My Mom: the beach babe

I wish I had a picture to go with this, but my camera is not water proof. Yesterday my Mom, Christina Hodges learned to body board on the Pacific Ocean! My sister and I just obtained one of the greatest memories ever. Seeing my Mom giggle like a little girl as she caught those waves that sent her rocketing to shore was one of those precious moments that I will remember always. Way to go Mom!

So much to tell...so little disire to write...

I know, I have so gotten out of the habit of blogging. But so much has been going on to talk about that I have decided it's time to start adding posts again. Since our arrival here in San Diego we have had so very exciting adventures. Just trying to get us all settled into a "normal" life has been a challenge.
We were only here for about two weeks when Geoff's work decided to send him up to 29 Palms for about a month. So we went and visited him as often as we could. Also since he was gone, the girls went and spend a week or so in Idaho visiting the family there. I went up and got them, as well as picked up Geoff on our way back, plus we brought Maya with us as well. So our little house went from totally empty to being full plus one.
On our travel through the desert I saw this sign that make me chuckle. "Watch out for tortuous!" I couldn't help but think "Yea, those rascals have a tendency to dart out in front of your car!"

After being back and getting "settled" in our home again, Geoff's parents came to spend some time with us. It's been wonderful having them here. We have had a blast and are enjoying there company. We went to the San Diego Fair yesterday. It really put our little Cherry Blossom Festival at Emmett to shame. I had so much fun riding rides with Geoff, Jenny and Maya. Sammy was a little to chicken to go in anything but the fun houses. But she is only 6. I am sure in a year or so she will be more into the rides.





Oh, I also forgot to tell you about my newest toy. I got a stationary bike. I am so excited about it. I have had so much working up a sweat on our back porch. I love it!




Ok, so I just need to add on more thing. I know this entry is getting packed full of information. But I just need to put in a blurb about how wonderful my Husband is. He had been dabbling in the fine art of cooking curry. He has made some amazing dinners for us that just make my mouth water...not to mention my face sweat! But I love it, thank you Hubby!




Alright, so that's about all my news for now. I think you are all sufficiently caught up. I will post more and not let me get so far behind again....well no promises :)

Best day ever!

Ok, I am just going to say it. Today was the best day ever!! It started out with my husband staying home with the girls so I could pound the pavement on my first run since my marathon. Man did it feel good. I ran 5 miles around Lake Miramar. I can not think of too many other ways to start of a beautful Saturday morning. After my run we all grabbed our bathing suits, flip flops, sunscreen and headed to the beach. It was a blast playing with my girls and Geoff all day. Ok, so it wasn't all day. We eventully had to go because I was going to develop an ulcer from the stress of watching Sammy (a.k.a. my little dear-devil), have one to many near drift out to sea incidents. I mean really, when you only weight 55 pounds do you really think you can lay down in the surf and have it not drag you in! But knowing Sammy, it could of been worse.
After the beach we got burritos at my favorite local taco place (No, not Taco Bell, I am in Southern California...remember). Then, to wrap up my day of bliss, I am sitting in a quite house while Geoff is outside teaching Sammy how to ride her bike. I can not tell you how excited I am that I missing out of this experience. I do not have the patients it's take to teach that girl to ride a bike. Since Geoff seems to have her wrapped around his little finger ( a blessing from Heaven!) I can just sit back and let my progressing ulcer from earlier today heal...until tomorrow...wonder what she will come up with :) What a glorious day!

