the 3 year runniversary

today is an important and fun day for me. it is the exact day, 3 years ago that i took my first steps running :) if you missed it last year here is the whole story! the short version is i had always put a 1/2 marathon on my bucket list but continued to think it wasnt the right time to train and actually do it. till i visited a very wise friend in nashville and he told me it was never going to be the perfect time, i would just need to do it. turned out to be good advice as i sit here 3 years later with a million things changed since receiving that fantastic advice.

not everything has been running related though. for example...

*i met richard which changed everything (for the best!). i learned what it was really like to have a supportive boyfriend that would wake up wayyy before any normal person to come with me to watch me run, i mean how awesome is that :) 

love :)

*i started a blog! i always loved writing and thought a blog would be so cool but had no idea what i would write about, until i moved in with a boy.

*i started my masters degree! something i never thought i would do, ever. its like running has made me reach for higher things :)

now the running stuff! in the last year i have grown as a runner like crazy and even switched my view on a few things. 

#5 the long beach marathon and half maradthon

long beach, california

october 9th, 2011

finished in 2:03:56!! after not getting into my dream race and my original one being cancelled i decided it was all a sign to get me back to long beach. this time it was just richard and i on our own adventure. my secret goal was to break 2:10:00 and i had no idea that the feeling of the course flying by was really happening until i crossed the finish line to find richard and hear the unbelievable news!! 

running and vacation :)

 #6 rock and roll vegas marathon and half marathon

las vegas, nevada

december 4th, 2011

 finished in 2:00:38!! i had no intentions of running this race so close to long beach, until i heard it was at night on the strip. just like that i had signed up and was doing the quickest turnaround ever. i crossed my fingers for a sub-2:00 and came so incredibly close. by now youve heard all the craziness with the race, the mass people, the water claims, and the changes that are coming for next year. if i had to rewind and do it all again...totally signing up:)

theres always a plan ;)

#7 tinkerbell inaugural half marathon

anaheim, ca

january 29th, 2012

 finished in 2:05:30!! this race was all about fun. it was the last one in my crazy 15 week schedule and i am so glad tinkerbell was last. they took us a different route than the disneyland half in september and being all-womens i got to start in corral a! that meant shorter lines at the characters and a finish time i didnt even fathom. plus i got to participate in my moms "last 1/2." thats what she tells me anyway ;)

no disney adventure is complete without mickey!

 #1 (and only) the rage triathlon

las vegas, nv

april 21st, 2012

 finished in 5:14:31!! i finished. that was all that mattered at the end of the day. it was the hardest thing i have ever done and i am glad i can cross it off the bucket list. and somehow it refocused my love for running. it made me realize this is my true sport and the thing i will always stick with. 

best support team ever!

this year i also remembered what it was like to have fun while running and it didnt have to be time goals or worrying about mileage all the time. its good to have a blast too!

the color run!
2/25 las vegas, nv

the warrior dash!
4/28 phoenix, az

 i cant wait to see where this next year will take me:) now its time to celebrate!

the 2011 running recap.

in 2011 my running went to a whole new height. each 1/2 marathon i did i scored a pr! i didnt get into nike but had a fantastic end of the year streak with a little experiment. plus i started holiday running, which means silly outfits! it made me realize that even in sports you have to silly sometimes:)

january~26 miles

i joined daily mile! i decided this was the year i was going to track my progress and starting to time my runs. if i was going to really do it, i had to do it right. plus i was starting my nashville cycle and i was curious how many miles i was running in a cycle. no time like the new year to start keeping track!

february~44.4 miles

the wheels were turning about what i wanted out of this year race wise and what i wanted to turn my blog into. i didnt blog nearly enough in february i realize now. but who doesnt love a little love:)

my valentines day present!

march~63.66  miles

a few girls from work decided they wanted to join the runner craze and do a 5k with me. we had a blast and kristle took 2nd place in our age group, i took 3rd! plus i dipped my toe in the runner talk on my blog:)

to catch a leprechaun 5k!

i also started to get a little restless about not racing distances and realized that i probably needed to do it more often!

april~80.3 miles


i completed 1/2 marathon #4 where it all began! richard and i got to go to our 1st race by ourselves. i turned him around the wrong way, but he trekked his way to the finish line to see me at the end. amazing:)

country music 1/2 marathon
nashville, tn

may~36.57 miles

i learned the value of a runner group! i joined the sin city road runners and am soooo glad i got to met some new runner friends:) and i hit my 2 year runniversary!

