Run Laugh Love

Ragnar Relay

2010-02-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, family... world,

We ran the 202 mile Ragnar Relay over the weekend. We are exhausted but stayed safe and had a lot of fun.

Check out Ariana's running website for a race report, fun pictures and even a video!

See ya!

Tucson Marathon 12/13/09

2009-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

I went into this marathon hoping to break 3 hours. As the marathon was getting closer, I was thinking of trying for a 2:55-2:57. That was my "A" goal, a perfect day, the stars aligned. Anyways...

Before we headed down to Tucson on Saturday, we met our close friends for breakfast at the Orange Table in Scottsdale. They make my lucky "Monkey Cakes"- bananas, almonds, and coconut. They are to die for and I love any kind of pancake! It was also Terri's birthday!
After breakfast, we caravanned to Tucson, hit up the expo, and drove the course, as they had changed parts from last year. My sister, Marisa, also wanted to see it as this was her first full marathon! The course looked very daunting. Don't get me wrong, there is still some nice elevation declines, but many more hills than I remember. The entire beginning is rolling hills, miles 7-9 were some nice steady inclines, inclines toward the end, and a hill at mile 23. Marisa was looking a little nervous! (I think we all were!) We went back to the hotel, ate chicken and rice, showered, and tried to get some sleep.

We woke up at 4am and I was ready to rock! The weather was supposed to be perfect!I wore a holiday red top that Terri gave me (brought me luck!), Nike boy shorts, arm warmers, red/white striped gloves, and a red poinsettia for my hair. Quite festive! We dropped Shannon off at the 1/2 marathon busses, and Mike dropped us off at the full marathon busses.
Matt, Marisa, and I got on the bus, met our friend Donovan and shuttled to the start line. It was about 40 degrees. We went to the port-o's, took off our warm clothes and made it to the front of the start line just in time.
My mile splits:
Mile 1- 5:54 nice downhill, was nervous that I was going too fast though. Caught up with the first gal, we talked for a bit.
Mile 2-6:46- Rollers
Mile 3-6:37
Mile 4- 6:43
Mile 5- 6:42 Took a Vanilla Gingerbread GU
Mile 6-6:36
Mile 7- 6:32
Mile 8- 7:52- Big incline for about 1.25 miles. Intentionally took it this slow to save energy
Mile 9-6:57
Mile 10-6:34 Took second Vanilla Ginger Gu and a salt tab
Mile 11-6:33
Mile 12-6:36 Started worrying that I was going too fast although I felt really great
Mile 13- 6:39 This is where God decided to make it interesting for us runners and gave us a 10-15 mile per hour headwind for the rest of the marathon. That wind was brutal!
Mile 14-6:42 I tried to draft, but I couldn't find anyone!
Mile 15-6:47
Mile 16-6:51
Mile 17-6:44- Took a GU Roctane
Mile 18-6:50 Passed a girl and many men that tried to pass me. :D
Mile 19-6:40
Mile 20-6:57 Where is the turn??? :) Passed the second place female who zoomed by me at mile 2. Started my mantra that my daily mile friend John H. told me- Be strong Ariana, this is your race. It really helped, thanks John!
Mile 21-6:56 Took a GU Roctane
Mile 22-7:03 Start of the incline- and my decline!
Mile 23-7:14
Mile 24-7:08
Mile 25-7:09 Didn't think I was going to break 3 anymore, than I hardened up and made myself push. I was NOT going to let all of my hard work go to waste.
Mile 26-6:57
.33 (per Garmin)-6:14
I turned the corner and saw the clock said 2:58:xx, I was going to do it!!!
I ran through at 2:58:54!! Second female finsher, 11th overall finisher out of 1,246! I broke 3 hours!!! That is a 6:50 minute per mile pace. Official results:
https://www.runraceresults.com/secure/raceresults.cfm?ID=RCLK2009
I was so happy, I of course cried.

It was a little too close to 3 hours for comfort, but with the wind, I'll take it. :D
I felt really good the entire way. My legs never cramped up, no stomach problems, and the miles just flew by. However, once I stopped running, my legs seized up like no other. Very painful! So I just walked around and tried to shake tham out. I could still move, just not very fast!
Shannon and I:
My brother Lukas and I:

I found out that Shannon had met her goal of 2 hours for the half-marathon! So amazing! She worked to hard this training cycle. She beat her previous time by 30 minutes!! Unbelievable!

I was able to see Matt come in at 3:13. Not what he was shooting for, but with the wind, he did SO amazing. I am so proud of him! His average pace was 7:22. So awesome!
Above: Matt getting ready to make his final move and pass this guy! And he did!

Terri came in at 3:15, looking as strong as ever. This girl is an amazing athlete. Just so solid every run!
Terri's husband Mark- His FIRST marathon! came in at 3:16! They did SO awesome!!!

Then we waited for my sister. It was getting close to 4 hours, and I honestly thought with the wind, she may come in at 4:15. She was just shooting for under 5 hours.
All the sudden, Shannon spotted her coming around the corner looking totally zen!
We were screaming our heads off for her. I looked at the clock--3:56!!! She crossed at 3:56:41. Unbelievable! My first marathon was a 4:36!!! She rocked it! I think she is ready for more now... I cried again. So proud of her. Unreal.
The awards were not supposed to start until 12:30, at about 11:45 I hear my name being called our for my award! I got a trophy. Matt and Terri both got third in their age groups and got a sand art. As you can tell, its a small race. :)

Pic of my festive-ness. :D

After the race, we went back to the hotel, checked out, and Shannon and I went to the hot tub with a few beers. We dunked our sore legs in the pool first and it felt really good! We left Tucson and later that night went to our friend Mark's house to celebrate Terri's birthday. He had make-your-own pizzas with homemade dough and all of these gourmet toppings. So amazing! To top it off, he had homemade Limoncello and Tiramisu! A perfect way to end a great weekend!

Today my legs are much more sore. Time for some massage. I have a really busy week at work, so I may actually take the entire week off before I attempt any recovery runs.

Next up- I am signed up for PF Changs full marathon. I think I can do better. It all depends on how I recover though as the race is 5 weeks away. I am also meeting with a coach on Saturday who is also a phenomenal runner, so I am VERY excited!

Tempe IronGirl

2009-11-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

At the start line hands on watches!

What an amazing race! I won the 2009 Tempe IronGirl with a time of 1:03:27, a 6:19 average pace over the 10 miles. I felt so good! I was only aiming for 6:40's, but I surprised myself. The stars were aligned for me today!
I had some AMAZING girls to compete against (including a world-class triathlete) , which made for a good race. I left my main competitor at mile 8 to finish strong with my last 2 mile splits at 6:06 and 5:56. I just felt really, really, good. Matt, Terri, Mark, and Bradford were all there cheering me on and said I had a smile on my face the entire time. This is my first win at a big race, so I am really excited about it, not to mention, I was kind of the underdog (or unknown) going in.
On my tail. :) Great racing!

I got a lead bike! Holy cow!

So close to the finish in a sprint.
I think this has to be my best race picture of all time. :)
Crossed the mat, I'm done!

http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=10228#racetop

Shannon did awesome in the 5k, a new PR for her after dealing with a severe injury this past month!
Yay! Alissa and Alanna both ran amazing 10 mile races as well. The Irongirl was a great race and so much fun!
Next up...Tucson!

Fun Stuff

2009-11-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

So I found Tank nestled on the couch with my Runner's World the other day. I KNEW he loved running too! Maybe he just has a thing for Grete Waitz! :)

I got my FIRST pair of racing shoes in the mail today! I have been really wanting to try the new Brooks Launch performance trainer/competition shoe. Matt has been hearing about it for weeks! I was about to order them online and he broke the news that he had already ordered them for me. Seriously, I am the luckiest girl in the world. He wrote a little note to go with them that he is proud of me for chasing my dreams. He is so unbelievably sweet and thoughtful. *sigh*

This is them, nice and bright and just in time for my race on Sunday!

IRON GIRL TEMPE

2009-11-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

So, we went to watch Terri, Brett, Jim, Jan, and many of our other friends run the Phoenix 10k/5k today. They all did so awesome ! I cannot believe how many people were there! It was great! The McMillan elite racing team from Flagstaff was also there, so it was really cool to see the women race. Holy Mackeral they are fast!

So, I *just maybe* got the itch to race and I *just maybe* signed up for the Iron Girl 10 miler next weekend at Tempe Town Lake. Maybe meaning yes. :) I am super excited for it and also I am curious to see how my training has been going. My goal is a 6:30 pace for the 10 miles. We'll see. :) I have 82 miles scheduled for this week, so I am going to cut that and taper a bit.
Yesterday I ran 20 miles with the last 14 miles at marathon goal pace (6:45-6:50) with my last mile at 6:20. It felt great!!!

Here is the link to iron girl, it looks really fun!

TEMPE IRON GIRL 10 MILER

Wish me luck!
xoxo

New Stuff

2009-11-06T03:33:00.000-08:00

I will start out the post with some great news! Matt recently got promoted to a team leader position at Vanguard!!! We are very happy and super excited! He is such an awesome leader!

