Surf City Half Marathon Race Report

So to start this off, I'm very disappointed and upset about this race so I'm sorry if this isn't my normal peppy upbeat post. I just have to share with you guys and then I hope to never think of it again. I know I can't keep beating myself up about it, but I literally cried about it yesterday. Sitting at my computer desk, tears rolling down my face, crying. It was bizarre, but I felt like it was a good cry and that helped me to not be so hard on myself. After that little preface, read on!

So the night before the race we had a little forum encounter from the Runners World Forums. It's incredibly motivating to me to meet more runners and hear more stories. Everyone was so nice and it was a blast to meet more people that I 'talk' to daily on the forums.

Here's the whole group!

With Sara and Rachel, these girls are amazing and such an inspiration to me!

Billy was there being Billy and talking shop with everyone.

And this is Charlie Pro, he's just straight amazing and if it wasn't for him I would be much more off my time.

So the day of the race I woke up feeling really good, like over the top good. I felt strong and ready to race. I picked up my cousin who was running the 5k and we were both ready to go and got amazing parking right off Main Street.

After she started her race, I went back to the car took a gu and got myself ready for my race. I jogged to the starting line and was feeling really good. I also got to meet up with P.O.M too before the race at the expo on Friday and we found each other in the throng of people. I got off to a great start and my first three miles were strong. At the three mile, I was at 23:16 and my pace was 7:46. I was feeling really good. I was running well and my feet weren't hurting too bad. Around mile six the balls of my feet started to hurt a little bit.

Then mile seven came. I ate my gu and drank lots of water on the course. I was starting to feel my stomach cramp up and it was beginning to hurt around mile seven. This was when I felt like mile eight would never come. I kept looking for a sign and hoped that it was coming soon but I was so out of it and I knew if I lost my focus I would walk the remainder. For the first time I felt like giving up. I didn't care. I didn't want to keep going I didn't want to run anymore I was so over it. It was really weird, I almost started crying and I was really upset at myself for having these feelings. I never want to quit, and I can run for so long normally but yesterday it just wasn't in me.

For some reason mile eight seemed so far away. At 8.2 miles I was at 1:04:16 and my pace was 7:51, but I felt like I was sloshing along it wasn't good and I was already upset with myself. There wasn't much crowd support and the course was much different that I thought it was going to be. My mind was just not in the racing mode and my body was matching my mind. I felt like a slug.

This was when I found a guy and just ran with him. Sometimes when I try to run with other guys I feel like they are intimidated and speed up a little bit because they don't want to get 'chicked'. He didn't leave me though and he didn't seem to mind either, who knows what he really was thinking though. He was a little bit taller than me, wearing a gray tank top and had sleeves of tattoos. He was wearing a beanie and when my music was soft I could hear his. I ran next to him for the next 3.5 miles. I must have been super annoying but I knew if I didn't give myself a goal like staying with someone that I would just sputter out and be done.

I started out with a long sleeve tee and took that off around mile 3 and had to carry it with me until mile 9 when I think I saw Mr. R and tossed it at him. I was so upset with myself at the time I couldn't believe what I was doing. I felt like my paces were so far off and I was just having a horrible day. Finally mile 10 and 11 passed. This was when I knew it was almost over. I knew it was soon going to be done so that gave me a little bit of hope. I was still running with tattoo man and then I saw Charlie Pro. Without him I would of been a complete meltdown.

He ran with me (after finishing second in the 5k for his age group running 18 something. Crazy! I know) and told me that I was looking great. His friend Kevin got me all the water I needed and kept me right on pace. They told me when to kick before the finish and told me to be strong and steady. Keep the even pace. The balls of my feet were just killing me and I just wanted the race to be over. I hadn't seen anyone I knew besides Mr. R at Mile 9 and I was so, so grumpy. Charlie and Kevin helped me get to the finish line and I seriously owe everything to them. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. 1:45:58. Sweet, I had done it.

