San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon 5/31/09

5/31/09

When I was in San Diego in visiting my friend Jeanette, she convinced me to sign up for my 5th marathon...the San Diego Rock N Roll!

Training was pretty brutal in Wisconsin during February, March, April, and even the majority of May, but I got out there when I could and even when it wasn't so pleasant!




Jeanette, Ken, and I stayed at the cutest little B&B 2 blocks from the start both the night before and the night after. The night before was a little loud for awhile cause there was a wedding and we were the only ones staying there that weren't with the wedding, but I got plenty of sleep the night before so I was ready race morning.












The morning started out with stretching with San Diego Track Club,










meeting up with our AMAZING cheering crew (Robe and Jen on their beach cruisers), getting my knee taped by Robe (I tweaked it on the plane when I was coming off),










heading over to our Coral...#15!










Getting pumped up by the pre-race Rock n Roll tunes...










Waiting for the Elvi to get their start...















Getting one last picture (and mistakenly skipping the a final bathroom stop through all of this)...


















And then, we were off and running!









At about mile 8 (on the evil Hwy 163 portion of the marathon) Jeanette and I parted ways, but both of us kept on keepin' on! It was easier to do when you had bands almost every mile (although most seemed to be "slowing it down" or "taking a break" when I went by...what the heck...I don't get to take a break during the marathon...why do they???)

But Robe and Jen met me randomly around the course to cheer me on! Robe with his power meg and Jen with her beach cruiser bell infused me with energy everytime!!! They even rode with me on the course a couple of times...cheering other runners around me on as well.
















At one point, Robe even jumped onto the course to run with me!
















And once they got me to the entrance to MCRD, Robe and Jen went back to find Jeanette and Ken and ride them in! (see Jen in the background on her beach cruiser bike?)





Now, the last eighth of a mile was horrible for me...remember when I said I made the mistake of not using the restroom when I started the race?!? Well, that caught up with me bit by bit during the marathon and by mile 25 my bladder was screaming at me...so much in fact that I found the energy to somehow sprint the last .2 to the finish!!! People looked bewildered as I passed them at full stride!

I ran right to a bank of Port-O-Potties where everyone was standing in line for TP! I skipped them all...to hell with the TP at that point! I had been holding it for miles and miles and miles!!!

But, more importantly than the potty story is the fact that both Jeanette and I PR'd (set personal records)...both of us blowing our previous times out of the water...me by 17 minutes and I believe Jeanette by 24 minutes!!!




Robe and Jen ditched their bikes at the local firehouse (Robe is a Federal Firefighter) and met us on base at the finish...








We didn't hang around long at the end cause the weather was unseasonably cold...check out how happy we look...and those hot outfits we are wearing!!!


















Now, we both just have to keep it up for Milwaukee Marathon on October 4th! (our goal: PR again...and its my sister's birthday so maybe she will send some luck my way!!!) Better get to training!

Honduras with the Ladies!!! Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!

5/3/09 - 5/9/09

My sister Lindsay, my friend Jen and Shannon, and I embarked on an island adventure of epic proportions to Roatan, Honduras. Many have likened the circumstances to that of The Sex and the City Movie...I'm Carrie!!!


We departed at 3am from O'Hare International - it was a great time for the ladies to get to know one another...I was the only one that knew all 3 of them so they had a lot to catch up on with one another!!! The funny thing is, I wasn't even nervous that they wouldn't all get along - they are 3 of the most amazing women I know :)






The flight there had quite a few stops, but we actually got to skip one of them due to bad weather. Most of the planes we took were regular jets, but the one over to Roatan was a dual prop plane!!! And we got to sit facing eachother...the propellers were right outside the window spinning next to Shannon's head...kinda creepy!!!

















Once we landed on our tropical island getaway we were greeted at the airport by a tinny white van from our resort, Las Rocas...and as we sped and weaved through traffic and around blind corners we wondered if we would actually make it to our resort!





Once there we checked in to the cutest two-story wooden bungalow with 2 porches and a brightly colored hammock hanging on each! Our bungalow was surrounded by lush trees and chirping birds. Almost every morning I was up at dawn, laying in the 2nd story hammock, reading. A little humming bird would buzz by and other birds chirped happily from nearby trees. I felt like it was our own little tree house!

















