2 down...how many more to go?????

Finally...the blog as promised!!  I've been sick since last week..so it's been a challenge to function at 100% lately.  I'm still not fully recovered but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

OK...the Tinkerbell half marathon...let's see where to start?  LOL. It started after lunch on Thursday.  I was coming down with a sore throat but that was it.  Friday...I was definitely worse- I think I had a slight fever, cough and all around not feeling all that great.  I had to take Princess for her consultation and then wanted to go pick up my bib from the expo.  Loaded up on dayquil and off I started my day.  The whole Princess thing is another blog in itself...but let's say she is costing me a pretty penny.  Price of being a dog mom.  I got home..forced myself to eat something and then off to the expo.  Of course in the back of my mind...I am thinking what if I am worse on Sunday?  Do I walk it or stay home?  Only time will tell.  OK...off to the expo.  It seemed smaller than the Disneyland half I did a couple of years ago.  Maybe there weren't that many vendors or maybe I was kind of out of it...no clue.  Before I forget...I need to mention the parking situation since it plays into the story for Sunday.  The instructions told us to park in the Mickey and Friends parking structure.  I remember from my previous race it was easy to find so I wasn't too concerned about it.  I also remember there was an open lot where I parked for the expo and they didn't charge.  I actually was more concerned about finding that parking lot since I didn't want to cough up $15.00 for Friday and Sunday.  Well...I found the "free" parking on Friday so off I went to the expo.  Nothing too exciting...didn't buy too much and I left around 3:00.  Luckily, I didn't hit too much traffic going home.  Had to do laundry and by this point I was getting worse.  Let's say at about 5:30...I went to go lay down for a few minutes and then the next thing you know it was 10:00.  Good thing I had fed Princess before I went to lay down...LOL

Saturday was supposed to be a lazy day and it was.  I slept in til about 11:00 and only had to run a couple of errands...mainly to get my bagel and banana for Sunday.  I felt better but still not 100%.  Now the problem was what to eat for dinner?  This is supposed to be my carb loading meal but to be honest..I didn't have much of an appetite. I went to Souplantation for dinner and although I tried to carb load...I just wasn't feeling it.  I just hoped I had enough fuel for Sunday.  Was tempted to go to bed at 8:00 but by the time I finally dozed off...it was closer to 10:00 pm.  Set 2 different alarms for 2:00 am and called it a night.

Sunday morning...RACE DAY!!  Still didn't feel 100% but at least there was no fever and minimal coughing.  Got dressed, made sure I had everything and off I went.  Remember the parking structure that I couldn't find on Friday??  Well...I couldn't for the life of me find it on Sunday either.  So..what does one do?  Of course...follow the cars in front of her.  I mean...who else would be driving around Disneyland at 3:00 am on a Sunday morning??  Well...I followed them for a bit until I realized they weren't going in the direction I wanted to go.  I was tempted to go back and try again..but I was starting to panic just a wee bit.  One of my biggest fears is getting to a race too late and I miss it.  I remembered there were nearby motels/hotels that offered free parking to runners and a shuttle.  I wasn't worried about the shuttle...I mean I saw tons of people walking to the start line so that was the least of my concerns.  OK...I ended up on Katella and Harbor and decided to go down Harbor.  I turned into one hotel/motel only to find a sign saying that you would be towed if you weren't a customer.  Now...I am starting to panic just a bit more.  I somehow ended up in the back of this motel...and ended up back on Katella.  Thank God...there was the Gardenwalk parking structure close by so I parked there.  Walked with the rest of the "crazy" people to the start.  By this time...people were already going to their corrals..but of course I needed to use the bathroom aka porta potty.  OK..after I go to the bathroom...I need to start heading out to my corral.  Mind you I am on cold medication so I got very confused and actually headed to a faster corral.  When the race volunteer pointed me in the right direction...I was definitely a fish swimming upstream.  OK..finally find my corral and wait for the start. 

