for a total distance between 13 and 21 miles. This race is for all - beginners to crazy competitors!!

I am so , so very excited that I have convinced one of my bestest friends to start training and be on our team. She is fun and amazing and will be a great addition to our team! She isnt a runner yet, but I have great faith in her and know with a little training she will complete her legs of the race :) Love you Jess! (hope she is totally embarrassed, haha. . . .she is responisible for that birthday party post on my blog last month)


anywho. . . .if you want to join us (girls or guys), let me know - we would love to have you :)



http://www.ragnarrelay.com/losangeles/index.php

Christmas with the Addams family :)

It is amazing to me how intuitive my little Cayden can be . . . only 7 years old and he already has our family all figured out :) Neither mom or dad's surname is "Addams" . . . Cayden came up with that one all on his own! As we headed to our annual "California, extended family's Christmas Celebration" at mom's, Cayden decided we are just like "The Addams Family" . . . big and full of WEIRDOS! Ding, ding, ding!! I think we have a winner :) but I guess what family isnt full of weirdos? As always, we had a great time . . .the little cousins ran around like crazy and the big people had fun visiting, laughing, and eating (of course)! And Cayden is most definitely correct. . . the "real" Addams Family has some serious competition :)

-The Love of a Family is the Greatest Blessing -

Las Vegas Luck Needed

Luck was definitely needed (and in short supply) when we ran the Las Vegas Marathon last Sunday! Months ago, my sisters and I decided to run our first (and only) full marathon! I trained and trained for a good couple of months and then after officially paying the $100 fee, life got the best of all 3 of us and our training was somehow "misplaced."


Excuses, excuses . . . there are always excuses . . . Living in Indiana, Molly didnt love running in the cold, Shawna came up with a bum knee, and I got caught up in the kids sports and found myself running 60 mins, just 3x per week and eliminated the long Saturday runs from my life! All 3 of us arrived in Vegas knowing we were basically "screwed" and kind of avoided even talking about the event and the fact that we werent completely ready until the night before :)

The month prior to the event the Cayden, Aubrey, and Aub's friend Jamie trained and ran 25.2 miles. We tracked their progress and mileage on a chart, and early Saturday (in the absolute freezing cold), they competed in the kid's marathon race and finished their last mile. They did a great job and all 3 kiddos ran their complete mile without stopping. I have always said I am going to turn my kids into runners, and I think I am finally succeeding :)


We spent the rest of Saturday in Vegas being (cold) tourists! Cayden is infatuated with the Eiffel Tower and was stoked to march up to it. We also had yummy treats at the all famous Serendipity, played in the NYNY arcade (awesome games let me tell you) and made a trip to kid heaven, M&M world and the Coke Factory! It was a great day and we were definitely tired when we got back to Shawna's house.





There was an abnormal cold spell in Las Vegas and the night before the race long sleeve shirts, hats, mittens, and knee high socks were added to original short and tank top outfits!


4:30 Sunday morning we woke up, got dressed, and headed to the starting line! We ended up stuck in traffic and watched from the freeway the fireworks officially start the race. 20 minutes later, we bid farewell to mom and hopped out of the car and ran up the freeway off ramp to the starting line. As you can imagine, it takes a long time to get 20,000+ people across the starting line and we snuck in probably in the middle of the pack. The race started well - we "cruised" up the strip with no goal time and expectations other than finishing. We were pretty worried about Shawna - but at the 10 mile split (where the smart 1/2 marathon runners head back and the full marathon runners head off to the middle of nowhere) Shawna said she was fine to finish . . . I think that's where we went wrong :) We made it to mile 13 in a decent time (and if finishing - probably would have meet the under 2 hour goal)! At that time Shawn's knee was in pain and we stopped for a few mins (with mom and the kiddos) to apply some "magic knee strips" (but apparently not so "magic" if applied during the race and pain)! The last 6 miles were pretty much awful . . . nothing like walkiing 6 miles with a 3 year old (sorry Shawn) She most definitely hurt and we felt horrible for her. I at one point offered to carry her but thinking back I am pretty sure I would have collapsed if she would have taken me up on the offer. We ended up crossing the finish line and I am happy to have it checked off my bucket list! AND I swore I would never do it again . . . but only a week later I am already thinking about the rematch! Running is such a horrible game :)