Florida, Vacation, Disney, Wedding Bound!

Oh my god, you guys... VACATION.

While I know I travel a lot, I finally feel like I'm actually going on a vacation. Maybe because it's longer than a weekend. I'm so excited! 

Gulf, you are calling my name!

 We're Florida bound -- spefically, two days in Orlando and then two days in Sarasota for some wedding, beach, sand, surf, all things vacation fun!

Unfortunately, I discovered that the Sarasota Half is the same Sunday, and found out about it wayyyy to late to pay that much for registration. I even almost convinced Doug to the relay... almost. Fail!

BUT - I get to take Doug to one of the best places ever for the THE VERY FIRST TIME. I can't wait - like, beyond excited. We're both nerdy Hidden Mickey fanatics, so I know he's just going to have a BALL (pun intended).

(source)

 My dear, old friend from graduate school, Kim, is getting married just south of Sarasota. It's a tiny wedding (only about 40 people), so I feel so fortunate that not only were Doug and I invited, but that we're actually going to make it! I haven't seen her in a year and a half, since last Christmas, when we carried on our one-day-dates during the holidays when we were both in California.

About three years ago this time, I spent half of my Spring Break visiting her in New York, not long after she
had moved there for her new job. She was one of my best people in San Diego and throughout grad school, especially as she continued to work at SDSU after she graduated (the year before me). Many of my San Diego adventures and shenanigans involve her and I am so excited to be there for her wedding.

Kim, though you probs aren't reading this at this point (since you're already in Florida!), I hope your wedding day is everything you desire and so much more! Many congratulations and years of love for you and Erik! See you soon!

Are you heading anywhere exciting this weekend?

Race Report: Run for Russ 5K [Triple Crown Race 2]

 

Run for Russ

February 1 | Chino, CA

The annual Run for Russ is a 5K held by the Chino Police Department each year that contributes to the memorial fund for Officer Russ Miller, who was killed on the line of duty on February 1, 2000. This year’s race was the 12^th race, and held on the exact date he had been killed.

Pre-race necessity.

This race was huge – at least in comparison to the other 5Ks we’ve done in Chino so far – and it shows that there were nearly 800 finishers. It truly seemed like all of Chino came out for this, which was a pretty cool sight to see. Even more than that, two local sheriff’s training squadrons (one from Orange County, and one from out in San Bernardino I think) were there to run the race as a squad. More on that in a minute, because it was truly touching.

I didn’t feel great even starting this race, but Doug apparently felt great. We chugged along through mile 1, and somewhere between 1 and 2 we started to separate. I felt a little more in my groove by mile 2, and followed one of the squads alongside me. They chanted and sang the entire time – I can barely keep my break running at a 9’ mile, let along yelling and singing the whole way. Holy cow.

               

source.

The really touching part to me was when we ran by the new memorial, both sheriff groups stopped and circled the memorial. Part of me wished I had stopped to see what they had done, but I was so moved. It

was one of their own, whether they knew the man or not, but wow… what a testament to the saying that officers are all the same, they are one.

Just past that, you turned the final corner and headed up a slight hill into mile 3 and the finish. I stopped to walk just past the mile 3 marker – Doug told me later that when he saw that (from behind) he thought “Sweet! I might actually pass her!”… and then I started running again, but still finished not even a minute before he did! He ran his first sub-30 5K! So proud!

The cool part at the start/finish was the raised fire truck ladder that had a huge American flag hanging over it. It reminded me a lot of Peachtree and was a great way to mark the start and finish lines!

Triple Crown race #2, done and done!

All in all, a great race, and a great tribute. I think I’ll start doing this one every year. It’s a such a great local, community effort, and obviously goes towards a local purpose.

What’s been the coolest thing you’ve run alongside in a race? 

Race Report: Dairy Aire 5K [Triple Crown Race 3]

I've been the super slacker lately... hoping to get back on this blogging bandwagon - I kinda miss y'all! That being said, this weekend we completed the Chino Triple Crown race series. This started back in December with the Reindeer Romp, February with the Run for Russ, and Saturday concluded it all.

With that... my super short race report. I love this course - fast and flat, though not the most scenic, it certainly allows for some substantial PRs. My current 5K PR is from this course at the Reindeer Romp, so I was excited to run this one again and see what I could do, despite not being trained... whatever.

Dairy Aire (say it aloud for some giggles) 5K

Chino, CA | March 1

In case you weren't paying attention, you know that Southern California got a LOT of needed rain this weekend - so, naturally, it poured all night before the run. I'm not one to shy away from running in the rain, especially just a 5K, but I was relieved when it was not actually raining as we drove to the race.

Doug and I, pre-race!

Just before the start though, it started misting, and sprinkled pretty good almost the whole way through. Whatever, I like running in the cold, truth be told.

At chip-timed 5Ks lately, I've started following Doug's tactic of allowing everyone to start first. That way, the walkers get moving and start to spread out so you don't spend the first half mile dodging a wall of them all. It works! Trust me. So I chug along and hit mile 1 in an 8:28. Oops, that's going to suck later. Onward - I said if I could run solid through mile 2, I could walk the loop they take you through and then chug onward into mile 3 and getting to that finish line.

Dug hard through mile 2, as there were some large lakes on the bike path to avoid, so got to run in the grass for a nice little cushion to change things up a bit. Mile 3, walked another 15 seconds, and then pushed hard into the finish to come in at 26:38. That PR from December is a 26:12, so for walking twice (my former self would hate me for walking in a 5K), and only being 20 seconds off that, I'm pretty stoked. Not bad for not being in racing shape. I'll take it.

