So, this probably be a long post, written over several days, because...well, it's been a long December. Apparently, the year decided to go out with a bang.
The month started out normal enough...marathon planned, zero training, first trail marathon. Typical me. haha. and, as I mentioned in a previous post, it was so much fun. I need to train better, but I do really want to do the 50 mile race next year.
After that, it seems like it all went crazy. Some good crazy, some not so good crazy. The following Tuesday, I had my last class ever. Very surreal, and a stressor 'till the end, but it was over. Brian surprised me with some wine and a poster when I got home. Thursday that week our good friends got married at city hall. It was a beautiful wedding, city hall is really pretty, especially all decorated for Christmas. I can't believe I hadn't been there before. Following the wedding, we spent the day in Sonoma and had dinner at Seven Hills here in the city. The following day, my parents arrived for my graduation, which was later that evening. Graduation was fun, and I still can't believe it's over. But, I am excited to have more free time.
Throughout all of this, Gordon, our oldest cat, got sick and kept getting sicker. He had stopped eating his regular food, so we changed him to wet food, and he started eating again. The. He stopped eating that...sometimes, he'd pieces of ham, or chicken, and we started feeding him baby food. And then, force feeding him baby food when he quit eating all together. We took him to the vet, and they couldn't find anything wrong, and then took him back to the vet, and for an ultrasound. And, they still didn't see much wrong...a kidney infection, but his numbers weren't bad. Ugh...poor kitty. They gave him pain pills and antibiotics and different food, and he seemed a little better for about a day. They were going to give him a feeding tube, which was a little more invasive than I wanted to sign up for, but if for some reason getting him to eat was the key to him getting better, I wanted to give him that chance. But then he started to have trouble breathing. We took him back to the vet, and she let us know that there was something pretty bad going on - brain tumor, advanced heart disease, or both. None of which are good. She offered to send us to a specialist, but, what would come of that? Torture him a little longer to find something we can't fix? No, that's not right. So, we made the tough decision to let him go. Which, was awful, but the vet was wonderful. Seven Hills Vet in diamond heights. Highly recommend. Highly. The vet called later that night to let us know she was thinking about us. Today, we received a card in the mail with a sweet note from the vet and a paw print from our kitty. Very touching and very nice.
Then we were off for the holidays! Somehow, we flew first class to buffalo - I'm still not sure how we swung that, but it sure was nice. It was nice to get home and see the family and extended family, really busy though. Lots of people to see, but it was a good time. I did have a bottle of wine crack/burst/something in my suitcase, luckily, it didn't escape the plastic bag it was in. We also ordered a bunch of stuff - coats, pants, etc. for our trip after consulting with Brian's uncle. Getting excited about that....other than having to buy a bunch more stuff. Fun, but ugh....
Work wasn't that crazy, what was it I said....an alert a day keeps the boredom away...haha. A couple of fire drills at odd times, who doesn't love working at 3am ;). But, it's been fun, and I had a really good store visit while I was there. However, I am looking forward to some time to relax.
And, now 2013 is coming to a close. Where did it go? It really doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was eagerly awaiting the departure of 2012, and announcing that 2013 was going to be the best year ever. I had goals, wishes, things I was going to accomplish. Did it all happen? No, but...I do feel like I'm in a better place than I have been the past couple of years. It must be all about a positive outlook.
So, what was 2013? It was a year of a second ironman, which I still didn't finish....it was the year where one of my neighbors tried to blow up the apartment building, nothing like hanging out in the street all afternoon..the Jetta exploded and now we have another car payment....it was the year my first pet died, and I'm sure the year of plenty of other things I don't care to revisit.
However, it was also the year I turned 30 and had one hell of a party. It was a year where I presented a paper at not one, but two conferences. It was a year where I got to visit and find my way in Germany and had so much fun doing so. I visited a lot of places - Colorado, Louisville, Raleigh, Chicago, Arizona, Bremen, Hamburg, and I'm sure there are others. I met up with a lot of friends, both near and far, and realized I know some pretty amazing people. I heard Hillary Clinton speak and saw Kelly Clarkson sing. I discovered the headlands, and know I will always have a place to lose myself. I bought a bright green car because I could and drove it home blaring Katy
Perry's Roar. It was the year I finally got to walk across the stage at USF, something three and a half years in the making. It was a great year, for these reasons and more. But, I'm ready to turn the page.
