La Palma Run for Fun 5k with my new running buddy!

I love the 4th of July!! We celebrate our country, and it officially feels like summer when that holiday hits. My mom and I have been participating in the La Palma Run for Fun 5k for 2 years together. I run it and she enjoys her little walk. Last year was so hot that I couldn't wait for it to end, but this year was perfect running weather. Overcast and we had a nice breeze...so perfect! 

We got the race a little early to pick up our bibs and t-shirts. I do have to say for a small 5k, their t-shirts are pretty nice! I also finally saw DANICA!! Its been so long so it was wonderful to see her! She was running the 10k and shooting for a placement in her age group..which she did! YAY!

Mom and I at the start

The race started exactly on time and I kept telling myself to just run and have fun. I had my music going and before I knew it was hitting mile 2. I decided to take a few water breaks and breathers to make sure I wasn't getting overheated. My pace was a little slower then usual but I was enjoying myself. I was finally on the home stretch and picked up my pace a little and hit the finish at 38 mins.....that's slow for me but there is a perfectly wonderful reason for it......See I'm no longer running for myself anymore, I now have a running buddy that I have to really take care of while running!! I have to fuel differently before running any distance, run slower, and make sure I have enough water with me. Its not just my body that I have to listen too anymore it's the Peanuts too, but I wouldn't want it any other way! Robert and I are more excited then ever and can't wait for January 25, 2013!!

Me and my buddy!

I do plan on running for as long as I can or when the doctor tells me to slow down! It does make me feel so much better. I've had quite the first 3 months with morning...or all day sickness...and the running is actually helping with that. It takes a little to get me to throw on my running shoes because I'm tired more then usual, but after I'm done I feel so much better. I have decided that I'm going to stick to smaller distances and do more aqua jogging and swimming within the next 6 months. 

Robert and I are ready for the big changes that are going to take place and can't wait to have our family of 3!!! 

Wet N Wild 5K, with some Stanley Cup Fun!!!!

YAY!!! The LA Kings won the Stanley Cup! Those of you that follow me on Twitter know what a HUGE Kings fan I am. I’m sure I lost a few followers with all my cheering and crying over my team (especially New Jersey fans) but when you’re excited about a team, your excited!  I grew up going to Kings Games with my family when tickets were only $10.00, they wore purple & gold jersey, hockey helmets weren’t mandatory, and they played at the Forum.  My dad worked nights when I was young, so my mom to keep us occupied most of the time she would take us to games. Took a little begging from my brother but we always went.  When the LA Kings made it to the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs all we could do was cheer, support, and pray that Lord Stanley would be a LA resident for a year. The game ended on June 11, 2012 with the LA Kings winning game 6 against the New Jersey Devils 6-1.  HOLY HOCKEY BATMAN, WE GOT THE CUP!!!!  There was NO WAY I was going to miss the Championship Parade so I took a day off work and headed down to LA with 250,000 other fans to see our champions. Robert and I were fortunate to get tickets inside Staples Center for the rally, and I finally got to see that Cup in person….from a far distance but I still saw it!

  

Robert and I at the Staples Rally! GO KINGS!



The following Saturday I got my friends Krissy  and Kumi to join me for the Wet N Wild 5k at Knott’s Berry Farm. Krissy’s done a few races with me, but this was Kumi’s first…how EXCITING!! I was so happy to have them there with me and introduce the 5k world to Kumi. Since they don’t run as often, I agreed to stay with them no matter if we had to walk, run, skip, or crawl. This was about having fun and getting a workout in. We did start off doing a run/walk but with some minor obstacles with Krissy’s shins, and Kumi’s side stitches we decided to do a fast pace walk around mile 2. The race started across the street at  Indepence Hall then took us through all of Knott’s…...Camp Snoopy, Fiesta Village, Broadwalk, and Ghost Town. The last 1/3 mile of this race was what we were looking forward to the most, getting to walk the lazy river at Soak City. We got to the gates of Soak City and behold in front of us was what seemed like heaven since it was a bit hot that morning. We took our shoes off and Jump in the Sunset Lazy River…AHH so refreshing. Some people were actually diving under the water and letting the current of the river take them through. It was allot of fun! We got out and decided to just run bare foot to the finish….this will be the only time I will EVER attempt bare foot running! HA! We got some fun medals which I wasn’t expecting, and Kumi finished her 1^st 5k…YAY!!





