Birthday Wrap up

So, I have a great fiancee, great family, and great friends. As miserable as the weekend was, everyone really tried to lift my spirits and take care of me, and I really appreciate that.

Also, I have some recommendations for stomach-related issues...

• Pepto Bismol is good, but buy the caplets if you can.
• Imodium is great, take it one caplet at a time.
• Don't drink too many fluids until you are sure that your stomach will process them.
• Pedialyte (for babies and toddlers) is so yummy! You should try it in place of Gatorade.
• Popsicles are a great treat when your tummy is sore...they are not only for sore throats and tonsil removals.
• Saltine crackers are good, but saltine crackers with a tiny bit of peanut butter is even better.
• Instead of Sprite, try Izze (carbonated juice) in the Clementine flavor. The bubbles are smaller and I held it down better.

I get a do-over on a couple of dinners, so that will be fun if I ever feel like eating again.

An unexpected plus (if you want to call it that) of this weekend is that I am coming out of it a few pounds lighter instead of a few pounds on the heavy side. That 'not eating' thing does a number on you. I guess food poisoning keeps you from wanting to overindulge.

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 3

Sunday morning -

I felt a lot better, but I was still very weak and not able to ingest much.

Chad took me to get a bagel. It was the only thing that sounded good. I managed to eat the bagel, but then had some trouble with my system all day. My stomach would not stop hurting. I felt like I had heartburn and gas all day. I was dizzy and tired.

There were waves when I would feel pretty alert and good to go, so we tried to make an outing at lunch with my mom. We went over to her condo to open birthday presents and then tried to eat at Galaxy Cafe for lunch. They both ordered burgers, and I ordered french toast. I knew it came with strawberries and bananas, which both sounded appetizing, and I thought I could put down a couple of bites of the toast itself. Not so much. I did manage to eat most of the fruit, but had a really hard time eating the bread.

I felt so sick again. No barfing at all, but my stomach hurt like nobody's business and I was very cranky the rest of the day. It was back to the couch for an afternoon of DVR watching and then back to my house.

Birthday day 2 - better than barfing all day, but still not as fun as it should have been.

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 2

So, the birthday party went on without me. It seemed to go pretty well otherwise.

Karen, Chad's mom, called me and brought me a bunch of medicine from the drug store. I took some Imodium and let that kick in. She also brought me some peppermints and some Dramamine to help with the dizziness and nausea. I had never heard of that for anything other than motion sickness, but the pharmacist recommended it. I didn't take one right away because I didn't want to have too many drugs in my belly at that time. I could have barfed them right up.

Chad came back to the house and we made the decision to sell the Nebraska tickets. Chad went down to the game at around 1:00pm, while my mom stayed with me. Unfortunately, there were not many people who were wanting to buy tickets. I guess Nebraska's losing streak had lessened the demand for tickets, and even the scalpers were not getting much for them. I think Chad sold them for $20 each, but at least it was something rather than letting them sit in the car.

He came home to be with me (at this point I hadn't vomited since 9:45am), and we spent the afternoon in the living room...I was on the couch. I decided to go ahead and take a Dramamine at about 3:30, and that pretty much knocked me out the rest of the day. I slept on and off until it was officially bedtime at the end of the World Series game. I took another Dramamine and slept hard all night.

Saturday ended. I officially turned 30. What a disaster of a birthday!

My 30th Birthday Weekend - Part 1

This is how the weekend was supposed to go -

Friday - lunch with mom, bake blueberry muffins, dinner at 3Forks with Dad, Rose, and Chad
Saturday - breakfast birthday party with friends, UT game, dinner at Cru Wine Bar with Chad
Sunday - sleep in, run, brunch at Chez Zee (mmm...Creme Brulee French Toast) with Mom and Chad, afternoon of whatever I want
Monday - dinner at North with Chad's family

This is what really happened -

Friday - lunch with mom at Hyde Park Bar & Grill (I had tomato bisque soup and a dinner salad), made blueberry muffins for breakfast, went to dinner at 3 Forks (I had the 3Forks salad, halibut entree, and shared chocolate cake for dessert), went to Chad's mom's house to visit with his family until about 11:30 pm.

Saturday - at about midnight on Saturday morning, I told Chad that my tummy was not feeling good and that I was worried about it. He asked if I was going to throw up, and I said 'maybe'. I tried to go to sleep. I woke up at about 12:45 and knew that I was going to be very sick. I threw up multiple times during that episode and felt horrible. I hoped that would be it.

It wasn't.

I barfed and had diarrhea all night long. They were the worst episodes that I can remember since the time I was really little. Chad made a trip to the Walgreens at around 2:00 in the morning to get me some Pepto Bismol, some Sprite, and some ponytail holders to hold back my hair. How coincidental was it that we were scouring his house for a hair tie earlier in the night when I needed one to wash my face? There are usually 3 or 4 lying around everywhere that his kitty tries to steal and play with. There were none to be found.

