five months!?!

Well I honestly cannot believe it has been FIVE months since I posted. I am lame.

I have drafted many many posts since my last on May 17, and intend to start posting again weekly at least….but I wasn’t properly motivated to restart this commitment until tonight, when my baby brother & his gorgeous wife shelly brought a baby in to the world. Landon James Garvin Wilde was born this evening, mere moments ago, weighing in at 9.37 lbs & 21 inches. All are healthy and happy…except me.. just a wee bit sad… because I am not there. I am so proud of Ben & Shelly and so very happy for them. I really can’t believe my little baby brother Ben, who in my mind is still the tanned tow-headed Mississippi River beach crawler "Gus" of childhood memories, has a baby – a son! – of his own. I know he will be an amazing dad. I cant wait to observe – and hopefully participate in - their bond and experiences as father & son.

Here is a photo of his handsomeness... hot of the text presses….

Also, worth noting as I restart this blogging process, it is important to acknowledge that in reality, I no longer have a three dog life....while Biddie’s spirit lives on in my home and heart every day, she went to live with Albert in Southern CA at the end of September. I intend to keep the blog URL in homage to my pretty Biddie brown eyes, who I miss so so much! I know the Tahoe life wasn’t the best for you anymore my sweet Biddie girl, but I cant help but wish you were here with me for ball chasin’ and ear rubbin’ and snugglin’ up by the fire. Thank you for all the wonderful lessons you taught me over the years beautiful girl!

the last 30 of my 30s...

on april 16th it occurred to me for some reason: this is the LAST 30 days of my 30s. and then a weird feeling came over me. one of a tiny bit of dread -- those of you who know me well, know these past months have not been my finest, most favorite days -- but also a feeling of opportunity. opportunity for gratitude and celebration.

then, i had another thought, scary i know. two in a row. a very wise man once told me: "y'know t, fun isn't optional, it's like breathing. you need to do it every day. have fun." so i decided "yes. fun. every day for 30 days. i can do that. i think."

now mind you, sometimes "fun" for me is completing a totally lame work related project. because crossing it off my to-do list AND deleting it from my treo is SUPER fun for me. and yes, finishing all the laundry in the house - this means it is washed, dried, folded and put away - all of it - and remember, its spring in tahoe (READ: mud season) and i have three dogs so there is typically a lot of pet related laundry - yes that is fun for me too. but i wanted to try to actually do a little something every day, that a sane person would think was fun too. so here is what i've been up to:

1) took ono to work - nothing makes a day at the office better than that face & those yawns!

2) big run to the martis creek campground/reservoir, with roxy & ono

3) terrific bbq with lovely and kind neighbors - i have the greatest neighbors in the world!

4) bought delicious new bedding (i went to target to get entry rugs for above mentioned muddy dogs and there was a huge display of bedding on sale. the package said "600 thread count bedding 50% off" (WHAT!?!?!) the last time i bought bedding i think the max tc was 300, so i was completely sucked in. it is crazy nice!)

5) girls on the run practice - spending time with these darling girls is so inspiring. and i got my "sole mate" this week, cutest sweetest funniest ryann. cant wait to run, walk or skip, her first 5k with her in june.

6) the high was about 85 on this day, so that was super fun in and of itself. but, i also had a great afternoon meeting with some co-workers at moodys. and then, girls on the run hosted a coaches dinner, again at moodys. anytime you get to go to moodys is fun - but twice in one day. heaven!

7) took roxy to work. shes a very good negotiator.

8) great sunset walk with neighbor friend kelly at martis creek.

9) saw friend tim's amazing blue grass band play at cottonwood, with neighbors kelly & jay & good friend abby.

10) installed new decking with angel/brainiac neighbors kelly & jay & sister missy. this was amazing! so not something i am remotely good at but it sure was fun trying to help and making sure everyone had enough coffee/pastries/beer/mike & ikes/gatorade/kettle corn, etc.

11) sunset walk at martis with friend michelle & her dog koda. it is so fun to watch little ono try to keep up with a giant husky tahoe dog. he is so tough!

12) first truckee river trail run of the season. this is my favorite trail and i am soo happy its run-able again. a true sign of spring for me!

13) had my last neuro appt for 3 months today! got the all clear on all tests so far. just one more set of labs to come in a few more days, before the 100% all clear! woohoo! and while in reno i stopped in to home depot to buy the last of the decking to be installed this saturday. (more fun!)

14) listened to old replacements and REM all day! i am loving listening to old music these days. probably because of the nostalgia of this big bday i am approaching. i also went to yoga, which i do almost every wednesday but today was special because my favorite teacher was on vaca for three weeks, and this was her first night back. so wonderful!

15) great phone "date" with my dear friend molly from mn. we exchange emails alot, but we rarely get time for an actual phone call, so this was a special treat.

so there you have it. the first 15 days of fun. i thought it would be entirely too boring to wait until all 30 days had passed and post all 30 at once. so stay tuned for the second half on may 15. it should be even more fun than the first half, right?

and dad, thanks for the idea. fun is like breathing. you're right. again.

the results are in.....

granted, there were only 45 runners in the race total, but i have to toot my horn a bit:

• i finished 14th overall (top third, like the C student i always was. :)) interesting to note, 7 of the people ahead of me were in between 27 & 32 years old. and the girl i was chasing and passed in the last 1/2 mile was 15 years old!! holla!
• in the female group i placed 6th
• in the female 30-39 group i placed 3rd
• and in the female 30-39 from minnesota group, i took 1st!! whoop! whoop!

i just signed up to to the granite bay 1/2 on sept 19. cant wait!!!!

first post...

TOP TEN SECRETS to SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING MY 1ST ½ MARATHON:


1) Start race day in the dark pre-dawn light in the kitchen making a Latte!


2) Since I couldn’t rustle up any human cheerleaders to join me for the 6:00 am drive to lovely Fernley NV, I brought my dog. Ono’s wags & licks were my hugs & high fives at the car after the finish.


3) The girls in my ipod: P!nk, M.I.A., Rihanna, Britney, Lily, Robyn, Madonna, Estelle & Gwen.


4) My 1/2M expert cousins in Iowa, Indiana, & San Diego. Your support and enthusiasm inspired me and gave the courage to think I could do it. I hope I can do one WITH you someday!


5) A trip to the ER 6 weeks before race day really helped to solidify my commitment to fitness & living the fullest & healthiest life possible. Nothing like a little fear to encourage an extra mile here & there during training.


6) Train at 6000 feet, race at 4000 feet.


7) You gotta love a town where the D.J. at the race starting line is playing Creedence Clearwater Revival. Really loud. At 7:30 a.m.


8) My Girls on the Run fellow coaches & the girls of Glenshire Elementary School. They all have provided me with the best motivation, inspiration & stick-to-it-ive-ness!


9) The warmest & driest winter in Tahoe in about 5 years. If we had had a big snow winter, and I therefore had had to train on a treadmill, I don’t think I could’ve done it. Nothing compares to running in the clean fresh crisp mountain air.


10) Two words: swimsuit season!