In other CHUBBY news...

This week afforded the opportunity to eat a lot of unhealthy food. In some cases I indulged...but in most cases I exercised self discipline and made the proper choice.

On Monday, the only real temptation was at night at my Women's Bible Study group (of all places), LOL! The ladies bring some delicious treats, but luckily I was prepared...I flossed, brushed my teeth, AND rinsed with mouth wash before I went...I had ZERO, OK that's an exaggeration, LITTLE desire to snack that night!

On Tuesday we spent the day at my sister Jenni's house. I was watching her 3 kiddos (and their big huge dog) while my sister and her husband went to the fair. You may remember me describing afternoons at my sister's house in the past. It is a fat girl's DREAM! They always have things like candy bars, chips, ice cream, and pastries. And on the RARE occasion when they don't have those items readily available, my sister's cupboards are always stocked full of like 10 cake and brownie mixes, 5 cans of frosting, multiple boxes of pudding mix, and a variety of different baking/chocolate chips. If the treats aren't made...you have the ingredients to make.it.happen. I love her house. :0) In an effort to "be good," I brought a packaged salad to eat for lunch. I have done things like this in the past...but it never works out. I ALWAYS ditch my WW frozen dinner, or the healthy sack lunch I pack...and eat donuts, and sundaes, and cookies like I have been competing in the game of "Survivor" for 38 days on a deserted island! But on this afternoon, I stuck with my salad! :0)

I had a GREAT day with the kids. One of my favorite memories of that day is when it came time for the kids to eat lunch (they all wanted something different to eat, and I obliged), and instead of them all sitting down at the normal dining room table to eat, Brady decided to bring in the tiny plastic outdoor table, and all 4 of the knuckleheads squeezed around that! They crack me up!



On Wednesday I was planning to make it to the beach, but the weather was not cooperating. Instead, we headed to Sea World. I packed our lunches and snacks...I left my wallet in the car, so temptations weren't even an option...and another successful day on the diet was had! We saw the new shamu show, we had a surprise guest join us for the last 90 minutes of our day (shout-out to PAM!), and the kids got to meet a few of the characters...





On Thursday we went to the park with our mommies group. No temptations there. :0) But in the evening we went to a birthday party at the YMCA where they were offering delicious (and ADORABLE!) treats such as these...





Believe it or not, I escaped the cupcake trap! However, the party was during dinner hour and I did indulge in the most delicious Subway sandwich EVER...and a bag of chips....REBEL! ;0)

Friday was all about baking! My cousin was getting married the next day, and I was baking cookies for the wedding. :0) The good news is, the cookies weren't my favorite...there is ZERO sugar in the dough! So that spared me many calories of sampling and such. However, each of these cookies has a single M&M candy in the middle, and I certainly had a few mini handfuls of M&M's while I was baking. :0(





And after my cookie baking extravaganza, I went and did our weekly grocery shopping. For the last month I have been passing by the Starbucks kiosk in our Target store, pining for a delicious frozen drink! I have had a giftcard to Starbucks in my wallet for weeks, and I have been resisting the temptation. But on this day, I gave in. I got my Grande Mocha Coconut Frappuccino.



It was DE-licious...in the moment. But within minutes, I regretted my decision. I didn't need the calories. And physically, my body was rejecting the super sugary/dairy treat. My stomach wouldn't stop gurgling for hours. :0(

Saturday was the big wedding! I ate light all day in anticipation of the wedding that night. All of my efforts with regard to diet and exercise earlier in the week had paid off. My sister had given me a bunch of her old clothes, and I had multiple options to choose from for this event. I finally decided on a black dress...I did my hair in a way I had never done in it the past, and I think it all came together quite nicely. I felt very pretty. :0)







For dinner, we had a creamy/cheesy chicken, potatoes, some vegetables (not on my plate), bread and salad.



This wedding was nontraditional in the fact that they did not have a wedding cake. Instead they had multiple pies (the bride and groom prefer pie over cake), tons of tiny desserts to choose from, and of course, my cookies (pictured above)...





In addition to all of that, the wedding favors were tiny boxes containing two delicious pieces of Sees Candy. I ate my 2 pieces, and Bea's 2 pieces! :-0

I definitely gained weight that day! LOL!