At about 5:00am, I made the decision that I was not improving and that I was not well enough to host my breakfast party at the park. Chad was going to have to go get the tacos and set up the party on his own. I called my mom to come over and stay with me while he was out. I am so lucky to have a mom that lives close and is able to come over at a moment's notice. She was there in time for Chad to say goodbye and head off for the party.

I continued to be sick throughout the morning, making trips from the bed to the bathroom. I had started to try to drink gatorade and water to try to replenish some of the lost fluids. That didn't quite work. I threw up all of the Sprite and Gatorade at about 8:30am. No good.

The best part of the morning was calling Chad to check on him. I was so happy to hear the voices in the background that sounded like they were enjoying themselves. I even got to hear 'Happy Birthday to you' sung to me a couple of times during the morning. It was really nice! I will admit that I broke down in tears the first time because I was so upset to be missing my own party! I had a little pity party in the bed with my mom and she just let me cry it out.

Farewell twenties!

Note - I started this post on Friday, before the weekend truly showed its colors. Details of the weekend are to follow.

Today is the last day of my twenties. When I turned 20, I was in college, living with 2 roommates, not getting the grades that I knew I was capable of, and dating a guy that I thought was 'the one'. I thought life was good, actually.

I turned 21 and life totally changed. That summer, my college boyfriend of almost 2 years dumped me for my roommate in June. I moved out to live with my best friend from high school in August, and finished my last few credits needed to graduate. By September, I was working my butt off at my first teaching job.

Teaching those first few years was so difficult! I enjoyed working with the kids and ultimately felt like I was making a difference. I was overwhelmed with the workload of grading papers and planning new activities, but it was a rush each day in the classroom. Throughout my years of teaching, my patience developed. I appreciate the differences in people and have learned to be both empathetic and sympathetic to others' situations. I feel like teaching has contributed the greatest amount of change to my personality in my 20s.

I also went through my 20s as a single gal trying to date in the post-college world. I met several Mr. Wrongs, who at times I tried to convince myself were Mr. Rights. I think I had set my standards pretty low at times. I saw friends get married and start families. I became somewhat envious, but in a healthy way if you could call it that. With each wedding or baby born, I got excited for my own experiences that had yet to come.

Running came into my life. At 21, I was 183 pounds and embarrased at my weight. After seeing my pictures of my college graduation, I was horrified as to the size I had grown to be. I had become a vegetarian after a couple of semesters of Ecology and other related animal biology classes. The summer of 1999 saw 30 pounds lost and a new excitement about exercise. I started running to get in shape. After a marathon training on my own in 2004, I thought I might do pretty well if I started training with a group.

Well, as most of you who read this know, running has been a blast. Goals have been set and reached (or failed), and with each training season and race, I have learned more about my body's limitations and my mind's power over my body. I have learned how I sabotage myself as well as how I can push myself way beyond what I thought was possible.

As I leave the 20s, I feel ready for what is ahead. I am with the man that I have been waiting for all this time and am looking forward to the life we are about to build together. They say that the 30s are so much better than your 20s. If so, then I am surely to be blessed with a great life!

3 more miles!

I ran again this morning! Can you believe that after Wednesday's 3 mile run I was sore? Man, I am really out of shape. I wasn't in pain like hip/injury pain, it was just plain fatigued muscles.

Maybe now that I am doing different PT exercises and focusing on my pelvic placement, I am using muscles differently than I used to, resulting in soreness. Novel concept, huh?

Only 4 more miles to go until Wednesday to complete my goal. I intend to run 2-3 miles on Sunday and finish the rest on Mon or Tues.

And I ran...

3 miles.

With absolutely no pain.

BTW...I love my new PT.

My new goal : run 7 more miles between now and next Wednesday with no pain. Also, to do all of my PT exercises every day, even though they take a while to complete.

Karen's Birthday Dinner - Jasper's

Last night we celebrated Chad's mom's birthday. We met at her house for some pre-dinner champagne (actually, it was cava) and headed to Jasper's in the Domain. Chad and I had eaten at Jasper's before, but we had only appetizers, dessert, and wine on the patio. Last night we were having a full dinner.

Appetizer/Salad:

We started with some calamari, which was served on top of a orange-soy sauce. It was tasty, though a bit salty, and I thought that the orange flavor was a little bitter. We also started with a bottle of Morgan Pinot Noir. Chad and I ordered a Jasper's greens salad before our meal, and I thought it tasted better than the one I had in the spring.

