Post Marathon

I love this girl, Shawna she is my most hard core friend. I would have been so lonely through out my training and at the start of the race if it wasn't for this girl. I've talked her ears off and "copped a squat" so many times around her and she still loves me! We stayed together until mile 13 and met up at the finish, I think her time was 5:10 ish. This gal works full time, exercise instructor part time, has a social life and still managed to train for a marathon....she's awesome! Thank you Shawna for sharing this experience with me and being my friend. We drove home together stinky and sore. When I got home I had a sweet surprise.........

Ruthann watched the boys and helped them make posters and signs and hung them on the garage and in the widows. My favorite was in the front window" Our mom ran the L.A. Marathon today!" All my neighbors kept congratulating me which was kinda cool!

My boys were so impressed with my medal. Ruthann got me a really cool box to mount on the wall to hang my medal, bib, and race photos in! Then we partied up at the Fenske's, yummy food, Iwasn't all that hungry but my knees were in alot of pain.I iced them the whole day every time I would sit or stand for a long period of time they would stiffen up. I taught a spin class the next day and my class thought I was crazy but you wouldn't believe how good it felt to get my muscles warm, I kept the resistence low. It took me about 2 weeks to fully recover and feel normal again. One thing would stop hurting and then I would realize another new pain/soreness!

I ran 2 straight miles for the first time yesterday, I think I'm going to do a 10K on the 4th of July. I love to run! I used to run to be thin, not anymore f.y.i. you would think you would lose weight training for a marathon not me I gained 5 lbs! Mostly muscle my claves got gynormous and my quadsjust call me quadzilla! So I'm focusing now on losing muscle and getting lean! Always gotta have a goal!

L.A. Marathon 2009...I did it!

It feels amazing to accomplish something you've wanted to do for the past 3 years but didn't have the guts to go for it and just do it! I finally did it! For those of you that don't know I ran the L.A. Marathon on Mon. May 25. A marathon is 26.2 miles. There were over 15,000 runners so it was a slow start, it finally started to break up around mile 2. I was great until mile 20 when my knees, hips, and feet started to bother me. By 25 the pain was almost unbearable, my knees felt like they were going to buckle and snap, my feet were throbbing, and my hips were incredibly tight at this point it is all mental. It is amazing to see mile 26 but that last .2, the finish line seems so far away. The crowd lining the streets cheering you on feels incredible, like you are a celebrity. I crossed the finish line and cried not because of emotion or satisfaction but I've never experienced pain like that but it's worth it like the signs people were holding say "pain is momentary but glory is forever" It's true I'd do it all over again.
My time was 4:40, I'm a little disappointed I must confess I thought I'd do better. Maybe next time? I like awake at night wondering where I went wrong? What I could've done better and these are the 2 things I have come up with...I should have foam rolled out the night before, I should not have switched out my shoes 2 weeks prior but my old ones were done! Better planning and have 2 pair of shoes alternating while training.

Steve and my mom came down to support me. It was so great to see my mom's big hair and her cheerful face around the corner at mile 18, thanks for coming you'll never know how much that meant to me!
I just want to encourage you all if there's anything in your life that you've been wanting to do and it seems impossible.You've got to visualize yourself doing it and don't give up! You can do anything you put your mind and whole heart into!
Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm and well wishes!

The Soup

Yes it's me and Joel McHale! If you watch the E channel you will know who he is, if you don't he is hilarious and he hosts a reality clip show. My friend Nicole has a friend who knows a guy that works for E and got us tickets to a taping of The Soup last night. It was hilarious as always and Joel is a super cool guy. At the end of taping he thanks everyone for coming and shakes their hand, I asked for a pic cuz I love the show and I had to have some visuals to go with my bragging! Bruno, the judge from Dancing with the Stars made a cameo but I don't watch that show so I didn't really care. We went out to dinner and had a fabulous girls nite out! A shout out to Rebecca for watching the boys until Steve got home from work! Lucas will not stop talking about Matthew and all the fun they had!

Agoura Great Race: Half Marathon

Shawna and I before. It was soooo cold! I couldn't feel my toes until mile 3, they were so numb from the cold. We did the Pacific Half instead of the Chesebro this year which was all street. We thought it would be easier and didn't really train at all. We were wrong! It was all up hill on Kanan rd. and around Malibu Lake down and around and back up hill to the finish at Agoura High School. The scenery was beautiful but you couldn't really enjoy it because there was one hill after another!

Me crossing the finish line, I know I am a dork! My goal was to finish under 2 hours and my time was 1:59:06, I barely made it but I felt fine after I wasn't sore the next day except for my shins from the downhill on the pavement. So I'm pleased to announce this was the beginning of my training for the L.A. Marathon on May 25! It is on Monday this year, it's usually on Sunday as most marathons are and I want to be obedient to the Sabbath so I know this is meant to be!

Shawna and I after. I talked Shawna into doing the L.A. Marathon with me. She is my most hardcore friend and she likes to push herself as hard as I do! Wish us luck!

This year the race had extra special meaning. Last year my friend Ginger Clinton that passed away ran the 5K and she was very proud of her accomplishment. To honor her memory a big group of us, her whole family included, all participated in various races. We all wore red shirts, her favorite color, with the word "Happiness" on the front and her initials on the back. It was very cool to see all the red shirts and remember Ginger. Honestly a couple of times throughout my 13 miles I called on Ginger to help me, I felt her spirit and presence there. She was such an awesome person! I miss her so much!

Disneyland again

They were even stressed about "Small World".ME: "It's not scary. It's just a bunch of dolls singing." Boys: "Are the dolls scary?" it's finally open with some new additions and the boys loved it like I knew they would

It was a little chilly but sunshine all day, even Jasmine and Alladin have their coats on.

They changed Tom Sawyer's island to the pirate's hideout...this was new for us.

It's "Captain Underpants"!

I was up on the computer and Ben calls me and says "look mom I'm Captain Underpants!"

I had to grab my camera and blog it, I can't wait till he's 17 and show these pics to his friends!

If you've read the books you know what I'm talking about!

Lucas, the drama boy

This kid is all drama! He's definately a Leo, just like his mama.