Then I checked the times later online at home. The website said 1:46:00. I literally started bawling. I felt like after all that, could I really hit 1:46:00 on the dot? Seriously website. I am disappointed in you. Other than that! Gosh, I feel like that was such a rant and I'm sorry. Not every race is going to be great and I am glad that I of course finished the race. I am incredibly sore today, and still in a glum mood about the race. I watched so many of the finishers in the marathon and I did get a little bit excited because I know soon that I will be able to say that I also have ran a marathon.

My cousin and I after the race.

I hate you Surf City.

I'm taking today off and going to try to go for a little jog tomorrow to see how my body feels. I'll probably cry about the race once more and then be over it. I'm looking forward to getting my mileage up and running some fun races now for a little bit. I'm looking forward to marathon training and being able to complete a full marathon and enjoy it.

Congrats to Sara who qualified for Boston. When she crossed the finish line I almost cried. I am an emotional mess lately!

Here's the rest of the stats from the Surf City Website.

Overall: 1005 out of 10743
Women: 248 out of 6513
F 18-24: 29 out of 536
Age/Grade: 62.12% Place: 1018
Finish: 1:46:00 Pace: 8:06
Tag Time: 1:46:00
Gun Time: 1:47:08

And on a completly unrelated and happy note, TOMORROW I'M GOING TO BE POSTING ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY! Hooray! :)

xoxo

Hello Kitty Toast

I love photo Fridays and today I had some planned photos to share with you until I had my Hello Kitty Toast this morning.

My roommate brought this great offering to the place when we moved in. It's the Hello Kitty Toaster. I thought for sure this thing was going to be awesome. It's suppose to make Hello Kitty pictures on your toast, like the one below.

I waited and waited to get my toast to pop up for breakfast this morning. I was excited to see the picture on my cinnamon raisin toast. This is what popped up.

Wow, talk about disappointing. Those are just two white blobs, nothing even resembling her cute bow or whiskers or eyes or anything. Hello Kitty, you've let me down. I almost thought it was too good to be true and now we know it is. Sadly, I will just have white blobs on my toast now.

Thanks for all the good luck wishes for this weekend. I'm starting to get nervous but I know it's a good nervous. I just am going to put in a nice easy 4-6 miler tomorrow to get loosened up in the morning and then finish cleaning and painting my desk, which I will also have pictures of next week. Gosh, next week is going to be exciting for all you guys with my giveaway, race report, and pictures of my desk!

Good luck to all those racing this weekend, even if your not racing at Surf City! I'm excited to meet/see many of you at the race though so look for me! The weather should be perfect as long as the Santa Ana's don't kick up and it is going to be a great day for running. Tonight I'm going to finish making my shirt and painting and am looking forward to leisurely hanging out alone. :)

Have a great weekend!

And the final review of the Hello Kitty Toaster = Hell No!

xoxo

PS One of my best co-workers EVER sent me this link Did Google Kill This Deer? WHAT?!

Pictures from the last race Friday

Since Nike Mom has photo Friday, and I just got back my worst race pictures ever, I thought today would be a great day of sharing them. Wow, I don't know if they could possible find more hideous pictures during the race... but here they are!

I'm pretty sure I'm hating my life right here.

I totally remember when this was taken. I thought the finish line would never come.

This, this is just tooooo funny! When I was running I took off my long sleeve for a while while I waited to see Billy again so that he could take it for me. Little did I know that I would have to wait a while to see him because I was on the back weird part of the race. The shirt was tied around my waist but it kept slipping off. This was my BRAND NEW pink shirt from Mr. R that he gave me for Valentines day. I was not losing it. I decided to tie it around my neck like a preppy sweater. Then, they caught a picture of me, side angle?! I looked through all the other race pictures and NO ONE has a picture like this, but myself. Strange. Thanks to whoever captured this Super girl moment.