We are both still training like crazy! After my 100 miles week, I dropped to 80 miles for the next week, I have 90 miles this week, 82 next week, 90 the following, and then we get to cut back our mileage for three weeks as our legs get ready for the marathon!!! It is kind of daunting to train so hard for one race. Anything can happen on race day, so its hard to know that you are putting all of your eggs in one basket.

I recently finished up parent-teacher conferences, which were awesome, but kept me super busy. So know the storm of the holiday season begins! This is the best time to be a teacher. There are so many fun things to do with the kiddos. I love this time of year!

I love this article/survey. You might be a runner if....
The points are so true. I especially love the one about planning all of your eating around running! I will be so sick of bland chicken and Quinoa /rice/oatmeal by Dec 13th!

100 mile week update

2009-10-24T16:46:00.000-07:00

Matt and I just returned from Tucson. This morning Matt ran 21 miles, and I ran 24 on the marathon course. It was a great, solid, run. Our good friends Terri, Mark, and Mark ran as well. We all shared a hotel room last night and were on the road running at 6:30am. The weather got quite warm as the sun came up, but everyone finished really strong. A very fun trip! We laughed and laughed!

I am THISCLOSE to finishing my 100 mile week. I have 94 as of today. Tomorrow, I have 6 slow, recovery miles to take me to 100! This is what my week looked like:

Monday- 12 with hills am, 4 recovery pm
Tuesday- 13 miles easy am, 5 miles track practice with 3x1600 repeats pm
Wednesday- 8 miles recovery am, 4 miles recovery pm
Thursday- 12 miles general aerobic run am, 4 miles recovery pm
Friday- 8 miles easy am
Saturday- 24 miles @ 7:33 pace
Sunday- 6 recovery

Besides tired legs, I didn't find the 100 mile week to be as mentally and physically draining as I expected. I feel really, really, good about it. If I can do well on 24 miles during such a high-mileage week, I think I can do well at the marathon after a nice taper. This is the only 100 mile week in this training cycle I will do though. I don't want to burn out. I have a few more weeks of high 80's and 90 miles coming up.

I treated the run today like a dress rehearsal for the marathon (not as fast of course!) So all week long, I have been living off of chicken, rice, quinoa, yams, and oatmeal. I am off to get a slice of pizza! I have been dreaming about pizza for 3 days!

Pictures from today- ok, I look super gross, but I had put water on my head and it was so hot outside. How on earth does Terri look so cute after running for 3 hours? So not fair. :)

Running and Heart Health

2009-10-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

In light of recent deaths in our sport, I wanted to post this article. I have been given some 'flack' per say about how running is dangerous.

Heart Health

Century week

2009-10-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

So, as a challenge to myself, I am trying to run 100 miles in 7 days. I have been running 70-85 miles per week the last 6 weeks. I know that this one week won't make me a better runner, but I think it will really help me to do 2 things:
1. Learn to run on tired legs. (i.e. mile 20 at the marathon)
2. Strengthen my mental "toughness" for racing. I tend to lose it mentally and stop believing in myself when the going gets hard. The going will get hard this week and I want to try to overcome it.
This Saturday, I am running 24 miles with Matt, Terri, Mark, and Mark on the marathon course in Tucson. So, besides the high mileage, I am treating this week like marathon "dress rehearsal". Getting lots of rest, eating lots, and figuring out what works with my stomach to run my "pretend marathon" on Saturday.
I will keep posting this week with century week updates. You can check my daily progress at Daily Mile on the right. :)
Wish me luck!

"Ice" bath number one. (I am sure of many this week! ) After this mornings' 12 miles.

It's Official

2009-10-17T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here we come BOSTON! Matt and I just got killer deals for airfare and hotel for the Boston Marathon 2010. We booked and it is official! We are so excited! Matt is going for his qualifying race at Tucson on 12/13 and I know he will do so awesome. He has gotten so fast!
Many of our friends are going again this year, which is ultimately why we decided to go again. Probably our last time for awhile... (hmm..until the trials.. :) )
YAY!!

A day off of work....

2009-10-12T12:04:00.001-07:00

So left to my own devices, I signed myself up for the 2010 PF Changs Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon on 1.17. It is 5 weeks after Tucson (redemption race in case I do awful!) and 13 weeks before Boston. It is the hometown race, I just had to!
Then I will be done for awhile..until San Diego in June...... :)
Happy running!

At the races

2009-10-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend. My Dad ran his first 8k on Saturday in Milwaukee. Braving icey cold temps, he finished in 52:37. A PR pace for him! My mom also walked the mile at this race. I cannot believe how awesome they are doing. It is truly inspirational. I love the fact that we have become quite the running family, now we just have to get Lukas going...

My dad with his celebratory beer, ready to thaw out in the hot tub!
So, my sister has been training for a full marathon..all on her own in San Diego. Training for a marathon is hard enough, much less running dozens and dozens of miles alone. She had a tune-up race this weekend to check her progress. She ran the Long Beach Half Marathon in 1:48:xx!!! That is an 8:15 pace overall, and she ran negative splits. Which means, she started at about an 8:30 minute pace and finished at an 8 minute pace! That is really hard to do, and most people (including me) take years, and countless races to master that! She has made such progress since starting running a year ago. I am SO, SO PROUD of her.
Great job Mom, Dad, and Em! I love you!

Matt and my trainings are going awesome. I just finished an 84 mile week! I am really aiming to go under three hours for the marathon in December, but it is a very scary thought for me. Am I ready? Experienced enough? Mentally strong enough to push through the pain? I am filled with doubt about it, but I know that all I can do is focus on my training and do my best. If I am ready, it will happen, if not, that's ok too. I feel like my training has been going really well and I just feel so much more supported this time around through having our running friends as companions in all this craziness! I feel so inspired by them and that is a big motivator for me.
My 'A' goal for this marathon is to break 3 hours.(6:52 pace per mile average) My 'B' goal is to break 3:10,(7:15 pace per mile average) and my 'C' goal is to break 3:19. (7:25 pace per mile average). I know that anything can happen on race day. It could be cold and windy, I could have severe GI issues, I could be sick... who knows. All I can do is stay strong and do my best! :) So nerve-wracking!

Birthday Fun!

2009-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Four Peaks last night to celebrate my birthday and to watch the ASU game. (GREAT WIN!) It was so nice to be celebrating with friends! They are all so special to me and like my friend Terri said, we are all so blessed to have each other!

I wished my family could have been out, but next year, for the big 3-0! (However, I am thinking family/friend trip to Napa.... who's in?) :)

We also really missed Shannon and Mike. Shannon got really sick and was in the E.R. Poor little thing. (That didn't stop her from doing a 9 mile run yesterday morning though! She is a tough cookie, or pretty much us runners are all plain crazy!) She has some meds and is at home recuperating. It really wasn't the same without them! xoxoxo

Pics from the night: We are missing our good friends Jason and Sharon, and also Donovan. We broke out the camera too late!

Mark and Terri, amazing hearts. :)
My first grade teacher friend Amy. We are kindred spirits!
Terri and Kevin-Kevin works with Matt and is so nice and can make you laugh at the drop of a hat!

Mark and Wendy- Our fellow running friends.
Rick and Lynne- They have an amazing love story and not only are they runners, but triathletes too! Super sweet. :)Brett and Alanna- Amazing athletes and one of the nicest couples you will ever meet. I am so happy to get to know them better!
We all just have such a great time together, it was such an awesome birthday! :)

Catching up

2009-09-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Sorry we have not blogged for awhile. Between putting in 70+ mile weeks, chores, and work, we have been pretty busy!

Today is my birthday and to celebrate like the masochists we are, we decided to run a half marathon up in Prescott Valley. Last week multiple people told me it was a very hard race, but I really wanted to beat my one other 1/2 marathon time of 1:34 (Lost Dutchman 2/08).

I felt so good this morning, and the temps were nice and cool. The first few miles were great, I was on pace about 6:40 average and wasn't even breathing hard. The came the hills. I actually started laughing when I saw some of them because they were so big. NOT the way the course was described online! But it was cool and the view was gorgeous!

Then we got to about 3 miles of trail. I was so ready for the turn around point. I was the first female and I even reigned in one of the males who started out way in front of me. I was going strong and by mile 10, to meet my goal of 1:30, I had to pick it up a bit, but I still had ample time. At mile 10-12 there was a long incline that made my legs turn to mush. Then, I was following the guys in front of me and we all took a wrong turn. So 13.1 turned into 13.8 miles! Even the people that did the right route came in at 13.40 miles. A little long I would say!

At 13.1, I checked my Garmin, and I realized I HAD made a new record for myself at 1:32. Not quite my goal, but I think I did well on this course.

This is when I realized that the finish line was NOWHERE in sight. Ugh, worst feeling ever. I slowed to almost 8 minutes a mile. I was SO done. That has got to be one of the worst feelings, knowing you should be done but still have a long ways to go unexpectedly! So my official time was 1:38:14 for 13.80 miles.

I still one first place female, so that was pretty cool. 8th overall, and my race number was 8!

Matt actually won 3rd in his age group! And he hasn't even really started training yet! I am so proud of him. He was 10th overall and did the 13.40 mile correct course.

Now off to nap and then celebrate my birthday with some ASU football. GO DEVILS!