it gets hot in vegas!!

june~43.7 miles

i know its not running, but i conquered the grand canyon! we went hiking/camping up and down the canyon with great friends:)

july~62.64 miles

richard and i celebrated our 2 year anniversary! plus we got to watch lots of womens soccer for the world cup and i got inspired for fitness. i know it sounds silly, but watching those women was sooo cool!

silly love:)

august~80.91 miles

i decided to embarq on a crazy race season to join in on a few new fun things! after not getting into nike i signed up for long beach instead then joined into the vegas 1/2 marathon which was running for the 1st time at night and signed up for the inagural tinkerbell 1/2 in disneyland. 3 1/2s in 16 weeks? it was going to be interesting:)

thank goodness for these guys keeping me on track!

september~92.66 miles

i turned 26 and had my highest mileage of the year! i was definitely getting ready for long beach:) and i got to the 9/11 run which was amazing and so moving.

mandy chang #1212

october~73.94 miles

the return to long beach was complete, with a huge 10 minute pr from nashville! then a week later i joined debi on her 40 miler for her 40th birthday. seriously this lady knows how to rock!

long international city bank 1/2 marathon
long beach, ca

november~92.64 miles

my mom and i completed our 1st turkey trot and our 1st trail run! it was cool to do it out at the dam, but i dont think trail running is for me, im wayy to girly for that:)

the 12k turkey trot
hoover dam, nv

december~66.69 miles

i got to experience the craziness of the vegas rock and roll 1/2 marathon with 43,999 of my closest friends. it was also the 2nd stop on race season craze and it felt fantastic. i had a very quick 8 week turnaround and my body responded great! i felt so ready for the race and a finish just shy (38 seconds to be exact) of my dream pr.

rock and roll las vegas 1/2 marathon
the strip, las vegas, nv

come run with santa 5k
las vegas, nv

total for 2011... 768.89 miles!!!

thank you for reading my all about all about living with a boy and my crazy running adventures. i cant wait to see what 2012 will bring! im ready:)

the october running recap.

total run mileage: 73.94 miles
highest weekly run mileage: 27.52 miles
# runs: 13
# rest days: 15

# xtraining workouts: 4

favorite run: meeting up with debi and the group for her 40-miler. it was a week after long beach and i wasn’t even sure i could do it. i felt great and was able to keep up with the speedy girls up front!

most hardcore run: the long beach ½ marathon! i had a 10-minute pr that day. it just all feel into place for me that morning and i rocked that race. i had to push harder than i ever have before. i also proved to myself that i am a racer, like on a serious peoples level.

current reads:  i finally  finished heart of the matter by emily giffin!  it was soooo good. i got almost to the end and literally could not put it down, as with all of her books. definitely recommend it.

i also started and finished sisterhood everlasting by ann brashares the author of all the traveling pants books. i literally sat down and read it in a week actually in 3 sittings. it fast-forwards 10 years after the last book and its like we never left. omg i could not put it down, it was amazing. and i cried about 4-7 times throughout:)

current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: online shopping for my fantasy winter wardrobe. if i had an unlimited budget, oh the things i would buy…

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current obsession: pinterest! have you joined?? seriously it is addicting (ill send anyone an invite if you need!).

current drink: water, water, and more water. also gatorade to replenish all the sweat!

current song: country must be country wide by brantley gilbert. (hes pretty cute too!)

current wish-list: fall to really be here! we had a taste last week and it was glorious. we tend to go into fall for about a week then its into winter. one day i will live somewhere with 4 seasons... 

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current need: to start making a christmas list. i know that sounds silly! but my list is more than what i want, its things to do, buy for the apartment and others. its an extensive list haha!

current triumph: a 10-minute pr in long beach. im gonna ride that train as long as possible:)

current bane of my existence: the crazy amount of work in my new class. my instructor is kinda mean and really picky. this class also has a discussion and paper due every week. thats a tooonnn of reading.

current goal: to not let the bug in my ear knock me off my game. the bug keeps reminding me how close vegas is and that this is going to be hard. i need to keep it at bay so i can rock this race. #6 here i come!