So, here's to 2014 - here's to new adventures and getting back in shape. Here's to Everest basecamp and a Rhone river cruise. Here's to more free time and finding something to do with it all. Here's to another exciting year that's better than the last.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Best Coworkers and Team Ever!
Quick blog post, because I have the best coworkers and team. I returned to work after the weekend and two days of PTO, and really feeling like I needed a weekend to recover from my weekend.
As I came down the hallway, towards my desk, I saw what looked like the edge of a congratulations banner. What I found, and continued to find all day, was so much more. There was a banner, and balloons, and tinsel, and confetti stars. Who could forget the confetti stars. No one...and for years to come, no one. Since they're all over the building. Literally. Haha...
Megan told me I had to work all day with the confetti and stars....so of course I did...mad it was a blast!
People came to visit and say congrats all day...my team, my department, my friend Ed, cross functional business partners. And, every time I came back to my desk, it seemed like something else had shown up - flowers from Kimiko, wine from Lauren....Marie brought brownies and cookies...a card from my entire team. So nice, and a fabulously unexpected surprise....and I'm sure others had a hand it. I'm so glad I work with all of you and thank you all so much.
In other news, the vet called....kitty's tests are normal. Which is good, but he's still sick. Poor guy. But, he goes back for some antibiotics tomorrow, as well as some X-rays. Hopefully that helps, he's a good, nice, cat, and I hope they can help him.
Until next time....
As I came down the hallway, towards my desk, I saw what looked like the edge of a congratulations banner. What I found, and continued to find all day, was so much more. There was a banner, and balloons, and tinsel, and confetti stars. Who could forget the confetti stars. No one...and for years to come, no one. Since they're all over the building. Literally. Haha...
Megan told me I had to work all day with the confetti and stars....so of course I did...mad it was a blast!
People came to visit and say congrats all day...my team, my department, my friend Ed, cross functional business partners. And, every time I came back to my desk, it seemed like something else had shown up - flowers from Kimiko, wine from Lauren....Marie brought brownies and cookies...a card from my entire team. So nice, and a fabulously unexpected surprise....and I'm sure others had a hand it. I'm so glad I work with all of you and thank you all so much.
In other news, the vet called....kitty's tests are normal. Which is good, but he's still sick. Poor guy. But, he goes back for some antibiotics tomorrow, as well as some X-rays. Hopefully that helps, he's a good, nice, cat, and I hope they can help him.
Until next time....
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Graduation Weekend!
So, great weekend...I'm not really sure where to begin, and on some level, I still can't believe it's over.
My parents got to town on Thursday night, and our friends from San Diego got here Friday. It was great to see them, and I'm so glad they were able to come.
I bought a dress on Black Friday, so I was excited to wear that...of course it's orange and pink, and they recommend dark colors for under the regalia. Oops....haha. My parents and brother brought a necklace and a charm. Which was perfect, since I couldn't find one to wear, that worked with the dress. So, I wore the necklace, and can't wait to wear the charm. Kevin picked it out - it's a heart with the Japanese symbol for love on it. He looked forever, and chose that one, since it would mean something to me since I love to travel and loved Japan so much.
We took two cars over, which was a little nerve wracking, since we only had one parking pass, mad parking for classes over there was always challenging. We passed the barrier in front of the church, and it made me smile. I'm sure it was annoying to anyone not involved with graduation, but I enjoyed seeing the no parking, special USF event banners in front of the church. Luckily, there was a ceremony that had just gotten out, so we were able to find two spots pretty close together, and close to where we needed to be.