Cutie of the week- This dog runs 1/2 marathons. He does about a 10 minute pace, but does all 13 miles! He is 9 YEARS OLD!!! He was so sweet and even had a recovery banana and gatorade!

Brooks ID Program

2009-08-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

So, I applied to be a part of the Brooks Running Company Inspire Daily program, and I was chosen, I just found out this afternoon! I am so excited! As a part of this program, I get some awesome Brooks gear to wear to races, will participate in the Brooks running community, work to inspire others to run, and basically promote Brooks and running. I Love Brooks, and as many of you know, I have a passion for running so this seems perfect for me! I will keep you updated on my journey with the Brooks ID program. I cannot wait to start and am so thankful for this opportunity!!!!

AZ RoadRacers Summer Series Race #5

2009-08-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last race of the summer at South Mountain. I went in with a new strategy and it really worked for me. I started slower and picked up speed until the end and kept close to my competition for the first half. I am really trying to learn good racing strategies from other racers.

My finish time was 19:31,(6:16 per mile) first female overall and this is a new personal best for me! I felt awesome at this race, usually I am wanting to stop! I was passing people that blew by me in the beginning as I picked up speed, so that felt great! I was also keeping my breathing and posture under control. Yay! Matt and Terri (she drove all the way from North Scottsdale to cheer us on after she ran a 1/2 marathon yesterday in Flagstaff! She is so awesome!) were very encouraging on the course and it really helped me!

Mile splits off Garmin: 6:12, 6:31 (going up the mountain),5:59, 5:43. The official results with Grand Prix points should be up soon, so I will post those when they are!

The starting line:
Rounding the corner to the straightaway to the finish line.
Almost there!

HOME FOR SALE

2009-08-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

My parents are selling their home in Greendale, WI. Beautiful home in a beautiful areas with great schools! If by chance you know anyone looking for a home in WI, it's a great one! Click on the link for info and pics.

Home for sale

Matt's Birthday

2009-08-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Matt and I went to Shannon's on Friday to celebrate Matt's birthday with her and Mike and to just catch up! We made 4 pizzas- margherita, goat cheese/fig/heriloom tomato, tomato sauce/ pepperoni/ mozzerella, and avocado/prosciutto.
They were so good!
For dessert, I made a white balsamic custard tart that turned out amazing! I know it sounds strange, but it is delicious! Here is the recipe.

Some pics from the night:
Smile for the camera Matt! :)

Matt and Ariana's Summer Vacation 2009

2009-07-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Matt and I spent an entire week in Heber, AZ at his parents' cabin. We had so much fun reading, hiking, cooking, eating, drinking great wine, fishing, playing games, and relaxing. (I also got some really great, difficult runs in!) We had no phone service, internet, or TV and it was marvelous! It stormed every afternoon and the temps on average peaked out at 85 in the sun, then dropped to about 67 after the rain. Awesome. We also did at 17 mile hike! We hiked the East/West trails of Mt. Baldy to make an entire loop all around and up/down the mountain. It was quite an experience, I am just thankful we had no bear encounters. It took us seven and a half hours! Needless to say, I did not run the next day. My legs were so sore! Here are some pics from the week.
Playing tiles when we arrived after my race.

Small hike in Greer interrupted by thunderstorms.
Matt cooking breakfast.
Fishing

What a cute little guy! The fish is cute too!OK, This one is a little better!
At the start of our epic hike. The East fork is 7 miles, the West fork is 7 miles and the connector trail is 3 miles.

The beetles eat away at the trees which make parts of the forst look very eerie.

Matt snapped the elusive Mt. Baldy Sasquatch.
Army airplane crash from the 1950's on the trail.
Rock formations
Forest and beautiful wildflowers
We finally made it to the connector trail! 3 miles to the car!
Hike is finished! We conquered the Mt. Baldy Loop!

AZ RoadRacers Summer Series Race #4

2009-07-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

This 5k race was on July 18th. It was a pretty roasty-toasty morning and for some reason, I could not sleep the night before because I was so nervous about the race. I started out fast (per my awful running style) but I didn't take my Garmin with me because during short races, I tend to waste time looking at it, so I was not too sure of my pace.

Start line at Kiwanis Park

The race was around a park in Tempe and like usual, I wanted to stop during the middle of it! I really need to get some more mental strength for these 5k's. They seem to go on forever!
At mile 3, I was hot and my legs felt rubbery. I slowed down my pace and in my head, I was giving up. I was just so tired! I was the third female so far. I reached for a cup of water and my good friend Terri passed me! She is an awesome runner and a very experienced racer. I really admire her running and am just thankful we are not in the same age group! LOL! She goes out evenly and kicks up dust at the end, even at track practice. I really need to practice this strategy! She ended up finishing 7 well deserved seconds before me.

About mile 1.5. I was already hot and tired! :)

Finally the finish line!

I finished 4th female, 1st in my age group with a time of 19:39 which is 6 min 20 sec per mile average. It was a new PR for me, so I am happy about that! I am aiming to get between a 19:30-19:40 on the last summer series 5k at South Mountain, but I have heard it is a tough course so we will see. I am definitely going to wear my Garmin and start at a better pace to finish strong. Honestly, I was a little dissappointed in myself for giving up like I did, but oh well, live and learn. :)
Me, Mark, and Terri after the race. Good job friends!

Marathon Honor Roll

2009-07-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm movin' up! 26th in the state!

AZ Honor Roll

4th of July fun!

2009-07-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

Matt and I headed up to Heber, AZ to spend the weekend with his parents and our nephew, Preston in the cabin. We had so much fun! We went hiking, attempted to fish :), ate lots of good food, and relaxed. I even managed to get in a 7 mile trail run! The weather was so great. We had some rain and thunder, but nothing too serious. It was so nice to get out of the heat. We can't wait to go back, it was so relaxing!

At the parade. Preston was Tank's new best friend. i.e. He could easily get food from Preston.

Tank and I after the parade.Relaxin' on the hammock.

Fishing attempt. We got a late start, Matt forgot his sunscreen, we didn't have breakfast and forgot the food... we will try again. :)Making some whole wheat banana pancakes. Pancakes are by far one of my favorite foods on the planet. I have them at least once a week for breakfast, dinner, anytime!

Running Friends

2009-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Last night, after track practice, a bunch of us met at Carlsbad Tavern for our friend Jan's birthday. (We were a smelly bunch, luckily we were on the patio!)
Jan is one of the sweetest women I have ever met, and a really good runner too! She sets state records in her age group and is really fast! We had so much fun and feel so blessed to know such a great group of people!
We got her a pink running skirt!

Us girls

All of this extra time...

2009-06-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

So, I made a promise to myself to NOT run on the weekends (Except for races) this summer as I am starting pretty tough training on August 9th and I want to be fresh and ready to run! So, I have some extra free time on the weekends to dabble into other things. For the second weekend in a row, I have made a Sunday dinner. As you may know, I am NOT the cook in the family. Matt is just so awesome at it and has a passion for it. Me, not so much. :)

But, I have really enjoyed cooking these past 2 weeks, so maybe it will grow on me!
I love seafood and since Matt is not accustomed to cooking it, I like to make him some seafood dishes when I, once in a blue moon, cook. (We are on a seafood kick apparently, see post below)

Tonight, I made Linguine with spicy red clam sauce. It was really easy and was so good!
If you would like the recipe, I would be happy to share!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Every time that I am home to WI, my dad makes his special shrimp for us. As a nod to Dad's day, Matt and I decided to make it for dinner last night. The shrimp is marinated for 6 hours in butter, parsley, green onions, garlic, and white wine. Then the shrimp is grilled and the marinade is boiled down with Frank's red hot sauce for a dipping sauce.
Oh. My. Gosh. It is the best shrimp you will ever have. The sauce is amazing and I can eat an entire loaf of french bread dipped in this *super healthy, low fat sauce*!

Dad teases us and says that there is a missing ingredient, and for some reason his shrimp always do taste a little bit better. hmm.....

To drink we made these strawberry wine coolers. They were really good!

For desert, we had a Door County, WI strawberry-rhubarb crisp. I was going to make a peach cobbler, but the peaches were not quite ripe yet.

We had such a great meal and talked about how wonderful our Father's are! We love you and hope you are having a wonderful Father's Day. Next year, we will be making this for you!

Scottsdale BBQ Company Review

2009-06-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

Scottsdale BBQ Company

I woke up yesterday morning and really wanted some BBQ food. You know, pulled pork, beef brisket, cole slaw... the works. So I jumped on the computer and started looking up good recipes. I ran into a few problems: a) Those things take about 8 hours to make... except the cole slaw. b) You normally cook about 3-5 pounds of meat at a time (we don't eat that much). c) I unfortunately only have a baby grill, a left over from living in an apartment, which is not nearly large enough for 5 pounds of meat. So... I took the much much easier route and just looked up BBQ places instead. :)

I originally found Honey Bears BBQ, which is supposed to be the best in Arizona (the slogan is "You don't need no teeth to eat our meat"). However, it was too far away, (there is a limit to my BBQ craving). Then I remembered that there is a BBQ place about a block away that I have been eyeing for a long time. It happens to be right next to a grocery store and I need to do some shopping... so the excuse was set! Off we went to Scottsdale BBQ Company.