Unfortunately, Sunday continued in that same (I'm dieting???) direction. It was Father's Day, and I busted out my manliest cookbook for the occasion..."Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries, and Shakes." I selected the Dallas Burger which involved a homemade BBQ sauce, a homemade coleslaw, and a spicy rub for the burgers. I toasted the buns, put it all together, and it turned out INCREDIBLE!!! The picture does NOTHING for the meal, but here it is none-the-less...



I brought my "Middle Sister" wine, Jenni made a cake (in this case, the picture does far more justice to the food than it deserves, HAHAHAHA!)...



...and we had an amazingly HILARIOUS night celebrating the fathers in our lives.



Perfect end to a GREAT week! :0)

Game On!

Post-Marathon workouts have been so much fun! For 8 months I had been focused on running, and with the exception of "Zumba" and "Pump it", I haven't ventured into the other fitness classes at the YMCA. Some of the classes conflicted with other activities I had going on in life, but now that all of my extra curricular obligations are on summer break, my schedule is freed up. In addition to my busy life, during the marathon training, I was extremely cautious about participating in alternative workouts...I did NOT want to suffer an injury before the race! Through the power of prayer, and diligence on my part, I am happy to report that I did not have a single cold during the training season, or an injury! :0)

My post-marathon workouts have also been fueled by a competition I have going with 2 of my girlfriends...shout-out to Katie & Michelle! We have been competing to achieve the most workout "check-ins" on Facebook. Last month, I totally lost! Katie pulled out the win, but Michelle was CLOSELY behind her...I was a distant 3rd. The month of May was my busiest month of the year, and now that that was over, I strategized a new plan of attack for June. I have scheduled it so that on most days I can exercise twice a day without putting any burden on my family. One of my favorite benefits from the marathon training, is that I have now built up enough strength to run while pushing both kids in the double stroller. So each morning, at about 7am, after the kids have eaten their breakfast, I put them in the stroller and we go for a run. When I am solo, I can run 3 miles in 30 minutes...but when I am pushing the stroller, the 3 miles takes me 40 minutes to run the distance.

I have read my Bible, eaten breakfast, done my chores, and have gotten this first workout done before Rick even comes home from work. We then have the rest of the day to do whatever...go to the beach, Sea World, Soak City, playdates with friends, errands (booooring, lol)...whatever is on the agenda. We then eat dinner together, and spend time with Rick in the evening as usual. But after Rick goes back to bed for nap #2 (at about 6pm) the kids and I head to the gym for my 2nd workout of the day.

On MONDAY- I was able to spend almost 2 hours at the gym in the evening. I did about 40 minutes of strength training on my own...doing the exercises that my trainer had shown me during my training sessions, and then I hit the treadmill for an hour of cardio. Over the last several months, I have started to play a little bit of a game with the treadmill. A game to see how many calories I can burn in an hour. In the beginning, I was always hitting around 900 calories. But then, I began to wonder how many more "points" I could earn???...I bumped up my incline, or I bumped up my speed, and I would be STOKED to get 1000 calories burned in the hour. In the last couple of months or so, I had increased my stamina even further, and I have been hitting numbers like this...



On Monday, after my workout had ended, and when I had earned 1108 calories yet again, a new challenge clicked in my head...get to the 1200 calorie marker! That was going to be my new mission.

On TUESDAY- It was so tempting to jump on the treadmill and attempt to accomplish my "1200" goal. But I didn't. I have desired for quite some time to try the other fitness classes at the Y, and this was a night when I could take the "Sports Conditioning" class. I NEVER even considered this class in the past. My trainer teaches this class, and during one of my training sessions he had mentioned that I should come do it. I told him that it sounded like it was out of my league, and he said that based on my performance that I could totally hold my own in his class. I was super nervous about going, but I am glad I didn't chicken out...it was an INCREDIBLE workout! The class was basically doing all of the things that we did in my training sessions, and I rocked it! It is by far the most challenging class I have ever been to, including the boot camp I went to with my friend Katie several months ago. When I walked into the class, there was this 20-something year old girl who immediately gravitated towards me, and I am so glad she did. We became partners for the rest of the night, and it was so nice to be buddied up with someone early on when you are a newbie. There were times in the class when we were doing something funky, and I thought, "Oh no! I can injure myself!"...and then it was so refreshing to realize, "Oh wait, who cares if I sprain my ankle now!?" :0) I have a lot of improvement that I can make in this class, and look forward to achieving new goals on Tuesday nights!

