16 posts tagged “mike”

This weekend was one of the few (ever!) that I (gasp!) actually had nothing on my calendar. I know, it's shocking. It was fantastically wonderful to not have anywhere that I had to go!

Friday night Mike and I met up with Sean and Erin to celebrate Sean's sister's (Sarah) 30th birthday. We went to sushi.

I'll pause to give you a minute to catch your breath.

Yes, you read correctly, I went to sushi. Did anything remotely fishy enter my body? No. But I did make it through a sushi dinner without barfing on the table. One small step for mankind. It was actually a lot of fun. Sushi is surprisingly pretty (at least Mikuni's makes it pretty). I had the chicken teriyaki, which I have to say, was fantastic. A fun time was had by all (especially those that did saki bombs).

I had decided that Saturday was my day to tackle the yard. Yes, I've been keeping up on mowing my lawn, but that's been pretty much it. My garden and shrubs all seriously needed some attention. Mom came over to help me... I have some beautiful but tricky lilac vines growing that she had great ideas about. We also made a trip to Lowe's. For those of you who don't know, the office supply store and hardware store are two of my favorite places to shop. I especially love the hardware store because there are all sorts of fun things that I have no idea how to use but totally want to buy because they look cool. I am now the proud owner of my very own Black & Decker 17' Coated Steel Hedge Trimmers. These things are fantastic! By the time my two large bushes were done, I was looking for bushes in the neighbor's yards to cut! My mom is a saint... we had the best time and my yard looks beautiful!

Sunday was my offical lazy day. Mike and I had delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast and then took Shadow for a little hike around Lake Tabeaud (prounounced like "taboo"). Shadow had the time of his life! We hiked for about an hour and a half, during which Shadow got several opportunities to swim. He's a ball of mush this morning - totally wiped out from his busy day yesterday! The rest of the afternoon was spent watching cycling (Mike) and napping (me). It was fantastic! Around five, Charlie (Mike's brother) made it back from Newport Beach with their brand new fishing boat! The boys have been looking for a while and finally found one they loved... and it's a beauty! It has a cool little cabin that you can sleep in (with a bathroom and little stove) and is going to be GREAT for fishing!

A few days late, but better late than never! This weekend, in addition to a zillion other things, I did a portion of a triathlon. I had never thought of doing it as a relay, but Mike's sister Nicki and her husband Tim asked if I would swim in the TBF Tri for Fun. Why not, right? The swim was 1/2 a mile, the bike was 16 (Tim was doing that part) and the run was 3 miles (Nicki had that covered).

Here's our rocking relay team, The Gladiators (Skyler, Nicki and Tim's daughter named us):

Our goal had been to do the triathlon in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Our final time was 1:34:28! I'm so proud of us! I had a 15 minute swim... which is an improvement on my 17:06 from the first triathlon. I definitely want to get back into the swimming thing... I had such a fun time!

Here's me getting ready for my swim. I was super nervous (I need to learn to get over that!) and totally excited that Mike was taking my picture...

Here's the swim start... the water was suprisingly warm. Then again, note the nuclear towers in the background. Allegedly, it's shut down and shouldn't cause any issues (you're exposed to no more radiation there than you are on a commercial airplane). I don't have any new appendages, but we'll see what happens some day when I have kids!

Finally, here's Mike and I after my swim. I think it's one of my favorite pictures of us, even though I don't have any makeup on!

The whole weekend was really fun... we were at graduations, barbeques and I had an SCSO show. I'm totally exhausted this week and am looking forward to some R&R next weekend!

 

 

What a crazy weekend!

First of all, the eyes are doing just fine. I went in yesterday for my follow up appointment and read the 20/20 line! I have noticed that I'm having a hard time looking at white for a long time (like computer screens and televisions), but I'm told that's normal and goes away after a week or so. I see halos at night, but that too is supposed to go away. All in all, I'm doing pretty darn well!

Today was pretty cool... Mike and his brother, Charlie, teach a volunteer firefighter class. As part of class, they do a perscribed burn. Someone had donated their house (I guess it needed to be demolished) to be used as a training exercise. Mike, Charlie and Nate had it all set up for them to go in and practice putting out the fire a bunch of times before the whole thing actually burned down. It was so cool to watch! Here are some pics:

 

In other, much less exciting news, my allergies have apparently reared their ugly head. Hooray for spring!

