Vacation Snapshots

It's good to be home, but man the weather in Ohio leaves a lot in to be desired after the nice sunny weather we had in Phoenix! Here's some photos to highlight the trip.
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We had fun in the sun with our orange shades.

Even Bailey joined in!

Balancing on your head is a hoot.

The miracle of pedicures. Can you tell which toenail is a fake acrylic? Who knew you could just get a new toenail when you break yours on a long run!

Gotta fuel up for those desert runs.

Running with the roadrunners and hares.

Gotta Hydrate!

Cruising the dining room floors.

Making up for any lost runs. This kid loves to drive!

Crammed in to go get some sushi. It was well worth it.

Beautiful Sedona Views.

Everyone loves a bikini.

Chilling out enjoying the Sedona red rocks.

Candy Making

Enough with all the training talk. Bring on the holiday Candy :)

Making Turtles

No Bud Light was used in the candy chocolate. It was for turtle roller consumption only. We upgraded to Merlot for light painting.

Molds, and Buckeyes, and Turtles Oh My

Painting Lights (The lights are made in a mold and we use white chocolate for the tips and green or red chocolate for the lights, then we "paint" them with edible sparkles to make them shine) They look great and taste great too!

Thank You

Thanks for all the well wishes for my sister. She looked good last night. They've upgraded her to jello and popsicles, it's a start. The doctors all seem great and want surgery to be a last ditch effort to get this under control. This is something she will have to live with forever and they really don't want to go down that road if they don't have to. The pain meds seem to be working as she says her pain level is at a 2. I'll probably go back up tomorrow to see her again and then Sunday it's back to my reality.

Right now I am debating putting on all my warm clothes to ride my bike to my cousins since our triathlon club has started their annual male versus female virtual tri camp and I don't want to let my girls down with a 0 miles day. No pool access and I think I should avoid running two days in a row for a few weeks still so that leaves me with riding my moms bike as the only option. Should have brought my trainer because it is cold outside! I am not ready for winter.

An Unusual Thanksgiving

This year is going to be a bit different. My baby sister has recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease and unfortunately she has had a major episode this week and is in the hospital to try and nip it in the butt. My dad is up in Lansing with her so my usual partners in crime for the Turkey Trot are out of commission. My legs are stir crazy so I will probably get a short run in around the hood. We'll go to my aunts like usual but KT and dad won't be there. Then later we will drive up to Lansing to see them and take dad some food. Moms upset because she couldn't go yesterday due to prior commitments and she would rather be there. I was all excited to try out a cute Pumkin Pie recipe where you put crust leaves on top but she was so stir crazy she did most the work for me. Everyone is just a little on edge worrying about KT.

I guess the point of sharing all this is to state that this whole year I have been very thankful for my health and my body. This has been a trend at my weekly yoga sessions and throughout the year. I am just so grateful that my body allows me to pursue the things I love most. I need to remember not to take my health for granted. My sister has spent the last year trying to figure out what is wrong with her stomach. I am glad they finally know but scared at the same time. Crohn's doesn't have a cure and I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to be in her shoes right now.

So on my short run this morning I will think of my sister and of friends who can't be out enjoying a run, and I will be grateful that I am blessed right now and can.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and a wonderful day with your families.

Two new sweeties

Since Milford passed away Monte has been very vocal. It seems when we are in a different room he gets lonely and cries for us. We decided after a lot of thought that he probably could use some company of the feminine feline persuasion. Our vet had two little girls that were caught together. They have been spayed, vaccinated, and de-clawed (laser technology which made me feel a world better about it), all of which was payed for by a nice gentleman who likes to help out with adoptions. One of the ladies at the vet is in charge of any strays they get in and she felt these girls were a good match for us and for Monte. So yesterday we went and visited them and played with them for an hour or so and decided to bring them home.

We haven't picked names yet and they are still very shy. They will be living in the office until they are comfortable with us. Monte is curious about what is going on but he is just happy mommy is home from San Fran. We will be very careful to spend equal time with him and make sure all three kitties feel very loved. I have always had cats and I am so happy that we are able to provide a good loving home to these ones.

We are leaning towards a Finnish name for our little orange kitty. I am still searching for a name for the tortoise shell. She looks so Egyptian to me and very much like a serval or ocelot in the face. The picture isn't great as she is hiding, one side of her whiskers are black and the other white. Her nose fur is split down the middle half black have orange. She has a very neat striped pattern on half her tail. They are both dolls and once they get used to open spaces I think they will love it here.

