I apologize for lagging. I suck. I don’t mean to suck or lag but for now I do. Okay so where to start?
I was hospitalized January 10-12 for a small bowel obstruction and it left a GAP in my training. I was so bummed. I did, however, get in 2.25 miles walking the hospital hallways on each floor twice and doing the stairs. The rest of the week was caca. I was hurting and trying to heal for the Tinkerbell 1/2 marathon.
My friends and I left for the Tinkerbell half marathon on Friday morning and with the 3 day weekend traffic, we got there in 8ish hours.
Christina & Stacy…my roomies and road buddies
Yay! My bib and very cool tech shirt!
We hit Disneyland on Saturday morning and we hit it hard…I really felt like a kid and I vow to do Disneyland at least once a year from now on. We got to Disneyland in the morning, ran around the park like 3 little girls, got back to the hotel early enough to eat dinner and hit the sack since Sunday was the BIG race. We were running late. We were tired…I mean we just did Disneyland and California Adventure for the WHOLE DAY. My feet and legs were tired and I was anxious that we were gonna eat late and then sleep late. I stress out about sleep…especially since we had to get up at 3am. OUCH! So we went for a walk to try to find a place to eat. By this time, I’m tired of walking. At this point I was wishing someone invented an adult Baby Bjorn. We get back to the room, eat, get ready for bed and sleep. WHAT? I CAN’T SLEEP! I WAS STRESSING THE EFF OUT ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO SLEEP!!! UGH!
Disney fun
3:00am, Sunday rolls around way to early and I contemplate punching each of my roommates in the face. I wouldn’t…I love them…but the thought crossed my mind and it made me laugh enough to wake me up. I suited up in my Minnie Mouse attire. SO FUN!
More like 3 stooges
Awwww! The girlies!
We head over the start line which feels like 100 miles away and I ditch my friends to find my sister, Dee. This was Dee’s first half marathon and she was phenomenal. She dusted me. I’m so glad I got to start the first few miles with her though. We are in corral D…in the midst of 21,000 running maniacs dressed like their favorite Disney character…3/4 of them were dressed like Tinkerbell. It was really cute. The first 3 miles were RIDICULOUS for me…I was wondering if I was getting exercise induced asthma or if the Southern California air quality was just that bad! I was also coming down with a cold so it may be a combination of the 3. We get into the California Adventure and let me tell you…simply MAGICAL! World of Color was going on, there were characters cheering us on, even the maintenance crew was out there cheering for us! It was amazing. Oh and here’s my favorite part…on our way though the Park, I got to see my friend Jen. Do you remember her? Diagnosed with Leukemia last year and went into remission? SHE IS F-WORD AMAZING!! She was tired, and had shin splints, and blisters but she kept pushing…and kept pushing with a smile. I’m so incredibly proud of her. We then went into Disneyland and being in the middle of Main Street, running by a fully lit Small World, passing through the Castle…it was just so awesome. I’m still in awe. I still feel so lucky. I mean, the week before I was in the hospital wondering if I was even gonna be able to make it down to Southern California to cheer my friends on but here I was…DOING IT! I was slow…and I’m okay with it. The next few miles were through Anaheim and kinda uneventful but fun none the less.
Me & Dee
My lovely friend, Jen.
I put my ears in and the music of Sublime, Spawnbreezie, J. Boog, Bob Marley, and others kept me moving. Because of the obstruction earlier in the week, I had not trained and I was feeling really tired. Yes, to the point of almost crying. I was alone but I had no one to bounce my negative energy off of so I had to talk myself through the last few miles. I had to be my biggest cheerleader…well because…I was my ONLY (physical) cheerleader. I confided in my friends soon after the last season of Team ended that I was scared that my security blanket (my coaches, teammates, etc from Team in Training) was not going to be there to help me through my last few miles as in my previous half marathons. Let me tell you…something miraculous happens when you’re on the course by yourself…you dig deep inside you and find that all it takes is YOU to cross that finish line.
My lovely friends, Mildred and Minnie
During the last mile, my buddy Stacy met up with me and we finished together…something that would have never happened because Stacy is way fast…but she was injured, therefore allowing us to be at the same pace. I’m happy I finished with her.
She sure is pretty, isn’t she?
I have to say…I am very proud of myself for doing this race. First, I ran a lot of it. Second, I was in the hospital a week prior and didn’t know if I could even go. Third, I didn’t have my security blanket or cheer squad. Fourth, I didn’t let self-sabotage and those negative thoughts keep me from finishing. I finished…and I finished with a smile. I guess you can say…this really is preparation for the race in Honolulu.
Some say I like to make out with my medals, I say I’m just givin’ them a little love.
Oh, don’t you guys worry…recipes will come soon!
Journey to 1000 Miles 
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