Ahhh! My Grandpa and Grandma at dinner last night celebrating their birthdays with Baklava! :) We went to this great place, Open Sesame, and I'm not one to like weird foods, but this place was DELICIOUS! :) Chicken Tawook is my new favorite thing, and I love their Lebanese pickles! If you are ever in the area, try it out.

For this weekend I have a 10 miler to go and then next weekend is the Surf City 1/2. That crept up on me quickly! Today is my adoption day, which is a day where we celebrate with our family. I was adopted 22 years ago on this day! It's a fun day to remember and used to be a big deal. When I was little I used to get school off and we'd go do something fun as a family. It's become more of a dinner thing now and I always really enjoyed it. Seemingly enough, people are too busy to celebrate and it's disappointing. It's odd how the people that mean the most to you can hurt you the most as well. Enough about that drama. Tonight Mr. R is going to come to my new home and we are going to hang out, which I'm excited for I usually only see him on one day during the week, mostly for Biggest Loser and then we spend the weekends together. Oh the adult working life.

Good luck to all you racers this weekend. I feel like EVERYONE is running Surf City and I'm excited to meet up with more of you. We'll go over goals and what I *hope* to finish with next week, but if the weather is like what it is today, I'm going to DIE. Running + Rain = Not good.

Have a great weekend! Finally Friday!

xoxo

PS. Here's a link to the pink Ipod holder I have on my arm Find it @ Best Buy. I love it and it works SO well! :) Here is also the link to headphones I have on too. I used to run with the ipod headphones but had a problem with them falling out a lot. These ones look a little intimidating, but they are GREAT and stay in well and are actually much louder than the apple headphones. Find them @ Target. They are only $10, and work so great. They come in a bunch of colors too.

Dogs pee on floors?

So on Monday, I decided to sign up for the half that came up a little too quickly. It's tomorrow already. I am getting nervous and excited all at the same time. I am also very excited to meet up with some blogging friends, including Glenn, Burger (who has an amazing new video out, which I can't wait to see!) Sara, and maybe even meet some new friends!

So the dilemma of what to wear for this race is upon me. I was planning on wearing shorts and a long sleeve, but the weather report is predicting warm weather. I know the race is at 8 am though so it won't be too warm. I could wear my new running skirt, but I'm somewhat cautious because I've never worn it before. Then I don't know what shirt to wear because it's suppose to be 75 degrees but somewhat windy, so I don't want to be too cold, yet I don't want to be too hot. Gosh! There are so many choices! I guess it will be a great day for a run though, and I'm excited and I know the route well, since I run around there all the time.

I am thankful for all the comments I've gotten regarding the bleeding toes. Though I'm pretty sure it's not the toenail because it's too far down on my toe, I clipped my claws last night so that if that was the case it would be taken care of. I'm also going to stop by the running store tonight and see if I can get a toe cap for the race tomorrow. I will take pictures of those for sure. If not, I'll just put a little tape on it and deal with it, hopefully my shoes won't get any more bloody.

Last night I went to the gym and ran a mile and surprisingly walked a mile on the dreadmill. My cousin was there so while she ran I walked and talked with her. Then I did some weights, crunches and push ups and stretched really well. Whatever this race may bring me, here's a some loose goals.

A: Finish in between 1:50-2:10, but I won't be shocked or super disappointed if it's slower than that. It's a big time span, but I hope to be able to work hard at least in the first few miles to keep a consistent pace.

B: Working on getting out to a good start and being consistent.

C: Working on drinking and staying hydrated during the race and after the race. This includes my shotblox and the cup fiasco that seems to happen during races.

D: Staying relaxed and just racing the race. Continuing to pick people off.

It sounds really competitive and mean of me to pick people off during the race, but I work so hard during the race just to catch the next person. When I pass them I think to myself ha ha sucker! That is so awful and I'm a horrible person. I know. At least the race report will be good on Monday, or at least funny, so stay tuned.