The BBQ joint is set deep in the corner of a strip mall, so you have to follow the little signs to find it. I knew I was going to like the place as soon as I walked in to the smell of smoked meat. It's a small quaint place with the typical checkered table cloths and a flower right next to the mondo napkin holder on each table. Any BBQ lover knows that an abundance of napkins are a must. It features free wifi and had magazines hanging on a wall, which was a nice touch. After taking a quick look at the menu (I knew what I wanted before I even went in) we wandered up to the counter and ordered from the owner/cook. It appears to be a one man operation, and he seems to do quite a bit a business. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with some slaw and Ariana had a smoked beef sandwich.

The food came out fast and both sandwiches had about a pound of meat each! The BBQ sauce (which comes on the side so you can add as much as you want) was delicious! The pork was melt in your mouth tender without being mushy. There was no dicernable fat, which doesn't mean there wasn't any, it was just cooked perfectly so you couldn't tell. The BBQ sauce was a spicy Kansas City style sauce, done really well. The beef was equally tasty, cut thin and layered on a bun. It was very tender, juicy, lean and slightly smokey. To wash it down Airana had Carolina sweet tea and I had fresh squeezed lemonade, perfect for BBQ food. The slaw was very good as well, though not the best that I have had. If you couldn't tell... we loved it and know that we will be back, many times. Out of four forks, we give it a solid three and a half! Mmm..mmm I love BBQ!

Matty's wonderful cooking

2009-06-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

We hardly ever eat meat, but when we do, Matt makes the best dinners with it. He made this steak salad with his own dressing, and grilled and braised artichokes. It was amazing.

New haircut

2009-06-17T18:29:00.001-07:00

So, after swimming today, I could not comb through the knots in my hair and decided it was time for a change. I have not cut my hair in 18 months. Not even a trim. (GASP!) So, as you can imagine, it was getting pretty gnarly. Went to my favorite salon, Aveda Salon Tru in oldtown today. It is the best, and I heart my new short 'do. I think the loss of hair weight will make me faster, LOL!!!

The day has come....

2009-06-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

I knew the day would come when I would not PR at a race, and yesterday was that day. I had my second summer series race at Phoenix Reach 11 Horse Park. It was a trail run. I felt pretty good, did a 5 mile warm up. The gun went off and I went out WAY too fast. My first mile was 6:09! There was no way I could hold on to that! My pace slowed a lot for miles 2/3 and I kicked it in the last .2. My ending result was 20:04, an average of 6:28 a mile. I was 4th woman and 1st in my age group out of 46, so I still got a medal!

In the evening, Matt and I joined some road racer friends for dinner. We had the best time! It was so nice to spend time with them. We chatted and laughed the entire time. We also said prayer before dinner which made our time together even more special. They are just the friendliest, most supportive group of people you will ever meet! Also, us Scottsdale ladies are tough to beat, Terri and Jan came in first in their age groups too!

RoadRacers Summer Series #2 results

San Diego Rock And Roll Marathon Race Report

2009-06-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a fun weekend! We arrived in CA on Friday and met with Matt's family. We had a great time visiting! I went to sleep at about 8pm to try to get as much rest as possible. It was a long, busy week! Saturday I did my 2 miles, we hit the expo, went back to Marisa's and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I purchased a 3:20 pace bracelet at the expo just for kicks. Matt was encouraging me to go for it, but I still did not feel strong enough to run that pace so close to Boston.

On Sunday morning, we left for the race at 5:40. It was grey and misty outside. It was good to leave so late, I didn't have time to sit at the start and make myself nervous! The gun went off at 6:30am and we were on a roll. There were a ton of people running, so my first few miles were not as fast as I would have liked. However, I felt AWESOME! I think all of the rest paid off. Last year, at mile 6 I was feeling bad! I felt great until about mile 21. I wanted to walk so badly. I also was really craving a coca-cola. I almost stopped at a med-tent to ask for one! But I just kept on going. I ran through all 3 of the areas that I had to walk in last year!

Mile 10

At mile 25.75 we entered the Marine Base. It is so awesome and inspiring. I LOVE ending there. This is the last year ever that the marathon will end there. I am so glad I got to be a part of it.

Marine Base

So close!

I saw the finish line and it did not reach 3:20 yet and I know I was almost there. I was going to break 3:20!!! I kicked it in and crossed the finish line at 3:19:23!
I cried at the end. Never, ever, would I had thought I was going to break 3:20, especially on a course as hard as San Diego. I honestly believe it is harder and hillier than Boston.

After the race, I got my 2 free beers, purchased a long-sleeve tee as my reward for PR'ing, and we went back to Marisa's to rest and shower. I was EXHAUSTED!!!

Calling Mom and Dad

I am so motivated to start training again. My next 5k is on 6/14. Should be interesting!

Amanda, Marisa, me, Lukas at the finish

Here are my official results. I was 15th in my age group, the 46th woman to cross the finish line! That is huge! My name was in the newspaper for top female finishers! There were 13,377 finishers and 6509 females.
I am really, really happy with my performance!

Run strong friends!

Matt and Lukas at Karl Strauss post-race

My Splits-
Mile 1-7:55 Mile 14- 7:29
Mile 2- 7:24 Mile 15- 7:30
Mile 3- 7:17 Mile 16- 7:33
Mile 4- 6:57 Mile 17- 7:27
Mile 5- 7:15 Mile 18- 7:31
Mile 6- 7:25 Mile 19- 7:31
Mile 7- 7:32 Mile 20- 7:41
Mile 8- 7:32 Mile 21- 7:51
Mile 9- 7:47 Mile 22- 8:04
Mile 10- 7:33 Mile 23- 8:01
Mile 11- 7:02 Mile 24- 8:08
Mile 12- 7:30 Mile 25- 7:44
Mile 13- 7:23 Mile 26- 7:41 386yards- 7:09

San Diego Rock And Roll Marathon 5/31

2009-05-28T05:01:00.000-07:00

My bib is 3067... I am trying to think of ways that could make it be my lucky number! I am pretty nervous, I have never run 2 marathons 6 weeks apart before. I am trying to tell myself that I am doing this for fun and not trying to PR. Although I know my competitive side will come out. I think I am going to TRY to stay in the 7:30-7:45 range, we will see how that pans out. I have been pretty tired all week with the heat and end-of-school-year stress. I am telling myself that I will not get discouraged if I can't hold that.
I am starting training for Tucson on August 9th and am going to try a plan that peaks at 85 miles. I am really excited for that and hoping for a huge PR at Tucson in December. So if I don't do well at San Diego, Tucson is right around the corner.

*Disclaimer* I am tapering and nervous so anything that I type is due to that! Matt thinks it is really funny that I have such low expectations before every race and I usually end up doing great. Taper madness I suppose!

AZ RoadRacers Summer Series Race #1

2009-05-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

My goal for this summer was to break 20 minutes in the 5k. (3.2miles)My old PR is 20:53 which I set at the turkey trot in November.
I was up at 4:30am, off to do part of my scheduled 12 miles for today. I did 7 miles, and tried to take it easy for the race. I went home, changed, drank more coffee, then Matt and I drove to the race. I was really nervous, like always, and I was just not feeling great about it. There were some really fast, intimidating, looking women out there!
Because of the large amount of people, you started the race in waves. My wave was 12 minutes after the 7:30am start time. I forgot my Garmin at home, so I had no idea what my pace was the entire time. I felt lost! ;)

Long story short, it was hot, humid, I wanted to stop running and felt slow and out of breath. I pushed myself, although it was very hard for me!

I came in and ended up smashing my PR with a 19:42 time (6:21 min/mile average) and was the third woman over-all! First woman came in at 16:4x, holy smokes! I was in awe! She even beat all of the men!Even the 2nd place woman was at an 18:xx. So now I will re-adjust my goal, I would love to work to be as fast as those women. What an inspiration.
I don't know how I did in my age group, they took the over-all winners out of their age-groups, so when the results are up online, I will post them. My friends from ARR, Terri, Jan, and Jim all took first in their age groups! WOOHOO!!!
Time for my post-run beer!

Results page: AZ RoadRacers Summer Series #1
I was second in my age group, the first place overall gal was in my age group at 27. I found out (hey, I know people..:) ) that she is an olympic qualifier and 2nd place female is a Texas A&M track star. Wow!

I made the honor roll!

2009-05-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

So check this out, these are the only sub 3:30 female marathoners in AZ. How awesome is that! Now, I just need to work my way to the top!

Marathon honor roll

Daily Mile

2009-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:00

My friend Alissa turned me on to dailymile.com. It is a great way to track training and meet others. The link to mine is to the right.
Run Happy!!!

SRP Night Run For The Arts

2009-05-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

My sis Marisa came in from San Diego to do this 8k (5mile) race with me. We had so much fun!

Me and Marisa before heading out to the race!

Me crossing the finish line at 34:12. They called third woman when they said my name. hmmm.... My official results this morning say I was 4th woman, second in my age group 20-29. Kind of annoyed. I swore there were only 2 women ahead of me, Matt only saw 2 come in before me. Something must have happened behind the scenes. Oh well, I still got my medal and my only goal was to break 35 minutes (7min miles) as I am pretty sick and just ran Boston. (I am not competitive at all huh?) ;)
It is funny though, last year I was third woman and second in my age group with doing 7:30 min/miles. This year same exact placement doing 6:43's! This run has gotten quite competitive!

