Thirty & an anniversary

A huge thank you for all your positive comments on my last post about Kelly’s weight loss. I was so happy he let me share his story, and we both liked reading the responses.

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Saturday is my 30^th birthday. I remember when 30 was…old. It doesn’t seem that way anymore!

Entering a new decade got me thinking about past birthdays.

Then
My parents used to throw me amazing birthday parties, and my mom always made and decorated the cake to go with the party theme.

My 1st birthday with the cookie monster and my sister!

On my 5th birthday, we flew to Disneyworld and spent time in the parks visiting our favourite characters!

Love the ’80s pants and retro Nike kicks!

I remember my 8th birthday. I got a new bike and sat on it, propped up against a wall, watching cartoons all morning while my parents and sister ran around the house preparing for my party.

Fast forward to my 16^th birthday. My mom let me skip math class in the morning to take my driving test. There was a snowstorm that morning, but I passed!

On my 20^th birthday, Kelly and I ran our first marathon: the inaugural Rock’n’Roll Arizona in 2004. We didn’t train well (just a couple runs over 12km!) but managed to finish hand-in-hand in 3:49:29.

RNR AZ 2004

Although it took us five years to run another full marathon, it was the start of something big.

On my 27^th birthday we were in Florida after running the Disneyworld Marathon a couple days before.

Now

I’m proud of where I am on my 30^th birthday. I hit my stride in my 20s. I graduated from university. I moved out of home. I travelled. We got a dog son. We bought a house. I married my best friend. I found a career I enjoy. I got comfortable in my skin and gained confidence. And I have ran and biked thousands of miles.

Although I’ve been a runner for years, endurance training and racing has kept me going. I’m in better shape now than I’ve ever been (well, not right now after the holidays!). And I love and appreciate the mental and physical benefits now more than ever before.

I have a few goals for my 30s.

I want to get better- at being a good wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend; at listening to my body; at relaxing and going with the flow.

I want to stay active and challenge myself to new distances and faster times. I love running, and it has brought me an immense amount of happiness.

I hope to still be running and crossing finish lines in my next 30 years.

Have you ran a race on your birthday? Any memorable stories from past birthdays?

Olympics fever

Since I’ve had more time on my hands than usual and since I love athletics and triathlon, I was a super fan this weekend!

You might think being a super fan involves painting your face with your country’s flag or talking up your team in a local pub. I have a different idea.

Five signs you might be a super fan:

1. You wake up in the middle of the night to watch events live, multiple days in a row, regardless of how little sleep it means you’ll get.
   I woke up at 2am to watch the female triathlon live, 4am to watch the women’s marathon, and 4:30am on a workday to watch the men’s triathlon.
   

   Credit: Photo by Steve Russell, Toronto Star

2. You cry along with the athletes and their families at their incredible accomplishments and devastating heartbreak.
   Without fail, I have cried every.single.time I see the image of Kara and Shalane supporting eachother post-marathon. I cry at the wins. I cry at the losses.
   

   Credit: Photo by Stu Forster, Getty Images

3. When talking about the Olympics, you start most sentences with I was watching the Olympics and quietly crying or I couldn’t see the event clearly through my tears.
   My husband called me on this one. Apparently every time I talk about an event, I tear up or mention how I cried.
4. You tune in to the Olympics on multiple devices (TVs, iPad, and MacBook) so you don’t miss a beat.
   That was me yesterday morning. The men’s triathlon was still on when I had to get ready for work. You better believe I had the tv on in multiple rooms and the event on my iPad so I wouldn’t miss a second.
   

   Credit: Photo by Sean Kilpatrick, The Canadian Press

5. Although you watched an event televised live, you make every effort to catch it a second (and maybe even third time).
   Guilty. I’ve watched an event live, re-watched it, and then watched it again pretending it’s because my husband just had to see it.
   

   Credit: Men’s 10,000m photo taken from london2012.com. (Click photo to go to webpage.)

I am absolutely heartbroken for two Canadian triathletes Simon Whitfield and Paula Findley. I wanted to write about their devastating races but found this blog by Adam Kreek that says it perfectly:  A Tribute to the Fallen – Simon Whitfield crash, Paula Findlay last place finish at Olympic triathlon.

If you’re in the Olympic spirit, have a read. They are two phenomenal athletes, who do what they do because they adore the sport.

Although the writer is talking about two brilliant Olympians, a lot of his messages are good reminders to all of us: we have plenty in our lives other than our athletic experiences, embrace challenge, and take lessons you’ve learned through running or whatever sport you love and apply them to other aspects of your life.

What Olympic story has made you cry, either good or bad? What’s been your favourite moment so far? In athletics, do you prefer watching sprints, distance, jumps, throws? 

Wednesday’s web links

In spirit of the Olympics, these links focus on the three female American marathoners.

Photo from Shalane’s Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ShalaneFlanagan)

1. Goucher runs past doubts, by Jim Souhan, Star Tribune
   My fave quote: Most athletes hide their doubts beneath a veneer of confidence, if not arrogance. Goucher worries and vents.
2. Win or die trying, by Aimee Berg, Outside Online
   Fave quote: But Flanagan is a competitive assassin who will redline it when stakes are highest.
3. Olympics bound runner Desiree Davila struggles with injury, by Kristin Bull and Judy Davids, Rochester Hills Patch
   My heart breaks when I read this. I really hope her hip is ok when she runs on the hard surface.

What are some good, interesting, or motivating articles you’ve read lately?

Versatile Blogger Award

Thanks so much to the lovely Kelly at My Love Affair With Running for nominating me for a Versatile Blogger award! It is so kind of her to think my little blog should get one!

In order to receive the award, I have to do a few things including tell seven random facts about yourself and nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

Here we go…

1. I held the men’s marathon finish line tape at the 2001 IAAF World Track and Field Championships. It was an incredible finish with only ONE second separating first and second place, Abera Gezahegne (Ethiopia) and Biwott Simon (Kenya).

Photo credit: IAAF

For the rest of the games I worked the start line on the track.

2. My husband and I backpacked Australia and Thailand for four months in 2004 when we were dating. We didn’t work a day and lived the beach bum life!

 

3. I’ve been to Hawaii 10 times. No matter how many times I go, I never get bored!

4. I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for seven years in high school and throughout university. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the simple and fun job!

5. I used to have my Monroe (where Marilyn’s mole was) pierced. And I have three tattoos.

6. I say that I could move to every place I’ve visited. I fall in love with anywhere and everywhere we travel! (At the top of my list of places to move are Denver, Scottsdale, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and Orlando.)

Lake Tahoe

7. My favourite vegetables are radishes. I can’t get enough of the farmer’s market ones in summer.

Here are the 15 bloggers I nominate. Whether I’ve read their blogs for a long time or am a new reader, they inspire me in some way. I‘ve kind of categorized them from running, to triathlon, to healthy living blogs.

1. Ms Zippy
2. Live for the Run
3. Neon Blonde Runner
4. Kris Lawrence
5. iRunner
6. Runner’s Rambles
7. Fitness Fatale
8. Twenty-Six and Then Some
9. Cotter Crunch
10. Dietitian on the Run
11. The Healthy Everythingtarian
12. Daily Garnish
13. Clean Eating Chelsey
14. Nutritionella
15. Peace Love Nutrition

Tell me a random fact about yourself!