And once we settled in we changed and headed straight to the beach...we had heard so much about the reef that we couldn't wait to get in and check it out!!! The man that drove us from the airport told us we could jump right off the dock near our resort and see tons of coral...












Well, that wasn't necessarily true...we saw a lot of sand and almost got hit by a water taxi! We later learned that we had to swim out about 400 yards to see the reef!







Once we figured out the tricks of the snorkeling trade, Shannon and I were in the water 2 - 3 times a day checking out the coral and the fish! We ended up doing most of our snorkeling at the far end of West Bay Beach near the rock wall...the coral seemed most alive and abundant there...and there was no danger of water taxis!!!

Here are a couple of the pics I took with my new underwater digital camera (thanks for the birthday gift Mom!!!)



































Snorkeling continued to be tons of fun for everyone until Lindsay accidentally kicked the coral...OUCH!













And a couple days later as I was snorkeling with Shannon I looked to my right and saw an 8 foot reef shark about 40 feet from where we were swimming off the shelf of the reef...he paid no attention to us, but we got out of there quick!



Although this isn't a pic of the shark, it was in this type of area, between coral croppings that I looked out into the deeper part of the ocean and saw it!!!




Here Shannon and I are actually swimming with the schools of blue fish...we found it to be SO peaceful...we called it fish therapy!









And the underwater digital didn't just shoot pics of coral and fish...we also took some underwater photoshoot pics...



sometimes with the wildlife (we loved finding starfish!!!)














Underwater sister HANDSTAND!!!












although the selfies took some practice...this was supposed to be a shot of the 3 of us...and I cut off our heads! Ooops...













Eventually I got better at it though...here is a sister-selfy!







While we did have a lot of downtime we also made the most of our trip there by taking in as much of the island as we possibly could...





One of our first days there we took a trip into "town" and did some touristy shopping and exploring...









We made a stop at a shop I had read about prior to the trip...Yaba Ding Ding! We didn't end up buying anything there (it was more pricey than the other stores and would not negotiate), but we had to get a pic by the sign:)












We also found a shop that was just for me!!! See, I belong in Roatan!











Another day we headed out for a boat snorkeling/scuba adventure. I chose to scuba while the ladies snorkeled above...













And of course we went to check out Jen's monkey's at Gumbalimba park!

Jen was SO excited about monkeys that the morning before we headed to Gumbalimba park she said to me. "me llamo mono!" (translation: my name is monkey)...I looked at her rather confused until she explained to me that what she really meant was I love monkeys (and "te amo" is I love you!) HA!





It was an interesting place where Maccaw parrots were placed on your head












you could cross a pirate bridge


















(I have an eye patch and Jen has a hook...what, you can't tell we are bad ass pirates?)

















have HUGE lizards fall out of trees above you and almost knock you unconscious...this really almost happened to poor little Jen!












and hold little monkeys...this one in particular LOVED Jen and actually fell asleep on her head...that is until he suddenly woke up and seemed to want to come hang out with me on the swing.










I thought it was adorable until the little creep grabbed the cute butterfly that had landed on me and promptly ate her! Then, sensing my fury, quickly ran back up and hid behind Jen!




Little bastard! RIP cute butterfly!











One of our favorite daily activities, besides snorkeling, was jumping off the tower! I don't think it was created for jumping, but we found joy in it...and so did some of the crazy locals who would do insane backflips, etc over the railing and into the no-so-deep water below!
























One of the local girls thought what we were doing looked like a lot of fun and insisted on showing us that she could do it too...on a smaller scale of course!










Another one of our favorite passtimes was grabbing a Monkey Lala (one of the best alcoholic blended drinks I have EVER had!!!) during happy hour - 2 for 1 - and watching the sunset from "our" chairs. The resort coincidentally had 4 brightly painted deck chairs...one for each of us! Tracy=Blue, Lindsay=Purple, Shannon=Green, Jen=Yellow
































However, tragedy struck one night when Lindsay and I were filling out our postcards...a cool breeze swept across the deck and blew one of the postcards right down the slot between 2 of the boards!!!






Lindsay and I quickly went into reconnaissance mode and McGuiver'd a contraption of straws to push and pull the card out from under the deck. Lindsay shined a flashlight through the slot in the deck and pushed it toward me as I directed her from below.











