Shamrock 8k

To say I didn't want to do the Shamrock 8k last weekend would be an understatement. All week I was bitching and moaning about the race and trying to figure out ways to get out of doing it. Stomach ache? Leg strain? Paper cut? I would try anything. But with my sister running the marathon the day after my race... it was kinda hard to back out. So with a kick in the butt from the family, I did it.

After a long day of work on Friday I came home and the last thing I wanted to do was drive to the beach to get my packet. But the Momsters convinced me to go and went with me. The expo looked cool, but I was ravenous, so hanging around the expo did not interest me. So we went home, ate dinner, and all headed to bed for an early morning wake up call.
The morning of the race I was feeling better and getting in the mode of racing. I figured it was too late to back out now since the Mom, Jen and Scottie were all going with me. Traffic was horrendous and my oatmeal started to taste more and more like Elmer's glue with every bite, but we eventually made it. The start line was crowded and the spitting rain was not fun. Since we got there at the crack of dawn, there was lots of waiting around, which did not help my nerves.

I finally made it to my corral and waited to scoot to the start line. I ended up basically walking the whole way up to the start next to the family. Which provided great photo opportunities...
Finally at the start and we were off. I had a nice steady pace in the beginning since my past couple of races I found myself start off with too much umf.
I was almost at the 1st mile marker when I saw a friend from high school, so I slowed down to say hey. After a quick chat I took off because they were already walking and I was not trying to walk the whole thing. I did get a fun crown out of the chat because my friend did not like running with something on her head. I said I'm used to running with things on my head... think Wicked 10k.
The rest of the race was just a normal race, nothing odd or bad went wrong. No cramps, pain, nothing. I was super pleased. I ran with no ipod, so I had the chance to take in the scenery and interact with the people around me. There was a little girl who was running about the same pace as me, so jokingly I asked her Dad if she could be my pacer. He laughed and said sure and the rest of the race the little girl would look around to make sure I was near. She was super cute, but as I saw the finished I picked up the pace and had to leave them. I did thank her for pacing me and she smiled... what a cool kid. I always find the kids in any situation to hang out with.
As I was approaching the finish, I saw the family and kicked it into finish mode. It is amazing the juice your legs get when the finish line is near. Crossing the finish line felt great and I was super happy I ended up doing the race. My final time was 1:04:40. I was hoping to get a little closer to an hour, but I am still very happy with it. Especially since I didn't really train for it... like at all.
After the race we started to wait in line for the beer tent, but it was sooooo long and I was not ready to wait. So we ended up heading over to Pelon's for some breakfast burrito. Yes, now I remember why I run.
As usual, the race made me feel really good and now I want to sign up for another one. But I think I will stick to the 5k for now until I can get into a regular training routine. For now though, I will look forward to my first sprint triathlon in June. I promise I am really training for that one!

30 Day Challenge

I have had a problem making my bed in the morning for as long as I can remember. I am not a morning person, so I try to minimize what I have to do when I wake up. I would rather sleep 5 more minutes than make my bed. Plus I feel like in about 14 hours I am going to get back in it... so why make it in the first place?

I know it looks nice and neat or whatever, so I am going to try to get in the habit of doing it. Part of my 25 list is to make my bed everyday for a month. Well today is day one.

I changed over to my summer time bedding, so I am taking the opportunity to start off right! I'll take a picture everyday to document the bed making. (Don't worry I promise not to post a picture everyday of my made bed) But I'll definitely update about my progress.

Here's day one:

Lexi doesn't care if it is made or not... she just wants to sleep on it.

Travel Bucket List: Grand Canyon

As most know, I am getting my Masters in Education in hopes to become a teacher. There are many pros and cons to becoming a teacher, but in my mind, the pros definitely outweigh any con. I am basically a big kid, so hanging out with kids all day is awesome. However, one big pro is the idea of having summers off. I know in the future when I have some kiddos, it will be nice to have the same vacations off as them or whatever. But for now, I am really looking forward to the opportunity to travel. With around a month and a half (or two) off a year, my mind is already swirling with the ideas of what I could do and where I could go during my summers off.

Now this brings me to my new series, Stephanie’s Travel Bucket List. As a way to dream a little and put down into words where I would like to go in this World, I will highlight various locations on my Travel Bucket List. I know that some of the places on my list might never actually happen, but that is why it is a Bucket List, right? A girl can dream!

This brings me to my first location on my list, the Grand Canyon! I am currently observing in a 4^th grade class (which is awesome by the way) and they just started learning about the Southwest states. Their teacher read a book about the Grand Canyon and even showed pictures of her sister’s travels there, which got me thinking about visiting there. The photos she showed were simply amazing and I would love to experience that one day.

And I have never been an outdoorsy person, but I would love to camp there! Growing up I always wanted to go camping, but I only got as far as sleeping on my back deck with my neighbor friend. And if I recall, we actually came in after an hour because of the bugs! I think to hike and camp in the Grand Canyon would be simply an amazing experience.

So let this be my first entry onto my Travel Bucket List: The Grand Canyon!

*Photos from wikipedia

Loss for Words

I have been at a loss for words recently. Since my Frost 5k... nothing really has been going on. I feel like I am in the same routine of work, school, practicum, work, school... you get the point. So there is really nothing interesting going on! Whenever I think about what I could write in this blog... it is crickets... nothing... nada. Then while reading one of my favorite blogs it came to me as she discussed how she manages to have something to post everyday. It is not always about the big moments... it is about the little moments too. I don't run a race every weekend, nor do I even workout everyday... so why try to make my blog all about stuff like that??

So I have decided that I will now blog about... well... whatever! This will be a Smorgasbord of Stephanie. I'll admit, the posting will still be light for the next month while I try to figure out how to cram 100 more practicum hours somewhere in the middle of school and work, but after that get ready... there will be good stuff. Don't know about what... some days education topics, some days weddings, some sports talk, some days Lexi, whatever!

I will no longer focus solely on the big events, but the little things that actually make up my life. Will it be random? Yes. But that's me... so get ready!

And for now... cute Lexi picture! We are certainly counting down the days to Spring here at la Casa de James!