Post-race. Marisa did AWESOME! She ran 8:17 minute miles and was the 36th woman out of 400 something! 12th in her age group!!!! Woohoo! This was only her second race ever!

Me getting my award. At least they did not forget about me this year!

More Boston Runing Related Pics

2009-05-03T08:36:00.001-07:00

Matt helping me with my hair tie. What a guy! :)

My parents caught me at mile 26! I look pretty rough!

On Tuesday 4/21 next to the bronze shoes of Boston Bill Rodgers

Going to meet the legend!

Bill Rodgers runs the store with his brother Charlie.

The line took FOREVER because Bill is so nice and would talk to each person for about 10 minutes. I am not joking.

Me and Bill Rodgers in his favorite picture pose!

BAASTON EPIC LENGTH

2009-04-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

(BAA= Boston Athletic Association, get it? heehee!)

Wow. I cannot believe it has been almost 2 weeks since the race. We had such an amazing time, and it was a very memorable experience.

SATURDAY APRIL 18TH

We left Phoenix on at 11:00, of course we were at the airport 2 hours early. (I am very type A about those types of things) Our friends Jason and Sharon were with us and a gal I know from Roadracers was also on our flight. (I almost didn't recognize her in civilian clothes!) Yes, I was wearing my bright blue jacket on the flight!

We got into Boston at 9:30pm and went to our hotel- Embassy Suites Logan. The hotel was great! After we were settled, we decided that the 4 of us would walk around the neighborhood at 11pm to find food. Probably not a good idea as you may know that airport neighborhoods are not known for being the best areas. When we saw it in daylight the next day, we were really thankful that we were safe! We ate at this old dingy place that apparently is favored by the likes of Jay Leno, Seinfeld, and other celebrity Boston visitors. Really good Pizza. Santarpios

SUNDAY APRIL 19TH
We woke up pretty early Sunday morning, I got 2 miles on the treadmill in, and we enjoyed the fabulous free breakfast. I was making sure to eat a ton of carbs!
We went to the expo to pick up our race bibs, goodie bags, and to SHOP! It was SO fun! I purchased a "Lepracorn" shirt, hat, engraved charm (Should be here in 2 weeks), and a pair of bright blue running shorts! We also watched a movie that they had showing the race course and giving tips. I of course got teary-eyed. It was so cool! I got some free swag too- a Boston Marathon Bumper Sticker, a poster with every runner's name hidden in the picture, and a SUPER bright yellow tech shirt. It almost glows in the dark, I kid you not!
Expo!

Me with my bib!

Me and my running faves- Kara and Ryan.

We ate lunch in downtown Boston at Joe's where our waiter actually was in Jason's graduating class here in AZ! Small world. I of course got my favorite food, PANCAKES!
This is a pic of the BAA flags being flown at a church!

After lunch we went back to our hotel and met my parents. I was so excited to see them and was so happy they were able to come out! We chilled at the hotel the rest of the night, I packed my check-in race bag and set all of my things out for the morning. I attached my running angel pin to my shorts and checked my black nail polish. As many of you know, I hate painting my nails. Chemicals creep me out. But I bit the bullet and did this to remind me to stay tough! I also obsessively watched the weather and it was NOT looking good. Windy and high of 46 degrees. yay. I took a shower and then read in bed and TRIED to get some sleep. I was so nervous and excited, I probably slept 4 hours that night!

MONDAY APRIL 20TH
PRE-RACE
I woke up at 4:30am ready to go! Made my coffee, ate my 2 packets of plain oatmeal with honey, drank my glass of water, then a glass of gatorade and got dressed.

On top of my running clothes, I had on throw away warmies and I looked like a snowrunner. We hired a car to take us to the buses in downtown Boston as we were not sure how long the Train would take. Matt, Jason, and I arrived at the buses at 6am.

Jason and I boarded the bus and were on our way to Hopkinton. This is where that start line is. It was a nice 90 minute drive, luckily I made myself stop drinking 30 minutes before or it could have been a very uncomfortable ride.

We got to Hopkinton, found a place under a tent in the athletes village (shoulder to shoulder room!) and took turns standing in line for the port-o-potties. We put garbage bags on to help stay warm and tried to eat a little bit of power bar. It was SO COLD. My puny Arizona blood was in shock. My stomach started to get really nervous too. I met some of my AZ Roadracer friends in the tent and at 9:00, we got ready to head for the corrals.
The energy in the village (really just a large open tent) was amazing. So much nervousness and just overall a "let's go!" feeling. Runners sure are nice people. Everyone was so supportive of each other.

RACETIME
Jason headed off to his corral- corral #1, he is speedy. My friend Terri and I were in the same corral and were planning to run together so we went to visit the port-o's one last time and got to our corral #13. We shed our warmies and just waited to start. It was so chilly! The wind was starting to pick up too. My plan was at first to try for 7:30's, but then I decided to just enjoy the race. Looking back, the first 10 miles were so crowded, 7:30's would have been an effort. I kind of wish I would have tried it, but EVERYTHING written about the race and EVERYONE who has ever run it says to go slow the first 10 miles or you will burn out at the hills. Who knows, maybe that is what kept me from not collapsing!(FYI, this is the first full marathon I have not walked in!)LOL!

So here are my splits, I will try to comment as I go, I tried to enjoy the scenery, but I had to keep looking forward as not to trip on anyone! I also dedicated each mile to someone/something to keep me motivated. I really took out a piece of paper from my pocket at every mile. People probably thought I was so weird!(Some are personal so I did not list all of them)I told myself I would not walk in anyone's mile.

Miles 1-4: 7:58, 7:35, 7:32, 7:31- This part of the race was so crowded. By mile 3 I had tossed my gloves, taken of my arm warmies and tied them to my top, and put my earband in my pocket. For the record, they say that this part is mainly downhill. I disagree. The entire race was rolling hills. Thank the Sweet Lord for South Mountain. The crowd is 4-5 people deep, it stays this way the entire race. Amazing.

Miles 5-10: 7:48, 7:36, 7:43, 7:46, 7:49, 7:50- Mile 6 dedicated to my first grade family at Wildfire, Mile 7 dedicated to Matt's family (I thought about all of you!), Mile 8 dedicated to Matt's Grandma, Mile 9 dedicated to my friend Alissa and all of my other inspiring running friends at ARR and Dailymile.com, mile 10 dedicated to my Grandma Elsi.
Got really bad stomach cramps but ran through it. I think nerves, being so excited contributed to this. I honestly did not think I was going to finish for a while there.I tried to get a drink at every other aid station. No easy task. It is amazing how people will just stop right in front of you instead of moving to the side. Yikes. Terri and I still stayed together. She was carrying a waterbottle. I chucked mine back at mile 4. I love throwing things while running!

Miles 11-16 7:51, 7:47, 7:59, 7:56, 8:01, 7:49, Mile dedicated to my Tank dog- entering Wellesley, he loves the ladies. I had heard that you can hear Wellesley a mile away. I didn't believe it. But you sure can. I got goosebumps, you just hear this roar. It is truly unbelievable. I got teary eyed and gave out high-5's! Mile 13 to Buddy, Mile 16- To my Latvian heritage and the amazing experience I had there over the summer. (I got really choked up here) As I began mile 16, I knew that it would only be a 1/2 mile to the Newton Hills. I started to prepare myself mentally. They say at Boston, you are not half done at mile 13.1, but at mile 20. That is how tough those last 6 miles are.

Miles 17-21- NEWTON HILLS
8:03, 7:54, 7:56, 8:05, 8:23
Mile 17 dedicated to My Grandma and Grandpa P., Mile 18 to My Grandpa Z, Mile 19 to Aunt Denice, Uncle Rudy, Sam, Mile 20 to Shannon and Mike, Mile 21 to the love of my life, Matt

So, they tell you there are 4 hills. No, no. There are 5 my friends. 5 big ones. I thought I was up and over heartbreak and was surprised because there were not any signs or hullabaloo. Well, that is because after that hill, heartbreak was blaring right into my face. The nickname "Heartbreak Hill" originated with an event in the 1936 race. On this stretch, defending champion John A. Kelley caught race leader Ellison "Tarzan" Brown, giving Brown a consolatory pat on the shoulder as he passed. His competitive drive apparently stoked by this gesture, Tarzan Brown rallied, pulled away from Kelley, and went on to win—in the words of Boston Globe reporter Jerry Nason, "breaking Kelley's heart." People were dropping like flies. I have never seen so many anguished runners before! I "brought it to my arms" and powered up. I thought about Matt and how much he has given me to be able to run this and I pulled through. Many say that the next miles are tough because you have a steep downhill followed by some short little hills to the finish. I have decided that my legs like downhills. I did not get the "icepick" feeling Amby Burfoot talks about. I liken myself to Boston Bill Rodgers- we are kindred spirits in downhill running!

