That was sooooo LAST weekend. ;)
HAPPY FRIDAY!!! This week kind of flew by for me and I’m so glad it did. I have a fun weekend ahead of me.
I’m a little behind in posts so here is LAST Sunday’s funness. (not word) Oh Well.
On Sunday I had originally planned to run 10 miles but I had run for 6 days in a row and I needed a break. So I told Craig we could do whatever he wanted that morning. He decided on a hike, we both thought it would be a short hike but it ended up being a little longer than planned. We headed to South Mountain to do some exploring. We are really trying to cover more ground there because we don’t go hiking there as much as we probably should. There are SO many trails.
We took a dirt road to the trails which was about 1.2 miles I believe. This area was all new to me, there were a lot of people out. A lot of mountain bikers, hikers and families just hanging out. It was the perfect morning for it too.
I like checking out these buildings.
We decided to take National Trail which is like 15 miles I think. We didn’t do the whole thing but we were on it for a while until we decided to turn onto Mormon Trail. Before doing that though we decided to try to find Fat Man’s Pass….
And we did. I was so excited that we found it. The last time we went hiking in South Mountain some other hikers mentioned it to us but we were on our way out so didn’t have time to check it out. It’s been on my mind ever since and I’m glad we were able to check it out and that we both fit. haha.
That’s Craig over me. I kept going inside it like if I was a little kid because it was so cool to me.
After we had our fun at Fat Man’s Pass we came back on Mormon Loop. I’m pretty good going up on trails but going down…not so good. Just makes me a little nervous and I take my time. Oh and by the way, Craig went mountain biking on Wednesday and he did this trail. He is one crazy guy. There is no way I would do it. It was steep going down for me and that was walking…on a bike…NO THANK YOU. He loves it though and had a lot of fun. Even though he busted up his left knee. He was pretty excited when he showed me his wound when I got home from work 
GROSS. If you’re into mountain biking check out Craig’s video 
We ended up doing 7.5 miles and we had such a great morning. We are going to be doing a lot of hiking because our Havasupai Falls hike in the Grand Canyon is in May. We need to be ready for that
After our fun morning we had a fun afternoon.
My niece wanted our family to have a picnic at the park and we did.
We had salads, sandwiches, chips and some dips. That’s the kind of food my niece wanted. We all wanted burgers and hot dogs but since it was her idea we did as she asked
The food was good and the company was even better.
We played some games including cornhole.
My niece loved it, I love family time
This weekend it’s going to be a lot of time with friends, movie, expo and running fun. I can’t wait!!! We are starting it off tonight with a dinner and some shopping for our hiking trip.
Hope you all have a great weekend!!
Betty
Busy Bee Saturday
I’m one of those people, I love Valentine’s Day. Craig and I will be going out to a nice dinner after work I can’t wait to get off and I haven’t even gone in yet. haha. I do get off 2 hours earlier. Yay!
Also Happy 100th Birthday to Arizona!!!
I went to the Centennial Fest on Saturday and it was pretty cool. I got all excited when I saw the signs on the freeway. Yes, I’m a big nerd.
So yesterday after work I came and wrote this blog post and when I tried to post it, it got DELETED! By that time we were ready for dinner and I didn’t want to start all over again so I woke up a little earlier this morning to write it before work.
Saturday was pretty busy for me, I even skipped lunch which I HATE doing. I don’t usually skip meals, but I had NO time to eat. I was so busy I never got hungry until I was done.
In the morning I met my sisters for our Remembering Sherry Run/Walk.
I told them about Sherry and they were happy that we were dedicating our run to her. I told them that people all over the U.S. were doing the same thing that day and running peeps are way cool.
I haven’t talked about it too much on the blog but a couple of days after my marathon my sister Paula (in the white) told me she wanted to run a 5k and POSSIBLY a half marathon with me this year. That is HUGE!! She doesn’t really like doing much. haha. I was so happy when she told me, she even had a 5k in mind already and we registered that week for the Firefly Night Run. My sister Vero (in the black) has been running on and off for over a year and she is going to run the 5k with us too. If my sister, Paula decides that she likes it then we are going to train for the Women’s Half Marathon together!! So far she is loving it and I love how pumped up she is about it. We’re meeting twice a week and then for our longer run on Saturday. I’ll keep you updated.
After our run, my sister Vero and I headed home. I showered and changed then we were off to our next event.
