26.2 miles

Officially signed up for the DSM full marathon in October!! My 4 month training session has started. On Monday, I ran 3 miles. I ran by myself and I was totally not motivated, but forced myself to put my shoes on and go.

I ran 4 miles today with my running partner. It was TOUGH. Stupid me forgot my sports bra. I now know why women need sports bras!!! Ran by the new DSM river bridge by the botanical center. Pretty awesome. But I am very scared of bridges so I ran it pretty fast. The water is rising --- probably going to have another flood this year. :(

Good news: I was excited to come home and see that my book that I ordered had arrived finally! The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer. Starting to read it and it is very motivating.

Bad news: I came home and ate a big plate of fried rice and stir fry and then 3 bites of a BK whopper --- everything that the book says is bad for my training! And come to find out that my sports bra was in my car the whole time, I just didn't see it. GRR.

Dam to Dam 2010 20k

In 2009, I had this crazy idea to run in Dam to Dam, which, for those who don't know, is the largest 20k run in America. I could barely run one mile back then. I ran last year with Tony, he stayed with me the whole time and kept me motivated to keep going and finish, I did have to stop and walk several times though. I surprised myself by being able to complete the race, all 12.4 miles!

This year, however, I wanted to be able to run the race without Tony, and somehow find my own motivation to keep going and to run the whole time without stopping to walk. I was really scared and didn't think that I could do this on my own. Luckily, I found a great running partner, Dana. She runs at about the same pace I do. We were able to train together, and my goal was to try to keep up with her for most of the race.

June 5th, 3:30 AM -- Alarm goes off but I am already wide awake. I went to bed at 10 PM but I couldn't get to sleep because I was so nervous. By 5:30 AM, we are on the bus headed towards Saylorville Dam. On the way there, the rain starts to come down hard. I sat on the bus, very quiet, trying to not get nervous and backout. I sat there thinking about wet clothes, wet socks and wet shoes. I sat there thinking about the cold and the wind. I sat there thinking that I could be in my warm bed right now, sleeping! We arrived at the Dam, and the rain did not let up. We had a mile walk to the finish line. That was one of the longest walks, I was soaking wet, the wind was picking up and I was freezing. I couldn't even really enjoy the view, normally you can see downtown, where we end the race, however, it was too foggy to see that far. Needless to say, I was not in the best of moods.

7:00 AM - The race starts, and the rain has not let up and the wind has not died down...Once we began, I told myself to zone out and focus and hurry up and finish so that I can get out of these wet clothes! The first mile came fast, and I had a mini - celebration in my head! I am actually doing this on my own without my former marine husband! Around the third mile, I remembered that this was the point that I started walking last year, so I kept telling myself to at least get to the 4th mile without stopping to walk....so I just started counting and visualizing the numbers to avoid thinking about how much pain I was in and before I knew it, I had made it past the 4th mile without stopping! I used the same trick on the all the HILLS! There were 3 hills throughout the race, I just put my head down, leaned forward and just kept on moving. I totally surprised myself when the 5th mile came up --- can I really do this? That's when my mood started to pick up. I stopped thinking about my wet clothes and soggy shoes, and started thinking about how much fun this actually is. The sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth miles were kind of a blur. I lost my running partner, Dana at mile 11, there were tons of congestion at the water station and I lost her and I couldn't get caught up to her. So I was totally on my own. I did slow down my pace a little bit because I didn't want to lose all my energy -- those last couple of miles were the longest ever...I could not even describe the emotions that were running through me as I turned the last corner and I saw the finish line ahead of me. I was dead tired and I didn't have anything else in me but somewhere deep inside, I was able to summon up the courage to sprint towards the finish line. I picked up my pace and I focused in on the words on the banner: FINISH.

When I crossed the finish line, I threw my hands up and cheered !!! It was the greatest feeling ever. I was able to share this experience with Tony, Dana, Jesse, Tom, Andy and my brother Michael. GREAT job everyone, so glad I was able to share this experience with you! Ratna and La, great job on the 5K!