Week one in San Diego

Since we got here things have been pretty relaxing. We have been finding places for all of the stuff that the crammed in my car that came from Idaho. Yesterday we took a break from organizing and the girls and I explored out new surroundings. We found their new school and picked up their registration packets. The office staff seem incredibly charming and very excited to meet the girls. Jenny said she knows that she is going to love the school because there is a big mural painted on the wall.
After checking out their school we went to a health fair/farmers market at the Marine Recruit Depot. It was neat to see the place that Geoff went to boot camp. Their got all excited when I told them that is where Geoff went to Boot camp. Sammy said, "Oh Geoff is so lucky that he got to go to camp. How fun!" I told that to Geoff and he laughed. "Fun" is not the word he would use to describe his time there.
The health fair was a lot of fun. Great info on local activities for the kids and what places that we get into with discounts because we are a military family. Sammy got super excited because this local karate class is offering cheap introductory lessons. I don't know why but I am a little nervous about Sammy learning karate. I am sure I will get a call from school telling me she beat up some boy or something with her new moves she has learned. But, at the same time it's all about discipline and exercise is good, so against my better judgment I am going to let her give it a try.
Today I am back to the work of getting my house in order. Not that exciting. I am so looking forward to Saturday. One Geoff will be off so we will get all weekend to finally get to enjoy him. Also I will go for my first San Diego run! My reading has told me you should rest, totally rest for one week after doing a marathon to give your body time to heal. So, except for some roller bladeing around the neighborhood, I have done just that. I miss running so much! I am looking forward to heading out on Saturday, pounding the pavement again! But for now, just rest.

I know I didn't write much about my marathon experience. I hope that all who donated for the money that I was raising for the Leukemia/ Lymphoma Society in honor of my Grandma has seen my posts and know that the goal that I set out and that they supported me in has finally been accomplished. Again, I am grateful for all the support of my friends and family! Thank you!

Now on to my newest adventure...San Diego. We headed out yesterday way too early in the morning. I felt pretty good. I thought I would a lot more sorer then I am. I am grateful for my strong body. The girls and I piled into my overly stuffed Ford Focus (we call her Cali), along with Chico (our dog) and Lilly (our chinchilla), and heading west. Our plan was to go to my Grandma's house which is only 9 hours or so away, stay the night, and then finish the drive to San Diego the next day. We Nevada didn't get the memo that it's spring time already or something. We hit Winnamucca and got caught in a blizzard. It was crazy! Snow everywhere. I called Mom and asked her to check the road conditions for the rest of our route and it stated that over Donor Pass (Truckee area) they were requiring snow chains and they were experiencing delays due to people sliding off the road. That is not something I wanted to try to deal with. So we decided to head south and then cut over to San Diego the southern (warmer) route. I was sad that I didn't get to visit with my loved ones as planned, but it was nice to get to Geoff one day sooner then expected.
So after driving 17 hours or so we arrived at our new home in sunny San Diego (although it was midnight, so it's was not sunny at the time) with Geoff standing outside anxiously waiting our arrival!
It is so wonderful to be and I am excited to see all that was can accomplish during this part in our adventure. I will keep you all up to speed...

I finished the race!! I am so excited to tell you all about it, but I have got to get to bed. It is way to late and am getting up early tomorrow to start on my new adventure...San Diego!! Once I get to San Diego I will tell you all how the race went.
Goodnight for now!

Tomorrow is the big day...

I wanted to do better with this whole count down to the marathon thing, but with finals, and then last night I went to blog and the site was down, I was beat, so I decided to just do a good blog today!
Its been nice resting yesterday and today. Though, I do miss running. But, I will get my fill of it tomorrow. Speaking of which, I picked up my race packet today with my number and all. #156...that just sounds like a winner...actually I don't care about winning, I am just excited to finish it. They also gave us step by step lay out of the location of each mile marker. It really made 26 miles sound like a long way :)
The original race route had to be altered a bit because the river is so high. I had a feeling that would happen. I have been watching it get higher and higher.
So today, besides resting and picking up my race packet, I have been hydrating like crazy, and eating all I could think of that is full of "healthy carbs." Because I have been drinking so much water it was really hard to "carb load" because my belly is full already! But I am more concered about getting dehydrated then running out of reserves for energy. I have plenty of back up storage :)
Anyway, if I go to sleep in the next 10 min or so then I will get a little over 8 hours of sleep before my alarm goes off.
Wish me luck! My test post will be done by someone who had completed a marathon!!
Good night!