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current indulgence: ice cream! hands down my #1. i got it back after long beach and only had a month to love on it. pizza was a very close 2^nd though. 

oh, yum.

current excitement: the holiday season is here! halloween is the official kick off of my absolute favorite time of the year.

the 8 weeks left to vegas recap.

i know im a day late again, but this weekend just didnt have enough time in it for everything! so now home i am starting my very quick turn around into another training cycle. i have never done a turn around this quick so it should be an interesting experiment for me. i also decided to do these recaps as a countdown since it is so fast. plus it keeps things fresh:) i know the posting has been sporatic, i promise to get back onto a schedule soon and everything will be posted when it is supposed to. so many things happened all with in a few short weeks and i want to tell everyone all about them. plus each should get its moment in the sun!

sunday~long beach 1/2 marathon!
13.1 miles =2:03:56 minutes/9:26 min/miles.

this was a HUGE 10 minute pr for me and such a great race! everything just fell into place from the food the night before, to getting to bed early, to having the right pre-race food, to getting in the correct corral at the start. if you havent read my full race report, check it out here so you can hear all about it. i was feeling really good the whole way and was determined to break 1 of my goals i had set out in my head. i ended up breaking 2 of them instead:)

monday~rest
rest.

who said rest had to be boring:)
nick and jesis wedding 10.10.11

tuesday~rest
rest.

wednesday~3 miles if i was ready.
rest. my body was not ready.

after dancing all night in my 4" heels on monday and getting to bed late 2 nights in a row, my body just said no when i thought about getting a run in. i gladly took one more day of relaxation!

thursday~body pump.
4.2 miles =41:15 minutes/9:46 min/miles.

since i hadnt gotten a run in since the race i decided to make today the 1st day back a run to feel out my body. i felt good during and was able to go a little further before stopping then i thought i was going to. also with the return of running came the instant return of training hunger. i could not get full to save my life. seriously, 30 minutes after a meal i was hungry again! good thing the diet had lightened up a little:)

yum yum!

 friday~4 miles.
5.2 miles =51:09 minutes/9:49 min/ miles.

gladly back to the friday special! after feeling good from the 4 miler i knew i could make it through the 5 miler. plus i knew if i really needed to i could slow down. my legs seemed to just glide along and happy to be running 2 days in a row. i was super excited about the time and there was even the slightest bit of a chill in the air, fall might actually get here some time in october!

saturday~rest.
1 hour zumba class.
5 miles =48:00 minutes/9:35 min/miles.

my mom has been trying to get me to go to zumba for about 6 months and i have always found an excuse. so friday she called again to invite me and i decided i should probably just go for it. i also figured out that i could join in on a run that my runner group was doing around the back half of vegas afterward. debi, our founder, turned 40 on thursday and for her birthday had decided to do a 40 mile run to celebrate (pure insanity if you ask me). she had been recruiting people to run for months and i had always said maybe. finally once details were posted i actually figured out i could meet her at mile 23.5 and run down the hill (smart thinking) to about mile 28.5 to where the next group would pick her up. also conveniently my mom was going to be at a shopping center across the way so she could take me back to my car.

so i met up with my mom and her friends to embark on my 1st zumba class just before 9am. the class was packed and i wasnt totally sure what i was getting into. now, i consider myself someone with decent rythym, not great, but ok. well that apparently doesnt matter in this class at all! the problem i ran into was the instructor didnt show what the moves where until you were actually doing them. so by the time i got it, we had moved on to the next one. but i can definitely see why people go religiously and you can definitely lose weight doing it! i think ill stick to running though instead.

afterward i drove a little further north to meet up with debi and the rest of the group once they came out of red rock. they were running a bit late, no surprise there, and were super excited to pick up another runner. it was about 1130a and the sun was not friendly so it was gettin pretty warm. they grabbed water from dolly who was meeting them at every stop to keep the group hydrated and sunscreened up. i attached my handheld and started my ipod timer as the 10 of us trekked down the hill. we lost a couple on the way since they had put in many miles and were ready to call it a day. by the time we made it to the next stop and my drop off there were only 4 of us! we saw debis parents that had flown out from florida for the event a couple times and the time flew by. i felt like i could have gone further because we were having such a good time, but knew that i didnt need to. plus my body later that night and sunday reminded me i had just run a 1/2 marathon less than a week before it was ok to call it in at 5 miles:)

the suncoast group!

totals for the week = 27.52 miles and 0 cross training days.

this was such a great week and i did everything i wanted to! i got in an extra rest day between the race and coming back on to my next training cycle. i did met up with debi when i wasnt sure how that was going to work. my legs/body felt great when i did get back into it. plus i got some great mileage in this week:) vegas is coming awful quick and my new experiment should be very interesting. stay tuned!!