The Centennial Fest.
We went to the Zumba Dance Party from 12pm-1pm. It was outside and we sweated bullets but had SO much fun. We even got these awesome shirts.
We walked around for a bit afterwards but not for very long.
I had the Skirt Chaser 5k to get to at the Tempe Beach Park that started at 2pm.
I ran the 5k with my friend Daniela. I’m glad I finally ran this race, I’ve been wanting to for a long time. Hopefully Craig won’t have to work when they have it next year because I would love to run it with him.
There were a lot of people and they were all ready to party after the race. We didn’t stick around to party. I was ready to go home, that’s when I realized how hungry I was. I headed home and got ready for our early Valentine’s Day date
Time for me to get ready for work. Hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day!!
Betty
“Don’t Let Me Get In My Zone”
I LOVE music and I listen to all different kinds but when I’m running I want something that makes me want to move. Something that pumps me up. I pay attention to the lyrics a lot when I’m running and these are a few songs that I have on my running playlist. All these songs have parts in them that make me feel like I can do anything, even the A** song
Motto- Drake
Can’t Get Enough- J.Cole
Gotta Have It- Jay-Z and Kanye West
Stronger- Kelly Clarkson
N In Paris- Jay-Z and Kanye West
Workout- J.Cole
U Da One- Rihanna
Dance (A**) – Big Sean and Nicki Minaj
Roll Up- Wiz Khalifa
Make Me Proud- Drake Ft. Nicki Minaj
Strange Clouds- B.O.B. Ft. Lil Wayne
No Church In The Wild- Jay-Z and Kanye West
Do you have any songs you recommend adding to my playlist?
Betty
2 Weeks To A PR
I took 2 weeks off from following a training plan and basically did whatever I felt like it. This included a few Zumba classes with friends and my sister, hiking with Craig and with a friend, running with Craig and alone and it was really nice to not feel the pressure of HAVING to do something. But my break is over and even thought I enjoyed myself A LOT. I really missed having a goal to work towards or a plan to follow. I talked to you about my running plans this year and since then I registered for the Skirt Chaser 5k which is Feb 11th. As I was about to register for the Phoenix Half Marathon on March 3rd I realized it was FULL!! I’m not going to lie, I was VERY disappointed that I waited so long to register, I really wanted to do that race. Even before running the full I’ve been thinking that a new Half Marathon PR would be awesome. It’s been over a year and I want to beat my time because I know I can. I tried to see if there were other halfs that I could do but none fit into my plans for the next couple months and once it gets hotter in AZ there won’t be any. I thought about just waiting for the San Diego Half in June for a new PR but I kind of want it NOW. I get like that sometimes, when I want something…I WANT IT. SO me being me tried everything I could to fit another half in SOON. I found out that a plan that I had on Feb 19th was cancelled!!! It was like meant to be. haha. The IMS Marathon is the same day and it’s not far at all. I talked to Craig about it and it was doable so I REGISTERED for it this week. Not only did I register but I got a FREAKING AWESOME deal from Schwaggle!! What What?!!
So I thought I had about a month to work towards this PR of mine since I didn’t plan on running a half until March, um no….I get 2 weeks. I’ve been running for a while so I know I can run 13.1 miles but not sure if I can beat 2:27. But I’m going to try, Nothing to lose in trying I took about a week off after the full but have been running ever since so let’s see how this goes.
This morning I went on an 8 mile run with my shadow. I felt GREAT and I was happy to be following a plan again. Next Sunday I plan on running 10 miles.
I also wanted to share this with you…
http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/01/virtual-run-for-sherry-arnold-february.html
I’m going to be doing it, I’m running a 5k that day so I’ll be wearing my regular bib on the front and Running for Sherry bib on the back. I’m glad the running community is so awesome and I think it’s awesome that so many of us will be running for Sherry on Feb 11th
Betty
Birthday Weekend
I loved birthday weekend!! It was so relaxing and I totally needed to relax.
When we got to Flagstaff it was dinner time. We checked in, checked out our room (that we still really like) and then headed to dinner. I was so happy that it wasn’t snowing and that it wasn’t WAY too cold. It was cold…just not like last year. I like to have some snow around just because it looks nice but it’s not my favorite. Last year we had to wear our really big thick jackets. This year we got away with a regular jacket or sweater and a scarf. So to me the weather was perfect.