Finals are over!!!

Yea, I survived another semester. It is over! Now all I have left to do is run my marathon on Saturday and then it's off to sunny San Diego and the best man ever!!
I am not going to lie it worked out great that this week was the week before the big race. I am not supposed to run very much, so I didn't have the stress of trying to plan my runs in between study sessions. But at the same time, I miss being able to go out for a long run to work out of my test anxiety. But all that is over with now, I can just enjoy the rest of the week with no school in my mind.
This is supposed to be my taper week, but I am not doing a very good job at it. I was only supposed to run 2 miles today, but I ran 4 instead. I am going to force myself not to run the next two days, but I am going to go swim some laps tomorrow. That will feel so good!
Anyway, to all you college folks out there who are rapping up another semester...Congratulations!! Finals are over!!!

BTW 3 days until race day!!

Good day for a run

Today was a good day for a run. It was so warm and sunny when I set out this morning. I didn't run yesterday, Thursday was Sammy's Birthday, but because Thursday is my long day at school. We celebrated it on Friday and Today. Friday was a day filled with a nice lunch at a restaurant of her choosing and the quest for the perfect summer skirts. We found some cuties! It was a nice little date together.
Today I was defiantly ready to pound the pavement. I ran 8 miles down a nice, old familiar route, which means no dogs, skunks, or dead mice. As my 8 miles came to an end I felt so good, I thought to myself that I could have totally kept going and ran another 18! Good thing too, because exactly one week from today I will be doing that! Count down begins...7 days until the big race!! I am so excited.
Good night and happy Sunday tomorrow :)

Happy Birthday my little Sammy Sue!! Here is my baby first thing in the morning on her birthday. I am sure 10 years from now she will hate me for posting this, but oh well. I love it!!
Oh, by the way, I ran 5 miles today, it was a good run, bla bla bla... there are more important things to focus on today :) Happy Cinco de Mayo as well!!

Just a normal, simple day...

Nothing exciting to talk about in my run today. I just had to do 4 miles...piece of cake. Though I did have a nice little sprint as I was chased by some neighborhood dogs. Best run time though...
Hum..I wonder if when I get to San Diego my run times will get worse because I wont have the fear of getting bit in the butt...

Cross training day.

Today was a nice and relaxing day...cross training day! Yea! I swam for 30 min this morning and then rode a stationary bike at the gym for an hour this afternoon while I finished up my reading for my psychology class. I love multi-tasking especially when it involves getting exercise in on it! Love it, love it!
I am attempting to attach my first picture to my blog. This is a battle wound from one of my longer runs. I am totally healed now, I just thought I was use it for my first attempt at posting a picture since it is fitting to the theme of my blog. Nice huh! It was pretty nasty, but not really that painful, thank goodness.

Run a long the greenbelt

Today was my last long run before the big race. I decided to go into Boise and run along the greenbelt, which is where the actual marathon will be. I have not checked out my race map in depth yet, so I am not sure if I ran exactly the same place that I will be running in two weeks, but I was close enough. The change of scenery was nice for this 14 mile run and I felt great. No silly animal stories this time. I did see a bunch of squirrels scurrying about throughout my run, a dead mouse somewhere around mile 7 and a horrible stunk smell around mile 9. But the real drama with this run was my own fault. I have a real issue with nausea that hits me about an hour after I finish a long run. Sometimes it's so bad that I will throw up every time something hits my stomach, which makes post run hydration and protien intake real difficult. The other day I was in a running store and I saw this electrolight tablets that are full of vitamins, minerals and ginger. I thought this would be a good thing to try since ginger is suposed to help with nausea. I dropped a tab in my camel back with about a liter or so of water and shook it up and away I went. Well after my second sip from my camelpack I decided that I did not like the taste at all. As my run went on the taste really got to me. I could not drink it at all. My ran caused me to run through a few parks, so I tried to get drinks from the scattered water fountain which didn't work. Suck a sick teaser! I was so thirsty as my run went on, but I just could not drink the water I had. Yuck! So much for the ginger helping me...I think it make me even more nauseated! So for all you runners out there, I do not recommened the ginger electrolight tablets that are out there!
But really other then that little set back, it was an ok run. Nice to know that it's my last long run until the big day...just 12 days away!!

