What a day!

Today I received an email that will forever change my life.
Her name is Jackie, she's from Ohio, and she gave birth to a little dark-haired baby girl 49 years ago.

Rock N Roll Seattle

I love this event!!!

Only ran the 8k this year, and although I was happy to turn off at the 8K mark, I was kind of sad that I wasn't running the Half at the same time!

Leading up to a mega-event is always a challenge. Navigating the expo and race logistics can take a toll. This year was no exception! I headed to the Expo on Thursday after work; the same day as some dumb international soccer game (apparently a big deal!) in Seattle. Parking anywhere near the stadium was impossible and traffic was a sheer nightmare. I found a 1-hour parking space about a mile south of the stadium. Thinking walking that far in my heels would be a bad idea, I grabbed the flip flops from my trunk. Turns out this was a worse idea! By the time I got to the Expo I had 2 blisters right on the bottom of my foot. Not great when you have to run in 2 days! Then, my friend Teresa convinces me to get our teeth whitened at the Expo. Again, not a good idea. I ended up with chemical burns inside my mouth, which was uncomfortable, to say the least. Teresa ended up getting sick on Friday, so she wasn't able to make the run on Saturday. Stewart was not thrilled about getting up at 5:00 a.m. on a Saturday to take me to the race. And it had rained the entire night before with rain scheduled Saturday morning.
But then....
You stand in those corrals surrounded by runners as far as you can see in front of you and as far as you can see behind you. You run through the Aurora tunnel and up onto the Viaduct with sweeping views of every iconic Seattle landmark in a sea of runners. You run along 2nd Avenue and the homeless men from Union Gospel Mission are all lining the street cheering you on. It is an AMAZING race! I've heard it is the last year the route will be along the Viaduct and I-90, again reasons I sort of wish I had committed to the Half. Race-day is always the best, its just those many long training runs that take their toll. If I were just super-human and could run 13.1 miles without training, that would be the BEST! :)
I saw my friend Blair at the start line and was lucky enough that the rain held off until I got back to the car. There are small blessings for running only 5 miles (OK, 4.971 to be exact). I'm so glad I ran this race! I got the excitement and enjoyment of the event, but didn't have to do all the months of training and post-race suffering from a half-marathon.

Team UBS - Race For a Cure

This past weekend was the annual Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure run in Seattle. Team UBS once again participated in this 5k event. It was a beautiful but HOT day. By 9:00 it was already 72 degrees. The temps topped out at 93 that day. It was a scorcher!
Finish time was 29:29, not bad for not being in great running shape.

On May 28th I ran a Trail Run in Sammamish. It had rained a few days before and that morning. The trails were a slippery muddy mess! That race was really hard and I was really slow! About half way through I called Stewart and told him I was quitting. Problem is, once you are in the middle of the trail, there is only one way out, and that's to finish. I walked/ran the last 1 1/2 miles, finishing the dumb thing. I can't believe how much harder trail running is than "normal" road running.

Next race is June 18th's Seattle Rock N Roll 8K. I better get my rear in gear if I'm going to run 5 miles in just over a week. Ugh!

Then 2 more races planned for July - the "4 on the Fourth" in Steilacoom, and then a 5K trail run at Fort Steilacoom park on the 9th.

Mud & Chocolate Trail Run

Ran my 2nd "official" trail run on Saturday, the Mud & Chocolate 4.5 mile run at Redmond Watershed Preserve. The course was beautiful and it was a perfect Spring morning for a run. I forgot how much harder it was to run on the trails versus the road, the topography changes constantly and you have to be aware of your foot placement, but yet, the surroundings make it so much more enjoyable than running on the street!! Plus, when you cross the finish line in this race, not only is the medal made of chocolate, but they give you a Seattle Chocolates bar! Yum!
I loved the trail so much that Sunday, Stewart and I went back to walk the route. I made a couple of tiny navigational errors, so we ended up going 4.7 miles, but it was a beautiful warm day in the Pacific Northwest and I was on a walk in the woods with a great guy, I can live with that. <3 p="">

Vegas Baby!

Took a mini vacation to Vegas with Stewart at the end of March. It was good to get away and have some fun. And fun we had! Walked up and down the Strip, shopping, gambling and drinking. Went to the dueling piano bar at the Paris Hotel and sang my lungs out for 2 1/2 hours. We saw the Defending the Caveman show down on Fremont Street and had an amazing steak dinner at the Top of Binions. Best of all, we spent a lot of quality time just hanging out and spending time together - one of my favorite activities.
I wish I could say that we both won big and came home with lots of cash, but that's not the case. Instead we had a blast and came home with lots of memories....even better!