June 6th - the morning after: My whole lower body hurts. My lower back hurts, my thighs hurt, my knees hurt and my feet have blisters on them. Can I do a FULL marathon????? To be continued.

Camp Pendleton/San Diego/US Marine Corps

Tony is a Marine. We went to go visit where he had boot camp on a separate trip. This is from the museum.
This is an example of their bunk beds and how neat they had to keep everything. No wonder Tony is a neat freak. :)
Semper Fi
Unfortunately, we went for a sad reason. You are always in our prayers Martha and Samantha. RIP Junior.

Colorado

view from our room

Separate road trip to Aspen. I love Colorado. I usually do not like snow and cold weather but in Colorado I forget all about it. Colorado is such a beautiful state. We stayed at a hotel that was right on the mountain, you could put on your skis on and slide out your door onto the mountain. It also had a hot tub and the view at night was nothing short of breathtaking: dark sky, stars and mountains. I chickened out on skiing though. I have to save up for skiing lessons on the bunny hill. :)

New Orleans - The City

French Quarter

Entry into cemetery - they bury their dead ABOVE ground.
The man on the ladder was REAL. He was balancing himself on it and stood still to look like a statue. Just one of the many amazing street performers.
We took the trolley to the Garden district to look at the historic homes.
Inside the trolley.
The French Quarter at night.
Oyster Bar.
New Orleans at night.
A cigar shop.
I have to make it to Mardi Gras. Going on my list!

New Orleans - The Hotel

New Orleans is a very old town. It is filled with spirits. And I encountered one (or more) in our hotel room.

At first, I was really happy with the hotel. We received a very good rate, and the staff were friendly and welcoming. The hotel room was very unique. Had original hardwood floors and brick walls -- you could tell that it was a very historic hotel, and it was within walking distance to Bourbon St.

So, one evening, I was up late watching a movie on the laptop. I was sitting at the desk which you can see on the right side of the photo. Also on the right side of the photo was a tall dresser. As I was sitting at the desk, watching a movie --- out of the corner of my eye, the dresser door sloooowly opened a good 6 - 8 inches and then closed. NO JOKE. I totally freaked out. It was not a wind draft or anything b/c what would SLOWLY open and close a door like that??? I hid under the covers and slept w/ the lights on and I wanted to change hotels but really, you can't run away from the New Orleans spirits. Cindy gave me great advice and told me to think of them as friendly, which helped. But I still slept with all the lights on.

New Orleans - The Food

From Memphis, we headed further south to New Orleans. I have to first start off talking about the food. I LOVE cajun food as well as FRESH seafood. New Orleans has to be the best city so far for food. We had shrimp po' boys, raw oysters, jambalaya, seafood gumbo, ham po'boy and...fried alligator! Tony found this Voodoo beer that was local and he loved. We also fell in love with the hot sauce at Desire's -- had to buy a few bottles to take home with us. We were disappointed that we had missed crawfish season but that just gives us all the more reason to go back! The ham po' boy from Mother's restaurant is truly the best ham I have ever tasted --- I can't even describe it. If you are EVER in N'Oleans, stop by Mothers! Um, yeah, gained about 10 pounds from New Orleans itself but definitely worth every pound. :)

Headed South to Memphis !!

From St. Louis, we went south to Memphis, Tennessee. We spent only half a day there, but we were able to visit the famous Beale St that had many jazz bars including BB King -- the music was blasting and it was very festive, even in the middle of the day.

While in that area, we stopped and had Gus's Famous Fried Chicken that was also feature on Man vs Food. :) Again, the place was packed but we got a table pretty quickly. The chicken was juicy and spicy!

Then we went to see Elvis Presley! Well, Graceland anyway. We didn't do the tour inside the mansion but there is a place that you can park right next to the mansion to see it. There is a brick wall surrounding the property and all the fans write on the wall.