For dinner we went to a pizza joint Craig’s had his eye on for a while. We shared a spinach and artichoke dip and a medium pizza. We didn’t finish the pizza, probably because we tore up the dip
The next day we woke up pretty early, we are naturally early risers. We cuddled in bed for a while, it was so nice to do that without having to hurry up and get ready for something. We came out to the balcony and took some pictures of our view.
It smelled so fresh outside and like burning firewood. LOVED it.
We finally decided to get up at 8am to go get some breakfast. The hotel has this really nice restaurant with a lot of windows to the great scenery. We decided on the breakfast buffet like last year, it was good and I had a REALLY good cafe latte.
After our big breakfast we walked around the hotel trail.
This hotel has a lot of land and last year we didn’t get to walk too much of the trail because we couldn’t see it with all the snow. This year it was different and we got to check it out
It was a really nice morning walk. It was a little foggy too.
On our way back we saw an Albert’s Squirrel.
By the time we got back to our room it was about 10:30 am. We got ready, packed up and left to our next stop on the trip.
We went to Walnut Canyon.
And we did the Island Trail, which has 240 steps. It’s not bad going down but coming back up sure was a workout.
We read all about the ruins.
Then we decided to do the Rim Trail. They were both kind of short trails and we had plenty of time. The Island Trail took about 45 minutes.
When we were walking back we saw a deer. Then he ran off to his other deer friend and they started eating berries (we think) We watched them for a while, I like watching animals.
Our last stop before lunch was Buffalo Park. This also has another trail and there were a lot of people out running.
After our walking/hiking adventures we went to downtown Flagstaff for some shopping and a late lunch. We left a little later than we thought and got home a little late but it’s ok. We had a lot of fun and it’s our last trip for a while.
Thank You Craig for a great birthday weekend
Betty
Birthday Hike and Weekend
My 28th birthday was on Wednesday….eeeeek.
To celebrate I took the day off. I REFUSE to work on my birthday. I usually make it a lazy day until Craig takes me out to dinner but most of the day I’ll just lay there and watch movies. This year was different. I wanted to have a relaxing day but still do something fun.
Craig had the day off so we went hiking.
We went to South Mountain, Craig had a new trail for us to check out. I had never been hiking on this side of South Mountain before and I was really excited to try something new there.
When I first saw the smaller hill that the trail led through, I thought this hike was going to be way easy but then it just kep going and going higher and higher. I was happy that it ended up being a good workout but nothing too crazy. I loved the view too.
Once you’re almost done you get to this little valley and I really liked it.
We decided to keep going onto other trails and keep exploring. We had a little more time left so why not…
I’m so happy we did too because we found a little cave inside Hidden Valley.
It was so cool and if we had more time we would’ve explored a lot more. We found a few more hikes in South Mountain that we are definelty going back to check out.
The hike ended up being about 3.5 miles, it was a great way to start my day I loved that we went on new trails (to us) and that we found a cave we didn’t expect to see at all. I felt like a real explorer.
The rest of the day was spent EATING A LOT. We tried a Hawaiian restaurant that we LOVED, we will be back. We went to Sprinkles because I LOVE their cupcakes. I tried the S’mores one and OMG, it was amazing!! Then we went out to dinner at a seafood restaurant. I finally tried crab cakes and I am hooked. Those things are bomb!! (do people still say that? ) My bday was pretty awesome. We are actually still celebrating it this weekend. Today we are leaving to Flagstaff for one night. We want to do some hiking, hopefully the weather isn’t too bad. We’re staying at our new favorite little place in Flagstaff. It’s so comfy and cute. I’m packing now and heading over to the gym for a Zumba class with my sis before we leave
I’ve got a lot done this morning so far. I love days like that. I was finally able to order my Bountiful Basket after months of not doing it because of training. I went and picked it up this morning and I realized how much I missed picking up my basket. It’s like a surprise every time
Yay!! Can’t wait to try some new recipes this week
Hope you have a great weekend!!
Betty
Planning an AWESOME 2012
Now that the marathon is over I can focus on other things I want to do. To be honest about a month ago I told myself that I was going to take some time off from long distance (to me that means anything longer than 6 miles) At that point I think I was tired of following a plan, I’ve had a week to think about it and I guess I’m not really done with long distance. I don’t plan on running a full marathon anytime soon but I do want to run a couple half marathons. This year I also want to focus on another love of mine…hiking. So here are some plans I have for 2012, they aren’t set in stone because I’m not registered for all of these YET but I’m pretty sure on most of them.