the long beach half marathon race report

the long beach 1/2 marathon was my very 1st race 2 years ago. it was a fantastic race and it had me instantly hooked! when i didnt get into the nike 1/2 marathon that happens in october (see what happened here) i thought about long beach but wasnt sure i wanted to go back. did i want to run the same course? would i get bored?

ultimately i ended up going back and it was soooo the right decision! if you didnt read the whole weekend recap, check it out here. now its on to the race recap! the race was sunday morning and we went down saturday morning. we stayed in san pedro, the town next door at the crowne plaza because of the shuttle on race morning. thank goodness that was there because we were literally in the ghetto! i did have 4 goals set out in my head for the race:
a. finish under 2:13 for a new pr.
b. finish under 2:10 for a super stretch pr. ::fingers crossed::
c. keep a pace under 10:00 min/mile. this would be amazing!

d. finish under 2:17. that was my time 2 years ago in long beach.

saturday night after getting back from dinner i laid out all my clothes and snacks and bags so all i had to do was grab and go in the morning. it was so great to be back to the hotel early and get to bed early, this never seems to happen. 330am though still came damn early. i let richard sleep a little longer since we didnt have to be downstairs till 415am and i fumbled to put on my race day outfit. we actually ended up heading down a few minutes early.

ready to rock and roll!

the race breakfast from the hotel!

 i grabbed my race morning breakfast bag to go and we waited to board the shuttle. the concierge guy was freakin on it, checking everyones names off as we came down and then when we got on the shuttle he called roll one more time. race day shuttles are the best thing ever, seriously. to roll out of bed and not have to worry about keys and leaving and road closures on a day when you are already nervous enough is beautiful! we got to the start line super early and got to people watch for a few hours. the time went pretty quickly and there were lots of things going on with the bike race and the corral line up. soon enough it was time to go! holy crap.

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after two good luck kisses i left richard and mosied my way into the start corral which was crazy! i could barely get into the right corral let alone in the correct part. i found the 4:30 finish for the marathon pacer and knew i needed to stay in front of hime to break my time. once they let the 1st 2 corrals go we were able to move to the start line and i made my way through the crowd a little better. then we were off! my new tank top kept riding against my skirt and in the 1st 2 miles i was tugging on both of them every 3 steps it seeemed. then there was enough sweat i think for them to grip on that it was much better (i know, its gross, happens when your a runner).

the miles clicked by pretty quickly and i was feeling great. i stopped at all the water stations, powered up the overpasses (thank you runner group), and was passing people like crazy, best confidence booster ever! pretty soon i caught up to the 4:15 marathon pacer who i swear was the doppleganger of a good family friend. about the same height, wore his hat the same, same build, a little younger, same face on a quick look, so he was super to follow. not long after though my legs felt great and i decided to forge ahead. the spectators were great and i didnt get to see richard because he had staked out claim at the finish line. there was one part that we ran behind the finish line that i kept hoping he would be there, no such luck. soon we passed the 10k mark and we were headed to the beach for miles 7-10. this was definitely the warmest part, the sun had come out and the reflection off the clear water made it a warm path. i just kept clicking away.

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we got to mile 10 with the gu's (my favorite) and i knew we were only 3 miles to the finish, i was thinking, 3miles? i can do that in my sleep. while i was grabbing gu the 4:15 pacer passed right in front of me i was like, i no i didnt work this hard to have him pass me. so i hightailed it out of there and caught up pretty quick. .8 miles down the road the full marathoners turned right and i was sooooo glad to stay to the left. i did know this meant i would have to finish on my own. i passed the 11 mile mark and saw a clock that i think said 1:59 and i knew if i had a chance at coming in under 2:10 i had to get friggin going. by this point my body was hurtin. i didnt hit a wall, but i was ready to see the finish line. i knew it was close and when i saw the 12 mile marker all i had to do was countdown the lights and look for the left hand turn downhill to cross the finish. finally i saw the turn left sign, i plastered a smile on my face, fixed my tank top and skirt and gave everything i had left in the tank to the finish line. i could hear the crowd and the announcer. i could finally see it. i threw up my hands when i saw the finish time at 2:15 and knew by starting in corral 3 i had beat my 2:10 goal time. i crossed the line and even did a fist pump!!

