Help w/a Question

Sorry for this short post but I need help.  Does anyone know why I can't post comments on other blogs?  It asks me what ID I want to sign in with and when I pick Google I end up on this loop of it asking for my login info then taking me back to my comment but never actually letting me post it!  Ahhhh.... Sorry everyone I wanted to catch up this weekend and can't!

I'm baaaack!!!

Sad, sad day having to come back!  But I have ignored e-mails and voice mails long enough back to reality it is!  I do have some tidbits to share that are unrelated to the main theme of this blog but I'm sure I can find a way to tie it all back to being active!

1st My Vacation - Awesome time with lots of action.  Day 1 was Magic Mountain or I have now come to call it Puke Mountain!  A camera was lost (was hoping to post a video of some roller coaster action but the bf lost it on the 1st ride) booo!  It was a hilly park and walking (or running was the bf's preference) from ride to ride after being nauseous was not that much fun!  I still toughed it out and let them have some fun.  Is that part of getting older also not being able to handle roller coasters as well?  :-(  Day 2 LA Getty Center awesome architecture and gardens oh yeah and art work.  Quick stop in Hollywood and then the an awesome hike at the Griffith Observatory.  Day 3 beach day where the water was 63 and my teeny bathing suite ( I had promised I wouldn't wear my trisuite on this vacation) wasn't enough to keep me warm but I braved it!  Day 4 and 5 Was Santa Barbara beaches and wine tour.  Oh yeah and in the middle of the wine tour (where we saw the must sees of Sideways movie) the bf was upgraded to f, he proposed so I'm officially engaged now.  He says he didn't know that Santa Barbara was where my parents met in college and got married but makes it even more special!  Visited his family who were such gracious hosts the whole time we were there!  So sad to be back and we totally needed a vacation.  I didn't fit in any "structured" workouts but we did a lot of walking, some hiking, kayaking and fun!

2nd My Dad - My dad is the whole reason I got into triathlons, he was doing them before they were popular or any one even knew what they were, when the sponsors included the likes of Bud Light :-)  Well recently he has been working sooooo hard to get back into shape and I am so proud of him.  Well yesterday he had a bit of a set back!  The horrible irony of it all is that my brother was over having dinner with me and the f and I was telling a story about how he use to torture me with the Best of Queen CD.  We all began to sing their song Bicycle, more like yell it!  Right then the phone rang and I could immediately tell something was wrong.  My mom was calling to tell us my dad had just been in a bicycle accident.  He was going down a curvy hill with about 8-9% grade at about 30-40 mph when he wrecked.  He is in the hospital but the good news is right now it's looking like it's just 4 broken ribs.  His helmet cracked but it probably saved him, wear your helmet!!!  They are keeping an eye on him because of his past history with pneumonia they are concerned about the ribs.  But he laughed when I told him the Queen story and is being a trooper.  Get well soon dad!  I am planning on doing an interview series for my blog and he was the first one I wanted to interview!

So now I'm back and will be back on track with training this weekend because I plan on signing up for an Olympic tri in a couple of months.  How was everyone else's week?  I felt a little disconnected without regular internet access but I think it was a good thing!

The winner is....

Sunscreen, check
bathing suite, check

running shoes, check

Out of Office messages, check

Blog giveaway, oh oh   last thing to take care of before I'm off!

The winner is (drum roll please) 

Cortney at Nerd on the Run!!

E-mail me your address and I will get the ring you picked, enjoy!

Hello to my new followers I look forward to all our new adventures.  Big thanks to PrimBeads and the lovely jewelry that was part of the giveaway, good luck with your online shop!  Don't forget to check it out frequently as she is always adding new items.

Now the real question is how much running will I actually get in on my vacation?!?!  So I had some good and bad news with my foot.  The Dr. says there is no stress fracture YAY!!!  I overpronate and am flatfooted so the joint (I can't remember the name he spoke way over my head) is taking more of a beating then it needs to.  He told me all I needed was some over the counter orthotics that he sent me to go get.  The bad news is the only Dr. in town that sells them knows she's the only Dr. in town that sells them and because of that will force you to set up an appointment with her before she will sell you these OVER THE COUNTER orthotics but I already saw a Dr. that told me exactly which ones I needed and he's covered under my insurance she's not.  So that's a battle I will have to fight when I return.  Until then I'm going to leave my worries behind and enjoy what will hopefully be good weather.  Wait for the post vaca report to see if there will be pics of beach and fun or if there will actually be some pavement and trails with miles.  :-)

8k Run With the Kenyans Race Report

New running buddies, yay!

Hello fellow weekend warriors!  Did you get down and dirty this weekend?  Any fun and exciting races?  I am happy about a race I was convinced to sign up for this weekend, it was the 2nd annual Run with the Kenyans 8k.  There are several elite athletes that train in this area due to the fact that the altitude here is ideal for training 5,400 feet or another mile high city.  A group of these athletes are from Kenya and have put this race on to raise money to buy an ambulance for their hometown in Kenya.
I liked the 8k distance and the wind was only bad for the last 1.5 miles.  This did slow me down but not as much as my weird upset stomach.  I think I tried to push too hard through the wind but out of no where I felt sick to my stomach.  At the end of the race I had to find a tree to hide behind cause the I absolutely hate getting sick in front of people, it has happened to me before at triathlons.  Then just as quickly as it came it went I was fine about 5 minutes after the race. 

Post race Kenyan food, they still had the usual oranges & bananas too!

My first couple of mile splits were at 8 minutes which is a little fast for me then I had an 8:30 then the last mile was like 10!!!  Let's just say that is the first and hopefully the last time I had to sprint to the finish just to try not to be passed by a 10 year old! :-)  After the race there was a poolside picnic with Kenyan food.  I had never tried any so I had what they were calling a Kenyan doughnut and a Kenyan tortilla.  I was surprised that all their food was fried.  There were also items being sold to help women in Uganda, very pretty baskets and table decorations.  The coolest was the trophies for both OA & AG were hand carved items from Kenya.  Here are some pics from the event:

Leader Board, wow they're fast!

Lightning fast Kelly with her cool medal!

Hand Made Baskets.

Last couple of days before My 1st Giveaway ends!

Just for fun!

Ok Ok now that we are all over the shock of being without our blogs we can get back to normal life!  My training this week has been mediocre but it always picks up for me on the weekend.  I got peer pressured into doing an 8k this Saturday but after visiting their website I'm glad I did (thanx Gwen and Kelly!).  It is the 2nd Annual Run with Kenyans for Global Health.  After I will be hitting the pool for what will hopefully be a sunny NON WINDY DAY!!!!

This week I had 12" chopped off my hair!  I do this about every 2 years or so and donate it to Locks Of Love   I think it made me lighter so maybe I will also be faster now?

The Before Shot



After



After #2 Sorry this one is blurry b/c of cell phone

Lastly I have been having so much fun this week at work getting to do something that is so far from my normal work.  I was tasked as part of the team to help redecorate our office and they let me walk around campus and take pictures.  We were on a small budget so I volunteered to attempt to take some shots to see if they liked them.  It turns out they did and we will be having fun new pictures on canvas!  Here are just a few:

Happy Friday and don't forget only my giveaway ends this coming Wed!