Main Course:

For the main course, I ordered halibut, which was served with a haricot vert-tomato salad and truffle whipped potatoes. It was delicious, but I never realized how the texture and flavor of halibut resembles a cooked egg. Chad ordered 'Texas Peach Barbecued Pork Tenderloin' and got it with fries instead of the creamed corn and twice-baked potato. Karen ordered the pan seared salmon dish, and Jim ordered the hickory grilled flat iron steak. We ordered a second bottle of wine with our main courses, and Jim picked the Fess Parker Pinot Noir. (apparently this second bottle was not up to expectations) I trust his nose, but was also pleased to find out that the second of the two wines went well with my haricot vert-tomato salad.

Dessert:

Trio of minis (Though they are not that small)
We picked Banana Parfait, Rocky Road Ice cream Sandwich, and Butterfinger Creme Brulee. I liked all of them, though because of its size, the Banana Parfait was the best.

After dinner, we remarked at how enjoyable the meal had been, both food and company, and we headed back to the house to open presents. The animals got her some 'Tuna Las Vegas' show tickets. Jim got her some really nice hiking/walking shoes that were also very cute. Chad got her a tagine, and I complemented his gift with a tagine/Moroccan cookbook and 2 jars of Moroccan cooking ingredients, preserved lemons and harissa. I think Karen liked all of her presents.

What a fun evening! I highly recommend Jasper's for a nice meal.

11 days...

'til my birthday!

I have finally committed to plans for the weekend. Turning 30 is going to be better than I thought.

We're Back!

Vacation was a blast. In all, I think we most preferred Zion National Park. The best part was driving in the convertible through the park. Here is a wrap-up of our last couple of days -

Sunday:

Morning - in Zion National Park - drove to Human History Museum, took tram to Temple of Sinawava, Big Bend, Weeping Rock, Court of the Patriarchs.

Lunch - at Sol Foods Cafe - yum!

Afternoon - drive through east part of Zion - tunnel, Checkerboard Mesa, took Canyon View hike...here we are at the end of the hike.

Monday -

Morning - drive to Vegas, checked into Paris hotel & casino...Check out the view from our room!

Lunch - in Paris,

Afternoon - walked the strip - Bellagio, Caesar's, Mirage, Venetian, Wynn, TI, gambled a little

Evening - dinner at Corsa in the Wynn hotel - good wine, good calamaretti, good salad, greasy pizzette, good gelato. We saw 'Mystere' at TI (it is a Cirque du Soleil show) Fantastic! Saw the 'Sirens of TI' when we got out...cheezy! Saw the volcano at the Mirage.

Tuesday -
Morning - breakfast at Paris, walk/tram to Mandalay Bay, gambled some more

drove to airport and left on a 1:25 flight.

The rest of our pictures can be found here.

Vacation Day 4 - Zion National Park

Today was such a wonderful day. Chad and I were able to sleep in again, and then we hit Zion National Park for some sightseeing and some easy hiking (yes, Chad is able to walk, though he is a little unsteady going down stairs). We went on a few hikes before lunch when the weather was pretty cool (45-50 degrees). After a yummy lunch (I had falafel), we decided to drive the scenic route through the park.

Since we had the convertible, we were able to put the top down and turn the heater on in the cold shady areas. The drive was so beautiful! We took a moderate hike out to the canyon overlook and boy, was it worth the climb and the fear of heights that I am constantly trying to overcome.

Here are some pics from the day. We are going to enjoy a nice dinner tonight.
(Sorry, I can't upload the pictures right now. I'll get them up as soon as I can.)

PRs and Boston bound!

Yay!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!

Chad qualified for Boston today with a time of 3:06:18. At the mile 26 mile marker he was smiling and pumping his arms in the air signaling that he was going to make it! I was screaming and yelling on the side of the road, of course. It was such a great moment! I found him at the runners finish area and gave him a big hug. He was so sweaty and stinky, but neither of us really cared. It was such a fantastic feeling knowing that he had finally made his goal. I have witnessed the aftermath of 4 legitimate attempts at a BQ time, and this 5th time must have been the charm. Chad has worked so hard for this moment, and I'm so thrilled to be here with him!

Charles and Bruce also saw success today with PRs of 3:20 and 3:27. They both qualified for Boston in their age groups as well.

Time to celebrate!!!!!

Marathon Morning...waiting

Race morning is here.

Chad and I woke up at 3:50 to be ready to leave by 4:45. At the St.George Marathon, all runners are required to ride the provided buses to the start line, 26.2 miles up highway 18. The first bus left at 4:00am, but that was just a little too early for us. We arrived at the bus loading area around 5:05, which seemed to be prime time for bus loading. Lots of people had the same idea that we did about when to board the bus.

