Huntington Beach Surf City Marathon

I DID IT! I REALLY DID IT!! I ran my first ever 1/2 marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, February 1, 2009.

After what felt like an intense training period preparing for my race, I felt ready to compete. The night before the race, Mom and I cooked a large pasta dinner and I gorged myself to very near the point of sickness. I laid my clothes out and got my timer chip put on my shoe and we were off to bed. We had an early morning and a long run ahead of us.

My shoes and my time chip.

Bright and early the day of the run. Mom, Ron and I had to get up at 4:00am to get on the road by 5:00am and make it to Huntington Beach by shortly after 6:00am. Not wanting to eat to much before the run, I put down a small yogurt and keep my eyes open for an open coffee shop. Much to my dismay, nothing was open that early on a Sunday morning.

Getting some serious stretch time in before I take off.

Having never participated in such a large race before we had no idea what traffic would be like. Let me say this, with 18 thousand runners alone, not including all the spectators, traffic was heavy. The extra time we had allotted ourselves to park and go get coffee, ended up being used to park. Again, much to my disappointment, no coffee for me. By the time we parked and took the shuttle bus to the start line, we only had several minutes before my wave took off.

I've got Rhianna on my i-pod and I'm ready to get this party started!!

Mom and Ron were SUPPOSED to come and meet me near mile marker 10 on the map, (only mile 6 in my run). Check out this link to see a map of the course: http://www.runsurfcity.com/Course_Information/HalfMarathonCourse.cfm

However, much to my disappointment, they weren't there. They later told me that after getting themselves some coffee and checking out all the festivities, they realized they'd never make it down there and get back in time to see me cross the finish line. Lucky for them I was still on quite a high by mile 6. I was feeling good and still had a spring in my step. Fast forward to mile 8. I started having some major side cramps and had numerous waves of nauseous. Not one for backing down, I told myself, I'd be a real loser to slow down now and besides, how cool would it be if I could say I puked running!! I've never done that before! I've read in numerous running magazines that some extreme runners, going for 1st place, have been known to crap their pants in order to not lose anytime . I can't say I'd ever go to those extremes, but..... Anyways, when times were getting though, I said to myself, "Kara, you slow down now and you're a quitter." "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" I would yell out loud. This got everyone else running next to me to start yelling it out loud also. I felt like a drill Sargent leading my troops into battle. "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" "WE ARE NOT QUITTERS!!" "I AM NOT A QUITTER!!!" "WE ARE NOT QUITTERS!!!" Okay, so maybe it didn't play out exactly as I'm telling it, although, looking back on it, we could have used some pep rally action to keep us all going. Honestly, what did keep me going was looking around and seeing all the diverse people running for one reason or another. At one point, during a slight uphill climb, I passed a man with no legs in a wheelchair. I remember saying a small prayer on how fortunate I was to have both my legs intact and working properly. And it was such an inspiration to see the guy working so hard. It wasn't until the downhill slope when he came cruising past me that I cursed him under by breath. Ha Ha. NO! I'm kidding, but I sure would have liked to have hopped a ride. Obviously I didn't, I just ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and ran.

Don't be fooled. If you look hard enough, you'll see me in my pink tank top on the left side of the photo. In fact, look at my feet and it looks as though I'm about ready to trip myself. Mom completely missed me going by. She said she was looking for my white stocking cap. Ron told her that by mile 13 I was not going to still be wearing my stocking hat. She refused to listen and missed me going past. When Mom e-mailed me this photo she enclosed these words, "I got you!! Just zoom in multiple times and you can tell its you!!" Silly Mom! I love you!!

Having just crossed the finish line. My legs felt as though they might collide under me, but I've always got time for my fans.

Mom did a good job capturing a moment of pain.

Trying to stretch the pain away. Also waiting on the race results.

Me, still stretching, and my #1 fan!!

Finding enough strength to show of my medal.

Always enough energy for a fun photo!!

So yea. It was tough. What I thought was a grueling training process leading up to this race, my Mom, ever so nicely pointed out. "Kara, you've only been running for the last month." Phooey!! Why'd she have to point that out?!? But she was right. What felt like a lifetime of training really only amounted to a months worth of "training." Training amounting to whatever felt good for the day. My goal for the run was 2hours, 10 minutes. My actual time was 2hours, 13 minutes, 46 seconds. I was estactic!! Out of the women I placed 2333 out of 6533. Not to shabby. For all my statistics go to www.runraceresults.com Select the half-marathon race and I was bib 8037.

This certainly won't be my last run!! I had way too much fun!! I'm alreadey looking forward to signing up for a marathon. Let me know if you'd be interested in running with me!!

Love & Peace!!

Ben Comes to Town.

There is nothing like a trip to La La Land to revive a persons soul. With the sun, surf, beautiful people, and ME, LA can be a great place to come to escape your worries. And that is exactly what my friend Ben did. For a total of 24hrs!! It was the shortest amount of time I've ever had anyone come visit me for. We did, however, make the most of our time and had a great time doing it!! And just to embarrass Ben a bit, if that's even possible, I think it is important to note that Ben did ask if this would be appearing on my blog. I think he was secretly hoping to get a little face time. Ha Ha!! Here's to you Ben!! I hope it is everything you were hoping for, and more.

Ben, being Ben, on the Santa Monica Pier.

