goodbye social life

So I bit the bullet and signed up!!! YIKES!

For those of you that didn't know, I have been debating signing up for an Ironman for about 2 years now. Well I have finally decided that now is as good a time as any and I dont really want to wait a wholeother year. I will have to work really hard to rehab the chronic injury I have had all of 2009 (after I just run these 2 lil marathons I am signed up for) and then get myself on an actual training program (hey, there's a first time for anything!)

If you didn't already know an Ironman race consists of a 2.4 mile open water swim, a 112 mile bike & then just for shits & giggles a marathon at the end (26.2 mile run)

so mark your calendars, I am going to need all the cheerleaders I can get!

Novemebr 21, 2010 - Ironman Arizona @ Tempe Town Lake

SO. FAR. BEHIND....

I am sorry my blog-readers (if there are actually any out there...) I hope to get caught up soon! I have to, cheerleading competition season is starting...and that means I will be M.I.A. until May...CRAP!!!

Ok, hope to write soon

living in the Wild Wild West

So now that I have been living in the Wild Wild West for almost a year, it has fully sunk in that even though Arizona is on the west side of the country, it is absolutely nothing like the west coast. Arizona really truly is cowboy country & cowboys (and cowgirls) shoot guns. So I was invited to go with some people from work to the range & I said, hey, why not...

Here I am, giving it a shot...literally!


Alison has found her new hobby!


Brian showing Kathy how to handle the big guns...


Kathy gives it her all


Brian & the big gun

random life thoughts

I have found that more people than I would have thought read what I put up on Facebook...and people seem to be growing quite fond of my quotes & sayings

This is one that really, truly is me & my train of thought
(and I have found it in various places!!!)

"I have always thought something was missing from the soundtrack of my life.....as it turns out all I needed was a little MORE COWBELL!"

Seattle - out & about

Seattle skyline from one of the ferries


Snoqualmie Falls


me & the Space Needle



Seattle has long been on my list of places to go visit & even though I know several people there, I just never planned a trip. Well all I can say is that I am sorry I did not go sooner! Seattle was one of the neatest cities I have ever been to. It is very walkable & there are so many things to do & see. Being there for only 4 days was sort of like a "warmup" because I feel like I barely even scratched the surface. I was so glad that I got to stay with my Auntie Mirtha & Mitch, they were the best tour guides & we got to do some things I never would have thought of doing. I also got incredibly lucky that in 4 days I did not get a single drop of real rain...yay! It was a bit chilly for me the first few days (hey, its 106 in Phoenix and somewhere between 50-65 in Seattle) but I was able to adjust by the end. I hope that I get the opportunity to go again soon as I want to see more of the city attractions.

me, Mike & Mitch @ Red Hook Brewery doing a beer tasting (post race)


me & Auntie Mirtha in Bainbridge


another shot of the skyline...
very impressive city yet small enough to walk from one side to the other



the rest of the photos from the trip can be found here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133119&id=535560218&l=a218d35b93

Seattle - Pike Place Market

Piroshky, Piroshky...


Pike Place Market was by far the highlight of my trip to Seattle. In 4 days we visted 3 times and I still left wanting more. It is foodie heaven & I think I would need to spend a whole month there just sample everything I wanted to! Beecher's Cheeses was so cool, we got to watch them make fresh cheeses the old fashioned way & then sample some famous cheeses, legendary mac & cheese (done grown-up style) and then an awesome crab & cheese sandwich. I also bought awesome flowers for my Auntie Mirtha (thanks for letting us stay @ your house), some smoked salmon for my parents, I had to have a Starbucks from THE Starbucks, we of course sampled Piroshkys and the coolest little mini cheesecakes from "The Confectional"

Mike & I in front of the FIRST Starbucks Store


mini cheesecakes



Fresh peppers: for eating, spicing or decorating


amazing flowers!


Fresh fruits & veggies

Rock & Roll Seattle

The Inaugural Rock & Roll Seattle Race Route


who says you can't stop running for some photos???


So one of the reasons I love races is because I get to explore new places at a very leisurely pace (I call that my race pace...which isn't all that fast) Seattle had an awesome race course. Most of the first half took us near the water, the rest had us up in the city...very cool & definitely lots to see. I was pretty much in pain from mile 2 but I had a strategy to just more frequently but just not for a long time... it seemed to work out pretty well & the pain never got unmanageable. I realized somewhere around mile 15 that I was actually having a pretty decent race & just kept pluggin along. Well I was right! I managed to take over 20 minutes off my fastest time to finish in 5hr 50min. Yay me!!! So stop #3 on the Rockstar Tour is done! No more fulls for a while (thank goodness!!!) I mean who really thinks its a good idea to run 2 marathons (that's 26.2 miles in case you forgot) with only 4 weeks in between. Well apparently I did, and the nice people at Elite Racing encourage this by awarding a special medal reserved for only the truly crazy!!! I will post it when I get it.
Me in action


pretty happy to be done!


The finishers BLING



the rest of the photos are here
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=133083&id=535560218&l=c7e63cbb03