In the water!



With my medal and of coarse wearing my Kings hat!

I decided that I’d like to stick to 5k’s for a while until I’m ready to start training up for anything larger. I love introducing the racing world to friends even if it’s a 5k

FINISHERS..and Baby Rosie!

In a few weeks I’ll be running my favorite 5k..the La Palma Run for Fun 4^th of July Race!

Thanks for reading!

Relay for Life! Help my mom fight cancer!

Its that time of year again when my mom is participating in the Relay for Life event. She looks forward to this event so much because its something she's doing for herself and others fighting cancer.

My mom was diasgnosed in November of 2009 a few days before Thankgiving. I can still remember the sound of the doctors voice as he came out of surgery with my mom telling my dad and I, "she has stomach cancer and it's very serious" My heart stopped at that very moment and a wave of thoughts went through my head!  How could this lady who is the rock of our family be sick? She's so healthy this can't be? Is she going to be ok? Will she have to do chemo and radiation? What is stomach cancer and why can't they just take it out? There were many other unanswered questions but they were to be answer by the amazing staff at City of Hope a few weeks later.

My mom did end up going through chemo, but didn't have to have radiation. She was a trooper through the whole thing. I'd come home from work and she be in her bedroom hooked up to her chemo little bag with the dog laying next to her dreaming away. She always smiled and rarely complained of discomfort she was having. She finished her treatments and was on the home stretch to move on and get back to normal life. Unfortunately with stomach cancer it's not curable, but it is treatable with lots of monitoring. She goes to the doctor every 6 months to make sure everything is okay, and gets her dose of Zometa treatments to get her bones nice and healthy. She's been back at work for over a year now and is feeling better then ever.

If it wasn't for money funding events like Relay for Life research for cancer wouldn't take place. So with a small donation you can too help. Skip that cup of $5.00 Starbucks, or eating out one night and help my mom and others fight cancer. She is attempting to raise $500 this year and very excited about it.

To help with a donation please click here. Relay for Life takes place in many cities, I encourage you to participate in it at least once its a great event!!

Thank you so much from our family!!!

Happiest 5k on the Planet!

 The happiest 5k on the planet "The Color Run" took place this weekend in So Cal, and I was so excited to take part in it. When I saw the Youtube video on Shea's Facebook page I knew I had to get friends together to run. However, because I've been a procrastinator lately (wedding planning), we missed registration and the event sold out very quickly. Luckily the organization realized how many people were wanting to run, so they added a later start time and opened up registration again. I got a couple of my childhood friends together Diane, Teresina, and Carla and we all registered right when it opened.

When we pulled up to the parking lot we saw tons of rainbow colored runners heading back to their cars from the morning race. They looked like they had just lost a fight with a bunch of  Easter Peeps, it was pretty funny! Diane and Carla had never ran a 5k before so I was super excited for them to have this race as their first experience. Teresina and I are used to timing events so we were excited to just enjoy ourselves. Its nice to do something fun for once and not have to worry about time........which this race does not do. This isn't a time event, its all for the love of FUN and COLOR! 

They started the race in waves so everyone was spread out far enough to get colored at each color spot. It took some time for us to start but the race organization kept the party going with great music, and lots of fun goodies being thrown out into the crowd. Each person got a packet of color to throw at the end of the race in their goodie bags, so more packets were being thrown, along with bracelets and some fun colored socks!  We were having a great time at the start line in our nice fresh white shirts, and headbands. We saw a few people dressed in some fun costumes and there we lots of tutu's!