i grabbed water and a mylar blanket even though it was warm (i never finish in time to get one, so i friggin jumped at that chance!). the 1st full marathoner hadnt even finished yet and i was grabbing my medal, it was awesome. i made my way through the crowd and found richard, thank goodness he is tall, and he said he didnt get a picture but had an awesome video of me crossing the finish line! ive never had a video before so i was stoked. then i wanted to know my time, did i beat my 2:10 stretch goal? what about my under 10:00/min pace? they had a tracker website we could access from our phones and i had to know. richard said it had issues keep track and all i wanted to know was the finish. he pulled it up and had a huge grin, "2:03:56." i was stunned!! no friggin way. are you kidding. i did not just knock off 10 minutes from nashville. i probably would have been jumping up and down if my body didnt hurt so bad. i was still in disbelief and went over to the results tent to check out the computers. it said the same thing with a "9:26 min/mile." i was sooooo excited! i dont think the grin left my face all day.

it was an awesome race! i had such a good time and am so glad i went back. remembering the course definitely helped a little bit and made for a whole different kind of race experience. i cant believe i am done with 1/2 marathon #5! 2 years ago i never would have thought i would get to that number so quickly. my training was tough, i put in a lot of miles, all the early morning workouts, and the ravenous hunger was all so worth it. the giving up of all the fatty foods i love was also worth it when i found out i had knocked off 10 minutes off my time.

i will totally admit, im addicted:)

the long beach half marathon weekend

it finally came! i feel like i was waiting forever, but in the same time it came so quickly. the week leading up to it was crazy just like everytime i go out of town it seems. i had my final project for my class due on tuesday and had to get everything finished before we left because there was no way i was doing it while out of town or when we got home late monday. plus work was crazy trying to wrap everything up for the first week of school for all my students. like i said, the week leading up to going out of town is always crazy.

soon enough it was friday evening which i was spending part of out at lake las vegas for jesis bachelorette party so i needed to be pretty much ready to go before then. i had time to finish my last minute packing and even clean the apartment before it was party time! we had a great time at dinner and the hotel was beautiful, i was a little jealous i wasnt staying the night. but my 6am wake up call the next day to get on the road was awfully early. i made it to bed that night around midnight and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. the next morning came too quickly and i was up and in the shower so we could head out. after a quick stop at einsteins for delicious bagels we were headed south!

we made it in great time, right about noon to the abundant and beautiful sunshine of long beach, ca! the plan was to hit the expo first, lunch and then check into the hotel. the expo is seriously one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend, the energy is fantastic and the bib makes it very real. this expo was a little on the small side and i kept expecting more. it was nice to finish rather quick though. the original plan was lunch on our own then met my husband, nate for dinner. he had a concert that night though and we switched thing around for lunch. he had found a diner near our hotel that we were going to meet around 130p at. we crossed the bridge from long beach to san pedro where were staying and i felt like we were in a whole new world, i was pretty sure we were one of the only people that spoke english. we found the hotel pretty easily and i was really glad i picked a brand name (the crowne plaza, more on that later). we ventured to the diner to meet nate a few minutes early and as soon as we pulled in, i was like oh no we are not staying here! we were definitely not in the right part of town and we needed to get out of there, even in the daylight! once nate got there we decided to head back over the bridge to the pike next to the beach instead.

once we got back to the right part of town lol the 3 of us decided on islands for lunch and were starving! lunch was delicious and we had a great time all catching up. nate and richard had never met and they both were definitely scopping each other out:) (nate and i went to college together and he has remained one of my best friends since. in fact in college people joked we were married because we were always together. in march he is getting married in england i will be heading over the pond to celebrate!)

with 2 of my favorite guys:)

afterward nate was headed back to the oc to meet his friends for the concert and we decided to venture back over the bridge to our hotel and maybe catch a nap before dinner. the hotel was really nice, a king bed and lots of space! i mainly picked it because it had a shuttle that would take us to and from the start line on race day. this was the deciding fact because parking for the race in long beach is a nightmare. the staff was great and we headed over to the bell desk to sign up for the shuttle right away. however because it was almost 4p on saturday we got stuck with the 430am shuttle! oh lord that means a crazy early wake up call and hanging around the start line for 2 hours before the race starts!

once we napped a little and watched some tv, it was so nice to just lay around sometimes, we decided it was time to find somewhere for dinner. it was right around 6p so it was perfect time. richard wanted to walk around the shops we had seen on the scary drive to the restaurant and i wanted to beeline for the restaurant. the concierge suggested a pasta and seafood house super close so we were ok with walking. now by that i mean i had big crazy eyes trying to be alert and richard was on facebook or looking in all the shops that had closed at 6p instead. we got to the restaurant and i knew it was time to carb up. i found a seafood pasta dish that sounded delicious and richard found lasagna. now the seafood pasta could have been split between 2-3 people once i realized how big it was! it was soooo good though, the seafood was super fresh and the sauce was just enough.

after rolling myself back to the hotel i started to get ready for the next morning. i laid out all my clothes and snacks and bags so all i had to do was grab and go in the morning. it was so great to be back to the hotel early and get to bed early, this never seems to happen. 330am though still came damn early. we arrived super early at the start line and the day went smooth from there. check out my next post for the full race report! it was just too long to fit in one post:) but know that my training all came together and i could not be happier about my finish!

