Thinking ahead...

2010 is about to start and I cannot believe another year has come and gone. 2009 went by the fastest of any year for me thus far. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my "season" back in March; I think all the racing I did throughout the entire summer and into my fall marathon made the time go by even faster. I am still in the process of mapping out 2010 and deciding on races. My problem tends to be that I want to race almost every weekend because I'd rather race than do workouts, haha. Yet when racing involves so much traveling I know I need to scale it back. What I love about road racing is that there are so many great ones to choose from and of course there are those that I LOVE and want to go back again and again! I am sure I'll plan on certain races and things will come up or change along the way, yet I am excited to get things more finalized. I will probably plan things out in shorter blocks of time due to my race goals and managing my foot and heel spur issue that sometimes comes and goes.

I am so grateful for my sponsorships with Sole Sports Running Zone, GU Energy, Endurance Rehabilitation and Triple Sports. Without the help and support from all of them I would surely not be able to do what I love every single day!! Of course I have to thank the Road Runners Club of America for their support as well, the past two years :)

I'm extremely excited because GU has a new delicious flavor out called Jett Blackberry with 2x Caffeine and it tastes so good!! I love that it has two times the caffeine as the regular vanilla bean GUs I eat during my marathons because sometimes I feel I need a little bit more of a "boost". The Espresso Love flavor also has 2x Caffeine yet I can't always eat something that tastes like coffee so late in a race :) I continue to be impressed with the new flavors they develop. Vanilla Gingerbread, their new holiday flavor, was a nice tasty treat this fall and winter as well!

I had a conversation with a good friend the other night about the "pressures" I tend to put on myself in so many aspects of life. I tend to be too serious about my future and worry all the time about how things are going to work out, whether I'll be as successful as I want and just worry if I am making the "right" decisions. She told me that I need to be OK with following my dreams and pursuing what I love, and not look too far ahead. This upcoming year I want to focus more on the present and take small steps toward improving and achieving my goals. I set personal bests in all but maybe 2 races in 2009 and I'm hoping to do the same in 2010, maybe even have an amazing break through marathon :)

So here's to 2010 ....continue to LOVE what I do, be grateful for my lifestyle, focus on each day, week and upcoming race, and to smile and enjoy both the ups and downs of the sport....because I SURELY wouldn't know how much I love running if it weren't for setbacks along the way.

Las Vegasss :)

My race in Las Vegas left me feeling really happy and positive about the coming year. After only running for 11 days prior to the half marathon, I was able to run a 1:16:41 and felt completely in control the whole way. I haven't run anywhere near that pace since my last marathon (Twin Cities) a couple months ago. I think my swimming and strength training helped me stay in pretty good shape. It was extremely cold the morning of the race and I had an entire small tub of vaseline on my upper legs and still felt pretty cold! My nose and face also were numb and burning even after I finished, haha :) Anyway, being in Vegas and experiencing the inaugural race with all the pre and post race entertainment definitely was a nice treat. My favorite thing was seeing the white tigers at the start line! They were up in cages and I was taking pictures of them up until 5 minutes before my race started, LOL. Gorgeous animals! I celebrated my birthday with a ton of fun people on Sunday night and definitely brought in my 26th birthday with a bang :)

I was only home for three days before I left for Charlotte, North Carolina Friday morning. I visited a school my sister is looking at for college and I also got to see a couple friends from college so that was great! My friend Kelly Fillnow lives in the area and she just qualified for the Ironman World Championships for 2010. I got to run with her a couple times, eat amazing food (I LOVE DEAN AND DELUCA!!! :) ) and we also did a swim workout together. Fun times!

I can't wait to get back to Arizona and get into my routine again, ramp up my training, teach for a few days and then have a nice winter break from teaching!! I cannot wait to have a night where I get more than 8 hours of sleep! Every day lately I wake up feeling so tired and it definitely affects my motivation to train, which is obviously NOT good.

I have missed my little doggies these past couple weeks of not being around them for more than a few days. They are the loves of my life and I cannot wait to see them tonight, haha <3

They got groomed yesterday too so they are surely lookin' super handsome ;)

This somewhat blurry picture is from Vegas when I raced. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new hot pink CEP compression socks. Sole Sports ordered them for me and that was my first race in them. I definitely believe they helped prevent my calves from cramping up because at one point I thought my left calf was about to seize up but it was fine! :)

Happy holidays everyone!