26.2

So a little while ago on June 11, Justin, me and my sister Suzanna, ran the Utah Valley Marathon. Found here http://www.utahvalleymarathon.com/. It was an experience all right.

I have ran a marathon before and the hardest thing was feeling ready for it. I felt really ready this time for some reason. Even though I couldn't train as well as I wanted to. But I still felt confident and that we were going to do ok. So here goes.

We had to head to Provo the day before to get our bags and bibs and all that fun stuff. We got a sweet little bag boasting 26.2 and a sticker for the marathon among all the ads for other races and whatever new gadget that will help you run faster. Then we bummed around Provo for a while, waiting to head to our place to sleep for a little bit. We were so thankful for a very kind friend of my sister-in-law's to let us sleep at their house for a bit. We had to get up and be ready by the buses by 3:30 am. Yep. That is awful early. I am often up at that time, but not getting ready to run, so it was different. Once we got up there, it was pretty cold and so we quickly made friends with some people around a fire pit. There were some goofy people. Perhaps the best one was a French guy who came bouncing in and chatting with everyone. Best quote, "AH I got to get my french froggy legs warmed up." hehe. He also was harrassing Suzanna a little bit which was fun to watch.

Then the race started at 6:00 am. It was a very uneventful start, not everyone was lined up and then people just started. Random. But away we went and it got started. The race was really nice in the canyon and had aid stations every two miles, which was amazing! We were doing really well and kicking it, taking the Goo stuff every other aid station. It helped me a lot this time around, I don't think I took full advantage of them last time. So, we were doing really well then around mile 18-19 I started having a weird breathing problem like I couldn't get a deep breath so that slowed me down a little bit. The hardest part was coming out of the canyon around mile 21 and these big long stretches of road and no end in sight. I had a mini breakdown and didn't want to run anymore. I just wanted to sit, but I knew that if I sat I wouldn't make it back up again. Eventually walking hurt more then running so we kept running. It was hard until we saw the finish! We were all psyched about it and then we saw my mom on the side and that was great.

The finish line was in our sights and we started to run faster and get all excited. I was SO happy to see the finish and had the energy to keep it going. In my other marathon, I could barely make it across the finish. We pumped it out and finished strong as they announced our names, so that was fun. Our official time is 5:09:37. It is almost 20 minutes faster than my previous one, but about an hour slower than Justin's. He was a great help and kept me going running even when I didn't want to. I loved training with him and sharing that experience with him. He's my favorite.

Anyways, I was so glad when I finished. That I felt like this little dude. "I feel happy with myself" Just believe in yourself and you can do it.

Sushi party!

Over Memorial day weekend we had a fun time with a sushi party that Justin's sister and boyfriend threw for the family. They are somewhat of sushi connoisseurs, studying the fine art of sushi in Japan. Just kidding they went there to study architecture cause they are cool like that. Since they love it they wanted to share with us and the rest of Justin's family.

Now something to understand is that growing up in my house the only seafood we ever ate was tuna from a can or salmon cooked to perfect. In Justin's house it's a different story they would have shrimp, raw and cooked, crab, oysters and many other fishes of the sea. Justin's mom loves seafood.

I was determined to keep an open mind and to try whatever they asked me to. I started out easy with an inside out roll, in which the rice is on the outside instead of the inside. It started out with rice, avacado, some veggies and cream cheese. I am a sucker for anything with cream cheese. Then they added one with some raw salmon to it. I tried it. I liked it. It looked a little something like this.


Now ours didn't look quite this good but you get the idea.

Next on the list was a tuna roll. I am kicking myself for not remembering the offical name. But basically it had a slice of raw tuna, not the kind from a can, it looked like chicken/salmon mixed. It was a special red tuna. Anyways...they put a little slice of tuna on a pile of rice, you dip it in soy sauce or wasabi sauce and pop it in. It was actually really good. I was expecting a fishy taste in my mouth but I was pleasantly surprised to not have it.

Yum!

We had lots of other yummy veggies there and Justin's mom made Somen. It was something that Justin's dad used to make all the time from his mission to Japan. It has basically Ramen noodles that are straight, thinner and not seasoned. Then you add the noodles that have been chilled to a sauce that is kind of like soy sauce. Then you add scrambled egg bits, ham, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, whatever other veggie you like. Dip and eat. It was was pretty good. I like the cucumbers in the sauce it reminded me of when my mom would put the cucumbers in vinegar, yum.

( okay okay I promise I am almost done.) Then there were the tempered items. Tempered means battered and fried in the wok. Sign me up for that. They started with tempered shrimp and I actually liked it that way. Perhaps the Messengers are starting to get to me. Then Justin's mom was tempering everything else...broccoli, mushrooms, and onions. I kept thinking of the Gilmore Girls episode where they deep fry a turkey and everything else."Deep fried shoe!" Good times good times. It was a lot of fun trying out the different sushi and having fun all together.

Hair.

A man came to our door two days ago and asked if we wanted to buy cable through Comcast. Alaina noted that he had gold jewelry nearly everywhere possible, but I didn't waste too much time describing our non-interest in cable television.

"That's okay, I'm not the badgering type," said gold man. Then, looking at me, and remarking to Alaina, "He's going to die with a full head of hair."

Almost-creepy factor aside, the guy probably isn't too far off.