That's right, I survived my very first half marathon! Today was such an amazing day - I'm still floating on adrenaline! I was super nervous this morning... if you know me, you know how I get. I'm cranky and, well, a little bit on the bitchy side when I'm really scared about something. So you can only imagine the sorts of things I was saying to other drivers on the road who cut me off at the exit.

My good friend Susan left me some great advice on Facebook last night... she said "the challenge in marathon running is getting to the starting line, knowing what lies ahead and having the guts to start. The rest will take care of itself." Honestly, it was so true. I was so freaked out until I actually started the race. Once we took off, it was "just run"... like every other run I've done for three months. Amazing.

And, of course, my fantastic family was there to support me! Adam and Eva brought some "flair" with them to make sure that our family was the loudest most visible group on the course:

And cheer they did... I know some of you are skeptical, but let me tell you, I was happy to have ANYONE cheering for me. My friend Jess also came to cheer... it was so amazing having all that support! Here's the family and I before the race:

The weather could not have been more perfect - it was cold, but once I started running, it was enough to cool you down without cramping your muscles. I started out pretty fast (hooray for adrenaline). My goal was to run 10 minute miles, which would have given me a final time of around two hours and ten minutes. Instead, I ended up doing roughly nine minute thirty-three second miles which gave me a final time of two hours and five minutes. I'm so super proud of myself! Towards the very end of the race, I seriously wanted to cry. I'm not sure if I was just that tired or if I was overwhelmed by it all or both. The only real pain I have going on is some seriously screwed up feet. I spilled some water on my shoes at one of the aid stations and managed to get it to soak through my socks... leaving me with some great blisters. Other than that, just the normal soreness!

Mike was stuck on a fire all night but was still sweet enough to drag his tired self down to catch what he could of the race. I honestly didn't think he'd make it, so I was blown away (and probably a little delirious) when I saw him standing at the top of the stairs. Here's us (don't I look great after 13.1 miles?):

After the run we headed over to Mom and Dad's for a delicious lunch (trust me, today I'm ready to eat just about anything!). I then went over to Betty's for a little going away party for one of our CERT members, Cheryl, who is moving to Texas. We did an offical "couch picture" for Cheryl to remember us by:

I spent the rest of tonight working on the pictures and catching up on some work... I think I'm just about ready for bed! For those of you who are wondering, yes, I'm still contemplating doing the full marathon, although I'll need some time to think about it. Here are the final stats for this run:

Half Marathon Final Stats

First Day Training: January 4th

Race Date: March 15th

Final Race Time: 2:05:08.3

Total Miles Logged: 178.6

As luck would have it, last night my car started overheating... so this morning Mike was nice enough to come follow me to the shop to drop my car off and then drive out to the river with me (he was biking, I was running). Apparently both my upper radiator hose and thermostat were out... so $360 and five hours later, I have a fully functional Big Red again.

The run today went really well... I was not feeling like running, yet my first 3 miles were at a 9 minute per mile pace. Go me! I finished the 12 miles in two hours and one minute, which included a brief walk to talk to the car shop and a couple minutes to help a girl who had crashed her bike. Not too shabby! The trail was beautiful - the weather was great and there were a ton of people out there. I felt really tired today as soon as I finished... both Mike and Jess have suggested that I eat something right away after I run. I'm gonna try that next weekend! Pretty scary - two weeks from tomorrow I'll be doing my first half marathon!

The rest of today was a lot less relaxing than I had wanted - the car stuff took a lot of time. Fortunately, I have nothing planned for tomorrow, so I can totally relax!

Marathon Update

Miles This Week: 21

Total Miles: 139

 

This weekend was fantastic! I took Friday off and on Thursday night, Mike and I drove down to see Lance Armstrong race in the Tour of California. We stayed in Santa Barbara on Thursday night (I'm no longer allowed to pick hotels... it was nice inside, but when we woke up in the morning we discovered a homeless camp right next door). On Friday morning we headed in to Solvang to watch the race. We had breakfast at Pea Soup Anderson's (delicious french toast!) and then took the shuttle into Solvang. The city was really cute! They had all sorts of fun stuff set up - a whole little vendor expo which was cool to walk through. They make bikes that weigh 11 pounds! Yes, the whole bike! The best part was the Gu booth - Mike and I both got free samples (hooray for vanilla bean!) and stickers (already on Mike's bike). After that, we walked around through the team bus areas - that's where they set up the bikes and eventually the riders come out to warm up. Here's the Jelly Belly bus and the Columbia Highroad bike setup:

Here's Michael Rogers signing autographs (he's a 3 or 4 time world champion):

Here's Mike and I at the finish line:

And, of course, here's the video I took of Lance Armstrong riding by us:

It was really cool to see how all of it works - I have to admit that before Friday, the only name I knew in racing was Lance Armstrong, but Mike was great about telling me who everyone was!