Mile 22-26.2 HOMESTRETCH
7:50, 8:11, 8:22, 8:01, 7:48, 6:52 (How is that for some kick?)
Mile 22 to Lukas, Mile 23 to Marisa, Mile 24 to the best Mom in the world, Mile 25 to the best dad in the world, Mile 26-Matt, .2 GOD!!!(The Big Man knows he was a main thought throughout the entire race, I was so thankful to be running)
The headwind started to pick up at mile 15 and was very strong and cold through these miles. The crowd was unreal. I saw my mom and dad as I turned the corner to do the last .2 to the finish line. I immediately started to cry! I looked at my watch- I was going to break 3:30!!! I pretty much gave it all I had and sprinted to the end! (Many say that is a sign that you didn't push your hardest throughout the race. hmm...)
It was amazing.

MY OFFICIAL TIME 3:28:09 A PR FOR ME ON THE HARDEST COURSE OF THE TOP 5 MARATHONS!
OVERALL PLACE 6,691 OUT OF 22,849 (I'll take that!)
GENDER PLACE 1013 OUT OF 9302
AGE GROUP PLACE 827 OUT OF 5023

POSTRACE
As in during the race, many people cross the finish line and just STOP. I had to push through so many people to get through. My legs seized for a minute, but I walked it off and they were fine. I took off my own chip, got my food bag and mylar blanket, and headed to get my medal. By this time I was a shivering mess. I was so, so cold. I went to find my bus to get my check bag and found out that I walked in the complete wrong direction. I was so cold, the wind was whipping my blanket around, people were everywhere, and I just started crying. Luckily a Boston Marathon volunteer pointed me in the right direction. I must have looked bad, she asked me if I was sure I was ok!
I finally got to my bag that had my phone in it and called Matt. We met at the family meeting area, I was so happy to see him! He then informed me that my lips were bright blue! No wonder that woman asked if I was ok! My parents were on their way with some clothes for me, so in the meantime, I had Matt's jacket on. They got there a few minutes later and it was so awesome seeing them. I am so, so, happy they came! My mom told me that she has never seen me shiver so much. It took me about 2 hours and 2 beers to get that chill out!

We met Sharon and Jason (He ran a 2:58 and it was an off day for him. Geez!) for a post-race lunch at Legal Seafoods.

Then we went to an Irish pub where many a marathoner was celebrating. It was so neat! We ended the night at Cheers. We made some new friends and definitely celebrated. Perhaps a tad too much...

We had so much fun! Totally worth the headache!!

Sharon and I.. celebrating!!

My legs hurt way less after this marathon than after any others. I think all of the walking around we did in the following days really helped.

The race was amazing. The whole city is so supportive and genuinly interested in your race story. If you run, my suggestion is to make Boston a goal at some point in your life. It is hands-down the neatest running experience I have ever had.

Next up- San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon May 31!

Runningly yours,
Ariana

p.s. If you are still reading this, you rock! (and have a ton of patience!) We will put up our non-running related Boston pics next week.
p.p.s. I will also post a few more marathon pics without long winded commentary soon!

Stapler Debacle

2009-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hi friends and family! I PROMISE I will post our Boston pics this week, school has been insanely busy and I really want to make sure I have the time to write my novel of a race report properly! Haha!
So, yeah, today I stapled my finger down to the bone at school. Who does that? Seriously. To make matters worse, my Principal- nicest boss ever, had to take me to a special workman's comp. clinic for our district and waited for me for 2 hours while they took an x-ray, removed it AND gave me a tetanus shot. Nice. I was SO mortified!!
I felt like such a doof.
I luckily have the best coworkers ever whom, while I was gone, stapled up my bulletin board that I was working on when this happened. Geez. What a day. :/

Stapler 1
Ariana 0

THE COUNT DOWN BEGINS

2009-04-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

First off, Happy Easter! He is risen indeed!
After gorging myself with sweets from my lovely basket courtesy of the Big Hopper, or E.B., or just my wonderful husband, I am posting my final blog before the big day.

My Bib # is 13129. There are 2 start times, I am in the first wave of runners to begin at 10 am Boston time on Monday, April 2oth. (Patriots Day)

Here are some links in case you are interested!

My new obsession, the Boston weather report. It changes drastically every single day!
Boston Weather

Boston Race Facts

Street and elevation map of the course Yikes!

AT&T Athlete Alert You can sign up to track me while I run!

Boston Marathon History

Everything Boston from Runner's World. Great interview with one of my favorite female runners Kara Goucher. Very inspiring!
Runners World Boston

This is what I will be wearing for the marathon. My new 'fierce' Nike Sports Top, courtesy of Runner's Den, my new favorite place. Yes, that is 'the' top I dragged Matt all over Phoenix to find. In all fairness, I did tell him we should try Runner's Den first. Poor guy! I also got a light green top. I think I will save it for the San Diego Marathon on 5/31. It is not nearly as fierce as this bad boy!
My beloved race ready shorts, and my new organic Moeben arm sleeves

You can also see my Boston celebration jacket. I was going to pose in it for a picture but thought that might be testing luck. I will have plenty of pictures in it with all my glory starting Saturday morning at Phoenix airport!

On to my last 'long' run of 12 miles yesterday. It started POURING at mile 4. So Matt and I had an interesting adventure. People in their nice, dry cars gave us some very funny looks. They must have thought we were nuts! Anyways, we made it back home, and I killed the run! 12 miles at 7:13 average pace. I felt great, not even winded. Although we were soaked, we had a really good time sloshing through puddles! It was a good training run as it may very well be raining in Boston. (In fact, the weather forecast right now says it will be!)
Poor Matt, soaked after the run. Look at those clouds!

I am really hoping for no rain at Boston, look at what it did to my hair! Yikes! :)
As you can see, I was trying out my new 'fierce' top.

I am getting nervous since all of my training runs have gone pretty well. Usually you want one bad long run so that you get the bad luck out before race day! I did have a really bad 17 a few weeks ago, so I think I will count that! Overall I feel ready. I am nervous for the hills, but I think I did all I could to prepare. I hill-trained hard once a week, and tried to do my long runs in hilly parts of town, so I hope that helped! There are horror stories from those Newton Hills in Boston.
I spent 18 weeks training just for Boston so I hope it pays off. I feel good, I just need to wash my hands a ton and take lots of vitamins this week! Thursday I will start carb-loading. Nothing like feeling fat and bloated before a race. So worth it though, as you are avoiding the 'wall' at mile 20!
I am just praying for a good race. I would LOVE a PR, and I think it is possible, but you never know until you meet the hills and ANYTHING can happen on race day, so I am TRYING not to psych myself out!

Thank you again for all of your well-wishes and support. I still can't believe that I am running Boston.
I will post again in 2 weeks with pics and results from the race!

Runningly yours,
Ariana

Last Long Run

2009-04-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

So, I am about to head out for my last long run. An easy 12 miler. I can't believe that the time is almost here. After so many weeks of lots, and lots, of running, my legs are feeling fresh again and I just feel ready. This is the first training cycle that I did not skip ANY runs unless I was sick. I only missed 2 short runs due to that.

So because it is a known fact that runners begin to get emotional during tapering time, (major cut-back in miles before the marathon) I have an excuse for the following!

I am so thankful every time I run, (even if it is a bad one), to God that I am able to do this. He has helped me to stay healthy and strong. It is so amazing to wake up every morning, begin running under the beautiful stars, and then see the sun come up over the mountains. Awesome start to the day! I feel so blessed to be able to do this.

I really could not be so successful if it were not for Matt. He wakes up early every weekend to ride his bike while I run so that I don't have to go by myself. We are talking 20 mile bike rides at 5am for him. He comes EVERY weekend. Matt also is there at track practice every Tuesday night to cheer me on. Matt makes the best healthy food for me, I am just so lucky. He has encouraged me when I call him during shorter runs crying because I am so tired. He has massaged the knots out of my legs and has made me hot cocoa to take with me into an ice bath. He is there with me at 5 different running stores searching for the perfect Boston outfit. He has been at my side for all of my running shenanigans and has supported all of my goals. I truly have the most wonderful husband in the world. I love you Matty!

Thank you also to my wonderful family for supporting me with encouragement. It means so much to me, you have no idea. Thank you for not thinking I am completely crazy for doing this! (well, maybe you do, put thanks for keeping it to yourselves!) :)I am also so thankful that some of my family members have started running too!(Dad, Emma, Kris!!) That is so cool.

Thank you so much to my friends for your support!

Boston preview and details will be posted tonight! Off to run! :)
Love, Ariana

I am the weakest of the weak.

2009-03-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

So I caved and purchased my Boston jacket. Our friend Jason, and Boston running expert, assured me that it was not bad luck or bad form. I also convinced myself that they may run out of size smalls and that would be awful to get to the expo and have to get one that does not fit. Treacherous really. See, there is a method to my madness!

Now I get to board the plane wearing my bright blue, loud, show-offy jacket. hee hee!
(See below post for the link to view the goods.)

And miles to go before I sleep

2009-03-18T14:40:00.001-07:00

Stopping for a pic, 5 miles to go of a hilly 22! (2 weeks ago)I was not in top form.

.10 to go!!!