Related like, Alaina picked a day to get her own hair cut from the lengthy locks to this shorter version:

And finally, in more recent news:

Florida is coming up and thanks to rewards points we have a gift card for the Hard Rock Cafe. ( It is actually for 25 instead of 5.) We are getting excited and finding some fun things to do. We are looking forward to sun and hopefully no rain. =)

Learning: Alaina's Version

1. Juice is a must at every meal. Jam is a close second

2. Getting to know just how much time it takes for facial hair to go from scratchy to soft.

3. The home button along with the page up/page down. Totally changed my facebooking experience.

4. Tron is actually kind of cool, at least the lightriders are.

5. Having a bed buddy is nice when they warm up your side, but not so much when they grind their teeth or make it too warm.

6. The beauty of a well known inside joke .

7. I can totally win at tickling.

8. A hug and a kiss are good, but lots of hugs and kisses are better

9. Whoever is the driver gets to decide the route.

10. Make everyday a day of love and kindess.

It's been a great 9 months of marriage so far and we are both excited to see what the next 9 months teaches us.

Learning

Things I've learned from Alaina:

1. Pringles can be purchased, if they are $1.00 or less.

2. Keep the water bottles filled and refilled.

3. I am a fan of delicious flavor.

4. Clothes should make it to drawers or hangers.

5. I am quite oblivious.

6. How to start peeling an orange with your teeth. (ps. Yuck)

7. I shouldn't wear high-top socks with shorts and sneakers.

8. Getting out of the house for a fresh air walk will do wonders for my attitude.

9. Someone else in this world actually gets those "I don't know how to respond to that." moments.

10. Love is, every day, a decision to love, always.

11. There are few moments I love more than when we meet at home.

:) List to expand.

Justin's Running Slump

I ditched the stopwatch this afternoon for a personal 10k. My shins have been hurting since I bought my new shoes, and I was halfway unsure about keeping them or finding a new pair. But new shoes always look cool! I just couldn't do it. :)

So recently I tried running my own stride again. I had switched to smaller steps since running with Alaina, because otherwise I was ending up pushing us too far out of pace. But today's small jog was a good reminder of the feel-good of running.

When I was training for my last marathon, I was also going through school, a long-distance relationship, and a new house of roommates. Each had its separate demands and I found so much pleasure in heading out in the early morning for an 'easy' 10-miler. I loved the circuit I ran around Salt Lake. Then I'd head up to afternoon class, work at the newspaper after, and then an occasional text/call to my sweetheart (she followed the Rules, I later found out). :)

But I always ran alone. I always pushed myself up the hill, fighting side-aches and mild dehydration. I always tried to run what made me feel good. And lately, my runs have been dominated with hurt muscles, but no feel-good seratonin.

So I ditched the stopwatch today.

And I smelled a pink-laden tree that ran sweet from 20 feet away; I saw a bird drop from the treetop and glide over the signpost; I heared a motorbike head north on 2200 West; I tasted the salt of my breath; I felt wind, full-force in my face; I felt good.

I don't think stopwatches are for me. :)

Running Update

For those of you who didn't know, Justin and I are training to run a marathon! It is now only 7 weeks away, yikes. We have both ran one before. Justin's was last year for the Salt Lake City Marathon and he had an awesome time, I think just under 4 hours. My marathon was in 2007 ( right Cali and Carrie?) and I did okay. My main goal was to finish and finish I did in 5:27 I think it was.

So we are gearing up for the Utah Valley Marathon.
http://www.utahvalleymarathon.com/charity-marathon.php . We, well I decided to go with this one. It was a little bit later so we could train more outside (yeah right) and give me a little more time to prepare. Also it's a charitable race. All the proceeds go to help kids with cancer to have a Christmas or to provide treatments for children who can't afford them or are in undeveloped countries. So all in all it's a good thing. I get to have bragging rights and help kids at the same time.

So the training has been going pretty good. My goal this time is to make it to as close to 5 hours as I can. My wish is to get it in 4:30. Justin's goal is to just run it with me. Since my training plan is to help you do it in 4 hours and I have been following as faithful as I can I feel confident that I can do it. My only problem is that lately I have been having a hard time getting in my long runs due to the rain or the snow, or the cold, or the general yucky weather we have been having of late. But I have been faithful to get my weekday runs in even sacrificing sleep, time, and my aversion to treadmills.

So I have been faithfully running since February sticking with my schedule but I did some bulid up runs during January. I have to say that now a few months later I am seeing a huge difference in not only my ability to run but also my body shape. I can run about 10-13 miles comfortably. I am not dying for a break or can't finish but I am definitly happy when I am done. I'm also getting faster. I can keep a 9:30-45ish mile pace for longer then just 3 miles. I haven't checked my weight in a while but I can sure see a difference. My jeans are all loose, my waist is getting tiny and my tummy is getting smaller. I feel good and usually look forward to running. The tagline for the marathon is true, "Pain you enjoy." I don't know if I always enjoy it but I sure do enjoy the results of running.

As with every training for a race there are obstacles and good and bad days. But the atmosphere and feeling you get after running a race is something wonderful that keeps you coming back for more and help you forget all the pain that it took to get you there. Kind of like having a baby. So I encourage all of you to get up and get active whether it's walking to school or a job instead of driving or register now for a race! There are so many options, fun runs, 5k, 10k, half-marathon, marathon, relays, the list goes on and on. If you need help let me know. I am not an expert but I have a lot of Runner's World magazines that has a ton of advice, training programs and even eating plans. So get up! Get active! Your body will thank you.