Our evening started out in Macy's. Yes. That's right. Straight from the airport to Macy's. As the weekend of Ben's arrival was approaching, I informed Ben that LA was having a bit of a "cold," wet spell and he better bring something warm. Did he listen. No. This is where Macy's comes in. Of the 24 hours Ben was in LA, 1 1/2 hours was spent shopping for something warmer for him to wear. That stripped sweater he's wearing is it. And some new kicks that gave him blisters.

It was a chilly evening, but not with his new sweater!! And the sunset was amazing.

We spent quite a bit of our time goofing off on the Santa Monica Pier. Riding the roller coaster, the ferris wheel and playing air hockey in the arcade.

A visit to the Santa Monica Pier is not complete without a ride on the roller coaster.

*check back soon for a video of the ride! I'm having technical dificulities at the moment.

Enjoy the ride! And hold onto your sunglasses!

Equally important to the roller coaster is the ferris wheel on the pier. This was taken at the tip-top of the ferris wheel. Amazing views all around.

And when not taking in the view, we were making funny faces,

and in general just being goofy.

Another amazing view from the ferris wheel, looking down on the pier.

After the pier and much indecisiveness on where to eat we ended the evening ended at a fantastic new Mexican restaurant I scoped out in Hollywood called Pueblo Viejo. I loved the atmosphere of the tiny joint and the food was great!! It's one of those hidden treasures a person can get excited about finding! It was definitely the sort of place to go when you want to chill for several hours and enjoy the conversation with the people your with. Plus, a major bonus was that the margaritas were NOT lacking in tequila, as the above picture testifies. And after Ben ordered three different appetizers, all involving chips, (my weakness), I certainly did not leave the place unsatisfied. After dinner, Ben wanted to check out the tattoo parlor where they film "LA Inked," so we swung by there and checked it out. I tried to convince Ben to get a tiny tattoo, just to say he did it. I figured since he already has 18 of 'em, what's one more. I think I had him convinced to do it until they told us the minimum was $200 bucks. Fugetaboutit we said. It was a neat place though. After that we headed home and zonked out. I think we were asleep before midnight. We acted like a couple of old farts. Oh well, we didn't care. Thanks for visiting Ben!!

Come On In. Take a look around.

I was talking to an old friend of mine the other day. As we were getting all caught up on the in's and out's of whats been happening in our lives, I began to try and describe my new apartment. Finding myself all tongue tied and giving terrible visuals, I gave up and said, "check my blog, I'll post pictures within the week." So, true to my word, Kenny, and all my friends and family who have yet to have a chance to come visit me in the beautiful state of California. I'm inviting you all into my new apartment to have a look around. Now, as to not give off any false impressions, no cleaning was done prior to these photos. This is the real deal folks.

Welcome to 11660 Texas Avenue, Apt #202. The building holds a total of 9 apartments, three to each floor, with parking underground. Our apartment is on the second floor, middle unit. From this particular shot, you can't see our door. It's behind the big bushy tree on the far right. So come on! Step right in and have a look around.

Welcome! The picture above is the view you'd have if you just stepped inside. To the left is our living room, dining room (in the far back corner), and behind the wall with my two bookshelves is our kitchen. To the left of this photo, beyond where you can see, is the hall that leads to our bedrooms.

The view of our living room from our dining room.

And a view from the dining room into our kitchen and living room. Our dining room was a holding place for piles of junk until we recently obtained this cute little table from Mom and Ron, who happened to spot it at a Goodwill for an exceptional price! Thanks Mom & Ron!!! The only fault, no chairs!! This, however, was a great thrill for me, as it means I am able to pick up random chairs, repaint them any color I want, and have a "shabby chic" table. As of this posting, I'm thinking of painting the table a brilliant shade of lime green. (I'll have to run that one by the roommates first!) Plus, I was already able to score one sweet chair of the curb. Ha Ha Ha. A behavior all to familiar to those nearest and dearest to me!

A full view of the kitchen.

Now, picture yourself back at the front door. From there, take a right. You've now entered the hallway of bedrooms. We love how the bedrooms are so separated from the rest of the apartment. It gives the feeling of spaciousness. The first door on the left is my bedroom. If you continue down the hall and turn left, you'll run into my bathroom and the boy's bedroom.

Behold my bedroom. I can't say I have the most tidy bedroom, but I blame that on lack of space. I've tried to cram a lot of stuff into this room, and as it appears, it's not all fitting exactly as planned. Like the hammer at the end of the bed. Yes, I'd currently rather step around it then put it away. I haven't finished hanging everything I'd like to hang yet. I'm getting to it. Geez!! Now let's move on.

Now as you continue down the hall, past my bedroom, turn left. BAM! You've just ran into my bathroom. Perhaps not exciting to you, but after sharing a bathroom with two guys for 6 months, I'm thrilled to call that bathroom MY OWN.

Out of respect to my roommates, I've left their room out. It's right next to my bathroom and they have their own bathroom connected to their room. Their room is larger then mine, but their bathroom is smaller. Too me, fair trade-off.

Last, but not least, our beautiful patio that houses most my plants. A great place for me to sit out in the sun and read a book. And, an even better place to lock the dogs out on when they won't stop following me around! Ha Ha Ha. I'm not kidding. I hope you enjoyed the tour of 11660 Texas Avenue!