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!

And that makes 3! Three Half Marathons in 2014!

When I decided to run my first half marathon in January of this year, never, ever, ever, did I dream I would ever run a 2nd one, much less 2 more!

Last weekend I traveled to Las Vegas with 3 of my girlfriends to run the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon with 40,000 of our closest friends!
There is a lot of stress in my life right now and I wasn't even sure the day before the race that I could pull this one off. I had trained for the race, but not as well as I had trained for the race in Seattle in June. My head is always my worst enemy, second guessing myself and getting stuck in all the crap I am emotionally dealing with these days. As most of you know, I am one determined lady! So, the morning of the race I was nervous, but I was going to give it my best shot! It was really cold and windy, but there is something about running down the Las Vegas strip at night with all the lights that is kind of invigorating. I felt pretty good through the first 8 miles, and even where the wheels typically come off at mile 10, I was holding in there. By mile 11, I was really tired, but I knew I was close to the finish. My time was also on track to finish ahead of my Seattle time. I pushed ahead and did indeed finish this 3rd half marathon in my fastest time yet.

I am extremely proud of myself that I could accomplish this! Just two and a half years ago, I couldn't run around the block!

It was an amazing weekend with some amazing women! I am truly blessed to call these women my friends! It's just an added bonus that we are all crazy enough to run these races!

2nd Half Marathon in 2014

 Saturday I did something that I never would have dreamed possible 2 short years ago...I finished my 2nd Half Marathon in 2014. That's 13.1 miles, not once, but twice!
In January, I ran the Rock & Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix, AZ with my friend Christa. I picked that race for my first one since it was supposed to be really flat and easy. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done and was so freaking proud of myself for crossing that finish line. I had a time in my head that I wanted to finish, but unfortunately, I missed that goal by 2 minutes. I was bummed.
Well this last weekend I tackled it again. This time it was the Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon. Those of you that know Seattle meant there were going to be some hills in this race, which there were. The race itself was much better than the one in AZ, but again, once you hit Mile #10, it gets really challenging. There is a battle in my head between the side of my brain that wants me to stop and the side of my brain that refuses to let me stop. Even with the hills, I finished the Seattle race 4 minutes faster than I did the AZ race, beating my goal time.
I can't believe how far I've come in the past 27 months. When I started this journey I weighed 50 pounds more than I do now and I couldn't run down the block. I've now run over 1200 miles in the last 2 years and I've run 15 5Ks, 2 10Ks, a 12k, a 15k, and 2 Half Marathons. Every time I'm training for one of these races, after I finish, and especially when I'm out there running it, I swear I'm never going to do it again. Then a funny thing happens a few days later, I go looking for the next challenge. I think I'm over Half Marathons, but I do like the look of those pretty medals. My friends keep asking me to do another one, so who knows what the future brings. I wouldn't have thought it would bring the last 2, so I better be open to anything coming down the road!

Cousins Visit!

Seattle Wheel
Derek, Tim, Christina, Craig, Charlie, Rose,
 Derek, Shelby, Trever, Kaitlyn

Last weekend we had a memorial service for my sister. Although the occasion was sad, the good part was that my niece and 3 nephews came back to WA! Other than my trip to Indy when my sister died a couple of months ago, I hadn't seen the kids in years. I don't think Kaitlyn had seen them in about 8 years. The kids are awesome, especially under the crappy circumstances they've been living in. It was just like old times when all the kids were little, they just aren't little anymore! :)
Kaitlyn had a blast with her cousins. They were here for a week and all of them spent as much time as possible together. One afternoon we headed to Seattle and put them all on the Big Seattle Wheel.
I wish they lived closer!

10k #2 - The Shore Run

The weekend I ran in my 2nd 10K. The Shore Run runs along Lake Washington from Seward Park under I-90 to Madison Park. The route is lovely, with the exception of the 3 hills, the one at the 5 mile mark is the WORST!
I was trying to beat my last 10k time and finish in under an hour. Unfortunately, I missed that goal by 8 freaking seconds! I did beat my last 10k time, but I finished in 60:08. Still, it was 49 seconds faster than my first 10k.
I am now retired from races for the summer. It's time for boating season, BBQs, and fun runs, without the stress and time of preparing and running in a race.
Rest assured, I'll be back at it in the Fall. :)