In deal news, Puma is having a sale at the Ruelala boutique. They have tons of cute stuff but it's invitation only, so email me at danicakoo@gmail.com, if you would like to be invited. It's super cute stuff with really great prices too. Including bags and shoes. It's more of the 'foo-foo' puma stuff though.

And of course, photo Friday is back and I'm starting off big with a few pictures below! They are a little old, but oh well!



For Christmas I seriously got my favorite mac and cheese. Wow, and I love it.



Mr. R and I were doing a little after Christmas Shopping in Newport Beach, CA at Fashion Island. We are walking through Urban Outfitters and I see this adorable dog, I decide to sneak a picture, BUT, I take the picture as the dog is PEEING ON THE FLOOR. Yes, in the middle of the store. The owner didn't even notice and left, and I was so in shock that I stood there and waited until someone stepped in it and then I walked away laughing. Wow, I am truly a horrible person. (P.S. those shoes in front of the dog are the ugliest shoes EVER. Wow, who would buy those)



This was Christmas morning before opening our stockings. My baby Cassie loves the fire and her merry red sweater. :)

Good luck to all those ringing in the new year with a race this weekend!

xoxo

PS MY NIKE + HAD A REVIVAL AND IS ALIVE AGAIN! HOORAY!

Blue is for Winners

So I mentioned yesterday that the 5k was great, and it really was. I didn't know what to really expect because I hadn't been training specifically for anything. Up until last week I wasn't going to even be able to run in it because I thought I was going to be out of town. Last minute plans changed and I was able to race in it. I haven't run a 5k since my senior year in high school, and I didn't want to set my expectations too high to only get them crushed. It was a pretty small race (290 racers) through a park nearby my house.



So yesterday, I didn't want to wake up. I was so tired and thought, gosh I'm going to have to RACE?! ARGH! Anyways, I got up, then had a dilemma of what I was going to wear. I couldn't decide between a long sleeve, or a short sleeve. I finally showed up to my cousins house since we were carpooling over with her boyfriend's sister, and played a little with "preshie" (who we had to change the name to patchy after we found out he was actually a boy like four weeks after I found him. You can read his story and how I found him on the side of the road during a run and my cousins adopted him here) Here's a little picture of me and him. He was being a feisty little boy!

We took off over to the race course and parked and wandered around for a little bit. It was fun to be at such a small race. I felt like everyone there was friendly and there was some serious people watching going on. I ran for maybe 2 minutes and stretched only my calves. Before races I never stretch and I never warm up. Another bad habit. The race finally seemed ready to start so everyone was lined up. I thought I was near enough the front of the start that I would be able to get out and get a good start. WRONG. For some reason there were some walkers in the front and I had an awful start. I was zigzagging to get around them and get going. I hate the start of the race. I thought to myself, Okay, 23 minutes. You can do this. Oh, by the way, I talk to myself a lot in my head when I run, especially when I race.



I was at a pretty good pace going into the first mile, but I was scared I wasn't going to be able to keep the pace. I hit the first mile at 7:15, and I thought, hey pretty good. Alright, we can do this. I was chugging along and just kept reeling people in and trying to pass them. There was a turn around and that's when I realized there were only about six women in front of me, or women who I thought looked like women. Thinking to myself, I figured if I could pass three I would get third. I then, mid-race, made this my new goal. I worked at passing and I could just hear my coach in my head from high school screaming at me, only good things of course. I hit the 2nd mile at 14:24. I never have had a split so perfect without even trying. I was like, okay, I'm on course for a good time here. I was running by a boy who was around 16. I knew I was annoying him too. I would have been annoying myself if I was running next to me. I was so focused and just used him to pace me. I could tell he was thinking, I can't let this girl pass me.



