Recently...

This is the first post of a new thing I'm going to be doing, tentatively titled "Recently..."

As many of my friends out there may know, I sometimes get a little...well, obsessed with things.  So, I figured why not embrace my quirks and have a little thing in my blog devoted to one of them?

Recently #1...Nail Polish

I've never been much of a nail polish girl.  Sure, I went through my middle school phase where I always had to have the latest neon glittery polish from Limited Too, but it never stuck.  For the vast majority of high school and college, it was either French manicure or naked nails.  I didn't care for nail color.

For some reason, though, I suddenly have had a thing for it!  My latest purchase is "No More Waity, Katie" from Butter London (which, at $14 a bottle, is also the most expensive nail polish purchase I've made).

Other polishes I've tried lately...

Ulta Jaded with Nicole by OPI Rainbow in the S-Kylie

Ulta Peach Parfait with Essie Luxe Effects Shine of the Times

OPI Banana Bandanna with Rimmel Black Satin letters

Essie Mint Candy Apple

And that's it for now :) Which is YOUR favorite?

Pink Triathlete

So, as some of you might know, this time last year, I was starting to train for a sprint triathlon. My sister had signed up for one in Indy, so I decided to do it with her.  However, I ended up getting my job out here in San Diego and spent the weekend that I would have been doing a triathlon moving instead!

Ever since then, I've been wanting to get more involved in triathlon. Honestly, one of the only reasons I run is because it is a part of triathlon (and it's much cheaper than joining a gym and lets me enjoy San Diego's amazing weather). A week ago, my friend Larkin asked if I wanted to go swim La Jolla Cove...and despite it's horribly cold temperatures (for someone like me who grew up swimming in the Gulf of Mexico), I went.  Again, this was primarily because I knew open water swimming was a fact of life in triathlon.

Yesterday, I did my first aquathon!  It's a run-swim that the San Diego Tri Club puts on to help people train for triathlons.  Larkin again invited me, and it was HARD!! But motivated me to get more into training.  I've started to realize, too, that everything triathlon-related I own is pink.

So there you have it...Riley the Pink Triathlete.  Or, more appropriately, Riley the Pink Hopeful Triathlete.

Ragnar Relay: 203 Miles, 12 Runners, 2 Vans

This weekend, I did something I never in a million years would have thought I'd do.  I participated in a 203-mile relay race from Huntington Beach to Coronado that took about 30 hours to complete...the Ragnar Relay.  There were 12 runners (I was runner #6) and we were divided into 2 vans.

Van #1...Mike, Ashley, me, Larkin, Kyle and Adam

We started off at 10am in Huntington Beach...Mike was runner #1.  He was a last-minute replacement after one of our other runners got injured, but man, did he deliver! He was fresh off of the Boston Marathon and truly was the heart and soul of our van! He drove most of the time, kept us laughing and ran 6-minute miles!  Adam also made some amazing time, but unfortunately, we left him waiting for 20 minutes at Exchange #2 after getting lost!  Despite the fact that we continued to have issues with our exchanges, we still made great time and finished at just over a 9-minute mile pace (pretty amazing considering we lost about an hour on exchange problems and there were some pretty serious mountain climbs in there!).

My Ludus Tours Ragnar manicure

My legs were 2.7 miles through Anaheim (pretty rough in the 1pm heat...no water stops, so I was dying a little!), 7.4 miles through the mountains by Temecula (at 2am...super tough hills, but my favorite leg because the nighttime weather was amazing and my vanmates provided unbeatable support!) and 4.2 miles straight up Torrey Pines hill in La Jolla (my legs were shot after the Temecula portion, so it was difficult, but I managed to find a second wind once I got to the top of the hill).  Since we had to drive the van from exchange to exchange, you really didn't get time to stretch much post-run, which made for some VERY sore muscles!! I'll definitely be investing in some compression gear for next year!

Getting my run on in Anaheim

All in all, though, it was an AMAZING experience. I couldn't have asked for a better team!  Being in a van with 6 people for 30 hours without sleep is a pretty excellent teambuilding experience.  I felt like I got to know everyone better!

Ash, me and Larkin...the ladies of Van #1

Looking back on the whole experience, I don't think of my cramping legs or how awful they felt attempting to scale Torrey Pines.  All I think of is deliriously laughing in the van, trying to find our teammates in the pitch black night to cheer for them and continuing to bond with everyone at Erin's housewarming party/Ragnar afterparty.  It was such a great time!! I cannot wait for next year!!

Best. Team. Ever.

100 DAYS TO LONDON!

HAPPY 100 DAYS OUT FROM LUDUS TOURS!!

Only 100 days to the 2012 Olympic Games...and only 88 until I board a plane for London!!

Cannot wait :)

Sister Visit!

 A few weeks ago, my lovely sister decided to pay me a visit for her spring break!

Awww...isn't she so cute??

That's us with the seals at La Jolla Cove! Unfortunately, my camera deleted most of our pictures together, but we have a few!

We had SO much fun!  We ate at just about every good restaurant I could think of, explored all the sights from Del Mar down to Coronado, shopped and watched The West Wing (I successfully got her addicted to it!).  I was super sad to see my sistradre go...hopefully I can convince her to join the west coast contingent of the family  :)

That's it for my mini update at the moment! I'll post more info soon!