Once we arrived, I headed over to the library where they had asked us to meet, and the family went to get in line to get seats. We were supposed to be in the library by 5:45, but that time quickly came and went, and we weren't really sure why we were there so early. It did give me some time to catch up with the people I knew, and there were more than I thought there would be, so that was nice. I was also able to have one of the Josten's guys fix the hood on my regalia, that was nice too. Finally, at 6:20, we were ushered out into the cold to line up. We still didn't really know what was going on. Luckily, they got us in some from of a line pretty quickly, and through the grounds and into the church we went.
The processional was cool. I found my family and got to wave, yes, it was like I was five again. Haha. We got to watch the faculty come in, and it was cool to see them in regalia. They all had different stuff and outfits and hats on. Not sure what it meant, but still cool. The Dean's assistant sang the national anthem, wow...she had a great voice. Then the dean and the Prevost said a few words, Prof Yang, who I wrote the paper with, did the opening prayer. There were two student speakers, and then the honorary doctorate was awarded. I don't remember much about her, other than she centered her speech around labor unions in Guatemala. Perfect for a class of business students.....
Then the Prevost did the presentation of the graduates, congratulated the class of 2012, and told us to move our tassels. Yes, you did read 2012 right. Funny thing, my family didn't notice it, but all the students did....
Walking up to get my diploma was pretty surreal, and over way faster than I wanted it to be. Once they read through the undergrads (thankfully, it's December and there weren't many of them)., they started the grad students. As we walked up, they took two photos of us. The whole thing happened really quickly and we were pushed and pulled in multiple directions - stand in the right spot...fix the tassel and hood, etc. Then we were up, up the stairs, card to the attendant, and walk across the stage. Or get pushed across the stage. It was a little crazy. The guy collecting the cards with our names on them was telling everyone to keep moving and pushing them forward. Then when I got to the Prevost handing out the diploma cases, he shook my hand, and pulled me forward faster. It was fine, but I do wish I'd had a second to enjoy the moment. But, my professor was on stage, along with another that I really liked, so it was cool to say hello (albeit quickly). Once I shook the Prevost's
hand and made it down the stairs on the other side, I followed the directions from volunteers around
the church and back to my seat. I couldn't believe I had really graduated. And I was pretty sure the smile was going to freeze on my face. We patiently waited for everyone else to have their rushed moment - and placed bets on whether or not they would shove the baby carrying guy across the stage - they did....
The ending speeches and prayers went pretty quickly, even with one of them in Chinese. The Prevost joked about how he'd given us the most expensive Christmas gift we'd ever get....haha, kind of funny, but not really. He also pulled out a Santa hat and joked about how he should have worn that with his graduation garb. It was one of those hats where the top flips back and forth. That was pretty funny. Then, it was over and the recessional had begun. We went out a side door, so were out in the courtyard pretty fast, and it was crazy. So many people everywhere....students trying to find families, families trying to find students....and of course, I had no idea where my family was. Picking a meeting place may not have been a bad idea.
I did run into one of my professors, Stackman, so that was cool. He said congratulations and did this cool bow thing. Then, I realized it was cold and getting dark, and I should find my family. I went around to the front of the church, thinking they might be there, or inside. But, they were kicking people out of the church, so I decided to wait at the top of the steps - they'd find me eventually. And they did. Sylvia found me shortly after I stopped there, and took me back around to where everyone was. Brian had flowers for me, and everyone had hugs. We quickly decided to head to dinner and take pictures there, since we were short on time and it was dark out. My friend Mark gave me a pen on our way home. A nice, fancy, handmade pen....very cool.
We took the cars home and Uber(ed) to dinner. Uber is great, similar to a cab, but way cleaner and faster. We had dinner at 7 Hills - a nob hill restaurant owned by one of our friends, and our go to for special occasions. As is typical, they didn't disappoint. They have an appetizer that I really like, a ravioli uvo thing. They only had two left that day, and they were saving them for us...so delicious. We toasted with champagne, had good food, and good wine...and some port, and overall had a good time with awesome family and friends. And, I wore the grad garb for the entire thing....haha...I had intended to pull it off, but we needed photos, and then it was an additional layer in the cold. Kind of like a giant blanket.
