Rachel's visit to Cali

Last weekend my sister Rachel came to visit me in Cali. It was bye week for football which meant we didn't have a Saturday night game therefore I didn't have to work at all that weekeend. Leah had come to visit me in August and Hannah had been here in June so it was Rachel's turn.

It was a short visit. She got here Friday afternoon and then had to leave early Monday morning, but it was a good visit and we had a lot of fun. Friday we just baked cookies and watched some Harry Potter before heading to bed early. Saturday morning we got up early to go to Disneyland. (Anyone that knows me knows that I ♥ Disneyland and absolutely insist on being there as soon as the park opens.) We had a lot of fun that day as the park wasn't crowded at all.

Since I was running the Santa Clarita Half Marathon the following morning, we didn't run around the park a whole lot and actually enjoyed time sitting and talking. Rachel also did a great job of making sure I completed my hydration goal that day of 2 waters and 2 gatorades. :)

Rachel was also a trooper to come to my race the following morning. She faithfully took pictures for Erin and I before and after our race. I set her up with a lawn chair and my DVD player for her to pass the time. She didn't complain once and I know I appreciated her being there.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Other than a quick trip up to COC, we stayed in the apt eating and watching movies.

It was a GREAT weekend and I really enjoyed having Rachel out. Thanks for coming, Rachel!!!

Santa Clarita Half Marathon

WE DID IT!!! 2 hrs 5 mins later, Erin & I completed our first half marathon. Actually, our official time was 2 hrs 7 mins, but there was a bathroom stop in there so our clocks said 2 hrs 5 mins. We were SOOO proud of ourselves! We actually ran 13.1 miles without walking and we kept a consistent sub-10 mile for all 13.1 miles.


I felt GREAT pretty much the whole time. My hips and knees starting hurting, but no muscle cramps or anything and nothing that made us have to slow down. There were over a thousand runners which was way cool. Along the way there were bands or djs set up playing music. This one guy we passed, though, around mile 11 was playing REALLY SLOW music. I'm thinking, DUDE, we're trying to run for hours on end and that's supposed to encourage us? Just makes me want to sleep! Oh well, the encouragement from people along the race trail as well as the bands was awesome!


The weather was perfect that day. That coupled with the fact that I actually did a really good job of hydrating myself and eating lots of carbs the day before really helped us to do well. It was overcast and cool the entire run which always makes it easier to go faster. Erin and I were just running along and before I knew it, we were at mile 8! I have to admit that the remaining 5 miles didn't seem to pass as fast as the first 8, but it was fun.




After the race they had fruit and bagels and water for us. I chowed down a little on the bananas and bagels. Who knew those food items could taste so amazing? And then of course we headed to Starbucks for our typical post-race stop. Who says an iced white mocha from Starbucks doesn't have all the nutrients this body needs after a long run? ;)


LA Marathon, here we come!!!