NYC MARATHON!

after

before




Two Sundays ago, November 1st, I ran the NYC marathon- my first! I absolutely loved it and would run it again in a heart beat. I ran it with my Dad and it was the coolest experience. It is one of the 5 world marathons and is said to be the biggest in the world. There were 44,000 runners and 2 million spectators, needless to say it was loud and entertaining!

We arrived Wednesday and because we were part of team ING we stayed at the Hilton with all of the other runners- legit runners that is, far from anything we were :). We wandered the city and had fun for a few days, ate lots of carbs, and spent some time at the Met. We had to take it easy to save our legs so we had to take cabs everywhere and limit walking. The city was sooooo busy because not only was the marathon happening, but the Yankees were in the world series and it was the Rock and Rock hall of fame. It would take 45 minutes to get a cab and the streets were flooded with people. But it was fun to see the city like that.

I was giddy the night before the race but finally fell into a semi deep sleep but woke up every hour on the hour. We had to get up at 5 30 to be in the lobby by six to get on the buses and drive out to Staten Island. The bus ride took almost 2 hours but we finally arrived. It was fun talking to everyone on the bus and finding out where they were from. We finally got there and it was madness, runners all over the place! We finally found the ING tent and had out bagels and gatorade and tried to get rid of the butterflies, but that never happened. All of sudden everyone went to their assigned group and we were directed to the start line. the first group went at 9 then 920 then 940 then 1000 we were off! We went over the Verazano Bridge then through old parts of Brooklyn that were so cool and then through queens then the Bronx then Harlem then into Manhatten. It was really hilly, which we didnt expect, but there is so much energy there you cant help but love it. The altitude was a huge help, i didnt get winded ever but my legs felt like rocks after mile 6, it was the weirdest feeling in the world. I was like a little kid the whole time, taking in the scenery, trying no to think of my legs! I was lucky enough not to hit the wall and have a great experience. My dad had a back issue at mile 16 where every step was intense pain but we did it together and he busted it out, so impressive for an old man, just kidding dad! If that would have happened to me, I am not sure I would have finished. We ran every step of the way together until 22 when Trevor jumped in and ran the last part and I went ahead with a nice lady I met haha. Once you get into Central Park you know you are close and the crowds are insane. I saw Columbus circle then i saw the mile 26 banner and I couldn't stop smiling, I really did it! Crossing the finish line was such a relief but the second you stop running you legs get so tight you want to cry. My dad finished right after me and we headed out to find Trev and my mom. All in all, we loved and are so glad we got to do it together. We are going to run the San Diego or Orange County next! We're addicted. my dad is already running again, and me, I havent seen my running shoes since and am loving it temporarily. I'll lace them up soon! Thanks Trev and Mom for putting up with us and for being our biggest fans!

NYC US OPEN- a little late!

times square's new paved street
packed house for the depressing Roddick/Isner Match

best day of tennis we have EVER seen
me and Rafa :)
We love the US Open!!

I know this is super late but I am so bad about uploading pictures! This is from the US Open in September. We had so much fun and saw the best tennis yet! We had tickets for friday and sunday but on Friday found out that the Saturday matches were Fed Roddick and Maria so we quickly bought tickets on stub hub before they sold out and then decided we would scalp our sunday tickets. We have never really seen scalpers but on Saturday it was INSANE, people were flooding the boardwalk trying to get tickets. The open just gets more and more popular and more and more crowded! We love new york and can't wait to go back next year. Thanks again pops!

Trials

So, some of you may know that I am currently training for the NYC marathon that i will run in 3 weeks, holy cow. I decided to run it about a year ago with my dad and we have been training since. I was never a runner, I was a tennis player, enough said. It is quite amazing how actually training for something really does work wonders. I used to dread running 3 miles and now feel so lucky when I only have to run 15, so weird. I am kind of obsessed with running now but recently my knee started to hurt. Then it started to hurt worse. Then I went to the doctor and was told I have tendonitis in my left knee, oh joy. So I wanted to scream, then cry, then go run. The doctor said I wasn't fitted properly for shoes, thank you Boulder Running Company (NEVER GO THERE). So i ice it, i take baths, but it still kind of hurts. Im so close, yet so far away. I decided I wanted to have my old shoe back that I can't find anywhere so I called around and ended up talking to a really nice new yorker who told me to take it easy and let my knee heel and just maintain myself for the next 3 weeks. I was on such a high all day and felt so relieved until today I woke up and my knee hurt again. I have never been so discouraged. It probably doesnt help that I am on my feet all day and never give my knee a break but regardless of the pain, I will run this marathon. I read today that when you start to taper your whole body kind of freaks out and doesnt know what to do because it has become so dependent on running. So that helped me not cry tonight. I am trying to stay positive and for now am just seeing this as a nice little obstacle that hopefully goes away. Maybe I'm just extremely physically drained. Maybe I am going crazy from the running who knows. But if my knee doesnt get better, I will need to be checked into an institution because I WILL go crazy. But I guess if running a marathon didnt kind of suck, everyone would do it, right?

Mom's 50th Birthday Surprise!!

So.... my mom is going to be 50 in January and because of her there is now a tradition that every time a sister turns 50 they get surprised with a trip, Terri went to San Francisco and we surprised my mom with Seattle. We decided to do it early because January is a blah time of year and we could totally catch her off guard this early :). So for months we have been planning this and it finally came to surprise her. Terri, my mom's older sister, made a suprise card and sent it to me and then i was going to strategically place it in her mailbox two days before. I gave it to Trevor to take to the office and get the mail key from my dad but they all of a sudden i get a phone call from my mom saying she is so excited and freaking out. My dad, who wasnt going on the trip, decided he wanted to give it to her so he just handed it to her haha. so she was thrilled and started packing and trying on all her outfits.

