Ragnar Training Update

For those following along at home, here are a few tid-bits about what is going on with my Ragnar training.

I have been at this for about six weeks now.  When I started, I could barely run a mile without feeling like my lungs were going to explode and my heart pop right of my chest where it would then land in front of me and I could literally watch myself step on it.  How's that for a picture?  But now, I am up to about 5.5 miles (27 miles so far this month!) at a time and feel pretty dang good through most of it.  I am battling some serious calf and shin tightness, but with a fair amount of icing and stretching, its getting easier to pack on the miles each week.  The other night I was in about mile 3 when I totally stopped thinking about how far I had run, or how far I still needed to go, and just got into the groove of running.  I had some good tunes going, a good stride and felt really good about just running.  It wasn't super fast by comparison to actual runners, but it was huge for me.  5.5 miles has been my longest run to date, but each week that number grows just a little bit more.  This week I am slated to take that 5.5 to 6 and mix in a few sprint drills to help run faster longer.  Let's hope the shins and calves keep up with my pace.

All the running is actually becoming fun and something I (sort of) look forward to each week.  While I still have a long way to go before I reach my goal or before I would actually call myself a runner, I am starting to understand it a little more.  It is definitely something that I can see myself doing more of, even past this upcoming relay.  At first it kind of sucked out there all by myself running on the sidewalk, but as I get more and more into it, it really is cleansing.  I find myself praying, making mental checklists of things I either need to do or still want to do, and just enjoying being outside.  Since most of my runs are in the evening after work, I am looking forward to getting out on some trails during the day now that I feel like I can actually make it back from wherever I might go.  This running thing is more fun than I had originally thought!  I might, dare I say it, try to sign up for a few races a year to keep something in front of me to help keep motivated to run and get better at running.  We'll see how I feel after I actually run a ton of miles in one day.  

This particular race is to benefit FaithQuest Missions and the work they do sending people all across the planet to spread The Word.  I have committed to raise $1,000.00 for this race and still have a ways to go.  This is where I need your help.  No, I'm not asking you to run with me (although if you want to I sure won't stop you!).  I am asking you to come along side me and donate a little bit to an organization trying to do their part in spreading God's Word.  Each year, FathQuest sends people all over the world and has seen tremendous impact through their efforts.  I encourage you to take a look at their website and see for yourself the network they have created and the work God is doing through them.  When you're done there, please go on over to my page to donate to help me help them.

a summer weekend

josh, peyton, june, and i spent saturday afternoon roaming the peninsula at balboa. i just treasure the time the four of us get to spend together.

on sunday, we went swimming at my sister's pool, and again, got to enjoy the amazing weather! we are really loving all these summer activities.

memorial day 2011

as in what seems to be tradition now, josh and i hosted a casual memorial day bbq at our community pool. this is becoming one of my favorite holidays--good friends, yummy treats, and great sun!

little p chillin' with grandpa

jimmy and larae hanging out poolside

auntie jess taking peyton for a dip

family time in the water!

angelo and vanessa being sweet together ;-)

yup! we sure did bust out a round or 5 of penny can!

little "hailey boo" having a ball!

uncle josh...being "fun" uncle josh to little man joel.

girl time! :-)

thanks to everyone who made it out for the afternoon. as usual, hoping to make summer barbecues a more typical activity! as always, the more the merrier! :-) join us next time!

belly: revealed (big time!)

a lovely friend of mine, the talented mr. kevin kach, graciously spent his saturday morning snapping away at my belly, my baby's-daddy, and me. 7 1/2 months of baking a kiddo, and this is what we have to show for it!

i absolutely ADORE every single one of these photos. they were taken at a trail and stream behind our house that josh, june and i walk all the time. i cannot wait for baby j to join us on these walks in just a couple months...!

kevin, you rock, buddy.

thanks a million, from the bottom of my heart...

now we've just got that one, classic photo left to take. shhhhh!

oh, and i mustn't forget to thank kevin's lovely assistant, and one of my all-time besties, "auntie dani". LOVED that you were able to join us and help kev, and i think these pics are of us are priceless!!

a little daydreaming never hurt anyone

i'm aching for a roadtrip. all i want to do is pack a small bag, a big cooler, grab the dog's leash and a few cans of her food, follow the husband to the car, dog in tow, and hit the open road while it's still dark.