After the race we headed up to Pismo Beach to dip my feet in the ocean... it was so beautiful! We hunted around for some sea shells and then headed home. It was a blast!

 

Today was probably the worst run in the history of runs. It was pouring when I woke up, so I decided to be brave and to do my 11 mile run at the gym. Biggest mistake of my life. Here's why:

1. The gym was freaking hot. I don't know why they don't air condition it a little more, but I was pretty damn sweaty the whole time.

2. I felt a whole lot like a hamster on a wheel. I tried to watch TV, but about 15 minutes after I got there, the TV went to infomercials. Even my iPod didn't help with the boredom.

3. I had to visualize my normal trail to get myself through the run. The good news is that I did it. The even better news is that I have a new no more than three miles on a treadmill rule.

Marathon Update

Miles This Week: 17

Total Miles: 118

Well, this weekend pretty much sucked. I had some pretty cool plans with Mike for Valentine's Day on Saturday (hooray for wine tasting), but somehow managed to come down with the flu. Fantastic timing, right? Let me rewind to the one cool part of the weekend...

Dad decided to surprise Mom and fly in for the weekend, which was awesome. He had to fly into Oakland late on Friday, so Kati and I drove to pick him up. Mom had no clue (despite some pretty terrible lies on my part) and was completely surprised. It was awesome! I got back to my house at about 1:30am and went to bed. I had been feeling pretty tired that whole day, but I was figuring it was from my 10 mile run. Saturday morning I woke up with a fever, a rash, and a headache. Definitely not Valentine's Day material. As much as it killed me (and those of you who know me know it killed me) I stayed home in bed. I pretty much slept the whole day, went to bed at 9pm and still slept until 8am on Sunday. Crazy. Kati was awesome and made a delicious Valentine's Day meatloaf and we watched movies together until I passed out. The good news is that the fever is gone now and I'm feeling a lot less tired. I spent all of Sunday at Mom and Dad's house relaxing and most of today reading and napping. I guess my little body needed some rest! Shadow was a trooper... he was more than happy to hang out in bed with me and take lots of naps... I have to admit, it was pretty relaxing!

Marathon Update

Miles This Week: 19

Total Miles: 101!

Tonight's "Grammy's In Your Jammies' is taking place live from Mike's house. No jammies this year since we went out to dinner and I'm pretty sure he'd be embarrassed and I'd be cold wandering around town in my pjs. On to the reviews:

Performance Reviews

U2: Missed the first part... too busy getting my computer set up. The last part was pretty good!

Al Green, JT, Keith Urban and Boys II Men: I pretty much love all of them... all of them together singing "Let's Get Together" rocked! Poor Keith Urban had to wait pretty long for his little solo, but the man sure can play guitar!

Coldplay: Love their album. The Chris Martin part rocked, but I don't really get having Jay-Z rap with him. Interesting, but not totally my cup of tea. I loved “Viva La Vida” – it’s my favorite song on the album! I never really get Chris Martin’s costumes though… a little too much crap hanging off him for my taste.

Carrie Underwood: As always, an amazing performer. I want to see her next time she comes to Sac! Adam, are you still calling her “Carrie Underpants” now?

Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus: I can’t stand Miley Cyrus and her 50 year old smoker voice. Poor Taylor Swift.

Jennifer Hudson: One word. Amazing.

Stevie Wonder and the Jonuas Brothers: has Steve’s career gone that far down the tubes?

Katy Perry: I know I shouldn’t love the song, but I do. I love her weird fruit costume too!

Kanye West and Estelle: I really like the song. I didn’t totally dig their weird little space costumes and I think he’s trying a little hard to look like Michael Jackson circa 1980.

Kenny Chesney: Wow. My favorite song he sings.

MIA: Scary costume. Please don’t perform while you’re prego, let alone on your due date.

Sugarland and Adele: I love Jennifer Nettles. I want her voice. I love “Stay”.

Radiohead and the USC Marching Trojans: Couldn’t understand a word the dude was singing, but I loved the song!

Neil Diamond: Who doesn’t love sweet Caroline?

Justin Timberlake and TI: I sorta don’t like the song, yet it totally grows on me. In fact, I end up singing it every time it’s on the radio. Great performance.