I love rest days...

So yesterday was a nice, enjoyable 6 mile run. I think it's funny that just a few months ago a 6 mile run was considered a good run, even a long run in my book. But now, 6 miles is just like a Sunday stroll...what a great feeling! I decided to run what I like to call "the ditch bank" run. It's normally about a 8-10 mile run, but since I only needed to do 6, I cut up to the ditch bank a few blocks before I normally do, up a road I have never been. Little did I know that this road is where some local bee farmers live. I was running a long , minding my own business when I ran right through a swam of bees. I just shut my eyes, closed my mouth and sprinted to the end of the lane where I could get onto the ditch bank and run away from them. I could feel them hitting against my skin. Luckily, I did not get stung...needless to say I will not take that route anymore.
Sunday, oh blessed Sunday, is a day full church, family, resting and hydrating...hydrating ...and more hydrating! I love Sunday!!

A journey that began years ago...

In 2008 I began a journey, I decided I was going to run my first marathon. I am defiantly not one that you would guess to be a runner. I have ran for years, but never completed anything more then a couple of half marathons. I received a flyer for Team's in Training, an organization who helps people put together fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as well as give them the training to prepare for a race of their choosing. Since my Grandma died of Non-Hopkins lymphoma in 2002 and I have always wanted to run a marathon, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.
With the help of wonderful friends and family we came up with a generous donation that was made in my Grandma's name in June of 2008. I was planning on running the San Francisco Marathon (26.2 miles) that summer, but due to military obligations and some major life changing events, I was unable to prepare for the marathon and complete it until now.
I will be running the Famous Idaho Potato Marathon on May 14th. I began really hardcore training for the marathon in January, so I am almost done with my training. I wish I had thought about blogging about my training adventure back then. It has been an interesting journey.
But, I can start sharing my adventure now...
On Wednesday (2 days ago) I ran the farthest I have ever ran at one time, 20 miles. It was a good run. A nice sunny day. I ran a different route then I had been running, so it made things very interesting. Around mile 8 I passed a pasture full of cows, cute little things, that started running with me and they ran the whole length of their field right next to me. It was cute to have some running buddies for about 10 min. Around mile 15 I started to feel my legs getting all rubbery, but I knew I still had 5 more miles in me. I started getting really sick and tired of my watered down electrolytes in my camel pack and I was so ready to just be done. Around mile 17 I ran in front of a house that has two big dogs that have barked at me routinely as I run past. This day they were not in their fenced yard, they were in the drive way. I felt like I was in Pampolona experiencing the running of the bulls. They chased me for what felt like forever, but really it was just a few feet past their property. That really helped get my adrenalin going to get me through the last few miles. I arrived back at my parents house after running for 3 hours and 40 min. 20 minutest slower then I would have liked, but over all it was a good run. I felt good afterwards. I did have my routine bout of nausea and vomiting that seems to attack after a long run. A real pain (literally), but I can handle that. I am very blesses with strong muscles and a insane desire to finish things.
I rested yesterday, well if you can call taking a Chemistry and Pathophysiology test a few hours a part resting...
Today I ran 5 miles. I was a little sore at the begging, but after the the first mile or so I felt great. I love running and I have enjoyed training for this marathon. I am almost done, but I still have more to go...

Blog world here I come...

Ok, so I have decided that I am going to see what all this blogging hubbub is all about... Inspired by my friend Jessica (the Blog-Master 3000!), I decided to put down on paper, or really the world wide web, what my current projects or things that are going on in my little world. So here I go, posting my first post...