In other news, our old kitty has pretty much stopped eating. No fun, but hopefully the vet can help figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. We should hear from her early this week, and will go from there. Hopefully it's something easy to fix.
My parents got to town on Thursday night, and our friends from San Diego got here Friday. It was great to see them, and I'm so glad they were able to come.
I bought a dress on Black Friday, so I was excited to wear that...of course it's orange and pink, and they recommend dark colors for under the regalia. Oops....haha. My parents and brother brought a necklace and a charm. Which was perfect, since I couldn't find one to wear, that worked with the dress. So, I wore the necklace, and can't wait to wear the charm. Kevin picked it out - it's a heart with the Japanese symbol for love on it. He looked forever, and chose that one, since it would mean something to me since I love to travel and loved Japan so much.
We took two cars over, which was a little nerve wracking, since we only had one parking pass, mad parking for classes over there was always challenging. We passed the barrier in front of the church, and it made me smile. I'm sure it was annoying to anyone not involved with graduation, but I enjoyed seeing the no parking, special USF event banners in front of the church. Luckily, there was a ceremony that had just gotten out, so we were able to find two spots pretty close together, and close to where we needed to be.
Once we arrived, I headed over to the library where they had asked us to meet, and the family went to get in line to get seats. We were supposed to be in the library by 5:45, but that time quickly came and went, and we weren't really sure why we were there so early. It did give me some time to catch up with the people I knew, and there were more than I thought there would be, so that was nice. I was also able to have one of the Josten's guys fix the hood on my regalia, that was nice too. Finally, at 6:20, we were ushered out into the cold to line up. We still didn't really know what was going on. Luckily, they got us in some from of a line pretty quickly, and through the grounds and into the church we went.
The processional was cool. I found my family and got to wave, yes, it was like I was five again. Haha. We got to watch the faculty come in, and it was cool to see them in regalia. They all had different stuff and outfits and hats on. Not sure what it meant, but still cool. The Dean's assistant sang the national anthem, wow...she had a great voice. Then the dean and the Prevost said a few words, Prof Yang, who I wrote the paper with, did the opening prayer. There were two student speakers, and then the honorary doctorate was awarded. I don't remember much about her, other than she centered her speech around labor unions in Guatemala. Perfect for a class of business students.....
Then the Prevost did the presentation of the graduates, congratulated the class of 2012, and told us to move our tassels. Yes, you did read 2012 right. Funny thing, my family didn't notice it, but all the students did....
Walking up to get my diploma was pretty surreal, and over way faster than I wanted it to be. Once they read through the undergrads (thankfully, it's December and there weren't many of them)., they started the grad students. As we walked up, they took two photos of us. The whole thing happened really quickly and we were pushed and pulled in multiple directions - stand in the right spot...fix the tassel and hood, etc. Then we were up, up the stairs, card to the attendant, and walk across the stage. Or get pushed across the stage. It was a little crazy. The guy collecting the cards with our names on them was telling everyone to keep moving and pushing them forward. Then when I got to the Prevost handing out the diploma cases, he shook my hand, and pulled me forward faster. It was fine, but I do wish I'd had a second to enjoy the moment. But, my professor was on stage, along with another that I really liked, so it was cool to say hello (albeit quickly). Once I shook the Prevost's
hand and made it down the stairs on the other side, I followed the directions from volunteers around
the church and back to my seat. I couldn't believe I had really graduated. And I was pretty sure the smile was going to freeze on my face. We patiently waited for everyone else to have their rushed moment - and placed bets on whether or not they would shove the baby carrying guy across the stage - they did....
The ending speeches and prayers went pretty quickly, even with one of them in Chinese. The Prevost joked about how he'd given us the most expensive Christmas gift we'd ever get....haha, kind of funny, but not really. He also pulled out a Santa hat and joked about how he should have worn that with his graduation garb. It was one of those hats where the top flips back and forth. That was pretty funny. Then, it was over and the recessional had begun. We went out a side door, so were out in the courtyard pretty fast, and it was crazy. So many people everywhere....students trying to find families, families trying to find students....and of course, I had no idea where my family was. Picking a meeting place may not have been a bad idea.