On Wednesday- I went to my first ever Spin class! Again, the thought had crossed my mind to abandon all things new, and return to all things familiar. I was longing to get back on the treadmill and make things happen! But I didn't. I hopped on a spin cycle instead, next to one of the other gals I had buddied up with the night before at the Sports Conditioning class. She got my bike all set up for me (it's a whole process, who knew!?) and then I was good to go. There were only like 15 of us in the class, and of the 15, there were 10 of us that were trying it for the first time! I was glad to not be the only one without experience. The class was a lot of fun! The music was loud, the teacher was cool, and I sweat a TON! For the most part, I did great. There were 2 times when the teacher told us to bump up our resistance and I didn't do it. I felt like I was at my max. But there were numerous times when the other newbies had stopped cycling altogether and needed to take a break...I never needed to stop, and that was nice for my ego. ;0) There was a time when my "friend" cycling next to me had corrected my technique and had reminded me to push with my heels, not with my toes..."You will get shin splints," she told me. I was gripped with fear! For 8 months, shin splints were the very thing I was avoiding! But again, it was so refreshing to be able to calm down and think, "I can totally get shin splints now!" LOL! Now of course, I don't WANT an injury, so I did correct my form, but it's really nice to be released from the burden of fear! All in all, "Spinning" is an excellent form of exercise, and I will absolutely be returning to the class! However, I will say though, that I had sweat a crazy amount of sweat like that the night before in the sports conditioning class (and when I run) and I preferred the other classes to spinning. It's just a preference thing. But again, I am loving the variety in classes now, and I will totally go back.

On THURSDAY- The kids and I had a birthday party to go to in the evening at the YMCA in Santee, and after the party, I had time to jump on the treadmill before we made it home for bedtime. Unfortunately, I only had 50 minutes to spend on the treadmill, so I was nowhere near able to accomplish my "1200" goal...



But it was still a decent burn! :0) In the future, I plan to go back to doing Zumba on Thursday nights.

On FRIDAY- I was able to give my "1200" game my best effort. There are no classes on Friday nights. I LOVE the gym on Friday nights...it is EMPTY! Most people are living it up on date night or something like that, and I get to have my pick of the fitness equipment! :0) Friday night's workout was similar to Monday's. I first did about 40 minutes of strength training/circuits. I had a GREAT sweat going. And then I jumped on the treadmill, I was ready to make it happen! I put the incline at 15 (the max) and I walked at a 3.9 pace. Months ago, when I first started out doing extracurricular cardio on the treadmill, I walked at a 3.5...but in my journey to accomplish the "1000" calorie goal, I had gradually increased my pace up to a 3.8. Friday was the first night I had bumped it up to a 3.9. And as I had expected, I didn't notice too much of a difference. It was a comfortable challenge. But unfortunately, in the end, I didn't hit my mark! :0(



It would have to be another day.

On SATURDAY- I had a wedding to go to in the evening...if I was going to log-in both workouts for the day, I was going to have to do them back-to-back in the morning...so that is what I did. I ran 3 miles in the morning with the kids, and then we headed to the gym. I did have the option to do Zumba that morning, but I was determined to hit "1200" on the treadmill! I got on that bad boy...I set the incline at 15, and then I bumped the pace up to 4.1. I could definitely feel the difference in pace as to what I am used to...but it was manageable. I was curious to see if I would be able to keep the pace the whole workout. I was wondering if I would tire out at some point, and have to bring it down a few notches. I keep a towel over the dashboard so I am not focused on the numbers. I like to get lost into a show while I am working out. But occasionally, when I would have to wipe my sweaty face with my towel, I would check out my numbers, and it was too close for comfort! The numbers weren't going to add up to 1200. :0( I had thought about keeping pace, and telling myself not to worry about about the goal...I would hit 1200 eventually. But then the beast came out in me, and I thought, "NO! You are doing this TODAY!" So, I bumped up the pace 1 more time to a 4.2, and I rode that out until the very end. And would you believe...