We finally started and the first color station we hit was yellow! Some of the volunteers were throwing color on us with their hands, and a few others had these giant squeeze bottles sort of like a giant ketchup bottle splashing color all over. They do their best not to get any on your face, but if the wind picks up that stuff does fly all over the place. I saw some people wearing goggles, and I have to say my sunglasses stopped allot of it from getting in my eyes. The only way I can describe the powder is its just like baby powder but colored!

The next color station was green........

Then the blue color station....

The final station was pink! The volunteers were having a great time in this station. They were literally throwing buckets of this stuff at everyone, there were people rolling around on the floor, and I even saw a few people making color angels! It was hilarious! I think everyone wanted to make sure they were nice and colorfied when they hit the finish line so they were doing anything possible to get that way! 

We were pretty much a colored mess by the time we finished! At one point Teresina and I mentioned that even though this took longer then most 5k's we've done, it seemed like it went by quickly because we were having so much fun! Diane and Carla did great for their first 5k, running most of it and only stopping a few time for photos and getting colored! 

Our hubbies were waiting for us at the finish line with cameras and strict rules we were not to touch them HAHA! I did have to pat a few pink shades off Robert when I "accidentally" brushed him with my arm. 

After the finish line there was the great "Color Throw". Like I mentioned all the participates got bags of color before the race. Every 15 minutes they let off a giant color throw for everyone to open their bags and make the best rainbow cloud ever! I was able to get a great photo from the color throw after ours! 

I absolutely can't wait for next year! I had one of the best time ever doing this race! If this race is in your city you have to do it!! The organization was fantastic and the volunteers were having a great time! Thank you Diane, Teresina and Carla for all the laughs and fun on Sunday!!! 

Brea 8k

I’m a little late (actually allot late) getting a race recap for this race because life has been CRAZY!. I’ve been planning a wedding, attending others weddings, friends baby showers, and working. Life in general has been soooo busy lately. I love the hustle and bustle but I can’t wait for a day that I have nothing planned to just relax in my penguin feety PJ’s watching a good movie! Now on to my frist 8k experience!!

One of my favorite stores to shop for my running gear is at Snail’s Pace in Brea. I wouldn’t have remembered about this race if it wasn’t for them tweeting about it. I’ve always wanted to run the Brea 8k because it’s so close to home, I’ve never done a 8k race, and who doesn’t love a race that will have tacos at the finish?

Registration can be done 2 ways, on-line, and at Snail Pace. I of course missed both of those opportunities, so the Friday before the race I went down to Brea H.S. and signed up. I tried recruiting a few running friends to join me, but with the last minute decision to run no one was able to. Registration for this race was one of the easiest processes I’ve ever experienced. They were so organized, and all the volunteers were super helpful! I was directed into a room to fill out my little scantron of information, got my goodie bag, t-shirt, and was on my way back home in about 20 minutes! Registration took me literally about 20 minutes!

Start time was scheduled for 8am. So my alarm was set for 6:30 to get ready and stuff my tummy before my BIG 8k! I got to there a little early as I always like to do, and just walked around for a bit to feel the vibe. I have to say walking around the start line with no running buddies with me was super awkward. I always have someone with me, but this time I was that loner person you see listening to their Ipod and giving a hello smile at a start line. I did make a friend with a toddler in a running stroller that offered me a goldfish cracker when her parents were busy talking with friends. I kindly said thank you and took the fish!

When we started off I knew that there were going to be hills on this coarse so I took it slow the first 2 miles. I also had a wardrobe malfunction during this time. Apparently the shorts I wore didn’t want to cooperate. They were either riding up, or riding to low. I’m not going to lie at one point I checked to see if I had them on backwards. I pulled off the side of the race, adjusted them with a few hops to see if they were going to stay put and off I was again.

The weather was perfect, I was enjoying myself, and my music was right on beat for keeping a comfy pace. Miles 3-4 were easy for me with a couple up and down hills. I had 2 girls that I kept my eye on whom in my head, I was only racing them. I had to make sure I past them far enough to hit the finish before them. For some reason I always pick out some poor stranger to make them my enemy at any race. Keeps me motivated!