This man makes my heart happy!

Saturday Stewart took me up into the hills, and he even brought me back down! He didn't leave me there as feed for the animals! What a guy! :)
We were down near the town of Raymond in SW Washington. And, yes, that's me wearing camo! It must be love!
The views from the top of the mountain were amazing! I was even fortunate enough to see my first herd of wild Elk! So cool!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Finished my Kiss Me I'm A Runner Virtual 5k this week. Kind of fun to just run and track this on my own. Never done a Virtual race before, probably won't again, but did this one because I wanted that freaking adorable t-shirt. After I finished the 3.11 miles, I still had to get home, and being it's faster to run than walk, I kept running for a total distance of 5.2 miles. Not bad for a mid-week run.

May the Luck O' The Irish be with you today and every day!

Half Marathon #4

Last Saturday I completed my 4th and self proclaimed last half marathon - the Lake Sammamish Half. The course was from Redmond Town Center to Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah. Most of the route was along the east side of the lake. It was beautiful! We really lucked out with the weather - no rain!
I hadn't properly trained for this half marathon, and I know better!!! I finished, but my time was a true reflection of my lack of preparation. I'm still really proud of myself for getting out there and doing it at all. I earned my medal by completing all 13.1 LONG miles.
I've said this is my last half marathon. It's not the actual race that's the bad part, its all the necessary training that is required pre-race. It is a huge time commitment, not to mention a physical conditioning commitment. I love the sense of accomplishment when I've completed one of these events, I'm just not sure that out weighs the pains of training. I know for sure that I will keep running. I have a 5K scheduled for later this month and I have a 4.5 mile trail race scheduled for April. In June, I'm running the Seattle Rock & Roll, but this year only the 8K, another Half this soon was out of the question. I loved the course of the race last weekend, and I have a strong desire to improve my time and actually PR that route. Hmmmm.....There's always 2017.
Will I ever run another Half Marathon? Who knows. Only time will tell.....

When you least expect it....

I have a love/hate relationship with Match.com. I decided to give it one more shot in December; since my relationship with Mark had ended.
There aren't a lot of ways to meet age-appropriate single men, so I thought, "what the heck". I met and went out on a few first dates, but no love connections! I was getting really good at emailing, talking, and surviving the first date process. Progress!!
I was clear in my profile: I wanted to find someone who would make me laugh and be the type of guy I wanted to introduce to my Mama.
In January, I started emailing with this guy named Stewart. He was hilarious. I hadn't laughed that much in such a long time. We'd email a couple times each day and that went on for a few weeks. Finally we had a phone conversation and it lasted hours. That too was a daily occurrence and lasted more than a week. It was always entertaining, his sarcasm level might super-cede mine (hard to imagine, I know!) We finally set a date to meet. He was the same charming funny guy in person that he was on the phone. We've become pretty connected at the hip. We live 45 minutes apart and with my work schedule, that pretty much leaves the weekends for us to see each other. We talk, text, and email multiple times a day. He is so different from anyone I've ever dated (or married!). I can't explain it, it just feels perfectly comfortable.
He has met my Mom, she said he was nice and "quite handsome". My Mom is adorbs! I met his Mom and one of his sisters on Saturday. They are both lovely. His Mom turns 90 this weekend and she is a phenom!
 Not sure why it took 48 years for me to find him, or him me. We both attribute it to neither of us being "ready" until now. I'd rather be with Stewart doing absolutely nothing than be anywhere else without him. I'm grateful for his presence in my life. I can't wait to see where this may go.....I've not had so much fun or been this happy in a long time!

Birthday - Hawaiian Style

This is what 48 looks like!

I spent 8 days and 7 nights on the Big Island of Hawaii for my birthday. Paradise! The weather was expected to be gray and raining the entire time, but we lucked out! It was 90 and sunny at least part of every day we were there. We hiked the lava fields, saw the glowing lava at sunset, played in the pools and on the water slides, tested the water on paddle boards, ran a 5k, and I had several beverages with umbrellas! It was a great vacation and a great way to celebrate my birthday!

47 is out with a splash!