...I did it!!! I was SOOOO stoked!!!! I felt like a video game junky who had finally beat Pac-Man! I beat the treadmill!!! I was on top of the world...forget about runner's high...I had walker's high! It was AWESOME!

On SUNDAY- I took the day off! :0)

Rock 'N Roll Marathon (Part 4)

So I made it all the way to the halfway point...13.1 miles...with my dad. But when I went to bump fists with him at the 13 mile marker, he was nowhere to be found. :0( I kept turning my head in all directions to see if he was dodging another runner, but to no avail. I just kept running.

But it weighs on you. Is he OK?

Just to recap, from mile 2 to 10 I felt great! From miles 10 to 13 I was growing a tad bit tired, but I was still pretty strong.

After I hit mile 13 I felt like I wanted to walk a bit. I didn't walk though. For 2 reasons...

1. I had a goal in mind, that I did NOT want to walk in this race.

2. Even more important (at the time) is that my (old) bosses were in the crowd cheering me on up ahead, and I could NOT be walking when I saw someone I knew, LOL!

I kept running, and running and running...



Eventually we got off of Friars Rd., and turned on to Morena Blvd. I made it passed mile 14, and mile 15. And right around the 15 mile marker, I finally saw them...my bosses (and Trisha's husband Peter)...





I started waving my hands in the air, as I was SO excited to see a familiar face in the crowd!!! And then they saw me...



They had pulled out all of the stops...they made a sign, they were blowing whistles, they were shouting my name on the megaphone...IT.WAS.AWESOME! I gave them a quick hug, and then I was on my way again...



Unfortunately, from here on out, the race went (figuratively) down hill for me. I still didn't know where my dad was, I was tired, I was fighting the urge to walk, I knew I wouldn't be seeing anyone else I recognized until the finish line, and I still had so much more to go. :0( In addition to that, the sun was beating down on my skin. This was a GORGEOUS day in San Diego...but unfortunately, it was too hot of weather to be comfortably running in. I hadn't worn any sunscreen becuase when I had the opportunity to put it on, it was 3:30am and I figured that by the time the sun would be up, the sunscreen would have lost it's power. I was getting freaked out about the sun, and so I went to one of the aid stations and asked if they had any sunscreen..."No." I was bummed! But just as I was about to start running again, a nice random man was chilling solo in the middle of Morena Blvd, and he said, "I have sunscreen for you!" He proceeded to spray my arms down with sunscreen. He asked about spraying my face, and I decided against it as I didn't want it getting into my eyes as I sweating. I was so grateful for that man...and unfortunately for him, so were many other runners. As I was running away from him, I heard a bunch of other runners saying, "I need sunscreen!"..."I need sunscreen!"..."I need sunscreen!" LOL!

Running from mile 15 to mile 16 was a huge mental head trip about walking. I finally told myself that once I reached the 16 mile marker I could walk for 20 seconds. And that is what I did. I walked for 20 seconds, and then I ran to the next mile marker. I did that pattern for mile 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. I surprisingly didn't beat myself up over it. I was in survival mode. Just get 'er done! But, unfortunately, walking didn't make the journey any easier...maybe becuase I was only taking a 20 second break??? In fact, it made things harder. Walking is a different range of motion than running, and so when it came time to run again after walking, I had to work myself up into a running groove again. But I was just so tired that whenever the next mile marker came, I felt the NEED to walk, and so I did.

In between these 4 miles, 2 things happened...

1. Just before making it to mile 17, you make a U-turn on Morena Blvd., and you travel back the way you came for about a mile and a half before you turn onto a new street. I was praying that I could use this opportunity to find my dad in the crowd of runners on the side of the street that I was just on. I kept searching and searching and searching for him. And finally, after running another mile solo, we locked eyes on each other! We both ran into the median, and he explained that he was OK. Apparently his calves seized up, and he felt like he pulled his groin. He went to the aid station where they had him lie down for a bit, swallow some salt, and then they sent him on his way and told him he would feel fine in about 5-10 minutes. I was disappointed for him, but knowing that he was "OK" took a huge burden off of my shoulders. We hugged, and then we parted ways. I never saw him again until after the race.

