the december 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 101.55 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 26.72 miles
# runs: 18
# rest days: 14

# xtraining workouts: 2 <-oops, again.

favorite run: a big tie between the ugly sweater run that was a blast and my 5 miler with jen on christmas eve filled with girl talk! both were so fun and just felt good for the soul:)

most hardcore run: the sadisticly hilly run i did at my grandparents house. holy oh my goodness! we are talking totally straight uphill people.

current reads: half fun/half school book my boss suggested. i need to finish it so i can find out what happens!  

source

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: yummy, sugary coffee. i was supposed to stop drinking it december 1^st but that just didn’t happen. its not very often, but i have met quite a few friends that ive been meeting for coffee lately so ive had some extras. its just so delicious:/

current obsession: grad party planning! picked a place yesterday and now i just need to finalize plans with the manager today. then i can order all the fun party supplies! im so super excited.

current drink: water and more water. finally back to the good things!

current song: two black cadillacs by carrie underwood. i tell you, hell hath no furry like carrie underwood scorned.

current wish-list:

·         get my 2013 race calendar together. after surf city i don’t really have a lot of plans. although i think i may have committed to a few yesterday!

·         find clothes that fit. that includes work clothes, everyday clothes, and running clothes. hey it’s a wishlist right?!

·         to let it go. it doesn’t mean im a bad person or that the other is either. it just means i need to cut ties where they need and move on.

current need: to stay focused for the next 11 days until my class is over! there are so many distractions this time of the year, but i cant forget about it just yet.

current triumph: having the whole family home for christmas:) having a brother in the military you never really know, but we were so blessed this year!

current bane of my existence: im gonna say it again…my final paper. its 30 pages people, really?! 30 pages. its due january 9^th  and that’s getting closer and closer. i really feel that im almost done, but not quite. plus it is always in the back of my mind till its finished!

current goal: to start making my new years resolution actually happen. it’s a little vague, and can include a few different angles if i wanted. that’s why i like it. i can tweak it as i go!

current indulgence: christmas cookies…ooooo yum!

current excitement: the fresh start 2013 is hopefully going to give me! i am in definite need of one and it is time to start a new chapter in my life:)

the ugly sweater run las vegas 2012.

this last weekend it was finally time for las vegas to host the national ugly sweater running series downtown! i heard about it a few months ago and it sounded like a blast. not timed, snow at the start line-even in vegas they say, sponsored by sam adams, and lots of ugly...i was so in!

so after a week of looking/searching/hunting for an ugly sweater everywhere with no luck of the one i truly envisioned in my head, i met up with my ragnar teammates downtown to compare the ugly! totally unplanned but we all ended up signing up for the race and found out a few days before, which of course meant we were all starting together. it was so fun to see them all again and outside a van! it was dang cold saturday morning and i was glad for the untimed thing. i had already done my long run of 8 miles earlier in the morning, yay for an 11am start time, and was ready to just enjoy the run. we gathered a few extra friends along the way and headed to the start line after pictures of course!

we had all run the course quite a few times with other races, theres only so many ways to run downtown, so we settled in fairly quickly with runners at our own pace. i stayed back with yumi, michele, and a new recruit holly chatting about upcoming races and why do we always think this is such a good idea until we all show up. there were a few sights along the course but not quite as many as promised. i wont lie, i was a little disappointed there was no sledding like advertised.

there was a couple of turnarounds throughout the course and i saw lots of people i knew! my parents, my physical therapist and his wife, some friends from work, my boss and her whole family, to the point where my teammates asked why i knew so many people haha! at one point holly and i lost michele and yumi and decided to just take on the rest of the course on our own. there was snow at the finish line on the way into the post-run party!

we headed to the beer tent once everyone had crossed and started shivering together since all of a sudden it decided to actually be winter in the desert. there was also an ugly sweater contest, a place to take pictures, and hot chocolate for all! it was a blast and im so glad i got to see my teammates again:) ps we are already working on our costumes for next year!