Running
February 11th
I’ll hopefully be running this with my friend Daniela.
March 3rd
This one I will also be running with Daniela. We want to run the half marathon and get a PR!! I want it….let’s do it
March 17th
This seems like such a fun race and it would be cool to bring my green tutu back into the picture. I wanted to do this race last year but didn’t include it in the plans, this year I am because I would really like to do the 17k.
There MIGHT be a little Nevada hiking trip around this time (Yes Craig, I haven’t forgetten about this)
April 14th
This run is at night with Craig and my sisters. This will be SO much fun. It looks like a big Rave
April 28th
I will be doing this with Craig. He did it last year and I was too much of a chicken to try to do it plus I was injured. This year I’m doing it!! I want to jump over the fire and look hardcore. haha.
June 3rd
This one is still a BIG maybe, I wish it was in the books for sure. I really want to do it and we haven’t been to San Diego in awhile so it would be a nice little trip. PLUS you get Sea World tickets with your registration!!! HELLO!!! So many good things about this race, I’m really pushing for it.
Hiking
July
July will be a lot of hiking, we are really considering in making Yosemite our “main” vacation this year which would be A LOT of hiking. If it’s anything like our Zion National Park trip then it’s going to be awesome!!
We also want to hike the Grand Canyon, that would be more of a weekend trip since we live close by.
August and September will be more hiking of our favorite summer hiking trails in Arizona plus I’ll be training for my next half.
November 4th
I do this race with someone new every year, I don’t plan it that way but it just happens. Someone MIGHT be doing this race with me but we are waiting to see how their first race goes I’m really excited about it though.
At this point this is what’s planned but things can change. Last year I made a plan like this and I ended up doing every race so I hope this year it’s the same way. I didn’t plan on running a lot during Winter because I get sick so much and it’s such a pain but if I decide to do the P. F. Changs Full Marathon again in January 2013 then that means I will be training during Winter so we’ll shall see
I’m really looking forward to what this year is going to bring, new adventures for sure. I started the year pretty awesome and I plan on it staying awesome
Betty
I FINALLY did it…
I had taken Monday off to rest, which I didn’t do. haha. I paid for it the rest of the week though. My legs felt almost back to normal by Tuesday but by Wednesday I was completely better. And by Thursday I was back to my dancing self
I had mentioned that my sister and I were going to get tattoos and WE DID. I wasn’t nervous at all, I’ve been wanting this tattoo for so long.
This was my sisters first tattoo. She was so scared and nervous, it was pretty funny. I took a video of her freaking out while we waited. She was a trooper and was able to make it through over 4 hours of being tattooed.
She loves Hello Kitty and loves owls, her friend drew this for her and she loves how it came out.
Then it was my turn. I was so tired by this point, I just wanted it to be over so I could go home and rest. It was already after 4pm at this point and I had woken up at 4am because I was starving. hee hee.
Craig ended up showing up right before I got mine so he got to be there while I was being tattooed. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a HUGE wuss now or what but this one hurt bad. I would say it has been the most painful one so far.
I LOVE it!!
Another thing I was finally able to do…
Put up my 1st Full Marathon medal I need another medal hanger. haha We also got the Double Downer medal for doing Las Vegas RNR and Arizona RNR.
And this was in the morning before the tattoo. We woke up at 4am because I was starving. We were at the Good Egg by 6:45am. YUM. I guess the two slices of pizza the day before weren’t enough. I was starving and I ordered everything I wanted from the menu.
I was so excited to put my 26.2 sticker on my car. I already have the 13.1 sticker and I’ve been waiting patiently to be able to put this one on. Yes…I’m one of those people
Question: Do you like putting stickers on your car? Do you have any tattoos?
I’m done putting stickers on my car. I just wanted by 26.2 and 13.1.
And I have 4 tattoos. I have a tramp stamp…my sisters make fun of me. I was young and I don’t regret it. I like all my tattoos. I think I’m done now though, 4 is enough for me….for now
I’m about to jump in the shower, I’m meeting my friend for a movie and lunch date. I’m looking forward to it!!!
Have a fun day!!