We started out on the local streets and then around mile 2 ended up back in Disneyland.  Now..one of the good things about running through the park is that you can use a normal restroom.  I've gotten used to porta potties but of course given the choice...I mean there is no choice right???  I took advantage of the restroom twice...but it cost me about 5-6 minutes total.  Another difference I noticed in Disney races is of course you run through the park and Disney characters are out for photo opportunities.  Now..if I was a halfway decent walker...I would take advantage of this but some of the lines were very long and I opted out.  I did manage to get in one picture!!  Another difference is the race volunteers will tell us how many minutes above pace we are....so we don't get swept up!!  At one mile..we were 7:00 minutes above the pace but I realized as we kept getting updates...we were getting slower and slower.  I just started trying to pass as many people as I could...LOL.  I think because the race was inside the park..the miles flew by!  I'm the type of walker that sees each mile marker and thinks...OK x amount left to go.  By the time I looked when we left the park..we were already on mile 7?  either that or mile 6.  So out on the streets we go.  Nothing major...but I know at one point the volunteer lets us know we are 4 minutes above pace.  So what do I do?  I start jogging/running although I know I shouldn't have.  As we were getting closer..I know at least I would make it so I started walking again.  As we saw the finish line...I was getting excited but that was the longest .2 miles I ever walked..LOL..Finished at 3:43:47 which is not bad considering I was sick and spent about 5 minutes in the bathroom.

Got my bling...and it is definitely some heavy medal.  Of course..used the porta potty and decided I didn't want to wait in line for the message.  Surprisingly...I didn't have the "marathon" walk afterwards.  Not sure what I did different this time around but I didn't feel the usually pain/stiffness I usually feel after a race.  Now going home took me on a little adventure too...I am blaming it on the cold..but going home for some reason I thought I still needed to go south instead of north.  It was too late to change lanes by the time I realized I was going in the wrong direction..so I had to get off at the next exit and go the right way back home!

All in all..I loved the Tinkerbell race...much better than the Disneyland Half. 

Here is my "one" photo with the characters and my bling..



Up next...Surf City!!

Another post?? I'm on a roll...

OK...another post from me??  Well...this weekend was a baking weekend for me.  Nothing too major- I had an order for 2 dozen red velvet cupcakes.  I saw this cute chocolate design so I decided to add it to my friend's order...it came out pretty cute!  I'm also trying to be frugal in my baking so I'm trying to come up with ways to not waste but also not spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  For some reason...my red velvet batter consistently makes more than 2 dozen so I decided to put the excess in a cake pan and use it for the topping...or for cake pops.  So far...it's working and I don't have to throw away too much.  Here's a pic of the finished cupcake.



Less than a week away from my 2nd half marathon for 2013.  Excited to go to the expo on Friday and hopefully not spend too much money.  This is my first Tinkerbell race but the Disney half in Sept  2010 was my first ever race.  I was blown away by the expo and how big it was.  Let's say I was overwhelmed.  So many booths and for a person that just started running...I didn't know what was an absolute necessary and what wasn't.  Here is what last year's medal looked like...


Since I am on a roll...and I blog about anything..does anyone watch the Shah's of Sunset reality TV show?  I am so far behind in my usual shows but this was the one I watched last night...For all of you that don't watch the show- it's about a group of friends that are Persian that live in the LA area.  It's funny because sometimes they have to put subtittles when they speak Farsi to each other so the rest of us can understand.  For my reality show friends...who is your favorite? I know GG has anger issues but I felt sorry that she didn't get invited on the Mexico trip with the rest of the gang.  And I was happy she pulled off the event.  Lilly definitely looked out of place with all the drinking and things going on...yikes!  Since they all live out in the LA area...I wonder if I ever run into any of them if I start hanging out in their "neighborhhod".  And no..I am not a stalker!!  LOL.  This is the cast from the season 2..

 









My poor kid (Princess) is having issues and it's hard for me because the vet can't figure out what is wrong with her.  She has more than one thing going on...but for now the vet wants me to take care of the epulis tumor in her gums.  We get to go to the doggy dentist on Friday for a consultation.  She will probably need to get her tooth removed...but we will see.  She also hasn't been able to keep weight on and that is also very concerning to the doctor.  So far we have done a stomach ultrasound and a chest X-ray.  Nothing out of the ordinary yet.  I asked if the tumor might have anything to do with it..the vet doesn't think so but I will ask the dentist on Friday.  I'll also bring her by the vet to have her weighed...to me it looks like she has gained some weight and also I can ask if they tested for diabetes.  At least it doesn't look like she is in pain...she still is the goofy girl in my life.

