Good Evening. Man, I feel as though I need a change- but I can't tell you what that change needs to be.. a new haircut? a new blog background? a new location? hmmm.. I have no flippin clue!
Nonetheless, it has been a while since I have last updated! Let's start with some race reports- maybe that will help me forgot about my current distraction- my current dilemma that is ever weighing on my brain.
Race Report: Harvest Moon Long Duathlon (5K Run, 56 Mile Bike, 13.1 Mile Run)
Where to start- maybe with the 2 hours of sleep I got before and the drive to Denver at 4am on my own... you know it is not a good start when you wake up feeling nauseous due to no sleep. I feel asleep at the wheel twice on my way to denver- actually it scared me to death- it was nothing but the fate of something/someone above that woke me up just before i side swiped the divider on the highway and another moment of faith as a guy in his explorer blew his horn at me and I jerked back to the right! With that kind of start I figured I had 10 minutes to pull into a McDonald's parking lot and take a cat nap! After a 10 minute snooze in my car I was feeling better and headed onto the race with plenty of time to get ready.
I was reserved on my first run- coming in as the 2nd female and not even feeling like i was breathing hard. I grabbed my bike and headed out for 3 hours... ready to be off the bike I attempted to change into my racing shoes!!!! yikes, i could not even bend over my back was so stiff.. The half marathon well lets just say I made it through! Man, it hurt! I ran through mile 8, then cramping and shooting pain down my tailbone and up my back really started to bother me. I figured I'd walk a mile and run the last three strong- this turned into a four mile walk with me getting passed by almost every duathloner out there there in the last 3/4 of a mile.. man i wish i had had it in me to step it up. My goal was under 5:50, and if I remember correctly my finishing time was somewhere around 6:15.. so at least I finished!
Nike Women's Half Marathon- San Francisco!
well, i wish i could say I preped better for this one but I did not! I got discouraged after my du and work took over- I trained somewhat, but rather in consistently. I have to admit, two days before I had to go home early from work and was stil taking sudafed and advil the day of the race! I did well considering I was not consistent and still sick. I did it for my grandfather who passed away last year- I was determined not to slow down!
The half marathon raised 18 million dollars toward cancer research and such! I wish I could have contributed before he passed away, but I truly thought he had it beat! I miss him so freaking much! As they were announcing this on the start line tears filled my eyes and I tried to focus but all that was on my mind was how much i missed him. I turned that into motivating positive energy. I now have a finisher's necklace, designed by Tiffany, that I wear in honor of him- I'm actually going to have his initials engraved on the back!
I did better than my half last december so that was exciting! One of these days I'll have time, energy, and focus to really push myself to the max.
San Fran was fun. The first night D and I stayed in a fab. hotel in berkeley over looking the bay- way more than we could EVER afford, but a good friend got us a deal! Lots of celebs stay there from what I understand. The next night we headed out to visit some of D's friends in Marin County-- again beautiful.. you had a view of the entire bay! It was amazing. I miss water! However, even though Cali claims to be so laid back it really appeared rush rush rush to me- not us, but just the scene- maybe i've been in CO too long! haha, four years is a long time for me!
Lets see what else.. oh yeh- I resigned from lacrosse! Doesn't this story sound familiar? Yep again, I put in a year, and then moved on! I'm going to miss the girls so much BUT I really did not have the time to commit and had to do it for myself, my family, and my relationship! I have a wonderful guy, who treats me great!
I love my job, but it is busy. I still want my doctorate- I'm not sure if I will feel complete before I get that! I'm starting to look at programs but am going to take a few years to make a decision (1) because I'm waiting for Daniel to decide if he is going back and for how long if he decides so and (2) I want to make a good decision about what will really benefit me and what I want to do in the future. Also, something that is family friendly, not long stressful hours!
Our dog is on a dominant power thing right now- seems as though he thinks he can pick a fight with most dogs! I'm going to start really working with him to change that- one I think he thinks he is the dominant one and two.. I think he suffers from anxiety. I know sound crazy but I read that these dogs can, especially if they are not working, and he has picked up some weird behaviors - such as biting his bed! I feel for him because I have been working long hours and we have been traveling.. It seems that everytime I head back to work in the fall he really struggles with it! He is sick and on antibotics and a chicken broth diet- poor lil guy!
What else: Future plans-
I'm hoping to join a cycling team- I'm not sure yet, I have the contact but need to ride with them to see if they will let me on! Yikes- ... I hung my bike up after the du, because I was so disappointed- looks like I'll have to get back in the swing of it. I'm also looking to play lax in the spring again! It should be fun. I think I'll finally feel connected to a community again!
Its weird more and more I'm loving the springs- I find more trails, more people to run with, and we make more friends. On the same note, more and more I can't deal with the very extreme conservative nature! I think it is getting better though!
Oh well.. guess I should probably do some of the work I headed here to do OR head home and get some sleep- because I didn't get much last night- I was up till about 3am and again at 6am then crashed back out till my friend woke me up at 8:45! wow, i was conked out! 5am is going to come early! I hope you are all well :) I'm looking forward to the holiday in Kentucky- it is also so chill and laid back there!
Talk soon, well probably not, but hopefully so!