I passed two of the girls and there was one more older women in front of me out of the women I wanted to pass. Now, I am wearing a long sleeve shirt that is not running related at all, just a green long sleeve. I'm also wearing black leggings from Walmart. This woman was wearing super short racing shorts, a pink sports bra, and racing sunglasses and overpronated like nothing I've ever seen before. She was incredibly tan and was just skin and bones. I literally kept thinking that she might break her leg from overpronating, or her hip was going to give out, it was crazy. Then I thought, I can't let her beat me. So I worked the last mile just on trying to get even with her. With about 400 meters left to go, I was even with her, when her husband, who had already finished, ran back from the finish line and with his long stringy brown hair flowing behind his equally skinny and tanned body with equally short shorts and an awkwardly tight muscle tee, he shouted to her, "Come on! Don't let that woman beat you!" I though, oh hellllll no you didn't just say that. I also freaked out kind of because he called me a woman. I'm not a girl anymore?



Anyways, I sprinted in and beat her, and the guy I was pacing myself with the whole time, ha ha! As we finished she said something to me about drinking too much coffee, and how it was suppose to be all natural. Weird. Then I went back in front of the finish and found my cousin finishing, who beat her old 5k time of 30:00 and finished at 29:16. Then we went to look for her boyfriend's sister who also accomplished a great feat in running the whole race! Then I realized I could get a medal. For me racing is all about the hardware so I was super excited. I found the race results and it had me placing sixth female and first in my age division. Now I know there were not six women in front of me, so I assume I thought some men were women. Awkward, but that's their problem I guess. So I got a lovely first place finishing medal, blue ribbon and all. My final time was 22:28 and I was 27th overall. Here are some pictures from the race.

The medal

My cousin and I

Our whole little group after our successful day!

The medal legitimately says first. I love it. :)

The expo was pretty fun after, though none of us won a raffle prize, the Laker girls were there. Super cool, not. Other than that a successful day! I kind of wonder what would have happened if I actually trained for something though, like worked my tail off and got really after it with my training. This is also related to my confession that I promised you guys. Well I am becoming slowly obsessed with running a marathon. You've all done it to me. I've gotten the marathon itch. I can't stop thinking about it, how I can train for it, everything. I figure, and call me crazy, but I know if I actually trained and had a goal time and everything that I could possibly qualify for Boston, and now I've become even more obsessed with that. So I am thinking of doing a marathon in October. The Portland Marathon to be exact. More on this soon when I come to my senses and realize that it's a horrible idea. :)



So after all that, we still have our gift of the day... For all those male runners in your life... this is great gift!

Running Neckties! (that are super ridiculously tacky!)

First we have one from Revel Sports. They have super fun Running, Biking, and Swimming Ties that are printed on heavyweight 14M silk twill. I don't know what this "generously cut" means but they are 3.3/4" wide x 56" long. They are $31.99 and can be found here.




That was the nice tie, these are more funny running ties.


This is the GO PRE tie. BUT, it looks like PREGO TIE!? Made me laugh. It's 37.45 and can be found here.

Here's the Peace, Love, Run Tie, again, random, but kind of cool? Find it for 31.75 here.

Sorry the bottom two pictures are so bad, but they are pretty funny so I advise you to click the link to check them out, even if it's only for a laugh. Well this week we have more gifts, and more jibber jabber about running and maybe even some more marathon confessions. :)

xoxo

From Start to Finish

Honestly, I've seen many race reports, and I have NO IDEA how all you fellow runners can recap your races from miles 1-13.1, especially a marathon! You people are amazing. I got to mile three and though, WOW! Mile 3! So here is my recap of my first 1/2 Marathon, as much as I remember at least.

The night before I was going through my clothes figuring out what to wear and I realized I had nothing to wear. Following my many lovely reader's advice, I pretty much wore some old favorites that I love running in. I laid out all my clothes and went to bed after the amazing comeback of the Rays in the ALDS.

