the surf city half marathon.

The Surf City Half. Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA was hands down one of the best races I've ever done. If not the best. I went there to enjoy the race, soak up the views, and run next to my sister. Check and check. 

 *pre-race waiting. i have never waited SO LONG for a race to start, we waited and waited and waited..... deep breath...and waited. therefore we took pictures.*

*the starting line area*

I'm insanely proud of my sister for running her first half. I'm so happy I got to run along with her for it. She did so fantastic, it isn't easy to travel and be touristy the few days leading up to run your first big race. She gets mad props. Not to mention it was much hotter than we were expecting, the California sun wasn't something we were ready for considering we are in the middle of winter here in the heartland.

While this was one of my favorite races to date, I battled some pretty wicked sickness the first 5k of it. I thought I was going to have to drop out. I was bummed that I had to run up to my sister and tell her to keep going without me. Then text my family and let them know where my sister was, when she would be passing them, and gave them all manner of annoying instructions to give to her. And tell them that I may or may not drop out, would be awhile, and that they needed to wait for me.

I limped my way through stomach pain to a curb, plopped down, and proceeded to get sick. This was after round two with the porta-potties. FUN!! When I mentioned I would vomit all my beachy raciness when I got home, well... I guess I wasn't lying. I sat there thinking "I came all this way, waited all these years to do this race and dammit I'm going to do it."

 

*hamming it up for race pics clearly runs in the family, my sister at mile 4.5, is she not the most precious thing ever? the answer is YES.* 

*taken while walking along in pain, i figured since i was walking i should go ahead and take some pics, because, uhhhhh, pretty views!* 

So I got up and kept walking along in pain and misery. All while thinking, "wow the ocean is so pretty." With my stomach cramping like mad. I. Was. Sick. So I kept sucking down water, walking along, holding back the tears hoping I would start to miraculously feel better. That the junk would pass, aderenaline would kick in and I could run to catch my sister. And wouldn't you know right after the 5k mark that exact thing happened. And I caught my sister around mile five! I felt perfectly fine the rest of the race! It was crazy. Of course that didn't last, in fact today is the first day since the half that I actually don't feel puny.

Other than that glitch, the race, the views... all of it was fantastic and I had so much fun. So for now, I'll let the pictures do the talking!

 *we ran by 'balancing manny' from the ellen show. he ran the entire half with that watermelon on his head. he was so nice, i talked to him for quite awhile and he was such an amazing sport about getting his picture taken.*

 

*mile 11 views*

 

*happy at the final stretch, not so scenic*

 *a more scenic view of the finish area* 

*FINISHED and happy!*

*getting our official surf city pics at the end of the race. my sister is so adorable and tinsy, i just want to pick her up and put her in my pocket! LOVE! i also love our matchsies sparkly pink headbands!*

 *helping celebrate running a first half? next to the ocean? yes please! hopefully this picture brings my sister enough joy to convince her to do the long beach half with me.... because, just... HAPPY. and because basically it is going to happen. whether she likes it or not....*

best part of my day. newport beach.

I'm not sure where to start with it all because I had a wonderful trip to LA, Catalina and Huntington Beach over my long weekend. The company, the weather, the running, the locations, and the food were all complete perfection. I'm not overstating and trying to be polite when I say that this was by far the most fun (and the best location) I've ever had on a "racing" trip.

There are far too many pictures I want to share, I may just need to share my Flickr account here instead. Of course I find all the pictures far more interesting and entertaining than you would. Even still, I need to post a few. Along with posting about the Surf City Half itself, and my trip in general. Highlights included, but not limited to, getting to spend a lot of time with my sweet little niece who's comedic and bubbly personality is starting to really shine. And running a race on the PCH.

For now, pictures from Newport Beach in the morning, before we left for Catalina Island. Happy.

my faves: my sisters

Any girl who has a sister or two knows that there is just something to having a sister, unexplainable, complex and invaluable. I mean, whether you like it or not you are in each others lives from birth to death. That's big. My relationships with my sisters have been up and down, there has been screaming, yelling, and hate but also hugs, endless support, love and more laughs and fun than can ever be counted.We can share brutal honesty and at the end of the day know it's in our best interest. It's a safe and fantastic relationship we all have, and one that I don't take for granted.

Because I know if my ass ever starts to get too big? Or I'm wearing a questionable outfit? I can count on my sisters to tell me to put down the chocolate, or take the ugly off, walk away, do some cardio and buy something new....

  *i look unusually big compared to my sisters here, while in fact that one in the middle? she is almost 6' tall.... she has mercy on us and squats for pics. youngest to oldest starting with me on the left*

I am the youngest of three girls, it was no easy task to grow up under the shadow of these two really amazing girls. They offered me a lot to live up to, but also a lot to look up to. There's just something to the fact that we have literally been through pretty much everything together. And there is love and support for each other no matter what. Basically it kicks ass.

I've pretty much been the only runner in my family for quite some time. My dad got me started running as a kid, but I'm the only one who really took off with running and.... well, for lack of a better term "ran with it." While my sisters have run off and on, it was never anything we did together. We all lived in different cities for quite awhile, on opposite sides of the country. It just never worked out that we could join forces and run together. Or race together.


Until recently. My oldest sister moved back to Wichita and we have now run several races together. At Thanksgiving all three of us ran a 5k together. Sunday, we are going to run a half marathon together. FINALLY! I've watied years to do the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA, it just never worked out that I could get out there and do it! I guess really it was just a matter of waiting for the right time and right people (i.e. my sisters) do the race with. It all worked out this year! While it will just be my oldest sister and I running the half marathon now, our other sister will be there cheering us on, along with our sweet niece, all color coordinated to match our running outfits.

It's going to be fun to run this race along the ocean with my sister, I love getting to run alongside a runner doing their first big race. It's almost better than a PR. And I can't wait to blather all about it and vomit words and pictures all over this blahg of mine regarding my trip to LA and the race. Get excited! Beachy race vomit is on it's way! Can I get a SQUUUEEEEE?

best part of my day.

It was actually a week ago, but it still makes me happy. As mentioned I'm training for the OKC half marathon with some girlfriends. We run Saturday mornings as a group. Last Saturday it was a balmy 12 degrees (real feel of 1 degree) when we set out for our run. I've been bringing Milo along for our training runs. Mostly because he needs the exercise, but also because he loves to be out and running with the girls. I can't deny him the level of happiness he gets from running. It's too precious.

After we finished up last week we noticed Milo had gotten a bit icy on his chin. What a good buddy, he didn't even complain. We tried to get him to sit to for a picture, he of course took this to mean it was belly rubbing time. Regardless, I got a good enough picture of his icy little chin. Happy as can be.

I love that dog. The best part of having him run with us is the fact that he loves to be the leader of the pack, he is all "Hey girls, I've got this, you just follow me, I'm going to make sure we are all safe and accounted for. FOLLOW MEEEEEEEEE!! Also, I love you guys. A lot. This is awesome. Let's do this every week, okay? Also did I mention that I love you and that this is awesome?" Pretty sure those are his exact thoughts.

If you didn't know, shepherd dogs love herding, love running and love having people to keep track of. Saturday morning training group is Milo's ideal start to a perfect day.