We left early, she picked me up at 5 am and we headed to the airport. We got in 40 minutes early which was 2 hours before the rest of the group so we hopped on the bus and made our way into the city just to find out they had been able to get us adjoining rooms and we could check in right then, beautiful! the hotel was great, it was on the water front, and so beautiful. We explored the city, ate great food, and couldnt keep ourselves away from the market. We went everyday, got flowers, bread, cheese, fish, and fruit. It was amazing. We went to Bainbridge island, which i fell in love with. It was the most gorgeous place I have EVER seen. you would think you are in a forest of pine trees but houses are nestled in the trees on the lake, i want to live there someday. We had perfect weather which just added to the trip. We all loved Seattle and had so much that we decided anytime any girl in the family hits a decade, we are going on a trip :) Happy Early Birthday Mom, I love you!!!





bainbridge, the cutest island ever.
the five of us on the harbor tour
pikes market, our favorite place of the trip
me and my bestest cousin
the guy at the market that said my mom was hot



cool/totally gross gum wall

My Dad Rocks!

So, for the past 5 years of my life I have gone to the US Open over Labor Day weekend. I live for it. We decided to go one year, fell in love, and the rest is history. Then my brother came home from his mission, we dragged him along, and now he is an Andy fan for life. I get excited all year long to go. This year we decided, we would just be moving home, we were going to Lake Powell, and life would just be too crazy to go. Every time commercials came on, we all sighed, wondering how we would survive. Trevor even said the other day, "it feels so wrong to not be going, its a part of us." Ditto. So I recently got hired at Nordstrom, which I am very excited about. My family was planning on going up to the mountains for the weekend and I was sure I wouldn't be able to go because of work because they were short staffed and needed someone to start ASAP. I was talking to my dad on facebook, how weird, and he asked if I could start after Labor Day because it would be fun to all six be together before little Elizabeth joins us all. I was so stressed because I was sure there was no way and I would have to start next week and my manager would already think I was a slacker. I told my dad I didn't believe him and there had to be something more to it. He just told me to ask for it off. I was even more stressed. I was like DAD JUST TELL ME, YOU ARE STRESSING ME OUT. and he said well thats your decision to be stressed. He then tells me to go to bed and call him in the morning and he will explain. I automatically say "Dad are we going to the US open?" and he says "No way, this last minute? you're out of your mind". It was worth a shot right? Then he calls and asks for my mom and she says "wow that sounds like fun". I finally got so mad and told my mom to tell me what the heck was going on. She didnt budge. Then my dad calls and finally has to tell me whats going on and says "if you can get work off we are going to the US Open" I freaked out and called my manager right away to give her some sob story about how I needed to go on this vacation but before I could dig my own grave she says "training will start the 14th"! I run inside and yell DAD BOOK THE TICKETS. he then says I have to stay home and watch maddie while the other 5 go because it took me so long to figure it out. Funny! We are all sooooo excited and I can't wait to go. My dad is so thoughtful and i am so lucky to have him as a dad!! THANKS DAD!!

Graduation Day

So last Friday, which seems like forever ago, Trev and I graduated. Oh, what a glorious day. Both of our parents came out to help us pack and clean before we headed out the next morning. Needless to say we graduated, ate, and then packed and cleaned for the rest of the day. Our parents helped so much, what a blessing. Graduation was bitter sweet. I was so excited to get out of Provo but I was kind of sad to leave BYU. I actually did enjoy BYU and have lots of memories there. That stage of my life is over, and I'm onto real life, which is definitely an adjustment but one i am more than willing to make. I will post pictures of our new place soon, once it is fully intact. I am really glad I walked at Graduation and was able to experience that. It was so amazing to see how proud my parents were and I wouldn't have missed that for the world!

Disaster Zone

Packing is the devil, I hate it. My house is complete chaos and I cant function in the insanity. I should be reading 150 pages of text for my final tomorrow but I can't get motivated. Probably because I haven't had Diet Coke today and I took a coma this afternoon. It is so weird that I'm moving. Coming to Provo was the HARDEST transition of my life. Needless to say I cried all day, every day, and had severe anxiety attacks. Now, for another transition. Packing up my little apartment it hit me that I'm leaving our first place. The beginning of our lives together was here and so many memories. As much as this place drove me crazy, I will look back and probably long for the simplicity of life I enjoyed while living here. I hated, more like loathed Provo from day one. I never let myself like it.

Now, as I'm leaving, I am finally realized the quality of life I lived here. Everything is in walking distance, I didnt have a grown up job, and most of my friends were just a hop, skip, and a jump away. I'm excited for our new adventure but nervous as well. I have never wanted to be a part of the real world and now that I have a mortgage, need to find a full time job, and can't milk my parents for anymore, I am longing for Freshman year, well not really. I hated Freshman year. Hate is too strong of a word, if not for Nicole being my roommate, I may have gone off the deep end! But I finally get to go back to Colorado and start a life there. Trevor is a business man now and I just want to decorate my house with an unlimited budget (I wish). Hopefully I can get my dream job at the Ritz Carlton (I just had my 3rd interview!) and Trevor and I can explore the world (and it's golf courses) together! I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. I didnt realize how lucky I was to see Trevor all day, we do everything together. Now, we will be apart all day and he already told me I can't be the annoying wife that calls all day :)


p.s. andy roddick lost again today, and I am extremely upset.