I'll be very busy the next few weeks getting acquainted.

26

Monday I aged another year. This year we didn't do anything terribly special. 26 doesn't feel like an age that warrants a huge party or any really special frivolities. I woke up for my 5th straight early morning (the gym is paying off!) and went for my first "fitness meeting" at the gym. I thought I would be getting the rounds on how to use machines but turns out we were just doing a little survey and measuring my donut and other fatty areas. (Seriously they had to choose my two fattest areas to measure, thankfully they threw thighs into the mix or I am sure my score would have been much worse)

Nothing like finding out your body fat percentage on the day you get one year older. But being 26 put me in a new bracket so I assume that means my body fat for a 26 year old is better than if I had the same body fat the day before at 25 :)

Despite all the running I fell in the fitness bracket. Would have been nice to be on the high end of athlete, but now I have a goal! Drop two body fat percentage points! IronWil is doing some nifty training regimen where everyone tracks their fat loss and weight loss, I am not committed enough for that but now that I have my body fat percentage in hand I was able to calculate my basic caloric needs just to breathe and what I need to maintain weight while doing all of this running. I always wondered what the magic number was between losing fat and losing important muscles, now I know!

Since the fitness test didn't take very long I treated myself to an 800 meter swim and a quick dip in the hot tub. My right arm has been tight and the hot tub was just what I needed to loosen it up!

Birthdays regardless of age deserve a good run and I got out for a lunch run with Daisy and Salty on a gorgeous fall day. We even did our bridge loop for some added "hill" fun. I think I am definitely ready for San Fran's hills.

Monday night I just relaxed with my hubby. He bought me the 4th season of scrubs so we watched a few episodes of that before tuning into the Indians game. Only one more win! Go tribe! Apparently being a day older did affect my sleepiness as I struggled to stay up through the 9th inning, that also could be the wine though. Last night was even worse with me falling asleep after watching the tribe score 7 runs in the 5th.

I'll leave you with a pic from the baby shower a week ago. I never really feel "old" but that little doll is my second cousin Andrews new baby. I used to carry Andrew around when I was less than 10. Yikes! All my cousins kids are getting to be grown and he's the first to have a baby of his own. It's wild how time flies.

A hot weekend at home

I was in my hometown the past weekend for a family baby shower on Sunday but needed to get in a last long run before San Fransisco. I conned my parents into going out with me on their hybrids to my old cross country stomping grounds. Since my youth the park system has been making a bunch of improvements. They finally created an all purpose path that connects the three local metro parks providing about 15 miles of trail one way. They also decided the park pool was not nice enough and they are putting in a fancy new pool with a bigger slide. My how things change. Unfortunately since it is October neither pool was open, which is sad because it was 88 degrees and 90% humidity. Yikes!

The first 8 or so miles of the run were very nice. Many of the sections that I used to think had huge hills were surprisingly lacking in elevation. I guess my hill skills have come along quite a ways since high school, I used to dread those "hills". I just had to laugh because I don't think I could even call most of them hills now.

My dad used his bike computer to try and keep me on pace. I wanted to practice 8:47 miles since that is what I need to run in San Francisco. Unfortunately my ingrained pace is 8:30 and I just couldn't seem to ease it off most of the day. I'm not too worried though because San Francisco does have some sizable hills and between those and walking the water stops I am sure I will be right on target. I've made myself paranoid after looking at the other pacer bios and realizing that of all the pacers from 3:40 through 4:30 I have the slowest PR, most of them having run sub 3 and being in their 40s and 50s. Holy Cow! I know that 3:50 is not an issue for me having run all but one (Cleveland) road marathon under that pace , but there is still that little voice that creates doubt.

About 8 miles in we noticed there were a lot of cars at the park and I realized there was a cross country invitational going on. We had to cross over the race course twice and were able to stop and cheer on my old high school team. After that there is absolutely no shade on the path. It was starting to get pretty hot and my handheld was dry. We went to about 10.5 miles and then headed back. On the way back we stopped to cheer again and refill my handheld. I also spied my old coach and chatted with him a bit. It was nice to see him and hear about the team. Cross country really was a big part of my high school life even though my junior and senior years with him as coach I wasn't as good. (Damn puberty!)

