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Past Races
12.31.02 - Washington Resolution Run
01.19.03 - San Diego Marathon
07.13.03 - Tri For Real #2
10.23.05 - Nike Women's Half Marathon
11.23.06 - Sparks Turkey Trot
05.05.07 - Marathon de Mayo (Half)
05.13.07 - Moms on the Run
10.??.07 - Nike Women's Half Marathon
05.10.08 - Moms on the Run
06.21.09 - Pleasanton Spirit 5K
07.29.09 - San Francisco Half Marathon
10.04.09 - SJ Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon
10.18.09 - Nike Women's Half Marathon
11.01.09 - New York Marathon
11.26.09 - Spark's Turkey Trot 10K
02.20.10 - Bay Breeze Half Marathon
03.14.10 - Shamrock 'N Half Marathon
03.21.10 - LA Marathon
03.27.10 - Scheel's Fanatic 5K
04.25.10 - Marin County Half Marathon
05.02.10 - Reno Rock 'N River Half Marathon
06.05.10 - See Jane Run Half Marathon
07.25.10 - San Francisco Half Marathon
09.05.10 - Pier to Peak Half Marathon
10.10.10 - Chicago Marathon
10.30.10 - Healdsburg Half Marathon
11.07.10 - U.S. Half Marathon
11.25.10 - Scheels Turkey Trot 10K
02.06.11 - Surf City Half Marathon
03.13.11 - Dublin Shamrock 5K
04.18.11 - Boston Marathon
05.01.11 - Big Sur Marathon
06.11.11 - Lake Tahoe Relay
07.31.11 - San Francisco Half Marathon
09.11.11 - Walnut Festival Run 5K
09.18.11 - NorCal Half Marathon
11.24.11 - Scheels Turkey Trot
12.03.11 - Las Vegas Santa Suit 5K
12.04.11 - Las Vegas Half Marathon
03.11.12 - South Bay Duathlon
03.25.12 - Oakland Half Marathon
05.20.12 - Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon
06.24.12 - Silicon Valley Intl. Triathlon
07.15.12 - Ironman 70.3 Vineman Triathlon
03.09.13 - Lucky 13 Half Marathon
04.28.13 - Eugene Half Marathon
05.11.13 - Folsom International TriathlonPersonal Records
5k:19:17 @ Dublin Shamrock 5k 2011
10k: 41:01 @ Scheel's Turkey Trot 2010
Half:1:30:07 @ Oakland Half 2012
Full: 3:31:44 @ Boston Marathon 2011
70.3: 5:20:07 @ Vineman 2012Currently Reading
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Archives
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Category Archives: Family
Baby-Oh-Baby, It’s A Baby Shower!
It’s after weekends like these that remind you no matter how much your family can drive you crazy, family is a beautiful thing.
I headed to Reno this weekend to throw my little sister’s baby shower and I was ecstatic to celebrate her and soon-to-be nephew, Kaleb. The theme was “chalk” with burst of baby blue, complete with a lunch, dessert, mimosas and more.
I kept the games to a minimal amount: yarn around the belly, plate on the head to draw the baby’s face, babies in ice cubes and guess the baby’s stats.
The boys also celebrated with their own “diaper party” – bring a package of diapers and play poker.
Happy baby shower, Caroline, and we can’t wait to meet you baby Kaleb!
Baby blue game prizes that read: Baby-Oh-Baby, You’re A Winner!
Chicken salad sandwiches, Chinese chicken salad and veggie pasta salad.
Delicious lemon blueberry cupcakes made by my cousin, Jacqueline. Other desserts included peanut butter blossoms, rice krispy treats, banana bread, brownie bites and milk shots.
Let’s revisit these sandwiches for a second because they were simply amazing. With chicken, cranberries, celery, green onions, and sweet pickles, mixed in a dressing with the perfect secret ingredient: curry powder. I’d highly recommend these for any party. (Recipe Via)
One of the games: freeze little babies in ice cubes. The first person to have their baby melt (without cheating) and shouts, “My water broke!” wins.
The favors – small flower bulbs are in the mini jars.
Caroline’s depiction of her soon-to-be son.
Flags with trivia about Caroline as a baby in each of the vases.
Love you, Caroline!
Back In The Game
First and foremost, I want to take a moment to say happy birthday to the most amazing woman I know: my mom! Yes, I’m in my mid-twenties and still call her every single day, but hey, I can’t help it! She’s my best friend and deserves nothing but amazingess on her big day.
So in honor of moms around the world…call your mom today and tell her you love her. Then let me know how it went and we can see how many mom’s days were made today 
Now back to normal business. Sometimes, the weekends are best used to get done everything you couldn’t during the weekend…or in my case…the past six months. After a jam-packed week at work, Chicken Face, Lola and I packed up and headed back to Nevada for a multitude of reasons, but on top of our list included wedding planning! Researching ceremony venues, talking with our reception coordinator, and ordering engagement photos (which I’ll share soon). We even had our very own driver for the trip…we’re so lucky!
Mixed in to the craziness was also a solid 15 mile run. Remember when I ousted myself about my time off of running and being nervous about getting back into the game? Well, like many of you reminded me, with patience it will all return to normal. And the great news is that it did! Due to the frigid temps in Nevada, I busted out 10 miles on the treadmill (thank you Lester Holt and Giuliana & Bill for keeping me company) and then five more once the sun rose with my parent’s pup. I could feel my legs getting back in the groove of things and my heart managing to steadily beat along as the distance grew. Nothing is better than that feeling when you realize: ah yes, I can do this. I will tackle Heartbreak Hill with a smile on my face.