Oh! Did I mention that got me an age group award? 2nd in my group, also like the Romp. I think it was meant to be.

So, with that sad little recap, we're at the end of our Triple Crown challenge. I need to be frank and say I'm really disappointed that the PRIZE for running all 3 5Ks was a water bottle. A water bottle. Now, I don't think it would be as harsh hadn't it been for the fact that TWO of the 5Ks gave medals to all finishers. So for someone who ran all 3, a water bottle is ... well, lame. Try again, Chino. #disgruntled

All 3, done and done!

What was the silliest prize you've ever gotten for completing a race 'challenge'?

Running of a Different Kind: City Race

Yesterday, my parents, Doug and I spent a few hours running around Olvera Street like crazies, hunting for answers, annoying museum docents and finding any other clues we could. Why, aside from the fact that trivia and history and this kinda nerdiness is right up my alley? It's called CityRace LA, and much like the bigger, well-known ideas like Great Urban Race (that I will do one day!), it sends you on a whirlwind adventure through any given part of LA.

Last trip to Olvera Street, 2003.

I've never done GUR, but to my understanding, it's a bit more wide-spread and you run (or bus, or subway) upwards of 7+ miles throughout the adventure. What I did like about CityRace is that your hunt is on a very specific, targeted area of Los Angeles. You can check out their races here - or just know that you can pick adventures ranging from Santa Barbara to Long Beach, Olvera Street to Santa Monica, and even one in California Adventure (unfortunately, park ticket comes on top of that price tag)! So much fun, and so neat focusing on specific areas.

I haven't been to Olvera Street since the summer I left for college (2003), so it was neat going back. Further, I don't think I've ever explored the historial and cultural significance of Olvera Street, so it was neat to learn about the city from a different perspective! Olvera Street is known as the birthplace of Los Angeles, and is home to the oldest standing house in LA, the original fire house, and so much more.

Olvera Street shops.

Olvera Street is chock-full of restaurants, shops, and vendors up and down a small, congested area just across the street from Union Station. Our tour started at the new plaza and statue commemorating Antonio Aguilar. We were up against 7 other teams to not only answer 28 questions, but to come in the fastest.

Questions ranged from historical trivia about the area to math involving train schedules, since Union Station was included in our map of the day. All questions were meant to be able to be answered without smart phones - answers were on plaques, signs, murals, or you could even ask docents, shop owners, vendors, and other folks for answers!

• What was the name of the last fire horse in Los Angeles?
• If a passenger takes the Coast Starlight train the entire route from Los Angeles to Seattle, what is the time of their journey?
• How many original built-in chairs remain in the Union State main waiting room?
• What was the original name of the Hellman/Quon Building?
• What Los Angeles socialite sought to renovate and restore the Olvera Street marketplace and area?

Union Station, Los Angeles.

Some questions even involved Aztec math (we ended up Googling the last part of it), Aztec languages, and Latin names for various plants. Some were sincerely tough!

In addition to the questions, there was also an opportunity for bonus points. You could purchase various things along your scavenger hunt for additional points at the end. Most questions were worth 5 points, some 10, and bonus points were either 3 or 6. We were going to get a churro, ended up not getting it, and were the first team to check in!


Turns out, buying the bonus points would have gotten us first place. Had we purchased
a CHURRO, we would have won! We finished in 4th, and that was solely by the number of questions correct (we only missed 2 of the 28 - holla!). Next time... we will buy that churro.

Team Stons!

Have you ever done a city scavenger hunt? Would you? Where?

PS. I was a really bad blogger, and all the photos except the first and the last are not mine own. Oops.

On the Move ... Again!

No, no, I'm not cross-country bound again. Thankfully. I am, however, in the process of moving closer to work - holla!

Kid you not, this is, essentially, the view from my new digs. Just move me over a few blocks and a little lower on the hill (closer to the water). I'm really excited about this for several reasons (most of which you'll say duh, I would be too!)

• My commute is now 5 miles. Why is this exciting? Because my previous one was 52 miles (one-way) and some days, would take me upwards of 2 hours to do. Hooray Southern California traffic.
• If I'm smart and on the ball, I can take the student shuttle to campus (re: no driving my own car during the week? Win!)
• I look at that. Every morning. 
• With a 15 minute commute, now I'll get to actually get up and run, or gym, or do whatever I like before I head to work. Wait, you mean actually start running and training like a normal person again? Count me in!

Despite the long drive, I'm so very grateful for my parents for supporting the notion that I would hang with them for about six months. I had have some financial recovery to do, and I got a significant portion of that done with their gracious welcome back into their home - not every day a 28-year-old moves back in, let alone wants to. More on that later though, because I've been working hard to make that a reality and am super proud of how far I've come with my financial goals (and still have more to do).

But at any rate, I've been here since Monday, and despite travelling again this weekend, am looking forward to settling in a little bit more. Molly will be coming back with me on Sunday after my second trip to... 

Phoenix!

Yep, that's right... back in the desert state again. This weekend, I'm there for our mid-year sorority board meeting. While I wish we could have combined it with the shenanigans of last weekend, I'm more glad we didn't, even though it means two weekends on the road instead of laying on my couch. Such is life. This weekend will be a lot more relaxed, combine with a little adventure on Mill Ave, and I'm actually quite looking forward to it again. 

Here's to weekend adventures in the same city x 2. And moving closer to work! And looking at the harbor every morning. < content sigh >

What was your longest commute ever?