the first thing i'd do is fall asleep :-) what? it's still dark. and once the sun would come up i'd wake back up. no big deal. i'd take over for driver josh, who's probably dead tired by that time because 'morning's just aren't his thing'.

june would be zonked in the back for hours. as a matter of fact, she'd probably go a good 8 hours before needing ANYTHING. she'd just sleep--happy as a clam. a dog clam. she loves that gosh darn car.

we'd get hungry and start scavenging through the cooler for some yummy food, only to find that we didn't pack anything that sounded good. we'd pass a jack in the box and start our week of back-to-back-heart-attack-food-consumption with a breakfast jack or a sausage bisquit, probably wrapped in bacon--because everything tastes better wrapped in bacon. the food in our cooler would inevitibly go bad before we ever got near it. i mean, who really wants an apple when you're driving by a krispy kreme?

regardless of where we were going, we'd find ourselves in nature sometime around noon. whether it's a stumbled-upon national park or a spontaneous walk on the beach, the car's a/c would eventually get to us, and we'd need a fresh air break. and whether she knew it or not, june would need some exercise by now. josh would be scared to let her off a leash, so i'd cleverly pull out her 25 footer so she could run and play and still be "nearby". are we overprotective? maybe. but do you know how badly i'd feel if we LOST her 7 hours from home? no chances.

what's that, in-n-out? you want us to swing by since we're still in california and may not be for much longer? ohhhh. okay, sure. why not? (another step closer to a heart-attack, but honestly, not much different than a typical sunday...)

we'd be back on the road with full bellies, ready to laugh and play and joke with each other as we make our way to that evening's destination. by this time, josh would have picked an album to listen to, i would have picked four of them, and it'd finally be his turn to pick again. good thing he's so easy-going on the music scale when it comes to long road trips. on these trips, he's good to go with "anything, babe" :-)

after a few moving-car landscape photoshoots and 20 minutes of jittery, nonsense video camera footage, i'd go back to sleep. what? it's been a long day!

we'd probably find our first hotel sometime around 7, just in time to unload the car, rile up the dog, and go get dinner. i know--we've barely had anything to eat ALL DAY, so we're obviously starved.

get some rest, because tomorrow we're doing it all over again.

Freedom: A Short Story

It’s dark out. Without even opening my eyes I can tell that much. Any other day the darkness would be unwelcome. Not today. Today it means freedom. I slowly crawl from the dark and narrow space I’ve been confined to for the last 8 or so hours and begin preparing myself for what lies ahead. I know today won’t be easy. I managed to sleep most of the night despite the cold air and the lack of proper sleeping arrangements. I rub my eyes and try to take in my surroundings. As far as I can see, in all directions: dirt, cacti, mountains and a seemingly endless sky. The thought runs through my mind briefly, “I wonder if anyone could hear me scream right now?” I tell myself not to think about such things and begin to prepare for the day. The sun will be up shortly; I need to get going. I clean up my temporary home and begin walking. “Keep moving,” I tell myself. “It won’t be long now. Just keep walking.”

This is my third day out here and I’m tired. For the first two days it was pretty easy to keep going. Now, after two cooler than normal nights and warmer than normal days, my body is bruised, my hands and feet hurt, I long for shower and an indoor place to sleep and am getting wicked hungry. I keep telling myself I can endure another day of this; another week if I had to. I was quick to leave where I came from and didn’t bring much with me. I knew I would meet up with someone in a day or two. I was sure of it. I was able to grab a few things before I left. My inventory consists of an extra pair of shoes that are too small (but have been a Godsend many times), a large piece of covered foam I’ve been able to wear as a backpack while I walk and sleep on at night, a small bag with a drawstring that carries a toothbrush, a bottle of water, a few strips of beef jerky, a light jacket to protect me from the wind during the day and to use as a small blanket to keep me covered at night. I knew when I left I would need to travel lightly or I would never make it.

The sun starts spilling over the mountain to my left. As desolate as this place is, and as tired as I am, I can’t help but notice its beauty. I have never seen such colors before. The light dances across the desert and all at once this barren field comes alive with beauty. Each of the last two mornings has amazed me with the spectacular spectacle of the sunrise. Its beauty has made this trek a little more bearable. I stop and stare at the ever changing landscape as the morning light hits my face. The warmth is welcomed for the moment. It won’t be long before I will want to escape from it.