So I got up super early and Nicole came over, I grabbed a honey and oat bar then we took the back way to the parking area, since I live only about 15 minutes away. We parked about 400 meters away from the start line, even though when we were parking we had no idea where the starting line was. It was absolutely FREEZING and we had to make a little potty break so we ventured out of the car and saw what were the most entertaining people in the world. Now I know why you guys run so much and actually race. The people watching was borderline the best I've ever seen. The people we saw were in every outfit imaginable. Hats, glasses, clothes, almost naked, shoeless (??) it was a hoot! Nicole and I walked around just staring at people and their outfits. She and I were in like regular old clothes, no dry-fits, no visors, nothing special at all.

We decided it was time to strip down and leave our sweatshirts in the car at about 7:00, so we went back and by the time we got back out of the car it wasn't as cold because the sun was coming up. So we jogged for about 5 minutes and stretched against a light pole and then found our place in the middle of Corral B, because we didn't want to be anywhere near the front of the pack. The Star Spangled Banner was sung and the bell (another ??) went off! The first three miles flew by; I barely remember seeing anything or even feeling anything. In the first three miles we ran up pretty much the only hill and along the bay. The weather was amazing, but the sun was really bright if we were running into it.

I think around mile 4ish, 5ish, 6ish, we entered the beach part of the run which was along the sand and ocean directly into the sun. Talk about bright! It wasn't hot though, and so I didn't sweat, during the entire race. The course was really flat and relaxing and the entire run very few people passed us, but I worked on continuing to pass runners and keeping my pace very even. I wasn't even working hard at all. I grabbed a cup of water and took a sip at mile six because my mouth was so dry. I looked at my watch at mile 7, and saw that we were pretty close to our goal of finishing in less than two hours, but it was going to be close. I knew we would have to work the last two or three miles at a faster pace. Then we started the turnaround I think at mile 8ish. This is all a guesstimate, I seriously have no idea. And I was feeling great. At every other mile I'd take a cup of water. Drinking and running is something I need to work on. More went down the front of my shirt and number than anywhere else.

People at the water stations were out of control. Throwing water over their heads, throwing their cups down like it was a grenade, splashing up water everywhere, I tried to avoid the craziness and either stayed on the opposite side or ran in the middle of them. Those stations were entertaining. I would always try to drop my cup in the grass or on the side so that it wouldn't land on anyone.

Each mile we passed I kept thinking, okay, only 10 more, only 8 more, only 5 more. Pretty much every mile I was like, wow, already this mile! Cool! There were some random people all along the course, who were really nice to make signs and cheered and clapped for everyone. I passed a huge poster full of Vaseline and wondered what that was for? Ohhh, okay, got it. Yea, left that alone. Then we got to mile 9 and I was feeling really great. My legs were almost numb, it was weird, but a good feeling that lead me to start pushing myself a little bit harder. I started working a little bit more and my competitive side came out. It was around mile 10.5 that I really started working a lot harder and realized that if I wanted to make finish at 2:00 I would have to really start kicking it in. It's not that we were super boxed in at the start, but I think it really didn't allow us to use the first mile to our advantage at all.

So after that the afterburners kicked in and I started to run a lot faster. I still felt great and this guy in a blue shirt was running by me and looked at me and said, "Come on girl, Come on." About every minute he would shoot back a word of encouragement and I ran with him for the last two miles. He stayed just ahead of me, which drives me CRAZY because I force myself to stay with him. He kept yelling at me that I could do it and that we were almost there. I was freaking out though because I had no idea how far the finish was from where we were when he started sprinting away and one of my biggest problems is starting my kick WAY too early and then dying and not finishing well. He seriously saved me from not making it to under 2:00. I would have been so disappointed in myself if I didn't make it under and his words of encouragement were so great. I wish I took a picture with him. He would just keep yelling at me to go and it was amazing. So thank you to the guy in the blue shirt!