Can't wait to see what this next year has in store for me!

Kona 5K



Tiara for my B-Day!



Spring Races

The spring was full of some race challenges. I was really sick with bronchitis for several weeks early this year, but even after being only about 70% recovered, I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K with my friends Teresa and Blair on March 1st. It was a long 9.3 miles. For the first time in my race history, I actually had to stop and walk one of the hills. I wasn't happy with my finish time, but was happy that I didn't quit and finished the entire 9.3 miles.

In April, I ran the Seattle Seahawks 12K. This time Mark and Blair joined me. This was Mark's first official running race (in years). He and I stayed together the entire race. He claims I threw him into the fence at the finish line, but I just passed the woman in front of me and did, in fact, beat Mark across the finish line. It was fun to do together and my time was faster than last year's Seahawks 12K.




 
For the 2nd year in a row, I joined Team UBS to run the Susan G Komen Race for a Cure 5K. This is a fun event with my co-workers that is rounded out by a delicious brunch at Paseo's following the race. Kaitlyn joined me for this event, although she didn't run, she was the support team, holding all of our stuff, and even watching one of my co-workers little boys while we ran. She's such a good sport!

There was also the Strip on the Strip 5K in Vegas (see previous post) and the Brooks Trailrun 10K in May. The 10K was awful, I really wasn't in shape to run 6.2 miles and my time showed it. I have another 10k in July, but not sure I'll fair much better then. The weather has been exceptionally warm, which is my excuse for not getting my butt out there to run!

VEGAS BABY!

Took a weekend trip to Vegas with my girlfriend Aimee. The goal was to run the Strip On The Strip 5k race. I was successful in my attempt, which was pretty amazing since I went to bed after midnight on Friday night, after a little "vegas activity" and got up at 6:15 a.m. to head to the race. My time wasn't great, but I finished and got the medal, which is all that really counts.

Ended up celebrating as a Divorced Diva over the weekend, which wasn't originally the plan, but the timing worked out perfectly.
Did lots of walking and shopping, and drinking (duh, it's Vegas!). Came home with a new cocktail dress, jewelry, coffee mug, personalized M&Ms, and the all important Divorced Diva sash! Oddly, I didn't do much gambling, which based on my Visa bill when i got back, was a wise choice! :)
Michael, the bartender at Paris where we stayed, knew exactly how to make my Mimosa! He was ever so entertaining to visit, which we did on a few occassions!
I saw my first Vegas show - Le' Rev at the Wynn. It was AMAZING! I've never seen such amazing athletes. It was incredible and well worth the $125 ticket price.
After the show, we went to the Bourbon Room bar at the Venitian, where I literally got picked up by a Marine. There is a picture to prove it! It was such a fun night of dancing! I have blisters on my toes to prove it! We closed the bar at 5 a.m. and were the last to leave, which we finally realized when the music stopped and no one else was around. Finally made it back to my room at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. Too bad we had to be checked out of our room by 11:00! The night, and a trip to Vegas, wouldn't have been complete without some creepy French dude propositioning me in the casino a little before 7 a.m. Of course, I was sitting there in a cocktail dress with my shoes in my hand, I must have made a sight! :)
It was a great trip and exactly what the doctor ordered!

Life is Messy and Suprising!

Life is Messy and Surprising!! After almost 15 years together, Tim and I finally agreed that our relationship was making both of us miserable. Life is too short to be unhappy all the time! We filed for divorce in November. I stayed busy with Kaitlyn's wedding and my running. Having just ended a long term relationship, I wasn't really looking for a new relationship. I hoped to date and learn how to interact with the opposite sex again (when they aren't my husband). Apparently, God had another plan for me. He put this amazingly sweet man named Mark in my life. At first glance, I didn't think anything would come of this, other than a few dates and maybe a new friendship. Well, I was wrong! When we are together, it feels so easy and comfortable, like we've been together for 20 years, not 6 weeks. We spent a great weekend away for Valentine's Day. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. I have no idea what the long term future holds, but for now I am extremely happy and extremely grateful for the blessings in my life.

 

 

First Kiss!

She's Married!

Pre-wedding toast!

 My baby girl got married!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Johnson!

It was an amazing day! I had the most beautiful and happy bride on my hands.

My 4 crazy kids!

The happy (and adorable) couple!

Mother of the bride with her lovely niece and loving cousin!