2. A special shout out to Denver Street! Hands down, this was my FAVORITE street to run on...too bad it was so short! We hit this street after mile 18, and this place was HOPPING! The homeowners were outside of their homes with huge tubs of sliced oranges...they were delicious...I was hungry! And then, there was another house that was giving out beer to the runners(???)...I did not partake...but in addition to the beer, they had huge tubs of ice that they were handing out. I rubbed some of the ice on my face (A-M-A-Z-I-N-G), and then chewed a few additional pieces. There was a small, but steep, incline on this street, and there were actual cheerleaders lining both sides of the incline shouting and dancing to some cheer about pushing yourself harder up the hill...GREAT motivation! And finally as soon as I turned onto this street, I knew I was going to love it...keeping with the theme of my 30th birthday, there was a HUGE...



So much fun!

But after Denver street we turned onto Clairemont Drive, and then onto Mission Bay Drive. We proceeded to run around Mission Bay. By the time I got to mile 20, I loathed this experience.



I was no longer having ANY fun. The smell of people barbecuing at the bay made me nauseous. I had wanted to walk for more than 20 seconds, and I was FIGHTING that urge. I stopped taking any and all pictures at this point. I rolled my eyes in disgust at the band that was playing on the stage. I wanted to take off my tutu...I was so over this marathon.

Even though I was still making good time, I had obviously slowed down a bit...the "4:45" pace group had caught up to me. I ran with the leader of the group for a while. She could see that I was struggling, and she encouraged me for quite some time. But something didn't feel right "down stairs" and when I saw a restroom at the bay, I ducked out of the race and went to the bathroom. Sure enough, "Aunt Flo" arrived on the mid-morning train...WAAAAAAA! I was so bummed. This only fueled my irritation. There was nothing I could really do about the situation except head for the finish line. But when I got back in the race, I was all crazy mental again. I had texted my crew that I had made it to mile 21...just 5 more miles to go...and that I wanted to quit. I got a series of responses in return. My girls at the finish line let me know that they had stopped to pray for me, and then Pam sent me a picture of the finish line from where she was at, and said, "You are so close!"



My sister Anna sent me a picture of her 3 boys that were WAITING for anyone they knew to cross the finish line, LOL!



My friend Deana (a 2x marathoner) sent me a text saying, "The Marathon doesn't start until mile 20..."

And my Aunt Mary (the seasoned marathoner) who was tracking my every move from her computer at home, had become my virtual coach, and had texted me multiple encouraging tips.

But none of those things mattered at the time. As they say in marathon lingo, I had "hit a wall." I was mentally done.

I needed to talk to my sister Jenni!

I called her and the phone just rang and rang and rang until finally...she answered! :0) I burst into tears (as I am now, remembering this moment). I explained to her that I wanted to give up, and that I couldn't do it. She was amazing. She was so positive and encouraging. She let me go on and on as if she was sitting on the couch doing nothing on a Sunday afternoon. But the gist of her point was, was that I HAD to do it. I had no other option than to make it to the finish line. I didn't have to run, but I had to at least walk. No one was going to come pick me up. I HAD TO DO IT. Among other bits of conversation, I told her thank you, and then I got off of the phone.

I guess I had to keep going, and that's what I did. I did some running, and a lot of walking. I would tell myself to just run to THAT trash can and the you can walk. I kept doing games like that for the next few miles. Walk...run...walk...run....

I was so tired. I just wanted this nightmare to be over. I was also STARVING! I was so nauseous. At about mile 24 I was so nauseous that I went to one of the aid stations, and asked if they had anything for nausea...they did not. They made me sit down on a mat, and then they proceeded to give me a packet of salt. Is salt the answer for EVERYTHING in a marathon!? I hate salt, so I sprinkled a TINY bit on my tongue, decided that this was (disgusting and) a waste of my time, and I bailed. I needed to just get to the finish line. I put one foot in front of the other, and I walked the entire distance from mile 24 to mile 25. I had no more plans of running.