Once the card was close enough I used my straw contraption with a hook at the end to pull the card toward me...all while wearing nice white pants! Ah, SUCCESS!!! I hope my Mom appreciates this postcard! (ironically it never got sent from the island as we were unsuccessful in finding a post office or stamps! HA!)




Another day filled with adventure we went on a canopy zip line tour and the vistas were outstanding. Our guides were hilarious (and one had quite a little potty mouth). They even let us flip upside-down at one point!














Another day we decided to walk along the water from our resort in the West Bay Beach to the resort town of the West End...on the way there I swear it felt like the Sahara desert...and, sticking with the Sex and the City Movie theme, we came upon what could have been the mirage of a man swimming in the ocean. I think all of our jaws dropped as we tried to play it cool. The mirage then began to talk and invited us to come for a swim and introduced himself as Jose...although we never saw him again, he was from then on and forever will be known as "Jose Hot Bod"







While in the West End we picked up some trinkets and ate at the Cannibal Cafe...

notice their slogan...HA!









As we cruised the beach together daily, some of our other Roatan beach adventures included...















Shannon's tighty whitey creeper who kept circling our beach chairs and staring...after lingering a bit too long, he bolted from the water with a certain appendage leading the way!










The "Something About Mary" wanna be tanning lady - uhhhmmm...here Jen "pretends" to take a picture of me in order to capture the, uhm, beauty?!?








The soldier who asked to take his picture with us and then whose commanding officer told us in English "Don't worry ladies, we're here to make sure your vacation is safe." Little did we know, there was a riot the day before and 200 more police were flown in from the mainland...it didn't affect us at all as it was laborers rioting over unfair wages and outsourcing labor to other countries...







Just strolling through the warm water and feeling the sand run through our toes...












Or, just grabbing one of the many lunch and beer specials advertised along the beach...here we are trying the 4 local brews...4 girls, 4 brews...perfect (and actually, the first beer I have ever had! REALLY!)






The 2nd to last day in Roatan was my birthday and what and excellent way to spend it...

In the morning, while relaxing in my hammock, Jen gave me a gift Robe sent with her to give to me...

It was an amazingly beautiful jade carving from New Zealand...the pattern represents the new fern fronds. In the Maori culture this stands for "new beginnings" - which I definitely have a lot of these days! It was honestly one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received...(it made me tear up!)








The girls also bought me an amazing painting from a woman named Gladys who was selling them on the beach (now, I can't wait until I have a place of my own to put it up)! I actually loved the painting SO much that I went back and bought another one!!!











Our resort bartender, Mike, insisted on giving us a Mind Eraser drink "on the house" for my birthday...neither Jen nor I were interested, but felt bad saying "no" so when it came time to drink...we both faked it!!! Later that night Mike's friend Jovi insisted that Mike "erased his own mind" cause he passed out on a nearby bench!!!










Unfortunately, my birthday wasn't the greatest day for Lindsay and Shannon...they got pretty sick from the water, but but they rallied and joined us for dinner in the West End...


















Well, at least she tried...here's Lindsay "at dinner" with us for my birthday at LeBistro...












The original plan was to party it up (it was a Friday night) but instead we headed back to our hotel and while Lin and Shannon went to bed,


Jen and I headed to the local restaurant/bar called Bite On the Beach where Victor hooked us up with complimentary Monkey Lala's and Key Lime Pie.












The restaurant is SUPER cool cause they have lights that shine down on the water and they feed the eels...can you see that squiggly line in the bottom right?!? That's an eel!!!











On our last day in Roatan we soaked up as much beach time as possible...and played with some of the local kids...and they are adorable!!! Shannon donated her goggles to this little boy!






























And because my lips were so raw from too much breathing through a snorkel or scuba reg and the sun was intense off the water I was sportin' the zinc on my lips and the polarized Bole sunglasses from Milwaukee County Lifeguard Corps circa 1996!!!






On the way home we had a bit of an adventure as well.


No only did Shannon not get a seat near the 3 of us, but once we were all seated we suddenly heard a strong Spanish accent say, "Jiiiin, Liiindsaaay, Traceeee................and Shaanaan too, please leave the plane!" We were a little concerned at first until they explained to us that they were flying us direct to San Salvador giving us one less layover! NICE!

Here were are confused as to what is going on and getting our new tickets...


Finally, headed home...sad to be leaving, but happy to have had the experience!