I am #13129 in the Boston Marathon! I am in the first wave of runners at 10am. Bib numbers were just announced yesterday! Woohooo!!! Look at all the fun Boston Marathon gear!
Apparently, if you run Boston, you HAVE to get the jacket, so I've been told by many. That and a silver engraved Boston necklace will be my 2 for sure purchases. I really like the yellow shirt next to the jacket too. But, I have read that there is SO much at the expo that it will be hard to choose. I will have to wait patiently and not order now. :)

Ahhh... recovery week. After 70 miles last week, I am doing 63 this week and it feels good! I finally got my running mojo back. I did my 17 mile run last weekend with 14 miles at a 7:26 average pace on HILLS!!! (not my strong suit, but working on them!)
Today I did a trail run up Usery Mountain in Mesa. It was AWESOME. So beautiful and so peaceful, I wish I had taken a camera. I may go again on Friday! Happy to say, no encounters with rattlesnakes. I do think, though, that I may have picked up a snake fear from my friend Alissa! I was dodging rocks (potential snake sun-bathing spots)like no other!
Next week is 68 miles and I am doing my 20 mile long run up South Mountain with a new running buddy, Terri, that I met through AZ Road Racers. It will be nice to chat with someone for the long haul!

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

2009-03-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

I am very much an old lady trapped in a 28 year old body. Or, so people tell me when they find out that I LOVE Beth and Bill in the mornings on 99.9KEZ. Yes, it is the easy listening station. They just have me laughing every morning and they love to talk about food, wine, and martinis!
Anyways, for 6 years I have been meaning to go to their live St. Patrick's broadcast at Rosie McCaffrey's Pub in Phoenix. The show starts at 6am! This year, I finally got to go! I had a blast, it was so neat to be there, some people go all out!
Next year, we will arrive even earlier to secure a table! :)

Matt and Kevin with the "Wild Barstool Queens". They are a hoot! They go and leave kiss marks on all the men, and the one standing next to Matt grabbed his buns during the picture! hahahahaha!!!! Very nice, fun, ladies!

Matt and his friend Kevin.

Beth and I. Note the cheesy perma-grin.

Bill and I.

Running

2009-02-25T03:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I finished a 78 mile week! I have never put in this kind of mileage before and I was not as exhausted as I thought I would be. My week looked like this:

M-rest day from Sunday's race
T-3 recovery miles a.m. with Tank, 10 miles with 5 mile threshold (speed) p.m.
W- 3 miles a.m., 14 miles with 4 Mummy Mountain hill sprints.
R- 6 miles recovery a.m.
F- 3 miles a.m., 12 miles p.m.
S- 7 miles with stride-outs
S- 20 miles with hills- Matt rode his bike with me and we had so much fun! It was a beautiful morning! We were able to watch the sunrise out in the desert as we ran/rode.

After our 20 mile adventure, (we were home by 8:30am), we got some coffee, relaxed a bit, then went biking to grab some beer and burgers at Four Peaks Tempe.
(I was really bugging Matt with the camera that day! Can you tell?) ;)

After that, we rode to Old Town to listen to the free band that plays every Sunday outside at the Scottsdale Civic Center Park. The weather was gorgeous. We had so much fun!

We also joined our local running group, Arizona Road Racers. I went to my first track practice last night and met some really nice people. I was nervous about it but it was fantastic. It is nice to have that 'competitive' push every once in awhile. It is hard to do speed sprints with no one chasing you! :)
This week and next I will do around 70 miles, then I have about 68, 70, 63, 68, and then 56, 33, 27 as I taper for Boston. I am getting really excited!

Valentine's Bike Ride!

2009-02-16T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hello world!

We had a great slightly belated Valentine's day today. We weren't able to participate in the usual Valentines hubbub on Saturday like the rest of the world because I had to work most the day, then Sunday we had the race so today was our day!

We started it off with breakfast in bed, which consisted of chocolate croissants and coffee while we read our books. (perfect) The dog was being a bit of a knob... which he always is, but we felt bad so we took him to the dog park and let him run around with the other tightly wound, couped up puppies. The day was sooo beautiful, slightly overcast, mid 60s. Tank had a great time uh... making friends as only Tank can do. After dropping off Sir Dorkus, we went to the bike store and picked up a nice basket and bell for Ariana's new bike. (well new to us anyway) Then we went for a ride!!

.... Story detour (sorry) we bought these bikes last weekend. (when it was raining of course) We really wanted vintage bikes. Ariana's bike is a '75 Schwinn Breeze, 3 speed, light yellow. She loves it and looks really good on it. Mine isn't as vintage unfortunately, but it was a great price so I couldn't pass it up. (must have gotten that from my mom) My bike is a black Huffy beach cruiser.

Ariana on her mellow yellow bumble bee

Huffy Hufferton and me in my new hat

Ok back to the regularly scheduled story ....

We rode from our house to Tempe town lake via the green belt. The green belt is a bike path that runs for about 20 miles through Scottsdale down to Tempe Town Lake. We live about in the middle of it. It winds its way through golf courses, parks and around lakes, it is absolutely beautiful. We made our way over to downtown Tempe and ended up cruising down Mill street. I bought a hat. That much riding makes a person hungry so we rode to 4 peaks brewery, ordered a burger and a wee drop of nectar, nectar of the gods that is! (delicious beer for those who still don't get it) Then with our bellies full and our spirits quenched we proceeded to ride home. Over all we rode about 21 miles. It was a blast!

Lost Dutchman 1/2 Marathon Update

2009-02-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Yesterday Matt and I raced our first 1/2 marathon, the Lost Dutchman in Apache Junction, AZ. I was not feeling too great about the race to begin with. I didn't really cut down my miles for the week, which one would normally do, and I just had a really stressful, tiring week. My stomach was in knots the entire week as well. Not fun. Matt was a bit worried as well since he hadn't exactly been running very much.
But as all races go, Matt and I woke up Sunday morning excited to race. We were at the park by 5:15am. The race began at 7:30 and it was 41 degrees outside and windy. Yikes! I was wearing 4 shirts and 2 pairs of pants over my shorts.

The elevation chart online looked pretty good, and the race was described as "gentle, rolling hills". Ummm...yeah. I would say that this race was as hilly as the San Diego marathon. I was pretty shocked! That combined with the wind had me a bit worried. We started off pretty fast, 6:30 pace. There were 4 girls in front of me at this time. It was an out and back course and for the first 1/2 of the race I was shoulder to shoulder with a guy running way to fast for himself and groaning and grunting for the world to hear. Every time I would get ahead of him, he would run harder to pass me right away. Men. I was so annoyed and mentally, it was taking a toll on me. I finally got enough pick-up to really pass him at mile 7. I then reeled in the #4 girl who started out WAY ahead of me. I finished strong at 1:34:15. I am pretty proud of that time considering all that was against me! I ended up placing second in my age group and fourth overall woman. Here is the results page.
My pace was an avg. of 7:10 per mile, I really wanted a 1:30:00 1/2, but next time! :)
Matt found our friend Alissa towards the end and they ran in together! Alissa ended up being 6th in our age group and setting a new PR for herself! Woohoo! Check out her blog via the link to the right, she has a great race report and pics!

Oh, So True!

2009-02-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

Matt and I have our first racing 1/2 marathon tomorrow, and it is COLD! High today is only 60 degrees. ;) I will top out at 60.1 miles this week and for some reason, just had a really stressful week. But, we still run! I am up at the latest 4:05am to get my run in before work, when I tell people this, they think I am absolutely nuts! (Matt is finally getting used to it!)To add some humor and some explanation for the craziness, I found this article. I think it is super cute and very true of runners!
Zombie Runners

More pictures from the marathon

2009-02-03T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hello world,

We received some more marathon pictures from Ariana's parents today and thought we should share them. It is soo neat to see everyone running in the marathon. The experience is truly surreal. I am personally so proud of Ariana's dad and sister for continuing to train on their own and putting up great times! (I don't know how you do it) I'm also very proud of our best friends Mike and Shannon. You did amazing! Huge thank you to Rita who was so very supportive of everyone, we love you Rita!

Ariana and her dad, Andy, after his finish.

eM', me, Ariana, Andy

(my wife is so cute...)

Mike, Shannon, Ariana, me, Andy, eM'

That's all for now, so until next time... keep runnin' down a dream!

Hi MOM!

Marathon and Beyond

2009-02-02T18:02:00.001-08:00

I got through my 21 miles, 7:55 average pace. I am really starting to see a big improvement in my running. I felt really good!

Anyways, more importantly..... PF CHANGS MARATHON!!!!
Matt did SO well in the race. He did the first 21 miles at a 7 minute mile pace. That is so blazin' fast. That is my tempo run for 4 miles, that's all I can do! He was doing awesome but began to run out of steam at about mile 22. Nevertheless, he ran a 3 hour 22 minute marathon. Matt ran such a good race and set a new PR for himself- and a bar for me to reach- a little competition is good for a marriage! LOL!!!!

My Dad ran his first EVER 1/2 marathon. He finished in 2 hours 30 minutes. He did not walk once! I am so proud of him. He picked up running a year ago after seeing Matt and I run PF Changs. Now he is looking forward to beating his time in the next 1/2 marathon and then trying a FULL!!!! My dad so rocks. Seattle in June Dad???