I did run into one of my professors, Stackman, so that was cool. He said congratulations and did this cool bow thing. Then, I realized it was cold and getting dark, and I should find my family. I went around to the front of the church, thinking they might be there, or inside. But, they were kicking people out of the church, so I decided to wait at the top of the steps - they'd find me eventually. And they did. Sylvia found me shortly after I stopped there, and took me back around to where everyone was. Brian had flowers for me, and everyone had hugs. We quickly decided to head to dinner and take pictures there, since we were short on time and it was dark out. My friend Mark gave me a pen on our way home. A nice, fancy, handmade pen....very cool.
We took the cars home and Uber(ed) to dinner. Uber is great, similar to a cab, but way cleaner and faster. We had dinner at 7 Hills - a nob hill restaurant owned by one of our friends, and our go to for special occasions. As is typical, they didn't disappoint. They have an appetizer that I really like, a ravioli uvo thing. They only had two left that day, and they were saving them for us...so delicious. We toasted with champagne, had good food, and good wine...and some port, and overall had a good time with awesome family and friends. And, I wore the grad garb for the entire thing....haha...I had intended to pull it off, but we needed photos, and then it was an additional layer in the cold. Kind of like a giant blanket.
In other news, our old kitty has pretty much stopped eating. No fun, but hopefully the vet can help figure out what's wrong and how to fix it. We should hear from her early this week, and will go from there. Hopefully it's something easy to fix.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
North Face Endurance Challenge
So, let me preface this with the fact/thought that I should have done a training run (or six) that were longer than 15 miles. But, I do what I can. And, I was able to finish and have a great time doing so. That being said, race report...
The start line was a pretty cool experience. It was cold and somewhat windy, but they had heat lamps and fire pits going, which was a nice touch and made the cold bearable. There was also a welcome tent of sorts that had coffee and hot water and snacks (and more heaters). I thought that was really nice, and not something I've seen at a race before. I was nervous about drinking coffee before running, since I didn't know how it would affect my stomach. But, one of the volunteers offered me a cup of hot water to hold, which was a great help with the cold. While we were in the tent, we looked at the course maps and Brian talked me through the flow of the marathon. While we had run or hiked most of the course, we hadn't done it all at once. A couple of other runners joined us and we chatted through the course with them too. The hour or so we spent there went pretty quickly, and was overall low key. By the time we started the race, the nerves I had about not finishing had been replaced with the thrill of another adventure.
The course was a kind of figure 8 with a couple of loops. The first loop went from the start line near the visitor's center at the headlands, up miwok hill, then down the back side into the Tennessee valley, up marincello hill, over to bob cat and altar before dropping back near the start. The first hill climb was tough, especially on my calves, especially so early in the race. But the decent into Tennessee valley was fabulous. I ran all of it, despite the run walk I usually do. The only drawback was the rude runner with the headphones who yelled at me once I started running after a walk break....I'm not sure why. Maybe she thought I didn't want her to pass me? Whatever, wasn't going to ruin my day. Coming into the Tennessee valley, I said good morning to a couple of guys tending a stable, had my photo taken, and ran into our friend, Drew. He said hello, I told him I was feeling good, and he said, 'great! Now you get to run up the big ass hill'. Haha....I think I told him I had just come down one.
The next part of the course began like the first, but after going up miwok a second time (ugh), we made a different turn at Tennessee valley and headed out toward pirate's cove and muir beach. This was when I started to get the Fun song, 'put one foot in front of the other....lalalala' stuck in my head. It remained there for most of the rest of the day. I met two other runners on the second trip up miwok. Up until that point, I felt like I was pretty much in no man's land. They thought they were lost, but since I had talked through the course that morning, I reassured them we were on track. Pat was from Connecticut and Holly was from LA. It was nice to have some people to chat with on our trip up the hill. However, I lost holly on the way up the hill. But, I did trade off position with Pat until we hit Pirate's cove. This was the one part of the course that was on pavement. It was also where we started to see 50k runners coming back. I looked out for my friend Toby, who was running the 50k, but he was way ahead of me. This was also a fairly easy portion to run....or run walk in my case.