Now it is 6:15 am. Chad is up at the start line waiting next to one of the bonfires that are lit to keep the runners warm. I'm sure he has found Charles and Bruce and they are all getting ready to use the port-o-potty and turn in their clothing bags. The wheelchair race begins at 6:40, followed by the runners at 6:45. If all goes well, they will start on time, but there is a chance they will start a little bit late if there are bus problems and they are still transporting runners.

Chad seemed ready and focused on a good run this morning. I guess now all I can do is wait...

Pre-race activities...check!

Today was probably the most ideal pre-race day that a runner could have. We slept in late without an alarm and woke up feeling refreshed. Chad needed to run a couple of miles to shake out the legs, so I dropped him off 2 miles from the race finish line and he ran the course in to test the legs. Everything seemed to be feeling okay, and we got some breakfast.

We checked in with Charles and Bruce and made plans to meet them for the day. After getting cleaned up, we went to the expo and did the tour. Chad is officially an 'Elite runner' at this marathon. His bib number is #296, which qualified him to go to the special table to check in. Very cool...we told him we felt very priviliged to hang with him today.

Charles and Bruce met us at the expo and we all took off together to drive the course again. The weather at the start line looked like it was about to turn, so we started to get excited. A cold front is settling into the area today.

We had a big pasta lunch (at the Pasta Factory again) and rested an hour or so before going to the movies. We decided to see The Kingdom. It wasn't what you would call a 'heartwarming family film', but it was a good movie. It definitely got the mind off of the race temporarily. After the movie, we went to dinner (at the Pasta Factory for the third time) and ate our last pasta dinner for the next month or so.

Chad is getting cleaned up and ready for tomorrow. This was the first thing that he did tonight to prepare...

4 states in one day...

Day 1 - the travel day...

...started by waking up at 5:00am central time. We flew to Las Vegas via SLC on Delta, and had a pretty good couple of flights. We touched down in Las Vegas at 11:20am (1:20 Central time).

Getting our luggage and picking up our rental car took 2 hours! No kidding. Las Vegas moves in slow motion, I swear. We drove away on IH 15 north towards St. George at 1:30 local time (2:30 St.George (mountain) time). Our plan was to grab some kind of non-fast food lunch and make the 2 hour drive to St. George.

On the highway in Las Vegas we could not find any sort of normal restaurant. There were tons of 'gas station restaurants' which meant that the Subway or Pizza Hut was inside the unappetizing buildings of the gas stations. We did not find a normal restaurant until 4:30 pm.

The 2 hour drive was quite windy, but it was nice to be able to drive faster than 75 mph without worrying much about getting ticketed. It is the desert after all. The highlight of the drive was getting to drive through the NW corner of Arizona. The scenery immediately changed from desert drab to beautiful river canyons. We had a great time admiring the view for the last 30 minutes or so.

Once we arrived in St.George, we checked into the hotel and decided to drive the course before sunset. The course is still very fresh in my mind from when I ran it 2 years ago. I tried not to annoy Chad by talking about each and every mile as we were driving, but I think it did get to him a little. I think it was a good first look for him, though, and we will drive it again tomorrow.

Here is Chad at the start line. He is reading the sign that they post for everyone to read. It contains FAQ about the marathon.

Here I am with our super cool PT convertible. Behind it is the long lines of bonfire stacks that are ready to be lit to warm the runners before the race.

After a trip to the grocery and to Walgreens, we ate a pasta dinner at The Pasta Factory. It is good, plain pasta, which is exactly what a runner needs in the days leading up to the race.

We are tired and are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah...check!

Vacation is here!

At 5:00pm today, I can close my laptop and officially go on vacation. It is St.George Marathon weekend and although I am not running, Chad is. Our plane leaves at 8:00am tomorrow morning and we are off for a weekend of running and fun!

Thursday -

• depart Austin
• arrive in Las Vegas around lunch time
• pick up rental car (PT Cruiser Convertible or similar)
• eat lunch/drive to St. George
• check into hotel
• drive the marathon course
• rest

Friday -

• sleep in
• marathon expo
• pasta lunch or dinner - whatever Chad wants
• rest
• drive course again if we want

Saturday -

• wake up really early - board bus for marathon by 5:30
• Chad runs marathon - Sadie gets coffee or sleeps another hour
• Chad finishes under 3:00:00 (or at least under 3:10:59)
• We celebrate and watch for Charles and Bruce
• post race fun
• drive to Springdale, Utah (Zion National Park area)
• Check out Zion/spend time at the pool/eat a good dinner!

Sunday -

• Time in Zion National Park/Springdale area

Monday -

• Travel to Las Vegas
• Check in to Paris Hotel & Casino!
• Gamble/walk around/dinner/show?

Tuesday -

• Morning in Vegas
• Return home