I started down the little slope to the finish line and saw the clock. I realized that I was about 300 meters away so I sprinted. It was ticking away and in my head I just thought, NO!! Don't hit 2:00, but it didn't, and I finished in 1:57:00. If it wasn't for that guy, I probably wouldn't have pushed myself so hard the last two miles, especially the last mile split being 6:15! Yea, after running around 8:20-8:55 the entire race, my last mile split was almost my best high school mile time. When I crossed the finish line I was like Yes! I did it. And then I thought to myself, that was it. So yes, I am definitely ready for this upcoming weekend's Nike+ Women’s Halfer. I also pretty much have my next year lined up with more halfers and once I get everything situated and on my calendar, I'll see who else will be running what.

It was seriously an amazing experience, from start to finish and I'm so glad I did it, but now I'm addicted. I never thought I would be able to run that far. The night before I was talking to my boyfriend and said, “What if I get to mile six and think like, eh, I'm over this, and just want to stop?" He reassured me that I wouldn't think that, and yes of course he was right. :) I absolutely loved it and all my family and friends that came out to cheer me on and just running past the most absurd people ever.

The official stats were more like this: I was 1,229th overall, with 19% of the racers ahead of me. I was the 355th female with 9% of females ahead of me. I was 36th in my division with 13% of my division ahead of me, and I was ahead of 67% of the male finishers. Take that boys! :)

It was pretty inspiring to see all the runners out there though, from all walks of life, and all ages. Great job to everyone who finished it! Here are some of the pictures, and yes, I know, I look far too happy, but I was happy!

This is by mile 4

My dad rode along side me for a little bit. Then he got in trouble by the motor cop police.

Mile 11, yea, I was trying to run harder at this point.

Nicole and I finished the race. :)

My wonderful cousins and mothers to the baby cat, Presh, were there.

My dad and I after the finish.

We were told it was good for us?

Ha ha, just kidding! I wasn't about to throw up.

I was stalking this lady for like 15 minutes to get a good picture. Seriously. Welcome to Long Beach!

More pictures will probably come, and this week I found even more cute breast cancer stuff, a few new great songs, and a review of the MioPINK Motiva Heart Rate Monitor Watch which I got this past weekend for my birthday from my cousins and I'm so excited to use it! :)

But tonight, pray for Eli Manning to do well so my Fantasy football team will win, and pray for the fires in CA to not get out of control, because then I'll have to be putting in time on the DREADMILL!

xoxo

Feel the Love....

So today I did something pretty crazy. I signed up for the Nike+ Women's half marathon, the weekend, yes, 7 days after I run my first 1/2 marathon of my life I will be running another one. I'm going to do it virtually, so I'll just run it by myself along the beach, exactly how so many of my training runs were done. I figured, well I haven't really stopped training, or even tapered for this upcoming race, and it would just be like me going out for a long training run the weekend after. It's not like I'm running for a time in the first race either, just a finish. Nothings going to change. We'll see how this all turns out.

But I have an honest confession about signing up for this Nike+ Women's Half Marathon. I did it for the finishers key chain designed by Tiffany and Co. Another bonus is that I get a t-shirt. I love Tiffanys, and I love free clothes by Nike, so $45 dollars later I've decided that I'm going to really tired in two weeks.

On another note, Martiza tagged me in 6 random things about me and gave me this lovely sticker. I also have to tag 10 more people that I want to learn about.. hmmm :)

Precious! Anyways, so six random facts about me, since I know you all are little stalkers at heart.

1. I was adopted at the age of 2 to my parents. They adopted me straight from the hospital, but it took a while for the legal stuff to go through, and ever since then I have also celebrated my adoption day, which is like a second birthday that we call Koo-Day because of my last name. My younger brother was also adopted

2. I schedule all of my runs based on when I need to wash my hair. This sounds disturbing, and it is disturbing if I actually let myself sit down and think about it, but most of the time I run one morning and then the next day I run in the evening so I don't have to wash my hair overnight.

3. I got my dog a black lab Dalmatian mix, Cassie, by breaking 6:00 in the mile. My dad said if I ran under six minutes I could get a dog. I ran a 5:58 my junior year of track, immediately called my dad and his response was, "Uhh, okay, I guess we are getting a dog then."