Running

Today, something happened that has never happened before in my life.

I ran...and I enjoyed it.

For the past 25 years of my life, running and I have not been friends.  I had asthma, occasionally broke out in hives mid-run, got dizzy, etc. Basically, running meant feeling like I was dying, and I was never really a fan of that.  So I biked, ellipticalled, speedskated, lifted and did just about any exercise I could think of in order to avoid running and still stay healthy.

Fast forward to last year.  My sister inspired me to sign up for a sprint triathlon.  Despite my dislike of running, I started attempting a little 5k loop in Colorado Springs (the Jack Quinn's loop for those of you Colorado Springs folks out there).  It didn't really stick, though, and when I decided to move to San Diego (thus making me unable to do the triathlon), I got out of the habit.

Now, San Diego has AMAZING weather.  Going to a gym here feels like it should be a crime since there's gorgeous parks and beaches to enjoy.  So, after having little success when it came to finding a decent local gym with a pool, I decided I was going to suck it up and run.  First, it was just a weekly run when I felt guilty about being lazy.  Then my friend Karen and I got the crazy idea to sign up for a half marathon.

The first month of training sucked...same old feeling like dying while running.  But, I had promised Karen I'd train with her, so I stuck with it (as much as I've always been a loner when it comes to working out, having a running buddy has been infinitely helpful if for no other reason than it forces me to get out of bed and run).

A few weeks ago, I got a shin splint in my right leg.  It was painful and forced me to reassess my old running shoes (old trail shoes that I used to use on the Incline!).  After two weeks off, I was ready to put my new shoes to use, so I was kind of looking forward to running again (yes, new workout clothes/shoes/etc. are a guaranteed way to get me to work out).  Not really the feeling of it, but the whole health factor.  I had signed up for a 5k in Crown Point last Saturday, so I figured that was the perfect time to jump back in.  It wasn't a very long run, the course was flat and I could always walk if I needed to.

I ended up running the whole 5k without stopping (an achievement for me, since my generally horrible attitude with running usually results in me stopping and walking just because I don't like running) and got a personal best time.  So, when I went to do my training run today, I figured I'd at least run for the first 3.2 miles since I knew I could.

Then I ended up running 4.05 miles and still felt like I could run more...only I had to get back to work!  I was smiling during my run.  I wasn't mentally tallying how many songs had played so far and trying to calculate how that translated into miles.  I wasn't thinking about how much I had left.  Instead, I was looking at the sailboats in the harbor.  I was humming along to songs absentmindedly.  I was people watching and wondering whether they were tourists or business travelers.

Somehow, all the things that typically distract me melted away.  And I just ran.

That's not to say running is going to magically be awesome every time I do it now.  But...it was awesome today, and now I know that it can be fun.  And after all, if it can be today, I know it can be tomorrow, too!

Holidays and Getaways

Long time, no talk!

Well, I'm back.  Life has been keeping me pretty busy! Since I last wrote, I've been back to Indiana, Colorado Springs, back to Indiana, down to Florida and back to Indiana again!  Of  course, now I'm back home in sunny San Diego, where I could not ask for more amazing weather.  It would be nice to be in Indy to see all the Super Bowl festivities, though!

Thanksgiving 2011 - Indianapolis

I was reunited with my baby Lolers! It took a few days, but she went right back to following me around and being my little cuddler!  It was tough to say bye to her again.

I also got to see my whole extended family for the first time in quite awhile (the last time I'd been home was 4th of July).  My grandma has been having some serious health problems since then, so I was most excited to see her!  We all went out to dinner before I left at McCormick and Schmick's downtown so that she could get out and see the lights around downtown.  It was a lovely quick trip home!

Weekend Trip - Colorado Springs

I made a random trip back to Colorado to visit with Margaux.  We had a fun-filled weekend of Christmas celebrations, charity events and cooking!  It was great to see her and to exchange gifts and just hang out.  As usual, the weekend ended much too soon!

Christmas/New Year's 2011/2012 - Indiana/Florida/Indiana

I flew to Indiana on Christmas Eve, had a whirlwind Christmas Day filled with family, then loaded up the car and headed south with my brother, sister and their respective significant others, Mike and Aly (my parents drove separately).  Our car ride was filled with letter games, AWOLNATION, me not sleeping (and thus keeping Jordan awake since he was driving) and old school music.  

When we got to Florida, it was a true vacation.  We slept in, stayed out late and spent the days on the beach. It was total relaxation!  I have no complaints...quality time with family and got to know Mike and Aly better!

Two weekends ago, I had my first visitor here in San Diego.  My dad came out for the Carlsbad Half Marathon and I got to show him around!  It was so much fun!  We went to the USS Midway (since there was a rare rainy day one of the days he was here), experienced the best of San Diego cuisine (including In 'N Out Burger, which Dad just HAD to have!) and explored.  We got a taste of theater at the Old Globe in Balboa Park and enjoyed the beautiful oceanside run in Carlsbad.  It was sad to say bye to him!  I wish I could bring all my family out here!!

That's the update for now...I'll try to be better about updating in the future!