And last but not least...a funny thing happened to me over the weekend...I posted it on facebook on Saturday.  I was in my therapist's office on Saturday.  She has one of those Keurig coffee makers and I always make myself a chai latte.  I took my usual seat and set my drink on the table.  She went to go make some tea in the other room so I was readjusting the blanket because it was freezing in the room.  Next thing...my cup is gone.  My first reaction was oh no...it spilled on the floor.  I look on the floor and noticed the cup had fallen inside my purse.  I honestly was a little relieved...only because it was my stuff that got damaged.  I swear...God has a sense of humor.  And luckily it landed only in the little side pocket of the purse...not the entire purse.  The only thing was oh no..that was where the phone was.  I just had the most horrible experience with Verizon and just got my replacement phone.  Luckily nothing got damaged.  I used up a lot of tissue cleaning up my drink...trying to clean up everything before she returned....LOL  I wished I had taken a picture of it...well maybe not.

Until next time...

Doreen

It's 2013 already??

Where did the time go?  I swear...as I get older, time speeds up. I've somewhat dedicated 2013 to my walking half marathons with a full and some 5K's thrown in there.  For those of you that understand my obsession...once you get the race bug, it's a hard thing to let die.  So far...I've signed up for...count them 9 races with about 4 more that I am considering..

Decided to list them in case anyone is interesting in joining me...
New Years Race
Tinkerbell
Surf City
Rock n Roll Pasadena
LA Marathon
Hollywood Half
OC half
Rock n Roll Los Angeles
Rock n Roll Las Vegas

These are the ones I am considering/probably will do but need to still  register..

Long Beach half- this is my fav race since I've PR twice- once running, once walking
Firecracker 5K
Diva Half
Hot Chocolate 5K
Torrance Turkey Trot
Dumbo Double Dare

As you can see..I've already ran one race.... www.newyearsrace.com Here is the recap.  It was an inaugrual race which I actually like.  Sure there are some kinks with any inaugrual race but it gives you the chance to become a legacy runner. Not sure why this is important to me...but I think it's kind of cool to run a single race every year that it has been in existance.  I left a little early from work on Friday to go to the expo.  The expo was at the Biltmore in downtown LA.  Although I am a native Los Angelino...I don't drive to downtown LA a lot.  Let's say I was a tad stressed out.  Got to the expo...did a little bit of shopping and then headed home.  We got a cool sweatshirt instead of the usual tee that most races give out.  I will post a pic of it later.  Got home and did my normal stuff for the rest of the night. 

I didn't want to have a repeat of my experience at Rock n Roll Vegas last year where I didn't have enough food and definitely didn't have enough energy half way through the race.  Even though some races are supposed to be more "fun"...I always try to get a PR at every race.  Since I've been walking them lately...I usually try to see how many people I can pass and how many people pass me.  Vegas...I seemed to be slowing down and everyone was passing me.  I knew that I didn't have enough to eat for lunch.  For some reason it really threw me off having an late afternoon race.  An experienced runner on FB posted some guidelines for eating so I made sure I had my carb meal early afternoon and then a light meal about a couple of hours before the race.  And it worked!!  I had more than enough energy to finish and once again my goal was to see how many people I could pass.  I decided to meet up with a friend and we took the Metro blue line from Long Beach. Can I say how perfect that worked out??  The last stop was at 7th and Grand and literally our corral was right outside.  And the finish line was near Staples..and guess what was right there?  You guessed it...the blue line. 

It was a bit cold so I had to buy some gloves so my hands wouldn't get cold.  And I am glad I had them on. Also right now I'm into wearing www.team-sparkle.com skirts...I don't know other than they are cute and fun to wear.  Anyways...the race started a little late but it's hard for me to judge since I'm usually in one of the last corrals.  Finally we are off..and can I say it was a bit challenging with the hills?  We made our way from 7th and Grand to Dodger Stadium.  One thing that was a bit boring was the Dodger Stadium parking lot.  Seems we did miles 4-9 or so in the parking lot...some people mentioned that we looked like an ant farm..LOL.  We did get to run inside Dodger Stadium which was cool.  And for some reason...I got very confused during the race.  At some point...they shortened the course so we could all make the time limit.  I was one of those people.  All of a sudden I am merging with the rest of the people and wondered where are these people coming from and what is going on?  Only later did I find out why the course got shortened.  There were a couple very dark spots which I know was brought up to the organizers for next year's improvements.  Overall...it was a good race for me...didn't PR but ended up at 3:36:23. 

Here is my bib and the bling.



Next up...Tinkerbell... tutu or no tutu?? I realized the only disadvantage to wearing a tutu or skirt is when you have to stop to use the bathroom.  I think I lost a lot of time readjusting my skirt...and that would honestly be the only reason why I wouldn't wear one.

Happy running everyone!!