But when I made it to mile 25, the "5:00" pace group was right on my tail. I heard the pace setter shout to her group, "Mile 25! Just 1.2 more miles to go. You can do AAAAAAANYTHING for 1.2 miles!!!" And I thought, she is right. I can do anything for 1.2 miles. I put my headphones back on, took a sip of water, and started running!



I couldn't believe it, but it felt like I was on mile 3! I had so much energy! I had life in my step, and a huge smile that I couldn't wipe off of my face! It felt amazing to be able to run again! I ran the entire distance from mile 25 to the finish. Right before the finish line, I saw my peeps cheering me on in the crowd, and that felt GREAT that I was able to pull it together and finish strong in front of them.

I made it! I ran towards the finish line, and LEAPED up into the air (like a ballerina, lol) as I crossed the line. That's me raising my arm up in the air directly under the sign...



Shortly after I crossed the finish, I was awarded my medal, and then I heard someone calling my name...well, my nickname..."Cheech! Cheech!" I turned to look, and it was my brother! He had totally surprised us with his presence! I was in tears. More crying....booooooring! And then he took a picture of me with my prize. :0)



I was so stoked to be done! My goal was to finish the race in 5 hours...even though I crossed the line exactly with the 5 hour pace group, they started the race long after me, and so my actual finishing time was 5:22. My other goal was to not walk...I totally did NOT meet that goal. HOWEVER, I completed a MARATHON on Sunday...there wasn't the tiniest hint of failure in my mind. I felt like a (tired) CHAMPION!

And up until I hit my wall, my numbers were great! My split times were just posted on the web, and I am so excited to report that I beat my Safari Park Half Marathon time by 4 minutes! Even up until mile 20, my average pace was about a 10 minute mile! And even with hitting my wall, I was still able to achieve a faster finishing time than everyone in our own little group.

Since the moment I crossed the finish line, I have said OVER and OVER that I am SO glad that I endured this 8 month process, but that I never, ever, EVER, want to do it again...HOWEVER, in the last 72 hours, I keep thinking about how I need to run a marathon without walking at all. And so here the vicious cycle goes, LOL!

I haven't signed up for another full marathon (yet), but as of yesterday, I did sign up for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland on January of 2012. I do still love the sport of running, and half marathons are completely a comfortable distance for me.

Rock 'N Roll Marathon (Part 3)

So finally, our corral is at the starting line, and they are counting us down to start. I take one last look behind me, and I am in awe of the crowd. So.many.runners.



I turn back around and focus on the starting line...10...9...8...7...



...6...5...4...3...2...1...(HOOOOOOOORN!) We are off!



I couldn't believe I was actually running the marathon...THE marathon that I had been training 8 months for! It was surreal. Because this race had corrals, there wasn't a ton of jockeying for position like there was at the Safari Park Half Marathon. Everyone was pretty tame, and for the most part, we were all at an even pace. The first mile is always rough. You are getting warmed up. Getting into your groove. The first few miles were a blur. We passed by a few landmarks that Katie and I had noted on our drive through the course just 2 days before. After mile 1, we passed by Mayer Reprographics on University Ave (shout-out to Carrie!), and that was neat. And then after mile 2, we passed by the San Diego Zoo. And by mile 3 we had turned onto El Prado and had entered Balboa Park...





Running through Balboa Park was super cool. There was an actual person playing the organ at the Organ Pavilion...



And we got to run under this funky Rock 'n Roll guy as we were passing by some museums...



My dad and I were feeling good, and we both felt comfortable in our pace. In these types of races, they have what are called "pace groups" that are divide up into time slots. If you want to finish the race in 3 hours, well then you can run with the "3:00" pace group. If you want to finish in 4 and 45 minutes, then you run with the "4:45" pace group. If you stick with that group from the beginning, they promise to stay at an even pace that will bring you to the finish line at exactly the time you are aiming for. When my dad and I started out, we noticed that the "4:30" pace group was just in front of us. In the first couple of minutes we had decided that we wanted to stay with them. They were at a comfortable pace for us. But after mile 3, we were both feeling stronger, and we passed the "4:30" pace group. They were eating our dust. ;0)

At about mile 4 we exited out of Balboa Park, and headed towards Downtown. Different runners were wearing different types of clothing, and carrying different kinds objects. In one case, a runner ran with the American Flag...and my dad "helped" him carry it for a bit...