The next part of the course went through pirate's cove, out to muir beach, and then back to the Tennessee valley. That was by far the most difficult part of the course. I think the hill up to pirate's cove was pretty rough, but quite honestly, I don't remember it. I remember the descent was pretty scary. At one point, I stopped to dig a stone out of my shoe, mad had my feet fly out from under me. Luckily, they crashed on to the next step, and I was able to remain upright. Thank god for small favors. The course between pirate's cove and muir beach was pretty, but also pretty rough. It was a single track up hill, followed by a steep descent to the beach. Of course, it was an out and back, so all I could think was - I can't wait to run back out if this. There was an aid station at the turn around, for those do us that turned around. If you're me, you keep going and over run the turn. Haha...luckily, I noticed the pink ribbon course markers had disappeared and I asked a volunteer, who turned me around, and I was back at the aid station shortly.
My friend Ed was working the aid station and gave me some water and electrolytes, as well as some Mountain Dew, which I hadn't had since college, but was amazing at mile 15. He asked how I was feeling, and I'm pretty sure I told him I had muscles I forgot I had hurting. Then I finished my stretch break, grabbed some pretzels, had another drink, and took off. I saw Pat on the way back, gave him a high five and told him we were getting it done. I also saw Holly, she had hurt her knee and was glad the aid station was only half a mile away. And, that's where the course got ugly. After climbing the rollers out of muir beach, there was another never ending hill. It felt like miles. Luckily, at this point there were plenty of people on the course since the 50 mile runners were on the same course. Most said hello as they jogged by me, and it was great to hear some friendly voices - even if they were running twice as far....
Upon returning to the Tennessee valley, I was glad to see the rest stop, and stopped to grab some more Mountain Dew and a pb&j. I don't think it's ever tasted so good. I also overheard a pacer asking where he could meet his 50 mile runner. So, of course the wheels started turning, and as much pain as I was in, I wanted to train better and do that one next year. From the rest stop, we headed up marincello for the second time (ugh), but I knew what to expect, and I love the alta and rodeo trails. And after that, less than a mile to the finish. And my Fun song about one foot in front of the other was back. Going up marincello, I walked by a couple of other runners, and was able to say hello. It was nice to have some friendly faces through the final miles. Hitting the rest stop at the top of altar was nice too...great to see the friendly volunteers and have another mini sandwich and soda.
Coming out of the flat end of the rodeo trail, a volunteer at the last water stop let me know I had less than a mile to go, and offered me any last minute aid items. I knew I was close, and didn't want to stop moving, so I thanked her and told her I was good. Then, despite the finish being just across the
street and up a small hill, I started singing my song from the Honolulu marathon....'this is the race that never ends'. Approaching the finish line, there was a lady cheering, who told me to run like I was Black Friday shopping. Haha....then I entered the finish line chute, and heard Brian and our friend, Drew, cheering for me. The announcer got my name from Brian and said, 'we're all cheering for you, Kim'.
And, like that, it was over. Am I thrilled with my time, not really. Am I happy I finished, definitely. It was my first trail marathon, and my first marathon in at least two years, and I didn't train. But, wow...so much fun. As much as I knew I would be sore, and as sore as I am right now, I can't wait to sign up for the 50 mile next year. And train for it....that too.