We made our way back through the parks stopping for water a couple of times. The heat was getting to me a bit and although my pace remained the same I wasn't as talkative and all I could think about was water. The only calories I took in were about half a 90 calorie pack of these chocolate covered crisps we got in our goody bag at Akron. They didn't sit so well so I stuck to water after that. I've come a long way from my carbo pro, gels, and Gatorade days. I didn't even think about salt intake during this run, I suppose I should have but I didn't seem to have any problems.

I tried to ease off the pace the whole time but I think subconsciously I probably just wanted to get out of the heat. My mom would keep saying "I think you are going to fast" but I just couldn't slow it down. The few miles where I walked and drank I hit right around 8:47 so at least I knew that I could modify the pace with water stops.

Towards the end of the run I was just ready to be done and of course this was the only area where there was no water for a several mile stretch. Finally got to a water fountain about 2 miles from the car. I just stuck my head under the faucet and let it cool me down. I was drenched in sweat, so gross! At the start of the run I had intended to do a final hill before finishing out the run but when we got to the car I was ready to call it a day. For the first time ever my feet were killing me. Now I know how Daisy feels! My feet felt like I had been beating them with sticks, not doing my usual long run routine. I really do like the new Nike+ Air Pegasus, but I guess I just run too hard in them for the longer runs. They have been great on all my 5 milers downtown.

I rounded out the day with about 21.5 miles with the detours at the cross country invitational and the water stops. Overall pace was a bit too fast (not including stops) around 8:40, with stops it was probably a bit slow so come race day I just have to be right in the middle.

We stopped at the gas station on the way back for a chocolate milk and a bag of ice. I stretched than took a dreaded ice bath. Those things work miracles because afterwards I felt like I hadn't even run. We headed to lunch at the local Mexican restaurant and I pigged out. It was perfect. I just realized I never did eat my left overs and that makes me sad! That food was good!

After lunch we ran some errands and then it was off to Brighton to meet my sister and go to a corn maze as my early Birthday Celebration. It was fun and constructed much better than the maze we went to last year. We must have taken every wrong turn in the maze. Not sure my family really liked it but it was nice of them to indulge me. Then we went out for some diner food and cards. Got to see my sisters apartment and her terror kitty, that cat was absolutely adorable, but apparently she is a fright normally.

Sunday I went for a shorter run with my dad on his bike. We did just shy of 6 miles and the legs felt good. It was just too damn hot to be pleasant. I was drenched within a mile. Pace that day ended up being right on target although not even splits. I started out slow and the last few miles were fast. It was a good recovery run and had it been cooler I probably would have added a few miles but it was just gross out. I was very glad Chicago had shut out before I could register as I couldn't imagine racing 26 in that heat and humidity. Turns out with that debacle I was even gladder than I thought. Congrats to all my gals who made it to the finish before the diversion! And my heart goes out to all of those that weren't able to finish what they started that day.

The baby shower was nice and it was good to see family that I hadn't seen in a long time. Got to ride in the mustang with the top down and just enjoy the beautiful fall colors and the gorgeous sunshine.

It was nice to go home even if just for a few days. I am so lucky to have such great parents. I don't know too many of my friends whose parents would hop on their bikes and ride at a snails pace for 3+ hours in 80+ degrees.

I left my camera at T's after the Akron marathon so I will have to rely on my parents to send me pics from the weekend. I'll edit the post with them when I get them.

Photos for the months of June through August 2007

What's that you say do you do anything besides run? Here's some photographic evidence I've been saving up :)

Smores Party and Browns Game Photos


High School Friends Wedding, Ben Folds Concert, Cousins Birthday, and July 4th Parade Party


Cutest Kid Ever


GMR 2007
Yes I realize I never did finish my recap, so you'll have to settle for photos!

Blossom Time

Memorial weekend in Chagrin Falls is a huge affair. It's their Blossom Time festival and everyone and their mom who has ever lived in Chagrin Falls comes back for it. This year was even more exciting because my husbands brother and wife were bringing our niece for her baptism and 1st birthday party.

Friday night I rushed out of work to go see the baby and upon arrival confirmed she is an absolute doll. She got the Hansen blue eyes, without which I would never have met my husband, what can I say I am a sucker for dark hair and blue eyes. She looks like her mother when she smiles (who is beautiful) and has the Hansen profile. She's laughing a ton, talking a bit, pulling herself upon onto furniture, and has mastered mischievous looks. Obviously the most perfect one year old ever.