Spontaneous 1 Week Road Trip - Iowa/Missouri

This didn't happen in my 30th year, but it's close enough. I was 29 and 3/4. :) Tony and I decided to take one week off and just get in the car and go. No plans. Started in Des Moines, IA -- then to Iowa City, IA -- then St. Louis. MO -- then Memphis, TN -- then New Orleans, LA, then to Minneapolis, MN and back home to Des Moines, IA.

In Iowa City, we ate at The Vine and had delicious maple hot wings. We watched the last game of the Hawkeye season and they won!

Then we headed to St. Louis. We walked along the Mississippi river. I remember standing right next to the river and was just in awe at how spectacular nature is, and how old the city of St. Louis was -- Many people throughout history stood in the exact same spot -- I now know why they call it the MIGHTY Mississippi.

Then we went to the Gateway Arch. It was amazing to be so high up and it was cool to ride up in a spaceship like vessel to the top. Cool fact: the arch is as wide as it is tall! We also visited the FREE zoo and saw amazing animals. When I see animals like tigers, huge turtles, monkey, birds, etc. I am reminded how unique all living creatures are and how AWESOME God is to create all of us.

We ate delicious BBQ at Pappy's -- visited by the Man vs. Food television show. We had pulled pork and beef brisket, along with baked beans, green beans and coleslaw. The line went out the door and around the corner, but thankfully we got there early enough that the wait was not very long. Everything was perfection.

A new beginning...

My first check mark off my list! I know it's not my birthday yet, but I've accomplished one of my goals and it's a HUGE one! I have just had THE best week of my career. This week provided the renewed passion in my career that I needed.

First, all the sweat and tears that I put into my work was validated with my year end review.

~ AND ~

I have been in the same department for 8.5 years and I have just been given the opportunity to start a new journey.

I went on an interview on Thursday and I did the best I could to promote myself. They told me it would be about two weeks before they reached a decision, so I thought I wouldn't hear from them anytime soon. However, the very next day, I received a phone call offering me the position!!!

The new position is with the same company and I will still be in the same profession, but it's more responsibility. I will be learning a new product, be in a new building, work with new people -- definitely, a new and refreshing challenge.

I am very excited. This is an awesome start to my list!!!!

But I am also NERVOUS and sad.

The department I am leaving was my first ever real job. I started when I was 21 years old. The people I work with have been there with me to experience my highest highs and my lowest lows of my messy but fun twenties.

They are not just my co-workers --- they are my extended family and some of them I even consider immediate family. :)

I will miss each and every single one of them: Thank you for your role in shaping me into the person I am today.

The Rules

Each month, beginning April 14th, 2010, I will have a list of goals to accomplish within that month. If I do not accomplish a goal within that given month, I can move it onto the next month, but all goals must be completed before April 14th, 2011.

I will have 5 goals that will run the course of a year:

1. Train hard to finish Dam to Dam Half Marathon in June.
2. Continue to train hard to finish IMT Des Moines Full Marathon in October.
3. Find a career that I am passionate about or be able to find renewed passion in my current career.
4. Read 1 book per month.
5. Learn how to cook delicious food. Real food. Made from scratch food.

I am open to suggestions on what should go on my list!

The Plan

Today: Saturday, Feb 13th, 2010

Just purchased 2 tickets for Celine Dion concert tickets in Las Vegas for April 13th, 2011. This concert will mark the end of my journey. On April 14th, 2010 I will turn THIRTY years old. THIRTY. The plan is to come up with a list of things to accomplish in one year, to make turning THIRTY less scary and more significant. As a young girl, I couldn't even imagine being THIRTY years old. And now, here it is, staring me in the face. Instead of moaning and groaning about it, I am going to embrace it and make it my best year ever. Follow along on my journey.

Why Celine Dion? I just watched an episode of Oprah and she had Celine Dion as a guest. Her voice is magic. Her heart is genuine. Her songs are epic. She is full of love. She is passionate.

I want to live a life that is full of magic, where my actions are genuine, live a life that is epic, love with all my heart and find my passion.