I turned the corner to the finish and speed up a little get the time I wanted, and I hit it at 58 mins YAY! Good enough for me, espeically because my running lately has been pretty pathetic! I stood in the finish area as if I was waiting for someone I knew to come in with me or something. Like I said I’m so used to people running with me that I literally forgot I was there alone. After realizing no familar faces was coming I had my chip removed, then headed over to the finish line festivities.It was filled with so many food booths from different restaurants, I was in heaven. I grab the cutest little cup of Jamba juice, a breakfast taco, some water, found a spot to sit on a curb and watch other runners finishing. I was content and happy!I think the alone time actually lowered my stress level with everything going on right now. I left there feeling fantastic and so proud of myself. Running is a great way to clear your head and this race did that for me. Next Saturday I have the Hollywood Half marathon that I’m really looking forward too. My wedding is the week after, so it’s my last race as a single lady. I’m also running with one of my best friends Penny..I can't wait to for the laughs and her yelling "I hate the sun"!

Hope your all having a great week!

The Random Eleven Things

TAG I'M IT!!

I had 3 friends tag me in their "11 Random Things" post....Shea, Lauren and Maggie! So I'm going to pull questions from all 3 of their posts and answer them....

The RulesPost these rules

• You must post 11 random things about yourself
• Anwser the questions set for you on their post
• Tag 11 people (can't be the the person that tagged you)
• Create 11 new questions for the people you taggedGo to their blog and tell them you tagged them!

"11 Random Things About Me"

1. I'm afraid of big things like the Macy's Day Thanksgiving day balloons! I will never have the opportunity to watch the Macy's Day parade in person, but if for some reason I was...I can guarantee I would hyper ventilate at some point thinking the ballon was going to pop, and I was going to be stuck under it.

2. While going through makeup schoool I was working at Disneyland as a character doing meet and greets in the park, and performing in parades and shows!

3. I love owls...anything owls I usuallly buy. Its getting a bit out of hand now, but I can't help myself. They're so cute!!

4. While working on a film as a makeup artist, I was asked if they could film my hand to portray 5 year olds hand in a independant film called "Seth". I had to "stab" someone with a knife and drag my hand with fake blood on it over a counter. Children are not able to be on film sets more then 8 hours, so I had to step in and save the day for a few hand inserts. I was credited on this film as a stand in, and makeup artist!

5. Most people think that Halloween is my favorite holiday, but I actually enjoy all things Christmas! Halloween is my 2nd favorite!

6. I have a bit of OCD...food on my plate can't touch each other, I eat one thing at a time on the plate, labels on bottles in the shower have to be facing out, files on my desk have to be lined up so I can see the names on them, the programs on my computer have to be open in a certain way, if I have to at anytime close a program to restart it...I start the whole computer! This list can go on..it happens with age! HAHA!

6. I wish I could be barefoot all the time..I hate wearing shoes!

7. When I was little I used to hate to be dirty. If I got mud or anything on my wardrobe I would beg my mom to change it.

8. I grew up going to private school.

9. I was on a dance drill team from the ages of 9-13. The movie Bring it On is very much true when I comes to cheer camps and competitions!

10. I spent the summer of 99 in Portugal and Spain with my grandparents. It was one of the best trips of my life!

11. I could watch the "Sound of Music" over and over! I always wished to be a Von Trapp family member!

Questions from Shea

Broken any bones or gottne stitches?If so, how?

I've broke my arm, foot and a few ribs! I was 4 playing at my uncles house when I took a fall and broke my arm. I was cleaning my bedroom window, slipped and fell breaking my foot. At a party (drinking a few beverages) a friend picked me up, we both fell and his knee went into my rib cage which cracked 2 of my ribs!

When you were little what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a animal trainer at Sea World. I loved dolphins and everything about them, I wanted so much to be that trianer!

Who was your childhood celebrity crush?