All along the streets there are crowds cheering for you. And sometimes, there were actual cheerleaders cheering for you. The people on the sidelines were SO MUCH FUN! In future years, if I'm not running in a race, I wanna be cheering on the racers!



There were many encouraging signs, like "You Can Do it!", or "Never Never Never Give Up"...those were OK...but I absolutely LOVED the humerus ones! One said, "My mascara runs faster than you!"...SO FUNNY! And deep into the race there was a group of girls, and one of the girls was holding up a sign that said "Go harder and faster!"...and the girl standing next to her held up sign with a giant arrow pointing next to the first sign, saying, "That's what she said"...my immature little mind LOVES a good "That's what she said" joke, so I was of course a huge fan. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to my camera/phone in time to take pictures of any of the funny signs as we were passing them by...but luckily, one of the funnier things I read that day was in my eye sight for a lot of the race. The man in front of us had this on the back of his shirt...



And of course, even cooler than the funny signs, and the strangers cheering you on, is when you see a FAMILIAR face cheering you on! Somewhere around mile 4 (I think) my friend Julie, from church, and her daughter were standing in the road shouting my name! It was SO exciting! She ran up to me and gave me an extra GU packet that she had brought with her from home to give to me...so sweet!

Just after mile 5 we were still Downtown, and we got to run through "Park in the Park" at Petco Park Stadium...



Just one of the 29 bands playing during the race...



We made it to mile 6 and realized we still had 20 more miles to run...



We turned onto Harbor Dr, and passed the Midway on our left hand side...



At about mile 7 I noticed that my urge to go to the bathroom hadn't gone away since the start of the race. It wasn't a critical situation, but I was mindful of it. I was also mindful of the fact that I hadn't seen restrooms for at least 4 miles! Right around this time, I was shocked to see Julie and her daughter, Alyssa, cheering me on in the crowd yet again! :0)

We left Downtown, and jumped onto highway 163. It was SO thrilling to be running on a freeway that I have (only) driven on MANY times!



We traveled a couple of more miles on the freeway when I noticed a few port-a-potties up ahead with an exceptionally short wait. I had to take the opportunity...who knows when there would be another chance to go the bathroom!? And after all, now I can say, "I went to the bathroom on the 163 wearing a tutu." ;0)

Despite taking a 2 minute pit-stop, we were still making GREAT time! The first 10 miles FLEEEEEEW by!



My dad and I had both been feeling GREAT. But at some point on the 163, the incline gets to you. :0( I didn't realize we were starting to slow down until the "4:30" pace group had not only caught up with us now, but that they had also passed us with almost zero fight! My dad and I just looked at each other like, "Eh. Watcha gonna do?"

Fortunately for my morale, once we ran up a short but STEEP hill exiting the 163 and turning onto Friars Rd., my dad and I were greeted by my Aunt Carol and my Uncle Mark. I gave them both a quick hug, and then had to continue on my way. Seeing those friendly faces does amazing things for your spirits. A short time after that, we passed mile marker number 12, and AGAIN Julie and Alyssa had caught up to me! I have no idea how they made it through the course to see me on 3 separate occasions!?!?...CRAZY...but WELCOMED!!! And speaking of crazy, it was also at this time that I saw the first (of 2) men running this marathon with NO shoes! Literally there was nothing on the bottom of his feet. I asked him how that was working out for him (he looked to be in discomfort, DUH!) and he responded, "It's OK."

I was continuing to do a mental check up on myself, and I was beginning to realize that the miles weren't as light and breezy as those first 10. Apparently my dad was thinking the same thing. He said, "I have to walk for 20 seconds." I told him that I understood, but that I had a goal to not walk at all, so I needed to keep going. I was surprised to find that he had shortly caught up with me. But a few minutes later, he said to me again, "I have to walk for 20 seconds." And I said OK. And again, he caught up with me. But when we reached the 13 mile marker...the halfway point...I turned to tell my dad, "We just ran a half marathon!" he wasn't there. I couldn't see his face in the crowd anywhere. :0(

Had he stopped again? Would he be catching up shortly? Was he OK? He said that we were running this together...where was he???

To be continued....