The start line was a pretty cool experience. It was cold and somewhat windy, but they had heat lamps and fire pits going, which was a nice touch and made the cold bearable. There was also a welcome tent of sorts that had coffee and hot water and snacks (and more heaters). I thought that was really nice, and not something I've seen at a race before. I was nervous about drinking coffee before running, since I didn't know how it would affect my stomach. But, one of the volunteers offered me a cup of hot water to hold, which was a great help with the cold. While we were in the tent, we looked at the course maps and Brian talked me through the flow of the marathon. While we had run or hiked most of the course, we hadn't done it all at once. A couple of other runners joined us and we chatted through the course with them too. The hour or so we spent there went pretty quickly, and was overall low key. By the time we started the race, the nerves I had about not finishing had been replaced with the thrill of another adventure.
The course was a kind of figure 8 with a couple of loops. The first loop went from the start line near the visitor's center at the headlands, up miwok hill, then down the back side into the Tennessee valley, up marincello hill, over to bob cat and altar before dropping back near the start. The first hill climb was tough, especially on my calves, especially so early in the race. But the decent into Tennessee valley was fabulous. I ran all of it, despite the run walk I usually do. The only drawback was the rude runner with the headphones who yelled at me once I started running after a walk break....I'm not sure why. Maybe she thought I didn't want her to pass me? Whatever, wasn't going to ruin my day. Coming into the Tennessee valley, I said good morning to a couple of guys tending a stable, had my photo taken, and ran into our friend, Drew. He said hello, I told him I was feeling good, and he said, 'great! Now you get to run up the big ass hill'. Haha....I think I told him I had just come down one.
The next part of the course began like the first, but after going up miwok a second time (ugh), we made a different turn at Tennessee valley and headed out toward pirate's cove and muir beach. This was when I started to get the Fun song, 'put one foot in front of the other....lalalala' stuck in my head. It remained there for most of the rest of the day. I met two other runners on the second trip up miwok. Up until that point, I felt like I was pretty much in no man's land. They thought they were lost, but since I had talked through the course that morning, I reassured them we were on track. Pat was from Connecticut and Holly was from LA. It was nice to have some people to chat with on our trip up the hill. However, I lost holly on the way up the hill. But, I did trade off position with Pat until we hit Pirate's cove. This was the one part of the course that was on pavement. It was also where we started to see 50k runners coming back. I looked out for my friend Toby, who was running the 50k, but he was way ahead of me. This was also a fairly easy portion to run....or run walk in my case.
The next part of the course went through pirate's cove, out to muir beach, and then back to the Tennessee valley. That was by far the most difficult part of the course. I think the hill up to pirate's cove was pretty rough, but quite honestly, I don't remember it. I remember the descent was pretty scary. At one point, I stopped to dig a stone out of my shoe, mad had my feet fly out from under me. Luckily, they crashed on to the next step, and I was able to remain upright. Thank god for small favors. The course between pirate's cove and muir beach was pretty, but also pretty rough. It was a single track up hill, followed by a steep descent to the beach. Of course, it was an out and back, so all I could think was - I can't wait to run back out if this. There was an aid station at the turn around, for those do us that turned around. If you're me, you keep going and over run the turn. Haha...luckily, I noticed the pink ribbon course markers had disappeared and I asked a volunteer, who turned me around, and I was back at the aid station shortly.
My friend Ed was working the aid station and gave me some water and electrolytes, as well as some Mountain Dew, which I hadn't had since college, but was amazing at mile 15. He asked how I was feeling, and I'm pretty sure I told him I had muscles I forgot I had hurting. Then I finished my stretch break, grabbed some pretzels, had another drink, and took off. I saw Pat on the way back, gave him a high five and told him we were getting it done. I also saw Holly, she had hurt her knee and was glad the aid station was only half a mile away. And, that's where the course got ugly. After climbing the rollers out of muir beach, there was another never ending hill. It felt like miles. Luckily, at this point there were plenty of people on the course since the 50 mile runners were on the same course. Most said hello as they jogged by me, and it was great to hear some friendly voices - even if they were running twice as far....
