Honeymoon - Part One

It's has been a couple of weeks now...

but I'm dying to relive our honeymoon and figured this was the best way to do so

So we got hitched on a Saturday

then Abbie had to leave for South America that Monday for a tournament in Peru. 

I flew there the following Sunday on a delayed flight to Lima.

We got there so late that we literally paid $100 for a hotel room to sleep for 4 hours

then caught a flight to Cusco

first class!

Where they served us a strange breakfast of chicken breast and quinoa (at 9am)

We landed and took a death cab to our luxury hotel were Abbie and I splurged for the suite. 

We NEVER splurge.

It was great.

While we were waiting for our room to be ready we found the bar and drank the local favorite

Pisco Sours!

If you have never had one... you should.

This was Abbie's first, but my lovely Peruvian sister in law introduced me to this drink a long time ago.

We spend the rest of the day relaxing and adjusting to the altitude.

I did a lousy job at taking photos, but you can check out our hotel HERE.

More tomorrow...

Marathon

Hello Friends

Long time no read.

Well

it has been about a month now

time to finally write a re-cap

 for the marathon that I worked so hard for

Abbie and I drove to Orlando two days before the race

 and stayed at a beautiful timeshare

we did the Disney Expo thing

as well as lots of resting and mentally preparation for the big day

Abbie was great enough to wake up at 3:00am 

and together we made our way to EPCOT

where we hung out about 2 hours before the start of the race.  

The good and bad thing about Disney races is that there are soooooo many people that attend.  And a good portion of these people dress up and really get into the costume-y side of the event

It's entertaining to say the least

For about the first 8 miles of the race, the path was really narrow and there were many walkers and may people stopping short to take pictures of the theme parks and/or the Disney characters that are along the path.  I had the same problem at the Princess 1/2 marathon 2 years ago.  I should have learned by putting myself in a higher coral.  It really hurt my time as I was running 12 minute miles for the whole first portion of the race.  It was extremely frustrating

On the plus side, I felt like I had loads of energy

hence my pose for Abbie's camera

(it's all about the form)

Around mile 18 

the sun came out

and it got

hot, hot, hot!

I hit a wall around mile 21 and really just wanted to be done

without making too many excuses

the heat, the crowd and a bathroom break really hindered my running

I honestly felt like I could have made my goal of 4:30 if those conditions were better

but I ended up with a 5:02 finish.

(side note- my Garmin read that I ran 26.68  miles)

Overall, I am SO very happy that I ran the marathon

I'm taking a hiatus from running for a bit,

but I am definitely doing this again

but next time I am hitting my goal!

(In the meantime...I think I need to work on my tan)

Race Weekend

Today is my first day back from my mini vacation.  

Over the weekend I flew up to run the Virginia Beach 1/2 marathon with my big bro. 

(I hate to fly but love taking pictures from the clouds)

This was our 3rd (and final?) time running this particular race since he is moving away. 

2010 was the first time either of us had ever attempted to even run a 1/2 marathon, now we feel like old pros.

The mutual bitching of having to run and train

 as well as the accomplishment of actually completing the race - I think- has brought us closer together.

And while I'm a little sad this was our last VA Beach 1/2 marathon

I am also happy to be done with that hot-ass-summertime- deadly- heat- event!   

We agreed that the next race we decide to tackle will need to either be shorter... 

or held during the cooler months.

This last race was the most humid of them all. 

Sweat was flinging off of bodies left and right. It was down right funky.  

(I, of course wasn't funky - I don't sweat, or smell- ever)

My time sucked - which is no surprise - because of the heat and lack of training and all.  

But the best news of all is that for once, my stomach didn't absolutely kill me like it has on long runs in the past.  I think I owe it to my new semi-gluten free diet. 

And this year's medal is pretty bad ass- my favorite of them all.

My vacation also included spending some QT with my nephew Dylan- who is the most perfect little man ever. 

As well as my Thunder buddy.

Confession

Confession:

I haven't worked out in 3 weeks

this has left me severely behind in my training

for the 1/2 marathon

that is taking place 4 weeks from now!

So today I ran a measly 5 miles

which is 3 miles behind schedule

Looks like there will be a lot of walking this time around

oh well.

I'm really only interested in seeing this face anyway.

On the road

I had to race home after seeing my Bunkie this weekend.

And while I hate waking up at 6am

there is something about being there when the sun rises that is wonderful.

I call this segment... 

Photos on the road

Happy Trails...

I'm a survivor!

I did it.

I lasted 3 weeks camping.

Or should I say WE lasted 3 whole weeks camping.

What I will miss about camping...

Campfires

Waterfalls

Friendly wild animals

Not wearing makeup

Beautiful sunsets

being disconnected with the rest of the world

one on one time with my man

Things I won't miss about camping

Sleeping on the ground

Having dinner at 4pm

Being away from my babies

Freezing cold nights

my fear of large mean animals

All in all- this was an amazing experience and I'm so happy that we took the time to make this happen.

Now it's back to the real world...

I would hike 500 miles

Our last day in Ash Grove Abbie and I went for a 6 mile hike.

3 miles up a mountain

I have never in my life felt so completely out of shape.

But getting to the top was so completely worth it.

These pictures can't capture a 1/10 of its beauty.

You also can't tell what an incredible slope we are on.

One slip and we would have been goners.

With this being our last night of camping we decided to have a little celebration

with champagne, cheese and crackers

(that's how campers celebrate right?)