Betty
The ones I LIKED and the ones I DIDN’T
So I promise that I’m almost done talking about the marathon….I think
Here are the professional pictures I did like.
I tried not to look like I was dying every time I saw the camera people. haha.
I plan on buying some, not sure which yet.
You guys are my peeps so this is why I’m about to show you this, I’m warning you now…it’s BAD!!
hahaha when I saw these I started laughing so hard. I think this definitely shows how I felt inside. hahaha. That camera man won this one. He totally caught me off guard. I will NOT be buying these. I had to share with you though.
Last thing I want to share today is the video Craig made for me of my first marathon I hope you like it.
Have a great weekend!!
Betty
I did it!! I’m a Marathoner!! (Part 2)
I felt like the race was going by pretty fast. I felt really good and I was happy that I had started off slower. I was hoping that it would pay off at the end.
I almost didn’t take my camera. I usually always take one with me but I didn’t want to run 26.2 miles carrying my phone and camera but I’m glad my sister and Craig convinced. Even though they aren’t the best pictures, they still are important to me and I can totally remember what I was thinking in certain pictures.
I LOVE LOVE to read people’s signs, these put a smile on my face and I think the girls knew it
For most of the race I felt AWESOME, I was even dancing with my arms as I ran. I made an awesome playlist and I’ll be sharing it with you once these recaps are done. I didn’t have to skip a song at all. I was really enjoying everything about the race. It did feel weird when I passed the 13.1 mark, for a quick second I thought about how I would’ve been done but I was excited to keep going.
But then mile 20 happened…it was completely out of the blue. One minute I was jammin’ to my music, having small talk with other runners, high fiving peeps and having the biggest smile on my face and the next minute….I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My chest hurt and EVERYTHING hurt. My hips, back, legs, back of my head and my FEET!! I noticed my pace decrease A LOT.( Not like I was going super fast) The last 6 miles were hard BUT not as hard as I had imagined. To be honest the months following the race, I kept imagining the worst in the last 6 miles and it wasn’t that bad. I think it helped that I imagined the worst in a way. Lol. Even though everything hurt I was still having fun. I was already thinking about wanting to run another one. I must like to be tortured. haha
This was a little after the 25 mile marker. I run by this bridge a lot and I work at one of those buildings so I was comfortable and I knew the end was close. I was doing everything possible not to stop and walk and also to NOT CRY. Not because I hurt but because I knew I had made it. Just writing that makes me want to cry.
It started to sprinkle at this point and I was happy I was almost done because I didn’t want to run in the rain
Meanwhile, my family was waiting for me for almost 6 hours!!! They are the best!! I love them!
My niece Jasmine, she is such a good girl.
My brother and sister and my other peeps were there too, waiting for me
My mom took this picture…I was totally fighting back the tears at this point. As soon as I saw Craig and all my family and friends the pain went away and my shuffle because a run.
Seeing my peeps and the finish line is a feeling and memory that I will NEVER forget. It was one of the best feelings to know that I did it.
My friend took this picture with her phone. When I crossed the finish line I went to take my pictures and grab some food and I was NOT crying. When I saw my family I could not fight the tears anymore. As soon as I hugged my mom, dad and Craig I started to cry and cry and cry. I was bawling. My mom asked if I was okay and I said yes and that I was just so happy.
At that point I still didn’t feel any pain. I felt awesome, unstoppable
I told them a few things about the race as tears still came down my face.
I didn’t eat the rest of that bagel. lol….too dry.
My niece and sister made us signs. My niece was so happy to see me run. She kept hugging me. Family is the best!!
After the race we went to Peter Piper Pizza for some cheap pizza. I thought I was going to eat a whole pizza alone but I only ended up eating 2 slices….lame!! I think I was still too excited.
We took these pictures outside…a lot of pictures
With my family..missing little Sienna, Jose and my love.
With Craig, my #1 Fan!! I love him so much, he is my rock.
My parents, even though they think I’m crazy they still support me.
My sisters/ best friends, these are my girls.
My little brother, he is a crazy kid that takes care of his sisters.
And my baby…She makes me want to have kids
Craig with the family….these people are my world.
I’ll never forget running my first full marathon. I’m glad I did it and that I had a good experience because that left me wanting to do more. Crossing the finish line and having the people I love there was the best feeling in the world. I want to do it again!! haha
And thank you guys for your support, your comments really helped me stay motivated!!
Betty