“Just keep walking. It can’t be much farther.” I have to keep motivated or I’ll never make it. I just need to reach that large rock on the horizon and I can rest for a while. It seems like a million miles away. I take a sip of the water I have left. It feels like silk against my dry lips. I’ve rationed what I have left to get me as far as I can go. It would be deadly to drink it all now. I’ll save what’s left of the jerky until I can rest. I tuck the water between my foam pad backpack and my neck. It’s still cold from last night and acts as a great cooling system for my body. I daydream of sitting on the beach with an ice cold beer for a moment. I can almost taste it. “The rock is getting closer, don’t lose your pace now.” I come back to reality and concentrate on my walking. The rock that seemed so large from so far away is becoming more monstrous the closer I get. It looks as if God was playing Jenga and didn’t clean up after it toppled. The rocks seemed precariously perched, yet incredibly stable. I’ve seen others like it on my two day trek, but this one seems particularly terrific. There is a large middle section that is perfectly stacked; one on top of the other. All around are piles of rocks that lean against and support this enormous tower. I hope I can find a small place to sit and rest for a while.

The sun has been up for an hour or so now; the warmth I once welcomed, I now wish would go away. The rock I’ve been admiring is now about 100 steps away. I can’t wait to find a nice cold rock to lie on and get out of this sun for a bit. I walk around the base of the tower and find a small alcove where the sun hasn’t yet touched. As I crawl down into it I find an empty beer bottle. “At least someone else has been here before.” Yesterday I found a Wheat Thins box; it has been a great motivator. I lay as far down into the alcove as I can and lay the foam pad along the ledge above me to keep the sun out as it moves across the sky. “I’ve made it.” I take a bite of the jerky and take another sip of water and close my eyes to rest.

I awake sometime later to the sound of footsteps on the loose gravel outside. I don’t want to make a noise. They sound like they are getting closer, or maybe it’s just my imagination. I see a shadow from around the edges of the pad, but the sun is still pretty low and I can’t make out what it is, but it IS getting closer. Two days across this desert without seeing anything else alive so I am just hoping it’s friendly… and scared to death it’s not. The footsteps stop right on the other side of my foam shield. Then… a knock, and a voice, “Dude, are you in there?” I throw the pad to the side and crawl out. “Holy shit, dude! You scared the crap outta me! Thank God you made it. I was worried I was going to be out here forever on my own!” My climbing partner showed up right on time. We arranged to meet here three days ago but without a watch I didn’t know what time to expect him. We walk together to his truck and I suck down what feels like a gallon of water. He had been there for a while already. “I saw you sleeping about 30 minutes ago and by the dirt on your face I could tell you needed a good nap, so I let you sleep. I’ve got the ropes and gear ready to go. Drink up and grab a donut on the front seat. Just let me know when you are ready to climb this beast.” He knows exactly what I want after two days hiking through the desert. I devour the donut and drink a ton of water he brought for me and I feel like a hundred bucks all over again. He tosses me a hat and a pair of sunglasses; I give him a brief nod, slip on my climbing shoes and my chalk bag and let him know I’m ready. We walk together to the base of the large rock that had been my destination during my trip, rope connected between us and protective gear strewn about. I watch as he starts climbing up this amazing rock formation and can’t help but smile and think to myself, “There is no place I would rather be than right here, in the middle of nowhere.”

ahhh....

with summer right around the corner, you'll find me doing a lot of this:

although, unlike june, i'll probably take my collar and leash off. i'm not a fan of neck tans.

favorite places: park bench cafe

it's not often that we get to enjoy the little gem in huntington beach called central park, as it's a good 35 minutes from home, and we don't spend all that much time in that area to begin with. every so often, though, we make it a point to grab the dog's leash, jump in the car, and head up the freeway to get a bite at one of our favorite places: park bench cafe.

this fully outdoor breakfast and lunch restaurant not only allows dogs, they actually encourage 4-legged friends to join for a treat of their own. the puppy menu ranges from hot dogs and ice cream scoops to kibble and dog bones. june's treat today--just a simple peanut butter dog-shaped treat. she decapitated it, ate the head, and left the rest of the treat for her furry squirrel friends that would clean up behind her.