*i was chosen as a brand ambassador for the ugly sweater run. this recap and other opinions are all my own. i did receive 4 free entries from the racing series and this little gem that won me the ugly sweater contest at work this week...

the christmas homecoming.

it was the middle of may when my brother came home for a normal weekend and told us that he would be leaving in 45 days for his next deployment. it was one of the first things he said to me when i got to my parents house as he stood there hugging me with his feet on top of mine so i couldnt kick him when he told me. being in the military we always know theres a chance and it can happen rather quickly. last time we got rather lucky since he was stationed on a boat and wasnt in the middle of everything. this time he was headed to afghanistan. 5 days after he got back to base that weekend he headed into a 30 day training in the desert, went back to camp pendleton, then left 2 weeks later.

this whole deployment was different than last time. it almost didnt feel like he was really gone, we hadnt really been talking much before he left for the training so when he left it felt like a continuation of that. it wasnt until just before he got extended (yes that happened!) we really started talking. now for most of the 1st part he was out in the middle of nowhere without power, none of us heard from him. but when he got to camp leatherneck my mom and his gf kelsey heard from him all the time, me not so much, my dad either. once he got extended for another 2 months i really started hearing from him more mostly through text since that was the only way. by the time he was headed home we finally were back to normal. ps my brother and i are super close which is why this was so weird.

 

we had heard the end of november rumors for awhile but it wasnt until the tuesday before thanksgiving that we got the official date and time of december 2nd. he was really coming home, just in time for the holidays! my parents booked a great resort/spa in dana point for the weekend, we would leave from vegas saturday, he came home sunday, then the 4 of us would all drive back up to vegas together so kyle could take care of a few things here. so for the 3rd weekend in a row my parents and i piled into the car to head back to southern california!

after a detour through pasadena to visit stats (the best christmas store ever!) we got a phone call from kelsey that they werent coming home till monday night. now we had heard from kyle they were delayed because of weather but only by parts of the day, not a whole one! so here we were staying till monday with nothing to do on sunday. as we were driving by knotts berry farm i said outloud wouldnt it be fun if we could just go to disneyland tomorrow instead. just to see what happened. next thing i know im looking up ticket prices and trying to find somewhere for my dad to go golf for the day while my mom and i go to the happiest place on earth during christmas time!! i called my friend nate and his wife katie because they had annual passes and told me anytime i wanted to go just to call. they said they would meet us there in the afternoon, we were really going!

the next morning we had an amazing breakfast at the resort and were kicking my dad out of the car at the second golf course we found so we could head up to anaheim. we got to disneyland sometime around 10a and planned to spend the whole day, so we did!

bring it militray!
we are still gonna have a great weekend:)

love.

santa!

she asked if we swam there hehe.

it was misty and dreary but still busy. we got to ride all the rides we always do and had lots of delicious snacks on the way, hello disneyland churros! the christmas parade was so fun then nate and katie joined us for the afternoon. it never really opened up and rained, just misty enough to make you wet. that wasnt going to break our spirit but was enough to cancel the candlelight ceremony mid-way through and prevent it from "snowing" on main street after the fireworks show. we had a blast! i am sooo glad my mom said yes to going:) plus i got to cross something off my bucketlist, visit disneyland at christmas time!

nate and katie:)
oh and my very stylish poncho!

3 of our very favorites!

i love gingerbread men!
especially chocolate-covered mickey ones:)

such a pretty castle!

finally it was monday morning and i was up ready to go for a run when i looked outside to see it pouring outside. so i headed back to bed for another hour before breakfast. we were just finishing up, getting ready to head to base when kelsey called and said we needed to slow down. they hadnt even landed at march air force base yet, let alone start the 2 hour drive south to pendleton. so i headed back upstairs to lounge in my amazingly comfortable king size bed a little longer.

the view from my balcony.

at about 11a we finally couldnt wait any longer and knew that he was at least on the buses headed south to us. so we headed to base and the parade deck already had families there for us to hang out with. pretty soon after we saw the buses go by as they headed to the armory to check their weapons and get room assignments for the barricks. we were pretty good at entertaining ourselves at this point and watching the vehicles rolling in with weapons and bags gave us all stuff to talk about. everyone kept saying the check in process would take 2 hours, but luckily we knew better from the last deployment return. not even an hour later the motorcycle brigade was headed onto deck!

our traditional homecoming pic!

right behind them was our guys marching in for formation. we had to stay behind the flags set up until they were released, we were of course right on that edge. as they marched in we kept trying to find him in the 2nd group but they all look alike! before we knew the commander was calling out platoons and asking all accounted for? with a response as yes sir. then, finally...dismissed. except we still hadnt found my brother yet! luckily he found us and bee-lined right for me. first hug!! he made the rounds to everyone and tears were flowing freely.

 

after pictures it was time to grab the stuff and get the hell out of there. he had too much to just take on his own so we of course volunteered to help. dang his stuff was heavy!! the bag i took was probably a good 60+ pounds. we didnt care he was home.