4. I hate lettuce. I have never eaten it and have tried it doused in dressing, with chicken, with tons of my favorite stuff and I just can't fathom eating it because it tastes like grass to me. My dad taunts me and says I'll never be a true lady until I eat salad, my best answer is that if God intended me to eat salad, he would have made me a rabbit.

5. I hate eating or making anything with my hands, which another weird fact is that they are ridiculously small! My hands are the size of a small child's and my feet are only size 6, weird for my height of 5'7". So anyways, if my hands get dirty while making a cake, or brownies, I'm constantly washing them. I hate it when they are sticky. I use a bazillion napkins when I eat a cheeseburger or chicken strips because between each bite, I have to wipe my hands. This is an even bigger problem with fries!

6. I recently had a screw put into my jaw and got a fake tooth in the back of my jaw. It's because my 12 year molar on my left side never came in, along with my wisdom teeth. Missing all together. My friends like to think it's because I'm weird, but I think it's because I'm a super evolved human. Those wisdom teeth just get taken out anyways right?!

And these are the lovely bloggers I tag! (Since we are all friends sorry if you got tagged more than once!)

1. P.O.M
2. Renae
3. Mojito Maven
4. Legally Blonde Mel
5. Girl on Top
6. That Pink Girl
7. J
8. TFH
9. Caitlyn
10. SJ Goody

T minus 4 days

I had a great birthday yesterday, minus the fact that even with Reggie Bush running two punt returns for touchdowns my fantasy football team lost by 1 measly point, and the Angels. Ohhh the Angels BLEW the series this year. Today I am mourning their loss and their great season that went down the tubes in four short games. So I guess now, as much as I hate to say it, Go Dodgers. Although I do kind of like the Rays as well. Everyone loves an underdog! Thank you to everyone with the well wishes. This past weekend was awesome too.

If you ever get the chance go to to Palm Springs in CA, I would highly recommend the month of October. The weather is amazing and wasn't the normal 120 degree heat. I would also highly recommend staying at The Mod Resort. (www.modresort.com) It was a great experience and super fun to stay there. Such a nice little get away for just a day.

This was looking outside our room at the saltwater pool. Just 14 rooms makes the hotel so cute and really allows quality over quantity. (And no crazy wild screaming kids! love it!)



T-Minus four days until the big 1/2 Marathon. I can't believe I am actually going to be doing it. It seems pretty crazy, but I know it will be fun. So I have a few questions for you 1/2 marathon and marathon gurus out there.

What should I wear?
This may sound like stupid question, but I don't know if I should go for something comfy and whatever, or try to wear something different, or just a t-shirt. What do you guys normally wear for race days?

What should my run be the day before?
This is usually my long run day but since the race is on Sunday, I'm not going out and doing 10 miles the day before. I was thinking maybe just like an easy 30 minute jog? Let me know what you guys run the day before.

And, though I thought this question would never cross my mind, but what do I run the day after? I was thinking again, another 30 minute jog to kind of get the kinks out and get loosened up again. What do you guys do?

It's finally happening! If anyone else is doing any of the Long Beach races (www.runlongbeach.com), or has done them, let me know. I would love to hear your insight on the race/environment. This weekend I am going to pick up my goodie bag and I'm pretty excited as to what will be in there!

So what is it with me and finding animals on the side of the road? Well today I found a bird that I think basically fell off the electrical wire it was sitting on way above the sidewalk and fell to it's death. Sad, but I wasn't about to touch this bird at all. In the last 10 years of me running I have never found any animals, dead or alive in my path, and within a week I find one kitten and a dead bird.

Presh the small kitten I rescued is doing well and adjusting to being spoiled rotten by my cousins. She is active and her leg is healing just fine. :) I am so glad that she will have a great home.

Counting down the days till the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon!!

xoxo