I thought for sure Saturday would be a rough day for her with the Baptism and Birthday party, but she handled it all wonderfully. She didn't mind one bit being passed from relative to relative and reacted perfectly to all the right presents. Her face lit up with joy when she and grandma opened her first baby doll, which could not have pleased grandma more. She napped during all the right times and even ate a bit of her smash cake, with a little help from her mom.

I, of course, just want to play with the kid so we pushed around her Elmo vacuum and danced on the floor with her musical phone. The day had so much excitement for her that getting her to fall asleep required a chorus of lullabies ending in a long rendition of "This Old Farmer" having a cat, dog, sheep, cow, and pig. These are the memories you cherish.

When she was sleeping I was kept busy making a water balloon arsenal for the kids. They had a blast and I got some running around in as they chased me and everyone else in the yard. Also mastered my Boccie skills and even won a game of Corn Hole.

After the kids party we stayed up and played Buck Euchre. Because of cushioned seat placement I ended up sitting at the table end with the other Hansen significant others. We made an alliance and nicknamed ourselves the "S.O's" For some reason this struck me as hilarious and I laughed more that night than I have since we saw Jon Stewart Live. I claimed slap happiness but everyone else seemed to think beer and margaritas. Oh well if you can't make a fool of yourself in front of relatives who can you be a fool in front of?

Sunday morning came much to early and I definitely was dehydrated. I got around and threw on my running clothes. Blossom Time has their own annual race which is a 5.25 mile course that runs around the outskirts of Chagrin. Very pretty and pretty hilly. I've done this one once before and managed to place first in my age group. I wasn't feeling too fast with the Cleveland Marathon being one week before but I figured I could treat it as a good hard run. Warmed up with the girls to get in some extra miles then we headed to the start. No chips so if you are relatively fast you want to be towards the front. I spotted MT and wished her luck. She just PR'ed at the Cleveland Half so I was expecting she felt a bit like me, not fresh!

The first mile I kept my sights on MT but felt strong on the hill so I pushed ahead. For being primarily uphill it was a fast first mile around 7 minutes. MT and EM passed me shortly after the hill. It was hot and humid. I partook in the first aid station and dumped water over my ahead. I kept MT in my sights and just held her there. I wasn't feeling great but my pace wasn't bad so I tried to hold it. Nearing the last mile there was a stretch of downhill and a few women passed me. Somewhere I found the energy to hold them for a bit but then let them go. Deciding a moment too late to go after them. I pushed it up the last uphill stretch and passed MT. Ladies were handing out water bottles here and they were tempting except they would be heavy. I prepared for what I thought was not going to be a very fast kick to the finish. Reached the 5 mile mark and tried to turn it on, surprising myself with a 1:30 quarter. Finish time was 37:49. About 10 seconds faster than my first Blossom and good enough for 2nd in my AG.

We had to get in some more mileage for Solar Squirrels marathon training so we headed back out before finally getting ourselves to the carnival for some food. I got my vinegar fries and we wandered around waiting for the awards. Since there were no chips it takes awhile to tally those but eventually they occurred and I grabbed awards for myself, MT, and Solar Squirrel.

Headed back to my in-laws pretty pleased to have run so well one week after Cleveland and after a long day before and a beer filled evening.

No rest for the weary though, it was time to get ready for the big Blossom Time tradition, the Blossom Parade. Every single home lining E. Washington has a yard full of people partying in it as the parade goes through. It's a mad house of people wandering up and down the street saying hello to old classmates, looking for free beer, and meeting all the new babies. This was our nieces first parade so it was fun to watch her reaction to it all. She had a very serious look on her face the whole time, as if she wasn't quite sure what this was all about but she was going to be certain not to miss anything. She had her first sucker which she was very unwilling to give up, she had a death grip on that thing. I got a great picture of her where she resembles one of the Lolly Pop Guild Munchkins from Oz gripping that sucker tight!

My husband always gets to the parade late since he has to work. This year he made it for a bit more than my favorite, the Calliope, at the end. I met some of his classmates before the parade ended and I went inside to play with my niece. She was having a great time playing with some of the other babies and didn't seem to mind me chasing her around when she wanted to crawl away. (I have bruises on my shins and knees from crawling around after her that weekend, kids are resilient!) It was nice having some one on one time with her while her parents were out stopping at other Blossom parties.

It was an awesome weekend which ended for me with yoga in the park Memorial Day morning with Trisaratops. It was lovely to look out on the lake while we worked through a series of sun salutations.

Definitely a Blossom Weekend I will remember for a long time!