1/2 marathon #5, done!
amazing support team!

later that morning, yes it was still morning, i hobbled away slowly from the finish line festival in search of one thing...chicken and waffles. i really wanted that to be my post-race breakfast in nashville but it never happened. then randomly i got online to the famous roscoes in los anglelos website and found out they had one in long beach less than a mile from where i was crossing the finish line. i had been excited for days and couldnt wait to finally taste the meal i had heard so much about. we arrived to about a 20 minute wait, no big deal as we sat in the lounge and watched more runners pile in. our number was called shortly after and we made our way through the super busy restaurant to the back for our table. 

looking at the menu i was almost overwhelmed but decided not to go too overboard and ordered a waffle and thigh. the food came pretty quick and smelled fantastic. i dove into the chicken 1st and it was aaa-mazing. so juicy and succulent, dang thats a big word for fried chicken. then came the waffle that was phhh-enomenal. the right amount of sweet and savory and a perfect balance to the chicken. the best part was the syrup came in a little container on the side so i didnt have to worry about anything touching the other. richard and i both devoured our breakfast pretty quickly. our only regret was not getting more chicken. we instantly made the resolution to come back in the morning for another round. 

YUM!

afterward we made our way back to the shuttle stop just in time for the 1st ride back. i hobbled my way into the shower as soon as i got upstairs and headed straight for our very comfy king size bed to take at least an hour nap before the afternoon adventures. richard stayed up and watched nascar while i was fast asleep. we had already decided to not stay in long beach for the rest of the day, but to venture up to santa monica to the famous pier and the 3rd street promenade. after again hobbling around to get dressed from my pjs and make it down to the car we headed north, only getting on to one wrong freeway, to beautiful santa monica. 

i had been once before, but richard hadnt. we battled the crazy traffic and decided richard couldnt live there or he would be mad all the time, finally finding a parking spot near the beach. it was beautiful! a nice warm day with lots of people, maybe too many. we saw amazing houses and hotels right on the beach i would have gladly upgraded for. we mosied our way to the pier partially because i couldnt go anywhere fast and partially because we were finally in no hurry. we scoped out the sunglasses and souvenirs at the shops along with people watching the whole way. it was a great afternoon that ended with my first taste of ice cream in the form of a homemade dutch chocolate milkshake that was glorious. 

 we made our way off the pier and up to the massive shopping center called the 3rd street promenade. this place is huge and has tons of shops and restaurants, perfect for strolling around for the rest of our day. we finally found richard a pair of sunglasses and went into a few store here and there. we ended up deciding on pizza that night for dinner, one of the other things i dearly missed in my training. it was also super delicious.

our footprints:)

by this time most things were closing and the cool beach air was settling in on our shorts and tanks/tees, definitely time to head back to the car. finally making it and not being too cold we made our way back through the 3 ghettos to our hotel. we made it another early night and watched part of kim kardashians wedding before blissfully falling asleep for another early morning wake up call the next day. the alarm began ringing about 6am so we could check out and get back to roscoes for breakfast before driving back to vegas. except roscoes clearly does not run that early since they didnt open till 8am and we were there at 715ish. richard convinced me not to wait as were on a slight time budget to make it back for nick and jesis weekend and we found a delicious donut shop a few lights down. 

as i drove back with richard sleeping in the front seat i replayed the weekend in my head. having a super fun lunch with nate and walking around in the ghetto next to our hotel totally freaked out. the amazing race i had just won and knocked off huge numbers from nashville. the fact that i had just finished 1/2 marathon #5 and already had plans for #6 and #7. and the amazing support i have from the guy sitting next to me that didnt complain about getting up at 345am the morning before to catch a shuttle that got us to the start line 2 hours early. i decided i was a lucky girl and have a lot of things really going my way.

we made it back into vegas in time to pick up a few things on the way home and for me to take about a 1/2 hour nap before the wedding. dont worry, all those things are coming up in later posts:)