Robert Plant and Allison Krauss: Holy crap, what a terrible performance. I can’t believe they actually won after that… I definitely am a little more curious about their album… I can’t believe they would get album of the year without some sort of merit…

Clothing Reviews

Whitney Houston: Wait, she's not dead? Wow, she looks good in that blue dress! That said, I'm pretty sure she's high. We're so far from the "I Will Always Love You" days. Very sad.

 

I know, it's not Sunday night, but tomorrow night is the Grammy's, so I'll be doing my "Grammy's In Your Jammies" blog, so I thought I'd update on the weekend now.

First of all, I'm happy to say that I've regained my will to run, thanks to a little prodding from Jess and one great article in Runner's Magazine. The article was about this fireman that was an Ironman, marathoner, etc and was hit by a bus... he should have been killed, but somehow, he survived. He fought back through crazy surgeries and ended up running the New York Marathon with some of his buddies (in the disabled category because one of his legs was shorter than the other and the other one was basically made up of metal rods). I figured, if he can do it with a beat up body, well, me and my not so beat up body could do it. Which leads me to my nine mile run on Friday morning. That would officially be the farthest I've ever run in my life. Pretty much every long run from here on out is going to be the farthest I've gone, which is pretty cool. Jess met me out at the trail and ran a mile with me, then jumped in her car and met me at different spots on the trail. Talk about a great friend... poor girl is pregnant and has awful morning sickness, but was still willing to risk it on the trail with me! It was the best long run I've done so far... I don't know if it was the change of scenery, that I had someone out there with me or my new water pack, but it felt great. Before I knew it the run was over. Now if only I could do that three times, I'd be done with my marathon!

Today was fix up the house day. I had a leaky toilet, which was a little bit daunting, since I know nothing about plumbing. Over the weekend I was told it was probably the "wax ring". Keep in mind, I know NOTHING about plumbing. But I figured, how hard could it be? So I headed over to my friendly Lowe's where I bought the ring, some caulk and a caulking gun. I then headed over to Home Depot to pick up some ground cover for under my roses and a hibiscus tree to replace the weeping cheery that decided it didn't want to live. I did all that planting, met Mike for lunch and then headed home to face the dreaded toilet. I turned off the water and flushed a lot. Now came the scary part, actually unhooking, picking up and moving the toilet. It probably would have been helpful for me to read up on toilet anatomy so that I knew what I was getting into, but sometimes I guess it's all about flying by the seat of your pants. Once we moved it, I stared at, well, a hole in the ground. For all it's fanciness, that's really all that this is about. A big fat hole with some pretty porcelin on top. Without contemplating what's been down said hole, I started prying off the wax ring (which was a little smellier than I expected) and replaced it with the new ring. Kati and I then put the toilet back, screwed it down and flushed. Water everywhere. We took it off, dried the floor and I molded some of the old wax with the new wax to make a bigger ring (and a better seal). This time, when I flushed, no water! Woo hoo! I then caulked around the base (which was a little messier than I had planned, but it was my first time...) and attempted to take a nap...

... which leads me to confess that I'm as addicted to the "Twilight" books as everyone else on the planet. I laid down in bed and 150 pages later it was 4:30 and definitely past prime nap time. I recommend the books - and I'm only ~200 pages into the first one. I can't wait to find some more time to read (maybe tomorrow afternoon?)!

Tonight the girls and I are headed out to see "He's Just Not That Into You". I've heard it's supposed to be really funny... I can't wait!

Marathon Update

Miles This Week: 18

Total Miles: 83

 

I hit the wall today. Sure, it's only five weeks into my training, but by God, I've fun 65 miles for what? The funny thing is that today's run felt good... it was easy, not too cold, nothing hurt. That said, as I was doing today's 3 mile run, I had a great little conversation with myself:

Me: "Why am I doing this?"

Me: "Well, you will look good at the houseboat this year."

Me: "What if I just stopped after the half marathon? I mean, seriously, what kind of crazy person runs a whole marathon?"

Me: "I did tell a lot of people. I think I'd look pretty stupid if I didn't do the whole thing now."

Did I mention that apparently running this much also makes you talk to yourself? I mentioned it to my friend Jess who is the queen of marathons. She immediately told me that "I'm stuck to you like gum on the bottom of your running shoes". She'll be trailing me on my nine miles this week... I suppose I have my own personal cheerleader/motivator/ass kicker now. Yippee. Mike says this happens a bunch while you're training and that you come out of it... I certainly hope so!