My sister also ran her first 1/2 marathon with a pretty severe leg injury. The Doc gave her the ok to run this time but now she needs to recuperate. I paced her through it and I think she got a bit annoyed at me and my cheerfulness! But she made it across the finish line in under 2 hours!!! There is no WAY I could have done that on my first race. I swear she has natural talent and a really good "screw it, run though it" attitude. We crossed the finish line holding hands- I in tears (Cheeseball)- I was just so proud of my sis for doing this. Still am! She is also looking forward to her next 1/2 and then a full.

Our best friends Shannon and Mike also ran their first ever 1/2 marathon, and I KNOW Shannon is hooked too! She is already looking for our next race! They did so awesome. They trained so hard and ran so well!

It was a great weekend with family and friends and so many 'firsts'! I can't wait until we all do it again!

Matt and I are running our next race on February 15th. We are running in the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon. I am really excited to compete in the half and enjoy the beautiful course. Who celebrates Valentine's Day by running? Apparently we do! :)

I only have 2 pics from the weekend, Dad and Matt getting ready for the race. With all the excitement, we forgot to take lots of pictures!

Luckiest Girl In The World

2009-02-01T03:36:00.000-08:00

It is 4:00am right now and I am getting ready to venture out on my 21 mile run. I did 20 last Saturday at an average 8:08 pace, and then I have 20 again next Saturday. After that I have 2 Saturdays of bliss at only 15 miles each, yay!
That doesn't sound very fun, why am I lucky?
Well, I have the best husband in the world. Last Saturday, he woke up right when I left the house (4:40am!) to surprise me and meet me at 4 different spots on the run to cheer me on. He does things like that all of the time. I feel like I truly am the luckiest girl in the world. :)
I will be back to post some new pictures later!
On to 21 miles of pure fun! (right......)

Happy 2009!

2009-01-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

For New Years Eve this year Mike and Shannon came over to help us ring in 2009. Matt made some delicious caprese salad, meatballs with red wine sauce and pasta. Shannon brought over a delicious salad and I made an Italian hazelnut chocolate cake for dessert. We had martinis flowing- regular and chocolate, and also had a champagne toast as the ball dropped. We had such a wonderful time! January 1 was a major recovery day, but oh well, it's just once a year! :)

Christmas

2009-01-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun spending Christmas Day up north at Matt's family's cabin. We got to relax and play in the snow! Matt, Tank, and I bundled up and went on a 5 mile recovery run. The air was so cold and refreshing! The scenery was beautiful and we felt like we could have run forever!

First Annual Reindeer Run

2008-12-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! Matt and I started our morning with our first annual reindeer run. We stayed up way too late on Christmas Eve having a wee bit of champagne and eggnog (leaded). What better way to work that off then to wake up and run? :) We did '8 under 8', 8 miles at 7:57min/mile pace. Our last mile was a 6:54! We were decked out in holiday wear and were able to wish many passers-by a Merry Christmas! We had such a great time that we are going to make it a holiday tradition and hope others will join us next year! I am on it for tee-shirts. :)

We hope that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year, we love you!

Gingerbread Men and Women

2008-12-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

Matt and I went on a 10 miler this morning. It was so beautiful outside. We left home at about 6am. It was so dark and peaceful outside.
I then began my cookie-making. These are my ginger people.
I have way too much time on my hands! haha!
Do you like my Packers guy?

BOSTON BOUND!!!!

2008-12-21T08:42:00.000-08:00

Registering for Boston with my celebratory champagne!

After a debut marathon in Jan 2008 with a time of 4:36 I found a passion for running and getting faster. :) It is that competitive streak in me! I ran a VERY hilly San Diego Marathon in June 2008 with a slightly better time of 4:11. I decided that I wanted to try to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. It is the oldest marathon and running it is quite an accomplishment in the running community. To run it, you need to run a marathon and get a qualifying time. Here is the list of qualifying times BAA. I made my Boston qualifying attempt in the Tucson Marathon on Dec. 7th. To see mine and Matt's results use the following link. Choose 'marathon' from the drop-down race menu. My bib # is 378, Matt's is 404.
Here are our results.
I needed a time of 3:40 to qualify and I ran the marathon in 3:32. I crossed the finish line crying and laughing. I was so happy to have accomplished my goal!
I used a training plan (Advanced Marathoning) by Pete Pfitzinger. Pete Pfitzinger It was an 18 week plan and it peaked at 55 miles a week. For Boston I will be using a similar plan but this one will peak at 70 miles per week. A big challenge but I think I am ready! I just received my confirmation from the BAA that I am registered for the marathon. It is on April 20th-Patriot's Day. Matt and I have our plane tickets and hotel all set. We are very excited!
Matt is making his Boston qualifying attempt at the PF Chang's Rock and Roll AZ Marathon on January 18th. PF Changs Marathon He had some technical difficulties at Tucson but is ready to get his 3:10 qualifying time.
Because I qualified in Tucson, I will get the honor of running the PF Chang's half marathon with first-timers- My Dad (GO DAD!!!!), sister (YAY EMMA!), Shannon (WOOHOOOO SHANNON!) and Mike (UofA Still rots!!) They are going to ROCK IT and I am so excited to cross the finish line with them! They are doing so well with training and I am so proud of them.

Turkey Trot

2008-12-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

Matt and I ran a rainy- day race in Fountain Hills on Thanksgiving morning. Our friends Jason, Mike, and Shannon also ran in the 5k. My time was 20:56 and I was the first place woman overall! I got a trophy and my name in the paper. Super exciting! :)

Our House

2008-12-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

After a lot of 'issues' we purchased our first home. We could have never done it without so much help from Matt's sister Kris.
We bought a 3 bed 2 bath home with a pool, fireplace, and garage in Scottsdale. The house has all hard wood flooring and neutral paint colors. We are lucky that we do not need to do any work to it! (As we are now out of $) :)
Our home is old, which we wanted. We are .5 miles away from the Scottsdale greenbelt which we use every day for running. We love our new neighbors, everyone is so friendly! We discuss how lucky we are each day to have found this house. We were the first ones to put an offer on it the second day it went on the market, so the seller accepted ours. We found out that there were many other offers on it after us, some a bit higher. We really lucked out!
Here are some pics. We are looking forward to making it our own and to putting a garden in the backyard!

Matthew and Ariana September 6th, 2008 Coronado Island, CA

2008-12-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Matt and I were married on the beach, in front of the Hotel Del Coronado on September 6th, 2008. We had a beautiful ceremony with our closest friends and family. We then went to brunch at the Del. The Hotel Del Coronado was so accomadating and I am very impressed by the way they treated us. The weekend was so fun, filled with plenty of beach time, eating and drinking, and riding around town on beach cruisers. Matt and I can't wait to go back for our first anniversary!
We also stayed at the Crown City Inn for a few nights. We loved it.
Matt and I had a magical wedding, what we both had dreamed of, and we thank everyone for making the trip out.

Hotel Del Coronado
Our wonderful photographer
Crown City Inn

Ariana's Latvia Trip

2008-12-20T18:31:00.001-08:00

Wow, it has been quite sometime since we have posted. I am not very computer savvy so Matt had to show me how again! :)
We have a lot to share so we will start with the trip I took to Latvia with my mom Rita, dad Andris, sister Marisa, and brother Lukas in July 2008.
We had an amazing time and I feel so lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity. Why Latvia? I am 100% Latvian. For those of you who don't know, Latvia is a small Baltic country on the Baltic Sea. Latvia It was quite an emotional trip as we were able to see many historical sites and even the childhood home of my late Grandfather. This trip made me appreciate where I come from and the trials my family, and all Latvians had to go through for freedom. You see, Latvia was under communist rule until 1991. I am amazed at Latvia's history and I am so proud to have my heritage lie in such an amazing country.
Read more about Latvia at Wikipedia for a quick lesson! :) History Lesson
I hope you enjoy my pictures.

Grilling in 115 degrees

2008-07-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Matt made me some wonderful Veggie fajitas the night before I left for Latvia. They were so good! One of my new favorite Matt dishes!

Sunday dinners

2008-06-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Matt is a very good chef. ( He modestly says he is a "cook", but I say chef! )

(above) Mustard crusted sirloin with arugula salad and a wine braised artichoke.

(below) Walnut apple stuffed pork chops with peach/coffee sauce, side of arugula and peach salad.

I am one lucky little lady!

Pictures from San Diego 06/08

2008-06-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

We will begin to take more pictures together as Matt starts to give up control of the camera. ;)

Our First Blog

2008-06-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hello world!

We have decided to join the rest of humanity and create a blog. If you are reading this blog, we probably know you and vice versa so we won't go into boring introductions. A few updates before we start doing this more frequently.

We are getting married on September 6th, 2008 in Coronado, CA. We are very excited!
We are also currently looking for a house in Phoenix.
I (Ariana) am getting ready to start a job at a new school teaching 1st grade. I have taught 1st grade for 3 years and love it!
I am also heading to Latvia with my family on July 4th. We are so excited to see the homeland!
Matt just got accepted into a highly sought after program at Vanguard to further his career.
I am also getting ready to run my 3rd marathon in San Francisco to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society- check out my site at: Racing To Save Lives

As you can see, we have a ton going on, but that is the way we like it!