 

one of the best.

food was a must pretty soon after so we headed to el torito for lunch and then the road home fairly quickly after which of course meant margaritas for kyle and i ;) it was cool to have him come home with us and hear all the stories over time. we also found out the real reason he was delayed! the pilot was making a u-turn on the runway and didnt turn fast enough then running them off the runway and into a massive snowbank!! we plan to blame the pilot for quite awhile. he was only home for the night then back to base tuesday night. the 18th-27th though he will be home for christmas leave! we are so thankful he came home safe, god bless our troops near and far.

the november 2012 running recap.

total run mileage: 72.65 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 27.96 miles
# runs: 13
# rest days: 17

# xtraining workouts: 2 <-oops.

favorite run: ragnar for sure. ok that may be a few runs put together, but man it was cool:)

most hardcore run: the run i did right before ragnar. it wasnt particularily difficult, my head was just all over the place and my body was really not loving that i drug it out of bed that morning.

current reads: back to being a big slacker!

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: falling asleep with the tv on and sleeping diagonally. i know it sounds silly, but i couldnt do either at my apartment! sleeping right down the middle while friends plays in the background are seriously two of my favorite things:)

current obsession: christmas music! omg its everywhere and im totally in love. ok i wasnt in love until the end of november, but now i listen to it everywhere!

current drink: water and wine, ha! im trying to learn to drink it and i think im doin a pretty darn good job:)

current song: goodbye in her eyes by the zac brown band.

current wish-list: clothes that actually fit. i always thought i would be so excited if my clothes were loose or needed a belt. then it actually happened and now i am beyond frustrated that nothing fits. it would be much easier if i had some extra cash running around to start replacing, but that whole adult thing keeps getting in the way, ha!

current need: to stay in the moment. sometimes i get so worried about what the future might possibly bring i forget to love the moment im in and i have been having some really great ones too, no matter what im feeling at the time.

i love pinterest:)

current triumph: getting to my last class!! i am soooo close to done people. january 12^th is coming sooo fast, 41 days to be exact:)

current bane of my existence: my final paper. its 30 pages people, really?! 30 pages. its due january 9^th so i have lots of time to work on it, but its going to take a lot of work between now and then. theres lots of things going on between now and then too with holidays and family that its going to really put me to the test!

ok!

current goal: to combat the holiday weight gain. it sounds a little silly but i learned such great things from joanie i need to not waste them over the holiday season. plus i feel really good about all my progress, lets not let the holidays burst that!  

current indulgence: coffee. frilly, girly, sugary coffee to be exact. that’s actually 2 months in a row, oops:)

current excitement: this is happening soon...

good grief you can tell were related!

thankful thursday #4.

look at me all on time this week:) its the last round for the month of november and i have to say its been really fun!

1. our troops

i am an american through and through, which means loving our military! the sacrifice they and their families go through to protect our country is amazing. please keep all those home and abroad in your thoughts. make sure you always thank a vet or active service member:)


seriously one of my favorite pictures.source

2. coffee
i am a total addict and wouldnt have it any other way! i didnt really start dabbling coffee until i was in my senior year of high school and that wasnt much. in college though it really started turning around then working at old navy i started making my own at home finally. i love that it brings people together and just the smell alone can bring a smile to my face:)


peppermint mochas:)

 3. the holiday season

it really is my favorite time of the year! from the week of halloween to the new year there is so many things to do and fun events to participate in. plus it just makes me happy:)

have you ever been to the conservatory
at the bellagio at christmas time??
its my favorite:)

4. traveling

one day i would love to do more of it and more often, but i have been so fortunate to do quite a bit of it all my life! ive done runcations, study abroad, visited family and friends, international, and road trips galore. one day i would love to drive across the us and i definitley want to visit every state in my lifetime. dont worry, international is on there too! its so cool to go to other places and see new cultures, taste new food, and see different things everywhere you go:)

you never know where the travel might take you...

5. a return date

ive been keeping this one pretty close to the vest because it has changed so friggin much...but we have an official return date and time for my brother to come home!! im not sure that i can totally tell you what this yet, but know that it is very soon. we are so excited and very lucky to have him home safe soon and for the christmas holiday this year!


when we picked him up from bootcamp graduation.
check out those glasses!!

thanks for reading along everyone!! here is part 1, part 2, and part 3 in case you missed them:)