Upon returning to the Tennessee valley, I was glad to see the rest stop, and stopped to grab some more Mountain Dew and a pb&j. I don't think it's ever tasted so good. I also overheard a pacer asking where he could meet his 50 mile runner. So, of course the wheels started turning, and as much pain as I was in, I wanted to train better and do that one next year. From the rest stop, we headed up marincello for the second time (ugh), but I knew what to expect, and I love the alta and rodeo trails. And after that, less than a mile to the finish. And my Fun song about one foot in front of the other was back. Going up marincello, I walked by a couple of other runners, and was able to say hello. It was nice to have some friendly faces through the final miles. Hitting the rest stop at the top of altar was nice too...great to see the friendly volunteers and have another mini sandwich and soda.
Coming out of the flat end of the rodeo trail, a volunteer at the last water stop let me know I had less than a mile to go, and offered me any last minute aid items. I knew I was close, and didn't want to stop moving, so I thanked her and told her I was good. Then, despite the finish being just across the
street and up a small hill, I started singing my song from the Honolulu marathon....'this is the race that never ends'. Approaching the finish line, there was a lady cheering, who told me to run like I was Black Friday shopping. Haha....then I entered the finish line chute, and heard Brian and our friend, Drew, cheering for me. The announcer got my name from Brian and said, 'we're all cheering for you, Kim'.
And, like that, it was over. Am I thrilled with my time, not really. Am I happy I finished, definitely. It was my first trail marathon, and my first marathon in at least two years, and I didn't train. But, wow...so much fun. As much as I knew I would be sore, and as sore as I am right now, I can't wait to sign up for the 50 mile next year. And train for it....that too.
In other news, I had my last team meeting for school ever today. So exciting and surreal...
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
One down, one to go.....
Second to last day of class....check, pick up graduation wear....check....so close, yet, one paper and presentation away. But, so surreal at the same time. After three years, I can't believe it's here! I went out early on Black Friday to find (and hopefully get a discount on) a dress. I found a great one at BR, bright colored and fun, but of course not part if their Black Friday sale. Luckily, I was able to use my employee discount. My family from NY and our friends from San Diego are coming to celebrate - I can't wait, but first about that paper and presentation. Luckily, we had movement on that tonight too.
I can't believe how fast these past few months have gone....it seems like it was just summer, but we've already made it through Black Friday and are marching right into Christmas. Black Friday weekend was far less crazy than last year, well, at least I wasn't up 29 hours again. As much fun as that was.... I did have a couple workouts interrupted by phone calls and another just as I was grabbing dinner, but, it comes with the territory....and I wasn't up for 29 hours. Thank god.
We had a great thanksgiving, or friendsgiving. Great times with great friends, delicious food, everything you'd want from the holiday. And mulled wine....who could forget mulled wine. We did our typical Macy's Black Friday, less crazy since we got there long after it opened, but we got our ornaments and a few gifts. Spent the rest of the weekend watching holiday movies and decorating.
I love the holidays...and I'm realizing how much fun I thought this post would be and it seems really rather dry...haha. Oh well. It happens.
Busy December ahead....trail marathon this weekend, then if I don't get eaten by a mountain lion, the nutcracker, dinner with friends, and finally back to NY for Christmas.
Until next time.....
I can't believe how fast these past few months have gone....it seems like it was just summer, but we've already made it through Black Friday and are marching right into Christmas. Black Friday weekend was far less crazy than last year, well, at least I wasn't up 29 hours again. As much fun as that was.... I did have a couple workouts interrupted by phone calls and another just as I was grabbing dinner, but, it comes with the territory....and I wasn't up for 29 hours. Thank god.
We had a great thanksgiving, or friendsgiving. Great times with great friends, delicious food, everything you'd want from the holiday. And mulled wine....who could forget mulled wine. We did our typical Macy's Black Friday, less crazy since we got there long after it opened, but we got our ornaments and a few gifts. Spent the rest of the weekend watching holiday movies and decorating.
I love the holidays...and I'm realizing how much fun I thought this post would be and it seems really rather dry...haha. Oh well. It happens.
Busy December ahead....trail marathon this weekend, then if I don't get eaten by a mountain lion, the nutcracker, dinner with friends, and finally back to NY for Christmas.
Until next time.....
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