I had Kirk Cameron all over my walls! I just completely aged myself! HAHA!

Questions from Lauren

What is your middle name?

Lee

Whats your favorite book?

I'm a huge nerd and I love all things fantasy! I love anything Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings. NERD ALERT!

Where is your favorite place to be?

I love being at the beach!!

Questions from Maggie

Whats your favorite TV show?

I have so many but as of right now my favorite is "New Girl" She reminds me allot about myself, how she sings all the time, makes stupid noises, and her obession with tights with flat shoes!

If you could have lunch with an actor/actress of any era, who would it be and why?

Lucielle Ball. I love old Hollywood and she is one of my favorite famous ladies becuase of her humor. I think lunch with her would be full of great Hollywood stories and lots of laughs!

If you could have any super power, what would it be?To be invisible. That way I could go places in my PJ's and no one would know!

I know I answered 12 from the ladies but 11 is a odd number =) Now I'm suppose to tag 11 other people, but everyone I know that would do this has already. So the questions below will be for those who want to answer them and post them in the comments!!

1. What era do you wish you were born in?

2. At a zombie apolcolypse would you want to be a zombie, or someone saving others from zombies?

3. If you were a cupcake what flavor would you be?

4. Are you a summer, fall, winter or spring person?

5. If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you purchased?

6. Flat or heels?

7. What do you put on your hot dog?

8. Would you want to be a back up dancer for Lady Gaga or Madonna?

9. If a movie was made about your life, what celebrity would you want them to cast to portray you?

10. If you could have your dream job what would it be?

11. You were granted 3 wishes, what would be your first?

ENJOY...and thanks to Shea, Lauren and Maggie for including me in this fun activity!!!!

What am I thinking!?

There is one question that I always get from family, friends, or just anyone who finds out I'm a runner..."What do you think about when your running such long distance" I think about the most random things...So here's a little post of things I know I've thought about while running, some were just from my 4 miler tonight..which is why I decided to post this!

• "I only have 13.1 miles to run..I can do this!"


• "26.2 miles is like driving to work and back home....what the hell am I doing running this race?"


• "I wonder if thigh high boots will look good on my short legs?"


• "Should I cut my hair, but then I can't get it into a ponytail and I like them."


• "Justin Bieber...who put this on my playlist?"


• "My shins not hurting..its all in my head, its not hurting, its not, its not..ok pain is gone"


• "That guys running shorts are a little to short, I hope I don't see anything I don't want too! LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY!!!"


• "Phew mile 6....almost there."


• "Phew mile 14, I made it past the first half."


• "Did I close the garage before I left"


• "I can't wait to eat a big juicy hamburger and fries."


• "I wonder if Grandpa would be proud of me for all my running accomplishments"


• "OHHH AWWWWW look at that puppy, I want a puppy!"


• "Ok last time I had a Gu was at mile 4...so I need to take another at....oh forget it!"


• "Eggs, shampoo, gatorade, toilet paper, turkey burgers, pasta sauce, lunch meat for Robert, bread, do we have yogurt?...Maybe I should make a list before going shopping."


• "I will never do this race again"


• "I will never run again"


• "I should try a Zumba class, its sounds fun"


• "I wonder if Robert is at the finish line waiting for me or if he's still in bed"


• "Did I put my car key in my hydration belt, or did I lock it in the car?!!"

The one thing I ALWAYS think about during running is...

• "Where the F is the finish line already"

There's a ton of other things that go through my head. I constantly think about my grandpa and my roommate Esrin that past away. I use them for so much strength and think such happy thoughts about them. I use running as my therapy, and a way to clear my head. Its hard to tell a non runner what you think about withouth them thinking your crazy. Not sure about other runners but allot of times I even forget I'm running a race and just enjoy the run. This is usually when my brain decides to drift off into LA LA Land I begin to think about what it would be like to be a backup dance for Beyonce!! HAHA I always finish all my running whether it be a race, or just training feeling so much better about things!


What are something you think about? Is running therapy for you?