i know what you're thinking--if they serve dog food, i'm sure the people food can't be that good. WRONG. it's definitely a greasy spoon type of restaurant, and a "white plate/cheap silverware" type of place, but the grub is good!!

today's trip was not quite as planned as usual--we happened to be in fountain valley running errands, and we happened to have the june bug with us because the weather was cool enough to leave her in the car for 20 minutes at a time. realizing we were just 10 minutes from park bench cafe, we headed up for lunch and a walk. june loved this afternoon, and so did we. the weather was gorgeous and the flowers were blooming--i'll take this weekend afternoon any day!

the ultimate

my husband has a *PASSION* and a *DEEP LOVE* for climbing.

his face literally *LIGHTS UP* when he begins to talk about it.

a new route is the most *EXCITING* puzzle he could ever be faced with.

his thought process becomes entirely *LOGICAL*.

his ultimate goal is to *SUCCEED*.

his eyes scream *DETERMINATION* as they survey the routes.

he becomes *FOCUSED*, and nothing can get in his way.

he *DANCES* his way to the top, seemingly light as a feather.

and i simply *RELISH* in getting to watch him do what he loves.

favorite places: our backyard

sometimes (okay, more often than not) i get frustrated with the fact that we live in a little 2 bedroom condo, and not some great big house with a yard, garage, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, two stories, living room, dining room, island in the kitchen, 5-peice master bath, guest rooms, etc. (thank you HGTV for reminding me of this desire every day i watch you and your House Hunters marathons....) but when push comes to shove, we have plenty of space in our little cozy place. june, on the other hand, could perhaps use some stairs to keep her in shape, but that will come in time.
i've begun to think of our condo complex as our ENTIRE house. the front gate? well, that's like our gate at the end of our huge property. our walk from the car to the front door? well, that's as if our garage was huge and far from the kitchen. and the park behind our house? well, that's our backyard!!
we live right next to Sheep Hills Park. there is one large hill, a playground, 2 soccer fields, a baseball field, a sidewalk path, and some dirt paths that extend through aliso viejo canyons. we literally sneak out between two of the buildings on our property and we are right there, smack dab in the middle of the hill. as soon as we break through the buildings, we let june off the leash and she's free to roam. as soon as she sees a dog or a bunny, however, it's back on the leash for her. she's not THAT well trained...
we visit the park at least once a day. whether its for a walk around the paved loop or a 20 min playtime for june off the leash, we have found that this park is really one of our favorite places.
seeing as how it's the holiday weekend, and josh, june, and i have EXTRA playtime with each other. this morning, we threw on some hats and jackets, made some coffee, and made our way to the park. it was empty, which was a real treat because june could hang off the leash the entire time. the fluffy clouds, changing tree colors, and fallen leaves made for a beautiful sight this morning. i grabbed the camera and took a few shots of our morning. what a way to start the day!


the view of our house from the park. yup, it's that close!

playing around with each other...


and of course, a family shot :-)

eye candy... colorado road trip 2009

0ur trip to colorado and back included travel through california, nevada, arizona, utah, colorado, and new mexico. josh and i both agreed that utah hit a homerun when it came to overall beauty, but we also fell in love with the gorgeous sites of colorado and arizona. getting out and hitting the open road for a week was relaxing, exciting, inspiring, and amazing. with a few stops at national parks (bryce canyon, grand canyon, zion, and arches) and a few drives through national forests and landmarks (fishlake, pikes, moab, and the rocky mountains), we were constantly reminded of the endless beauty intentionally created by God. after every turn, and up ahead each mile, another gorge, valley, mountain, hill, canyon, river, or lake would appear. the green trees were greener than usual, the yellow leaves were bright yellow, and the sky-spanning rainbows were clearer from end to end than ever before. i don’t know if our eye for landscape was a little sharper, as the focus of our trip to go out and “see” all the incredible sights, or if it truly was that gorgeous… either way, we so enjoyed the driving and the sightseeing, that i can only hope that some of these pictures give the sights we saw half the credit they deserve.

@ arches national park

@ the grand canyon

arizona

colorado

mountain towns in colorado

the colorado river drive

our tunnel ;-)

leaving colorado