Back to Reality

So I've been back in the states for almost a week, but it feels like I haven't really gotten a chance to settle back in yet.  I spent a wonderful 2.5 weeks in Sweden and Greece - vacation was just what I needed to relax and recharge.

There was a lot of eating, a little drinking, and a year's supply of sand and sun.  Who knew Swedes could make delicious beer AND delicious pizza?  Also kind of cool that all of the restaurants with outdoor seating have blankets for when it gets really cold during the winter months (or for intrigued visitors from the States).

Even with all of that, I managed to get in a couple of runs in the Swedeland- kinda cool to map it with my Garmin!  The weather in Uppsala was a bit all over the place, but both times I headed out to run, the weather was perfect.  And I am ridiculously proud of myself for not getting lost, probably excessively so.

The running shoes didn't even make it into my suitcase to take to Greece.  Good thing too, because there was no time for running between laying out at the beach, eating, and napping.  Frothy iced coffee with ice cream everyday?  Yes, please!

One of the most gorgeous beaches I've ever seen:

And really, no European vacation would be complete without a stripper boat.

Now back to reality, unfortunately.  I'll be glad to get back into a running routine though...T-19 days until the AFC Half Marathon and T-40 days until the TriRock San Diego Sprint Tri!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

That's right!  Tomorrow morning bright and early, I am taking off to spend some time in Sweden and Greece with my family.  I can't wait!

I probably won't post in earnest until I get back (almost 3 whole weeks!  but not that that's much different from my time between posts anyway), but be prepared for LOTS of pictures.

Wanna know something funny?  I'm still not packed.

Catch you on the flipside, jaaaaa!

It Takes a Village

Last weekend, I took Tilly out for a spin with my running buddy.  We fuddled around for about an hour on the walking path at the city park and called it a day.  More practice needed.

Enter awesome 5-person team of wonderfully patient friends and co-workers.  After a couple hours of hand-holding and LOTS of encouragement, I can finally say that I know how to ride a bike!  Still pretty wobbly (and a little worse for the wear), but I am SO EXCITED to practice more.  Like ridiculously.

Best part?  Celebrating at Souplantation afterward.  With lots of muffins and cookies.  No, that's not what she said.  I'm just gonna chalk it up to carb loading for my Torrey Pines 10-miler this morning.  Check out this elevation profile!  Running up that dang hill makes me never want to run the La Jolla Half.  Ever.

I am totally getting froyo after that.

Who has two thumbs...

And still doesn't know how to ride a bike?  That would be me.  Hopefully that will change soon, since I signed up for the TriRock San Diego sprint triathlon in September.  Yea, I'm the genius who registered for a triathlon without knowing how to ride a bike.

This weekend, I took the first step toward triathlete-dom and acquired my first bike.  Exciting!  She is red and awesome and I named her Tilly.

Isn't she pretty?  Hey Tilly, don't let me down - I'm counting on you to get me through my first tri!

Race Recap x2 and Run-niversary

God I love alliterations!  Since we last chatted, I popped my Bay to Breakers cherry and ran another half marathon!  B2B was EPIC.  Briefly:

100K crazies in costume
1 run-in with the pavement (with battle wounds to boot)
21 nudies (count courtesy of BFF Monica)
4 American bison
7.46 miles of awesome.

Last Sunday, I ran the Rock n' Roll San Diego 1/2 marathon.  This time, I made it to mile 12 before I wanted to cry/quit/kill someone, so at least that's progress right?  I could've done without running up the freeway for 2+ miles, and I feel like the half marathon course could've showcased San Diego better - they don't call it America's Finest City for nothing! (On a semi-related note, I have officially lost my mind and registered for the AFC half marathon in August - should be interesting).  Also, wanna know what really sucks?  Sunburns.  Really bad ones that hurt more than your legs after running a half marathon.  I really wish I had a picture, but haven't really mastered the MySpace-picture-of-my-back-in-the-mirror thing, so it's probably for the best.

Alex and I flaunting our medals!

A year ago this past Thursday, I bought my first pair of running shoes.  Since then I have done 15 (15!!!) road races, including 2 half marathons.  I don't think I ever expected to fall in love with running the way I did this past year.  Sounds cliche and kind of lame, but I can honestly say that running changed my life.  For so long I loathed running, and now I can't imagine life without it.

Now for the triathlon I signed up for...my next task is learning how to ride a bike!!

Take Me to the Bay

Why am I still awake?  More importantly, why do I have such an aversion to packing before trips (and unpacking after them, for that matter)?  I am flying out to the Bay Area after work tomorrow to visit parents and to engage in the ridiculous shenanigan debauchery-fest that is Bay to Breakers.  Seriously, how did I grow up across the bay from SF and NEVER take part?  Oh yea, because I was antisocial and I hated running.  I am really excited to take part in a San Francisco tradition (even if it's one of thousands of inebriated hippies in inane costumes).  Not even the 60% chance of rain in the city on Sunday can get me down!

Did you know there is NOTHING on TV at 1am?  I did.

And I'm still not packed.

So I Suck At Blogging

Are you really surprised?  I feel like the past few weeks have been a whirlwind, so in the interest of time (and because writing out paragraphs seems really energy-consuming at the moment), I decided to do lists instead.

Awesome things
Friends visiting from LA (includes: trip to Stone brewery, froyo, a few episodes of Lockup Raw, slumber party, and family breakfast)
PR at Carlsbad 5000 (didn't feel very awesome while I was running, but who doesn't love a PR?)
Parentheses (if you couldn't tell by now, I think I have an overuse problem)
The weather.  Spring is here!
Peet's coffee

Not so awesome things
Work stress
Bum knee (my right knee is currently auditioning for the role of my left knee's fat twin.  Barring any medical miracles, it's looking pretty good for the part.)
Dumb neighbors
Being generally awkward
Did I mention my bum knee?

Snackies
Froyo
Pop Chips
Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi (yep, I'm 9.  So what?)
Mini bell peppers
Monster trail mix from Target (Try it.  For reals.)

I think that about sums it up.  In other news, I kind of like this top 5 idea (yep, I'm that original), so I may or may not try it again in another post.  Thoughts?