Have a great week everybody and happy running!
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Day 26: 9 miles
Day 27: Rest
Day 28: 15 miles
Can We Say Spoiled?
Hi, my name is Lola and I’m spoiled like crazy. Yup, while my mom is out running and my dad is freezing under the sheets, I get a personal space heater to warm my three pound self every morning. Sometimes I get lost just staring into the heater for 10 minutes at a time.
Why are mom and dad too cheap to turn on the heater for themselves but will give me a personal space heater? I think it has to do something with the fact that I’m so damn adorable. Come on…how can you resists my big brown eyes?
Stay warm and happy running!
P.S. We purchased our flight for the Boston Marathon last night…it’s getting real!
10ks In 10 Degrees
It’s sad but true…the four day holiday weekend is over. I am mourning the loss of family time, shopping and too much food, but I can happily say that it was a great holiday…even with the frickin’-freezing Turkey Trot Thursday morning.
This, my friends, is no lie:
10-ohnmygodIcantfeelmylips-degrees. I thought I was prepared with tights and my long sleeve dri-fit tee. But when I put on my tights, I realized that I needed a new pair (they weren’t “holding” me in enough and all that booty bounce would be too much of a show), so I opted for my Lululemon Wunder Under capris and vowed to purchase new running tights (more on that later).
My beloved Sparks Turkey Trot had a new course this year and boy was it booooring. Literally two out and backs on a not-so-scenic route. Meh. But it was still great to see old and new friends and get out there in the fresh, albeit cold, air. Want to know the best part? Wait for it…these super sweet WHITE sweatshirts. Ha…I’ll give them credit for trying.
Look who I got to run the Turkey Trot with me? When he found out it was a 10k, not a 5k, he wasn’t a happy camper.
The good news? I was pretty happy with my time as it’s my 10k PR: 41:01 / 6:36 avg. mile. This meant 3rd/157 in my age group (21-30) and 7th female overall.
The rest of the Thanksgiving holiday was simply perfect: dinner with my family, dinner with Chicken Face’s family, I bought my wedding dress (squeaaaal!), Thai food date night with my mom and Black Friday shopping madness. Black Friday was also the perfect opportunity to finally get new running tights: whala! New Nike tights that have great ventilation behind the knees as well as zippers on the calves, and a new Nike long-sleeved turtleneck. I was apprehensive about the whole “turtleneck” thing, but after my chilly run, it was a perfect! I would definitely recommend it as its tight enough to keep you warm, yet loose enough to not make you feel about like its suffocating you.
Perfect new gear for a perfect, snowy run with my parent’s pup, Chloe.
I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and was able to get out and run a bit.
Happy Running!
20 Miles & A Wedding I’ll Never Forget
Whew! The past couple of weeks have been crazy and this week looks like it won’t disappoint! Why so busy, you ask? Work is a million miles per hour, squeezing in training runs has been difficult and most importantly, my sister got married!
I was fortunate enough to take Friday off of work and head home to Reno (yes, I’ve been back to Reno a billion times this month) to help my sister with her big day. But before any of the festivities got underway, I was sure to get in my long run of 20 miles. The mid-week training hasn’t been going so swell (leaving for work at 7 and getting home past 7 doesn’t leave much time), but I am glad that I’m at least getting the higher mileage in on the weekend.
How did the 20 miles go? Well, it wasn’t easy. It was warm out, but nothing bad enough to warrant a bitch-fest, but it was the first time in a long time that I’ve put 20 miles in. I trucked along at a slow pace, but the point was that I finished and I wasn’t sore at all the next day. The legs were a bit tight, but no soreness equals a win in my book. I’m excited for my training this time around as there are many more 18+ mile runs scheduled, as opposed to training for LA where I only did one 20 mile run.
But one thing in particular did bother me about this run: my fuel belt. I learned during LA training that I absolutely must carry food and drinks on my long runs, but HOT DAMN, I feel like my fuel belt weighs an extra eight pounds! I can always tell that at the beginning of my run, when it’s full with Cytomax, water, PB&J sandwich bites, my cell phone, Gu and other miscellaneous running crap, I run significantly slower. But as I eat, drink and empty the belt, my pace picks up. Don’t get me wrong, I love my belt, it fits well, and only minimally scratches up my backside. I will continue to train with it, but when I’m attempting a BQ is Chicago, I’m afraid that it will significantly slow me down! So, I turn to you, my trusty blogging community: what do you do to ensure that you are properly fueled on your long runs/marathons without feeling like you are carrying an extra tire around your waist?
Mimosas and Manis!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Extremely girly blogging will commence now: After the 20 miles, my sisters, mom, aunt and I headed out for manis, pedis and mimosas…a great way to start the rest of the day and help celebrate with my sister. After that, we did the normal pre-wedding activities, i.e. shopping, rehearsal dinner, etc.
Next thing you know, it was the morning of the wedding, we were getting our hair and make-up done and I couldn’t believe that my big sister was actually getting hitched! She is the first out of our family to tie the knot and it was so surreal to watch it all happen….tear! She looked absolutely beautiful and it was honestly one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. I cried, I laughed, I drank (maybe a bit too much), and danced my ass of like a crazy person. Congratulations Ryann and Eric, I’m so happy for you!
The happy couple
Me, my cousin and my two sisters
It was a fight to the bitter end.
This is how the lil' sis and I roll
It was a full weekend and this one is sure to have many more stories as well. Happy running!
P.S. Thank you to everyone who submitted song for the ultimate running play list! I’ll be putting the play list together later this week so be sure to check back soon!
